Night Mares and Daydreams

by Dreams of Ponies

Chapter Six: Circumstance

It was huge!

The biggest, juiciest hunk of magnificent mango I had ever seen.

And it was all mine!

It hung beautifully from an enormous vine, swaying in the wind.

‘Mooooony… I’m all yours…’ I imagined it saying as I stepped up to the edge of an endless gorge.

Clouds scurried away from me like little rodents, revealing the biggest, bluest sky that ever blued. My wings opening with a swish. I wiggled my rump, and took to the air.

“I’m coming, mister mango. Don’t worry, you’ll soon be inside me!”

My tongue lolled out as I beat my wings, eyes locked upon that beautiful green-yellow piece of perfection. The clouds beneath me transformed into small, wizzing, white raindrops as the wind blasted past me. Closer and closer I got, licking my fangs in anticipation.

“Moony!”

I swayed as a huge gust hit me, my wings having to flap even harder to correct my course. I was soooo close I could taste it.

“Moooooony!”

My hoof stretched out, just grazing the shining beacon of tastiness. The world turned upside-down as I found myself falling down into the cloud, just short of my prize. I fought against the air, the gleaming fruit falling away from me. The last thing I saw before the world faded to black was the full moon above me. The mare in the moon shifted as my vision faded, and if I’m not mistaken, gave me a little wink.

---

“Moony!”

I snorted hard, sputtering awake as the high ceiling of the castle came into view. Blinking blearily, I turned to face Daddy, who wore an amused smile.

“But mango…” I moaned, slumping back against the saddlebag I’d used as my pillow. “It’s not fair!”

“Dream-based desserts are the worst… because in the end, your stomach is still empty.” Daddy stepped over, brushing my mane as I sat up. He held a small cloth up to me and chuckled. “Must have looked delicious, though, because that’s quite a bit of drool there.”

Blushing slightly, I took the cloth and wiped below my fangs. Jeez, do I always wet the bed?

The crackle of a dying fire drew my attention, and I found myself sagging my wings. “I fell asleep again, didn’t I?”

There was a warm chuckle before Daddy rubbed my ears with a hoof. “Like a light.” He stepped back toward the small fire, pushing in a few twigs we had gathered ahead of time to feed the flame. When the crackle was once again merry, he settled down against his saddlebags. “Moonrise is in a few hours. Daddy… needs to… slee…”

And just like that, Daddy had dropped off into dreamland. Looking around the throne room, I spotted the hated symbol of the sun etched into many walls, ratty tapestries, and even the seat of the throne itself. I had been listening to Daddy finish his story of the two princesses, and well… story time just had this way of helping me find the magical land of shadows and dreams… and mangos.

Words floated back to me as I stood and stretched, reverberating off the walls of my mind like the echo of the castle itself.

“And the younger of the sisters fell into the shadows of jealousy and despair, neglected by both the world and her older sibling.”

I closed my eyes briefly, frowning as I thought back to my response. “I knew the sun was evil, stealing all the glory that belongs to the night!”

There had been laughter, but… it hadn’t felt like the good kind.

We had set up our little camp just after moonset, and if Daddy’s internal clock was wound correctly, I’d been out for a long while. I turned and watched the rise and fall of Daddy’s chest, his dark coat blending almost perfectly into the dust-coated marble.

“You could’ve waked me up, silly Daddy.”

He turned over, moaning slightly as his hooves gripped around his pillow. A moment later, the sound of the entire forest being cut down escaped his mouth.

Okay, it was almost that bad. I smiled and shook my head, turning in search of something to do. I knew I wasn’t supposed to go far, but like sleep, boredom comes fairly quickly to me.

“To the library!” I let out, spreading my wings. There was a heavy grunt behind me. I glanced backward, cringing as I watched Daddy shift once… twice… then resume his impressive snoring. “To the library,” I said again, much more quietly.

