Dreams & Nightmares

by TheUnknownPerson

VIII: Freedom

Author's Note:

Getting this one out a bit late. I wanted to get it out on the 20th, but oh well... I hope you enjoy this one regardless.

Pinkie took in a deep breath of the air in the room, welcoming the scent of the fresh, humid Las Pegasus air and the chirping of the birds outside. She got out of bed and excitedly trotted downstairs, hoping to meet Cheese or somepony-- anypony to celebrate with. Thankfully, Cheese was sitting down on the couch, drinking some sort of red liquid in the glass. His accordion was sat beside him.

"Oh, hello Pinkie. Good morning!" Cheese said. Pinkie rushed over to him and hugged him tightly. After days of only seeing Pinkamena, Cheese was a fresh breath of air for her. She stiffened, a bit surprised by the sudden outburst of energy from the pony who'd been seemingly drained for the past couple days.

"Uh... Pinkie? Are you feeling all right?"

"Oh Cheese... I'm so happy that I'm here. Thank you for letting me stay here." Pinkie said as she let go of him.

"Ok... great." Cheese said as he sipped from his glass, still a bit confused. Pinkie sat down beside him.

"What's up?" Pinkie asked as she lightly bounced up and down on the couch.

"I'm kinda sad right now. A stallion and I were planning a party, but he just canceled it out of the blue. Nothing is more disappointing than a ruined party."

"Sorry. I know how that's like, trust me." Pinkie said. Cheese smiled at her act of sympathy.

"Oh-- it'll be fine. In the meantime, I could tell you about that party I went to last night again."

"Sure!" Pinkie said as she sat down beside him, almost bouncing in her seat.

=================

Marble's hooves bounced in anxiety. Even though the whole day had gone by painfully slowly and was fairly uneventful, she still couldn't help but be worried. Igneous was sitting beside her. He seemed disheveled. His mane, usually straight down his neck, stuck out to the sides and he had black bags under his eyes, showing his exhaustion.

"Hello, father." Marble straightened her pose in her chair and combed down the back of her head, some of her mane standing up.

"Huh... oh, hello dear." Igneous wiped her eyes and yawned quietly.

"I-is everything all right?"

"Yes. Your mother and Maud are fine, and your sister is asleep. The nurse said she'd bring some food soon for breakfast."

"Okay"

"I'll have to go back to the farm soon. Your mother needs her glasses and Maud needs a frock for when she wakes up. I needed to get some bits anyway."

"Okay. D-do you need some sleep? I can watch them if you want to get some s-sleep."

Igneous didn't reply, simply staring at Maud.

"Father?"

"Huh-- no. I'll be fine dear. Thank you." Marble nodded. He turned back to Maud, staring at her.

Beep

Beep

Beep

Father must be worried about them. He hasn't slept since we got here.

"Father?" Marble asked again. She was beginning to get a bit worried. Her father wasn't the type of pony to ignore somepony, let alone his own daughter.

He's acting so strangely... almost like he's guilty about this or something.

Igneous still stared blankly at Maud.

"Father?" Marble asked, the usual timid pony raising her voice.

"What, dear?" Igneous asked impatiently.

"A-are you all right?"

"Yes. I'm fine."

"Are you worried a-about mother and Maud?" Marble questioned. Igneous sighed, wiping over his eyes and brushing over his mane.

"Yes." Igneous lowered his head slightly, but he still kept his eyes on Maud.

"I am too."

"I should have done something..." Igneous said quietly.

"W-what, father?" Marble asked. Igneous shook his head.

"Nothing," Igneous said as if he were trying to evade her question. "Nothing at all.

Marble glanced away from him for a moment. Her face flushed.

Why can't I just keep my mouth shut? He clearly isn't comfortable. Be quiet--

"Thank you for your concern, dear. But I don't want to talk." Igneous said as he glanced at the door, then back to Maud.

"O-okay, father."

=================

"Aw... I wish I would've been there. DJ Pon-3, streamers-- sound so fun!" Pinkie said as she heard of the amazing party Cheese went to last night. She barely was able to contain her excitement.

"Yeah... you really should've been there. You seemed a bit down yesterday."

Pinkamena was in control then, so that makes sense. Thank Celestia that she didn't hurt anypony while I was trapped in there.

