//------------------------------// // It's Time To Lay Your Sleepy Head // Story: The Oldest Lullaby // by flutterdash1 //------------------------------// Foal’s tales were fake. Everypony knew that. They may have had some basis in history, some common threads through shared pony experiences over centuries, told and retold until the smallest bits of luck were epic feats of bravado and overweight stallions with pimply faces and a gimp leg were tall stallions with flanks chiseled from stone with flowing manes of gold. It was perfectly fine, and rather natural, to believe in the stories, the characters, the morals, and even the events. When somepony tells you that a character from a foal’s story was real, depending on the situation, it is usually expected for there to be some scoffing at that pony’s attitude. Or laughter at an expected jest. It was rarely, if ever, taken seriously. When Shut Eye was told that Nightmare Moon had returned, though, he did not laugh. He did not scoff. He stood there, quietly, eyes widened with surprise. His dream had been real. More than that, he realized, it had not actually been a dream at all. Nightmare Moon had returned and shown herself to him. She had a personal issue with what he had been doing with his entire life and it had not been a figment of his imagination. Tail Wind and his parents left. They were going to go home and hole up together until this unnatural night passed. Shut Eye stood rooted to the spot. His horn tingled. Or maybe it only seemed like it tingled. He touched it with a hoof idly before shaking his head and leaving as well, shutting the door behind him. He left a light on since he would need it to see when he came back. His first instinct had been to go inside, lie down, and sleep this nightmare away, but the fact that it was a nightmare - the Nightmare - kept him from following that train of actions. Instead, he would check in on his friends. Carrot Top was the closest to Shut Eye, both in terms of where she lived and how well they got along. Even in the surprisingly dark night, with all of the streetlamps having burnt out, Shut Eye made it to her house in less than ten minutes at no more than a brisk walk. He knocked on the orange door and looked around anxiously as he waited. The lights were all on inside so he assumed that she was home. A squirrel running out of the bush beside the door startled him, but when the door opened he calmed down. Like Shut Eye, Carrot Top was a green maned pony, but her coat was more of a yellow than tan, with a slight greenish tint to it under certain lighting. Peeking out the door at first, Carrot Top was surprised to see Shut Eye. “Hey Shut Eye,” she said, looking around with a furrowed brow, “Er, kind of late for a visit, isn't it?” “It’s past seven.” he said. When her eyes widened and she looked around again, Shut Eye knew that she had not heard about Nightmare Moon’s return yet. “Can I come in?” he asked. Inside, Shut Eye followed Carrot Top to her living room where she pushed a half dozen books off of the sofa so he had room to sit. There were always books littering Carrot’s house. The day they met she had been reading a book and not paying attention to where she was walking, leading to an inevitable collision that just happened to involve Shut Eye and his moving cart. Shut Eye explained to Carrot Top his not-a-dream. Of all of his friends, she was the only one to really take dreams seriously. Even Shut Eye, who walked the dreams of other ponies, took a more cynical view than Carrot Top of a dream's deeper meanings. A by-product of being able to edit and alter dreams and nightmares at will. "So it's still night outside because Nightmare Moon is really back?" she asked after Shut Eye had told her what Tail Wind's father had said. Shut Eye nodded, but also shrugged. "I think so... I wasn't at the celebration party. I kind of hoped you would be there and would know what's up." "Ooh sorry," Carrot Top said, smiling sheepishly for a moment before frowning, "I meant to go but when I heard it was at the library I remembered that The Modern Mini Farm Guide was overdue so I came home to get it. I had a few hours to waste so I thought I'd skim through it again and... well I guess I just lost track of time because the next thing I know you were knocking on the door." Shut Eye rolled his eyes. Carrot Top was always researching farming techniques, when she wasn't actually farming. They needed to know what was going on though. "Is Zippity Zip in town?” Shut Eye asked. She would never have missed a party if she was, and if they were lucky the could get her to settle down long enough to tell them what was going on and how Nightmare Moon was involved. “Nnnno….no I don’t think so,” Carrot Top said, looking towards the ceiling for a couple of seconds before continuing, “I think she was going to Canterlot today...or maybe Manehattan.” “Oh,” Shut Eye said, now recalling that Zippity had told them she would be out of town most of the week making deliveries, “Right, I remember now.” he said, sighing. “Time Turner is probably locked up at home, and I wouldn't begin to know where to look for Berry Punch after a party.” “How about Bon Bon?” Carrot Top suggested, “I know she went to the party.” “Yeah, I could stop by her place.” Shut Eye said, “If she’s still awake.” “It’s past seven in the morning,” Carrot Top said. “Yeah, but everypony was up late for the Summer Sun Celebration party,” Shut Eye said, “I’m probably one of...maybe…a dozen ponies in Ponyville who slept for more than an hour, and probably the only one who got a full night of sleep.” “Well not a full night.” Carrot said, “You were sort of dream-vaded.” She chuckled at the term. Shut Eye rolled his eyes and shook his head, chalking the terribly lame joke up to staying up all night reading. “Leave the jokes to Berry Punch.” he said, “And go get some sleep. I’ll tell you what’s going on in a few hours.” “Alright,” Carrot said, leaning forward to the table and nosing open a book. Shut Eye pushed the book closed with his hoof. “Don’t make me put you to bed.” he said. Rolling her eyes, Carrot Top said “Even when you could use your magic you couldn't get me to bed.” She smirked but Shut Eye did give any indication of being amused at her joke. She frowned at him. and then sighed. “Fiiiiine. Bed.” She said, walking up the stairs. Shut Eye left, but he was almost certain that he heard hoofsteps quickly running down stairs again when he shut the door. He knew he would find Carrot Top asleep on her couch with a book under her chin when he came back later. The night was colder when he stepped back outside, and the air more still. Instead of getting closer to sunrise, as it had been earlier, it felt like it was getting later. Nightmare Moon’s endless night was getting deeper. Where was Princess Celestia? Surely she would stop this. He was passing the library on his way to Bon Bon’s home as a group of ponies emerged, the one in the lead reading a book as she walked. He watched them walk away and thought It’s a good thing Carrot Top isn't a unicorn, or she would always have a book in her face.