Your Family and You

I woke in a cold sweat.

Lurching upwards, I tore the covers off my body as I struggled to breathe. My heart thundered in my chest, beating a morbid tempo against my ribs as blood pulsed in my ears. The sheets beneath me were soaked and my clothing clung to my body. Faintly, I noted the taste of copper in my mouth. My tongue ached.

Still breathing heavily, my eye frantically darted around the room, searching each shadow for horrors. Horrors that were not there. I could still hear them though, scuttling and slithering through the deep recesses of the world. Coming, always coming. Coming for me.

Yet… there was nothing there.

Twilight’s bedroom was exactly as it had been the night before. The faintest hints of sunlight trickled in through the gap between the curtains. It fell across the bed and down into the lower levels of the room. The bookshelves carved into the wooden walls were still packed full with a plethora of books, and her desk against the far wall was still completely covered in various scrolls, grimoires, and broken quills. Several burnt-out candles dotted the surface as well.

Running a hand through my long hair, I let out a deep, shaky breath. I flexed my fingers, staring at them as they opened and closed slowly. They felt stiff, the joints popping as they moved. The phantom pain from the dream was still present. It had only been a dream, I told myself. Only a dream.

And yet…

The sound of birdsong from outside snapped me from my thoughts and I glanced at the curtains. They were made from a soft lavender fabric—a much better quality than the thin, yellow ones that Twilight had previously used. These ones were thicker and didn’t force me to wake up with the rising of the sun. Twilight had been a little hesitant at first, but it hadn’t taken much convincing for her to change them out. In fact, it just took one night of me sleeping on the couch and the curtains were changed the next morning before I had woken up.

Speaking of Twilight…

I turned my attention to the other side of the bed. It was currently empty, and upon tentatively placing my hand against the bedsheets, I noted that they weren’t even warm.

She’s been up for a while, I mused as my fingers dug into the coarse material. The only question was, how long? According to the cuckoo clock on the opposite wall (the one that I had made sure wasn’t going to be making any noise), it was a little after eight in the morning. That meant she’d probably been up for at least three hours already. Even after living with her for over a year now, I will never understand how that mare managed to get up so early, especially after staying up later than me, reading.

There’s some magic bullshittery going on there, or I’m a wombat.

By then, I had calmed down to the point where my heart wasn’t trying to actively escape my ribs. Despite having been so abruptly thrust into the land of the living, I was still exhausted. I was debating the chances of going back to sleep for a few more hours when I heard the sound of hooves on the stairs outside. A moment later, the bedroom door swung open.

“Oh, you’re awake?” In the doorway stood a purple pony. Her mane had been neatly brushed, the pink and purple highlights standing out against the dark blue hair. A pair of wings twitched at her sides as she studied me intently with her deep violet eyes.

“Don’t tell me it was another nightmare?” Twilight asked, her voice soft. I said nothing, but she was able to read the answer on my face. She sighed. “This is getting ridiculous. You really should do something about them.”

“It’s fine,” I said. My voice was rough and it cracked on ‘fine’.

Twilight shook her head. “No, it’s not fine,” she said as she moved into the room. “You’ve barely gotten any sleep since the fiasco in Canterlot.” Her horn lit up with a rosy light and a pair of saddlebags emerged from the closet. As she began to fill them up with books and papers, she continued. “You say that you aren’t traumatized, but it’s clear that you are! You struggle to fall asleep at night, and when you finally do, you suffer from nightmares more often than not.” She paused her packing to look up into the loft. “I’m really getting worried about you.”

“I’m fine,” I said again, though I didn’t meet her eye. “It’s nothing. Just a few bad dreams. I’ve had nightmares before.”

“For two weeks straight?” she asked skeptically.

“I’m not having them every night,” I countered. She said nothing yet glared up at me. I chewed on my cheek before sighing. “Fine. If they continue, I’ll write to Luna, okay?”

Twilight watched me for a moment before nodding slowly. “If you don’t, I will.” With that, she returned to her packing. She perused the shelves, pulling off several books on various topics: structures, maps, and old-time mechanics. They all went into the saddlebags, along with blank sheets of parchment and several scrolls.