"Well... I kinda missed my friends. Don't get me wrong; I've enjoyed being here with you, but I just miss my friends back in Ponyville." Pinkie said, somewhat truthful.

"I can understand that. Sometimes, I miss my parents from Manehattan. We don't get to talk that much anymore." Cheese said as he looked down somberly.

"Yeah..." Pinkie said. The room was with an uneasy, almost awkward tension in the room.

"But look on the bright side!" Cheese thoroughly broke the silence. "We've got each other for company! There're plenty more parties to go to! And we could pass the time with my accordion!" Cheese said excitedly, picking up his accordion and beginning to play.

"Yeah!" Pinkie said, Cheese's excitement filling her.

"C'mon, let's go to the park or someplace. That'll help us. And my accordion's still allowed in there."

"All right. So long as we have some fun, lead the way!"

=================

Marble bounced her hind-hooves against the ground nervously. Her mother and sister were still asleep, and Igneous Rock was still watching over them, guarding over them like his life depended on it.

Beep

Beep

Beep

Marble looked over to Maud. Her worries began to become more predominant in her mind.

"F-father, is Maud go-going to be all right?" Marble asked, looking for some form of reassurance.

"I hope so, dear."

Beep
Beep
Beep

Marble looked up at Maud's heart monitor, the origin of the sound. The bad feeling in her stomach traveled up into her heart. After a moment, the beeping returned to normal.

=================

Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich trotted down the sidewalks of Las Pegasus. She was excited to be free once again and actually do something to relax her for a change. The sun was overhead as Cheese and she searched around for something to do.

"Let's see... I think the park's down there." Cheese pointed in between two buildings, a wide gravel path towards a fenced area.

"All right. Let's go."

"Hopefully they've cleaned up everything. It usually get's trashed overnight from ponies partying."

"What all is down there?" Pinkie asked. Cheese put his left fore-hoof up to his chin.

"Well, it's been a while since I've been there, but I'm pretty sure they have a path that leads through the park, a swing or two for the foals, and a lake."

"Sounds fun."

"I'm so glad we're getting out. Get's my mind off of Pinka--" Pinkie covered her mouth, stopping behind him. Cheese turned back, staring at her. His ears had fallen to his head, and he seemed confused.

"Who's that? I've never heard of her or him before."

"Nopony. Just somepony who was mean to me in Ponyville before I left."

"Oh... sorry." Cheese turned away as they continued on the gravel path.

Perfect... I had to bring up Pinkamena.

"W... what did she do to you? Is she the reason why you left Ponyville?" Cheese asked. Pinkie stopped, the question putting a damper on the already weakened conversation. She remained silent, uncomfortable with the topic.

"Never mind. Sorry."

"No... it's all right. I-I'll tell you about it..."

"Her name was Pinka- Diane. She first came into town when I working at Sugarcube Corner. We actually were friends at first. She was really mean to other ponies, but I'd usually distract her by telling lots of jokes. I even threw her a party one time." Pinkie said. Cheese listened intently.

"... but then she began to pick on Fluttershy-- one of my best friends. I tried to stop her at first, but it didn't work most of the time. Then, I finally confronted her about it. Pinkamena turned on me and began to bully and pick on me along with Fluttershy and a lot of other ponies."

"I-I felt trapped-- I was trapped. Whenever I'd go out, she'd always be there to hurt me and Fluttershy. Then one day I saw her hitting and beating up Fluttershy. I rushed up to her and tried to pull her off, but she just pushed me away and began to punch her more and more. She beat me up, but it was worth it to try and help Flutters. Even with my help, Fluttershy had to go to the hospital. I managed to push her off of me and she looked at me and said, 'You did this to her'..." Pinkie said, trying to keep her emotions under control.

"... she tried to convince me that she made me angry enough to make her do this."

"You couldn't have caused her to do that!"

"Yeah... I know. But somehow, she actually convinced me at one point. I actually went to the hospital and tried to apologize." Pinkie said, putting one of her hooves to cover her quivering lips.

"She had me trapped in Ponyville, feeling guilty. But after many days and weeks of abuse, I finally worked up the courage to stand up to her. One day, I finally stood up to her. She tried to beat me up, but I sort of, kinda-- in a way, shot her with my party cannon." Pinkie said. Cheese looked a bit shocked for a moment. He burst into a fit of laughter.

