Waking Nightmaresby Kelvin ShadewingChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 11Chapter 1Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 1 I'd like to think I'm a normal, sane, average guy. That I'm just leading a normal life from day to day and not doing anything that would get anyone else concerned. But of course, the pink pony sitting on my chest and smiling at me begged to differ. Now this might sound strange, but seeing cartoon characters in the real world was normal for me. When I get tired or stressed out, I start to halucinate to some degree, and ever since I started watching a particular show that starts with "My" and ends with "Pony," my morning halucinations were shifting more and more towards pony-related images. "Good morning, David!" Pinkie Pie sang to me. "Morning, Pinks," I said quietly enough that my room mate, Johnathan, who, not only dislikes My Little Pony, but didn't know about my visions or my affinity for cute, big-eyed equines. I pushed the bubblegum pink mare off myself effortlessly and climbed out if bed, cracking my joints as I stretched and shook the sleepiness out of my head. Stifling a yawn, I shuffled over to my computer and flipped the screen on, then logged into my college account to check my day's schedule. LOGIN: DAVID_CAVALIERE PASSWORD: •••••••• "What'cha looking at?" Pinkie asked me. "Nothin' much," I lazily replied. Then my eyes shot wide open, my mind snapping to full alertness as I looked down beside me. Pinkie was still there. I looked up at my room mate who was heading into the bathroom to take a shower. Once he'd turned on the water, I spoke. "How come you're still here?" I asked, keeping my voice low. "Cuz I haven't left yet, silly!" Pinkie Pie chirped and stood up to give me a noogie. I felt it. I really, really felt it. I turned off my monitor and looked at my reflection in the glass. Even though I could feel her touching me, my hair hadn't moved at all. "This isn't real," I told myself, "You can't really be here! That's impossible!" "Let me guess, she's not scientifically possible?" another familiar voice said from behind. I whipped around to find Twilight Sparkle standing right there beside my bed, looking up at me with a neutral smile. She and Pinkie were just over three feet tall, had the same outlines from the show, were cute as hell, and very, very vivid. More so than any halucination I'd ever had before, and worse yet, I was lucid, so I knew it was real. I've never had a lucid dream before, but I still slapped myself in the face, just to be sure. The two little ponies didn't disappear. I grasped my forehead and moaned. "This can't be happening. Why haven't you girls disappeared yet?" "I dunno," said Twilight, "Why are we here in the first place?" "Don't you start that with me," I said sternly, pointing a finger at Twilight, "You're in my head, not the other way around." "What's the matter, Davie?" Pinkie asked with her head tilted, looking up at me sadly, "Don't you like us anymore?" Looking at those big, shiny, almost fully black eyes and her quivering lip and splayed-back ears nearly made me cry. "Of course I like you! I just can't be caught talking to non-existant ponies! If someone sees me talking to you, I'll get thrown in a looney bin or something." "Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Twilight said confidently, dismissively waving a hoof at me, "Once we explain that it's all a misunderstanding--" "Explain?!" I choked, half laughing at her, "No, no, there will be no explaining. You ponies gotta be quiet and not talk to me! I can't go to class with you, and I definitely can't tell anyone about you!" "Maybe Princess Celestia could--" I cut Twilight off again. "No Celestia either! You're just gonna sit quietly and do nothing until you disappear, and if you're still here when I get back from class, I'm seeing the school psychiatrist. We clear?" "We clear on what?" John asked, coming out of the bathroom in a towel. "Nothing!" I said, quickly acting nonchalant. "Hey, this towel has seashells!" Pinkie squeed, "Do you know how many words rhyme with shell? Bell! Sell! Well! Tell!" Hell, I thought, and grinned at John. "I was just, um... you know, rehearsing something I needed to tell a co-worker who's been harassing me. That's all." "Ah," John said, clearly none the wiser, and totally oblivious to the ponies in the room with us. I dared a glance in Twilight's direction and saw she was blushing at my room mate as he dropped his towel. "Ugh, dude! Put some underwear on at least before you do that!" I held my hand out, blocking his groin from my sight. "Shut up, you homophobe," John said and started getting dressed. I sighed and got up from my computer, grabbing my own towel as I went to take my turn in the shower. The hot water helped wake me up some more, and hopefully cleared my mind of anypony-- "I hope you don't mind, darling, but I just had to compliment on your toned flank," a posh voice in front of me stated. I looked down and jumped with a yelp as I saw a sopping-wet Rarity looking up at me aprovingly. This was too much. I yanked the curtain open, disregarding the water splashing out onto the floor, and pointed at the door. "Get out!" "Alright, fine!" I heard my room mate call, "Jeeze, what's your problem today?" "Nothing!" I yelled back, then looked to Rarity again and said in a low voice, "Don't you know it's rude to peek on somepony you barely know in the shower?!" "Well, you aren't exactly a pony," she said back a bit too cheerfully for my comfort. I glowered at her. "Out." As she departed, I shut the curtain and sighed. It's gonna be a loooong day... Author's Note If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site! Chapter 2Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 2 "My name is Pinkie Pie!" "Please don't." "And I am here to say," "Cut it out." "I'm gonna make you smile, and I will brighten up your day!" "Pinkie, please! Not right now!" A few people noticed my outburst and stared at me as I walked from my apartment to the campus. I pulled my jacket's collar up and hid my face as best as I could with it. "What's the matter?" Pinkie asked me, "I thought you loved that song." She gave me her filly pout again. I swear, a pony coukd rule the world with a face like that. "I do," I grunted back, "But you really don't seem to understand what a bad idea it is for me to be seen talking to you!" "Um, David?" a soft voice above me said that made my heart melt. I looked up and saw Fluttershy hovering over me. How could I dismiss somepony like her? I sighed, completely helpless against her pleading eyes. "Yes, Fluttershy?" "Do I have to go too?" she asked, "I mean, I understand if you don't want me. But I'd like to stay... that is, if it's alright with you?" As she asked me this, she lighted down and let her mane cover her right eye. Confound these ponies. They'll drive me to drink. I gulped and braced myself. "I'm sorry, Shy, but you have to go too. All of you have to go, and I'm gonna find a way to do it today. That's that." Now tell me, have you ever seen a child's face when you tell them there is no Santa Claus or tooth faeries? That the Easter Bunny, if he ever existed, was likely shot by your neighbor, Billy Bob McCoy and made into pie? That's the kind of asshole I felt like when I saw Fluttershy's eyes welling up with tears. "You... don't like me?" Fluttershy started to sob. "I do like you!" I said defensively, "I just don't believe you're real, that's all." Yeah. I'm really tactful, aren't I? The small yellow pegasus burst into tears and ran off back in the direction of my apartment past a multitude of bystanders who took no notice of her at all. I sighed, determined not to feel sorry. But how could I not? Imaginary or not, I made Fluttershy cry, and I felt like a prick for it. Turning away from the pink party pony still nearby, I kept walking. "I don't have time for this crap. I'm gonna be late for class." I stepped down the stairs of the auditorium in my physics class and scooted down the row to my seat. It wasn't one of those really big auditoriums like you see in movies; just a small one for about fifty or so students. Still a big class, but not intimidatingly so. The other students were taking their seats as well, and I was beginning to feel very crowded. Our professor entered the room and pulled over a blackboard on wheels. "Not as impressive as Celestia's school, but still nice." Twilight was sitting on the desk of the guy next to me who was looking right through her. I glared at her and tried to ignore her, opening my notebook and looking down at the stage. Professor Langley began his lecture on kinetic energy and how it transfers between objects of varying phases and forms, then began drawing up formulas in chalk. "That's funny," Twilight spoke up, looking away from the sheet of cartoon parchment she was scrawling on in Equestrian cursive, "He hasn't once mentioned the effects of leylines on gravitational shifts." "That's because magic doesn't exist," I growled softly at her. "Dude, why are you talking about magic?" the guy next to me whispered. "Never mind," I said back, then grunted as Prof. Langley flipped the board over. "Great, thanks a lot. Now I missed the end of his notes." "Don't blame me just cuz you can't focus," my classmate berated me. "Sorry," Twilight said, "I can share my notes with you if you want." "No, thank you," I whispered. The guy behind me was staring at me. I met his gaze. "What?" "Nothing," he said before hastily returning to his own notes. I scowled and went back to writing. A sudden flash of every color in the rainbow startled me into jumping back, making me fall out of my chair. "Shit!" escaped my lips as I hit the forty five degree mark before accelerating towards the ground and hitting the short carpet floor. Prof. Langely and the rest of the class all looked at me. "Is everything alright?" he asked. Rainbow Dash was standing on my desk, glaring daggers down at me. "Hey! I heard what you did to Fluttershy!" "I really don't have time for this," I said through gritted teeth. Unfortunately, I didn't keep my voice down this time. "Don't have time for what?" my professor asked, "If you've something more important than physics on your mind, Mr. Cavaliere, please, feel free to share it." Dash glanced down at the professor. "Who's this egghead?" I picked myself up and reset my chair, taking my seat once again. "Sorry, sir... just had a bad headache." It wasn't exactly a lie; these ponies were really starting to get on my nerves. Ironic how the very ponies who had once been my mental santuary from stress were now becoming the source of it. "Well, try to keep it together, will you?" Langely said, and went back to the lecture. I held my head and sighed. Dash raised an eyebrow at me. "Well?" "I'll apologize to her later, OK?" I whispered back, "Can I please just get through class?" "Yes, Rainbow," Twilight said, "This is an important time. We'll see you later." Nice how Twilight was still trying to include herself in my classes, but at least it seemed to get rid of Rainbow Dash for now. "Twilight," I said to the lavender mare as I trekked to my next session, "Why are you still here?" "I think it's apparent that we're going to be here a while," Twilight responded. "No, I mean, why are you here? In college with me? It's not like you can actually participate." I figured if these hallucinations were going to persist, I might as well try to understand them. "I just like to learn," she replied, "And this is a place of learning, right? So I wanna see all that I can. Besides, I got the notes you missed in physics." I had to raise an eyebrow in disbelief. "How did you do that?" She paused in thought. "I payed attention and wrote. It's what I'm good at." "Well, I've got C++ next, so if you'd please let me concentrate this time? Programming is a more hands-on, or hooves-on, class." Twilight nodded. "Alright, I'll keep quiet. But I'm still sitting in." "Fine," I said, and went ahead to my next class with Twilight trotting happily beside me. Author's Note If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site! Chapter 3Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 3 Programming class went by much like physics did: Twilight had promised to keep quiet, but continually asked questions whenever something caught her interest. I'd actually managed to swat her when no one was looking, but that only shut her up for a minute. I didn't have any other classes scheduled for today, except a late math, so after a quick lunch of a chicken sandwich with fries and a fruit cup, I sought out the campus psychiatrist, Dr. Meredith Straus. As I sat in the waiting room, Pinkie Pie sat on the receptionist's desk and played with her hair... the receptionist's hair, I mean. The lady's hair was actually moving as the mare's hoof flicked it, but she was totally oblivious like everyone else. I figured this must mean any physical change in the environment by the ponies must have been in my head, or possibly aided by a coincidental breeze. Twilight was staring at me the whole time, actually looking sorry for what I was going through. Her sorrowful look made me want to talk to her, but I wasn't alone, so I couldn't. No doubt sensing my emotions, Twilight spoke to me. "I'm sorry about all this. I know it must be awkward for you." "No. Really?" I muttered back. Twilight chuckled with her mouth closed, bunching up her shoulders. "Nice one. But really, I can see how this is all very stressful to you. I mean, Rainbow jumping you in front of your peers, Pinkie being random... me asking questions at the wrong time." "Boy, you really do know how I feel," I whispered, making sure the receptionist wasn't listening, "And I'm sorry, but I really can't believe you're real. As much as I love you girls, it isn't healthy for me to have imaginary friends. I have to get rid of you." Twilight pouted. "I understand." I checked the receptionist, who was staring into a book and facing the other direction. Taking this opportunity, I put my hand on Twilight's head and stroked down her back. "Twi? Would you tell Fluttershy I didn't mean to upset her, and I'm sorry?" The unicorn smiled back at me. "Of course. I'm sure she knows, but I'll tell her anyway." She nuzzled my hand, and I couldn't help blushing a bit. Despite being imaginary, I could still feel her soft fur and the warmth from her body. Feeling her texture was even weirder considering she looked perfectly smooth and had an outline. "Dr. Straus will see you now," the receptionist said. I thanked her and went into the office. Despite closing the door behind me, Twilight and Pinkie were right there with me all the same. Dr. Straus gave me a warm smile and waved at the traditional psychiatrist's couch. "Hello. Please, take a seat." "Thanks for seeing me. I'm David " I said, sitting on the couch and twiddling my thumbs in my lap. "It's no problem," she said, scooting her roling chair closer as she held a clipboard in one hand, and put a pen to her mouth with the other. She bit the cap and popped it off with her teeth, then put it on the other end of the pen. "Now then, what's bothering you? I'm guessing you're stressed about the fall finals?" I shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe. Not sure what the cause is, really, but something really weird is happening to me." "Tell me about it." "Well... since I was little, about ten, maybe, I've had these sort of hallucinations for a few minutes after waking up. Like, sometimes I'd see things out of a video game or a movie that I know can't be real." "That's not unheard of. Some people continue to dream a few moments after waking up. Mostly caused by sleep deprivation. It's rarely a cause for alarm as long as it's just simple images." "Yeah, well..." I glanced at Twilight who looked solemnly at me, "I'm still having them." Dr. Straus scrawled something on her notepad. "Well, most people who experience this sort of thing seldom outgrow it--" "No, no," I cut in, "I mean, it's happening right now. Like right this minute." She looked over her glasses at me, a gesture that confused me to no end. How did making someone blurry help the situation at all. "You mean they appeared now?" I shook my head. "No, I mean, since I woke up, I've been seeing..." I paused. Saying ponies