As she was placing the bags on her back, I asked, “Where are you off to with all that?”

“Hmmm?” She adjusted the straps about her flanks. “Oh, well. Spike and I are heading over to the Castle of the Two Sisters.”

“Does this have anything to do with that magic box thingy you found by that weird tree?”

“Actually, yes,” she said. For the first time, a smile touched her lips. “I was originally going to head to Canterlot to check the Archives, but Princess Celestia recommended that I look in the ruins’ library first. According to her, there might be a book or two there that can shed some light on the chest’s purpose. Or a few I might find for my own personal interest.”

“And you were going to leave without waking me up first?”

“Yes,” she answered immediately. “You need your sleep. You’re still recovering, and with the nightmares constantly waking you up, you need as much sleep as you can get.”

“Sleep more?” The corners of my mouth twitched upward. “There once was a time when you’d be physically pulling me off the couch in order to prevent me from sleeping in too late.”

“Yes, well, times have changed,” she said, a faint blush touching her cheeks. “I was going to leave you a note, but I guess I don’t need to now. We should be gone most of the day, but I plan to be back around dinner time.” She cocked her head to the side and gave me a curious look. “What are you going to do today?”

“No clue,” I said. “I was thinking about going back to sleep, but—” Looking down, I flexed my fingers again “—I’m not so sure now. I might get up and relax a little. Maybe work on that report you all want me to write so badly.”

“Well,” Twilight said slowly as she made her way towards the door, “whatever you decide upon, remember: don’t do anything too strenuous. You don’t want to make your leg worse, right?”

“Yes, mom,” I called after her as she left, only to be smacked upside the head by a pillow encased in a rosy glow.

~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~

Getting down the stairs was a little difficult. My leg might have been healing nicely, but it still hurt to put pressure upon it. As such, I was forced to jump one-legged onto each step while using the railing to support myself so that I didn’t fall face-first down the staircase.

The library was quiet when I finally reached the ground floor, Twilight and Spike having already left during my slow descent. Several of the windows were open, and a warm breeze wafted inside, bringing with it the smell of spring. In the distance, the faint sound of ponies in the marketplace could be heard.

I glanced around the library for a moment before the sound of plates clattering together drew my attention to the kitchen. Using the cane I had acquired in Canterlot as support, I limped over to the archway and peered inside.

A gray unicorn mare in a white apron was leaning upon the counter, a large mixing bowl in front of her. There was flour in her short, hot-pink mane and splotches of jam and jelly upon her cheeks. Her horn glowed a soft pink, and inside the bowl, a large whisk spun and twirled. The heavy scent of cooking batter filled the air, along with the sweet scent of fruit.

As I watched, she scooped out a cup of batter before, with expert ease, she deposited it upon a large skillet that was resting atop a lit burner. With a hiss, the scent of pancakes grew. Her horn glowed brighter, and a spatula flew through the air, flipping pancakes that had been previously cooking.

Oblivious to my presence, Ebony Rose hummed to herself as she cooked, swaying back and forth on her hind legs. I watched her for a moment, leaning on the door frame to support myself. As she was removing the latest batch of pancakes, I made myself known. “Did you make enough to share?”

To her credit, she only jumped a little. Turning around, she gave me an annoyed look before it softened into a smile. “As a matter of fact, yes, I did,” she said as she went back to her baking. “Seeing as everypony seems to be having a lazy morning, I figured I’d make some brunch for whoever wants it.”

“Smells good,” I said, limping over to peer over her shoulder. “Whatcha making?”

“An old family recipe,” Ebony answered. “Just standard buttermilk pancakes with lots of blueberries and bananas mixed in, and some cinnamon to complement it all.”

I lifted up a bowl of strawberries. “And these?”

“Those go on with the syrup,” she said as she took the bowl from me and placed it back on the counter. “Got some fresh birch syrup that we’re going to try out.”

“Sounds decent enough,” I said, taking a step back. “Glad I’m the first in line then. I’m starving.”

She gave me a smug look. “Actually, you’re not. Somepony beat you to the queue.” At my confused look, she motioned with her head. “Get in line, buddy.”

