The Journals of Silas Sombra

by DreamWings

Chapter 3- Insomnia in the Institute

The wind whistled outside of Diddy's window, and, with a groan, he turned to face it. His sad eyes looked towards the heavy metal bars blocking him from the home he had once loved. The stars could barely be seen through the cloudy night, and Diddy couldn't see this as a good sign. If he had been able to see a star he could have at least had some hope that somebody was watching out for him, somewhere. But there was nopony. He was all alone, and it was all his fault.

A tear dropped down onto his cheek, followed by another. Before long great sobs were coming out of his mouth. He couldn't contain his horror any longer. Diddy had never been afraid of the dark, but now it seemed to be suffocating him. His breathing became raspy and hoarse. He had to breathe. He had to find some way of calming down. But he couldn't. Each breath made him more queasy than the last. The bars blocked out all light that could help calm him.

He was making so much noise that he didn't hear the loud click of the door, and the soft hoofsteps of a stallion walking up to his bed. Rainbow Dragon looked down onto the young draconeqous, and sat down next to him, wrapping his hoof around the shivering body of the young colt. Diddy didn't attempt to shake him off. It was comforting to know somebody was there next to him. His father used to rock him as gently as this stallion was now.

They gently rocked back and forth, Rainbow Dragon muttering kinds words in his ears, and Diddy's wheezing began to slow down ever so slightly. After a few minutes it was almost normal again, but he still felt weary. Rainbow Dragon quickly turned on his fire-fly lamp and placed it on the bedside table. He kept one hoof around the colt's shoulders, and reached for a tissue with the other. Diddy gave a valiant effort at blowing his nose, but the only thing that came out was a small streamer.

"Better be careful of that magic. You're a walking party bomb," Rainbow Dragon joked, and tapped Diddy under the chin. Diddy gave a watery grin, and a tear fell again.

"You okay, sport?" the stallion asked. His green eyes looked concernedly at the colt.

Diddy shook his head. "Want to go home," he said.

"Don't we all. But that's just not possible right now." Rainbow Dragon patted him on the shoulder. "I think I know something that might help though. Wait here." Diddy watched as he left the room, and sighed deeply when he'd gone. Tears began to fall again as he waited in the lamp-light. He looked to the sky. The bars on his window were still blocking it from him.

The door clicked again and Rainbow Dragon came sneaking through, followed by Silas.

"Couldn't sleep, Diddy?" Silas asked, coming over to his friend. Diddy shook his head and tried hastily to dry his eyes before the other colt could see he'd been crying.

"Thankfully for you, Dids," Rainbow Dragon said, standing opposite the bed, "neither can most ponies in the institution; Silas included. Maybe he could stay with you for the night; make you feel better."

"Is that allowed?" Diddy asked, in awe. He'd now rubbed his eyes so much that red sores were beginning to form around their edges.

"Not at all." Rainbow Dragon gave them a massive grin, and put his hoof to his lips. "But this can be our secret, right?"

Silas chuckled, and Rainbow Dragon's grin grew wider. "Well, I'll leave you to it. Goodnight guys. A pleasure to meet you, Diddy."

Diddy gave him a sorrowful goodbye, and watched as the stallion, with his lamp in hoof, walked out of the room and into the corridors beyond, locking the door firmly behind him. Silas stretched out on the bed, and looked outside of the window.

"Well, at least you've got a bit of scenery in your room. They wouldn't let me have a window-- or Petie for that matter."

"Why not?" Diddy asked. Silas shrugged.

"Too dangerous, I guess. We could do something stupid."

Diddy looked out of the window, and a cloud moved out of his view, leaving a small star in its place. He smiled and looked up towards it, and then sighed, remembering where he was.

"Rainbow Dragon once told me, you know, that it helps to think that the ponies you care about are looking at the same thing as you," Silas said, staring at Diddy. "Rainbow Dragon has a lot more wisdom than he lets onto. Him and Morning Glory are by far the best out of everypony here."

Diddy nodded, barely listening. "I deserve to be here, you know," he said, sorrowfully. "I did bad things."

"Didn't we all. Why do you think we all don't sleep at night? At night the memories of our past come back. Lack of medication, I suppose." Silas lay down on his stomach and looked around the room, before turning back to Diddy. "Trust me, some of the things I've done will be far worse than yours."

Diddy didn't seem very assured at his words, and Silas reached out his hoof and lifted it onto his friend's back. A caring tone came into his voice, different to his usual sarcastic style. "You know, the only reason you're here is because they don't believe it was your fault what happened. They want to help you to make sure nothing bad happens again. You-- and me-- and all the others-- we're good ponies. The main pony hurt by our actions, is ourselves. Think of NEMI as a hospital, fixing us-- not fixing any mistakes we might have made."

The two colts stared into the dark in silence for the rest of the night. Eventually Silas drifted off to sleep but Diddy stayed awake. He coughed slightly. But there was no point in trying to go get something to help his dry throat. He had no doubt he wouldn't even be offered one small glass of water.

Comments

[Calden]

He had no doubt he wouldn't even be offered one small glass of water.

I get it!

[Enderstorm]

I hope this gets featured and people look for the cool artist.

[DreamWings]

3963625 I hope so too. They really are a cool artist .