this early on would surely lose her. "...seeing them. All day long." Dr. Straus put her clipboard down and looked directly at me. "Who are you seeing?" I facepalmed and exhaled under my hand. I wanted to laugh. Hard. I wished I was joking, and then she'd berate me for wasting her time, and then I could get on with my normal life. But I was dead freaking serious as my next words quietly came out of my mouth. "Have you ever watched My Little Pony?" She stared at me, blinking once. "Excuse me?" "Have you ever watched," I said a bit louder, "a cartoon show called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic?" She smiled understandingly. "I see. Don't worry, David, I'm well aware of the brony community. In fact, my son's a brony." "He is?" I asked. "Yes, he is," Dr. Straus said, "And, no, I'm not against it. I think it's a much healthier interest than most of the other garbage on television these days." "Well," Twilight spoke up, "That makes things easier. Maybe she'll even want to talk to me?" "Nice try, chicky," I said to Twilight. "Excuse me?" Dr. Straus said. "Ooooooh, busted!" Pinkie laughed. "N-not you!" I stammered, putting my hands up defensively, "I meant... well..." I sighed and looked down at my shoes. "The thing is... I'm seeing the ponies right now." Dr. Straus was clearly concerned at hearing this. "Did they speak to you? And you responded?" Her voice sounded alarmed. I glanced from her to Twilight, to Pinkie, then back to Straus. "Yeah. I've been talking to them all day. Why?" The look on Dr. Straus' face told me that what I said was bad news. She was about to speak, but was interupted by a buzzing noise. She checked her pager, and her eyes widened even more. "Oh, gosh, I'm late!" She put the pager away and stood up. "I'm sorry, David, but I really, must go. Listen to me, no matter what, you must not interact with these hallucinations. If you do, you'll fuel them." "O-OK... what's going on?" I asked. "I'm late for a meeting with a disabled student. I'm very sorry to leave you like this, David. We'll pick this up later, I promise." "Alright," I said solemnly, "Tomorrow?" "Yes, I have an open slot tomorrow at two." "OK, I'll be here." The four of us, the two humans and the two ponies, exited the office. Straus and I said our goodbyes, and I stood outside the main campus building, watching her drive off. "So, what's the plan?" Twilight asked me. "The plan?" I said, not looking at her. "The plan hasn't changed. I'm ignoring you until you disappear, and there is nothing you can do about it." Author's Note If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site! Chapter 4Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 4 "Davie! Davie! Gimme your answer due! You're half crazy, with six ponies haunting you! I'll follow you to your marriage, if you ignore this barrage! We think you're sweet, though you eat meat, Don't ignore me or I'll eat you!" That last line was sung in Pinkamena's voice and sent chills down my spine. I couldn't resist looking at her to make sure her hair was still curly. Being a psychopath was one thing. Having a psychopath living in my head was another. "Aha!" she shouted gleefully, poking her hoof in my face, "I made you look! I win the game!" "Pinkie!" Twilight scolded, "This isn't a game! We're inside a stranger's head, and we aren't welcome here. Now please, let him ignore us." "Thank you, Twi," I said, and immediately smacked myself in the face. I was sitting on a bench outside, trying to kill some time until math class. I could think of a thousand better things to be doing right now, but all of them seemed like they would elicit more activity from the ponies. The rec room would surely get Pinkie going, and the library was off limits because of Twilight. For all I knew, she would start levitating books around in my mind, but in reality, it would be me holding them in the air and making magic noises with my mouth... yes, I realize how weird that sounds. But for all I knew, any physical changes around me as a result of the ponies might not just be in my head. I could be unknowingly doing something and just think it was the ponies. That wasn't a risk I was willing to take. If there was any comfort to all of this, it was Fluttershy. She'd forgiven me, and had elected to cuddle me as much as possible, so I was sitting with Equestria's most adorable citizen laying on my lap with the side of her face pressed against my belly. It hurt to see something so cute yet not be able to pet it without looking like I was pretending to... well, park bench and petting an invisible person/pony... yeah. Not gonna go there. Pinkie then whispered something into Rainbow Dash's ear. The pegasus giggled and shot up into the air. I thought she was just gonna do some flips and spins to get my attention, but the earth-shaking explosion that followed had other ideas. I was literally thrown off the bench onto the shaking ground as the tremor struck. Up in the sky, I could see the sonic rainboom spreading out as Dash came down at me at full speed and came to a dead stop, executing a perfect landing. I death glared at her, but what I saw behind her caught my attention right away. People were running for cover?! "Hey! Are you OK?" some girl asked me. "Y-yeah," I said, getting back on my feet, "What happened?" "An earthquake. Come on, we need to get somewhere safe in case of after shocks." "Oh, OK..." I was still a little dizzy, which didn't help my brain process what had happened. When it all came together, I stopped and caught my breath. These ponies... can predict earthquakes?! It was no hallucination. Other people were seeing it too. Naturally, though, some suspicions about it were still floating through my mind. "Pinkie Pie, I swear to God, if this is your way of getting me to pay attention, you've gone too far this time." "Me?" the pink earth pony squeaked, stepping back and taking offense, "I can't make earthquakes happen. That was real!" "Yeah, right," I shot back, "And there's no way all those people running around were illusions too?" "If I may interject," Twilight interjected, "David, you do have a point. All that could have been an illusion, but it wasn't." "How can I believe that?" I asked. "Because, Pinkie Pie would never pull a prank that would get somepony in trouble," said Twilight, "And I don't know how much you know about the human mind, but do you know how some animals can sense disasters?" I nodded. "Well, it's possible that humans can too, only subconsciously. And if we are a product of your subconscious, as you so insistently believe, Pinkie's rainboom prank could have been your mind's way of warning you about the oncoming earthquake." My inner Spock was telling me her logic was sound. But why did it have to happen like that? Why couldn't it be, like, Pinkie having one of her doozies, or something? I entered the storm shelter where some other people were waiting in case of another quake. A few minutes later, the all clear was given, but I was told to be careful since they could still happen later. After checking my watch, I figured that if I took a short walk, I'd be able to kill enough time while trying to ignore the girls some more before math. Twilight was the only pony who wanted to stay with me during math class. The others said they would rather explore the campus, which translated to going into my memories of this place and seeing what it was like through me. All things considered, I was taking this pretty well, which actually made me even more afraid that I may have hit the point of no return long ago. "OK, look," I said before entering my classroom, "If you're gonna be in here with me, you need to be quiet! This room is smaller and if I'm caught talking to you, they'll send me out, and I'll be in big trouble, so just please, please, please don't get me into trouble!" Despite the facet that someone could have been watching, I put my hands together pleadingly, looking down at Twilight with my best puppy beg face. "I understand," she said flatly, "Your studies are very important, and I'd hate to have somepony interrupt me when I'm trying to write a report to the princess. I'll be quiet, but may I still read your notes?" I sighed heavily. "Alright, fine. Just no distracting me, and for the love of God, no making things float. Promise?" "I promise." "Alright." I took a deep breath, and grabbed the door handle. A short pause of doubt kept me from opening it, but I shook it off and went in anyway. If I had anything in my hand, I would have dropped it. Everyone in the classroom was a pony. Author's Note If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site! Chapter 5Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 5 There I stood in pure agonizing paralyzed horror. A few of the cartoon ponies looked at me from their desks for a moment, and then went back to taking out their paper, pencils and textbooks from their... ugh, saddlebags. And yes, each saddlebag had a clasp that matched their cutie marks. A nudge from Twilight helped me regain the feeling in my skin, and I stepped forward, staring at each pony as I slowly went by and slipped into the one, singular empty desk next to the window. Mr. Adams came in, still human, and saw me sitting there. "Oh, hello, David. Nice of you to come early today." "Early?" I said, looking around at all the ponies who were now staring at me. "You look a little pale," Mr. Adams said, "Are you feeling alright?" "Of course!" I said a bit loud, noticing a bead of sweat rolling down my face, "Why wouldn't I be?" I'm just having a nervous mental adorable breakdown, that's all! A few of my classmates came in and took their seats, the ponies in them evaporating away as they were sat on. The ones who were still there gasped in surprise, and even flinched or gaped before new students sat on them as well. I didn't know if I should be laughing or weeping at he sight of little ponies bursting under unsuspecting human butts. Twilight seemed totally indifferent at this sight, and instead took her seat in the aisle next to me, conveniently blocking the open side of my chair. I knew she wasn't real, but I also knew I could feel her touch. To try and step out through her would probably cause me to trip. "Well, alright then," Mr. Adams said, "Welcome class. As you all know, season finals are coming up, so today, we'll be reviewing for them." He started writing equations on the board for us to copy and solve. I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but talking ponies running around in your head tend to distract from these things, but in case anyone's wondering what class I'm taking specifically, it's pre-trig. That's just a fancy way of saying I was taking calculus all over again. Same stuff I already did in high school, but it was a required course. Half an hour passed, and I noticed Twilight was glancing between her notes and mine. "Wait, that's not right," she said, "Remember FOIL? You need to do this part first, then this one." She pointed around my work with her hoof. I raised an eyebrow and looked at what she'd written on her cartoon parchment. We were working on polynomials, and what she'd written was different than mine. I wasn't one to take advice from a figment of my imagination, but she was right. Her answers made much more sense than mine, and after rechecking on a calculator, I found hers to be correct. So, I got a pony calculator in my head? Dayum! I wrote in tiny letters on my paper, Thanks, Twi. then erased it after she read it. "You're welcome," she said, "Look, I know you're supposed to ignore us and all, but maybe we could work something out? Like, I could help you study or something?" I thought for a moment, then wrote, We'll talk after school, OK? then erased that too. "OK," she said with a nod, sounding rather relieved, "Because, to be honest, this is weird for us too." I stopped writing and stared blankly at my desk. How could I not have thought about that? Sure, they may be figments, but did figments have feelings too? And what if they felt lost here in this strange world, bound to someone they didn't know? A pang of guilt set in as I looked at Twilight. She actually looked sad, hanging her head down with her parchment on the floor. I wanted to ask her if she still thought she was real, but I wasn't that insensitive. I mean, yeah, I made Fluttershy cry (get off my back about that) but I wasn't going to press that issue any further. Besides, I was sort of thankful for her being here. That and she was my fave of the mane six. If they really were trapped like Twilight implied, then maybe by getting them out of my head, I'd be helping them too. With that in mind, I felt a lot less selfish now. Twilight ran ahead of me to gather the girls up for our talk. Don't ask me what that was supposed to mean. I was just glad for the peace and quiet as I walked back to my apartment. My room mate wasn't home yet; he worked the night shift at 7-11 from, get this, 7 to 11. He only had morning classes, which allowed him to sleep during the day. As a result, we rarely had time to see each other, so I can't honestly say we were close. I kicked off my shoes and sat on the sofa, exhaling heavily. Sitting on the floor, and looking at me expectantly, was Twilight, Pinkie, Dash, Fluttershy and Rarity. Wait a second... one, two, three... there's only five. "Where's Applejack?" I asked. "We don't know," said Dash, "She never showed up." "How is that even possible? You guys are all..." I saw Fluttershy's face, and didn't want to upset her again, "...usually together, right?" "That's the thing, dear," Rarity said, "We were all together when this whole mess started. I actually thought I was dreaming when I woke up and saw you getting into the shower." "Wait, you thought..." I pinched the bridge of my nose, "OK, back up a bit. Somepony please explain to me what happened before you ended up in my head." Twilight cleared her throat and stepped forward. "It all happened when we were having a slumber party with Princess Luna..." Author's Note If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site! Chapter 6Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 6 "Wait, why were you having a slumber party with Luna?" I asked. "Because she hadn't had one in over a thousand years," Twilight said flatly, "Now if you please, hold still." The unicorn put her hooves on my knees and brought her face really close to mine. I tensed up. "Uh, what are you doing?" "This will all be easier if I just show you." Her horn lit up as she touched it to my forehead. The purple light filled my vision and grew brighter and brighter. In moments, my vision was filled with ultraviolet light. When the light finally subsided, I wasn't in my living room anymore. It was a very fancy-looking room, decorated in dark shades of blue and stars, moons and other celestial bodies. And, no, I don't mean a bunch of Celestia's floating in space, although that would be an interesting way to express any bitterness for being banished to the moon, assuming Luna harbored such feelings. There were seven ponies with us in what I determined to be Luna's bedroom: the mane six and Luna herself. Luna was laying on her bed with her forelegs tucked under her chest, while the other ponies were resting on sleeping bags on the floor in a semi-circle around her. I stepped close to Luna and waved my hand in front of her. No response. I knew this was Twilight's memory, or at least my subconscious claimed so, so I wasn't gonna get a rise out of her anyway. Though it still amused me to try. "OK, I got one," Rainbow Dash said, "Luna, truth or dare." "Hmm..." Luna tapped her chin in thought, "Dare." "OK," Rainbow Dash said with her most mischievious grin, "If Discord ever breaks out of his statue again, I dare you to ask him out." Luna gasped, looking taken aback. "We could never do that! We refuse to offer courtship to the spirit of chaos!" "I'm sorry, Luna," Twilight said, pointing at a line in her sleepover book, "but the rules say that you chose the dare, so you have to keep it." Luna opened her mouth to protest, but it would be un-princess-like to go back on her decision like that. "Technically, dear," Rarity chimed in, "you don't have to do it unless that ruffian, Discord, escapes again. And what are the chances of that happening again?" I got a funny chill