It was late at night in the town of Ponyville, and the light from the moon and stars cast shadows across the quiet town. All the residents slept soundly in their cozy beds, save for one. A small, grayish-purple unicorn filly with blond hair tossed and turned in her bed anxiously from a nightmare that was tormenting her. The blanket was becoming damp from her perspiration and tears. Just as the dream was coming to a climax, the filly gasped as her eyes shot open.
She sat up and looked around her room to see where she was. Once she safely determined that she was in her bedroom, the filly gave a sigh and slid out of her bed. She opened her bedroom door slowly, making sure there wasn’t anything outside before opening it the rest of the way and venturing into the hallway. The passage was dark, and what little light there was cast eerie shadows.
The filly trotted down the hallway hurriedly, before eventually coming to the house’s second bedroom. Poking her head in the door, she saw her mother sleeping peacefully, rays of moonlight shining over her from the window beside her bed. The filly stared at her mother, contemplating whether or not she should rouse her. However, it didn’t take her long to decide, so she stepped inside the room and closed the door behind her. She clambered up on the bed quietly and stepped over to her mother’s sleeping form, silhouetted in the moonlight.
“Mommy…” she whispered, “Mommy, wake up.”
Her mother shifted under the blankets slightly, but remained asleep. Seeing that her words were not working, the filly gently nudged her mother’s shoulder. “Mommy, please wake up.”
After a second or two of nudging passed, Ditzy opened her eyes a bit. “Mmm… Dinky?” she murmured as she leaned her head up, “What’s the matter, muffin?”
“I had another nightmare. …Can I sleep in here with you so it doesn’t come back?”
Ditzy smiled warmly and wrapped a hoof around her child. “Of course you can, sweetie.” She noticed Dinky was shivering, so she pulled the cover over her. “What was the dream about?”
“It was the same one again,” Dinky whispered as she snuggled up with Ditzy, “The two-legged monsters were everywhere, doing horrible things to everypony. I ran away and hid under my bed, but they found me… Then I woke up.”
A saddened look crept onto Ditzy’s face as she contemplated the dream. Her daughter had been having nightmares involving ‘two-legged monsters’ for months now. They had begun just a few days after Ditzy had her experience on earth with the zombies. Even now, she was not sure if what had happened was real or not, despite the scar and the sword that indicated otherwise.
However, in regards to her filly’s dreams, she came up with an idea to help Dinky deal with the nightmares. Based off her experience on Earth, she created a series of bedtime stories centered on four heroes that fought and defeated the monsters wherever they went. She even included herself in a few, so that she could explain how she had gotten the scar on her ribs. The stories helped Dinky deal with her nightmares whenever she had them, which relieved Ditzy immensely.
On the other hand, she was still deeply concerned as to why her filly was having dreams about two-legged monsters. Could Dinky actually be dreaming about zombies? If so, then how? Or was she actually traveling to their world every night, as Ditzy had done months ago? Such thoughts scared Ditzy, but she didn’t know what to do. All she could hope for is that the four heroes from her stories could help Dinky overcome her nightmares, somehow.
“…You want to hear another bedtime story?” Ditzy asked. Dinky looked up to her and grinned.
“Yeah! Tell me the one where they were trapped on the roof, fighting off the monsters until rescue arrived! …Please?”
“You really like that one, don’t you?” Ditzy asked warmly, to which Dinky replied with a nod. “Alright, I can tell you that one.”
Ditzy cleared her throat. “Ok, so there the four heroes were, atop a building so high it could reach the clouds. Their chariot had not yet arrived, and hundreds, if not thousands of monsters were scaling the building to get them. But do you think they were afraid?” Dinky shook her head. “No, of course they weren’t afraid. …I might have been a little intimidated, but I wasn’t afraid,” Ditzy said with a chuckle.
“You were there, right mommy?” Dinky asked in wonder.
“Yes, I was there. They had called the chariot so that they could fly me away and rescue me from the monsters.”
“Ooooh, ok. But you weren’t afraid of the monsters?”
“Oh no, not afraid. I doesn’t afraid of anything,” she continued jokingly. Dinky laughed a bit at her mother’s grammar.
