Good Night... Sleep Tight...
“Good night, sweetie,” said the colt’s mother. “Sleep tight.”
“And don’t let the bed bugs bite,” finished the colt’s father with a grin, before he was batted on the shoulder by his wife.
The colt’s mother hovered over the bed to kiss her child atop the head, the thick covers pulled right up to his chin. “You get some sleep now and we’ll be back before you know it. Your father and I will be at a friends’ house just up the street.”
The colt nodded along, feigning sleepiness, stretching out his jaw in a yawn as he blinked heavily.
“Okay,” the colt said. “Have a good time.”
“We will,” said his mother. “Sleep well, now.”
His father smiled again. “And remember what I said about those bed bugs, bud.” He snapped his teeth together playfully. “They bite!”
Now the colt’s mother did more than tap his father’s shoulder. It made him wince, before he laughed. The door to the colt’s room shut tight and he was swallowed whole by the darkness, the only light in the room coming from the small nightlight in the corner: nothing more than a candle held in a painted glass jar.
The colt rested his head against the pillow, waiting for the sounds he knew so well.
Hooves against wood. His parents on the stairs.
The tinkling of metal. His father fishing his keys out of the bowl.
A tight snap and a click. The front door closed and the lock spun.
And then nothing. And a whole lot more nothing.
And just when the “lot more nothing” was about to turn into “even more nothing”, the colt in the bed swept aside his covers and dashed from the room, taking the stairs two at a time. He hummed to himself as he slid across the kitchen linoleum, breaking into a whistle as he upended the cookie jar on the counter and went to work determining how many heart-shaped sugar cookies he could snatch without getting caught.
He thought two was too little. Four was too much. So he settled on three and chased them down with a long pull from the jug of milk in the fridge. Contently, he sighed as he wiped the milk from his lips and began to clean up. Then he smiled, as his father would sometimes smile at the dinner table after he’d thought of something funny in his head that he wouldn’t dare mutter in front of his mother.
“A little harmless fun,” the colt’s father would tell him later, with the mother safely in another room.
And that’s exactly what the colt was doing that particular night alone. Having himself a little harmless fun. Three cookies. A glass of milk. A few bounces on the bed. It’s not like the colt’s stuffed animals were about to rat him out to his parents.
One jump. Then two. On the third bounce, the colt landed on a pillow and rolled off it, giggling as he went. The springs in the mattress creaked and groaned; the headboard lightly tapped against the wall in a steady rhythm.
The colt might’ve not even noticed the opened window if not for the thin layer of sweat on his forehead, all at once chilled by the night air’s cool touch. Had that window always been open? he thought, but for the life of him couldn’t remember. He’d been so preoccupied up until now, mentally hurrying his parents along—faster, faster please! Looking forward to extra cookies and milk and the simple freedom that came with being able to make all the noise he wanted in the house for an hour or—
“Ow!” said his bed suddenly, and the colt stopped jumping up and down at once.
His bed did not speak again, but that didn’t mean he was about to start bouncing on it like he’d just been doing. With a tiny gulp, he climbed off the mattress to stand near the door. He’d made sure to leave the door open, in case his parents came home much earlier than planned and he had to unexpectedly dive back into bed. He turned back to face his dimly lit bedroom.
Through the open window, he could hear conversation and noise from the street below. It sounded like at least half-a-dozen ponies in metal garb trotting in all directions, barking orders left and right, one voice straining to be heard above another. And with every shout went the colt’s fear and trepidation. Someone outside had made that noise. Because beds couldn’t talk, right? They didn’t go “Ow” when you bounced on them too hard, right? That would be absolutely absurd.
But what about the things that lived underneath beds?
The colt used a badminton racket he had received for his birthday to carefully—and most of all quietly—stick it under the bit of blanket hanging off his bed. Then like some magician’s reveal, he whipped it upward.
The colt yelped. But it was short one.
No terrifying monster lay in wait for him. No sharp claws. No sixteen unblinking eyes. No ruby red lips or bony joints or scabby knees. But there was something under his bed that hadn’t been there before. The colt was sure of it.
It was a teddy bear. A great big one that looked even larger than the colt; its button nose mashed into the underside of the bedframe as it aimlessly stared upward. Had the colt forgotten about its existence entirely? That seemed rather unlikely. It was just earlier today that he’d been searching around this very same room for that extra gold bit he just knew he had but couldn’t find.
So had his parents stuck it down there? he wondered. As a surprise for him to find? Or for next year’s birthday, perhaps? But wasn’t that still five months away?
He thought on that, and as he did he reached to his bedside table to turn on the lantern there. Then he dropped it right back down with a loud clank once he glanced back under the bed.
The large teddy bear was staring at him now; its head laying flat against the floor in his direction; its black button eyes sharply glinting in the harsh lantern light.
