In the darkness, I know the beast is stalking me. I’d gotten lost on a walk and after some time desperately searching for the path, I’d noticed the sun had gone down. Perhaps my cursing had drawn its attention. At first, I’d noticed its glowing red eyes in the treeline. Its form was like that of a cat. It had a whiskered face with knife-like teeth protruding from its mouth. It was long and at least the size of a lion if not bigger. One of its paws was probably the size of my head.
I tried to stay quiet as it sniffed the air and meandered across the brush. Though it appeared to be wandering, I could tell it was headed in my general direction. I knew I would have to hide. Turning quietly, I crept away and searched desperately for a place to hunker down. I could have tried to run but I knew the noise would draw it straight towards me. In my short time to assess a hiding place, the best thing I could find was a stack of a few fallen trees. I dropped down onto the floor behind them so as to hide myself even more and listened as the creature approached. The scrape of its claws was louder now and the stench of its fur made me want to gag. I peeked to see if I could gauge its position. It stood, nose in the air, not three metres away.
In the moonlight, I could see it in much greater detail. Its great matted mane was a reddish-brown tone, no doubt held together by dirt and the blood of its previous kills. It’s face was contorted like it was in a rage. It thought it had been onto something and it didn’t look too pleased to have been evaded. I shifted back behind the trees and held my breath, I just hoped this whole thing would be over soon.
Silence. I don’t think it had moved in minutes. I could feel my heart pumping and the only sound I heard was the creature’s breathing. I pondered glancing out again, I was discouraged when I felt the logs shift. With my heart now beating out of my chest, I stayed as still as I could. This must be it. I felt a cold drip of spittle on my head and was overwhelmed by a stench that I could only describe as decay. Looking up, I met the stare of its terrible red eyes. Goodbye.
The creature jumped on top of me. I felt the weight of it on my chest and I screamed as loudly as I could with the fear of death strong within me. Surprisingly, I was able to jump up to my feet even though my face was buried within its chest fur. I thrashed my arms desperately in an effort to get it off me but it was no use. I tripped on one of the logs and fell to the ground unceremoniously. It would surely kill me now. I kicked at it hoping I could stall the inevitable but was surprised when I heard a woman’s voice shout my name.
“Evan! It’s ok! You’re safe!”
We both froze. Instead of killing me, I felt the creature slowly getting off me. I marvelled at how soft its chest was. Then it was gone. I could see clearly. I was on my back, on the floor, in my room. A pony maid stood over me with a worried stare. I sat up and looked around. The whole time, I’d been wrapped up in my covers. I could see I’d tripped over the empty chest at the bottom of my bed as it was open on its side. My pyjamas were drenched in sweat and my breathing was shaky but slowly returning to normal. Then, I realised what I’d been through.
I’d had another night terror.
“Do you want something to drink?” The little pony asked me.
“Y-yes please…” I managed to force out.
“Okay, wait right here. I promise I won’t be long.” Then she trotted out the door, leaving me sat in the mess of bed covers. The light streamed in from the hallway and gave me a better chance to see what I’d done. Aside from the uprooted chest, everything looked normal. I felt tears welling up in my eyes but forced them back down as practiced. I wanted to look my manliest in the presence of royalty. I knew she’d be probably be here shortly.
Echoing through the halls, I heard her approaching. Galloping hoofsteps are impossible to mistake. They continued until soon enough, the radiant Princess of the Night stood in my doorway, tears freely flowing from her gorgeous cerulean eyes. Her normally ethereal, shimmering sapphire mane was dishevelled and her breathing was hampered and uneven.
“I’m so sorry!” She began. “I felt your terror through the dreamscape and yet again, I was powerless to help you.” The poor mare looked defeated.
Doing my best ‘come here’ gesture, I opened my arms to offer her a hug. She made her way through my nest. Tentatively, she leaned into my hug placing her forelegs around me.
“I’ve tried so hard to access your dreams, Evan, but I don’t know what’s stopping me. It makes me feel like such a failure!”
The pony Princess openly wept into my shoulder. I hugged her as tight as I could. Just having a big, loving embrace after an awful night was usually enough to set me at ease and I can confirm, Princess Luna gives the best hugs. However, it wasn’t just her general floofiness that made her an excellent cuddle buddy. Since arriving mysteriously in Equestria just over six months ago, I’d barely left the castle. Many ponies are still uncomfortable with me and though Princess Celestia understands I’d do no wrong to her citizens, she isn’t sure I’d be treated with the same courtesy just yet.
So, I’ve been mingling with a lot of the regulars in the castle to pass the time. There’s Solid Shield, my guard who is no doubt standing outside listening to all this. He’s generally a pretty nice guy, except when we’re hoof-wrestling. Contrast to being a part of the royal guard, I now know he’s not above using dirty tactics to get the win. There’s Cherry Bakewell, a baker in the kitchens. Trifle with her desserts and you will meet the devil as I learnt early on.
Then, there’s Luna herself. I’ve always been more of a night owl myself so we got on like two peas in a pod. She helped me adapt to this place so much, I don’t know if I can ever repay her. Along with the others, she truly kept me sane. Even if I do suffer with my debilitating night terrors.
I could feel the Princess relaxing in my arms. I think she’d cried as much as she could. Stroking her mane, I spoke gently.
“It’s okay Luna, I know you’re trying your best.” She looked up to meet my gaze, her sparkling orbs had gone red from the tears. “With everything that you’ve done for me, we’ll always be the best of friends.” Though I smiled to get my point across, it always broke me to see her so upset. Thankfully, my words had the desired effect.
A smile etched its way onto her face. Coincidentally, Luna’s smiles always seemed to make me want to smile! As her face broke into a tempered grin, I could feel all my negative emotions floating away. We sat, not moving, just appreciating each others company. Heart to heart, friend to friend. I couldn’t help it any longer. I held her close as she closed her forelegs around me once again. This time, both of us were smiling.
Author's Note
Thanks for reading. If you haven't already, check the spoiler in the description for a bit of context on this. Have an excellent day.
