//------------------------------// // Nightmares // Story: Into the light // by Azuras //------------------------------// Nightmares The night at Twilights house was quite peaceful but as usual Alsea was awoken by nightmares of his past. So around midnight when the moon was at its highest he went for a stroll. He really didn’t know were he was going and he didn’t care all he did was walk forward and occasionally turned to avoid a home with its lights on. After what seemed like an hour Alsea found a small hill which over looked Ponyville, and this is were he deicide to take a seat and observe the small town. After a minuet a dark shadow settled it self next to him and spoke. “What brings you out here Major?” “Can’t sleep anymore ma’am” “And why is that?” “Nightmares for my past” “I could help you know” Luna said moving out of the shadows and into the moonlight which allowed Alsea to see her. “And how could you do that” Alsea said still looking at Ponyville “I can enter your dreams and help you deal with your fears” “Princess Luna its not that I’m afraid, it’s that fact that I didn’t things that can not be forgotten, and I saw things that no one should have to live with and I wont allow you to look upon things as horrid as I see every night” “Believe us we have seen terrible things in our life” “Well I thank you for the offer but I shall decline” “Well then it is your choice, I shall not interfere, but I shall stay here to enjoy this lovely night with you” “Thank you Luna” The two sat upon the hill for hours of night, eventually Luna fell asleep under the watchful eyes of Alsea who constantly mutter to himself about how a pony who was suppose to control the night falls asleep during the night. After about an hour Alsea felt a something soft pressing against him. He looked down to see Luna curled up next to him using him as a shield from the wind and a pillow. Alsea then noticed that she was making strange noises and her heart rate quickened to the point where he could hear it. Then Alsea did something he did not expect himself to do, he rapped an arm around her and pulled her closer to him as if he were protecting her from an unknown evil. This seemed to work for her for her heart rate slowed back to normal and her breathing and movements had also returned to normal. Alsea held Luna for the rest of the night tell even after the first strikes of the sun. After Luna had fallen asleep she immediately was pulled back into the place of her greatest fears, the nightmare which will always be a part of her. Ever since she was saved from Nightmare Moon she had nightmares of it trying to take control of her and every night she felt herself give in just a little. It would tell her what she wanted to hear and it would promise her things that it could give her but it was always gone by the day. But tonight was different she didn’t just dream of the nightmare but it also showed her thing that she didn’t wish to see. Luna saw her sister for who she truly was. A monster under the face of beauty, it also told her that the humans were there for a reason, and not just any reason. But then it all stopped and a bright light appeared, she saw as the nightmare was shunned to the darkest corners of her mind as a shining being pushed it away and hugged her tight. It was unlike anything she had ever felt and when she finally saw its forum she instantly knew that it was Alsea who had saved her from the nightmare. The rest of Luna’s dreams were peaceful as her friend protected her from the thing she fears most. After the sun had risen and it was well into morning Luna awoke to find that she was firmly being held by Alsea who was watching the Sun rise, he didn’t even release that she had awoken and for that she was pleased that he had stayed with her all night. “Morning Luna, I take it you slept well” Alsea said with a smirk on his face “I did thank you very much” Luna replied creating a gap between them “So why were you holding onto me” she asked “Well you were having a nightmare and so I just held you to help calm you down, and it seemed to work” He said truing to Luna “Well thank you it did help, but I must be off to Canterlot” Luna said standing up and preparing to take flight “Well if that’s the reason” Alsea chuckled as he stood up He gave a quick salute and walked off to the library and Luna took flight as she went back to Canterlot, but all the while she was trying to figure out why a being like him which was born to kill could be so gentle and caring it made her question her sister’s judgment… “Oh no, oh no anything but now why did he have to go out by himself” was all that twilight was saying while the rest of the group tried to calm her down saying that he probably just went for a stroll during the night “Twilight back were we’re from he did something similar he would get up during the middle of the night and walk around the airbase” Cpl Telis said “But this isn’t were your from” Twilight snapped, immediately realizing what she did Twilight quickly apologized “Oh I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to yell like that its just that I’m worried” Then a knock was heard on the door and all eyes turned to it, Twilight then opened it after staring at it like a statue for a good minuet, and there was Major Alsea standing at it with a big grin. “Well boys and girls we may be in a new place but its not Sunday so we got drill to do” He said getting many shocked exasperations from his troops. “And by the way Twilight I was out with Luna, so don’t