just before a flash outside caught my and everypony else's attention. It was shortly followed by a roll of thunder. "Sounds like that storm is gettin' awful close. Y'all sure it's safe to be havin' somethin' this big 'round the castle?" Applejack was looking out over the castle grounds, being closest to the window. "Tis nothing to fret over," said Luna, waving a hoof dismissively. As she did this, a menacing chuckle echoed through the room. "Oh, but it is, my dear princess." I knew that voice. John de Lancie! No, wait... "Discord?!" they all said in united surprise. "Ah! Discord!" I said aloud and snapped my fingers, even though nopony could hear me. His chuckle rolled through the room like another bout of thunder. "Why yes, I believe you are correct." A multi-colored mist swept in and formed the body of the draconequus on the floor in the middke of the pony circle, but he was smaller than normal. Standing next to him, I was able to look him in his mismatched eyes. He startled me when he glanced in my direction, looking confused at first before grinning. Did he just see me? Discord slinked over to Luna and rested his elbow on the soft bed. "Well, hello there, dear Luna! Long time, no see~!" he sing-songed. Tracing a finger on his lion paw under her chin, he put his face against her. "I believe you have something to ask of me? Hm?" Luna swung her muzzle away from him and looked at him scornfully. "Yes, two in fact. How did you get free? And what are you going to do?" "Well, as everypony knows, I am a spirit of chaos," he said cheerfully and floated on a cloud of cream cheese, "and the strangest thing has just happened. So strange in fact, that even I am surprised!" "Well, don't keep us in suspense," Twilight spat. "Ugh, so boring, as always. You really are Tia's favorite student, aren't you?" Discord teased the unicorn's nose with his bird talon and swirled around the mane six. "But if you must know... nothing happened." "Nothing?" Applejack said with her head tilted. "Nothing!" Discord chanted back, disappearing into thin air. "It's no matter of circumstance. I was brought here!" By who? I wondered. I looked from pony to pony and noticed something off: Pinkie Pie was looking right at me. "I'll bet he did it!" She was pointing her hoof at me now. "Uh, who?" Dash asked. "That guy!" Pinkie said, jutting her hoof at me to reiterate where she was pointing. Discord laughed. "Oh, but of course he did!" I looked around, starting to panic. Discord was on the other side of the room now, also looking at me. "Oh, but that's right! Only Pinkie Pie can see humans... hmm... I'll bet you all wish you could see him too!" "See who?" Twilight shouted, "There's nopony there!" "That's because he's not a pony!" Pinkie squeaked. "Enough games, Discord! If you have someone hidden here, show him to us!" Luna commanded. Discord rubbed his paw amd talon together, chuckling maliciously. "Oh, I'll let you see him. I'll even let you meet him! But only if Luna keeps her promise..." "O-our promise?" Luna stammered. Discord just grinned at her. "Why yes. Everypony must follow the rules of the game." Then he looked at me again. "By the way, you just lost." "You troll," I said, folding my arms. Luna cringed and blushed hotly. "Y-you mean... the dare?" Discord grinned and nodded quickly. The princess gulped. I leaned in closer; weird as this was, I just couldn't miss it. "Discord... w-would you... like to go out with me?" The draconequus began to giggle which escalated into pure maniacal cackling. He fell to the floor and clutched his chest, hind legs kicking in the air. And just like that, he sat up, his face dead serious. "Lose some weight and then ask me again." Before any of us could react, Discord snapped his fingers, and Luna's bedroom was replaced in a blink with mine. The ponies were now gathered around me as I slept. Well, it was the past me, not me, me. As the sun began to rise, the memory faded. Didn't matter. I knew what happened after that anyway. Author's Note If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site! Chapter 7Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 7 "Twilight," I said as the unicorn climbed off my lap and stood in front of me, "H-how come he c-could s-see me?" I didn't realize just how hard I was trembling. Discord was a memory, an image of the past. It shouldn't be possible for him to see me. Part of my mind argued that since it was all in my head, anything was possible, and I should ignore it. But when the draconequus looked me in the eye... I couldn't describe it. Something there seemed all too real. "To put it simply, Discord is the spirit of chaos. Maybe he can sense the future and knew you'd be watching from there." Twilight was looking up at the ceiling, thinking about something. I pointed at the pink mare behind her. "But then what about Pinkie Pie? She saw me too! And none of this explains where Applejack went." "I sensed you there with my Pinkie Sense," Pinkie told me, "when the tips of my hooves have that pins and needles feeling, that means there's a human watching me. I actually get it all the time." "Gee, I wonder why," Dash cut in sarcastically, "It's not like there's a TV show about our lives or something." She was hovering just above me, dangerously close to having her mane trimmed by the ceiling fan. Sadly, I'm no good at picking up on sarcasm. "Actually, there is. It's called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Tons of people watch it." "Yeah, I know," the cyan pegasus said with a disappointed scowl, crossing her forelegs and rolling her eyes. "That still leaves the question of poor Applejack," said Rarity, "She is a strong pony, but not the most... diplomatic." I chuckled. "Yeah, I know. I can't imagine what she might be doing around here, assuming she came to this world too." Of course I still didn't believe they were real, but I figured now that if I played along and helped them get back together, they'd go home and get out of my head. But still, I wondered to myself, just what has my subconscious cooked up for AJ? "Hello? Y'all deaf er something? Hello!" Applejack's voice increased in volume as she waved her hooves in front of the two humans embracing each other on a bench. A bus pulled up and the couple broke their hug, walking onboard the vehicle after other passengers disembarked. Applejack called out to them, jumping and shouting. Every human who passed her was completely oblivious to her. "Consarn it! It's like they're all deaf, dumb an' blind!" She sat down hard on her haunches and sighed. "Ah wonder where the others are. Ah'd give mah left flank just to be back together again." She eventually gave up and trotted down the street towards the setting sun. Her stomach growled like a manticore. "Ugh, there's gotta be some food 'round here somewhere." She lifted her muzzle to the air and took a whiff. The smell of something cooking nearby led her to a small store on a street corner. The sign on the front of the building was glowing, standing out vibrantly against the darkening night sky. 7-11. Applejack stepped up to the door, then jumped back a bit as the door opened on its own without the glow of magic. She cautiously stepped through the metalic portal and looked around inside, drawn by the scent of cream cheese pretzels under a heat lamp. "Nopony can see me, so Ah guess Ah can't get in trouble fer takin' one o' these." The orange earth pony put her forehooves up on the counter and grabbed a pretzel in her mouth. "Gah! What the hell?!" Applejack froze in place, her eyes shifting to the side and locking on the human who was definitely looking right back at her. She dropped the pretzel on the ground, getting a plop noise as cream cheese popped out from where she bit it. "Y-y'all can see me?" The human slowly nodded. Applejack bolted over to him and pounced his chest. "Thank Celestia somepony finally sees me! Listen, Ah know this is a might strange, but Ah need yer help t' find mah friends!" "Oh, man, I think someone roofied my beer," the cashier said, laying face up on the floor under the cartoon equine, "I'm totally seeing My Little Pony." Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Your little pony? Ah'm mah own little pony, ya got that?" She jabbed his chest with her hoof. "Now, like it or not, yer the only one in this confounded place who can see me. So like it er not, yer helpin' me out, least until somepony else can see me. Alright." The human nodded dumbly. "Thank y'all kindly," Applejack lightened her tone and stepped off him, "Mah name's Applejack. And you are?" "J-John..." Applejack helped John up. "Pleasure makin' yer acquaintance. Now, let's get goin'." "Ah-ah-ah. Not now." John stood back up at the register. "I got a job to finish here, so you're gonna stay quiet until my shift ends." The earth pony sighed. "Land's sake... fine, Ah'll just wait here till yer done." She started pacing around the store, reading the labels of all the strange items for sale to pass the time. John groaned and rubbed his head. "I hope these drugs wear off soon. My room mate's gonna flip if he finds out I'm seeing talking ponies." Author's Note If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site! Chapter 8Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 8 I sat on the sofa with the ponies, watching TV. And, no, we weren't watching MLP. I needed to think, and I couldn't sleep, so we stayed up and watched the news. My watch beeped at the hour change. "Eleven o'clock. Alright, ponies, listen up." The five mares sat up and looked at me. "My room mate will be back in about ten minutes, so I really, really need you all to behave. He already heard me talking to you this morning, but thankfully he thought I was talking to him." "We understand, right girls?" Twilight asked. The others nodded. "Mhmm." "OK, good," I said, brushing my hair out of my eyes, "Cuz I really don't need him of all people knowing I'm talking to invisible ponies. By the way, I should probably take off from work tomorrow." "How come?" Dash asked. "Because I can't deal with that and you five at the same time. I'm gonna see Dr. Straus again, and then I--" I was cut off by the sound of the lock clicking, and then the door opened. John walked in, looking pale and vacant. His hands were shaking as he dropped his car keys on the side table. "Dude, are you OK?" I asked. "Huh?" He looked at me blankly. "Oh, uh, yeah. Just, um... just a weird night, I guess. I'm going to bed." I raised an eyebrow. "OK then..." I watched him go into his room and waited until I couldn't hear him anymore. I turned to the girls. "Yeah, he's totally stoned." "Oh, dear! I hope it didn't hurt..." Fluttershy cooed. "Nah, he's really feeling like a million bucks right now, I guarentee it. He's just tripping." "A millionbucks? Tripping?" Fluttershy sounded even more concerned now. "Oh, dear! I simply must check on him!" As she fluttered into John's room, I facepalmed when I realized how I sounded. "Fluttershy, he can't see you." She ignored me, so I peeked in and watched her try to examine him. I rolled my eyes and turned back to the others. "Well, it's late, so I should go to bed too. You girls can sleep anywhere you want to." "Thank you," said Twilight, "Sorry we've been such a burden on you." I laughed and waved her off. "No worries. It could be worse. You all could be visible to everyone else too." The ponies all burst into laughter at this for some reason. I'm sorry, but I can't get by those awkward laughing moments that so frequently occur in cartoons. I crawled into bed and snuggled into the quilt. I yawned and silently bid the others goodnight. My eyes slowly gave up the fight to stay open, sliding shut as I drifted off towards dreamland... until I felt someone kiss me on the nose. I bolted upright and pulled the quilt off. Rarity had somehow climbed into bed with me, and was staring up at me with that adorable smile. I swear, sometimes she could get pretty darn close to Fluttershy cute with that face, but I was unfazed thanks to me being molested by a pony. "Rarity!" I whispered, "What the buck are you doing in my bed?!" "Well you said I could sleep anywhere!♪" She sat up and tapped my nose with a hoof. "And I choose to sleep with you." "W-w-what makes you think I want you in bed with me? Didn't we talk about personal space in the shower already?" The little white unicorn bunched up her shoulders and giggled. "Now, don't you play coy with me. I got on your computer, and I saw--" "Now wait a minute!" I said in a normal tone, "How did you even find those pics? You have hooves!" "Oh, so you do keep pictures of me?" She fluttered her eyelashes and drew me closer with her horn. "I'm flattered." I facepalmed. This chick was the ponification of Black Widow. "OK, fine, you can sleep with me as long as you don't tell anypony about my... collection." "Oh don't you worry about that..." She traced her hoof from my face down to my chest. "It'll be our. Little. Secret." I whimpered and laid back down. "Fine. Whatever. But my pants stay on!" The unicorn clicked her tongue and used her duck-lip pout. I rolled over and tried to fall asleep. It was only one day, after all. Who knows? They might be gone when I wake up. Wait a minute. This isn't my bedroom. Am I in-- "Intruder! Who art thou?!" I spun around on my heel and came face to face with Princess Luna. She was walking in from the balcony, presumably coming in from raising the moon. "Nice." I threw up my arms and let them fall to my sides. "Now I'm seeing them in my dreams too!" Luna blinked and then looked at me sternly. "We say again, identify thyself." I grinned. Reality was one thing. A dream world was different. "My name is David Cavaliere, but you may call me Master." She glowered. "Thou dares challenge us?" I smirked. "You mad, Lulu?" Her eyes shot wide open, and for a second, I swear she had Nightmare's eyes. She bared her teeth and glowed her horn, lifting me up and throwing me through the air. I flew back and slammed into the big door at the end of the throne room, sliding down and flopping onto the hard tile floor. Groaning, I reached around and felt the back of my head, then brought my hand in front. There was blood on it. Luna scuffed her hoof on the floor. "Vile invader! Prepare to be purged from our presence!" She began to charge me. Oh, buck... this is real! Author's Note If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site! Chapter 9Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 9 Here I was, in the throne room of Canterlot palace, in the presence of the princess of the night herself, Luna of Equestria, and she was rushing right up to meet me. It would have been a brony's wet dream... if not for the fact that she was rushing up to meet me so she could kill me! I braced myself against the door and turned my head, closing my eyes tight. Sure, I wanted to see Luna, but not like this! Of course, it was kind of my fault, but I thought she was the playful one! No use now. Time to just accept my fate, and wait for-- "Luna! What in Equestria are you doing?!" --Celestia to bail me out, of course! Luna skidded to a halt and looked back at her sister. I opened my eyes, and saw the regal princess of the sun approaching us both with confusion plastered on her face. "Luna, has Discord's madness driven you to this? What could breaking your horn on the door possibly accomplish?" "Break your horn on the... Oh~!" I grinned at Luna. "Guess who's the only pony who can see me?" Luna went bug-eyed and swung her head from me to Celestia and back again. "Thou meanst thou cannot see the intruder?" Celestia raised an eyebrow and looked where I was standing. "Dear sister, we are alone, you and I. You can drop the royal we." "But he's standing right here!" Luna besought, "He dared to mock us! And I believe he is responsible for what happened to the Elements of Harmony!" Celestia raised a hoof to silence her sister. "Luna, Discord is the one who plunged them into the unwaking slumber." "Unwaking slumber?" I queried. Celestia looked at me and smiled. "Besides, I'm sure if he really were there, he'd be very confused about all this. Wouldn't he?" "Wait, can she see me?" I asked Luna. Luna shushed me. Celestia chuckled. "Let me guess, then he'd wonder if I can see him." I scowled and walked up to her, then flicked her on the