Just in and out. I flapped my wings as I flew down the familiar hallway, empty save for the dusty pony statues. I just had to grab a couple of books and then I’d be right ba--

Something floated past me in a small, glowing field. Squinting against the light that invaded from several nearby windows and cracks in the huge castle, I made out the shape of a large book bobbing through the air.

“What?” I blinked, then blinked again. “What!?” I flapped hard, sailing towards the levitating literature. “Hey!” I shouted, hooves out to grab the hard-cover tome.

As if sensing its imminent capture, the book dipped below me, flying away towards an open doorway. I gave a low growl, then screeched into the halls.

“That’s my book!” My fangs glistened in a stray beam of light. “And I’m going to read it!”

The chase was on.

---

It must have been a book on some crazy form of magic. It had to be!

I dipped, ducked, twirled and flung myself over old furniture, through hallways and up and down at least two flights of stairs before falling to the ground. I gasped for breath, my wings beating weakly as I watched the book bob up and down towards some uncertain area of the castle.

“You… You’re not a very nice book,” I snarled, struggling to my hooves. “I bet you’re not even educational!”

The book paid me little if any attention as it passed over a banister, flying silently down into a chasm of light. I hissed, my eyes following along the amber light that flowed through the top of the broken tower. Grunting heavily, I wrapped my hooves around the wooden railing, pulling myself up, and then over.

“Screeeeee!”

Down the pit of hellish light I flew, wings spread as my shadow fell upon the fleeing book. I stretched my hooves forward. Closer. Closer… “Gotcha!” My hoof smacked the corner, sending the cover spinning onwards even faster.

“Gahhhh!” Pulling up a moment before I hit the ground, I leveled out just parallel to the cracked stone floor. The book was still on the move. I beat my wings ever faster, pushing through what looked like an old kitchen all while ducking and diving past old barrels and cooking pots. The tome of how-to-tease-a-bat ducked through a hole in a door on the far side, though I only noticed the door just before I plowed through it.

“Owie! Splinter! Owie!”

With no time to cry over my dire wounds, I pressed forward. The old basement kitchen led out into a cave, one that I found rather comforting even as my heart pounded. Soon I found myself having to squint. Not from lack of light, but from the abundance of it as the tail end of the wretched day destroyed my night vision.

“Screeep!” I finally caught sight of the elusive book as I averted my eyes from the dusky horizon, the tome having followed a steep drop off almost perfectly. And so I dove, my wings pulled against my coat, a smile a mile wide upon my face.

Faster and faster. Closer and closer. My hooves closed around it, sliding on the smooth cover as I tried to pull it to my chest. Then it slipped free, and I screamed into the wind.

The forest quickly approached, and I leveled out, still in hot fursuit. It wasn’t long before we passed over a familiar stream, catching sight of the my tree house in the distance. I turned and waved as I passed. “Hey, house!” Then I flapped hard, closing the distance the best I could.

“You. Will. Be. Mine!”

A shard of light pierced through the leaves above me, and I had to do a mid-air roll to the side to avoid being shot down. Twist, dive and dodge, I spun past a gnarl of tree branches, only a few hooves away from ultimate knowledge.

Then the trees stopped.

I landed abruptly on the last branch that stretched into open air, a wide-open field of strange emptiness before me. Leaning forward, I spotted the elusive tome floating towards a small figure that stood glistening in the orange light . The figure reached up, and I saw the outline of hooves take hold of the book--my book.

Stretching out my hooves, the soft glow of the moon illuminated my fur and I instinctively jerked back. The pony looked up, and I saw the glow of light shimmering around a small horn. He took a step towards me, and I dipped back into the shadows.

There are many dangers in this world, Moony, and most of them reside outside of this forest.

With one last glance at the potential learning that was denied me, I turned and flew back towards the castle. It’s going to be a long fly.