“No mom, it's ‘I wasn’t afraid of anything’.”
Ditzy gasped. “You’re not? My, what a brave little muffin you must be.” She tousled her daughter’s hair, causing Dinky to laugh more. Ditzy looked at her filly as she laughed. It warmed her heart to see Dinky happy like this.
“So what happened to the heroes?” Dinky asked excitedly.
“Well, there we were, Bill, Zoey, Louis, Francis, and I, surrounded on all sides; their magical, miniature cannons firing into the sea of monsters, striking them down left and right. I helped them by flying around with my sword and defeating as many as I could,” she continued, pointing to the sheathed katana above the bed’s headboard, “But suddenly… a giant came out of nowhere, and began attacking the four heroes! It even destroyed the party muffins I had made,” Ditzy said ominously. Dinky gasped, holding her breath in anticipation.
“I knew that the heroes were in trouble, and I couldn’t just let the giant smash them, so I swooped in, my sword drawn, and cut the giant's arm off! Aaarrrg!” Ditzy stuck her foreleg behind her back and pretended to roar in anger. “…but even that wasn’t enough to stop the giant, so again I swooped down to help, and sliced his head clean off.”
“Did you really, mommy?” A touch of concern could be heard in the filly's voice.
“I’m afraid so, dear. You see, there was no other way to stop it before it could hurt, or even kill, the four heroes. And the heroes needed to be alive to help defeat the monsters and help people who are in trouble, like I was when they found me.”
“…Oh, okay.”
Ditzy gave Dinky a reassuring smile before continuing. “So, after the giant and the monsters were defeated, the chariot arrived to rescue us. However, as we were on our way across the roof, the evil hunter leapt out of nowhere and pounced on Francis! After knocking the hunter off, the two of them fought each-other, Francis wielding his trusty bat, and the hunter using his claws. After many minutes of slicing and swinging, Francis finally defeated the hunter. This time for good.”
“Yay Francis,” Dinky cheered quietly, “He’s the best hero ever! He’s not afraid of some stupid ol’ monsters.”
“He certainly isn’t,” Ditzy said warmly. “He and the others saved me that night. After we got on the chariot, they brought me safely home.”
Dinky suddenly wrapped her hooves around Ditzy. “That’s why they’re my heroes; they protected you from the monsters.”
Ditzy hugged Dinky back. “…I love you, Dinky,” she said, kissing her daughter.
“I love you too mommy.”
The two of them continued hugging until Ditzy lay Dinky down on the bed beside her. “You want to go to sleep now?”
Dinky nodded. “The heroes will protect me if I have nightmares.”
Ditzy smiled and kissed Dinky on the forehead. “Good night, my little muffin. Sweet dreams.” She watched as Dinky’s eyes close as she drifted off to sleep, before laying her head down and doing the same.
-
Dinky sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes groggily, and she tried looking around to gain her bearings. The moon wasn’t shining through the window, making sight near impossible. It couldn’t possibly be morning, what with it being as dark it was. So then why had she woken up? She knew she hadn’t been scared awake by her dreams this time. In fact, she didn’t even remember having any dreams.
Getting nervous from the dark, she felt beside her for Ditzy. However, her mother wasn’t there. Getting really nervous now, she clambered all around the bed looking for any signs of Ditzy.
“Mom!” she called out in a whisper, “Mommy, where are you?”
She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard an audible thud. Looking around to locate the sound’s source, she noticed a small sliver of light creeping under the door from out in the hallway. She eyed the sliver of light cautiously before climbing off the bed and approaching the door. A light yellow aura surrounded the doorknob as Dinky opened the door slowly.
As Dinky stepped out into the hallway, she couldn’t help but notice that it was somehow a lot longer than usual, and she couldn’t make out the light’s source either. As she looked down the elongated hallway, she was able to make out something at the opposite end. Taking a few steps closer, she saw that it was Ditzy and an unfamiliar figure.
Looking closer still, she could discern that Ditzy was hunching over the figure, which appeared to be a fully clothed biped. Dinky also noticed there was a red liquid splattered on the floor and walls around it. She could also hear a sort of crunching noise coming from Ditzy.
