Luna arrived in the morning.

The sudden appearance of the Princess of the Night caught the townsponies off guard and they hastened to bow and show her the proper respect, but Luna walked by them and said not a word.

She had a human to visit.

When her sister had received the letter, she had been understandably horrified and had hoofed it to Luna with eyes welling up with tears.

Luna had left immediately after she had finished reading, not even bothering to take the chariot. She had flown down the mountain that housed Canterlot and had landed in Ponyville a few minutes after her sister’s sun had arisen; Staring at the bright solar body, Luna felt the emotions that her sister had poured into her sunrise and was glad that the townsponies could not feel what she felt.

It would be a terrible, sorrowful day for all if such bonds existed as they did between the two sisters.

It never ceases to amaze me, just how much she loves our subjects. Luna thought sadly as she alighted in the market and headed for Twilight Sparkle’s palace.

She knew that Ryan would still be asleep, a quick spell told her that, and it also told her that his nightmares had returned in full force.

Rainbow Dash was awoken from a restless sleep by the sound of a high-pitched keen that wavered and then fell into low sobbing.

She got to her hooves and peered at Ryan, who was now writhing on the bed, moaning and whimpering like a wounded animal. Shame once again filled her up and she rubbed her sore eyes to clear the sleep away before moving in closer, having decided that she would wake the human up.

She reached out, intending to shake him awake, but stopped.

What if my touching him makes him even worse?

Her hoof wavered, then dropped.

“I can’t….” she whispered, looking at the nightmare-lashed human on the bed. She turned and rushed out to tell Twilight, having had enough of watching him suffer.

She flew down the stairs, bounded around the corner to the kitchen, spotted Twilight, and opened her mouth to call out to her, when there came a loud knock at the door. Twilight groaned, got to her hooves and cantered off, leaving her bowl of cereal unattended.

Dash moved into the kitchen just as Luna came through the door.

“Where is he?” she asked, her voice slightly on-edge.

“In my room.” said Twilight, turning around at the foot of the stairs, “My bed’s big enough to accommodate him and allow him some movement without falling out. Now that I think about it, I should probably get him a bigger bed for his room.”

Luna didn’t hear that last part, she was already moving up the stairs, Twilight hastened after her and Rainbow followed suit, wondering if they had even seen her.

Then again, maybe it’s better that Luna doesn’t see me yet,. I bet Twilight wrote a letter telling them everything. I hope Luna doesn’t hurl me into the sun or something.

But, despite this fear, she kept at her ascent, hoping that she could get a chance to explain herself.

The lashes, the whips, the fire.

The mud, the blood, the shame..

enough….

The cold, the agony, the misery and the echoing laughter…

The binds digging into his wrists, his ankles, his chest….

enough

Naked, violated, tortured…..

His tears flowing, flowing, carrying himself away on them like a castaway in a storm……

Enough!

Ryan awoke with a scream that faded as his surroundings, and the ponies who were standing at his bedside, came into view. He saw their worried, sympathetic expressions and wondered, for the briefest of moments, why they were looking at him like that and his face tightened in confusion.

Then he remembered the events of the previous night and his face fell as tears welled up in his eyes.

“I’m sorry.” he whispered, fearing their wrath for a ruined evening.

Twilight shook her head and stepped closer, “There’s no need to apologize, Ryan. Really, there isn’t.”

“But I r-ruined your p-party.” stammered the human, “I-I didn’t m-m-mean to, but-”

He was interrupted by the sounds of soft sniffling that was not his own. He turned and saw Rainbow Dash standing in the doorway, her expression one of utter devastation and shame. He opened his mouth to ask her what he had done to make her cry, but, before he could, she had crossed the room and laid her head on his bed, her ears drooping as tears fell to stain the sheets.

“I….I...I’m so, so sorry, Ryan.” she cried, “I hurt you, I bullied you and now….now this….I’m sorry, I’ll do anything you want, anything to make it up to you, I swear!”

Ryan regarded her cautiously. He knew that she had wronged him, that she had hurt him, and he was wary of her.

What if she’s lying? he thought, She tried to- no, no she didn’t. But she could be lying, they could all be lying to me, trying to break me down. But why? Maybe….maybe I never left the Mistress, maybe this is all a dream.

Ryan felt a cold sweat break out on his skin as he began to look around, trying desperately to see any signs of the world around him breaking down; He imagined the walls weeping liquid reality as they fell apart, the ponies around him sprouting talons and fangs and ripping their skins off to reveal the twisted, unholy beasts underneath.

Have to do something… he thought as his breaths began to come out as hoarse wheezes, I have to know, I have to know if this is real.

‘Ryan? Are you okay?” asked Dash, forgetting her previous concerns as she watched Ryan grow more and more agitated, she reached out and grasped his hand.

