Nightmares and Night Mares
Water. Water everywhere.
The dull reverberation of being underwater echoed in Ray’s ears, and he clawed towards the shimmering surface so far overhead.
Black tendrils of pure terror rose up from the depths of the water, reaching towards his feet from the inky blackness, while a giant, horrific maw opened wide to swallow him down.
Ray screamed under the water, bubbles bursting towards the surface as he tried to breach the surface. But the surface was too far, and the terrible thing beneath him was too close.
A single black tendril wrapped around his ankle, and it tugged.
Ray was yanked backwards, towards the horrific maw, and he screamed again, struggling against the tendril. But another and another came in from the side, wrapping around his arm and leg respectively, dragging him down into the darkness.
The giant maw of the monster loomed close beneath him, and then it began to close.
Ray began to hyperventilate, sucking in great lungfuls of water and expelling them in a vain attempt to breathe.
The toothy maw closed over his body, consuming him in darkness.
Ray gasped hard for air and sat up suddenly, his head swimming, the whole world whirling around him crazily. He leant to the side, almost throwing up, dropping off the bed onto his knees and panting hard.
It had been another goddamn nightmare.
He sighed heavily, sitting back against his bed cradling his head in his hands for a few moments, rubbing his palms firmly against his temple.
The soft splish of water disturbed him.
Ray looked up, giving a slow blink as water began to rise up over his window. It splashed against the pane. He could even see a bright yellow tropical fish swim past.
And in the distance, inky darkness, with tendrils of absolute blackness rising up to hunt him.
“Ray?” a voice asked tactfully.
Ray whirled, rising onto his knees on reflex.
A large, deep-blue pony was standing in his bedroom.
“P-princess Luna? What are you doing in my room?”
“You’re still dreaming, Ray,” Luna chided carefully, striding over to the window and pulling the blinds, blocking out the view of the deep, dark water.
“I’m… what?” Ray asked, confused, rubbing his palms against his temples again.
“Dreaming,” Luna said nonchalantly, stepping over to him and lightly laying her horn against his forehead. The horn glowed for a moment, and Ray jerked backwards in surprise, blinking rapidly.
“W-wha? Princess? What the hell is going on?”
“You’re dreaming,” Luna reiterated. “I gave you some semblance of control.so you could at least think straight while you’re here.”
“Why are you… wearing socks?” Ray asked blankly, looking Luna up and down. She was wearing banded blue and black socks on each of her hooves.
“The castle floors are cold this time of year,” Luna said defensively, brow furrowing.
Ray paused at that, frowning deeply. “Uhm… but this is a dream. Your hooves wouldn’t get cold.”
Luna snorted, tossing her mane. “Would you prefer if we removed them?”
“No, no, it’s just… odd, is all. If this is a dream, you could be anything you wanted, right?”
“We find it easier and less… complicated to appear as we are in the real world,” Luna said stiffly. She shook her head, and then cleared her throat, composing herself. “I noticed that you were having a nightmare.”
“Oh yeah… that,” Ray admitted, sitting down on the bed with a sigh, fidgeting at a hole in the blanket with a fingertip.
“There is no shame in nightmares. We all have them, from time to time,” Luna said soothingly, stepping over to the bed and pulling herself onto it with him. The bed shifted under her weight, giving Ray an impression of just how heavy the princess actually was, if such things could be trusted in a dream.
“Eh… I guess,” Ray responded noncommittally, eyeing the curtain, shuddering slightly at what he knew was waiting on the other side of it.
“Why do you dream of the water?” Luna asked carefully, keeping her tone neutral.
Ray winced slightly, scratching the back of his head. “Y’know. Reasons.”
“Which are?” Luna pressed.
“Kinda private,” Ray said flatly.
“You are a diplomat, Raymond, you know some give-and-take is in order,” Luna said coquettishly.
Ray’s eyes narrowed slowly. “Well you tell me what you have nightmares about and then I’ll tell you mine,” he responded, crossing his arms smugly.
Luna arched an eyebrow. “Imprisonment. Cages. Jails.”
“You have nightmares about being in jail? That’s… very normal,” Ray said with a slight laugh.
Luna snorted once. “We have divulged our information. It is your turn.”
“I almost drowned once. That’s about it,” Ray said with a shrug of his shoulders. “I’m not a big fan of the water any more.”
“Understandable,” Luna said thoughtfully, looking him up and down. “But that is not the entire story. It is not really possible to lie to me whilst in my domain.”
Ray scoffed slightly at that. “Of course that’s not all there is to it. But that’s all I want to reveal right now. Just like I’m sure that you don’t have nightmares just about cages and jails.”