nose. Luna gasped. "And then he'd touch me and see if I can feel him, am I right?" Celestia grinned at Luna's astonished nod. "You have such a predictable imagination, dear sister. I'm surprised you've managed to hold your own against me in our games." "Ooh, Celestia, you troll!" I jibed. Luna glowered at me for that remark. Celestia passed through me (oh my gosh, I can see inside her stomach!) and put her hoof on Luna's shoulder. "You are exhausted, Luna. Please, take the night off. I will keep watch and wait for word of Discord's activities." Luna lowered her gaze. "You're right. I've just been so worried about them..." The sun princess nuzzled her sister on the cheek. "I know. I am too. But with Discord loose and the Elements incapacitated, we need our strength full and our minds clear. Now go rest. I will wake you if anything comes up before hoof." Luna hugged her sister, and then proceeded to leave, trotting down the hall towards her chamber. I slipped through the door before it could close and caught up to her, walking with my hands at the small of my back. "Hey, Luna?" She glared at me, but kept her pace. "Look, I'm sorry. I thought this was all a dream." "You made us look like a fool in front of our sister," she said lowly, looking ahead again. "There you go again with the royal we," I said, "I thought Twilight got you to quit that back on Nightmare Night." The princess whipped around and stepped in front of me, lowering her eyes to my level. "How does thou know of this? Art thou spying on us?" I paused and carefully thought about my answer. "Um, could I get back to you on that? We have a bigger problem here." Luna raised her eyebrow. "Such as?" "Well, for starters," I began, "I'm here for real, judging by how you could hurt me back there. And apparently, the Mane Six are in an... unwaking slumber, as Celestia put it? What does that mean?" Luna turned from me and looked down the hall. "Follow me." We came to her bedroom (squee), and there on the floor were the bodies of the Mane Six. I gasped and knelt down beside Twilight's body, trying to shake her awake. "Twilight! Can you hear me?" I grabbed Pinkie Pie and shook her. "Pinkie! Wake up!" "Do you... know these girls?" Luna asked, stepping beside me. I nodded. "Yes, they appeared in my world this morning. Or, yesterday morning. I dunno what time it is." "They've been this way since last midnight," Luna said, "When Discord--" "Interupted your slumber party and brought them to my world," I said, "Twilight showed me her memories." I stood up and surveyed the bodies of the other ponies. "Wait, Applejack is out, too?" Luna looked at the unconscious earth pony. "Yes. Discord spirited them all away. Why are you surprised at this?" "Because she wasn't with us all day long," I replied, "Nopony knew where she was. The rest of the Mane Six were with me when I woke up." Luna poked me with a hoof. "Why do you call them that? The Mane Six?" I bit my lip. "Well, remember when you asked if I was a spy?" She hardened her gaze. I motioned towards the bed at her. "You might wanna sit down. I have... a whole lot to tell you." Applejack paced back and forth through the apartment. She couldn't get to sleep, despite her best efforts, and the silence was killing her. She stuck her head outside her window to let the sounds of the human city keep her company, but it was like standing in a crowd; Didn't matter how big it was, with nopony to talk to, she might as well be alone. John's room mate struck her as weirder than the human she'd been forced to follow. He kept mumbling to himself, and even in bed, he seemed to talk in his sleep. It was strange, but even stranger when she heard him mention names he was familiar with. "Ah know it's mighty rude, but Ah got a funny feelin' about this feller, David." She began to look around through his room in search of some clues. Even if there were no leads back to Equestria, it would at least be a good idea to get to know the people she was staying with. It wasn't like she could ask, anyway. Going under his bed and rummaging through the things he kept under there, she caught her breath at the sight of a strange rectsngular box, and the lable printed on it. "Spaceballs? What in tarnation kinda name is thst fer this weird plastic book thing?" She tossed it aside and continued digging. Then her heart nearly stopped at the sight of another DVD case. "Mah Lil' Pony... Friendship is Magic Season One?!" Author's Note If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site! Chapter 10Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 10 "...and that's about the size of it," I explained, "So, quick recap, magic boxes, TV show, thought you were fake. Any questions?" Luna shook her head. "No. I feel that any questions would only confuse me further. And I have no choice but to trust what you say." "Thank you." I smiled. "Now then, the question I have: if Applejack was with you all when Discord cast his spell, why didn't she appear for me like the others? Even if this is all in my head, it makes no sense. I mean, I don't dislike Applejack, so I doubt my brain is filtering her out. Do you have any ideas?" Luna looked at the Mane Six's bodies. "We feared that disturbing them would have a bad effect, so where they lay now is the same position as the night they passed out. Do their places mean anything in relation to where they appeared in your world?" I pinched my chin in thought. "Hmm..." Carefully inspecting the layout, I counted the paces from where they were in Twilight's memory when they appeared in my room. "OK, so your bed is exactly where my bed is. But this room is bigger than mine. Applejack was over here, so..." "So?" Luna stepped forward, eager to hear my conclusion. I racked my brain, trying to match everything up. "OK, so if this spacing is right, she would have appeared outside my room. So she must have gotten startled... run off somewhere..." I looked up at Luna. "I have to get back to my world! If I'm right, Applejack could be lost! I gotta find her!" Wait a minute, what am I saying? This isn't real! Why should I find Applejack for her? Idiot! If I bring them back together, finish this quest, maybe they'll get out of my mind. And even if it's not real, wouldn't it be fun all the same? This is a rare opportunity, though. How many crazy people get to be crazy with characters they like? Maybe I could come to terms and keep them around? I'm not even sure I want them to go. And what if I become a vegetable? Living my entire life thinking I'm in Equestria? That might be fun at first, but people outside who care about me will suffer thinking I'm suffering. I can't do something that selfish. "David?" I snapped my head up, pulled out of my thoughts. "Are you OK?" "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just... thinking. Did you say something?" "I was saying that I cannot send you to your world." A pang of fear stung me. "Wait, what do you mean? Aren't you, like, a super-powerful alicorn?" "Please, calm yourself," she said reassuringly, "I cannot send you, but that doesn't mean you shant return. While the ponies who occupy your mind sleep in this world, it stands to reason you will only persist here as long as your body sleeps on the other side." "Oh." A wave of relief washed over me. "That makes a lot of sense. So... I just have to wait until I wake up?" Luna nodded affirmatively. "Well then... can I... ask you a favor?" Luna tilted her head. "Ask away." I stifled a fanboy squeal. "I'm sorry, I know this is definitely way out of line, asking this of a princess, but I may never get this chance again." "Do not be shy. If you would bring our ponies back, I owe you any favor." I bit my lip. "May I... hug you?" Luna lurched back in surprise. "A hug is one such thing given freely here. Why do I sense you wish for more?" I sighed and rolled my eyes. Might as well spill it. "Can I cuddle with you? Just until I wake up?" Damn, I got balls. Luna raised an eyebrow. "An unusual request. But under the circumstances... I guess it can be allowed." She lay down on her bed and patted next to her. I really couldn't help squeeing, but managed to keep myself composed as I slipped in next to her and she pulled me close with her forelegs, tucking my head in the crook of her neck. I giggled a little and held myself against her tightly, gently stroking her ethereal mane. I'm sure I'm pissing a ton of people off including this in my story, but hey, it happened, and y'all know you're jealous. And besides, it's my dream, so I can do what I want. Besides, I knew I'd pay for it one way or another later on. John stood on the checker board floor in the middle of a town of floating buildings, distorted images, and the strangest part of all, multi-colored pastel ponies running around, doing nothing that made even a lick of sense. "OK, where the hell am I?" he asked no one in particular. "Ponyville," answered a disembodied voice, "or should I say, the Chaos Capital of the World!" "Wait, I know that voice..." John looked up and spun around, searching for the voice's source. "Is that you, Q?" "I am known by many names." The voice followed up with a malicious chuckle. Then in front of John appeared the body of an eastern dragon with a horse head and mis-matched limbs. "But here, my dear burned-out nerd," said the draconequus, "you may call me Discord." John's eyes bugged. "Shit, man, this is why they say never do drugs!" Discord laughed. "Oh, yes, you'll do splendidly! Now listen here." He disappeared and then came up beside John. "I've got a job for you, and if you do it, all of this," he waved at the distopian village, "will leave your mind forever. Or remain as your dream world. Your choice, of course." John raised an eyebrow. "And if I refuse?" Discord wrapped around him and grinned. "Then I hope you like ponies and chocolate milk, because you'll be here for a very, very long time." Author's Note If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site! Chapter 11Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 11 "John? John, git yer flank outta bed!" Applejack turned around and bucked her human companion put of his bed. "Ow!" John shouted, "Crazy bitch! I'm up!" He exhaled and brushed his hair out of his face before looking up into Applejack's enormous green eyes. "Oh, you're still here?" Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Ah never left." "Right." John picked himself up and went for the bathroom door. "It's too early for this crap..." He turned around and pushed Applejack out of the bathroom when she tried to follow him. "Look, as much as I like the idea of a girl watching me in the shower, I don't think you'd be too happy to see my 'southern comforts'." Applejack twisted her face in disgust. "Ugh, and Ah thought Ah was uncouth!" John grinned and went in to take his shower. Applejack sat against the door and sighed. "Ah saw sonethin' last night that really disturbed me." "It happens," John called back nonchalantly. Applejack rolled her eyes. "It was a picture of mahself 'n' mah friends on this weird plastic box. Ah opened it up, but all Ah saw inside was this weird round mirror. Y'all know somethin' 'bout that?" John came back out wrapped in a towel. "Look, miss pony--" "Applejack." "Apple snack, whatever." John rolled his eyes this time. "You probably saw yourself because you're from that dumb girly cartoon. And I don't know or care how you got here, because I don't feel like dealing with it. Now shoo!" "OK," Applejack said, turning to walk out with a shrug, "Jus' don't make no sense to me. You say Ah'm from some girly show and yer friend, who's a boy, has this show. Don't add up none to me." "What?" John looked into David's room. "You mean him?" "Eeyup." Applejack led John into his sleeping room mate's room and went under the bed. She pulled out the My Little Pony DVD box and gave it to him. "See me right there with them other ponies?" "Oh. My. God." John stared contemptuously at the pink case. "I don't believe it! David's gay!" Applejack looked at David's smiling face. "He sure seems that way, judgin' by this silly grin o' his." "Well, now I see why you're here," John said with a look of confident determination, "I need to save my room mate from himself!" "Huh?" John turned to Applejack. "Thank you, magic pony! Tonight, I shall save David's soul from the black depths of Tartarus! Tonight! We dine! In Rivendell!" He dropped the DVD case and ran into his room to get dressed, then promptly left the apartment. Applejack stared at the door. "Uh. Yer welcome?" She went over to the window and looked down to see John heading for his car. "No way yer leavin' me here with somepony who can't see me!" She got up on the sill and jumped down, galloping at full speed and arriving in time to jump in as he opened the door. "Hey, what are you doing?" John demanded. "Ah ain't stayin' cooped up all day," Applejack retorted. John sighed. "Fine, whatever. At least you're the most normal-looking pony. Even if you are annoying. Just keep your trap shut, alright?" "Deal." Applejack spat in her hoof and held it to John. He stared for a moment. "Uh, I'll take your word for it." "David?" Luna said softly. "Hm?" I mumbled back. "I'm sorry to end this so abruptly, but I must lower the moon for my sister." "Uh? Oh, yeah!" I quickly untangled myself from her body and climbed out from under her. I had to give the moon princess credit; she was limber, and her figure and posture were excellent. I had no idea she could even get into those positions. Truly, this pony was unbeatable at Twister! Oh, what did you think we were doing? I fixed my shirt and composed myself as Luna went for her door. "Would you like to watch?" she turned to ask. "Yes, please!" I quickly followed her to the balcony and watched her take off. The spectacle was astounding! In the show, Celestia made it look so simple to raise the sun, just flying straight up as it rose. But Luna turned it into a ballet, executing a graceful figurative dance that looked like she was bidding fond farewell to an old friend. When she was finished, the sun took the moon's place, casting a warm glow over Equestria. The night princess lighted down next to me and stood at my side on the balcony. "What did you think?" she asked. "It was... breathtaking." I smiled at her. "Do you know what else is breathtaking?" a third voice asked. I turned around and came face to muzzle with Celestia. I was so startled by the sudden extreme close-up that I jumped back and tripped over the railing, flipping off the edge. A terrified scream ripped through the air as I fell towards the courtyard below. I heard Luna scream my name just before impact, and then the sky disappeared. I sat bolt upright, cold sweat running down my face. Rarity was sitting on my lap with her hooves wrapped around me. "Oh, darling, I'm so glad you're awake! You looked like you were having the most dreadful nightmare!" I looked from her to the other ponies who appeared equally concerned for me. I scowled and tried to will my heart into calming down. "I swear to God... if I see Celestia again... I can't be held responsible for what I might do!" "You saw Celestia?!" Twilight asked, shoving Rarity off of me to take her place on my lap. "Yeah," I said, "And I found out something new. I'll tell ya later though." "Why? What is it?" Twilight followed me into the bathroom. "I said later, Twi." I pushed her out and got in the shower. Rarity was in there with me again, and she refused to leave. "Why?" I asked myself, "Of all the ponies, why her?" The whole time, Rarity kept yammering on about my taste in clothing and how I should wear more stylish outfits, despite my best efforts to convince her that a T shirt and jeans were the style around here. After I got done in the bathroom, I went to the phone and called my boss to ask for the day off. I told him part of the truth; I needed to see a doctor because I had a problem that could be serious but I wasn't sure what it was. I left out the symptom of talking ponies, of course. Leaving to see Dr. Straus again, I asked that only Twilight come with me today. After all, I needed the pony who drove me crazy the least if I was gonna get through this ordeal. "Well," I said as I stepped outside, "Here goes nothing." Author's Note If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site!
