After half an hour of frantic sprinting i was spent. Being well away from town, my adrenaline wearing off to a low, my body was semi-locking up and refused to work.

I was reduced to a hunched over wreck gasping raggedly for air crawling on my knees. I looked up through my blurring vision and saw a treeline -that wasn't everfree, thank god- and forced myself to my feet again.

Gritting my teeth and, growling through said grit teeth in pain and exertion. I forced myself the last ten meters off the road and into the shrubs of the forest before i collapsed under a thick bramble. Just barely high enough to allow me to squeeze under. And blacked out.

When i came to it was afternoon the next day.

Upon crawling out of my cover. I near instantly slithered under again like a startled snake.

I saw a patrol of at least five Pegasi flying in a V formation

“So, their hunting me…” i mumbled to myself. Before cursing myself.

‘Of course they are! I ran into town pulling my near dead friend with blood dripping from his stomach. Then i BOLT from the guards. They probably think i did it. And the fact that i ran from them only means that they now think i'm a threat…’

“...shit...fuck me sideways... why me?...” i mumbled under my breath. Shaking into a quiet sob.

After a five minute bout of silently cursing myself for ditching my friend, and putting myself in this situation. I had cried myself out and i was now frustrated with my inability to think of a plan.

So i forced myself into my calm space.

I closed my eyes and used the nature around me to assist me in reconstructing my personal ‘mental’ garden library.

I only enter this place when i'm lost in deep thought. Or it's an escape from emotions or events that are dogging me and making me feel bad.

*****

A single Lapis Lazuli gazebo stood proud in a huge garden of roses and hedges. Each hedge being its own bookshelf.

Under the gazebo sat a lounge area. A large pool of cobalt blue water rippled under the small waterfall from a heated spa pool. Vines of grapes and flowers intermingled with each other as they grew up the pillars of the gazebo. And a not so small table sat in the centre island of the huge swimming pool. It wasn't originally a swimming pool. As it still had all the fish in it. And the lilies. And the other aquatic plants. But heck. My world. My rules.

I grabbed a book from one of the many shelves that were meticulously arranged around the gazebo. And i retired to the table on the centre island. I tossed the book to the table, and it landed with a muffled leather thump, that echoed around in the gazebos concave roof.

I looked up and admired the mural of Celtic patterns, and Aboriginal style paintings of the place i called home. That little island country that stood proudly by itself at the bottom of the world. I recalled with a smile how i had had to summon a 10 meter tall ladder in my dreams to paint that up there. It was the most awkward and terrifying dream i’d had, but the end was oddly satisfying and comforting.

Anyway.

I drew back my chair and slumped down into it holding my head.

With a sigh i looked up and looked around the empty table. There were 24 empty marble seats, each with a brilliant white cushion with silver trim.

With a wave of my left hand i summoned a tea set. The exact same one i had back home, under my bed. It was used by the queen of England herself…

I poured myself a cup of ‘Earl Grey’ and sat there holding the cup in my hands. It's warmth comforting me.

“This is a nice place…”

“Thank you, i made it myself. It took me three months of dreams to comple-” My eyes shot open side and i jumped up out of my marble chair with a yelp. Before my tea, and it's accompanying cup, could hit the ground. They were both enveloped in a midnight blue aura and ceased their plummet to the gold, silver and quartz speckled floor.

My vision had locked onto the midnight blue Alicorn like radar. And my eyes portrayed how pissed off i was that my private domain, had been rudely intrude upon.

My stare of daggers was met by a friendly smile. And i instantly felt like a right dick.

I called myself off with several slow deep ragged breaths. Before opening my eyes and noticing the Alicorn had helped herself to a seat.

“Can i help you?” I asked as i slid the book in front of me and returned to my chair.

“Quite, but that comes later. You’ve a very nice dream space, if you don't mind my saying.” She said. Looking around with a genuine smile of amazement and awe.

“Like i said. I took great pride, time and careful planning in designing this place. And normally it's just me here. . .” I paused, raising both my arms at the vast library around us. “This is my vast collection of knowledge I've collected over the years.”

She chuckled at my comment… “I see i'm not the only one who converts all their memories to book form for an ethereal library.”

I looked at her and finally let a smile spread across my face. Before i could reach for another cup. My previous one had levitated back to it's saucer and the princess of the night even had the courtesy to levitate two biscuits to the crockery as well.

I leaned onto the table on my elbows. Picked up the steaming cup and brought it just in front of my mouth.

“So why are you really here? Enlighten me as to the reason your intruding upon my safe place?”

She looked at me with a coy grin.

“Just because dream walking is part of my job at night. Doesn't mean i can't do it in the day as well. My role as princess of the night, and all it encompasses is eternal. And i could feel your desperate fear and inner turmoil from my personal chambers in my sleep.”

I looked at her placing my cup back onto the saucer with a clink.

“Am i mentally messed up that badly?” I said in genuine shock at her information.