“Touche,” Luna said with a slight smile. “You are certainly not dim-witted.” She crossed her hooves in front of her, laying her chin on them, staring at him with narrowed eyes. “Do you really wish to know what I dream of?”
Ray arched an eyebrow. “You’ll just use that to guilt-trip me into revealing my nightmare reasons to you.”
“Indeed I will,” Luna said with a bright smile, raising an eyebrow at him in query.
Ray sighed slightly. “Fine, fine. Go ahead.”
Luna gave Ray a stare that made him suddenly uncomfortable.
“I have nightmares of temptation. Of giving in to temptation. I surmise that your government gave you adequate coverage of my backstory, correct?” Luna asked sweetly.
Ray nodded cautiously. “Something about Nightmare Moon. You are considered to not be a threat any more, in that regard.”
“But I am a threat,” Luna said simply. “It is temptation. I know that I could give in to that temptation. I could become a monster again.” She smiled, laying her chin back on crossed forehooves. “I dream of my friends, my very sister, in my prison. In my cages and jails. Begging, screaming at me for mercy, and to be released. And I don’t care. In my nightmare, I enjoy their begging. I rejoice in their suffering.”
Luna still had a slightly eerie smile on her face, but her eyes looked quite sad.
Ray grimaced. “That sounds delightful.”
“Is the source of your nightmares as… twisted as my own?” Luna asked with a happy smile.
Ray gave a nervous laugh. “Positively lame after that.”
“Well? Out with it,” Luna said, waving a hoof commandingly.
“Fine,” Ray said, leaning back on his palms, kicking his feet slightly. “When I was younger, I almost drowned.”
“You told me this already,” Luna said impatiently.
“I know,” Ray retorted, frowning at her. “But it was a lot… well, it was unpleasant, really. I went down the local river after a good rain, and it didn’t look like it had a good current to it, but I guess it did. I jumped in, and got carried away by the current.”
“Was it a wide river?” Luna asked blankly.
“It was a river in black-soil country. They’re narrow, relatively deep and filled with trees,” Ray explained helplessly.
“How did this lead you to almost drowning?” Luna asked carefully.
“I was trying to swim back to the edge, and there was a low-hanging branch coming up, so I ducked under it. Turns out, there was another branch under it, under the surface of the water. I hit my head on it pretty hard. Scratched up my face a bit, stunned me. And while I was still all woozy from that, I hit another branch. Or well, more like a tree trunk, really. Got my right across my left side, knocked the wind out of me completely.”
“That sounds unpleasant,” Luna said tactfully.
“Yup. And next thing I know, I’m at the bottom of the river in a calm spot tangled in some weeds or plants or an old fishing net or something. I was running out of air, I’d swallowed some water already and I couldn’t see anything. So I spent a while just kicking and thrashing, trying to get free, and then I passed out.”
Luna wrinkled her nose. “You survived?”
“Somehow,” Ray said, lifting his palms uncertainly. “I woke up a few hundred metres downstream against a tree branch. I might have kicked myself loose at the end there. But I dunno. I was pretty certain I was going to die.”
“Well, that explains the tendrils, then,” Luna said thoughtfully, scratching her chin with a hoof.
“Yeah, I have the same kind of nightmares every few weeks. They sucks, but I deal with it,” Ray said with a shrug of his shoulders.
“And yet you do not swim?” Luna asked carefully.
“I just stopped going to the pool or the beach,” Ray responded with a shrug. “It’s not like swimming is a big part of a human’s life in the first place.”
“And if you… fall asleep in the bath?” Luna queried.
Ray gave a slight shudder.
Luna smirked.
“I live with it,” Ray said defensively. “Just like you live with that whole Nightmare Moon thing.”
“I lied about that to get you to open up,” Luna said coolly.
Ray fixed her with a long stare. “Now who’s lying, Princess?”
Luna snorted once, eyes narrowing at him, but she didn’t answer.
Ray gave a wry grin, leaning over and touching her crown with a fingertip.
Luna went cross-eyed, staring at his finger quizzically. “W-what is thou doing?”
“I always wondered what your crown feels like,” Ray said with a slight shrug and a smile at her lack of composure. “It’s strange… feels kinda like those fabric car bonnets you get.”
Luna stared at him, not following.
Ray shook his head. “Forget it,” he said, drawing his hand back and smiling at her slightly. “May I touch your mane?”
Luna arched an eyebrow. “You hardly asked before invading my personal space and besmirching my crown.”
