Dreams, Nightmares, and Friendships

“Think…he’s…maybe…dead…” The pounding of his head wouldn’t die down. He hated the fact that he couldn’t even hear, but he felt too weak to even check if he was in pain. Or, at least, at first that was true. Soon he felt the numbness in his limbs go away, replaced by a dull ache. What happened? Why couldn’t he remember anything? Wait…no, he could remember his name, and a few of his abilities. That reassured him a little. It meant that maybe more remembrances would come later. As much as he tried though, nothing else came to him that moment. Next he tried opening his eyes. The full moon was the first thing he saw. Good; he could remember that he drew power from the moon. He drew power from the moon…but the new moon was his best time. He was at his best on nights of the new moon, and during a lunar eclipse; then again, those were rare and new moons only came around once a month.

Something suddenly pushed on his shoulder and he groaned, slowly and reluctantly ripping his gaze away from the calming night sky and his eyes met those of some kind of equine with ocean green eyes. Instantly the pony recoiled in surprise.

“G-girls, I think he’s awake…” The equine whispered in a kind and timid voice. He groaned and, ignoring whatever was trying to now hold him down, he lifted himself from the cool grass, his vision momentarily blurring.

“Hey, stay down bud we’ve got some questions for you!” A bold voice came from above.

“…Nightmare…”

“What’s this guy talking about?” That bold voice spoke again.

“Maybe his name is Nightmare?” Another voice, this one from behind.

“That would explain his cutie mark. It’s giving me the creeps! I mean seriously, who has a red lunar eclipse as a cutie mark?” He coughed a couple of times before shaking his head and looking around, still dizzy, but at least his vision had cleared. Six equines surrounded him, each with a different set of colors. One was lavender, and her mane and tail were violet with streaks of pink; there was a six pronged star on her flank, and deep purple eyes. One was pink with a…festive…mane and tail style that was a darker shade than her coat; she had two blue balloons and one yellow balloons on her flank, and her eyes were clear blue. One was orange with a blonde mane and tail, and had three freckles behind each eye; her flank was marked with three bright red apples, and her eyes were emerald green.

The next was the one that was still trying to pin him down. She had a windblown rainbow colored mane and tail, a cyan blue coat, and a pair of wings; her flank was marked with a cloud that had a rainbow colored lightning bolt coming from it, and her eyes were fuchsia. The next one was white with a curly indigo mane and tail, and three diamonds adorned her white flank. Her eyes were deep blue, and as he looked in them she looked as though she wanted to comment on something. The last one was the one he had first seen when he had awoken. She had a long light pink mane and tail, and her coat was a soft yellow and she also had a pair of wings. Her eyes were ocean green and wide and kind looking, and on her flank was a trio of pink winged butterflies.

“Hey, answer my question, or I’ll kick your face into next week!” The rainbow one snapped, breaking him out of his observant trance.

“U-um…Rainbow, maybe you c-could get off of him?” The yellow one said timidly. He looked over his shoulder at the offending mare that was now putting her front hooves on the back of his head.

“I would very much appreciate it, milady, if you would kindly remove your hooves from my head.” He said, a tiny hint of anger weaving its way through his well-toned and slightly deep voice. The rainbow one stared at him and slowly flew off to land next to the white one.

“Thank you; now I would be glad to answer any of your questions to the best of my ability.” He said as soon as her hooves touched the ground.

“Okay…what is your name?” The purple one asked. Turning to face her, he dipped his head.

“My name is Darkrai.” He introduced. He instantly noticed the shiver that ran through the yellow one, but he ignored it. Something told him it was normal for someone to react that way to his name.

“Creepy name…” The rainbow one murmured.

“Rainbow, don’t be rude!” The purple one scolded angrily. Darkrai waited patiently for her to turn back to him.

“Anyways…where are you from?” She asked. Darkrai thought for a moment before tilting his head and looking at the moon again.

“I can’t quite fathom where I came from; it seems that I’ve lost my memories and developed amnesia.” The rest of the girls gasped; surprised he had been so open about it. Looking around, he frowned.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Well yes; don’t ya think that’s…ya know…personal business? Fer all ya know we could try to take advantage of ya and lie that we’re yer old friends or somethin’.” The orange one said uncertainly.

“I most certainly wouldn’t believe that considering that you don’t seem like the type to lie to ANYONE.” Darkrai said, flashing a slight sly smirk her way. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened, but she kept silent.

“Hey buddy; you’re giving me the creeps. Why don’t you just keep moving along and leave Ponyville. As in, leave Ponyville for good.” The rainbow one said.

“Rainbow! Stop being rude to him; I doubt he came to hurt somepony!” The lavender one said, this time looking rather angry. Darkrai shook his head.

“If you wish I will leave.” He said. With that he started walking forward.

“U-um…do you p-plan on g-going to the E-Everfree Forest? I-It’s rather dangerous there…” Darkrai paused to look over his shoulder at the yellow one, who was watching him with concern.

“…I’m sure I’m used to danger.”

“Nonsense, it’s late and the Everfree forest is even worse at night then it is in the daytime. Why don’t you stay a night in Ponyville and start on your journey in the morning if you still wish to leave?” The white one said, taking a step forward. Darkrai stared at her for a moment.

“I don’t think your rainbow friend would prefer-”

“Rainbow dear would you mind of Darkrai stayed in Ponyville just one night?” All eyes turned towards the rainbow one and she sighed.

