Thunderlane walked around the museum exhibits, eyeing them with curiosity and intrigue. He’d always wanted to visit the Canterlot Museum of History. Even though he wasn’t a unicorn, something about learning about his country filled him with a sense of national pride. Still, something about the situation he was in filled him with a sense of unease. Something was wrong here...
He turned to his right and looked to his tour guide. To his surprise, he came face to face with Celestia herself, who appeared to be giving him a private tour of the facilities. She had that same motherly smile on her face that he’d seen her wear whenever she came in front of a large crowd of ponies to make a public appearance.
“P-princess? What are you doing here?” Thunderlane stared at her, confusion filling his mind to the brim.
Princess Celestia gave him that same warm smile and stopped in front of a large exhibit of medieval weapons. “Well, you did request a tour, Thunderlane. I thought it only polite to grant your request.”
Celestia led Thunderlane over to a large guillotine. It’s looming figure towered over the pair, and its still-sharp blade glinted in the exhibit lights. “Well, here is that exhibit I believe you wanted to see? It’s interactive; just go ahead and step up onto the platform, lean into the braces, and I lock you in for a minute or two so that you can get the full experience.” She patted him on the back and continued to give him that same smile, her facial expression not changing once during the entire conversation.
Thunderlane eyed the large guillotine with trepidation. Something about it just seemed… off. It seemed to be quivering in excitement as it waited for him to place his head and forehooves in the brace. It seemed to have a mind of its own.
“Uh… U-um… Princess, are you sure this is safe? I’m not quite sure about this…” Thunderlane tried to back away, but he found his legs frozen in place. In fear, he tried to flex his wings, only to find that he couldn’t open them at all. His eyes widened as his breath increased in pace.
Celestia was leaning in his face now, her horn glowing a golden yellow color. That same smile stretched across her face, though now it seemed foreign and unnatural. “Get in the brace, Thunderlane.” Her voice echoed throughout the hall, carrying with a sinisterness that sent shivers down his spine.
He felt his stomach become heavy with dread as he looked around. There was nopony around to save him. Every hall that he could see was devoid of life other than him and Celestia.
“P-princess… Please, let me go! Why are you doing this? Whatever kind of sick joke this is, it isn’t funny anymore!”
Panic flowed through his body as he felt himself being pushed forward against his will. He struggled and strained every muscle in his body to no avail—the Sun Princess’ magic was just too strong for him to overcome. He felt the touch of old, splintered wood against his neck and fetlocks as he was locked into place in the brace. Princess Celestia just stood over him, the same exact smile on her face.
“Thunderlane, my friend here has quite a… mind of his own.” She placed her hoof on the side of the old guillotine, feeling it shudder in excitement. “He’s been waiting such a long time to feel flesh again. That’s why I have to take ponies here. To quench his thirst for blood. You were just unlucky enough to be here today. I’m sorry, Thunderlane. Goodbye.”
Thunderlane strained his head, trying to look upward. That sharp blade above him shined brightly in the exhibit lights, partially blinding him. Suddenly, there was a sharp ‘click’ as the rope holding the blade slipped out of place of its own accord. He screamed as the blade came rushing down towards his neck and closed his eyes, waiting for the pain and darkness.
“No… Please… Let me go. No, no, no…” Thunderlane muttered in his sleep as he tossed and turned. His body was sprawled diagonally across the covers of his bed, and his wings were flared out under him in fight-or-flight mode. One wrong turn sent a twinge of pain through his wing, causing him to slowly wake up.
He moaned in exhaustion as he looked around the room slowly. His chest heaved up and down with his labored breath as he struggled to calm himself down. Thunderlane shook his head and chuckled to himself. The clock beside his bed read ‘one-twenty AM’.
That dream… Gah. Stupid Flitter… always daring me to watch those scary TV shows with her. Geeze. I’ve only been asleep for like an hour.
He laid in his bed for a while, staring at the ceiling and listening to the light pitter-patter of rain against his house’s roof. A gentle groan escaped his lips as he thought of all of the sleep that he wouldn’t be getting that night, all thanks to a late night show on the Chiller channel. One thing was for sure; he knew that he’d never be watching another scary show or movie with his girlfriend again, even if she teased him about being ‘unmanly’. Nothing was worth the loss of sleep he would get out of it.