“Oh so it’s fine then,” Ray said quickly, reaching out and resting a palm against her mane. He lightly wiggled his hand back and forth, eyes widening slightly. “Oh wow, that is soft.”
“I am pleased you approve,” Luna said, deadpan.
Ray snerked slightly at that, gently drawing his fingers through the ethereal mane. “Is this even hair?”
Luna arched an eyebrow at that. “Yes, it is my mane. My magic makes it ghostly.”
“It’s... really nice,” Ray admitted, gently trailing his hand through the wispy strands, before gently laying his hand on her cheek.
Luna stared at him, ears slowly raising.
Ray tilted his head to the left, eyebrows lifting, giving her a slight smile as he felt her soft, fuzzy fur. “Sorry, can’t help myself. You’re really soft.”
“You expected me to be ragged?” Luna asked bluntly.
“Well, no, but I didn’t expect… this!” Ray responded, lifting his hand to gently scritch behind one of her ears.
Luna quivered slightly, her head lowering. “S-stop. We do not enjoy touches there!” she stated, batting his hand away with a hoof.
Ray snorted slightly at that, but kept his hands to himself. “So… why do you start talking like that? Saying ‘we’?”
Luna’s brow furrowed, and she looked away for a moment. “I was trapped in the moon for quite some time. When I left, it was normal for royalty to speak as I did. I have only recently learned the current dialect, and I still have… trouble remembering sometimes.”
“So basically, that’s your poker-face slipping?” Ray asked with a slow smirk.
Luna spluttered slightly, before glowering at him. “I keep forgetting that you are a diplomat.”
“I find that my childishness is quite useful in making people divulge information they would otherwise keep close,” Ray said simply.
Luna stared at him for several long moments. “I hate that you’re so aware of how good at that you are.”
“It’s kind of my job,” Ray said with a grin. “Well, it is now. I was a school counsellor with psych training before the government approached me with this.”
“We set forth a proposal to your governments to give us diplomats that weren’t so… guarded,” Luna admitted, flexing and then settling her wings in annoyance. “The first ones they sent were… they were far too… What is the correct term?”
“Politically correct?” Ray offered.
“Exactly!” Luna said, waving a hoof in annoyance. “So guarded and speaking as though from a book of etiquette. It is one thing to stand on ceremony, but they insulted us by treating us like griffon warlords likely to take offense at a single mis-said word!”
Ray gave a helpless shrug. “Back on our plane of existence, people are kinda touchy. And these people have nukes.”
“Nukes…” Luna said, giving a slow shudder. “Your kind’s propensity for destruction is staggering.”
Ray nodded solemnly. “Indeed. But there’s nothing we can do about it, really. We just fight it where we can.”
Luna gave a long sigh, and shook her head. “I was convinced when the portal first opened that we should close it immediately. I did not like what I saw. But you humans are… some of you, are not unpleasant.”
“And you ponies are adorable,” Ray said with a grin.
Luna arched an eyebrow. “Thou finds us adorable?”
“I didn’t say that,” Ray said blankly.
Luna’s ears splayed slightly.
“But you are goddamn adorable. Absolutely stunningly cute,” Ray added with a grin..
Luna’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Thou is flattering us.”
Ray shook his head. “Most definitely not. You’re beautiful.”
“We… have been told that we are stunning to behold,” Lune said, a note of smugness creeping into her tone.
“They weren’t wrong,” Ray said with a grin, getting more comfortable on the bed. “So… do you make a habit of just hanging out in people’s dreams?”
“I find human dreams much harder to control,” Luna admitted bluntly. “I am remaining here to ensure your nightmare doesn’t return.”
“It’s only a nightmare,” Ray said, cringing slightly. “I’ll be fine. Surely there are other ponies needing your help?”
“Nightmares are not common amongst ponies. At least, not so much that my time is at a premium,” Luna said with a wave of a hoof. “Am I intruding upon your personal space by being here?”
“Not really, I guess,” Ray said, leaning back of his palms again. “I just don’t… well, it feels like I’m being babysat.”
“It must make you feel important to be babysat by a princess,” Luna said coquettishly.
Ray rolled his eyes. “Maybe.”
“I don’t dote my attention on everyone, you know,” Luna said with a teasing smile.
“Oh? Then why do I get special treatment?”
“Well, you are an ambassador. Maybe I am merely currying favour with you?” Luna offered with a grin.
Ray arched an eyebrow. “Maybe, but I feel as though you have ulterior motives.”
“Ulterior motives?” Luna asked blankly. “What motives could I possibly have?”