Chapter 1Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 1 I'd like to think I'm a normal, sane, average guy. That I'm just leading a normal life from day to day and not doing anything that would get anyone else concerned. But of course, the pink pony sitting on my chest and smiling at me begged to differ. Now this might sound strange, but seeing cartoon characters in the real world was normal for me. When I get tired or stressed out, I start to halucinate to some degree, and ever since I started watching a particular show that starts with "My" and ends with "Pony," my morning halucinations were shifting more and more towards pony-related images. "Good morning, David!" Pinkie Pie sang to me. "Morning, Pinks," I said quietly enough that my room mate, Johnathan, who, not only dislikes My Little Pony, but didn't know about my visions or my affinity for cute, big-eyed equines. I pushed the bubblegum pink mare off myself effortlessly and climbed out if bed, cracking my joints as I stretched and shook the sleepiness out of my head. Stifling a yawn, I shuffled over to my computer and flipped the screen on, then logged into my college account to check my day's schedule. LOGIN: DAVID_CAVALIERE PASSWORD: •••••••• "What'cha looking at?" Pinkie asked me. "Nothin' much," I lazily replied. Then my eyes shot wide open, my mind snapping to full alertness as I looked down beside me. Pinkie was still there. I looked up at my room mate who was heading into the bathroom to take a shower. Once he'd turned on the water, I spoke. "How come you're still here?" I asked, keeping my voice low. "Cuz I haven't left yet, silly!" Pinkie Pie chirped and stood up to give me a noogie. I felt it. I really, really felt it. I turned off my monitor and looked at my reflection in the glass. Even though I could feel her touching me, my hair hadn't moved at all. "This isn't real," I told myself, "You can't really be here! That's impossible!" "Let me guess, she's not scientifically possible?" another familiar voice said from behind. I whipped around to find Twilight Sparkle standing right there beside my bed, looking up at me with a neutral smile. She and Pinkie were just over three feet tall, had the same outlines from the show, were cute as hell, and very, very vivid. More so than any halucination I'd ever had before, and worse yet, I was lucid, so I knew it was real. I've never had a lucid dream before, but I still slapped myself in the face, just to be sure. The two little ponies didn't disappear. I grasped my forehead and moaned. "This can't be happening. Why haven't you girls disappeared yet?" "I dunno," said Twilight, "Why are we here in the first place?" "Don't you start that with me," I said sternly, pointing a finger at Twilight, "You're in my head, not the other way around." "What's the matter, Davie?" Pinkie asked with her head tilted, looking up at me sadly, "Don't you like us anymore?" Looking at those big, shiny, almost fully black eyes and her quivering lip and splayed-back ears nearly made me cry. "Of course I like you! I just can't be caught talking to non-existant ponies! If someone sees me talking to you, I'll get thrown in a looney bin or something." "Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Twilight said confidently, dismissively waving a hoof at me, "Once we explain that it's all a misunderstanding--" "Explain?!" I choked, half laughing at her, "No, no, there will be no explaining. You ponies gotta be quiet and not talk to me! I can't go to class with you, and I definitely can't tell anyone about you!" "Maybe Princess Celestia could--" I cut Twilight off again. "No Celestia either! You're just gonna sit quietly and do nothing until you disappear, and if you're still here when I get back from class, I'm seeing the school psychiatrist. We clear?" "We clear on what?" John asked, coming out of the bathroom in a towel. "Nothing!" I said, quickly acting nonchalant. "Hey, this towel has seashells!" Pinkie squeed, "Do you know how many words rhyme with shell? Bell! Sell! Well! Tell!" Hell, I thought, and grinned at John. "I was just, um... you know, rehearsing something I needed to tell a co-worker who's been harassing me. That's all." "Ah," John said, clearly none the wiser, and totally oblivious to the ponies in the room with us. I dared a glance in Twilight's direction and saw she was blushing at my room mate as he dropped his towel. "Ugh, dude! Put some underwear on at least before you do that!" I held my hand out, blocking his groin from my sight. "Shut up, you homophobe," John said and started getting dressed. I sighed and got up from my computer, grabbing my own towel as I went to take my turn in the shower. The hot water helped wake me up some more, and hopefully cleared my mind of anypony-- "I hope you don't mind, darling, but I just had to compliment on your toned flank," a posh voice in front of me stated. I looked down and jumped with a yelp as I saw a sopping-wet Rarity looking up at me aprovingly. This was too much. I yanked the curtain open, disregarding the water splashing out onto the floor, and pointed at the door. "Get out!" "Alright, fine!" I heard my room mate call, "Jeeze, what's your problem today?" "Nothing!" I yelled back, then looked to Rarity again and said in a low voice, "Don't you know it's rude to peek on somepony you barely know in the shower?!" "Well, you aren't exactly a pony," she said back a bit too cheerfully for my comfort. I glowered at her. "Out." As she departed, I shut the curtain and sighed. It's gonna be a loooong day... Author's Note If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site!
Chapter 2Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 2 "My name is Pinkie Pie!" "Please don't." "And I am here to say," "Cut it out." "I'm gonna make you smile, and I will brighten up your day!" "Pinkie, please! Not right now!" A few people noticed my outburst and stared at me as I walked from my apartment to the campus. I pulled my jacket's collar up and hid my face as best as I could with it. "What's the matter?" Pinkie asked me, "I thought you loved that song." She gave me her filly pout again. I swear, a pony coukd rule the world with a face like that. "I do," I grunted back, "But you really don't seem to understand what a bad idea it is for me to be seen talking to you!" "Um, David?" a soft voice above me said that made my heart melt. I looked up and saw Fluttershy hovering over me. How could I dismiss somepony like her? I sighed, completely helpless against her pleading eyes. "Yes, Fluttershy?" "Do I have to go too?" she asked, "I mean, I understand if you don't want me. But I'd like to stay... that is, if it's alright with you?" As she asked me this, she lighted down and let her mane cover her right eye. Confound these ponies. They'll drive me to drink. I gulped and braced myself. "I'm sorry, Shy, but you have to go too. All of you have to go, and I'm gonna find a way to do it today. That's that." Now tell me, have you ever seen a child's face when you tell them there is no Santa Claus or tooth faeries? That the Easter Bunny, if he ever existed, was likely shot by your neighbor, Billy Bob McCoy and made into pie? That's the kind of asshole I felt like when I saw Fluttershy's eyes welling up with tears. "You... don't like me?" Fluttershy started to sob. "I do like you!" I said defensively, "I just don't believe you're real, that's all." Yeah. I'm really tactful, aren't I? The small yellow pegasus burst into tears and ran off back in the direction of my apartment past a multitude of bystanders who took no notice of her at all. I sighed, determined not to feel sorry. But how could I not? Imaginary or not, I made Fluttershy cry, and I felt like a prick for it. Turning away from the pink party pony still nearby, I kept walking. "I don't have time for this crap. I'm gonna be late for class." I stepped down the stairs of the auditorium in my physics class and scooted down the row to my seat. It wasn't one of those really big auditoriums like you see in movies; just a small one for about fifty or so students. Still a big class, but not intimidatingly so. The other students were taking their seats as well, and I was beginning to feel very crowded. Our professor entered the room and pulled over a blackboard on wheels. "Not as impressive as Celestia's school, but still nice." Twilight was sitting on the desk of the guy next to me who was looking right through her. I glared at her and tried to ignore her, opening my notebook and looking down at the stage. Professor Langley began his lecture on kinetic energy and how it transfers between objects of varying phases and forms, then began drawing up formulas in chalk. "That's funny," Twilight spoke up, looking away from the sheet of cartoon parchment she was scrawling on in Equestrian cursive, "He hasn't once mentioned the effects of leylines on gravitational shifts." "That's because magic doesn't exist," I growled softly at her. "Dude, why are you talking about magic?" the guy next to me whispered. "Never mind," I said back, then grunted as Prof. Langley flipped the board over. "Great, thanks a lot. Now I missed the end of his notes." "Don't blame me just cuz you can't focus," my classmate berated me. "Sorry," Twilight said, "I can share my notes with you if you want." "No, thank you," I whispered. The guy behind me was staring at me. I met his gaze. "What?" "Nothing," he said before hastily returning to his own notes. I scowled and went back to writing. A sudden flash of every color in the rainbow startled me into jumping back, making me fall out of my chair. "Shit!" escaped my lips as I hit the forty five degree mark before accelerating towards the ground and hitting the short carpet floor. Prof. Langely and the rest of the class all looked at me. "Is everything alright?" he asked. Rainbow Dash was standing on my desk, glaring daggers down at me. "Hey! I heard what you did to Fluttershy!" "I really don't have time for this," I said through gritted teeth. Unfortunately, I didn't keep my voice down this time. "Don't have time for what?" my professor asked, "If you've something more important than physics on your mind, Mr. Cavaliere, please, feel free to share it." Dash glanced down at the professor. "Who's this egghead?" I picked myself up and reset my chair, taking my seat once again. "Sorry, sir... just had a bad headache." It wasn't exactly a lie; these ponies were really starting to get on my nerves. Ironic how the very ponies who had once been my mental santuary from stress were now becoming the source of it. "Well, try to keep it together, will you?" Langely said, and went back to the lecture. I held my head and sighed. Dash raised an eyebrow at me. "Well?" "I'll apologize to her later, OK?" I whispered back, "Can I please just get through class?" "Yes, Rainbow," Twilight said, "This is an important time. We'll see you later." Nice how Twilight was still trying to include herself in my classes, but at least it seemed to get rid of Rainbow Dash for now. "Twilight," I said to the lavender mare as I trekked to my next session, "Why are you still here?" "I think it's apparent that we're going to be here a while," Twilight responded. "No, I mean, why are you here? In college with me? It's not like you can actually participate." I figured if these hallucinations were going to persist, I might as well try to understand them. "I just like to learn," she replied, "And this is a place of learning, right? So I wanna see all that I can. Besides, I got the notes you missed in physics." I had to raise an eyebrow in disbelief. "How did you do that?" She paused in thought. "I payed attention and wrote. It's what I'm good at." "Well, I've got C++ next, so if you'd please let me concentrate this time? Programming is a more hands-on, or hooves-on, class." Twilight nodded. "Alright, I'll keep quiet. But I'm still sitting in." "Fine," I said, and went ahead to my next class with Twilight trotting happily beside me. Author's Note If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site!
Chapter 3Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 3 Programming class went by much like physics did: Twilight had promised to keep quiet, but continually asked questions whenever something caught her interest. I'd actually managed to swat her when no one was looking, but that only shut her up for a minute. I didn't have any other classes scheduled for today, except a late math, so after a quick lunch of a chicken sandwich with fries and a fruit cup, I sought out the campus psychiatrist, Dr. Meredith Straus. As I sat in the waiting room, Pinkie Pie sat on the receptionist's desk and played with her hair... the receptionist's hair, I mean. The lady's hair was actually moving as the mare's hoof flicked it, but she was totally oblivious like everyone else. I figured this must mean any physical change in the environment by the ponies must have been in my head, or possibly aided by a coincidental breeze. Twilight was staring at me the whole time, actually looking sorry for what I was going through. Her sorrowful look made me want to talk to her, but I wasn't alone, so I couldn't. No doubt sensing my emotions, Twilight spoke to me. "I'm sorry about all this. I know it must be awkward for you." "No. Really?" I muttered back. Twilight chuckled with her mouth closed, bunching up her shoulders. "Nice one. But really, I can see how this is all very stressful to you. I mean, Rainbow jumping you in front of your peers, Pinkie being random... me asking questions at the wrong time." "Boy, you really do know how I feel," I whispered, making sure the receptionist wasn't listening, "And I'm sorry, but I really can't believe you're real. As much as I love you girls, it isn't healthy for me to have imaginary friends. I have to get rid of you." Twilight pouted. "I understand." I checked the receptionist, who was staring into a book and facing the other direction. Taking this opportunity, I put my hand on Twilight's head and stroked down her back. "Twi? Would you tell Fluttershy I didn't mean to upset her, and I'm sorry?" The unicorn smiled back at me. "Of course. I'm sure she knows, but I'll tell her anyway." She nuzzled my hand, and I couldn't help blushing a bit. Despite being imaginary, I could still feel her soft fur and the warmth from her body. Feeling her texture was even weirder considering she looked perfectly smooth and had an outline. "Dr. Straus will see you now," the receptionist said. I thanked her and went into the office. Despite closing the door behind me, Twilight and Pinkie were right there with me all the same. Dr. Straus gave me a warm smile and waved at the traditional psychiatrist's couch. "Hello. Please, take a seat." "Thanks for seeing me. I'm David " I said, sitting on the couch and twiddling my thumbs in my lap. "It's no problem," she said, scooting her roling chair closer as she held a clipboard in one hand, and put a pen to her mouth with the other. She bit the cap and popped it off with her teeth, then put it on the other end of the pen. "Now then, what's bothering you? I'm guessing you're stressed about the fall finals?" I shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe. Not sure what the cause is, really, but something really weird is happening to me." "Tell me about it." "Well... since I was little, about ten, maybe, I've had these sort of hallucinations for a few minutes after waking up. Like, sometimes I'd see things out of a video game or a movie that I know can't be real." "That's not unheard of. Some people continue to dream a few moments after waking up. Mostly caused by sleep deprivation. It's rarely a cause for alarm as long as it's just simple images." "Yeah, well..." I glanced at Twilight who looked solemnly at me, "I'm still having them." Dr. Straus scrawled something on her notepad. "Well, most people who experience this sort of thing seldom outgrow it--" "No, no," I cut in, "I mean, it's happening right now. Like right this minute." She looked over her glasses at me, a gesture that confused me to no end. How did making someone blurry help the situation at all. "You mean they appeared now?" I shook my head. "No, I mean, since I woke up, I've been seeing..." I paused. Saying ponies this early on would surely lose her. "...seeing them. All day long." Dr. Straus put her clipboard down and looked directly at me. "Who are you seeing?" I facepalmed and exhaled under my hand. I wanted to laugh. Hard. I wished I was joking, and then she'd berate me for wasting her time, and then I could get on with my normal life. But I was dead freaking serious as my next words quietly came out of my mouth. "Have you ever watched My Little Pony?" She stared at me, blinking once. "Excuse me?" "Have you ever watched," I said a bit louder, "a cartoon show called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic?" She smiled understandingly. "I see. Don't worry, David, I'm well aware of the brony community. In fact, my son's a brony." "He is?" I asked. "Yes, he is," Dr. Straus said, "And, no, I'm not against it. I think it's a much healthier interest than most of the other garbage on television these days." "Well," Twilight spoke up, "That makes things easier. Maybe she'll even want to talk to me?" "Nice try, chicky," I said to Twilight. "Excuse me?" Dr. Straus said. "Ooooooh, busted!" Pinkie laughed. "N-not you!" I stammered, putting my hands up defensively, "I meant... well..." I sighed and looked down at my shoes. "The thing is... I'm seeing the ponies right now." Dr. Straus was clearly concerned at hearing this. "Did they speak to you? And you responded?" Her voice sounded alarmed. I glanced from her to Twilight, to Pinkie, then back to Straus. "Yeah. I've been talking to them all day. Why?" The look on Dr. Straus' face told me that what I said was bad news. She was about to speak, but was interupted by a buzzing noise. She checked her pager, and her eyes widened even more. "Oh, gosh, I'm late!" She put the pager away and stood up. "I'm sorry, David, but I really, must go. Listen to me, no matter what, you must not interact with these hallucinations. If you do, you'll fuel them." "O-OK... what's going on?" I asked. "I'm late for a meeting with a disabled student. I'm very sorry to leave you like this, David. We'll pick this up later, I promise." "Alright," I said solemnly, "Tomorrow?" "Yes, I have an open slot tomorrow at two." "OK, I'll be here." The four of us, the two humans and the two ponies, exited the office. Straus and I said our goodbyes, and I stood outside the main campus building, watching her drive off. "So, what's the plan?" Twilight asked me. "The plan?" I said, not looking at her. "The plan hasn't changed. I'm ignoring you until you disappear, and there is nothing you can do about it." Author's Note If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site!
