Fireflies

by ytsebrony20

Chapter Three: The Nightmare

Chapter Three: The Nightmare

The sun had set and Luna did her daily parameter check. But once the necessities were out of the way, she wasted no time in flying down to Ponyville to find Firefly. Only when she got there, she realized that Firefly didn't tell her where she was sleeping.

Luna closed her eyes to sense Fireflies presence. It was drawing her towards Apple Acres. She moved towards Applejack's house, thinking she was staying in there, but the signal got weaker. Looking around to see where else she could be sleeping, Luna noticed the barn. The door was slightly ajar.

Peering inside, Luna found a sleeping Firefly, lying on a pile of hay; she looked frightened but did her best to try to fall asleep. Luna used her magic to help the process; Firefly's body relaxed, finally in a state of deep sleep. It was time to see Firefly's dream.

Luna found herself deep into the Everfree Forest. It was muggy and damp. Besides the endless noise of bugs buzzing around; the only thing breaking the silence were a couple of voices.

"Are you sure it's around here?" a stallion voice asked.

"Yes, I've been through here a billion times. It's always here," replied an older mare.

"I think I found it mom!" exclaimed an excited filly. Luna knew that voice to be Firefly's. A quick look at the older ponies, she assumed to be her parents. The stallion had a light brown coat with a brown mane poking out from under his fedora. The mare looked a lot like Firefly. She had a light blue coat with a blond-yellow mane that flowed gracefully around her neck.

The filly crouched down looking at an odd polka dotted mushroom. She sniffed it, and then sneezed. "That stuff tickles."

The mare laughed. "You better not eat it," she warned, just as Firefly was about to take a big bite out of it. "I use that for medicine. Just by itself it could be dangerous, but mixed with the right ingredients, it makes a very powerful and helpful medicine."

The stallion lent his machete to the mare. She used it to cut the roots of the mushrooms, freeing it from its tight grasp on the soil underneath. 3 big mushrooms accompanied by a bunch of smaller ones filled up her saddlebag quickly.

Firefly wandered off, but not too far away. She knew not to stray too far from her parents on an expedition through Everfree Forest. She sniffed some more interesting spices and herb growing from the ground, but then her nose picked up something rotten. She recoiled, upon further inspection; the scent reminded her of bad eggs.

"Mom, there must be some rotten eggs around her somewhere. They are stinking up the place."

The mare and stallion jerked upright, staring at their daughter with distressed eyes. The mom spoke softly and calmly. "Sweety, come here. Slowly. Don't make a sound."

"What's the problem?" Just as Firefly said that, she heard a snort from behind her. Her legs shivered as she turned her head around to look at the source of the noise. Staring down at her was a pair of menacing dark green eyes. Those eyes belonged to a timberwolf. Droll dripped from its hungry lips, waiting for the perfect moment to hunt down its prey.

Firefly knew not to make loud noises in the forest, it might attract fierce predators. But seeing as the predator was 3 inches away from her muzzle, she shrieked.

"RUN!" The mare shouted. Firefly did as she was told, moving just in time, narrowly missing the jaw crashing down. This timberwolf was not alone. Two more appeared, each going after one of her parents. The stallion had taken back the machete, attempting to fight back the wooded wolves.

The timberwolf had chased Firefly to a fallen tree. The log was old and hallow; a perfect place to hide. Firefly took the opportunity to dive into the log. Hidden from the danger, she allowed herself a moment to breath.

Poking her head out, she looked back at the spot they had been attacked. Her parents laid dead on the ground.

"No…" she whispered. Tears streamed down her face. Things were silent, all of the timberwolves had fled. Until…

RAWRR!!!!! A claw had reached in, wrapping around her, digging into her chest, stopping her heart.

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"Ah!" Firefly jolted up right. This is how her nights usually went. But this time, Luna was with her. Firefly felt so cold, and longed from something warm. Like a child going to her mother, Firefly had fallen into Luna's arms, crying. Luna enveloped her, insistent on protecting her from the intangible but very real nightmare.

Firefly stayed in Luna's arms for a while. When she finally calmed down, she sat back on the bed. "I'm… I'm sorry you had to see that."

"No, no, it's fine," Luna said. "It answers a lot of questions. But at the same time, it raises a lot of questions. Maybe you should explain the whole story."

Firefly nodded, and began her tale.

"We were in the Everfree Forest to get a mushroom that Mom needed for her job. She specializes in medicine for a hospital in Baltimare. Once every summer, my parents would take a train to a town outside the Everfree Forest, leaving me with a foulsitter. Normally, I wouldn't be allowed to come, but they promised me that when I turned ten, they'd let me go with them. They told me about all of the things to keep me safe in the Everfree forest. Stay with the group, don't run too fast, don't make any loud noises, don't eat anything. I remembered all the rules. But nothing could have prepared me for a timberwolf attack.

"When my mom told me to run, that was the last I ever saw of them. I assumed they died, that's what my nightmare keeps showing me. I was able to hide away in the log. After the timberwolf left, I ran in the same direction. I didn't care where, I just kept running. Eventually I found myself in Ponyville. For a couple of days, I got by sleeping in the Apple's barn. When Applejack caught me, I thought I'd be dead meat, but she was very nice to me and allowed me to stay in her barn, as long I don't cause any trouble.

"But, I have been staying here ever since. I gave up on sleeping and just enjoyed the night for what it was. Seeing the fireflies dancing out at night gave me a sense of security. I felt safe."

Luna could easily fix her sleeping problems; her magic could expel the nightmare and replace it with a sweeter dream. But now Luna sees a much bigger problem. Her parents could be alive and well. They could be out there somewhere, mourning for the loss of their daughter just like Firefly is about her parents. Luna would not let this go by.

"I will make sure you will never have this nightmare again," she told the mare. "But understand this. I believe your parents are alive, and I will find them for you."

The filly's face lit up. To hear that her parents could be alive was more than good news to her ears. Before Luna left for the big task ahead of her, she laid Firefly back onto the hay bed. A horn touch to her head assured that the nightmare was gone for sure, replaced by a dream of dancing fireflies.

Seeing that almost all was well, Luna left the young filly. Now she had a mission, one that she was not intent on failing.

Author's Note:

All I did was fix the issue with the cities; now more accurate to the canon map.