They come at night... Mostly

Up and down my sanity goes I wish they all knew
But nobody knows

~Sanity - Hazel Hira Ozbek~

~Jaeger~

It's an interesting thing, seeing the after effects of the initial incursion inflicted upon another. Their minds, vastly different to your own, yet at the same time, so similar. I wonder; 'How do they lose their mind when I retain my sanity?' Such a question raises others. 'Am I really still sane, or is it all a trick of the mind?'. Rainbow Dash was one such pony that made those questions come to the forefront of my mind. Having heard about her, she was once the bravest and most loyal of ponies ever heard of. She'd put most of the Royal Guard to shame she was so loyal. Now, she'd become this stranger before me. She barely resembled the mare in the picture. Where once there was a fire in her magenta eyes, now there was a hollow emptiness.

But not all was lost regarding her. She recognised Twilight, for starters. She was smart enough to hide herself. From what I could tell, she'd lost who she was, but none of her memory. She was more like me than I cared to admit, even to myself.

"Twilight!" the chromatic mare whimpered in her friend's arms, sobbing afterwards. Twilight held Rainbow Dash tightly, refusing to let her go. I could see tears forming in Twilight's eyes again. A part of me was getting tired of their constant crying while the rest of me understood why they were doing so in the first place. I caught myself before I could say anything and considered investigating such thoughts in the future.

"It's okay, Rainbow. I'm here. And I will not leave you again." Twilight declared. Rainbow just curled up closer to Twilight, pulling at her clothes like a foal did their parents when they were scared.

"When you feel she's ready, ask her about the others." I said, getting Twilight's attention. The lavender Alicorn nodded understandingly and tried to get Rainbow Dash's attention.

"Dash, look at me. I need to ask you something." she said with a gently, but serious tone. Very much Celestia's Student. I thought to myself as I turned to examine the other rooms for any enemies. "Did you see Applejack or any of the others during the attack on Ponyville?" I heard her ask from across the hallway.

"N-no. When the attack started... I flew to Cloudsdale to help defend it. I... I didn't think, Twilight... The need to defend... Cloudsdale took over my mind." she said between sobs.

I found the room that no doubt once belonged to the famous Pinkie Pie. It was strange though. I was led to believe that she was a jolly and excitable pony. The drawings on the wall suggested that might have been a cover. At the very least, it symbolised that she adapted to the mood around her. Something told me that encountering her would be... scary, to say the least.

I hoped to Celestia that the blood didn't belong to anypony alive at the time. As I left the room be, closing the door to rid myself of the eerie feeling it gave me, I heard Twilight talking to Rainbow Dash.

"Did you find a note addressed to us at all?" she asked. Rainbow Dash shook her head.

"No. Although I never went into the Basement. If it's here, then it'll be there." she replied. I guess her sanity's more intact than I thought. I pondered, going down the stairs to search for the note in the basement. Using a basic illumination spell, I searched the room below. From the state of Pinkie's bedroom, I half assumed the basement would contain several mutilated corpses. But it was surprisingly clean, if not a bit dusty. It was a storage facility for baking ingredients. No fucking Twinkies! I mentally shouted to the store owner.

With a sigh, I continued my search for the note. It was laying on a bench, practically the only thing there. When I picked it up, I saw it had been tampered with. My first guess was that Pinkie Pie had found it. The word 'Pie' in her name had been crossed out; rather savagely in red ink. She'd even gone so far as to scratch a hole in the paper. But the word 'Pinkie' remained untouched. The slight hardening of certain areas on the note indicated that somepony had been crying over it. I got the feeling that Pinkie was more far gone than even I could imagine.

~Twilight~

Rainbow Dash had finally stopped crying and had settled with shaking in my arms. Trixie took the opportunity to get some supplies out of Spike's bag, namely food. She offered Rainbow and I some. I turned my share down for the time being, but Rainbow grabbed at it hungrily. She must have used up all her resources shortly before we arrived. She ate her sandwich whole, barely letting a crumb hit the floor. When she was done, she snuggled back into my embrace.

"I'm beginning to worry about Jaeger. He should be back by now." Trixie commented, breaking the silence. As if summoned, we all heard his hoofsteps ascend the stairs. His face peeking from around the corner a moment later.

