Shadows Can Be Friendly

Shady never used to dream. When he was a child, he had slept untroubled through the night. But those days of innocence were many years gone. He didn't dream every night, but almost every other night. It might have been a sign of advancing age, or maybe it was just a guilty conscience. His mom has a saying: the mind with many secrets can never rest.

On some level he always knew when he was dreaming. There was a strange haze over everything, a bleary film that left the false reality feeling washed out and muted. Yet through this obscuring filter, certain elements would register with exacting precision, minor detail indelibly etched into his subconscious mind. The juxtaposition added to the surreal nature of his dreams, yet also made them somehow more vivid, more intense, than his waking world.

The dreams always ended in exactly the same place. And each time it did, Shady woke with his heard pounding, his muscles tensed, and his palms sweating, as if his body had been reliving the experience along with his subconscious mind.

He rolled out of the bed, leaving a tangled mess of covers behind. He moved with quick, confident steps down the room. His hooves clacked softly as he made his way down to the kitchen, and his wings swished faintly with every step.

The kitchen was empty, it would still be several hours before Fluttershy would come down for breakfast. Shady sat down on a chair. But then he froze when he heard a noise coming from beyond the kitchen door. His ears pricked up intently, and he could just make out voices coming from the living room. The apartment was dark, though he could see something glowing in the living room. He moved forward in a low crouch, presenting less of a target should the intruded attempt to take a shot at him.

"Hi, Twilight!" Rainbow's voice called out as he approached.

Cursing under his breath, Shady stood up straight and made his way into the living room to meet his uninvited guest.

Rainbow was lounging on the overstuffed couch in the living room.

"What are you doing here?" Rainbow asked when Shady came into view. "Still having nightmares, huh?"

Nightmares?

"What do you mean?" The question was out of Shady's mouth before he even realized he was asking it.

Rainbow shrugged indifferently, though there was a wary look in her eye. "Well you told us that you were having nightmares last week"

"Oh, it's fine" Shady assured her. "Just tell my why you're here"

"We are having a party at Pinkie's place, remember?"

"Is that why you're really here? Shady wanted to know. "Did Pinkie bring you all the way back from the Cloudsdale so you could check up on me?"

"I'm just passing through. Had to come in to clean up some business in Ponyville, so I volunteered to stop by on my way back to check on you."

How did she know that I am here? Something is not right.

"So, your coming or not?"

"I guess."

With Rainbow in the lead and Shady following they walked slowly down the living room to the door, until they were standing next to it.

Shady turned to Rainbow, but she had a evil grin on her face.

"Good night" she said.

The world slipped away before Shady had time to ask what she meant.

                >:<