Among The Nightmares

by Spirit Of Fantasy


Chapter 5:Light At The Tunnel's End

Chapter 5: Light At The Tunnel's End

Screams rang through the metal of a big red tunnel, all too familiar to those that survived through the darkness. Only there was only one last survivor to a world of darkness and nightmares. He slid through the metallic red tunnel a free child, but in no sense of celebration. He screams were not of freedom or happiness, they were merely screams of fear, and loss. For he held only the bottom halves of two little friends who sacrificed themselves just for him

He dared not gaze upon the light of freedom at the tunnels bottom, his eyes were focused only to his lost friends. They were gripped tightly in his small hands, their topless bodies drag on the metal behind him. It was the most heart aching thing he had ever seen, it brought tears to his eyes knowing his friends were gone. He was alone, and vulnerable to the darkness that still existed in every corner he looked. Finally he gazed towards the light, and closed his eyes to brace.

The darkness his eyes watched while closed began to light up with orange and white. He felt the remaining metal under his flank part from him as he flew out of the tunnel and landed on a soft surface. The light was glaring upon him as he tried to open his eyes to whatever world he appeared in. He thought for a moment that he could very well be back in a world of nightmares. Then again the nightmare world couldn't possibly be this bright and gentle.

His eyes opened and began to fight the light that filled the whole place, and this place felt all too familiar. The soft foam puzzle mat under him currently, and the chirping of birds he could see from a window sill. Right next to that window sill, he could see his own crib over turned and broken to pieces. He breathed in with pure shock, and quickly began scanning the area he was in. His eyes adjusted to the wondrous light that glimmered from the windows and smiled solemnly.

He was back in his old bedroom, and it was a mess for certain. A broken crib, toys scattered everywhere, his big dresser overturned on it's side and on the verge of collapsing to pieces. He moped and sighed at the destruction that laid before him before looking behind him. He found his closet still standing and the apparent spot where he emerged from, though it was cut up. He stood up on his two little legs that trembled with desires to smile at his apparent freedom.

Only to be ruined the moment he looked to his sides and see his destroyed friends, their stuffing littered the floor and hurt his heart. Yet he still held them as his eyes watered once and forced him to sniffle as he hugged them. He did his best to not to realize that they were gone, yet the tears began to flow as he looked to the floor. Slowly he began to move with his friends in tow right to the door to leave his desolate bedroom.

His eyes gazed at the floor as he went into the hall way on a new mission, find his parents. He still refused to trusts the things he had seen, and just maybe his parents were still with him. He needed to find them before he could truly be safe again, he looked to the ceiling. He waddled and sniffled and fought the desire to cry as he held his two little friends in his arms. He whimpered and fought for a feeling in his throat that forced out his true first word.

"Mamma!"He squeaked to the sky and hoped for an answer to his cries.

To his calls, there came nothing to answer them for the sake of his comfort. He continued through the hallway and looked to the scratched up walls the dark one had caused. He choked on sobs that fought to be heard only to become whimpers. He began passing the bathroom and looked in to see it destroyed as well, this dark master was certainly no stranger to destruction. He looked away and continued on towards the stairs where he saw clothes littering the place.

He was hesitate to journey down them, but after all the stairs and heights he had climbed, they were easy. With one tiny step he began to journey down the steps and suddenly wrinkled his nose to a weird smell. It smelled like pennies and garbage, and as he went further and further down the steps, it got stronger. He coughed once and almost sneezed at the odor before he was nearing the end of the stairs. Once again he found that tiny voice in his throat and made another word.

"Mamma! Daddy...!"He cried with a strained voice that could now learn to form words.

He pushed through the rancid smell as he got to the bottom of the stairs and looked to the new hallway. Littered with broken vases and plants, tables overturned and broken, and a closet leaning against a wall with busted doors. He continued on and waddled pass the broken vases with his friends still with him. Even now they still were valuable to him and he didn't want to be without them. Suddenly he crouched and saw something in the living room, it was large and not moving.

He switched to a crawl and went under a down coat rack before he saw blond hair on the object. Once he made it to the living room entrance, he could see that it was no object. It looked to be his father laying on the ground out cold, but around him was an unnerving stain of red on the rug. Aiden however did not care, a smile formed on his face and his smile grew at the sight. He panted and ran to his father desperate to hug him and be comforted by his own blood.

