//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Strange Dreams // by BronyWriterCentral //------------------------------// “Right, now I’m done with you” I said as I stood up next to the corpse of Night Glider. Her white lifeless eyes staring at nothing as blood continued to drip out from the wounds I’d inflicted. The bullet cartridges scattered before her as I turned around and started to walk away. “Piece of fuckin shit” I uttered to myself as I looked back over my shoulder. Night Glider’s mouth was moving, only slightly but it was moving. And it was trying to mouth some word. Surprised, I turned around and inched closer towards her. Pulling the gun up and aiming down the iron sights, just in case. Suddenly, Night Glider’s mouth curved upwards in an impossible smile and her body started to jerk and convulse. A sadistic laugh escaped her mouth and her body slowly levitated upwards, my gun following her the whole time. Her body jerking faster and faster. Her neck then twisted around so that her head was upside down, a sharp shard of bone ripping through her neck and jutting out as the skin tore around it. Her mouth opened and “What de hell are you?!” I yelled in horror, firing off a few rounds into the abomination that was in front of me, convulsing and twitching violently. Another laugh escaped its mouth as lumps on Night Glider’s body started to appear. Then, these lumps burst and black, matte tentacles stretched outwards and whipped around Night Gliders body. “Ohh fuck!” I yelled, disgusted at the sight in front of me. I put over my eyes to shield them from the monster hovering before me, its lifeless eyes still fixed on me. I refer to it as an ‘it’ because the way it moved and looked was nothing like the Night Glider from before All of a sudden, it lunged forward and an echoing shriek came out of its mouth as it opened it jaws. A glint shining off its sharp fangs. It got closer and closer enveloping all of my vision, the only thing being heard was the horrible cry it made. -------------------- “Gah!” I yelled as my eyes shot open and I was catapulted from the couch onto the floor. The nightmare making me jolt in surprise. The pain of falling onto my shoulder slowly coming forward and showing its presence. “Oh, God” I said quietly as I brought my hands to my face. “What de hell was dat?” I removed my hands from my face and looked at the clock on the wall, half past five. I didn’t feel tired though, the nightmare making me feel like I couldn’t shut my eyes. Since I didn’t think that I could fall back asleep I decided to make some breakfast. I slowly rolled over and pushed myself off the ground, a slight weakness in my shoulder due to just falling on it. I walked into the kitchen and looked in the top cupboard for a plate. I rummaged around for a bit noticing the amount of plates in the cupboard and how they were stacked messily. “I really need to clean dis out” I muttered to myself, my hands finally finding a plate. I grabbed the plate and pulled it down to the bench below, hearing the soft tap as it made contact with the bench. I opened the fridge and saw the carton of milk that had been half drank. I grabbed it and placed it onto the bench next to the plate. “Now where’s de coffee?’ I asked myself as I looked around every cupboard and drawer but couldn’t find any coffee. Then I realised that coffee wasn’t available here. Due to the fact that it doesn’t exist. I mentally slapped myself and placed the milk back into the fridge, letting out along sigh. I opened the cupboard next to the fridge and looked through it for anything edible that was also to my taste. But I was too distracted from the earlier jump scare that I couldn’t focus on anything but that final image of the terrifying Night Glider darting towards me. “Ah fuck it” I muttered as I closed the cupboard and put the plate back into the place it came from, the other cupboard. I needed to clear my head and the only way I could think of doing that was to go on a walk. Didn’t matter where, I just needed to go for a calm and relaxing walk. Maybe look at some scenery or talk to someone. Just, anything. I ran my fingers through my hair and rubbed my eyes, before walking back to the couch and grabbing my jacket. I was still in my original clothes as nobody in this area could make me anything to wear, they were starting to wear out after a few weeks of being worn. I slid it over my body and zipped it up, before turning and walking to the door. Grabbing the cold doorknob and twisting it in my hand. The door opened inwards and I was hit with a cold breeze. I turned around and closed the door quietly behind me, and then made my way down the paved road passing by the house. The morning sun shining bright in the sky. -------------------- I slipped my hands into my jacket’s zip pockets and soldiered through the cold wind, my eyes protected by the gold aviator sunglasses with a pearlescent blue and purple lens that I found in my jacket only a couple days ago. “God damn, dis wind is not letting go” I muttered, spotting a hillside overlooking a beach. That’s where I decided to head. When I reached it I spotted a park bench that was a mix of metal and wood, the metal rusting in some areas and the wood chipping, obviously rotting. The wind started to die down, much to my hair’s delight, and the calming sounds of the waves crashing below filled my ears. I took a moment to let everything slip from my mind and tried to concentrate on the sound of the beach scene below. Before I walked over to the bench and sat down, the wood creaking underneath my weight. This was probably the first time it had held up something like me. I rested my hands on the back of the bench and looked up at the sky, noticing a couple pegasi playing around with the clouds. Turning them into funny and interesting shapes, such as a tree or a heart shape. The pegasi flying in rhythmic shapes, whittling down the cloud into the shape they preferred. I hummed a tune to myself and let the surroundings relax my mind and calm me down. The pegasi laughing and admiring their creations as they joyfully flew through the sky. My thoughts were interrupted by a creaking sound from the other side of the bench, I didn’t pay much attention to it and continued to watch the pegasi cut down clouds. “They