“Eh, he can stay one night. That’s it!” She said. Darkrai blinked.

“Even if I were to stay in your Ponyville, where would I sleep?”

“Well wherever you would stay it would certainly be better than sleeping outside in the cold.” The white one said. As soon as she caught sight of the look Darkrai was giving her, she frowned.

“Well…maybe he could stay at the Library. As long as he doesn’t mind sleeping on the bottom floor.” The purple one said. Darkrai uncertainly backed up a step.

“Honestly, I’m rather fine with sleeping outside.” I said.

“Again, nonsense! You’re staying in Ponyville tonight! It would be horribly rude of us and completely un-honorable to just let you wander into the Everfree Forest when you have amnesia!” The white one said stubbornly. With that she walked forward and grabbed Darkrai’s hoof. The black coated pony gulped as she began dragging him along with her and the rest of the equines.

“Seriously, I’m not that good with very social-prone areas. Let me go.” He said, beginning to try and pull his hoof back. Surprisingly, the white one didn’t let go, or even lessen her grip. If anything, she only tightened her hold.

“Would ya lighten up? It’s not like we’re going to force you to talk in front of the whole town!” The rainbow one said. Darkrai gently bit his lip but shook his head.

“No, I’m not going anywhere near a place that’s filled with a lot of life forms!” He said, this time putting an edge to his voice. The lavender one snickered.

“You’re quite the wordy one aren’t you?” She asked. Darkrai let his face draw into an uncertain frown that made him look like he thought he was about to throw up and, catching sight of this, the equines all started laughing except the rainbow one.

“So anyways, you said your name was Darkrai right? What does that even stand for?” The rainbow one asked.

“I am not exactly sure. I just know that it’s my name.”

“So what’s up with your cutie mark? It’s creepin’ me the buck out.”

“Rainbow Dash! How many times do I have to ask you to refrain from using such language?” The white one said as Darkrai looked at his flank and blinked.

“What particular part of the term ‘amnesiac’ eludes you?” He slowly asked. The rainbow pony frowned.

“Whatever.” She eventually said.

~-~-~

Darkrai stared out the window, entranced by the moon. It seemed so…oddly different. Then again, he didn’t know what the moon was supposed to look like. He just knew this one now. Looking at himself, he couldn’t help but feel a bit out of place. All the ponies around here had bright colors and cheerful personalities. He stuck out like a sore thumb here. He then shook his head. The six ponies from earlier probably wouldn’t let him leave anyways. Frowning, he felt an odd sensation begin to creep through his spine, particularly through his wings and up his neck until he shook his head, dispelling the uncertain feeling, before he sighed. Standing and staring at the moon wouldn’t help him. He drew power from the moon, but it didn’t keep him from needing sleep. Settling on the couch, he took one last look at the glowing white disk in the sky before laying his head on the arm of the couch and closing his eyes for a while.

Just as Darkrai was about to doze off though, he suddenly felt a feeling of dread overcome his entire body, and he got to his feet apprehensively. Swiveling his ears around to try and figure out what was making him so edgy, he walked outside only to hear the faintest of screams. He wracked his brain for a match to the vocals, and with a start he realized it was the white one. Rarity, he remembered her name was. Looking around, he pinpointed where the sound had come from and took off as fast as his legs would take him.

Rarity’s eyes widened as the brown stallion backed her up against the wall, and he eyed both her flank and her current necklace with hunger.

“Ok lady, no need to get so loud. Just give me the necklace, and maybe I’ll let you go without doing anything else.” He growled. Rarity opened her mouth to emit another cry for help, but didn’t get the chance as the stallion shoved his hoof over her mouth and glared down at her furiously.

“Like I said, give me the necklace.” He said. Rarity though about trying to make a break for it, but suddenly the stallion forced her onto the ground, flipped her onto her stomach, and broke the necklace off, smiling triumphantly. Just as he stuffed the necklace into a knapsack, a shadow fell across Rarity’s back, and both ponies look up just as a black blur slammed into the brown stallion. Closing her eyes and hoping with all of her might that this was all just a dream, Rarity waited for a second before reluctantly looking. What she saw wasn’t what she expected. A sapphire blue eyed black Pegasus stallion with a white mane and tail, moonlight making his coat ash-gray and the red crystals around his neck glow, watched the brown stallion running off in fear. Rarity’s eyes widened as the stallion looked over his shoulder at her and in amazement recognized the stallion as the Darkrai fellow she and her friends had found earlier.

“Y-you…saved me?” She said in confusion.

“Of course; would I honestly be an honorable gentleman if I let that brute just have his way?” The pegasus stallion asked as he held out a hoof and helped her up. Rarity blushed and looked at the ground.

“I don’t know how I could ever repay you. But for now…would a thank you suffice?” She asked. Darkrai gave her a slight smile.

“I require nothing in return. I…will see in the morning.” He said, beginning to take his leave.

“W-wait!” Darkrai stopped and looked over his shoulder, and as soon as his gaze met Rarity she looked away, slightly uncertain.

“Would you mind…walking me home? I’m rather awfully shaken by…what just happened…” She murmured. Darkrai nodded and extending a large wing as Rarity approached him, silently folding it over her.

“I wouldn’t mind at all.” He said calmly. Rarity smiled gratefully at him and sighed as she began walking home, the mysterious black pegasus stallion keeping her under his wing the entire time.