To Sleep, Perchance to... Nightmare?

by Draconis187

The Infection

To Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare?
The Infection
Author: Draconis187

Time: 06:37
Date: Flimflambrothersday
Location: Parking area near Caesar’s Palace

I had my earphones in my ears, listening to a Disturbed song as we waited for Uncle Norris to check out and meet us by a van he rented. It was a red Ford Transit with quite some miles on the odometer and it showed. The van’s windscreen had a crack in the top right corner the size of a penny and the seats were slightly torn and frayed, allowing us to see the yellow-ish sponge inside.

Nonetheless we had to make do with a terrible rental van and if it made us less conspicuous, it would be a boon. We were going to be in the back anyway so as long as none of us popped our heads out, we’d be alright and if PAPA looked, we could easily hide behind the seat or among Uncle Norris’ other things as well as our own.

I was wearing a light grey, sleeveless jacket while my chestpiece and helmet were in my bag. I did this because I was not going to be levitating the phone the whole time, waiting for Uncle Norris and so the phone was one of the jacket’s pockets. The only thing to indicate it was there was the cable for the earphones that ran up to my ears.

I sat on my haunches next to Sugarberry and Tenderheart while Scott dug in his bag for something. We said goodbye to Janice and the others twenty minutes ago as they left for a place called Flagstaff, taking the Route 93 to Kingman then the I-40. There were no tears shed with Janice but we were all expressed our sorrow for departing in our own way. Janice’s came in the form of insulting my two cutie marks.

We were stopping at Bakersfield first for fuel and some rest before heading to San Francisco. I figured the Golden Gate Bridge would be a big enough landmark to hopefully meet up with ponies. I considered asking the Pegasi I saw from the performance we all did with Janice but I never saw them again and I decided that trying to chase after them could send the wrong message and wind up as waste of time.

But first I still had to send out a message and thanks to the phone having sufficient charge, I activated its internet connection and went to Facebook for the first time in my life. Chris did it and it ended up becoming worthless with everything that happened. Now I needed to use it if I was to gather support as we made our way to New York.

“How much longer is he going to be?” Sugarberry asked, looking up at me with some concern and slight impatience.

“Dunno. As long as it takes I guess,” I deadpanned.

“Not much of an answer, Dream,” Tenderheart commented.

“No, but it is the most appropriate,” I replied. Scott’s rummaging finally piqued my curiosity enough to finally pay attention to him and ask, “Scott… just what in the wide world of Equestria are you looking for?”

“I’m not looking for anything really,” He replied as he pulled his muzzle out of his bag, “I’m just making sure I have all my stuff.”

“Even if you didn’t, would you fly after the bus just to get it?” I asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Don’t know. Depends on the item,” He replied with a smirk. I rolled my eyes at him, chuckling very softly.

The parking area had a number of cars parked here and there. Fords, Nissans, the odd Subaru which was nice to see and a few more… exotic makes of which one was a pale blue Ferrari 458. I only knew the model of the last one by reading it, I don’t know cars. Give me a gun and I’ll start rattling off about every little detail about it as if it was the only thing that mattered in life. Curse Chris for being a gamer and gun nut.

The sky was slightly overcast and I considered grabbing a cloud and waiting there for Uncle Norris. Seriously, what was taking him so damned long? He was only booking out of a hotel, not being cavity-searched for explosives and drugs at an airport. How any sane human being would shove things like that up there… actually let’s not go there and say we did.

I had to say Disturbed was quite a catchy band, “Are you going to remain a slave for, the rest of your life? Give into the niiight.”

“What are you listening to?” Tenderheart asked, tilting her head to the side subconsciously. She realised what she did and corrected herself.

“Oh. It’s ‘The Night’ by Disturbed,” I replied with a small smile.

Scott chuckled, “I see why you like it then. You are the eternal night after all. You’d want us all to give into it.”

I rolled my eyes, “Really, Scott… and you’re still with us, why again?”

“‘Cause you like my flank?” He replied, smiling deviously.

I facehoofed, “By the Sun and Moon…”

His demeanour changed as his ears fell back, “Sorry about him.”

I shook my head, “I doubt we could change him even if we tried. I guess every travelling party has a perverted moron constantly threatened with death by the opposite sex.”

Tenderheart smirked at Scott, “Dream’s the only one who threatens you with third or second degree burns or lightning.”

I nodded, “Or a terrible, blood-curdling nightmare. I would try it but I don’t want Jacqueline paying for her pony’s shortcomings.”