“Talking to someone?” Ray offered with a sly grin. “After all, you rarely get to talk to anyone during the day without it being about business, and most ponies wouldn’t take very well to having their dreams invaded…”
Luna spluttered at that. “W-we would hardly need to go to such lengths of duplicity for mere conversation!”
“Oh? Hoping for something more than conversation, huh?” Ray asked coyly.
Luna’s eyes widened, and she spluttered even more.
“Oh I wish I could see in person, I’m betting your face is a rather nice shade of pink right now,” Ray said with a smirk.
Luna stared at him, eyes narrowing in a deep, angry glower, before she just suddenly disappeared into wisps of blue smoke.
Ray blinked, confused. “Uh… hello?” he called uncertainly.
But Luna was gone.
“Now what the fuck do I do?!” he called out to no one in particular, looking around the sparse bedroom. “Do I… do I go to sleep? In my dream? How do I get out of here?!”
Ray harrumphed at the lack of answer, and then strode over to the doorway, tugging it open. A rush of violent water and black tendrils were instantly admitted into the room, and he was underwater in an instant, being tugged down into inky blackness.
Ray awoke with a gasp, sitting bolt upright and clutching at his throat for a moment before he realised he could breathe. He panted hard, giving a long shudder, trying to even out his breathing.
The diplomat accommodation within the castle was sparsely furnished, but nice. The bed was purple velvet, the drapes were heavy and blocked out light adequately for people trying to get over jet lag, as one step through the portal and you were suddenly fourteen hours behind your normal day/night cycle. There was a nightstand, a dresser, and a small bar with bottles of various beverages lined up on it, and a magical air-conditioning unit if it got too hot in the room.
It had been Ray’s home for the last week as he relayed messages back and forth between Equestria and Earth.
“Take a fifteen minute break,” an imperious voice demanded.
“Yes, Princess,” one of the guards outside the room said, followed by the sound of hoofbeats moving away from the door.
Ray drew himself up, staring at the door as it was magically unlocked and then thrown open.
“Uhhh… hi Luna,” Ray said with a slightly nervous laugh. “Fancy seeing you here.”
“You,” Luna said, pointing a hoof angrily, closing the door behind her. “We are here now. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
“You’re wearing socks,” Ray said lamely, making a motion towards her hooves.
Luna bristled.
“Okay! You’re not blushing! Jesus. What happened to your tact?” Ray asked, tugging the blankets up to his chin.
“You insulted us,” Luna growled, eyes narrowing at him slowly. “We demand that you apologize to us properly!”
“I did what?” Ray asked blankly.
“You implied that we were seeking intimate relations with yourself when that is just not true! You will apologize to us on bended foreleg!” Luna said, stamping her hoof angrily.
“Bended knee, you mean?” Ray corrected.
Luna stared daggers at him so hard that he feared physical damage.
“Well… I kinda… can’t,” Ray admitted, frowning slightly and giving a slightly anxious squirm.
“Are you defying us?!” Luna growled, her mane beginning to crackle with magical energy.
Ray gave a long-suffering sigh, before he shook his head and then slipped out from under the covers, dropping to one knee and bowing before the princess. “I apologize.”
Luna stared at him for a moment, looking him up and down once, muzzle gaping in surprise, her ears flattening and wings giving an anxious flutter. Ray was kneeling before her, completely naked.
“Good enough? Or do I need to do it in public?”
“N-no t-that is quite fine,” Luna squeaked, her cheeks and the insides of her ears pinkening as she stared at him for several more seconds. She wrenched her gaze away, clearing her throat and pointedly not looking at him. “W-we are wearing more clothes than thee.”
“And you wouldn’t let me explain,” Ray said with a shrug, shaking his head and then rising to his feet. He went over to the bar, opening the cold box and pulling out a jug of water, pouring himself a glass.
“W-why hast thou not reclothed?” Luna asked timidly.
“You’re only wearing socks,” Ray pointed out with a shrug, before turning and looking the princess up and down. “And my ego is being stroked wonderfully at the way you keep sneaking peeks at me.”
Luna almost melted into a puddle of pink at his words, her face and ears burning. “W-we hast never seen an unclothed human before!” she protested.
Ray laughed slightly at that, returning to the bed, sitting on the edge of it and stretching out slightly. “Well? Come look then.”
Luna blinked at him slowly, her eyes widening, visibly swallowing, her wings giving an anxious flutter. “T-thou are not unnerved?”
“I’ve been able to see you pretty well. Humans are clothed like a hundred percent of the time. You might as well come look while you can,” Ray said with a shrug, sipping at his water. “Otherwise we might end up with some human kidnapped to be sketched and examined by scientist ponies.”