All she did was give a nod. “The full description of my role includes peaceful dreams and self evaluation through recollection of memories. However, I can feel that your keeping those locked away. And with a fair amount of security as well. But i am the princess of the night. Your construct or not. I will break through to them. I am the mistress of the dream world.”

“Yeah, well, i'm not going to roll over and let you scratch my belly. If you want into my memories then your going to have to fight for those rights.” With a click of my fingers all the hedgerow bookshelves morphed into seemingly innocuous normal hedges, then slowly sank into the ground before the grass around the gazebo morphed into white ethereal energy, then into a starry replica of the night sky over my house.

Her coy smile turned into a mischievous toothy grin before she said.

“Very well. A contest then. When i break into your memories your going to watch with me. And your not going to spare any details.”

I retorted with. “If you break through my memories. Which i doubt you’ll be able to without me being unconscious. And that would be against the rules of fair play. Then yes. I will show you through my library until then however. You won't see so much as a letter.”

A dark blue glow out in the far reaches of my peripheral vision caught my attention, and without breaking eye contact or even moving my body. I mentally slammed the book i retrieved from the shelf earlier against the table with my own mental power. It impacts the table hard enough to make a deafening leathery slap against the table.

I let my glare turn into a coy smile, whilst still staring into the eyes of the now quite shocked Alicorn.

“Goodness. You wield a lot of power in this realm.” She says

My smile fades away as i slump into my chair. Sliding down half under the table before i groan and stare at the ceiling, letting the mural comfort me.

“You know i originally came here to see what was bothering you and help you, and i can't do that unless. . . I can't believe i'm saying this… You cooperate with me here. My only goal is to help you through your turmoil, i mean no ill will.” She says in all honesty, a concerned look adorning her face.

I sighed heavily. Before dropping my eyes down to her. Staring at her over the table.

“I sincerely apologise for this…” i said honestly.

“For what…?” Luna asked suspiciously.

I could feel her rummaging around my library under our feet. The vast catacombs of books hidden below us at risk of discovery.

I raised my right hand and clicked my fingers and a look of utter terrified shock enveloped Luna’s face and she suddenly felt her power siphoned away from her.

Her brilliant starry mane and tail lost their brilliant glowing sheen and flopped down to her sides, now at the mercy of gravity.

“What did you-” She asked terrified at the sudden shift of power she hadn't foreseen.

I raised my hand further into the air and pooled her stolen energy in my right hand. Causing it glow in a dim blue aura.

“WAIT” She nearly screams as she realises my next course of action.

With a click of my fingers she vanishes in a vibrant starry flash, banished from my safe place. I muster the mental fortitude to pull myself back upright in the chair. And i stared at the still steaming cup of tea and two accompanying biscuits.

I waved my hand off and the tea set vanished in a steamy vapour. I sat in the chair looking at the book Luna had tried to steal.

The brown leather Tomb entitled “Terminator 3 - Rise of the Machines” sat before me on the table. I sighed in relief that my senses in this world are a lot better here then in real life. I waved the book off, it vanishing into vapour and returning to it's hidden shelf. Before i stood up and walked over the to the heated pool and sat on it's side. Placing my legs in.

A sigh of relief left me as i thought of a plan for the evening. The time i make my move. I know that pony eyesight is near useless at night. I can use that...

My eyes snap open. I groggily look around. I see no one. And i'm still under the bramble bush. The sun was moved slightly. But still stood proud in the sky.

“Alright, stay in the treeline and avoid capture until i can evaluate the situation properly and come up with an appropriate plan. I never got far into the series, so i don't know the guards course of action if they catch me.”

With that i continued wandering until nightfall. At which point i moves cautiously to avoid patrols of both earthbound ponies and Pegasi. I eventually found myself in a forest overlooking ‘sweet apple acres’

“As much as it pains me to steal from them, it's food.” I tried justifying my wrong actions as i made off into the night across the river and up a hill, a few apples in my hands.

‘But he who need justification, know he do wrong-eth’

And with a sigh, i sat down in my secluded and odd ring of trees. These trees grew in a near perfect ring around a tiny clearing. Only about five by five meters in total. But their trunks were so close together they may as well have been interlocking. And their thick bushy canopy of leaves above me would protect me from even the heaviest of downpours. So being spotted from the air, even with my campfire going was out of the question.

Rain began to pelt down, literally as soon as i made that observation. And it got worse and worse as the seconds ticked by. And i slipped, like a complete tool, into a mud pile.

“Me and my big mouth…” I groaned to myself, covered in mud slurry.

*****

I had just finished my spastic digging of a water trench around the inside of my little ‘nook’ to prevent the water from a hurricane force storm that was hammering the entire area Ponyville was situated in.

The dirt covered floor was now a slush covered floor. My bed of collected loose brush thankfully protected me from most of the wet sludge that became the floor of my clearing. I had taken off my singlet and was using it as an improvised rain catch for hammering rainstorm. One end was tied to a tree and the other to the hand of a wooden bucket i’d collected on my travels through the orchard. By now the thing was overflowing. It had to be at least a 20 litre bucket to.