We all shared a good laugh as Uncle Norris slowly walked up to us, hauling three large bags. They were very typical travel bags you find people hauling around in airports with those trolleys and those extendable handles.

“Orl set,” He said as he opened the Transit’s back doors for us to get in. In retrospect I probably could have picked the lock or have gotten Scott to do it but there wasn’t a need for such methods.

The inside was at least carpeted to the extent we wouldn’t be touching the metal bed below it. The inside was actually a horrible green colour, nauseating enough for me to want to hurl. But I didn’t, we had to use this Transit and beggars can not be choosers.

We sat down – Scott laid down as he placed his bag on the floor – and I sighed a little. Finally things were going just right. No Discord, no PAPA, just me, my three friends and Chris’ Uncle Norris. Nothing could possibly go wrong now. I am keeping a positive outlook and the universe can go buck itself if it wants to try and change it.

The Transit battled to start as if telling us it just wanted to die and we had to leave it behind. Fat chance, it got going after Uncle Norris nearly broke the key trying to turn the ignition on.

The Transit van coughed up some unhealthy-looking smoke from the tail pipe as I looked out. The thing needed more than a service, it needed the god of automobiles to save it. I am no mechanic but I knew that a van was not supposed to sound like it was going to fall apart at a moment’s notice. Where did he get this thing? Rent a Wreck?

We hit the I-15 a few minutes later and began the first leg off the renewed journey. We had a destination and some semblance of a plan. I had a thought as we saw Las Vegas slowly shrink in size as we headed for our first stop. I know Chris and Nightmare thought up a kinetic shield to stop moving objects but could I teach it to other unicorns?

The part of me that had Nightmare’s magical knowledge was unsure but I was certain that a unicorn could learn almost any spell, given enough time and understanding about the nature of the spell.

I had a prime test subject to my theory sitting right in front of me, looking back with that friendly smile. The thought of being able to stick it to PAPA by making their firearms useless brought a disturbingly sadistic smile to my face, Sugarberry a little… and myself when I realised it.

“Uh, Dream… why are you looking at me like that?” Sugarberry asked, her eyes darting to Tenderheart and Great Scott in an attempt to get their support.

“I have a small idea that may help us deal with PAPA, especially against their firearms,” I answered, my smile unwavering.

“Y-yeah?” Sugarberry responded, shaking a little as if I was about to propose using them as meat shields.

I giggled a little, “Sugarberry, I am not proposing some suicide mission. Just a little magic… okay could be some to a lot of magic that may take a little time to master or just might not work.”

“What did you have in mind?” Sugarberry asked, her eyes wide open with an inquisitive, almost hungry look as her fear just died. I believed I had the attention of the pony herself.

“Well I want to get some things to help test my theory out but if it works… PAPA is in for a massive shock,” I answered, smiling devilishly.

“Wait, you tell us you have a plan but leave us hanging as to what it is until you get something to test out with first?” Tenderheart said incredulously. I tilted my head to the side, sticking my tongue out a little, “Oh, real mature for a pony over a thousand years old.”

“Technically I’m only a few days old. Nightmare was the one who was over one thousand,” I pointed out.

Tenderheart facehoofed, “Dream… you know what I mean…”

“Yes I do and I’m sorry but the only way to truly explain this is to actually demonstrate it and I’d rather do it with an appropriate object,” I explained.

Sugarberry nodded her head, “I know that magic is best demonstrated, then explained although some prefer it in reverse. Especially to non-magic users as it can get confusing sometimes, depending on the spell’s own complexity.”

The group all murmured their agreement while Uncle Norris was softly chuckling to himself, “Theur are quite a strange bunch, theur know that, lass?”

We all looked at each other for a few seconds before we erupted with laughter. I actually had to lie on my side, Scott looked like he was crying while the other two mares hung onto each other for support.

Uncle Norris looked confused as hell, “Summat Ah said?”

“Both yes and no,” I answered, getting back up, sitting on my rear. “I think we just needed a good laugh. Being called strange was funnier than it should have been but it is appropriate given who and what we are. And especially with how this little adventure has panned out so far, I mean, if Chris hadn’t headed for Las Vegas, I would have never met you three.”

“I don’t know where I’d be…” Scott looked depressed as he looked at us, “Most likely cold, hungry and stealing from people. I would’ve ended up being one of the arguments for PAPA’s actions…”

“I don’t know what would have happened if we hadn’t met you back in Denver,” Tenderheart said thoughtfully, placing her forehoof against her chin.

“Either in New York or dead from an encounter with PAPA,” Sugarberry deadpanned.