“…Mommy?” Ditzy called out nervously.
The noise stopped abruptly as Ditzy raised her head. She remained stock still for a moment before slowly turning to face the filly. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her pupils were the size of buttons. But the thing that seemed to worry Dinky the most was the red liquid, similar to that on the walls, splattered around Ditzy’s mouth and chest.
“M-mom?!”
Ditzy’s eyes lock on the filly. They looked dead, but a look of hate and malice seemed to burn within them. A look of rage grew on her face as she opened her mouth, revealing a maw of red liquid behind a row of sharp teeth. To Dinky’s horror, the monster formerly known as Ditzy lunged at her. It spread its ragged wings, having feathers and flesh missing from them, and flapped them hard to gain momentum.
Dinky, tears beginning to well up in her eyes, ran back to the room. Once inside, she slammed the door shut with her magic and dashed to the bedside table between the bed and the wall, where she curled up in fear. Suddenly, the monster began bashing at the bedroom door, causing the wood to audibly splinter and crack. A few solid slams later, and the door broke apart. Dinky turned away and covered her eyes as the demonic-looking Ditzy walked into the room, standing upright on its back legs.
Dinky could hear the thud of its footsteps as it got closer. She desperately told herself it wasn’t real over and over, hoping that it would go away. All of a sudden, the footsteps stoped, and a silence fell over the room. After what felt like ages, Dinky slowly uncovered her eyes and turned around. She looked in horror as the monster stood above her ominously, its evil, glowing red eyes staring down upon her. In the blink of an eye, it lunged at her.
Suddenly her eyes shot open as she sat up in bed, drenched in a cold sweat. Her eyes darted around the room, looking for any signs of the monster as her heart rate soared. Lying in the bed beside her was Ditzy, breathing deeply in blissful slumber. Not the evil looking Ditzy, but the normal, loving mother that Dinky knew.
Looking around a bit more, she noticed the sliver of light under the door was still there. Unsure if she was just seeing things, having been shaken up so badly by the dream, she climbed off the bed and approached it. She stood before the door for a moment, staring at the light curiously. She felt compelled to open it like before, but what about the monster? …No, it wasn’t real, none of it was. It was just a dream. But still, she decided to peek into the hallway.
She turned the doorknob gingerly with her magic, opening the door just far enough for her to be able to stick her head through. This time the hallway, while not nearly as long as it was in her dream, still seemed a bit longer and wider than she was used to. As she looked around, she noticed the bloody biped from before standing up and staring at the wall absently.
She gasped at the creature involuntarily. Hearing her, it swiveled its head around and stared at her. It’s eyes were the same as the monster’s in her dream; Dead, yet filled with hate and malice. She stared back at it for a split second before closing the door and rushing over and climbing back atop the bed, where she began shaking Ditzy’s shoulder frantically.
“Mom!” she whispered, fearing the biped would hear her, “Mom wake up!”
“Mmph, but I don’t want any cupcakes…”
Dinky continued shoving her shoulder. “Mom, wake up! There’s a monster in the hallway!”
“m- *snort* -mhuh?” Ditzy muttered, finally waking up a bit. “What is it, Dinky?”
“There’s a MONSTER in the hallway!” Dinky screamed in a whisper.
Ditzy rolled over, looking at the terrified expression on Dinky’s face. “Don’t worry muffin, there’s no monster.”
“No, there is! It’s out in the hall and it’s covered in blood, and it walks on two legs, and, and-”
“Did you have another bad dream?”
“No! well, yeah… but this isn’t a dream, and I saw it out there! It has these horrible, dead eyes…”
Ditzy’s eyes opened wider as she pictured what Dinky had been describing. “…Stay here, I’m going to take a look.”
She pulled the blanket off her and slid off the bed, not noticing as Dinky wrapped herself in the blanket. Ditzy trotted to the door quietly and cracked it enough for her to see the hallway. Her eyes widened as she saw the biped standing in front of the door, staring at her. It lunged at her, but she didn’t hesitate in slamming the door and turning the lock as it slammed into the wood.
