//------------------------------// // Nightmares we Dream // Story: Like a Dream // by Opium4TmassS //------------------------------// Apple Bloom hit the side of the wall as she ran from the monster chasing her. Losing her orientation for a moment she quickly gathered herself and sped down the stairs in her darkened house. "Applejack! Big Mac! Granny Smith!" she yelled out over and over again realizing how fruitless it was, no one was here to help her, she was all alone. and that creature was gaining on her. The creature collided with the wall like she did. Like water hitting the sidewalk it splashed into it, spread outwards like a liquid, then quickly poured itself back to the floor to reform back into the nightmare pony it was, continuing on chasing Apple Bloom. Resembling a collection of doll parts sewn together by hooves not familiar with the basics. The monster wore a black suit with black and white stripes running across its front legs. Its hair was black, dirty, and sticking out in odd angles. Its white glowing button eyes stared straight out keeping Apple Bloom in its sights. Tentacles shot out from its body grabbing things to help pull it forward as it chased her down the stairs. Apple Bloom could feel it coming closer, feel the presence of something terrible near to her. She hoped she could make it to the door, make it outside. Maybe get help, but mostly to just get away from that horrible monster. The creature dove towards the ground forming a puddle, then jumped again, and again, their was no doubt was its intention. It was speeding up to stop her from leaving. Crying aloud Apple Bloom reached the door, hooves around the handle she turned the knob to finally escape this horror. Only to find the knob didn't turn. It was stuck, and she was stuck with that thing. Feeling her heart in her chest, screaming crying she flailed, hitting and kicking the door in a blind panic. As she fought a door that would not open. It wasn't until one of creatures tentacles hit the door above her did she finally stop. Shivering uncontrollably she turned around to face her nightmare. The monster stood next to her with a smile on his face, extruding a long, blackened, and pointed tongue as the creature licked its lips slowly. Apple bloom closed her eyes unable to watch anymore as the creature struck out at her with nightmarish speed. "Your supposed to wake up." said a voice that suddenly appeared in her mind, cutting through her terror. Stopping just in front of her. "Wha..what? I don't understand." as she opened her eyes to see the monster standing next to her. "I chase you to a dead end, you realize that this is a dream then you wake up. Your doing it wrong...I think. Maybe I'm doing it wrong? Should we start over again?" Words jumbled out of her mouth unable to from a sentence from the shock and the confusion. The monster saw this and tried to be helpful. "Do you want a glass of water? I have heard that a glass of water helps to calm a pony down." "What is going on?" said Apple Bloom finally collecting her thoughts. "I am a nightmare. I scare." said the pony whose words popped into her mind. "That is what I have always done. I chase until you wake up. Then I leave. Simple really." **** "How does a pony pull up the sun?" asked Mercy. Watching a flaming Celestia slowly jump through the air, lighting the land, turning night to day. "I been watching it in your dreams, first she then you then Celestia again over and over. Sometimes theirs another pony. What's her name again? Oh! Nightmare Moon! Sometimes she brings up the moon too." Mercy was an old earth pony now. Wrinkled, with a grey mane hanging down in clumps. Her skin was tan from working outside in the sun all day, with cuts and scratches from toiling the soil, but her eyes and her cutie mark stayed the same. "I never seen any of this before. Well I been in other dreams were something was pulling up the sun or moon, sometimes they even had faces, or were alive and talked to me. But a pony moving the sun and the moon. How odd." They were tiny in Luna's dream, sitting on a ground with blades of grass towering over them, next to a castle that rose so high that vanished into a clear blue sky. Id now a small wooden Celestia rocking horse sat next to Mercy staring at the sky with her. "You must think of her a lot." said Id, staring out. "I see references to her everywhere." "She is my sister. I love her." said Luna "I saw one Celestia that was made of rats." said Mercy. "Different colored rats that drove the sun around, eventually becoming a giant rat when the sun set, and that other pony Nightmare Moon came out." "Rats in dreams symbolize deception or guilt." said Id, "You have done something wrong once? Didn't you?" it wasn't an accusation just a statement of facts. "I can tell you regret it as well." "Do rats dream?" asked Mercy, "I have never been inside the dreams of a rat. I have never been inside the dreams of a pony until now. So if a pony can dream it goes to show that rats can dream." As Mercy talked about anything and everything that was going on in her mind, she absently tore pieces of Lunas dream apart fashioning them to various creatures that would fly round the dream world, eventually vanishing. "You going off track Mercy." said Luna gently, "You need to keep focused on what you are talking about. It can be hard to follow you at times. And to answer your earlier question yes I do have guilt. I did something