Chapter 4Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 4 "Davie! Davie! Gimme your answer due! You're half crazy, with six ponies haunting you! I'll follow you to your marriage, if you ignore this barrage! We think you're sweet, though you eat meat, Don't ignore me or I'll eat you!" That last line was sung in Pinkamena's voice and sent chills down my spine. I couldn't resist looking at her to make sure her hair was still curly. Being a psychopath was one thing. Having a psychopath living in my head was another. "Aha!" she shouted gleefully, poking her hoof in my face, "I made you look! I win the game!" "Pinkie!" Twilight scolded, "This isn't a game! We're inside a stranger's head, and we aren't welcome here. Now please, let him ignore us." "Thank you, Twi," I said, and immediately smacked myself in the face. I was sitting on a bench outside, trying to kill some time until math class. I could think of a thousand better things to be doing right now, but all of them seemed like they would elicit more activity from the ponies. The rec room would surely get Pinkie going, and the library was off limits because of Twilight. For all I knew, she would start levitating books around in my mind, but in reality, it would be me holding them in the air and making magic noises with my mouth... yes, I realize how weird that sounds. But for all I knew, any physical changes around me as a result of the ponies might not just be in my head. I could be unknowingly doing something and just think it was the ponies. That wasn't a risk I was willing to take. If there was any comfort to all of this, it was Fluttershy. She'd forgiven me, and had elected to cuddle me as much as possible, so I was sitting with Equestria's most adorable citizen laying on my lap with the side of her face pressed against my belly. It hurt to see something so cute yet not be able to pet it without looking like I was pretending to... well, park bench and petting an invisible person/pony... yeah. Not gonna go there. Pinkie then whispered something into Rainbow Dash's ear. The pegasus giggled and shot up into the air. I thought she was just gonna do some flips and spins to get my attention, but the earth-shaking explosion that followed had other ideas. I was literally thrown off the bench onto the shaking ground as the tremor struck. Up in the sky, I could see the sonic rainboom spreading out as Dash came down at me at full speed and came to a dead stop, executing a perfect landing. I death glared at her, but what I saw behind her caught my attention right away. People were running for cover?! "Hey! Are you OK?" some girl asked me. "Y-yeah," I said, getting back on my feet, "What happened?" "An earthquake. Come on, we need to get somewhere safe in case of after shocks." "Oh, OK..." I was still a little dizzy, which didn't help my brain process what had happened. When it all came together, I stopped and caught my breath. These ponies... can predict earthquakes?! It was no hallucination. Other people were seeing it too. Naturally, though, some suspicions about it were still floating through my mind. "Pinkie Pie, I swear to God, if this is your way of getting me to pay attention, you've gone too far this time." "Me?" the pink earth pony squeaked, stepping back and taking offense, "I can't make earthquakes happen. That was real!" "Yeah, right," I shot back, "And there's no way all those people running around were illusions too?" "If I may interject," Twilight interjected, "David, you do have a point. All that could have been an illusion, but it wasn't." "How can I believe that?" I asked. "Because, Pinkie Pie would never pull a prank that would get somepony in trouble," said Twilight, "And I don't know how much you know about the human mind, but do you know how some animals can sense disasters?" I nodded. "Well, it's possible that humans can too, only subconsciously. And if we are a product of your subconscious, as you so insistently believe, Pinkie's rainboom prank could have been your mind's way of warning you about the oncoming earthquake." My inner Spock was telling me her logic was sound. But why did it have to happen like that? Why couldn't it be, like, Pinkie having one of her doozies, or something? I entered the storm shelter where some other people were waiting in case of another quake. A few minutes later, the all clear was given, but I was told to be careful since they could still happen later. After checking my watch, I figured that if I took a short walk, I'd be able to kill enough time while trying to ignore the girls some more before math. Twilight was the only pony who wanted to stay with me during math class. The others said they would rather explore the campus, which translated to going into my memories of this place and seeing what it was like through me. All things considered, I was taking this pretty well, which actually made me even more afraid that I may have hit the point of no return long ago. "OK, look," I said before entering my classroom, "If you're gonna be in here with me, you need to be quiet! This room is smaller and if I'm caught talking to you, they'll send me out, and I'll be in big trouble, so just please, please, please don't get me into trouble!" Despite the facet that someone could have been watching, I put my hands together pleadingly, looking down at Twilight with my best puppy beg face. "I understand," she said flatly, "Your studies are very important, and I'd hate to have somepony interrupt me when I'm trying to write a report to the princess. I'll be quiet, but may I still read your notes?" I sighed heavily. "Alright, fine. Just no distracting me, and for the love of God, no making things float. Promise?" "I promise." "Alright." I took a deep breath, and grabbed the door handle. A short pause of doubt kept me from opening it, but I shook it off and went in anyway. If I had anything in my hand, I would have dropped it. Everyone in the classroom was a pony. Author's Note If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site!
Chapter 5Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 5 There I stood in pure agonizing paralyzed horror. A few of the cartoon ponies looked at me from their desks for a moment, and then went back to taking out their paper, pencils and textbooks from their... ugh, saddlebags. And yes, each saddlebag had a clasp that matched their cutie marks. A nudge from Twilight helped me regain the feeling in my skin, and I stepped forward, staring at each pony as I slowly went by and slipped into the one, singular empty desk next to the window. Mr. Adams came in, still human, and saw me sitting there. "Oh, hello, David. Nice of you to come early today." "Early?" I said, looking around at all the ponies who were now staring at me. "You look a little pale," Mr. Adams said, "Are you feeling alright?" "Of course!" I said a bit loud, noticing a bead of sweat rolling down my face, "Why wouldn't I be?" I'm just having a nervous mental adorable breakdown, that's all! A few of my classmates came in and took their seats, the ponies in them evaporating away as they were sat on. The ones who were still there gasped in surprise, and even flinched or gaped before new students sat on them as well. I didn't know if I should be laughing or weeping at he sight of little ponies bursting under unsuspecting human butts. Twilight seemed totally indifferent at this sight, and instead took her seat in the aisle next to me, conveniently blocking the open side of my chair. I knew she wasn't real, but I also knew I could feel her touch. To try and step out through her would probably cause me to trip. "Well, alright then," Mr. Adams said, "Welcome class. As you all know, season finals are coming up, so today, we'll be reviewing for them." He started writing equations on the board for us to copy and solve. I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but talking ponies running around in your head tend to distract from these things, but in case anyone's wondering what class I'm taking specifically, it's pre-trig. That's just a fancy way of saying I was taking calculus all over again. Same stuff I already did in high school, but it was a required course. Half an hour passed, and I noticed Twilight was glancing between her notes and mine. "Wait, that's not right," she said, "Remember FOIL? You need to do this part first, then this one." She pointed around my work with her hoof. I raised an eyebrow and looked at what she'd written on her cartoon parchment. We were working on polynomials, and what she'd written was different than mine. I wasn't one to take advice from a figment of my imagination, but she was right. Her answers made much more sense than mine, and after rechecking on a calculator, I found hers to be correct. So, I got a pony calculator in my head? Dayum! I wrote in tiny letters on my paper, Thanks, Twi. then erased it after she read it. "You're welcome," she said, "Look, I know you're supposed to ignore us and all, but maybe we could work something out? Like, I could help you study or something?" I thought for a moment, then wrote, We'll talk after school, OK? then erased that too. "OK," she said with a nod, sounding rather relieved, "Because, to be honest, this is weird for us too." I stopped writing and stared blankly at my desk. How could I not have thought about that? Sure, they may be figments, but did figments have feelings too? And what if they felt lost here in this strange world, bound to someone they didn't know? A pang of guilt set in as I looked at Twilight. She actually looked sad, hanging her head down with her parchment on the floor. I wanted to ask her if she still thought she was real, but I wasn't that insensitive. I mean, yeah, I made Fluttershy cry (get off my back about that) but I wasn't going to press that issue any further. Besides, I was sort of thankful for her being here. That and she was my fave of the mane six. If they really were trapped like Twilight implied, then maybe by getting them out of my head, I'd be helping them too. With that in mind, I felt a lot less selfish now. Twilight ran ahead of me to gather the girls up for our talk. Don't ask me what that was supposed to mean. I was just glad for the peace and quiet as I walked back to my apartment. My room mate wasn't home yet; he worked the night shift at 7-11 from, get this, 7 to 11. He only had morning classes, which allowed him to sleep during the day. As a result, we rarely had time to see each other, so I can't honestly say we were close. I kicked off my shoes and sat on the sofa, exhaling heavily. Sitting on the floor, and looking at me expectantly, was Twilight, Pinkie, Dash, Fluttershy and Rarity. Wait a second... one, two, three... there's only five. "Where's Applejack?" I asked. "We don't know," said Dash, "She never showed up." "How is that even possible? You guys are all..." I saw Fluttershy's face, and didn't want to upset her again, "...usually together, right?" "That's the thing, dear," Rarity said, "We were all together when this whole mess started. I actually thought I was dreaming when I woke up and saw you getting into the shower." "Wait, you thought..." I pinched the bridge of my nose, "OK, back up a bit. Somepony please explain to me what happened before you ended up in my head." Twilight cleared her throat and stepped forward. "It all happened when we were having a slumber party with Princess Luna..." Author's Note If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site!