“See? It’s real!” Dinky whispered as she poked her head out from under the blankets.
Ditzy stepped back from the door, the situation racing through her mind like wildfire. She clearly recognized the biped for what it was. This was bad… if she was back on Earth, then that meant… Her thought was interrupted by the zombie beginning to beat on the door.
She looked to the sheathed katana hanging above the bed’s headboard. As quickly as her wings could carry her, she dashed over to it and hung it over her shoulder as it had been modified to do. She gripped its handle in her teeth, taking a second to adjust her grip before pulling the sword from the sheath.
“Stay down, Dinky. I’ll protect us.” She said through the handle as she looked down to her daughter. Dinky nodded before covering herself back up with the blanket.
Ditzy returned her stare to the door, glaring at it with anticipation as she readied herself to pounce. After a second of suspense, the thumping stopped. She remained steadfast in her pose, knowing better than to let her guard down. She jumped when an explosive blast sounded out followed instantly by a hole getting blasted in the door.
“…What was that,” Dinky questioned worriedly.
“Shh, stay down,” Ditzy replied, watching the hole in the door attentively.
After a moment of quiet, a silhouette moved in front of the door. Her grip on the katana’s handle tightened as the doorknob began to turn. As the mechanism clicked open Ditzy leapt forward, knocking the figure down as she burst through the door. Having the figure pinned on the ground, Ditzy moved to stab it in the neck. However, before the blade could make its cut, Ditzy froze. She stared at the two gun barrels aimed at her head bewilderedly for a second before looking down to the figure she had the katana to.
“S-shit, Ditzy! It’s good to see you too!” Zoey stammered nervously from having a sword less than an inch away from her jugular.
Ditzy got off Zoey with a flap of her wings. “Zoey? Louis? Bill? …H-hey, what are you doin here?”
“We could ask you the same thing,” Bill remarked, somewhat flabbergasted at the sight of the pony.
“Damn man, I thought we’d lost you in the chopper crash! Where’ve you been?” Louis asked anxiously.
Ditzy blinked absently before sheathing her sword. “Uh… I’ve been home in Equestria the past few months. Though, how I got back here, I haven’t a clue.”
“Wait, you’ve been back to Equestria,” Zoey asked as she stood up, “…And for months, no less?”
“It’s only been a couple of days since the chopper crash though. How do you suppose that works?” Bill asked, genuinely interested at how such a time difference could occur.
“Who cares, man. All that’s important is that we found you before anything dangerous could,” Louis said happily.
“Well, can’t argue there.”
“M-mom… Who- what are those things?” Dinky asked from the bed, catching everyone’s attention.
“Who’s that,” Louis asked.
Ditzy turned and walked back into the bedroom. “It’s ok Dinky, they’re friends.”
“Wait, didn’t she say she had a daughter named Dinky,” Zoey whispered to Louis, who responded with a shrug.
“You know the stories I’ve told you?” Ditzy asked, to which dinky nodded slowly. “Well, these are the heroes. That’s Bill, Zoey, Louis,” she continued, pointing to the respective owner of each name, “And that’s Fran-“ She stopped when she noticed the biker was missing from the group. “…Where’s Francis?”
“Oh, we were looking over this way for any supplies, so he opted for covering the exit,” Zoey explained before turning back down the hallway, “Hey FRANCIS! Get over here, you need to check this out!”
Dinky poked her head out from the covers and looked at the group in awe. “S-so they’re…”
“Yep, that’s them.” Ditzy replied.
“…So the stories…?”
“Most of which actually happened. Particularly the ones that included me.”
Louis stepped inside the room. “Wait, what stories? Stories about us?” Ditzy was about to give him a response, but was cut short as a grey Pegasus with a closely shaven mane and a black vest walked up to the group.
“Ok, you called me here, so what’s the big deal,” he asked bluntly in an all too familiar gruff-sounding voice.
“…Francis?!” Ditzy asked, taken aback by his arrival. Francis looked at her, and the irritated look he had increased significantly.
“…Son of a BI-“