A noise sounded out from behind me, perhaps the voice of that pony that had taunted and teased me with tantalising knowledge. I flapped my wings hard, and focused ahead when I heard the sound of approaching hooves. Splaying my ears against the side of my head, I redoubled my speed, kicking from branch to branch in a zigzag while glancing out of the corner of my eye.

I was… the prey.

Harder. Faster. I dodged the beams of moonlight, my body just another shadow in the forest. Then I heard it. The oddest sound, like a rock smacking the ground repeatedly, which was followed by a heavy smack.

I stopped, my wings beating in a hover, little birds and critters fleeing from the source of the sound. Looking back the way I came, I bit my lip, and moved slowly towards the silence of the forest.

This is a bad idea, Moony. I shook my head, moving from tree to tree until I finally spotted it. Blood, tree bark and dirt all mixed with the bright white fur of a unicorn. He, at least I was pretty sure it was a he, was slumped against one of the thicker trees, and didn’t move in the slightest as I landed one branch closer.

“Hello?”

Still nothing, only the sound of the nearby stream stirring the silence. Frowning, I let the wind carry me down towards the unmoving pony. As I approached, I noticed his mane was a bit off from the color of his coat, silver instead of white, and also severely matted with blood. There was a nasty gash along the top of his head, and a spattering of ick on the tree he lay against.

“Uh-oh…” His breath was steady, if a bit ragged, but that wound looked pretty bad. “Daddy?” I turned around, but of course he wasn’t there. “Oh… right.” I looked around for anything that would be of use, my back feeling particularly empty of the supplies we had packed. I just had to run off chasing forbidden knowledge, didn’t I? I could have at least grabbed my saddlebags.

I huffed, then narrowed my eyes as I refocused on the colt in front of me. He was wearing a small pack of his own, and I carefully teased it open with my wing. There was a scattering of items, mostly wrapped food and some bits, and of course, the book I’d sought. I scowled for a moment, but shook my head. Then I found something I could use as I pulled a wrapped blanket from the bottom. Bits and bobs fell out as I let the cloth unwrap to reveal a beautiful night sky, complete with a lovely moon at the center. I cringed as I sucked in a breath, pulling at the corner and tearing it with my teeth.

“There we go!” I wrapped a line of cloth along the back of his head, coming up just past his horn. My eyes lingered on it for a long moment, the strange spiraled piece of bone that ended in a sharp point. “I need to be careful… ‘don’t wanna poke an eye out,’ Daddy would probably say.” Taking my time, I hoisted the colt onto my back, and began a slow trot towards the house. I wobbled a bit, but eventually steadied under the added weight.

“You’re not as heavy as I thought you’d be.” My hooves carried me past the rotshroom circle that marked our yard, looking back to stare into the face my passenger. His silver mane fell over the cutest little muzzle, and I just wanted to reach forward and…

“Focus, Moon Flower. You’ve got a little pony to save.”

Author's Note:

Hiya, pones. Good to be publishing a chapter. I've already gotten the next one finished. I'll be doing some more work this weekend, I hope. Honestly, after working the last ten days straight, its nice to be able to sit and just have fun with this story. With luck, I'll have the next chapter out a bit sooner that this one.

With love and dedication, Dreams of Ponies

Comments

[StarzGecko]

Yay more bats!

[BierKeks]

Oh, a new face. That's going to shake things up.

[Icarus_Con_Queso]

The forest quickly approached, and I leveled out, still in hot fursuit

probably not the word you intended here.

Someone asked if Moony was really Twilight, a nerdy girl from a night/evening themed family. Here we are introduced to a night inclined (based on his night activity and lovely blanket) colt who could be a romantic interest. Hmmm...

[Dreams of Ponies]

9212142
Don't worry, it was completely intentional

[Nailah]

Hmm not sure if this is foal napping or not...
Moon Flower is just so cute. I feel for her, I really do.

[Aklinstar]

10231617
Well, one thing is for certain: the foal she's carrying is napping.

I'll see myself out...