However as he approached the face planted man, he was struck with the strong rancid smell. He dropped against his father, and the man didn't move an inch from his warm hands. He shook his head to fight the smell as he snuggled his father and shook him to wake him up. But his father still didn't move, this worried the boy as he kept shaking his dad. He whimpered and squeaked for his daddy to wake up, but he never did.

Finally the boy began pushing to roll his father over and see his face, it took a few good pushes to start. He grunted and whimpered before putting his friends down to get a better grip. He put his back into it and finally got his father rolling from his belly and onto his back. He was then scared by the sight of his father's cold and pale face staring to the ceiling. Aiden backed up and gasped as he looked to his horrible looking parent and noticed a deep red line covering the mans neck.

Red liquid leaked from it while the man laid motionlessly, just like how the shadow showed him in the last world. He gave his father one more shake to wake him up before he finally gave in. The boy backed away and the tears were coming again as he now realized the inevitable. His father had been killed in the struggle with the shadow, and his mother was still missing. He bit his lip to resist the quaking sorrow in his heart.

"Daddy..."He turned away and whimpered in pain at his father's death.

Tears fell from his face and hit the wood floor before him as he looked up towards the kitchen. Before he knew it, he noticed what looked like feet laying at the entrance to the kitchen, quickly he gathered his friends. He widen his wet eyes and ran in an instant to see what it was, it may very well be his mother. He panted and moaned rapidly to reach the kitchen as fast as his legs could carry him. He sniffled and made it to the entrance and scanned the kitchen on sight.

The kitchen was also destroyed by the dark one during the night, nothing left in one piece. Accept for what he found laying right next to him on the right. His eyes widen as he saw the body of a woman laying on her back motionlessly. He waddled over to the woman while stepping over broken pots and silver wares. Before he knew it he met with the woman and confirmed that it was indeed his missing mother. His heart had then stopped, seeing a second pale face on the woman as she laid limp on the floor.

He dared to move closer to his mother and shake her to wake her up from her eternal sleep. He put his hands to her side and shook her harder, only moving her head and showing an injury on her neck. Black and red bruising was around her neck, pieces of black rope strains were stuck to her throat. Just like what he saw happen to her in the shadows next illusion. He fell to his knees and gave his mother one last shake.

Her last words echoed in his head while he watched her laying dead before his small eyes. Tears continued to stream and redden his eyes as he came to realize she wasn't waking up. He whimpered and sobbed, his hands released his bottom half plushies before they curled into fists. A mix of growls and moans filled his voice as he began to break down in front of his mother. He was truly alone, no father and no mother.

As he finally cried loudly through the kitchen, he felt hope begin to snap apart. He cried with tears of agony and a breaking heart within his chest, he fell to his bottom in a pout. His cries of pain became that of loneliness and sorrow, he sniffed and stuttered with uncontrolled sobs. His friends dead, his parents dead, and he was alone, he kept on thinking in his mind. He stared at the ground and wept a great while, for almost minutes without end.

It seemed hope had finally died within him, with his home in ruins and no one to protect and love him. He felt like it was the very end for him, and all he could do was lay on the floor in devastation. His misery went on as his crying lighten, but did not stop. He cried for his parents and they didn't answer, his innocence felt drained and death could very well be an answer. He sat up and sobbed a little bit more as he grew tired from his grief and his eyes were heavy.

He sat there ready for whatever fate could take him, the corners of the kitchen that castes horrible shadows. The stench that could rot his flesh from it's smell forcing into his nose, starvation, thirst, anything. Only something else had suddenly arrived and knocked on his houses front door. He jumped and looked to the hall way the door was knocking from. He swallowed a sob and believed it to be the great evil coming for him.

His steps were weak as he lifted himself up and took up his broken friends. He waddled to the entrance to the hall way and sat at the entrance before looking down at the floor. This was how he wanted to end it, he closed his eyes and waited for the dark one to come. He closed his eyes and held his plushies tight in his little hands. He waited for the snarls to come, the claws that would tear him apart, the jaws that would consume him.

He heard the door slowly open as it creaked in his ears and made them twitch as he grit his teeth. He wanted the end to come now, right now on the spot, quick and painlessly. Only thing is, the end never came from him even when he heard heavy steps coming to him. His head trembled as he braced for something to strike him down, and there was indeed a touch that came. This touch however was not of evil sort, and it felt all too gentle to hurt or even scare him.

