Drums of War

I awoke with a gasp, sweat rolling down my forehead. My blurry eyes scanned my room in a panic, my body remaining absolutely still to pick up any odd sounds. After roughly ten seconds of pure terror, I managed to settle down. Just a dream... I told myself, pressing my palms against my face. It was only a dream. Taking a deep, shaky breath, I composed myself before rapid thuds against the floor lead to my bedroom door being opened.

"Harold, is everything okay?" I smiled. Sweet Twilight, always checking in at the slightest sign of distress. My smile only grew when I saw her disheveled mass of purple hair. "It was the dream, wasn't it?"

Instantly, the smile fell from my face. The burnt-orange sky, the shimmering towers, the drums... I dreamt of them almost every night, and it never made any more sense. What did any of it mean?I knew there was more, but almost everything was lost upon awakening. Everything but those damnable drums...

Bu-bu-de-dum, bu-bu-de-dum, bu-bu-de-dum... The incessant noise plagued me for hours after waking, on my bad days. Despite this, I'd managed to make a decent life for myself. The only downside was, of course, the dreams.

My silence must've been enough to tell the mare what happened, because in my sleepy stupor I failed to notice her move until she was pressed against my side. "Harold...if the medicine isn't working, you know we need to tell Princess Luna." I flinched out of my momentary space-out, staring down at the unicorn mare.

"I'd rather not. I can deal with this. Nightmares never hurt anybody, right?" My smile didn't reassure her much, I could tell. But something just seemed...off about Luna. Like she could see something I couldn't. Nonetheless, Twilight relented and left me alone on the bed.

"If you're not comfortable around her, just say so." Was I really that transparent? "I promised Applejack I'd meet her at the farm, will you be alright here by yourself?"

I rolled my eyes and pushed a hand through my short brown hair. "Not sure, I think the Fantasy section is plotting something." One of the perks of living in a library? I never get bored. Barely three months in Ponyville and I'd already read almost every book here, but you never know what you can miss on the first read-through.

I suppose that's one of the things that brought Twilight and I together: we're both tremendous nerds.

Twilight rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath before leaving me alone in my room.

Standing, I gave a couple quick stretches before donning my usual attire. One of Twilight's new friends, another unicorn named Rarity, had made me a rather crisp new suit in exchange for a few errands. Perfectly tailored and made of the finest materials, I felt like nothing short of a millionaire as I pocketed my watch and went about my day.

Bu-bu-de-dum, bu-bu-de-dum, bu-bu-de-dum...

...Nope, not even that could ruin my mood.

But this could. I hid under the awning of a small shop, watching with disbelief as the downpour of chocolate rain reduced everything in sight to a soggy, sugary mess.

And it all started out so well... There was no way I was going out in that in my new suit. What the Hell happened? My eyes caught a thoroughly soaked Twilight running through the milky streets, her assistant Spike huffing behind her. "Twilight!" I shouted over the pitter-patter, "what the Hell's going on?!"

"Not sure! No time! Canterlot!" Her speech was almost unintelligible, but I was able to catch the gist of it. Groaning, I dashed out into the suit-ruining shower and ran alongside the pony.

"Then I'm coming with you!" I was met with silence until we were all in the library, a sticky ruined mess.

"N-..." Twilight huffed, panting almost like a dog. "N-no...You stay here. Ponies listen to you." I almost contradicted her, but thought better of it. Ponies did seem to follow my directions without question more often than not. Twilight being the only exception.

I nodded my reluctant assent. "At least tell me you're not going alone?"

She shook her head. "The girls are coming with me." I nodded in understanding. In the months since Twilight and I had arrived in Ponyville, she had made several close friends. My favorite of which was Rarity, the unicorn fashionista. Followed closely by Applejack and Fluttershy. The former was down-to-earth and a joy to talk to, while the latter was just too adorable not to love.

My thoughts took a turn at the last two, however. Rainbow Dash was far too brash and loud for my tastes, and never truly got over her initial distrust of me. Pinkie Pie, however, was another beast entirely. I shuddered lightly, my mouth forming a grim line.

"Harold...are you alright?" I heard Twilight ask, jarring me out of my thoughts.

I grinned and looked down at myself. "Yeah, just dreading what Rarity will say when she sees what happened to her suit..."

Twilight chuckled and shook her head. "I'll let her down gently." Her expression turned serious, looking me dead in the eyes. "You stay out of trouble. Understand?"

I rolled my eyes and waved her off. "Yeah sure, I'll be fine. You're gonna be late, you know."

One panicked "Omigosh!" later, and I was alone in the library.

I chuckled at the silly pony before making my way up to the restroom. It was always fun to see Twilight, usually so calm and collected, completely lose it. It was quirks like that that made me gravitate towards her. In a world of magic, manticores, vengeful goddesses and talking unicorns, seeing something so human was a treat. I was still smiling when I stripped off the sticky mess of a suit and hopped in the shower. At least this is still water... I smirked as the scalding shower beat into my back. It's the little things, I suppose.

One question still burned at me, though. What had caused this? Even in a land like Equestria, it just didn't rain dairy. Even the whole fiasco with Nightmare Moon seemed mundane in comparison to something so...random.

"It doesn't make any sense..." I mumbled to myself as I began to wash the sweet drink from my skin.