"How is she?" he asked. I smiled at him. It was kind of him to ask.

"She's stopped crying, and she just had something to eat. Reminds me of the old Rainbow Dash already." I mused, earning a bemused chuckle from the stallion. "Did you find the note?" I asked.

"Yes. They didn't find Pinkie Pie. Our next destination is Rainbow's cloud-home." he said, sitting down in the hallway across from Rainbow and myself. There was maybe a foot of distance between us.

I smiled at this new information. "Then let's get Rainbow ready to go and-"

"No." he interrupted. Confusion was all I felt as I looked at him for an answer. "The sun's set. They'll be out any minute now. We're stuck here for the night. I suggest you get as much sleep as you can." he clarified, before falling to his side. He rested his head on his arm and closed his eyes.

"The Shades are coming?" Trixie asked, horror filling her voice. As if the question were a trigger, Rainbow Dash began to fidget and cry.

"N-no! The voices! The sounds! The Screams! I don't wanna hear them any more! Don't make me hear them, Twilight! Please, help me!" she cried out. I looked to Jaeger for instructions, but he just remained as he was, eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to the event that was transpiring not a meter from him. "Twilight, I don't want to hear those sounds any more... please don't make me hear them?" my friend begged. The fright and sorrow in her eyes and voice broke my heart as she spoke.

"Rainbow, listen to me." I said, gently lifting her face to look at mine. She did so with little resistance. "I can't stop the noises from coming. You're going to hear them again. But you're not going to be afraid. Do you know why?" I asked. The Pegasus shook her head in wonder at my words. "Because unlike the other times, you won't be alone. You'll have me with you. And Trixie, and Spike, Winona and Jaeger." I said, brushing her mane back.

"Y-you'll stay with me?" she asked.

I cupped her face in my hands. "I told you that I would never let you go again. And I meant it. Tonight, we stay with you. Tomorrow, you come with us. Am I clear?" I asked in a slightly commanding tone. She nodded with a dazed expression on her face. "Look at Jaeger, Dash." I told her. The Pegasus did as she was told and she looked at the now open-eyed Unicorn. "He's our friend. You can trust him. He has the power to kill the monsters that make those sounds at night. He'll protect us from the monsters." I assured her.

~Jaeger~

"He'll protect us from the monsters." Twilight said. I looked at the hopeful eyes of the broken Pegasus as she looked upon me like I was a godsend. She truly was like a foal.

Yes. I will protect them. I thought to myself as I closed my eyes again. I will never again let those monsters take what's mine. I heard a slight rustling in front of me before feeling a warm body snuggle up next to me. The surprise made me tense up as my eyes snapped open. Those magenta eyes, only a moment ago a few feet way from me were now almost all I could see. Rainbow Dash's nose was almost pressed against mine. I held my breath, unsure of what she planned to do.

In a blur, her head was tucked into my collarbone, and I was constricted by a pair of arms. Surprise was not the feeling I had. Discomfort better described it, but it still wasn't the right word. Dangerous. That was it. Given her mental state, she could be dangerous. Perhaps not to Twilight, but certainly to the others and/or myself. "Will you protect us?" she asked. I hesitated to answer, looking to Twilight. She smiled at me and nodded, motioning for me to give her the answer she wanted.

"Yes. I'll protect you. All of you." I replied. Rainbow Dash sighed in content before snuggling up further to make herself comfortable. I awkwardly placed my own arms around her and tried to make myself more comfortable without discomforting her in the process. She seemed ultimately happy in the end. Great, another overreaction in the gratitude department. Twilight's kissing me was enough. Now I have a cuddle-buddy for the night. With a quick glance at Twilight, I closed my eyes again and drifted off to sleep.

~Rainbow Dash~

It was difficult to understand what they were saying. I knew that I used to be able to understand them perfectly, but something was blocking my comprehension. Was that what it was called? 'Comprehension'? But what remained of my mind did it's best to make thing's simple for me. In short, what Twilight was telling me was that 'Jaeger=SAFE!'

I looked at the complete stranger. He had a look of a pony that had been through worse than I had, but still maintained his sanity. Lucky Bastard. I thought before seeing his eyes close. Curiosity got the better of me and I crept closer to him, bringing my face up to his. My mind told me there was something awkward about the whole thing, but it didn't say what was awkward about it.