“Given how extreme some of their actions are, I would not be overly surprised. But if you were in New York it could have been worse with the information Uncle Norris gave us,” I commented.

This got everypony to nod in agreement. What would have happened if Chris ignored Nightmare’s request and flew to New York? Would I be here? Would Nightmare still desire to shroud the world in darkness? Sadly life doesn’t revolve around the ‘what ifs.’ It revolved around the decisions we made, not the ones we didn’t. Dwelling on them was getting me nowhere.

As we continued to motor along the I-15, I took out my phone from my pocket and connected it to the internet. Sure using a computer was easier by miles since not all websites were smartphone-friendly but I had very little choice since none of us had a laptop. Uncle Norris didn’t use one since he felt it was a waste of money. I didn’t understand his logic honestly.

I logged into Facebook and got a small shock as I had several comments about me. I also saw a picture of Sugarberry, Tenderheart, Scott and myself. I couldn’t make out where it was exactly thanks to the angle and the slight blur but judging by the time stamp, it could only have come from our time in Vegas. It could have been when we walked to the hotel yesterday but other than that, I had no clue.

“That us?” Scott asked, looking over my shoulder and making me glare daggers at him.

“Scott… you need to learn about personal space,” I said slowly, continuing to glare at him with a frown.

Scott’s ears went back in shame, “Sorry, but I am right though?”

“Yes, it’s us. Unless you know four other ponies with a black coat, two with white coats and a blue coat walking through Las Vegas if the background and time stamp are anything to go by,” I replied.

“So… we’re famous?” Tenderheart asked, looking at us as Sugarberry did the same.

I laughed, “I doubt that. We’re no more ‘famous’ than any other character from the show, Tenderheart. Someone just took a picture of us – a rather poor one, they shouldn’t quit their day job if they have one – and posted it here on Facebook.”

“Hey, look at that picture there,” Scott said, looking at the picture of someone’s profile.

It was a light purple Pegasus mare with a magenta mane and tail with pink highlights. Her eyes were a light pink and she was winking at the camera, sticking her tongue out a little with a smile. I just chuckled softly, somepony was happy with who they were.

“Says her name’s Starsong,” I commented, looking at the name.

“‘Starsong?’ Never heard of her,” Sugarberry said.

I looked at Tenderheart who shook her head while Scott was racking his – I’m sure rather small or at the very least one-track – mind for anypony matching her description. In the end he sighed and shook his head. I sure as hell didn’t know for some very obvious reasons.

I checked the mare’s profile I found she was from a place called Barstow. I checked the map and found it was on our route to San Francisco, before Bakersfield. May as well pick her up too, we were building a task force of some form to get PAPA out of New York after all.

But first things first, I needed to change the username and status. It took only a few minutes, magic helps oh so much with touchscreens. I changed it simply to Dream. My status was changed to: I am Dream, the combined personality of Nightmare Moon and Chris Mann. I am heading to New York to help as many ponies and humans as I can. We are currently picking up ponies to help take to New York. I shall post our next port of call when we leave for it.

I went over it twice to make sure I was making sense and that my grammar had as few flaws as possible. I then typed out Barstow underneath my status message since I planned on picking up this ‘Starsong’ mare. After that I decided to see how much hate Nightmare Moon’s presence had garnered. Strangely enough, there were more friend requests than hate messages but all I cared for were the pony ones.

Time: 09:54
Date: Flimflambrothersday
Location: Barstow, California

Barstow was a very big change to Las Vegas. While it was still surrounded by the boundless desert of Nevada, it was majorly smaller and filled with only the most basic stores, hotels and other businesses that could contribute to keeping the town afloat.

We all climbed out at the petrol station and I immediately felt the heat. Having black fur and a jacket was a bad combination so I took the jacket off without hesitation and donned the missing parts of my armour instead.

“Where are we going to find this mare?” Scott asked as he looked at me.

“Well, I suggest you and I search from the sky. She is a Pegasus and so she may be on a cloud, looking for us,” I answered.

“Well, it is not like we don’t stand out,” Sugarberry commented, “I mean, how many ponies are there around here?”

“Not many but it seems PAPA doesn’t have a strong presence here either so that’s a good sign,” Tenderheart pointed out.

I facehoofed, my armoured hoof clanging against my helmet, “I must ask you to not tempt the universe. It will find excuses to kick our flanks.”

Scott laughed, “I’ll head eastwards and see if I can’t spot her. We do know what we are looking for right?”

We all nodded our heads and I took out my phone again, logging on and looking at the picture, “Light purple fur, magenta mane with a large pink highlight. Same with the tail by the way and her eyes are pink too.”