are quite playful for such a cold day aren’t they?” A female voice with a mid-strength british accent said to the left of me. “Yeah” I responded nonchalantly, not wanting to start a conversation. “Pardon me, but aren’t you that new person that everyone’s talking about?” the voice asked. “Well I look very different den you all don’t I, so yes it does make me noticeable” I uttered. “Well, I’m pleased to meet you. My name’s Octavia Melody” the voice said. That name, I remember that name somewhere. It was at a performance I saw her in. She was playing a cello that was taller than her. I distinctively remember how amazed I was at how her hooves could hold a bow and maneuverer it over the strings in an amazing performance. I tilted my head back down and looked to the direction of the voice. Sure enough, a grey earth pony with a dark charcoal, wavy mane and tail was sitting next to me on her haunches. Her mouth forming a small and welcoming smile, her eyes half closed like when I first saw her. A white collar with a purple bowtie secured around her neck. “Oh, your dat pony that plays de cello right?” I asked, staring at her elegance even though she was just sitting on a chair. “Why then, I guess you’ve seen me perform” Octavia chuckled, bringing a hoof to her chest. “Sure have” I agreed. Octavia removed the hoof from her chest and asked, “Hey, do you mind if I just shuffle a bit closer to you?” “Uh, yeah sure” I said, watching as she inched closer to my hip. “Sorry, it’s just that it’s really cold” Octavia said, finally making contact with my hip. “Anyway, I didn’t grab your name. What is it?” “David, David Lucieto” I said proudly, clinking the rings on my fingers together. “Well, hello David” Octavia said cheerily with a slight smile on her face. “Why are you out this early, is that a normal thing for your culture?” I frowned, why does part of my brain have to be thinking about this nightmare at some part? “Oh I just had to…clear my mind about something” I said, trying to avoid talking about it. “What was it? A nightmare? A breakup?” Octavia questioned. “Second choice is right” I muttered, looking back up at the flying ponies above us. This time they were both sitting on a cloud, talking to each other. “A nightmare, really? What about?” Octavia pushed curiously. “About Night Glider” I sighed, wiping my face. “Is she the one that found you?” Octavia asked, flicking her mane back as it was in her face. “Sure was” I answered. “What about her, in the dream I mean” she corrected herself. “It was pretty much me killing her. Dat’s about it” I said briefly, not wanting to talk about the latest dream. I took my hands off of the back of the bench and leaned forward, resting my elbows on my thighs. “Wow, pretty grim” Octavia exclaimed, surprised. “I know. What I don’t know is why I would kill her or what motivation I had behind me. But it’s a dream, not a real thing” I reassured myself, probably not Octavia. “I don’t know David, have you had any more events similar to this?” Octavia asked, tapping into the conversation I didn’t want to start. “No” I lied, hoping the problem would die down. Octavia looked at me with a look of considerable doubt on her face, like she knew I was lieing. “Well anyway. Since we’re on the topic, what do you think of Night Glider?” Octavia asked, earning her the new nickname of Questioner. “What do you mean? Be a bit more specific” I asked back, turning my head to face her. Starin into her lilac eyes. “Do you like her as a friend or do you like her as something deeper. Like you could see yourself spending your life with her” Octavia explained, better defining the question for me. “Well since you put it like dat. I do like her as a friend, nothing more and nothing less” I said. “Are you sure?” Octavia questioned, cementing her new nickname. “Yes, I am” I answered coldly, starting to doubt myself. I was starting to like Night Glider, not in a ‘have a relationship’ sort of way, but she did save my life after all. “I can’t push you. But you should start taking an interest in her. Who knows you might get lucky” Octavia replied with a wink. “I don’t know, de whole relationship thing still sounds a bit alien to me. Considering dat you all are like a different species to me” I said, thinking about what life would be like if I fucked a horse, making me chuckle mentally. “Oh you’re no fun” Octavia complained, nudging my shoulder. “You’re sitting next to a beautiful mare looking at a beach setting while the mare is asking you about your relationship status, and you tell her that you think the act is foreign” I reconsidered my thoughts as she said that, maybe I should try and ask Night Glider on a date or something. “Well I’ll think about it. But right now I’m trying to get to know everybody and everything here” I said, expressing my general thinking at the moment. “I know, take your time but just remember. My thoughts are telling me that Night Glider is the one for you. And also-“she stopped as she hopped off the bench, shivering slightly as moved away from me. “Don’t worry about that dream, and if it happens again then don’t worry about that. Well I need to go so if you see me again, we should talk some more. But bye for now” “Alright den, see ya” I said, waving to her as she trotted away. Watching her tail bounce slightly as she walked away. She stopped a couple meters away from me and turned, her mouth slightly open. “One more question” she started. “What?” I said. “Why do you talk the way you do?” Octavia asked. I snorted with laughter and rubbed my face with my hands. “Everyone has been asking me dat question. It’s because my tongue moves to de top of my mouth when I say ‘t’ and ‘d’ sounds. I was waiting for you to ask dat” I explained, smirking. “Oh okay then. That explains a bit. See you again” Octavia waved a hoof and walked in the opposite direction. “See you later” I muttered to myself. I sighed and leaned back, stretching my arms out and hearing the cracks as my bones popped in their sockets. Should I go out with Night Glider? Yes. Yes I should. She’s the only pony here that seems to care about me, following the past couple of weeks. I stood up and stretched my legs. Taking one final look at the beach and turning to walk back to the house. Where hopefully Night Glider was waking up.