"Will you protect us?" I asked. His hesitation to answer unnerved me, but I tried my best to hide that. I didn't need to add to Twilight's worries. But he gave me the answer I was hoping for.

"Yes. I'll protect you. All of you." he said. I decided to abandon all caution with him and just went to hug him. Upon contact with his body, I felt a warmth the likes of which I imagined Celestia to radiate. Immediately, my mind associated Jaeger with the Sun. A beacon of light and goodness. If Celestia was dead, he was her reincarnation. My lifeline. My Monster!!! repellent.

Jaeger was Kindness, Jaeger was love, Jaeger was hope. And he was mine.

The night brought me the first good dream I'd had since before the Monsters!!! showed up. They were back. I could hear them. The screams, the howls, the roars, all blended into one. A waking nightmare that had made me what I was today. I hated it, but I was too frightened by them to do anything about it. Give me Discord, give me a Dragon, anything to fight against but them. I then remembered what Twilight had told me. Jaeger=SAFE! I looked up to see the grey Unicorn still sleeping soundly. Completely unaffected by the sounds. Each one made me shiver though. They were right outside the house.

"How does he sleep through that?!" I heard Trixie whisper to one of us.

"I think he got used to them. As I understand it. He only wakes up if they're inside the house. Kind of like a Proximity alarm." Twilight replied. It was sad that her response was crazy enough for me to understand fully. It was like when Pinkie Pie would actually form a coherent sentence every once in a while.

I turned in the 'Proximity Alarm's' arms and joined the conversation. "He'll still protect us, right?" I asked.

"Yep. As soon as a Shade gets close enough to him, it's dead." she replied.

Trixie brought up a good question. "How close is close enough though?" she asked. There was a moments pause between us before another loud roar pierced our ears. The girls scuttled closer, encasing me in a sort of sandwich, only Twilight and I were both patties while Jaeger and Trixie were the buns. I backed further into Jaeger and pulled Twilight closer. Trixie followed suit. I smiled as I felt Jaeger's hand rest over me. He made a content sigh before returning to his silent slumber.

"By the way, Twilight." I whispered to her, getting her attention. "Dibs on Jaeger." I said. Her eyes widened with shock.

"Dash, you can't call dibs on a stallion. Besides, I met him first." she blushed.

"Ah, relax. We'll all get a turn. We need to repopulate the species, anyway." I said.

Twilight gave me a look as if to say I was an idiot. She even said as much. "You lunatic, we're nowhere near the brink of extinction!" she replied. I ignored that lunatic part.

"Oh, well in that case; double dibs." I teased. Twilight was beginning to go red with anger. A part of me said that the old me would have enjoyed this too.

"Oh yeah, well I triple dibs him." Twilight retorted.

"Quadruple dibs." I replied.

"Quintuple dibs." she shot back.

"Six-"

"Either of you say dibs again, I'm throwing you both to the Shades and taking Jaeger for myself!" Trixie snapped from behind her.

"If you don't all shut up, you won't have to; the Shades will come to us." Jaeger said, startling us all. It was like a Mexicolt wave of flinches. Twilight pouted before apologising for us. "It's fine." he said. "Besides, it's illegal for teachers to date their students, Trixie threw me over a railing and Rainbow Dash socked me in the face. The only one who has a good chance with me is Spike and I don't even swing that way." he added. I turned to look at him with a smile on my face.

"Come on, what's a little playful punch between potential romantic partners?" I asked as coyly as possible.

"You're incredibly lonely, aren't you?" he asked. I sighed and nodded in shame. Just then, a loud thump came from the roof. Jaeger gave a quick shush, telling us to remain quiet.

A series of deep growls and various noises came from whatever was above. It didn't sound like any Shade I'd ever heard of. Then again, they'd never been so close before. I looked to Jaeger for any sign of hope. What I saw instead frightened me almost as much as the noises before tonight. His eyes were glowing bright red and he held a look of pure rage. Assuming it wasn't a shade, he knew what was up there. And whatever it was, he despised it more than anything this world had thrown at him yet. I could see in the way he stared at the roof, as though looking through it. A low hate filled growl came from his lips and that was all he did. He just remained as he was staring at it, long after I'd fallen asleep.