Ryan started and glanced down. When he saw the blue hoof resting on his palm he instinctively closed his hand, feeling the slightly-calloused bottom, the soft fur and the kind of warmth that the things that had tormented him could never fully duplicate.

The human sighed, his tensed muscles relaxing as he slumped back, his frail hand still wrapped around Dash’s hoof.

The ponies exchanged curious glances, but all wordlessly agreed to not ask him until he was ready to tell. Dash looked at the hand that held her hoof, then at Ryan's face, which was looking a bit less frightened. Putting two and two together, she kept her hoof where it was.

Ryan blinked and turned his head towards the prismatic pegasus, he looked down and, when he saw that he was still gripping her hoof, he blushed furiously and quickly released her, his mouth already open as he apologized.

“It’s okay.” said Dash, “I don’t mind a little hoof-holding.”

Ryan averted his eyes and allowed a silence to fall over the company. He knew that the ponies wanted answers, and he knew that one of them would ask, even if they didn’t want to. So, clearing his throat, he stammered, “I…..I…..can I-”

“You don’t need to tell us if you don’t want to.” said Twilight, holding up a hoof before he could get too worked up.

“I….thank you.” he said, looking at his hands, “I’m sorry, it’s just that I don’t want to talk about it….wh-what happened to me, that is. I just want to rest a little while, i-is that okay?”

Twilight nodded, “Of course, I’ll tell Shining Armor and the others that you’ll be resting today.”

Ryan closed his eyes and took a deep, shuddering sigh, “Sorry…..I’m sorry…..I don’t want to be a burden.”

“You’re not a burden.” said Luna, her eyes wet with compassion, “You need rest, and I’m sure Rainbow Dash will give you any aid you need, correct?”

She turned to Dash, who nodded, “Yeah, you can count on me! I’ll get you whatever you need, just ask.”

Ryan blinked, then said, “Um...I don’t think I need anything right n-now, but thank you.”

Dash’s face fell, but she didn’t say anything.

Luna heard Twilight sigh, a sound that was so small as to be imperceptible to the others in the room. The lunar princess turned and saw the deep circles that had formed under her eyes as well as the tangled mess that her mane had devolved into.

Luna placed a compassionate wing on Twilight’s back and gave her a soft smile, “Come, Twilight, you need some rest as well, methinks.”

Twilight yawned, then blushed, “I guess so. I’ll use one of the spare rooms tonight.”

“I’ll go get you set up.” said Spike, running off as quickly as his stubby legs could carry him. Twilight yawned again and then followed her assistant without a word, leaving Ryan with Rainbow Dash and Luna, the former looking unsure and the latter looking as weary as the mare that she had sent away.

Ryan squirmed in his sheets and tried to prop himself up, Dash saw this and moved to help, but the way that his eyes widened and his breath hitched made her stop, and she watched as the human sat fully upright, drawing himself up tightly as if trying to make himself smaller.

“Are you alright?” asked Luna, “Do you need something?”

“N-no,” said Ryan, “I just wanted to get out from the sheets…..actually….is it okay if I take a walk outside? It’s just so….stuffy in here.”

Luna nodded, “Yes, but I, unfortunately, cannot accompany you, I have to speak with Twilight.”

Ryan nodded and closed his eyes as he slowly maneuvered himself out of bed, missing the significant look that Luna shot Rainbow Dash.

When he was standing properly he turned and gestured towards the door, “Lead the way, Rainbow Dash….I mean….if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Naw, it’s no problem at all.” said Dash, some of her bravado returning, “Just tell me where you wanna go and I’ll take ya!”

Ryan looked out the window, his face scrunching as he thought. After a minute he said, in a wavering voice, “I….I think that I’d like to go somewhere that’s grassy, someplace quiet, I really need to think.”

Dash nodded, “I know a place like that. Applejack’s orchard’s pretty quiet this time of night.”

“Would she be okay with me being there?” asked Ryan shyly, clutching his arm, “I mean….after what happened-”

“Don’t worry, Ryan,” said Dash, “Applejack’s pretty understanding, I’m sure she’ll be okay with you getting some thinking time in at the orchard.”

Ryan smiled softly and said, “Thanks, Rainbow Dash.”

Dash smiled back and said, “No problem. C’mon, let’s go, I bet the moon looks really nice tonight.”

She led Ryan out the door, mouthing a ‘Thank you’ to the lunar princess, who nodded and smiled, obviously happy to hear her night complimented; Luna waited until she couldn’t hear Dash or Ryan’s steps, then she exhaled and left the room to go speak with Twilight.

Ryan was right, she thought as the cool air that lay outside the room met her, it was stuffy in there.

Author's Note

Happy New Year Everyone!!!! Yayyyyyyy.

Now let's see how long until we fuck this one up.....whose bettin' on a week, do I have a week? Two weeks? Two weeks? I got two weeks, yessiree indeedy!

Sorry 'bout that.

Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, even if it was short, and please comment if you spotted a mistake.

Until next time.