“W-we would never—” Luna began.
“I know, I know,” Ray said with a wave of a hand. “I was teasing. Anyway, come stare if you want to. I won’t judge.”
Luna scowled slightly, but slunk over closer to him, head lowered, her entire form tensed. “You’re so… white.”
“I spend too much time inside, honestly,” Ray said with a shrug and a slight grin.
“These… what are these?” Luna asked, lifting a hoof to point at his stomach.
“The mole there?” Ray asked, confused.
“No, the underlying musculature!” Luna said, pointing harder. “It is… very pleasant.”
“My abs? I guess they’re pretty fine. I’m not ‘stacked’ though. I’m more athletic than muscular, you should see a bodybuilder,” Ray said with a slight chuckle.
“W-we would very much like to see these ‘body buildings’,” Luna said breathily.
Ray laughed at that. “I’ll get you a woman’s magazine sent through.”
“M-may we touch?” Luna asked timidly.
“I guess. So long as I get to touch your crown and mane,” Ray said with a shrug.
Luna stared, even as she tugged off one of her socks to reach forwards and touch his stomach lightly with her hoof, tracing along one of his abs.
Ray jerked slightly, his stomach tensing on reflex, the muscles underneath it spasming. “N-not so light,” he wheezed.
Luna giggled at that, a sweet, musical sound. “Thou is sensitive?”
“Yes,” Ray admitted, frowning slightly.
Luna returned to her exploration, touching at his abs curiously. “It is… it is very strange. We can feel thy muscles so easily without fur in the way. It is… also strange to see them so prominently. Humans are quite fascinating.”
“Ponies have their perks,” Ray said with a faint smile.
Luna perked an ear. “Explain.”
“Well, you can’t really see the fine muscles all too well, but smooth bodies and shining coats are very pleasing to look at. My family owns several horses and it was quite something to see them all oiled up for shows,” Ray said with a faint smile.
Luna nodded thoughtfully. “We have heard of ‘horses’. They are… uncouth. Beasts.”
“That’s correct,” Ray responded, shifting slightly to get comfortable.
“We do not wish to be uncouth… but… uhhh…” Luna trailed off, biting her bottom lip. “Why ist thou so… small? Even erect? How does a human mate with… that?”
Ray blinked slowly, and it was his turn for his cheeks to warm slightly. “It gets bigger!” he responded, affronted.
“But it is erect!” Luna said, her cheeks turning scarlet. “We can see it!”
“This is awkward,” Ray said with a slightly nervous chuckle. “It’s not ‘erect’.”
“This is… is the default state?” Luna asked, bewildered, turning to stare directly between his thighs. “Thou does not have… a sheath?”
“Nope,” Ray responded, beginning to feel uncomfortable for the first time since she began examining him.
“W-we can see why thou wouldst wear clothes at all times, then!” Luna said with a nervous giggle, averting her gaze again and then taking a step backwards. “T-thou may regain thine modesty if thou would wish.”
Ray nodded, dragging the blanket over his lap to cover himself. “There, done.”
“Humans truly are strange creatures,” Luna stated, clearing her throat and turning back to him. “We… I apologize for barging in here.”
“It’s fine,” Ray said with a wave of a hand. “I obviously hit a nerve.”
Luna gaped at him. “W-where is thine tact?!”
“You don’t like people who dodge around the issues,” Ray said with a wry grin. “Had to be a nerve, for it to be such a touchy subject to bring up hinting that you wanted intimacy with me, no matter if it was just playing or not.”
Luna continued to stare at him, stupefied.
“Oh come on, you’re probably only mildly interested in me because I’m one of the very few humans you interact with,” Ray said with a shrug.
Luna just stared at him for several long, long moments, before closing her mouth and sniffing slightly. “You are wholly incorrect. W-we have no interest in thee.”
“Your poker-face is slipping, Princess,” Ray said with a slight smirk.
Luna’s ears pinkened again, and she rose to her hooves. “T-thou is wholly incorrect and completely unjustified in thy accusations!” she said, her voice growing shrill.
Ray rose to his feet, holding the blankets around his waist with one hand, while his other palm gently found her chin, keeping her from pulling away as he laid a gentle kiss on her nose.
Luna’s eyes widened, and her face turned a delicate shade of pink, her wings fluttering and flapping once in surprise.
“Whatever you say, Princess,” Ray said, grinning at her impishly as he sat back down on the bed.
Luna gaped at him, cheeks burning and mouth working soundlessly, managing to produce a squeaking noise before she turned and bolted for the door, throwing herself into the castle hallway and fleeing into the night.