Turning, I blinked in surprise upon seeing a human sitting in the far corner of the room. Pyresteed was seated cross-legged upon the floor, surrounded by various bits and pieces of food that Ebony had been using to cook. Her brown hair was its normal tangled, chaotic mess, and she had her signature black shirt on (which was two sizes too big for her, considering it had originally been my shirt before she ‘borrowed’ it). Her fingers and lips were stained red and purple as she munched away happily at the misshapen blueberries and strawberries she had been given.

Upon seeing me, she perked up and let out a happy-sounding chirp. “Alpha!” she mumbled out around her mouthful of food. “Alpha, food!” Holding up a hand, she offered me a large strawberry that looked like it was two that had been fused together.

I shook my head. “No, thank you. I’ll wait until the pancakes are done.”

She cocked her head to one side and then to the other, staring at me with big, blue eyes. After working out the general gist of what I had said, she glanced down at the massive berry.

“No, wait, don’t,” I attempted, but it was too late. Leaning down quickly, she nommed the entire thing in one bite. Strawberry oozed from the corners of her mouth as she struggled to chew the monstrous berry, her cheeks bulging.

“You’re going to choke one of these days,” I huffed.

“I don’t know,” Ebony said skeptically. “With what I’ve seen her put in her mouth, I’m shocked she hasn’t choked yet. She’s consumed whole oranges, peel and all. The amount of trash we have to put out each week has dropped dramatically. She’s a bottomless eating machine.”

Unaware that we were talking about her, Pyresteed went about licking the sticky fruit juices from her hands. She suckled on her fingers, practically deepthroating them as she attempted to get all of the sweet fluids.

“Would… would it be degrading if I got her a toy to chew on?” I asked Ebony. “I feel like she needs something. I mean, I don’t think she’d be too humiliated by it, but I’m not sure if it’s proper or not.”

“Honestly?” Ebony shrugged. “I think she’d probably just end up eating the toy as well.”

“I’d like to think that she’s got enough sense to not consume something that isn’t some type of food,” I replied. “She hasn’t eaten her pillow yet, or her clothing. I think she can handle having a chew toy.”

“I disagree.” Ebony shook her head. “I’ve seen her consume plenty of non-food items. Soap, several bits, and popsicle sticks when she was finished with the popsicle. Oh, and a lightbulb. Saw her eat one of those things too.”

I gave her a weak smile. “Uh, maybe she wanted a light… snack?”

“Ha ha,” Ebony scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Look, you can get her a toy if you think it’ll help, but I’m willing to put bits on her just eating it as well.” I opened my mouth to offer some sort of rebuttal, but the sound of gagging and retching interrupted me.

Pyresteed writhed on the floor, her limbs twitching and jerking sporadically. Greenish foam frothed from her mouth, sudsing down her cheeks and pooling on the floor around her. A bright green box lay beside her. The top had been chewed open, and the contents—white, powdery crystals—were spilled across the floor.

“Oh, for the love of… Not again!” Ebony sighed explosively before turning off the stovetop. Handing me the spatula in her magic, she jumped down and made her way out of the kitchen. She called back over her shoulder as she removed her apron. “I’ll get the charcoal and potion, you watch the food and make sure it doesn’t burn.”

I nodded, moving to stand beside Pyresteed. She was still gurgling loudly, but I noted that she didn’t appear all the distressed. In fact, she was attempting to eat the foam, but was having trouble biting it. Bending down gingerly, I picked up the box and examined it only to shake my head upon seeing it was a detergent box, with a picture of a crystal and a lime on the front.

Shaking my head, I dropped the box and got back to my feet.

“And what did we learn?” I asked Pyresteed as I gently rolled her onto her side.

“Harglegargleflarg,” came the reply.

“And are you going to do it again?”

“Gaaargflurkgleer.”

“I suppose that's as good as I’m going to get, huh?”

“Florgalarg.”

“Fair enough.” Pulling up a chair, I sat beside her as we waited for Ebony to return. Gurgling quietly to herself, she reached out and wrapped a hand around my ankle possessively. I said nothing, but a weak smile touched my face as I continued to watch the cooking pancakes.