wrong and paid the price for it. But that was a long time ago." "But you still think about it." replied Id "It will probably take me a longer time to get over it." Mercy said nothing as she tore off another fragment of Luna dream. This time she held the piece next to her mouth, licking it. "I can taste the sadness, and another flavor, hope. Hope to overcome your mistake, and fear that your sister secretly doesn't forgive you. How strange to have all those emotions in one little pony." "You can also taste dreams I see." said Luna curiously "Not just taste them. I can also eat dreams becoming one with me. Whatever memories that made the dream I can now read, whatever feeling you have I can now feel. I don't understand it myself. It's just something I do." "Was the trip to the library helpful?" asked Id Luna just smiled, not wanting to talk about the constant conversations going on in her mind with the two of them. her days filled with. "What is that?" or "Why are they doing that" and the explanations that followed did not help at all. Luna wondered if this is what went through crazy ponies brains. "Nothing much, but I did find some references to the Carney." "Anything that can help us?" Id asked. "Not really. It just said he's a creature that resides in the dream world that he is a very dangerous monster. How long has he been chasing you?" "Almost since I came to be." "He seems to want to eat her." said Id "Eat her? Why would anypony want to do that?" asked Luna surprised and horrified at the thought." "I couldn't say. Only that he wants Mercy badly and has been chasing us around the realm of dreams for a long, long time." "I don't think I'm supposed to be here. I think I'm a mistake." said Mercy absently. "You know I was once in this dream where building grew out of giant ants that sang songs. I had fun jumping from ant to ant, they even taught me their songs. want to hear one?" "Maybe later Mercy. But can you tell me what makes you think your a mistake?" "These images in my head. They show me things of a once was. Its me but it's not me. Its a was me but at the same time it wasn't me. I can't explain it better than that. But theirs part of another in me. That part is gone and she is never coming back. This I know, but I feel echoes of her sometimes. Images of another doing things I don't understand. I feel a great loss and it upsets me greatly. Everything feels wrong when I think about her, makes me really sad, so I just don't. It's easier that way." The three of them sat for awhile longer in silence watching the Celestia and Luna run across the sky. Luna felt Mercy wasn't ready to talk about it, so she decided to take her someplace to help her open up more. "Would you like to see the dreams of other ponies?" "That would be very nice of you." replied Id. ***** "So let me get this straight." said Apple Bloom. "Your a nightmare and you travel from dream to dream scaring ponies?" "Yes that what I am, or was. I think, it can be confusing at times." said the nightmare doll pony. "What is your name?" "I remember someone calling me something long ago. What was it again? Oh yes. Eureka! My name is Eureka!" "Your name is Eureka?" smirked Apple Bloom Eureka extended his neck until it was inches away from Apple Bloom's. "You don't like my name?" It asked. "No! No! Eureka is fine." she added quickly." I'm Apple Bloom by the way." The creature retracted his head back to its body. "It is a pleasure to meet you Apple Bloom." "Your pretty polite for a nightmare. I have to admit your not what I expected." "I don't understand. Should I be anything else?" "Have you always been a nightmare?" "Yes. Yes? I remember...being a nightmare for as long as I have been: Remembers chasing a girl slowly changing to a woman as time went past. Always coming out from time to time to hunt the girl/woman down the same corridors, the same hallways. Always about ready to catch her, always ending just as she was about to wake up. This was going of forever until one day the girl/woman vanished. And for the first time a thought appeared in his head. "Why?" He didn't understand it but it kept pestering him as he jumped from dream to dream doing what he always did. But the thoughts of "Why?" never stopped coming, now added with "Who?" and "How come?" "You ok?" asked Apple Bloom. "I'm sorry if the question is bothering you." "It is okay." replied Eureka shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "It just brought things I don't understand. Anyway I want to see more of this world, Equestria. I would like very much to head outside." A tentacle shot out of his body, grasping the door handle firmly as he slowly pulled it upward. "Oh you can't go out their." said Apple Bloom the door is locked ti..."she was unable to finish her sentence as the door swung freely open. Stepping out into the bright sunlight that quickly darkened becoming a cloudy starless night. Apple Bloom was shocked to see the farm become ruined and lifeless before her eyes. Watching the lush apple trees wither and die, and her home rot away to become a decrepit shack. "It's me." said Eureka answering her thoughts. "I change things when I am around. It is not intentionally, but I can't stop it. For what it's worth I am sorry." "That's okay." said Apple Bloom. "It doesn't have the same effect once you know your in a dream. So I guess well have to make the best of it." As the two of them headed to the town made of dreams and nightmares.