The colt gulped again, then flat out shrieked once the teddy bear burst into a cloud of ashy darkness before disappearing whole. The void left under his bed was almost like a miniature blackhole; a pool of jet black nothingness that not even the light from his lantern could pierce. Until its eyes opened…
“Do not be afraid, young one,” the thing under the bed said, in a soft, measured tone.
Sadly, the colt was indeed afraid, yet there was something about the monster’s eyes that quelled him. The eyes were huge—a brilliant turquoise and bright green, shimmering as if made from glass. Just staring at them felt like being in a small, shallow pool. Cool. Safe. Innocent. Entirely protected from harm.
Its echoed voice only added to the sensation of being trapped in a dream that one could not escape from.
“Don’t tell me you don’t recognize me?” it asked the colt with a clear hint of amusement. “Your parents were just talking about me, after all.”
Not taking his sight off the immense eyes floating in darkness, the colt stuck out two hooves in search of the lantern again. Once he had it, he slammed it down to the floor to cradle in his lap. He didn’t know why, but it just felt good to have something between him and what lay underneath his bed.
“Are… are you…” the colt managed to stutter out, his throat all at once as dry as the sugar cookies in the kitchen downstairs. He steeled himself before asking, “Are you a… a bed bug?”
The Bed Bug only smiled at him, raising the corners of its mouth without showing any teeth. With the added light, the colt was able to see much more of the creature—bug—living underneath his bed than before.
The Bed Bug had hair the same color as its eyes, with skin the same shade of black as the shadows that surrounded it. The colt couldn’t tell how many limbs it might’ve had, but saw at least two connected below its chest. Both had many holes in them, as did the sharp and jagged horn atop its head, gently scratching the bottom of the bed mattress as its head moved.
“I am not merely a bed bug, my young friend,” said the thing under the bed. “I am the Bed Bug. The very last of my kind, in fact.”
The colt didn’t know if he was supposed to be astonished or just sad, so he simply shook his head up and down in a spastic manner. He gulped again. His throat remained parched.
“Okay,” said the colt. “Umm… I’m really not sure if I should be talking to you, though… my parents left and—”
“Good night… sleep tight…” the Bed Bug spoke, as if only to itself, “don’t let the bed bugs bite.” Then its haunting eyes focused on the colt again. “Do you know the rest?”
Truth be told, the colt did not. That was as far as his parents ever got. He was about to explain exactly that when—
“Wake up bright in the morning light… to do what’s right with all your might.”
The Bed Bug smiled at him again, seemingly careful to keep its teeth hidden.
“Rather pretty, isn’t it?”
The colt nodded. He thought he’d agree to basically anything the Bed Bug would say to him by this point. “Do I get a gift?” he asked suddenly, surprising even himself by the odd question.
The Bed Bug raised a thin brow. “Is the pleasure of my company not enough?”
The colt held tighter to the lantern on the floor. “Oh… I just meant… are you kinda like the Tooth Fairy?”
“The Tooth Fairy?” said the Bed Bug, chuckling deep within its throat. “My, oh, my, child. The Tooth Fairy and I are more than different. While she works in the world above the bed, I work below. In the shadows. Among the dust bunnies and all the things lost and forgotten.”
The Bed Bug absently flicked at a marble that sat near its forelegs. When it did, something small and metallic jingled behind it. It sounded like there might’ve been a whole lot more of them back there, too.
“As the Bed Bug,” it continued happily, “I see to it that all ponies in the land, do, in fact… have themselves a good night… and do indeed… sleep tight. Because you know what happens when the Bed Bug visits you and finds you not fast asleep? When it finds you wide awake and instead bouncing atop its head?”
The colt couldn’t focus on any proper response. All his attention had been stolen by the numerous sharp fangs inside the Bed Bug’s smiling maw. It had finally displayed its teeth for him. And it was terrible.
“We bite!” said the Bed Bug, with a sharp clamp of its teeth each time it spoke. “And we tear! And we rip and we gulp! And then we wake up bright in the morning light, with our bellies stuffed with just enough!”
The door downstairs clicked and pushed inward. This sudden noise, accompanied by the wildly cackling creature before him, finally seemed enough to get the colt to his hooves and out into the hall. As he trotted down the stairs—three at a time now—the Bed Bug’s mad laughter hurriedly died away until he couldn’t hear it at all.
His father hadn’t even begun searching for the gift they’d forgotten to take before his son attacked his leg and ushered both parents upstairs. As they went, the colt’s speech was nothing more than gibberish mixed with tiny intakes of air.
“Bed Bug! Under… bed! It… bites! It—”
“Happy with yourself? What did I tell you about all that bed bug nonsense?” said the mother. “Now look what you’ve done to him.”
The father rolled his eyes, carrying the colt on his back up the stairs. The colt only rambled on. His parents had to understand what they were up against.