Chapter 6Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 6 "Wait, why were you having a slumber party with Luna?" I asked. "Because she hadn't had one in over a thousand years," Twilight said flatly, "Now if you please, hold still." The unicorn put her hooves on my knees and brought her face really close to mine. I tensed up. "Uh, what are you doing?" "This will all be easier if I just show you." Her horn lit up as she touched it to my forehead. The purple light filled my vision and grew brighter and brighter. In moments, my vision was filled with ultraviolet light. When the light finally subsided, I wasn't in my living room anymore. It was a very fancy-looking room, decorated in dark shades of blue and stars, moons and other celestial bodies. And, no, I don't mean a bunch of Celestia's floating in space, although that would be an interesting way to express any bitterness for being banished to the moon, assuming Luna harbored such feelings. There were seven ponies with us in what I determined to be Luna's bedroom: the mane six and Luna herself. Luna was laying on her bed with her forelegs tucked under her chest, while the other ponies were resting on sleeping bags on the floor in a semi-circle around her. I stepped close to Luna and waved my hand in front of her. No response. I knew this was Twilight's memory, or at least my subconscious claimed so, so I wasn't gonna get a rise out of her anyway. Though it still amused me to try. "OK, I got one," Rainbow Dash said, "Luna, truth or dare." "Hmm..." Luna tapped her chin in thought, "Dare." "OK," Rainbow Dash said with her most mischievious grin, "If Discord ever breaks out of his statue again, I dare you to ask him out." Luna gasped, looking taken aback. "We could never do that! We refuse to offer courtship to the spirit of chaos!" "I'm sorry, Luna," Twilight said, pointing at a line in her sleepover book, "but the rules say that you chose the dare, so you have to keep it." Luna opened her mouth to protest, but it would be un-princess-like to go back on her decision like that. "Technically, dear," Rarity chimed in, "you don't have to do it unless that ruffian, Discord, escapes again. And what are the chances of that happening again?" I got a funny chill just before a flash outside caught my and everypony else's attention. It was shortly followed by a roll of thunder. "Sounds like that storm is gettin' awful close. Y'all sure it's safe to be havin' somethin' this big 'round the castle?" Applejack was looking out over the castle grounds, being closest to the window. "Tis nothing to fret over," said Luna, waving a hoof dismissively. As she did this, a menacing chuckle echoed through the room. "Oh, but it is, my dear princess." I knew that voice. John de Lancie! No, wait... "Discord?!" they all said in united surprise. "Ah! Discord!" I said aloud and snapped my fingers, even though nopony could hear me. His chuckle rolled through the room like another bout of thunder. "Why yes, I believe you are correct." A multi-colored mist swept in and formed the body of the draconequus on the floor in the middke of the pony circle, but he was smaller than normal. Standing next to him, I was able to look him in his mismatched eyes. He startled me when he glanced in my direction, looking confused at first before grinning. Did he just see me? Discord slinked over to Luna and rested his elbow on the soft bed. "Well, hello there, dear Luna! Long time, no see~!" he sing-songed. Tracing a finger on his lion paw under her chin, he put his face against her. "I believe you have something to ask of me? Hm?" Luna swung her muzzle away from him and looked at him scornfully. "Yes, two in fact. How did you get free? And what are you going to do?" "Well, as everypony knows, I am a spirit of chaos," he said cheerfully and floated on a cloud of cream cheese, "and the strangest thing has just happened. So strange in fact, that even I am surprised!" "Well, don't keep us in suspense," Twilight spat. "Ugh, so boring, as always. You really are Tia's favorite student, aren't you?" Discord teased the unicorn's nose with his bird talon and swirled around the mane six. "But if you must know... nothing happened." "Nothing?" Applejack said with her head tilted. "Nothing!" Discord chanted back, disappearing into thin air. "It's no matter of circumstance. I was brought here!" By who? I wondered. I looked from pony to pony and noticed something off: Pinkie Pie was looking right at me. "I'll bet he did it!" She was pointing her hoof at me now. "Uh, who?" Dash asked. "That guy!" Pinkie said, jutting her hoof at me to reiterate where she was pointing. Discord laughed. "Oh, but of course he did!" I looked around, starting to panic. Discord was on the other side of the room now, also looking at me. "Oh, but that's right! Only Pinkie Pie can see humans... hmm... I'll bet you all wish you could see him too!" "See who?" Twilight shouted, "There's nopony there!" "That's because he's not a pony!" Pinkie squeaked. "Enough games, Discord! If you have someone hidden here, show him to us!" Luna commanded. Discord rubbed his paw amd talon together, chuckling maliciously. "Oh, I'll let you see him. I'll even let you meet him! But only if Luna keeps her promise..." "O-our promise?" Luna stammered. Discord just grinned at her. "Why yes. Everypony must follow the rules of the game." Then he looked at me again. "By the way, you just lost." "You troll," I said, folding my arms. Luna cringed and blushed hotly. "Y-you mean... the dare?" Discord grinned and nodded quickly. The princess gulped. I leaned in closer; weird as this was, I just couldn't miss it. "Discord... w-would you... like to go out with me?" The draconequus began to giggle which escalated into pure maniacal cackling. He fell to the floor and clutched his chest, hind legs kicking in the air. And just like that, he sat up, his face dead serious. "Lose some weight and then ask me again." Before any of us could react, Discord snapped his fingers, and Luna's bedroom was replaced in a blink with mine. The ponies were now gathered around me as I slept. Well, it was the past me, not me, me. As the sun began to rise, the memory faded. Didn't matter. I knew what happened after that anyway. Author's Note If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site!
Chapter 7Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 7 "Twilight," I said as the unicorn climbed off my lap and stood in front of me, "H-how come he c-could s-see me?" I didn't realize just how hard I was trembling. Discord was a memory, an image of the past. It shouldn't be possible for him to see me. Part of my mind argued that since it was all in my head, anything was possible, and I should ignore it. But when the draconequus looked me in the eye... I couldn't describe it. Something there seemed all too real. "To put it simply, Discord is the spirit of chaos. Maybe he can sense the future and knew you'd be watching from there." Twilight was looking up at the ceiling, thinking about something. I pointed at the pink mare behind her. "But then what about Pinkie Pie? She saw me too! And none of this explains where Applejack went." "I sensed you there with my Pinkie Sense," Pinkie told me, "when the tips of my hooves have that pins and needles feeling, that means there's a human watching me. I actually get it all the time." "Gee, I wonder why," Dash cut in sarcastically, "It's not like there's a TV show about our lives or something." She was hovering just above me, dangerously close to having her mane trimmed by the ceiling fan. Sadly, I'm no good at picking up on sarcasm. "Actually, there is. It's called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Tons of people watch it." "Yeah, I know," the cyan pegasus said with a disappointed scowl, crossing her forelegs and rolling her eyes. "That still leaves the question of poor Applejack," said Rarity, "She is a strong pony, but not the most... diplomatic." I chuckled. "Yeah, I know. I can't imagine what she might be doing around here, assuming she came to this world too." Of course I still didn't believe they were real, but I figured now that if I played along and helped them get back together, they'd go home and get out of my head. But still, I wondered to myself, just what has my subconscious cooked up for AJ? "Hello? Y'all deaf er something? Hello!" Applejack's voice increased in volume as she waved her hooves in front of the two humans embracing each other on a bench. A bus pulled up and the couple broke their hug, walking onboard the vehicle after other passengers disembarked. Applejack called out to them, jumping and shouting. Every human who passed her was completely oblivious to her. "Consarn it! It's like they're all deaf, dumb an' blind!" She sat down hard on her haunches and sighed. "Ah wonder where the others are. Ah'd give mah left flank just to be back together again." She eventually gave up and trotted down the street towards the setting sun. Her stomach growled like a manticore. "Ugh, there's gotta be some food 'round here somewhere." She lifted her muzzle to the air and took a whiff. The smell of something cooking nearby led her to a small store on a street corner. The sign on the front of the building was glowing, standing out vibrantly against the darkening night sky. 7-11. Applejack stepped up to the door, then jumped back a bit as the door opened on its own without the glow of magic. She cautiously stepped through the metalic portal and looked around inside, drawn by the scent of cream cheese pretzels under a heat lamp. "Nopony can see me, so Ah guess Ah can't get in trouble fer takin' one o' these." The orange earth pony put her forehooves up on the counter and grabbed a pretzel in her mouth. "Gah! What the hell?!" Applejack froze in place, her eyes shifting to the side and locking on the human who was definitely looking right back at her. She dropped the pretzel on the ground, getting a plop noise as cream cheese popped out from where she bit it. "Y-y'all can see me?" The human slowly nodded. Applejack bolted over to him and pounced his chest. "Thank Celestia somepony finally sees me! Listen, Ah know this is a might strange, but Ah need yer help t' find mah friends!" "Oh, man, I think someone roofied my beer," the cashier said, laying face up on the floor under the cartoon equine, "I'm totally seeing My Little Pony." Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Your little pony? Ah'm mah own little pony, ya got that?" She jabbed his chest with her hoof. "Now, like it or not, yer the only one in this confounded place who can see me. So like it er not, yer helpin' me out, least until somepony else can see me. Alright." The human nodded dumbly. "Thank y'all kindly," Applejack lightened her tone and stepped off him, "Mah name's Applejack. And you are?" "J-John..." Applejack helped John up. "Pleasure makin' yer acquaintance. Now, let's get goin'." "Ah-ah-ah. Not now." John stood back up at the register. "I got a job to finish here, so you're gonna stay quiet until my shift ends." The earth pony sighed. "Land's sake... fine, Ah'll just wait here till yer done." She started pacing around the store, reading the labels of all the strange items for sale to pass the time. John groaned and rubbed his head. "I hope these drugs wear off soon. My room mate's gonna flip if he finds out I'm seeing talking ponies." Author's Note If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site!
Chapter 8Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 8 I sat on the sofa with the ponies, watching TV. And, no, we weren't watching MLP. I needed to think, and I couldn't sleep, so we stayed up and watched the news. My watch beeped at the hour change. "Eleven o'clock. Alright, ponies, listen up." The five mares sat up and looked at me. "My room mate will be back in about ten minutes, so I really, really need you all to behave. He already heard me talking to you this morning, but thankfully he thought I was talking to him." "We understand, right girls?" Twilight asked. The others nodded. "Mhmm." "OK, good," I said, brushing my hair out of my eyes, "Cuz I really don't need him of all people knowing I'm talking to invisible ponies. By the way, I should probably take off from work tomorrow." "How come?" Dash asked. "Because I can't deal with that and you five at the same time. I'm gonna see Dr. Straus again, and then I--" I was cut off by the sound of the lock clicking, and then the door opened. John walked in, looking pale and vacant. His hands were shaking as he dropped his car keys on the side table. "Dude, are you OK?" I asked. "Huh?" He looked at me blankly. "Oh, uh, yeah. Just, um... just a weird night, I guess. I'm going to bed." I raised an eyebrow. "OK then..." I watched him go into his room and waited until I couldn't hear him anymore. I turned to the girls. "Yeah, he's totally stoned." "Oh, dear! I hope it didn't hurt..." Fluttershy cooed. "Nah, he's really feeling like a million bucks right now, I guarentee it. He's just tripping." "A millionbucks? Tripping?" Fluttershy sounded even more concerned now. "Oh, dear! I simply must check on him!" As she fluttered into John's room, I facepalmed when I realized how I sounded. "Fluttershy, he can't see you." She ignored me, so I peeked in and watched her try to examine him. I rolled my eyes and turned back to the others. "Well, it's late, so I should go to bed too. You girls can sleep anywhere you want to." "Thank you," said Twilight, "Sorry we've been such a burden on you." I laughed and waved her off. "No worries. It could be worse. You all could be visible to everyone else too." The ponies all burst into laughter at this for some reason. I'm sorry, but I can't get by those awkward laughing moments that so frequently occur in cartoons. I crawled into bed and snuggled into the quilt. I yawned and silently bid the others goodnight. My eyes slowly gave up the fight to stay open, sliding shut as I drifted off towards dreamland... until I felt someone kiss me on the nose. I bolted upright and pulled the quilt off. Rarity had somehow climbed into bed with me, and was staring up at me with that adorable smile. I swear, sometimes she could get pretty darn close to Fluttershy cute with that face, but I was unfazed thanks to me being molested by a pony. "Rarity!" I whispered, "What the buck are you doing in my bed?!" "Well you said I could sleep anywhere!♪" She sat up and tapped my nose with a hoof. "And I choose to sleep with you." "W-w-what makes you think I want you in bed with me? Didn't we talk about personal space in the shower already?" The little white unicorn bunched up her shoulders and giggled. "Now, don't you play coy with me. I got on your computer, and I saw--" "Now wait a minute!" I said in a normal tone, "How did you even find those pics? You have hooves!" "Oh, so you do keep pictures of me?" She fluttered her eyelashes and drew me closer with her horn. "I'm flattered." I facepalmed. This chick was the ponification of Black Widow. "OK, fine, you can sleep with me as long as you don't tell anypony about my... collection." "Oh don't you worry about that..." She traced her hoof from my face down to my chest. "It'll be our. Little. Secret." I whimpered and laid back down. "Fine. Whatever. But my pants stay on!" The unicorn clicked her tongue and used her duck-lip pout. I rolled over and tried to fall asleep. It was only one day, after all. Who knows? They might be gone when I wake up. Wait a minute. This isn't my bedroom. Am I in-- "Intruder! Who art thou?!" I spun around on my heel and came face to face with Princess Luna. She was walking in from the balcony, presumably coming in from raising the moon. "Nice." I threw up my arms and let them fall to my sides. "Now I'm seeing them in my dreams too!" Luna blinked and then looked at me sternly. "We say again, identify thyself." I grinned. Reality was one thing. A dream world was different. "My name is David Cavaliere, but you may call me Master." She glowered. "Thou dares challenge us?" I smirked. "You mad, Lulu?" Her eyes shot wide open, and for a second, I swear she had Nightmare's eyes. She bared her teeth and glowed her horn, lifting me up and throwing me through the air. I flew back and slammed into the big door at the end of the throne room, sliding down and flopping onto the hard tile floor. Groaning, I reached around and felt the back of my head, then brought my hand in front. There was blood on it. Luna scuffed her hoof on the floor. "Vile invader! Prepare to be purged from our presence!" She began to charge me. Oh, buck... this is real! Author's Note If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site!