“Cutie mark?” Tenderheart asked, trying to look at the picture.

I shook my head, “Afraid not, the angle doesn’t let me see what the mark is but I hope it doesn’t matter. What are the odds of there being two identical ponies?”

“Even Flitter and Cloudchaser look differently and I’m pretty sure they’re twins,” Scott pointed out.

“And on the extreme end of being twins and looking differently, you don’t need to look further than the Cake twins,” Tenderheart said. This got a raised eyebrow from Scott, “They’re two different tribes, Pegasus and Unicorn.”

“Can we focus?” I asked, getting everyone’s attention. “How did this conversation go from finding this ‘Starsong’ – who is probably all alone from this whole ‘becoming a pony deal’ – to talking about twins and foals?”

“Dunno, feel like having one?” Scott asked, smirking and raising his eyebrows.

That did it, I snapped. Sadly it was a blur of anger so I only caught brief images and before I blacked out. When I came to, Scott’s coat had several hoofmarks dotted along it and his legs were literally caught in the dirt. It looked like he had sunk into quicksand and I noticed some of his fur was near black in some areas. The smell of burnt fur hung in the air, making me turn up my nose and some of his feathers were missing. He was crying, I felt tears down my own face but that was my guilt for losing control.

Sugarberry, Tenderheart and Uncle Norris were nowhere to be seen, even the Transit was gone but that was because we were in a completely different section of Barstow. I fell onto my haunches, feeling disgusted with myself for what I had done. I was being pushed and then… I broke like a two-year old’s toy.

“I-I’m sorry…” I said, trying to figure out a way to fix this and make it have never happened but I could see that look in his eyes: fear. It made my stomach turn and tie into knots.

He was trying to get away from me, I could see it as he was tugging at the ground but it wouldn’t give. I looked and figured it was me since there was no other logical conclusion for four hoof-sized holes to appear in the ground and trap him.

The next half hour was spent with me constantly apologising, crying softly into the dirt. I was sweating from the heat and finally I heard someone clearing their throat.

“There there, lass. It’ll be alreight,” I looked up to see Uncle Norris holding two bottles of water in his hands.

“No it won’t be… I did something terrible and -” I looked at Scott “- I doubt you will forgive me.”

“No, I was out of line. I should’ve known better,” Scott replied, shaking his head, his voice hoarse. “Jacqueline warned me and I went overboard anyway. I just… well, I didn’t think you’d go to town on me though.”

“What did I do?” I asked, dreading the answer.

“Well, you burnt those patches of fur with lightning, trapped him in the dirt and then kicked him until you came to your senses,” Sugarberry replied as she and Tenderheart arrived with a scowling pony.

I used a bit of magic to force the holes wider and allow Scott to get out, he nearly collapsed from the pain but Tenderheart was there with a first aid kit and bandages. It only made my feel worse, making me feel like the tips of my ears were trying to fuse to my skull.

“This is Starsong,” Sugarberry introduced, smiling at the mare that still looked like she wanted to pierce my skull with her eyes.

“Look, get one thing straight here, I am only going by that bu-fucking name because the stupid pony keeps taking control whenever I’m asked,” She said curtly.

“O…kay, why are you so hostile?” I asked as Tenderheart and Scott walked off to the Transit, wherever that was.

“Because this is not natural! I had a decent life, decent job and I was finally going to ask Mandy down the street out!” She shouted, hunched down as if ready to attack me, even her wings were open in a threatening manner.

“So… you are a PAPA supporter?” I asked.

“I was until two days ago when this shit happened! I haven’t been home since then as my friends wanted to kill me and see if that would free me,” She replied angrily.

Okay, we had a nut-job here. She was a guy if I can understand that part right as it is highly common but he was a PAPA supporter too? Talk about irony and poetic justice. It actually made me smile a little.

“What in Ta-Hell are you smiling about?!” She shouted, seemingly trying to avoid using ponyisms, “I would like to get to New York and get changed back then leave this shit as far behind me as possible.”

“I’m smiling because the universe hates you,” I replied with a grin, “You blame ponies for this but it is not their fault and then the universe decided to punish you, tell me that is not funny.”

Sugarberry giggled, “I think it is.”

We continued to laugh as Starsong argued to no end, growing angrier. Okay it was very mean to pick on him/her but I kind of needed my spirits lifted a little for hurting Scott like I did.

Starsong and Sugarberry walked back to the Transit while Uncle Norris told me where he had parked. I made sure I had a little cash was still wedged under my chestpiece since what I did could have dislodged it and I was in no mood to lose money.

