Quelling A Nightmare
It's Begun
"AHH!"
I awoke to the sudden cry of fear from the rainbow maned mare lying in bed beside me.
"Rainbow, you ok?" I asked, examining her as she sat there. Her breathing was labored, sweat beading on her forehead, and she shook uncontrollably.
After a few moments, my question finally registered, causing her to shake her head and quickly recompose herself.
"Ha? What? Oh yeah, I'm fine." Rainbow said unconvincingly. She leaned over and kissed my forehead. "Don't worry 'bout me Pyrefly. I'm alright, I just need to get a glass of water. Go back to sleep, I'll be back in a second."
As she rolled out of the bed I looked at her, concern plastered all over my face.
"Ok, but if you need something, just give a shout and I'll be there in a flash, alright?"
"I told you, I fine. Just go back to sleep. I'll be right back."
'But you're not fine,' I thought to myself. This was the third time this week where she woke up like this. Not to mention the tenth time this month, or that this was the forth month straight.
I laid motionless, in Rainbow's bed, mind racing. It had been a year and a half since my sister, Ice Dancer, and i moved to Ponyville from our old home in Coltston. We moved after the unexpected passing of our parents. A week after arriving, we had to go to a welcoming party being thrown for us by the pink party pony, Pinkie Pie. That's when I met Rainbow Dash, the most amazing mare I had ever met. After pissing her off enough, she challenged me to a race. I agreed and off we went, to get me use to the town, and the course we'd be flying.
While I practiced, I started to talk to Rainbow, just to find out how much about me she really knew. When she revealed that she knew why Ice and I left our hometown, she became sad and instantly withdrawn. So to cheer her up, I told her that I wasn't the only one who's reputation preceded them. I told her about the Wonderbolts and how I turned them down to live outside the limelight, and how they had interest in her, after she honed her skills a little more. All that picked her right up. Then, somewhere on the flight back to her Cloud Mansion, something clicked, and before parting ways, we ended up lip-locked in front of her door.
The following morning brought with it the race, the first I'd partaken in since before my parent's passing. But I was ready, feeling better than I had in a long time. And Dash certainly didn't disappoint either. The whole race we were neck and neck. She even used her Sonic Rainboom. But I closed the gap quickly with my own surprise, the secret to my title of "Fastest Flyer on the East Coast", "The Cosmic Comet".
While we sped back to the start line though, she suddenly lost consciousness and I had to save her flank from becoming a crater in town square. After getting her onto a bench, she came to and orally assaulted me after finding out i saved her. And if that wasn't enough, all of her friends where there to witness it!
Everyone was surprised by this new development, but accepted, and were happy for us. Well everyone but one pony. Ice was pissed. So pissed, that she decide to 'cool off' by turning RD into a Dash-cicle. After some quick thinking and a Cosmic Comet Tornado, I had saved Dash's life for the second time, she pounced on me, made a dirty comment, and then her, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie, all agreed to help me search the Everfree Forest for the furious unicorn filly that was my sister.
To cover more ground, we all split into groups, and me and Dash went to see the town herbologist, a zebra named Zecora, who happened to live in the forest at the end of the path that lead from town. We hoped that she had see Ice go running by. But by the time we arrived at the zebra's hut, it was too dark to keep searching and too dark to turn back. So we decided to see if we spend the night, but Zecora wasn't home. Luckily, she left a note saying her home was open to anypony that had an emergency. So we chalked our situation up as such, found the key that was left for just the occasion, and let ourselves in.
Out of respect, I told Dash to take the bed, and I'd sleep on the floor, but the frigid night air forced me to join her under the covers. Luckily I was welcomed in with a kiss on the cheek and somepony to cuddle with.
The next morning started with a heart attack after a Derpy Hooves wake up call. We found out from her that there was a path of ice that trailed off deeper into the woods out behind the hut. We thanked her and asked her to find Twilight and the others and have them wait for us at Fluttershy's cottage, then bolted out of the hut and followed the ice path straight to my sister. After an emotional heart to heart, the three of us made up and headed home.
Other than those first two days, not much had happened. Well, except there was the Great Dragon Migration, an evil Fluttershy, an apple cider making contest, a royal wedding, having to save an empire, oh yeah, and a swarm of Pinkie Pies whose sole purpose was to have as much fun as possible, even if they destroyed town doing it.
One real important thing that started to happen involved Ice coming around to me and Dash being together. It took some time, but she has come around quite a lot. So much so that me and Dash have actually been able to sleep in the same bed with out her getting protective or anything. Thinking of this brought my mind to the present. For the past six month, me and Rainbow have been sleeping together more and more.
But lately, she has been waking up in the middle of the night, screaming, sweating and shaking. But every time I try to ask what shes dreaming about, she just brushes me off and tells me its nothing and that I shouldn't worry about it. I've even woken up to her screams on nights we were sleeping in our own beds.
"What is going on with you, Dash?" I asked myself as I laid there, staring at the ceiling.
Moments later, Rainbow returned to her room and noticed me still awake, looking into oblivion, lost in my thoughts. "Hey, why are you still up? You still worried about me? I'm fine, I swear."
"I don't think so, but what do I know," I responded sarcastically. "You're waking up screaming more and more. What in Tartarus are you dreaming about that's got you so terrified?"
"Listen, I'm fine. There just dreams, nothing more. Let's get some sleep, we could have a big day tomorrow."
"Whatever," I relented. "Goodnight Dash, I love you."
"I love you too, goodnight Pyrefly."
With that, Rainbow rolled onto her side, her back to me. And proceed to pretend to go to sleep. Not wanting to drag the discussion on any long, I slid closer to her and draped a foreleg over her protectively, and was quickly taken back into the throngs of sleep.