"Nice!" Cheese managed to say after a minute-long laughter. Pinkie smiled.

"Yeah. I ran away from Ponyville and I didn't stop until I reached a rest area outside of Ponyville. That's when I called you and asked you for a place to stay. Thanks for that, by the way."

"You're welcome. I just wish you would've told me sooner... and I'm sorry that all that stuff happened to you."

"Sorry... and thanks."

"No problem. Now, let try and relax."

"Yeah... let's go find somewhere." Cheese said as he and Pinkie began to walk down the street again.

=================

Marble Pie paced back and forward, unable to shake the bad feeling. She felt like something terrible was going to happen.

"Marble, are you all right?" Limestone Pie asked as she stood and trotted over to her worried sister.

"I'm nervous."

"Oh... I am too." Limestone said. Cloudy Quartz looked over to Marble, causing her face to flush immediately

"I-I feel like something bad is about to happen."

"It's all right, dear. We're going to be fine." Cloudy said comfortingly.

Beep
Beep
Beep

Marble looked over at the heart monitor, the beeping making her nervous.

Beep
Beep
Beep

Marble became more and more nervous.

Beep

Beep

Beep

Marble stared at the monitor for a moment more, before sighing in relief. She giggled as she bent down.

Thank Celestia...

Cloudy groaned, causing Marble to turn back to her

"Mother?"

"My hoof just started burning." Cloudy grabbed her left hind-hoof.

"Do I need to get the nurse?" Igneous said, standing.

"J-- just grab Nurse Redheart. Just in case." Cloudy said. Igneous nodded and stood up, trotting out into the hallway. Thankfully, Nurse Redheart was passing by. Igneous trotted out and stopped her.

"What's the matter?" Nurse Redheart asked. Igneous lead her into the room.

"Sorry to interrupt. My hoof is burning."

"All right. Let me take a look." Nurse Redheart trotted up to her, inspecting her hoof. Her hoof was noticeably darker. Nurse Redheart's eyes widened.

"Sir, you need to take your daughters out of the room. They don't need to see this." Nurse Redheart said. Igneous nodded, signaling for them to come. Marble stared at her mother.

W-what?

"Hey, wait. What's wrong with her?"

"We missed something. Now please leave. For your mother's sake and your own."

Marble nodded and trotted out of the door, while Limestone had to be lead out by Igneous. He shut the door behind them, and leaned against it from the other side, inside the room.

"What's wrong? We can't just leave her in there!"

"Sh-she'll be fine--"

A painful howl echoed from inside the room, startling both Marble and Limestone.

"What's going on in there?" Limestone asked, knocking on the door. Another groan came from the room as something splattered against the ground.

Another painful howl. Tears pooled in Marble's eyes.

"Mother?" Limestone called into the room, knocking a little louder.

"No, no, no..." Marble repeated, her heart skipping a beat. She slid down the wall, sitting beside Limestone.

A painful yell echoed in their ears. Something metal fell to the ground, making a clank against the ground. Tears rolled down Marble's cheeks.

"What the hay is--" The door opened, and Nurse Redheart stepped out, her fore-hooves splattered with blood.

"She's all right now. There was a piece of metal in her leg. Sorry about the confusion." Nurse Redheart said. Limestone and Marble quickly entered the room, looking for their mother. She was laying in bed, her left fore-hoof now colored. Her coat around her left fore-hoof was dampened, freshly cleaned. There were blotches of blood on the ground beside her bed. She smiled, albeit a bit disingenuous. It was clearly forced.

"Hello. Don't be worried, my darlings. Just a little scare is all."

Marble immediately rushed up to her, hugging her. Limestone stepped away, staying beside her father.

"It's all right dear. Everything's fine. We're all going to be fine."

=================

Pinkamena sat in the small trench. She hadn't tried to regain control, she hadn't retorted at Pinkie, hay, she hadn't even spoken since Pinkie had beaten her. Her chest throbbed, both in pain and sadness.

"Maybe she's right," Pinkamena questioned. She held her chest. "It wouldn't be easy..."

"I've been in so much pain because of the memory of my wings... so much anger..."

"I'm so confused... why can't I just forget it all... I'd prefer if I faded away. So many bad memories have been brought up."

=================