I returned to the Transit with two of those tennis ball packs. It was time to test out my theory and pray to the Moon it would work. Otherwise I’d need to rethink the strategy of getting into New York and getting PAPA out.

I sat next to Sugarberry while Tenderheart was tending to Scott’s burns. My lapse of control probably set us back a few dollars and we literally couldn’t afford more incidents like that. It made me feel a little sick to my stomach so I decided to test my theory later.

Starsong sat as far away from us as she could, her back was pressing against the corner by the rear doors. I was able to see her cutie mark though: a large white and pink star surrounded by other smaller stars. It almost reminded me of Twilight Sparkle with the overall design but the two marks were different.

“Ah got theur some drinks,” Uncle Norris said as he drove onto Route 58, heading for Bakersfield.

Turned out the drinks were simple bottle of water, pre-opened for our non-magic using ponies. We all grabbed a bottle and drank, we even managed to convince Starsong to have one. The heat could not have been good on her coat and she did seem like she needed it. The water tasted oddly but I didn’t think too much about it.

I raised my head and looked out the windscreen as Uncle Norris drove us out of Barstow. Despite being so early in the morning, I felt sleepy.

“Anypony else feeling tired?” Tenderheart asked, getting nod from all of us, including Starsong.

“I guess this trip has really been taxing on us and as far as Starsong goes, I gather you’ve had a hard two days and it’s catching up with you,” I reasoned as I lay down.

“Go ahead and rest. Ah’ll wake theur when we get to Bakersfield,” Uncle Norris said, smiling a little at us as he tried to look at us without crashing into the truck ahead of us.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I agreed.

I pulled out my phone and placed in one of the earphones in my ear. Uncle Norris was responsible for my musical taste, having gotten me all of Disturbed’s albums. I laid my head down on the carpet and allowed myself a nap, making a mental note to try teaching Sugarberry when I woke up.

Author's Note:

One more added to the group. Sorry for the long as hell delay. I do hope the uncle's accent is easier to read and understand. If it is completely possible to read and understand, I'll go back to the previous chapter and edit it to this.

Comments

[Max Caulfield]

YAY! NEW CHAPTER!

[MrCrumplecolt]

New chapter and good as always

[Firebirdbtops]

now the Mann in the Moon is a Dream, and hanging with a star

[Draconis187]

3359604 That is brilliant wordplay my friend. 10/10

[Draconis187]

3369867 One of my other fics, Second Chances: Friendship is Music is a lot heavier on the lyrics bit.

[DerpyStarlet]

Ok, now hear me out on this, but what if a PAPA supporter turned into rainbow dash? It'd be a hell of a story.

[Draconis187]

3495336 It would be interesting but it wouldn't be canon as far as Earthverse is concerned.

[DerpyStarlet]

3495351
Yes, I realize this, I don't thinkn I'd like the outcome,wouldn't exactly be hopeful at all. But it would definitely be interesting to see where those loyalties lie.

[Draconis187]

3495368 That it would.

[Draconis187]

3709859 So says the pink pony.

[Pinklestia]

Wait, tainted water? Was Starsong a trap?

[Lord Of Dorkness]

So...

i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/facebook/000/592/253/714.jpg

Jokes aside, just thought I'd mention there's at least one person still waiting on this story. Hope to see it continued!

[Singed_Wire_Writes]

3710178 lol Queen Cheese

[Singed_Wire_Writes]

*Reads Chris singing Hero by Skillet part*
[Brain commencing to respond in T minus 3... 2... 1... Commencing realization now.]
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kN-tHB7srSY
My life is now complete. Goodbye.

[Draconis187]

6508514 I... am going to assume that is sarcasm or at least mild disappointment in the lack of ingenuity in finding a better use of alliteration. These first few chapters were among the earliest I've done on the site. Admittedly they could have been done better.
I've looked through the old first chapter and thought: "this is... uh... what? What moron bashed his face on a keyboard, stuck it up on the site and thought it was good enough to pass as literature? Wait a second here..."
Currently I'm trying to free up time to edit the story from start to the latest version. Maybe continue updating it because I enjoyed writing this.

[Ephedianroyalty]

3710457
Agh, no, it was the uncle. Starsong didn’t have the water.

[SlyBesker]

Yeah, fans are still waiting... Great story, just didn't like the part when Dream decided to 'storm' NewYork' and everypony supported her. As Janis said, where is that love, friendship nad all that, not even considering that it's just unwise and atleast her Nightmare part should have protested. But I guess you just kept writing on and that's what you come up with. Anyway cool, and I would love to see next chapters.