“Its teeth were huge! And it said that they bite… and tear… and gulp and—”
The colt’s words fell away like a sandcastle hit with a tidal wave. There was little more than candy wrappers and broken toys left to be found underneath his bed. Following that, he made his father search inside his closet, and even behind the headboard.
“See? No bed bugs,” said the colt’s father. “They aren’t real, son. It’s just something ponies say before they go to bed sometimes. A silly rhyme, is all.”
The colt could only nod, rather glum and unsure. Had he actually imagined it?
Hesitantly, he turned to his bedroom window and found it shut tight, as if it had never been left open at all.
***
Again, the colt lay still in his bed, listening for the sounds of absolutely anything at all. Only now was he solely concentrated on the act of sleep and nothing else: the hooves gripping his covers aching from the strain, his eyes shut so tight he was seeing spots. Yet he budged not an inch. Nor dare whisper a word.
Even when the Bed Bug hovered over his heated head.
“You've returned,” it whispered, so softly the colt was almost sure it had come from his thoughts. “Well, then, sweet child, to you I say… good night… sleep tight… and don’t give me reason to return.”
The Bed Bug then carefully planted a single kiss atop his head, and the colt gripped his covers even tighter than before, sure it was all some trick to get him to open his eyes or speak. Again, the colt heard something small and metallic happily jingle away in the darkness. Thousands of them, perhaps. It was only when his window suddenly slammed shut that he jolted out of bed and scrambled to find his lantern again.
He flicked it on and found only himself in the room. Again, he searched under the bed with the aid of his badminton racket. He stared in amazement at the ten golden bits bearing the Princess’ likeness left there, standing in a neat, tidy column. Without another thought, the colt scooped them up and hid them away in his sock drawer, right near the back where his parents wouldn’t search.
Even the Tooth Fairy never gave him that much for teeth.
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I love it! It works better to give me goosebumps than Goosebumps ever did. Not dark enough to really need the Dark tag, no need to really make it longer to qualify for a thriller or a mystery, Teen rating works well, I almost want to recommend Slice of Life but that probably would not float here.
Random will have to do for now. Unless you add more spooky chapters of foals coming across The Bed Bug!
That was a very satisfying story. I liked how you made Chrysalis creepy yet caring and kinda motherly at the same time. I would've went a somewhat different direction with your ending but it was great nevertheless.
Unexpected. Interesting. Intriguing.
Can we have more?
Huh. Not really sure what to say, other than the fact that I like it.
And, after discovering what changelings are, I can see this particular colt spending a good chunk of his life studying them.
I quite enjoyed this little fluffy bit of story. Have a like and a fav!
Theres a like. Nice idea! Really intriguing.
(reads description)
i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/909/389/15e.png
8184821
:| ... *pushes "X" to Doubt* :|
Good lord, the cover art matches the title too well
I'll give it a go later
Heh, this was cute, I liked it. Also faved.
We need more Chrysalis fics
I very much enjoyed the way you portrayed Chrysalis.
We Don't get enough creepy Chrysalis fics.
Now, that, good sir, was very well done! It was short, simple and enjoyable to read... all the parts of a good and pleasant little story. Keep up the good work, and have my like and fav!
Chrysalis: "I used to be the conqueror of Equestria, then I took some love in the knee. And the rest of my body. Now I'm demoted to a bed bug..."
8184408
Exactly! Creepy mother-of-monsters Chrysalis is cool. (Except when she's lurking beneath your bed...)
8185328 8185656
Yes! We need more Creepylis!
I haven't read it yet but that cover picture is definitely spawned by the devil.
Now that I have read it my opinion of the picture has not changed, however, I do think that it ENTIRELY appropriate.
8185656
Hmm... Chrysalis as Aglæcwif, and interesting idea!
*Alondro peers under his bed* Chernglerng... *sprays it with his trusty can of DDT illegally acquired from China*
You can bite me all you want, Chryssie
This feels reasonably "in-character" for Chrysalis. She's a cunning, manipulative, schemer who very well might convince a child to keep her a secret. If he feels the need to hide the money, he'll hide it's source as well.
They're climbing in your windows - snatching your people up!
That was a tasty read.
You know you could do a whole Chrissy origin story around that idea, where her species found out it was better to eat love than fear, or how some of them branched off and still feast on fear, while Chrissy's clan eats love.
On another note, is that an extra book under my bed? It doesn't look familia-
Hey derp, nice to see you at it again. That was a very enjoyable mix of funny and creepy there. The kind of thing I really could imagine as a Grimm's fairy tale of sorts. Liked it.
Swinger's evening out?
Uh ... maybe I shouldn't be reading this fic with where my mind is at.
Not sure if shoddy construction, or really bouncing hard enough to bend the frame that far.