He whimpered as a strange furry round appendage touched his chin and lifted it from the ground. He felt fur, soft plushy fur and a round appendage much like a hoof. A hoof came to mind, and it began to light something within his heart, only two beings had such appendages. He reached to touch it and felt a large fore arm of soft fur before his eyes slowly began to open. He then felt a small touch hit his forehead and give him a small kiss before a giggle sounded.

"Aiden...! We missed you sweetie. We were so worried about you...!"Came the chirping voice of only one friend who owned that motherly voice.

He looked around as his eyes tried to focus in the light of the sun before a tall white face looked down to him. The very white face of a beautiful Alicorn pony, wearing a crown of gold and matching jewelry. It was the very same face that belonged to his friend Tia, and this time, the face had a real smile with glimmering purple eyes. It just had to be Tia, but he was still confused, how did his friend become this beautiful white mare that stood before him.

"Is he here sister. Is he truly ok?"Came the next familiar voice of his other little friend.

In came Luna herself, only she too was a large living version of the friend he knew. Her face was real and smiling as he was suddenly picked up by Celestia. He was amazed by the size of the true Celestia as she brought him close to her chest. She smothered him in a deep embrace that widen his eyes and sent another stream of tears rolling from his cheeks. While he barely noticed Celestia letting a tear loose from her eyes.

"He's ok Luna. He's here..."She hugged the boy keeping him guarded in her arm.

"Aiden,"Luna got a glimpse of his little blond head and rushed over before kissing his head and nuzzling it,"Thank the elements...! You're safe...! Oh Aiden...!"

"We got him sister... He's safe now... I only wish we could say the same about his parents,"Celestia kissed Aiden before passing him onto Luna and venturing into the kitchen,"We shouldn't have took it so far, but the parents laid down their lives to protect him... I only wished that they had trusted us with him..."

"What happened is a tragedy... Their sacrifices won't ever be forgotten,"Luna spoke softly while she watched Aiden quietly crying into her chest before she rocked him a bit,"It's ok Aiden... The monster is gone. We can protect you now sweetie... We won't ever leave your side, we promise to take GOOD care of you."

"Indeed... Now that we have Aiden, there is a future of happiness for him, and a new hope for his race... The "Equine Humans..."Celestia had closed the eyes of the parents so they could forever sleep in peace.

"Aiden... You're going to be just fine. We're going to take you to a beautiful and happy place,"Luna promised as she got him to look up at her before she smiled at him,"You'll be safe... You'll have a family with me and Tia... And we'll never leave you all alone..."

"Speaking of which... You lost these in the struggle with the shadow,"Celestia had suddenly came to him and lit her horn up with a golden glow,"We know you have the bottom halves of them so we can reattach them for you..."

Celestia had then suddenly pulled from her back with a gold wave of strange light, the top halves of his plushies. He looked to the bottom halves that rested in his hands before he presented them to Celestia. She had then taken them up into her golden glow and placed them properly together with the top halves. His eyes widen before he saw the tears in the plushies fixing and coming together. It looked as if they had never been ruined in the first place.

He could only smile in Luna's arms as his toys were made whole once more and completely fixed. Slowly Celestia gave them back to the child to hold, he wrapped his arms around them and settled in Luna's arm. His misery had tired him out, and he had not slept for quite some time now. His eyes were heavy and a yawn escaped his lips before Luna gave him a small shush. She took one last look to the kitchen where the parents remained and looked to her sister.

"It's time to go sister... The portal is waiting for us, and home awaits the return of the first Equine human in ten thousand years,"Luna suggested to Celestia before looking to the door,"We mustn't keep them, and I feel that Aiden wishes not to be here any more. This place is nothing but bad memories to him now..."

"I agree Luna. Let us take heed and depart for home... Our home... And his true home,"Celestia agreed and stood by his sister before looking back to the devastation,"Forgive us... Please be at peace knowing that Aiden is in a safer place..."

With their last respects paid to the brave parents that died protecting Aiden, they began to leave. As Aiden hugged his newly repaired friends. He looked up to the true friends and for once was able to truly smile at them. The sacrifices they made for him, the love they had for him. The care they had for him was that of a parent, and something he could be at peace with. He began to drift off to sleep and watch as he left his home and was taken off to a new one, a place his breed truly knew as home.