After ten more minutes of restless motion and silent contemplation, Thunderlane realized that there was no way that he was going to be able to get back to sleep. He sat up in his bed and looked around his room for any signs of disturbance. To his surprise, the door was slightly ajar, and he could just barely make out a light grey hoof behind it.
“You can come in, Rumble.”
After a light ‘eep’, the door opened to reveal a grey pegasus colt. Rumble shuffled slowly into the room, looking unabashedly at the ground.
“What’s up, bro? Why are you still awake? It’s way past your bedtime.” Thunderlane watched his brother stand there awkwardly, avoiding eye contact with him.
“Well, I sorta… stayed up and watched the show that you and Flitter were watching. I-I… had a nightmare.” He frowned and stared at the ground, his voice less than a whisper in the air. “I’m sorry I stayed up past bedtime, but it was really interesting, so I thought it would be fun to watch…”
Thunderlane got up off the covers and walked over to his little brother, wrapping him in a tight hug. “It’s okay, buddy. Just don’t stay up like that again.” He looked into his brother’s eyes sternly and frowned. “And if I tell you that a show’s not okay to watch, it’s usually for a reason. You have to listen to me next time, okay?”
As he held Rumble in the embrace, he could feel the colt’s tiny body shivering. He gave a deep sigh and wrapped a wing around him protectively.
“Oh man, you’re shivering…” Thunderlane pulled his little brother closer to him and rubbed his wing along his back soothingly. He spoke in a comforting whisper as he addressed Rumble. “It’s okay, bud. It was just a dream. Nothing bad’s gonna happen to ya. I’ll protect ya.”
“Thunderlane?” Rumble’s eyes glimmered in the moonlight, small tears forming in the corners of his eyes. “C-can I sleep with you tonight? I’m afraid, and I don’t want to sleep on my own. My room is scary, and my night light won’t work…” He looked up to Thunderlane, eyes shining brightly with a newfound sense of hope and safety.
“Sure ya can, buddy. You can stay the night if you want.” Thunderlane gave his little brother a small smile and a noogie. The tiny colt lifted his forelegs in protest, but Thunderlane kept up his onslaught. Soon enough, the little colt’s mane was completely frazzled, strands of hair sticking out in every direction.
“Thunderlane! Knock it off!” the colt giggled as his older brother continued to ruffle his mane further.
“Fine. I’ll knock it off, but you gotta beat me in a wrestling match first!”
Thunderlane felt the wind get knocked out of him as his brother gave him a light kick. He relinquished his grasp of the little colt, and suddenly felt himself being swept off of his hooves as his brother tackled him. The two tumbled on the ground, ruffling each others manes and laughing the whole time. Soon enough, the two stopped wrestling and laid on the ground next to each other, panting with the exhaustive effort.
“Alright bud, it’s time to go to sleep now. You win.”
Thunderlane picked his brother up and carried him over to the bed. He curled the covers back and tucked Rumble in with a gentle smile. Then, he gave his little brother a small kiss on the forehead and patted his back.
“G’night, Thunderlane!”
Thunderlane laid down on top of the covers next to his brother and sighed. He shifted his wing so that it was laying over Rumble like a protective blanket and sighed. After a few minutes of shuffling, the two were in their proper sleeping positions. Thunderlane smiled as he looked over to his brother, watching his chest rise and fall in the deep embrace of sleep.
“G’night, Rumble.”
As Thunderlance felt himself drifting off to sleep, his mind began to wander. Surprisingly, his mind wasn’t filled of images of the gruesome museum anymore. Instead, it was filled of images of him and his brother frolicking together in the fields, playing hoofball and gossiping. Thunderlane sighed in content.
Hey, wait a minute… Rumble’s always had a stronger constitution than me when it comes to these things, why’s he the one having—
Thunderlane looked back over to his little brother. He could see the small twitches in Rumble’s hooves as he struggled to remain still. Rumble’s eyes shifted back and forth in place under his eyelids as he tried to steady his breathing to make it look like he was sleeping. The faintest hint of a smile was visible on his small muzzle.
Oh, you clever little colt.
Thunderlane wrapped his wing around Rumble in a tighter embrace, smiling as he closed his eyes again. He soon felt himself drifting off to sleep through the haze of exhaustion that was suddenly creeping over his body. Before he passed into the land of dreams, he gave soft whisper.
“Thanks, Rumble. You’re the best little bro that a stallion could ask for.”
Next to him, the colt’s smile stretched across his muzzle as he nestled into his brother’s arms and drifted peacefully to sleep.