... Yeah. *zips mouth closed*
I'm pretty sure that's never, ever worked.
Shouldn't that be Wake up bright?
That actually sounds like the opening for a really cool super hero origin story. Which this sadly isn't.
Cancellation of swinger's night at the neighbors?
Awww.
If I were him, the rest of my life would be filled with nightmares. Fantastic story!
And thus we see the TRUE power of the Changeling Queens!
Money.
Nice! Oh I liked this one!
It was well written, only a few spelling errors ( I can't really pick at those cause I suck at spelling) Chrysalis was well within her character. all in all it was an enjoyable, fun, creepy story that I wouldn't mind reading a gain for fun. Jolly Good job sir! Jolly Good!
Hitting some hard times after getting dethroned, huh Chryssie?
She just wants to be loved.
that was beautifully written, and yet it was both adorable and creepy as hell....o.O....I like it. and want a sequel....
This was good.
This would have made an amazing horror story.
Dear God I love you! No homo.
It's me! THREE DOG!
This is fucking great
That was slightly horrifying.
I'm reminded of the birthday skeleton for some reason.
http://booksandbeers.tumblr.com/post/113917375443/just-btw-guys-this-was-made-by-me-it-d-be-rad-to
8188444 That's what I was aiming for. Slightly unnerving. Or just weird.
8188416 Thank you!
8187157 Updated child labor laws really took their toll on poor ol' Chrissi.
8186705 Oh my god! It's will-i-am! No, wait... I remember you!
I was going for more "storybook" style. Like really vague and simple. "The colt's dad said... the colt's mom said..."
8186390 Ain't nopony got time for that!
8186023 Oh, you.
8185766 I spent a long time searching for that cover art. That was the "less" dark one.
8185337 Thanks!
I had four hours to write a story. Four-and-a-half hours later, this is what came out. (I was late for an event. 
) No time to question yourself if you don't got the time!
8185265 No. We need more Sombra fics.
8184554 That sounds awesome. And would he search out Chrysalis after figuring out she's a Queen and not a bed bug?
8184408 The ending changed at the last minute. As did the middle. I sort of just ran out of time and went with whatever seemed easier. How would you have ended it, if I may ask?
8184395 I wish there was a "STRANGE" or "WEIRD" tag. RANDOM also works, but it's mostly connected with comedy stories. And a sequel? How would that work? More kids to tell to get back in bed?
And everyone realizes Chrysalis stole some of Celestia's bits, right? And was hiding out in a kid's bedroom until the guards screwed off, right? And was having some fun in the meantime? Right? Right, right?
8189322
Well, if you were to do a sequel... Children gossip, tell stories, and now a little colt has some bits to back up the existence of 'The Bed Bug'. The last bed bug... What a sad story right? I mean, being the LAST implies that at one time there were more. What happened to the other bed bugs? Were they once called bedtime bugs but then as more naughty children kept staying up past their bedtime that they simply became bed bugs known for their bite? Is there somepony who HUNTS down these bed bugs and is now looking for THE Bed Bug?
Can the collective tales and nightmares of little foals create another Bed Bug out of dreamstuff? Just barely slipping past Luna as the princess comforts another foal? Imagine a pony-like bug made up of pure darkness with the exception of it's eyes and teeth, struggling to get out from beneath a child's bed, with a distinct clicking buzz she cricks her neck just so and examines the shivering foal on the bed. "Oh? A blanket not tucked quite tight enough? Here, let me get that for you. Sleep nice and snuggly warm..." Another sickening crack and she's traveled from one foal's bed to another's. That's how she gets around you know. The shadows beneath the bed are her little portals. She goes around checking for naughty foals to chastise, and perhaps for something more...
What sort of critter goes around checking beds for naughty foals? Well... She is the LAST bed bug. And if she's not there to devour you... Well maybe your parents will wake up to find something else in bed. Somepony who behaves more, and is desperate for their parent's love. Yes, what a good little foal that does not stay up past their bed time... While the Bed Bug works on her latest addition to her brood.
8189322
Him too!
8189322 Unfortunately I have the literary ability of a drunken emu or I would attempt to write an Adventure/Mystery out of it.
Also, regarding the cover picture, I gave this mental image of a Jolly Rancher floating just off screen to Chysalis' right. And it makes me giggle.
8189307 What was the other one?!
I would've went something like when he's laying in bed, Chrysalis comes in disguised as his mom and she gives him a cookie and says the whole goodnight and sleep tight deal before letting her disguise flicker letting him know who she really is then she says the don't give me a reason to return part and walks out. But like I said, your version is great the way it is.
Methinks Chryssy might be a bit lonely and misses being a hive mother.
8189307
8189434
I find myself in agreement, just what was the other one?
>Chrysalis implying that her biting you is a bad thing
8189681 I find myself strangely agreeing with that
8189738
8189434 This one.
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