Chapter 9Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 9 Here I was, in the throne room of Canterlot palace, in the presence of the princess of the night herself, Luna of Equestria, and she was rushing right up to meet me. It would have been a brony's wet dream... if not for the fact that she was rushing up to meet me so she could kill me! I braced myself against the door and turned my head, closing my eyes tight. Sure, I wanted to see Luna, but not like this! Of course, it was kind of my fault, but I thought she was the playful one! No use now. Time to just accept my fate, and wait for-- "Luna! What in Equestria are you doing?!" --Celestia to bail me out, of course! Luna skidded to a halt and looked back at her sister. I opened my eyes, and saw the regal princess of the sun approaching us both with confusion plastered on her face. "Luna, has Discord's madness driven you to this? What could breaking your horn on the door possibly accomplish?" "Break your horn on the... Oh~!" I grinned at Luna. "Guess who's the only pony who can see me?" Luna went bug-eyed and swung her head from me to Celestia and back again. "Thou meanst thou cannot see the intruder?" Celestia raised an eyebrow and looked where I was standing. "Dear sister, we are alone, you and I. You can drop the royal we." "But he's standing right here!" Luna besought, "He dared to mock us! And I believe he is responsible for what happened to the Elements of Harmony!" Celestia raised a hoof to silence her sister. "Luna, Discord is the one who plunged them into the unwaking slumber." "Unwaking slumber?" I queried. Celestia looked at me and smiled. "Besides, I'm sure if he really were there, he'd be very confused about all this. Wouldn't he?" "Wait, can she see me?" I asked Luna. Luna shushed me. Celestia chuckled. "Let me guess, then he'd wonder if I can see him." I scowled and walked up to her, then flicked her on the nose. Luna gasped. "And then he'd touch me and see if I can feel him, am I right?" Celestia grinned at Luna's astonished nod. "You have such a predictable imagination, dear sister. I'm surprised you've managed to hold your own against me in our games." "Ooh, Celestia, you troll!" I jibed. Luna glowered at me for that remark. Celestia passed through me (oh my gosh, I can see inside her stomach!) and put her hoof on Luna's shoulder. "You are exhausted, Luna. Please, take the night off. I will keep watch and wait for word of Discord's activities." Luna lowered her gaze. "You're right. I've just been so worried about them..." The sun princess nuzzled her sister on the cheek. "I know. I am too. But with Discord loose and the Elements incapacitated, we need our strength full and our minds clear. Now go rest. I will wake you if anything comes up before hoof." Luna hugged her sister, and then proceeded to leave, trotting down the hall towards her chamber. I slipped through the door before it could close and caught up to her, walking with my hands at the small of my back. "Hey, Luna?" She glared at me, but kept her pace. "Look, I'm sorry. I thought this was all a dream." "You made us look like a fool in front of our sister," she said lowly, looking ahead again. "There you go again with the royal we," I said, "I thought Twilight got you to quit that back on Nightmare Night." The princess whipped around and stepped in front of me, lowering her eyes to my level. "How does thou know of this? Art thou spying on us?" I paused and carefully thought about my answer. "Um, could I get back to you on that? We have a bigger problem here." Luna raised her eyebrow. "Such as?" "Well, for starters," I began, "I'm here for real, judging by how you could hurt me back there. And apparently, the Mane Six are in an... unwaking slumber, as Celestia put it? What does that mean?" Luna turned from me and looked down the hall. "Follow me." We came to her bedroom (squee), and there on the floor were the bodies of the Mane Six. I gasped and knelt down beside Twilight's body, trying to shake her awake. "Twilight! Can you hear me?" I grabbed Pinkie Pie and shook her. "Pinkie! Wake up!" "Do you... know these girls?" Luna asked, stepping beside me. I nodded. "Yes, they appeared in my world this morning. Or, yesterday morning. I dunno what time it is." "They've been this way since last midnight," Luna said, "When Discord--" "Interupted your slumber party and brought them to my world," I said, "Twilight showed me her memories." I stood up and surveyed the bodies of the other ponies. "Wait, Applejack is out, too?" Luna looked at the unconscious earth pony. "Yes. Discord spirited them all away. Why are you surprised at this?" "Because she wasn't with us all day long," I replied, "Nopony knew where she was. The rest of the Mane Six were with me when I woke up." Luna poked me with a hoof. "Why do you call them that? The Mane Six?" I bit my lip. "Well, remember when you asked if I was a spy?" She hardened her gaze. I motioned towards the bed at her. "You might wanna sit down. I have... a whole lot to tell you." Applejack paced back and forth through the apartment. She couldn't get to sleep, despite her best efforts, and the silence was killing her. She stuck her head outside her window to let the sounds of the human city keep her company, but it was like standing in a crowd; Didn't matter how big it was, with nopony to talk to, she might as well be alone. John's room mate struck her as weirder than the human she'd been forced to follow. He kept mumbling to himself, and even in bed, he seemed to talk in his sleep. It was strange, but even stranger when she heard him mention names he was familiar with. "Ah know it's mighty rude, but Ah got a funny feelin' about this feller, David." She began to look around through his room in search of some clues. Even if there were no leads back to Equestria, it would at least be a good idea to get to know the people she was staying with. It wasn't like she could ask, anyway. Going under his bed and rummaging through the things he kept under there, she caught her breath at the sight of a strange rectsngular box, and the lable printed on it. "Spaceballs? What in tarnation kinda name is thst fer this weird plastic book thing?" She tossed it aside and continued digging. Then her heart nearly stopped at the sight of another DVD case. "Mah Lil' Pony... Friendship is Magic Season One?!" Author's Note If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site!
Chapter 10Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 10 "...and that's about the size of it," I explained, "So, quick recap, magic boxes, TV show, thought you were fake. Any questions?" Luna shook her head. "No. I feel that any questions would only confuse me further. And I have no choice but to trust what you say." "Thank you." I smiled. "Now then, the question I have: if Applejack was with you all when Discord cast his spell, why didn't she appear for me like the others? Even if this is all in my head, it makes no sense. I mean, I don't dislike Applejack, so I doubt my brain is filtering her out. Do you have any ideas?" Luna looked at the Mane Six's bodies. "We feared that disturbing them would have a bad effect, so where they lay now is the same position as the night they passed out. Do their places mean anything in relation to where they appeared in your world?" I pinched my chin in thought. "Hmm..." Carefully inspecting the layout, I counted the paces from where they were in Twilight's memory when they appeared in my room. "OK, so your bed is exactly where my bed is. But this room is bigger than mine. Applejack was over here, so..." "So?" Luna stepped forward, eager to hear my conclusion. I racked my brain, trying to match everything up. "OK, so if this spacing is right, she would have appeared outside my room. So she must have gotten startled... run off somewhere..." I looked up at Luna. "I have to get back to my world! If I'm right, Applejack could be lost! I gotta find her!" Wait a minute, what am I saying? This isn't real! Why should I find Applejack for her? Idiot! If I bring them back together, finish this quest, maybe they'll get out of my mind. And even if it's not real, wouldn't it be fun all the same? This is a rare opportunity, though. How many crazy people get to be crazy with characters they like? Maybe I could come to terms and keep them around? I'm not even sure I want them to go. And what if I become a vegetable? Living my entire life thinking I'm in Equestria? That might be fun at first, but people outside who care about me will suffer thinking I'm suffering. I can't do something that selfish. "David?" I snapped my head up, pulled out of my thoughts. "Are you OK?" "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just... thinking. Did you say something?" "I was saying that I cannot send you to your world." A pang of fear stung me. "Wait, what do you mean? Aren't you, like, a super-powerful alicorn?" "Please, calm yourself," she said reassuringly, "I cannot send you, but that doesn't mean you shant return. While the ponies who occupy your mind sleep in this world, it stands to reason you will only persist here as long as your body sleeps on the other side." "Oh." A wave of relief washed over me. "That makes a lot of sense. So... I just have to wait until I wake up?" Luna nodded affirmatively. "Well then... can I... ask you a favor?" Luna tilted her head. "Ask away." I stifled a fanboy squeal. "I'm sorry, I know this is definitely way out of line, asking this of a princess, but I may never get this chance again." "Do not be shy. If you would bring our ponies back, I owe you any favor." I bit my lip. "May I... hug you?" Luna lurched back in surprise. "A hug is one such thing given freely here. Why do I sense you wish for more?" I sighed and rolled my eyes. Might as well spill it. "Can I cuddle with you? Just until I wake up?" Damn, I got balls. Luna raised an eyebrow. "An unusual request. But under the circumstances... I guess it can be allowed." She lay down on her bed and patted next to her. I really couldn't help squeeing, but managed to keep myself composed as I slipped in next to her and she pulled me close with her forelegs, tucking my head in the crook of her neck. I giggled a little and held myself against her tightly, gently stroking her ethereal mane. I'm sure I'm pissing a ton of people off including this in my story, but hey, it happened, and y'all know you're jealous. And besides, it's my dream, so I can do what I want. Besides, I knew I'd pay for it one way or another later on. John stood on the checker board floor in the middle of a town of floating buildings, distorted images, and the strangest part of all, multi-colored pastel ponies running around, doing nothing that made even a lick of sense. "OK, where the hell am I?" he asked no one in particular. "Ponyville," answered a disembodied voice, "or should I say, the Chaos Capital of the World!" "Wait, I know that voice..." John looked up and spun around, searching for the voice's source. "Is that you, Q?" "I am known by many names." The voice followed up with a malicious chuckle. Then in front of John appeared the body of an eastern dragon with a horse head and mis-matched limbs. "But here, my dear burned-out nerd," said the draconequus, "you may call me Discord." John's eyes bugged. "Shit, man, this is why they say never do drugs!" Discord laughed. "Oh, yes, you'll do splendidly! Now listen here." He disappeared and then came up beside John. "I've got a job for you, and if you do it, all of this," he waved at the distopian village, "will leave your mind forever. Or remain as your dream world. Your choice, of course." John raised an eyebrow. "And if I refuse?" Discord wrapped around him and grinned. "Then I hope you like ponies and chocolate milk, because you'll be here for a very, very long time." Author's Note If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site!
Chapter 11Waking Nightmares DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit work of fan fiction. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic © Hasbro. Chapter 11 "John? John, git yer flank outta bed!" Applejack turned around and bucked her human companion put of his bed. "Ow!" John shouted, "Crazy bitch! I'm up!" He exhaled and brushed his hair out of his face before looking up into Applejack's enormous green eyes. "Oh, you're still here?" Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Ah never left." "Right." John picked himself up and went for the bathroom door. "It's too early for this crap..." He turned around and pushed Applejack out of the bathroom when she tried to follow him. "Look, as much as I like the idea of a girl watching me in the shower, I don't think you'd be too happy to see my 'southern comforts'." Applejack twisted her face in disgust. "Ugh, and Ah thought Ah was uncouth!" John grinned and went in to take his shower. Applejack sat against the door and sighed. "Ah saw sonethin' last night that really disturbed me." "It happens," John called back nonchalantly. Applejack rolled her eyes. "It was a picture of mahself 'n' mah friends on this weird plastic box. Ah opened it up, but all Ah saw inside was this weird round mirror. Y'all know somethin' 'bout that?" John came back out wrapped in a towel. "Look, miss pony--" "Applejack." "Apple snack, whatever." John rolled his eyes this time. "You probably saw yourself because you're from that dumb girly cartoon. And I don't know or care how you got here, because I don't feel like dealing with it. Now shoo!" "OK," Applejack said, turning to walk out with a shrug, "Jus' don't make no sense to me. You say Ah'm from some girly show and yer friend, who's a boy, has this show. Don't add up none to me." "What?" John looked into David's room. "You mean him?" "Eeyup." Applejack led John into his sleeping room mate's room and went under the bed. She pulled out the My Little Pony DVD box and gave it to him. "See me right there with them other ponies?" "Oh. My. God." John stared contemptuously at the pink case. "I don't believe it! David's gay!" Applejack looked at David's smiling face. "He sure seems that way, judgin' by this silly grin o' his." "Well, now I see why you're here," John said with a look of confident determination, "I need to save my room mate from himself!" "Huh?" John turned to Applejack. "Thank you, magic pony! Tonight, I shall save David's soul from the black depths of Tartarus! Tonight! We dine! In Rivendell!" He dropped the DVD case and ran into his room to get dressed, then promptly left the apartment. Applejack stared at the door. "Uh. Yer welcome?" She went over to the window and looked down to see John heading for his car. "No way yer leavin' me here with somepony who can't see me!" She got up on the sill and jumped down, galloping at full speed and arriving in time to jump in as he opened the door. "Hey, what are you doing?" John demanded. "Ah ain't stayin' cooped up all day," Applejack retorted. John sighed. "Fine, whatever. At least you're the most normal-looking pony. Even if you are annoying. Just keep your trap shut, alright?" "Deal." Applejack spat in her hoof and held it to John. He stared for a moment. "Uh, I'll take your word for it." "David?" Luna said softly. "Hm?" I mumbled back. "I'm sorry to end this so abruptly, but I must lower the moon for my sister." "Uh? Oh, yeah!" I quickly untangled myself from her body and climbed out from under her. I had to give the moon princess credit; she was limber, and her figure and posture were excellent. I had no idea she could even get into those positions. Truly, this pony was unbeatable at Twister! Oh, what did you think we were doing? I fixed my shirt and composed myself as Luna went for her door. "Would you like to watch?" she turned to ask. "Yes, please!" I quickly followed her to the balcony and watched her take off. The spectacle was astounding! In the show, Celestia made it look so simple to raise the sun, just flying straight up as it rose. But Luna turned it into a ballet, executing a graceful figurative dance that looked like she was bidding fond farewell to an old friend. When she was finished, the sun took the moon's place, casting a warm glow over Equestria. The night princess lighted down next to me and stood at my side on the balcony. "What did you think?" she asked. "It was... breathtaking." I smiled at her. "Do you know what else is breathtaking?" a third voice asked. I turned around and came face to muzzle with Celestia. I was so startled by the sudden extreme close-up that I jumped back and tripped over the railing, flipping off the edge. A terrified scream ripped through the air as I fell towards the courtyard below. I heard Luna scream my name just before impact, and then the sky disappeared. I sat bolt upright, cold sweat running down my face. Rarity was sitting on my lap with her hooves wrapped around me. "Oh, darling, I'm so glad you're awake! You looked like you were having the most dreadful nightmare!" I looked from her to the other ponies who appeared equally concerned for me. I scowled and tried to will my heart into calming down. "I swear to God... if I see Celestia again... I can't be held responsible for what I might do!" "You saw Celestia?!" Twilight asked, shoving Rarity off of me to take her place on my lap. "Yeah," I said, "And I found out something new. I'll tell ya later though." "Why? What is it?" Twilight followed me into the bathroom. "I said later, Twi." I pushed her out and got in the shower. Rarity was in there with me again, and she refused to leave. "Why?" I asked myself, "Of all the ponies, why her?" The whole time, Rarity kept yammering on about my taste in clothing and how I should wear more stylish outfits, despite my best efforts to convince her that a T shirt and jeans were the style around here. After I got done in the bathroom, I went to the phone and called my boss to ask for the day off. I told him part of the truth; I needed to see a doctor because I had a problem that could be serious but I wasn't sure what it was. I left out the symptom of talking ponies, of course. Leaving to see Dr. Straus again, I asked that only Twilight come with me today. After all, I needed the pony who drove me crazy the least if I was gonna get through this ordeal. "Well," I said as I stepped outside, "Here goes nothing." Author's Note If you'd like to support my writing, please visit my site!
