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// Chapter 9 Nightmares 
// Story: The Slow Mo Stallions 
// by gamershot 
//------------------------------//

After the pie and the light conversation that came with it, Apple Jack took Gavin and Dan to the barn. She opened up the large door and trotted inside.
"Well here it is. This is where you'll be hunkerin' down." she said.
"It's nice... For a barn" said Dan as he followed Apple Jack inside.
"Thanks? Anyway, make sure ya'll get some sleep. Ah'll wake ya up in the mornin'."
The two stallions made their way over to the large bundles of hay and settled down in them.
"This stuff is kind of itchy." grunted Gavin as he tried to get comfy.
"Ah'm sorry but it's all we've got fer now. You're gonna have t' make do." she replied. "G'night"
"Night, night." whispered Dan.
"Sleep tight." added Gavin.
AJ chuckled and shut the door, leaving them in total darkness.
Gavin and Dan sat in silence for a while, the occasional bird chirping breaking the still air.
"Gavin?" said Dan.
"Yeah"
"Do you ever think this has happened before?" he asked.
"Don't know. Maybe" replied Gavin.
"Do you think we're going to get back?"
"I hope so. I miss normal."
"Me too." With that they put their heads down on the hay and drifted off into the world of sleep.
.....................
The sunlight seeped through cracks in the barn walls, landing softly on Gavin's back. The warmth was so relaxing and calm. He dreamt of being on Earth with his friends. Recording slow mo with Dan and let's plays with his friends at Achievement hunter. He almost believed that he was there. It felt so real.
As a beam of light found a new crack in the wood, it fell onto Gavin's eye lids. He fluttered his eyes and slowly opened them, bringing him back to the harsh reality of being a pony. He cursed to himself quietly, wishing that the dream was reality. He stood up and walked over to a hole in the wall. The sun was only just peeking over the trees; it had to be too early to go just yet.
Deciding that he could get another hour of sleep, he headed back to his pile of hay and flopped down heavily. He sighed and laid his head down gently.
"Please be the same dream." he muttered as he fell asleep once more.
.................
Gavin hobbled along the path, walking stick in hoof, a flop of grey hair on his head. His hip hurt, his back ached and his skin was old and wrinkled.
"I hate it here..." he grumbled to himself. “Now I don't even have Dan” he added as a single tear rolled down his cheek.
He sat on a bench and watched the fillies and colts playing in the park. How could they be so happy? He thought. What did I ever do to deserve this?
His vision faded and he found himself on Earth, at a grave yard in Austin. He looked down on a funeral, as he floated in the sky.
"Here lies, Geoff Ramsey..." said the man stood up in front of the crowd. Gavin's eyes shot wide open.
"No! No! No! Geoff isn't dead... He can't be!" he screamed, but no one else heard.
The vicar continued.
"He lived a good life. The only thing that troubled him was the disappearance of his good friend... Gavin Free. Now their souls are together again".
Gavin began screaming wildly.
"I'm here! Look at me! I didn't leave him!" a few tears fell from his eyes as he tried to make sense of what was happening.
......................
"I'm here!" yelled Gavin as he shot up from his bed of hay, panting heavily. Dan was sat next to him, one of his fore legs patting Gavin on the back.
"It's ok Gavin, I'm here." whispered Dan kindly.
Gavin looked at Dan though watery, bloodshot eyes.
"Nightmare?" asked Dan.
"Yeah, I just want to go home. What If we never do and everyone dies without us?" he whimpered.
"You can't think like that! We will bat back" Dan assured, "that princess seems smart, she'll know what to.
Dan rubbed Gavin's back which comforted him and stopped him feeling alone.
"What if she can't?" asked Gavin.
"We'll find a way to get back, I promise."
Apple Jack as stood in the doorway, looking through the small opening. She hadn't thought of how much this had affected them inside. She realized how scared and lonely they were in this world. Something told her that she could trust then now. She saw that they were gentle and sensitive below their rather stupid shell.
She trotted inside and sat down in front of Gavin and Dan, both of them with bags under their eyes and messed up manes and tails.
"Now ya'll get up and cheer up. Ah personally promise to ya, that ya will get back home. Now if ya want that, yer better stand up and come with me. You need something in your stomachs 'fore we go to Canterlot."
Her kindness cheered both of them up and she helped them up into four hooves.
"Thanks. I feel better now" said Gavin with a smile.
"Yeah, if you have nightmares you can just tell them to stop." laughed Dan.
"Oh shut up you." chuckled Gavin.
They trotted over to the farm house and sat around the table.
"Howdy ya'll! How was yer sleep?" asked Granny Smith.
"Top, thanks for asking" replied Gavin.
"That's good, Ah'm makin' apple fritters fer breakfast." she said happily.
The smell of sweet apples danced around their nostrils.
"It smells great" uttered Dan whilst sniffing the air deeply.
"Well thank ya kindly." she said. She set the table and put a few apple fritters on every pony's plates.
They ate for a while with a nice chat going on too.
"What are yer cutie marks?" asked Apple Bloom. Everypony looked at them and they just stared back at them blankly.
"Uh... What's a..." mumbled Dan
"Never mind that, we need to go! We're gon' be late and we can't have that..." interrupted AJ hastily.
"Ok but... What is..."
"Come on!"
"Seriously what's a..."
"Now fellas!"
Apple Jack grabbed them by the hooves and pulled them through the door.
"A cutie mark is a mark on somepony's flank that shows their true talent." explained AJ. Gavin and Dan twisted their necks around to look at the small symbols on their flanks.
"Hey, mine's a creeper!" exclaimed Gavin.
"Mine's a camera and a stop watch" added Dan, "not bad".
"What n' tarnation is a creeper Gavin?" asked Apple Jack.
"A mob from Minecraft that explodes when you get close to it." explained Gavin "Hey maybe it's not such a good cute flank mark." he added.
"No it suits you for three reasons: One, you’re a creeper in the let's plays; Two, you're destructive; Three, you're sneaky." said Dan with a snicker.
"Hey! ... Well actually, yeah I suppose so" agreed Gavin.
"Ah'm so confused..." AJ mumbled.
"Never mind, let's go!" exclaimed Gavin as he and Dan set off galloping down the path.
"Oh what the hay." yelled Apple Jack with a smile as she began running after them. For two random odd stallions, they're actually pretty good she thought...