Twilight sat up in her bed with a gasp, eyes streaming with fresh tears. It was the dream again, that dream. This was the seventh night in a row she had been jolted awake, and it was beginning to take its toll. Her eyes were veined and red; her lids wrinkled and puffy. She vaguely recalled the second day of torment, where she pored over tomes and tomes of neuroscience texts. Supernatural things held no respect in Twilight's logical eyes, but a week of recurring nightmares could no longer be chalked off as 'random neuron firings'. With biochemistry unable to help her, she had turned to psychology. Three days ago she began to read up on dream theory, but any attempt she made to turn up why she was sleepless had been fruitless.
"Those eyes. . ." She thought to herself. The cold, burning emptiness of those orbs flared before her as she reminisced about her dream. Twilight closed her eyes, trying to forget the image, but that only made it worse. Like a scared little filly she cowered under the covers and trembled. After a few minutes the fear abated and Twilight steeled herself.
"No. Dreams aren't real, therefore, He isn't real. My inate fear of this dream is simultaneously increasing the likelihood of me having the dream again. What a vicious cycle. . . It just feels so. . . real", She rubbed her neck where crooked fangs tore away flesh, just minutes before, " I need to forget about it, but why does that seem so hard? Should I tell my friends? No, no, they'll think i'm crazy! They can't know."
"And what good will that do, huh?", the voice of Rainbow Dash echoed in her head, "You and I know very well how bottling up feelings turns out", Twilight could imagine Dash's eyes slanting for emphasis, "Breakdown."
"Yes, but-"
"But nuthin', sugarcube", Applejack's voice interjected, "Yah really think we haven't noticed yet that yah ain't been sleepin' lately? We're gonna ask about it, and lyin' ain't gonna help yah one bit."
"No, but what can you guys even do to help me? Nothing I've done has made Him go away!"
"Think about it, Twi!" Pinkie Pie popped up to give her two bits, "Nightmares are like little horror movies, and those are just plain silly! Next time you dream, you should remind Him that you're the nerdy one, and the nerdy pony never dies in the movies! HEY!"
Twilight grinned to herself, she could vividly picture Rarity shoving Pinkie out of the way to speak.
"Never mind her, dear, this is serious business. Believe it or not, even refined ponies such as myself get worried and afraid sometimes. Shocking, I know, but I find that when emotions are getting out of hand, the best thing to do is simply walk away and focus on something else!"
"But this is a dream, I can't just CHOOSE to not have it. . ."
"Maybe you do have a choice, Twilight. If I am not mistaken, you've spent the past week trying to explain, prove and make concrete something that is not concrete at all. Just let it go. . ."
Rarity disappeared from her thought and Pinkie popped up again:
"Some things can't be explained, remember? Like what does Princess Celestia really put in our tap water? Quit shoving!"
"Heh heh, yeah", Twilight felt Rainbow Dash give Pinkie a hard gaze, "And you can't let those feelings stew, you'll worry forever!"
Applejack spoke next:
"So be honest with us, let us help you out. We'd want the same thing."
A quiet soothing voice whispered almost as if it were right next to Twilight's head:
"Now relax, get some good rest and you can talk to all of us tomorrow . . ."
An invisible blanket of warmth descended on Twilight as a sense of calm beckoned her to sleep.
"Thanks Flutter. . .shy. . ."
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The bedroom was silent, save for the quiet breathing of a comfy dragon. Pale moonlight descended through the window, illuminating the warm blue blankets that covered a serene purple unicorn. Twilight's sleeping form lay peacefully still as she dreamed of pleasant fields and warm sunshine. She stirred briefly and let out a contented sigh; the curled silhouettes of her friends watched over her and comforted her as she slept through the night.
