Strings Of Slumber

by Shimsham

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Character
Length: 1063

A strange case of insomnia plagues Ponyville and the one people are turning to isn't sure what to do.

Shining Lullaby loves to help ponies sleep peacefully at night and people travel across Equestria to see her and to get her advice.When a strange phenomenon comes to Ponyville that people believe she can solve, she struggles to control the situation. Can she and her friends eradicate the source of this issue before they are unable to carry on?

Published 2017-03-25 01:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2017-03-25 01:30:01 UTC

A Sleepless Night

Cloudy Drifter tossed and turned in a failed attempt to get the slightest moment of rest. Glistening moonlight invaded the silent bedroom through a gap in her navy blue curtains. Her aching hooves emerged from a creased duvet and pulled a tired, limp body out of the bed and onto the wooden floor. She brushed her long, fine sapphire mane away from her eyes ,that were now longing to close but were unable to get any form of relief. Heavy hoofsteps slowly echoed through the hallways as she made her way to the door, leading to the peaceful paradise known as Cloudsdale. Her wings stretched out, each feather standing to attention in the chilly evening breeze and released their tension when Cloudy launched herself into the atmosphere. Like a graceful swan eagerly returning to it's nest, the soft-spoken pegasus glided swiftly through the air and swooped down towards Ponyville.

Her descent came to an end outside Sugarcube Corner; even in the darkness it's vibrant colours shone like a beacon making standing out from the plain, ordinary buildings that surrounded it. She saw a light come into existence upstairs and came to the conclusion that Candy Twist had awoken. Cloudy Drifter's rainbow tipped hooves gently tapped on the door, with little effort, and a scrambling could be heard as someone made their way downstairs in a hurry. The door swung open, knocking Cloudy of the doorstep and onto the damp grass.

"Hello!" exclaimed a pink mare bursting out of the candy covered shop. Her excitement deflated as she realised no one was there."Hello?" she repeated. A painful moan gave a weak reply. Candy peered to her left and saw her sky blue friend collapsed on the floor. "Sorry!" she cried, feeling ashamed of herself. Cloudy pulled her self up and recovered her composure.

"Hey, sorry if I woke you up," She muttered in a weak weary tone, shaking the dirt off her hooves. "I hate to bother you at this time."

"No, don't be, I couldn't sleep tonight." Candy replied with a similar pain in her voice.

After conferring for several minutes, they decided to visit their dear friend, Shining Lullaby, who was talented in granting tired, sleepless ponies remedies and spells to ease their slumber. The pair wander round the corner and saw an winding line that had no visible end. They followed the queue to the large house Lullaby resided in. It was true that Lullaby was well know, not only for her talents but for her parents as well. She was the daughter of Princess Twilight Sparkle and Flash Sentry, but she lacked both the magic and fighting skills that her parents possessed and instead had interest in sleep as she suffered from insomnia as a filly. Despite her career choices, her parents were proud of her and supported her decision.

The silence of the night was overwhelmed by the deafening chatter of inpatient ponies waiting to be served. Young fillies complained to their parents, begging to go home, and ponies let out large yawns and gossiped among themselves about the cause of this mayhem.

Author's Note

Starting to improve my writing!:unsuresweetie:
Hope it's paying off!:pinkiehappy:
I'm basing this of a picture series I did on my deviantart:You can visit it here (I didn't finish it):rainbowwild:
Hope you enjoyed!:applecry:

Lullaby Of Peace

When they approached the door, there was uproar from the crowd, angry and confused. The breeze strengthened, rocking a sign that hung above the door reading "Counting Sheep,Losing Sleep" The line erupted as the pair slid into the shop to talk to their friend. Lullaby was talking to Imani, another one of their close friends. They sat down quietly and observed as Lullaby performed her magical array of lights that surrounded her body and slowly transferred to the other pony. Not only was it beautiful but it had great effect and usually cured all of the problems that the client had."Thank you" smiled Imani, bowing to her.

"Don't worry about it" Shining Lullaby replied, trying to pull of a convincing smile to no success.

As Imani trotted out the door, she shot the a friendly grin at the two of them. Lullaby suddenly noticed them sat in the corner of the room and let out a sigh. "Oh my Celestia.. Does this night ever end!" she moaned, her horn obviously worn out. She used the last of her magic to mix them both a purple potion that look rather unappealing. "Essence of Poppy. It will help you relax, it's the best I can do in this state."she murmured, rather apologetically.

"Honestly, it's fine" Cloudy Drifter whispered,"You're amazing!"

"Yeah!" Candy Twist chimed in, resuming her bubbly nature. Lullaby began hum to herself as they began to exit. Her voice was enough to put you asleep alone, each second you could hear her voice you began to feel at peace. Even her welcoming voice was like a lullaby that soothed all that heard it. All the lights blew out in the building and Lullaby began to exit with them. Seeing their confused expression, She decided to explain.
"I'm not going to get any peace around here, so there's no point staying, anyway my magic's run out so I can help anyone," She paused, thinking of where to go. "I'll go to my mom's castle, it's not too far."

The friends walk outside to be greeted by the swarms of outraged ponies who had been waiting to be served. Lullaby cleared her throat and assumed a more threatening look. The crowd continued to bombard her with complaints and questions and the stress was clearly building up inside her. Her face darkened and it was only a matter of time before she burst."EVERYONE BE QUIET!" she screamed at the top of her lungs and the peace of the evening returned. "Everypony, go home, I can't help you!" There was a sense of sadness in her voice and tears were building up in her eyes, ready to create a river of sorrow. "I can't help anypony.."

The crowd split and funnelled off in many directions. Soon the distraught unicorn found herself alone in the evening wind. The sign that hung from her shop kept rocking and rocking.

Author's Note

What did you think?:pinkiesad2:
Hope you enjoyed!:pinkiesmile:
This is what Shining Lullaby looks like: Here :heart: