When Nightmares Become Real

The bipedal creature was running once again, still carrying its bloodied tools, still wearing its blood-stained clothes, still with its dog companion running along, just behind the creature.

It looked very similar to Discord, and about the same height. It had very little hair on its body, other than its head and face; those were covered in long, unkempt brown hair. It arms ended in appendages similar to Spike's, but lacked claws. Its clothes were covered in dried blood; the creature had seen many battles and much death. Its clothes appeared to be a mixture of dark, earthen colors under the layer of dried blood. Its "tools" could only be described as loud and deadly, the only exception being a large, foot-long knife. That was covered in blood, like the biped's clothes. The loud tools were a mystery, but very scary.

The dog fared no better than its alien compatriot. Both were covered in blood, dried and fresh, but the dog seemed to have a slight limp in its front right leg. Both were covered in nicks, cuts, and burs from the forest they were running through, but the dog was the only one that seemed to have a concerning injury.

As they were running, loud explosions erupted into the otherwise quiet night. Small bursts of dust and chunks of dirt were ripped from the ground around the pair, but neither were hit by whatever was being thrown in their direction. The biped could see an opening in the forest, an escape. However, about ten yards became ten miles as the alien heard a loud yelp over the explosions that ripped through the air.

The dog fell and rolled on the ground, stopping suddenly as it hit a tree and lay still, whimpering quietly as blood began to pour from the hole in its previously injured shoulder. Only one sound was heard in the night, dominating the loud explosions, which were growing nearer, and then some. The biped screamed in horror and rage.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" The biped dropped to one knee, blocking the dog from the shrapnel ripping through the darkness surrounding them, turned to face the source, lifted the largest tool, pointed it in the opposite direction it was running, and squeezed the small lever at the bottom. Loud explosions emanated from the thing, sending its own wave of the shrapnel into the forest. That was the only noise heard for about half a minute, until there was and audible click that came from the deadly thing. Then... silence.

The alien was shaking from fear and rage and panting shakily, staring into the darkness he had just launched the hail of shrapnel into. The creature then remembered the loyal companion it had just protected. He turned quickly and found the dog against the tree, still whimpering and bleeding. Still alive, but only just.

The biped looked mournfully at the animal. It had nothing it could use to repair the damage. The dog was dying, but it would a long painful death of bleeding out of the hole in its shoulder. The biped had no choice.

The alien sighed deeply, then began crying, which quickly became sobs that shook the biped as it produced a much smaller tool than the one it had just used, but obviously used for the same purpose. It sat by the dog, comforting it, petting it, as he pointed the deadly thing at the dying animal's head. It spoke to the dog, as if the animal could comprehend the biped's speech.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I'll see you later buddy, and we can play all you want, and we can get out of this horrible mess..." The alien choked out its final words to the animal between deep sobs and inhales for breath. "G... G-goodbye for now, buddy. I won't forget you..." With those words, the biped looked away and squeezed the lever. One last explosion erupted in the air. The rest of the night was quiet, except for the alien's mournful sobs.

Twilight's eyes shot open and she bolted upright in bed, covered in sweat despite the cold winter night. This was the worst nightmare by far since they had begun. She begun weeping in fear and sadness, as if the dog were her own. She heard a small creature rise and pad over to her bed. It was Spike, her number one assistant in the library in Ponyville.

She shook as the sobs rattled her body. The young dragon's attempts to comfort her weren't working. He sat and waited for a half hour until she finally was able to stop sobbing, tears still rolling down her face.

"Another nightmare, Twilight?"

Twilight spoke in a raspy voice, raw from her sobs. "That's an understatement Spike. It was the worst one yet."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Twilight always told Spike about the nightmares that woke them both in the night, and tonight was no exception. She didn't want to talk, but she certainly didn't want to return to that dream either.

"Sure, just let me get a drink first. My throat is raw."

"Sure thing, Twi'. Just say when you're ready."

Twilight repeated the happenings that occurred in the dream, to the last detail. Spike looked like he was on the verge of tears when she spoke of the dog's fate, but he controlled his emotions well. "That does sound like the worst one yet." His voice quivered, but didn't break.

"I hope we can figure out what's causing these things. It's certainly not Celestia or Luna, they both love you too much. Heck, even Discord isn't this cruel, reformed or not."

"You're right, Spike. It isn't anyone we know, but I think we should see Discord and the other princesses. They may have an idea of what's going on or who's causing it. Or better yet, how to fix it!" The lavender princess's optimism was returning, much to Spike's relief.

"That's good thinking, Twi'. We should definitely do that." He yawned and began walking back to his bed. "I'm going to get some more sleep. You should too, if you can. I'll see you again in the morning."

Twilight sighed and said goodnight to the lazy dragon. She looked out at Luna's moon and guessed it was about midnight. She had an idea of who she could talk to first, even in the middle of the night. A certain always-rhyming zebra that everypony had once feared.