get into such a mood if despair again during the night” “NOW” he yelled at his troops “Were going to do a short jog” But Twilight soon learned that what he meant by short was anything but, she had an advantage with her four legs but during the whole while Alsea managed to stay in front of her and the others with out slowing his pace, it was like he body could go on like this for days and he was also caring rocks while he ran which should have slowed him down but didn’t. After what Twilight guessed was thirty thousand leagues Rainbow Dash came to inspect what was going on, and she decide to keep pace with the group but she flew over them all. Then when Alsea finally stopped they were in a large clearing and he barked some orders which she guessed were part of the exercise. All of the humans dropped to the ground on there hand and started to push off the ground, they did this at least three hundred times in tell they got back up and did some light jogs around the clearing. Then again they did they would push up from the ground and the process would repeat it self. At about eleven the humans stopped and did a new exercise, it was them jumping up a down while spreading there arms and legs in an X they would do this for a while, then they would jump to the ground and lay down then sit up to there legs and move back about a hundred times then they would do the jumping X’s again. “Twi why are they doing this boring stuff, were are all the tricks” Rainbow Dash said irritated “There practicing Dash” Twilight responded “Well why aren’t they doing tricks, when ever I practice I always do tricks” “Because there not you Dash, and there making themselves stronger and building there muscles from doing those weird exercise, just like what I do with my magic” Twilight said looking at Dash “Hmpth, Don’t need to be like that Twi” “Well why don’t you practice your tricks while they do there thing then you wont be so bored” “That’s a great idea, then I can show them who’s the best” “Ok Dash” Twilight chuckled And Rainbow Dash took of into the air to show of her moves, while she did that Twilight noticed the humans had stopped there exercising and started to set up a small fire pit in the clearing. Thinking no better Twilight went to investigate while the humans work. “What are you doing” she asked “Were going to cook lunch” Alsea replied taking a small packet out of his bag, then the other humans got pots out and went out to look for water “That doesn’t look like food” Twilight said “Well I wouldn’t call it food, but its edible and some taste pretty good” Alsea replied and laughing at Sgt Cook’s face who clearly didn’t like this food. “Well what is it” Twilight asked “It’s called an MRE, meaning meal ready to eat, but its much better to heat up before eating” “May I try” Twilight asked hoping to get a yes so she can know what the humans ate “Well I’ll have to find one that doesn’t have any meat since I’m pretty sure you ponies don’t eat meat judging from what I saw at the dinner” he said looking through his bag “Hey Sergeant do you have any vegetarian in your bag” “Yeah I got apple oatmeal, a few tofu and a maybe ten mashed potatoes in here” Sgt Cook replied “Ok pass me one of each and all the mashed potatoes” “Um what’s tofu” Twilight asked never hearing the word tofu before “Well Tofu is a chunk of weird paste that is a meat alternative, I personally hate it and use it as a disinfected because this stuff is hardcore it kills all infection somehow, which is why most don’t it but food is food” Alsea said making many movements with his hands “Oh so its not meat” “Not meat just weird” he said as the rest of the humans came back with water “Cook how’s that fire going” “I just got it let sir, you sure this wood is flammable” “Sergeant wood is wood” The humans quickly set to work of boiling the water and tossing the MRE’s into the water to heat them up. It didn’t take long but Twilight noticed most of the humans had stopped what they were doing to watch Dash do her tricks. “OK LUNCH IS READY” Alsea yelled over the field causing everypony to stop what they were doing to look at him He quickly tossed a box with three MRE’s at each human then he came over to twilight and showed her how to eat it, but then Rainbow Dash wanted some but he already knew she might want some and gave a box to her as well. The food wasn’t bad Twilight thought, but it didn’t taste right and she really didn’t like how the tofu felt when she chewed it, but she tried to hide it and act like she really liked it. “Its ok you two if you don’t like the food, many don’t but after being in the military for a few years you get use to eat, but that tofu just isn’t right” he said poking at his own tofu “I can’t eat this bucking stuff” Dash finally said after eating a small portion of each package “Its not food its, its… IT’S BUCKING TERRIBLE” she finally yield “That’s ok Rainbow like I just said not many like it, and what’s with saying buck, is that your word for fuck” “Um probably” Twilight said giving her friend a look “Well that’s pretty funny you know how all these words that we have are similar yet so different” Alsea said “Yeah that is kind of funny I guess” Twilight said “Um hungry pegasus over here” Rainbow said “Have an apple then” Alsea said pulling the apple out of what Twilight though was thin air “How did you do that” Twilight said wide eyed “Do what” “Pull that apple out of thin air” “Magic” Was all he said before yelling at his troops to pack up and be ready to run back to Ponyville