Dreams within Dreams / Mr. Nice Guy
You are standing in an expansive, grassy meadow under a starry sky. Colorful flowers tinted dark by the twilight dot the landscape, and everything is beautiful. Still, this beautiful landscape doesn't cheer you up.
When you turn your head around, you see why. In the middle of the field stands a doorway that doesn't seem connected to anything, and within that doorway stands the boy of your dreams, garbed in his grey, arcane cloak. When he notices your gaze, he averts his, trying to hide his sorrow.
"Please, you know this wasn't meant to be. It's time you went back." And with that, he began to close the door.
You simply couldn't accept it. How could you?! You start for the door to stop him, running with everything you've got, tears in your eyes and audibly voicing your protest. But you're too late. The moment the door shut, it simply vanished to thin air; you grasp nothing and collapse on your knees, sobbing for your lost love. The tears in your eyes turn everything blurry.
You eventually wake up from that hateful dream. You've had it every night for quite a while; it always leave you in a gloomy mood, but more importantly, you have no idea about the meaning behind it! But when you groggily rise up, that becomes the least of your worries.
You're still in your own bed, in your pajamas, but your bed is no longer in your bedroom. Instead, it looks like you're in a forest clearing.
What the heck? Are you still dreaming? You pinch yourself, slap your own cheek, and perform other tests to see if you are, and according to them, you're wide awake. Which isn't right. This isn't right at all!
Your heart gripped in fear, you grab your pillow and get up to find your way out of this mess, with questions frantically bouncing around in your head. How did you get here? Why are you here? What's to become of you, and what of your family and friends? After what felt like hours of wandering, a surreal sight silences these questions.
Before you sleeps what looks like a giant lion with bat wings and scorpion tail. A... manticore? Whatever it is, you know better than to wake it up, so you try to sneak away, but a twig underfoot foils your plan. The... manticore jolts up instantly, still groggy but clearly upset and staring right at you. Without a second thought, you turn away from it and sprint, not even being startled from its beastly roar.
You don't need to look behind to know you're being chased; the thudding pawsteps and heavy panting give it away. This is insane. It's like a typical nightmare, yet you're wide awake. This can't be how you die. It just can't be! With your eyes shut tight, you sprint like your life depended on it, but for some reason, the thudding stops...
...and so do you, after tripping, tumbling, and winding up face down on grass. Looking back, you see the manticore at what looks like a clearing edge. With a huff, it turns around and heads back. You right yourself up, dumbfounded. You're alive. Alive! But why didn't it kill you? Was it just grumpy that you disturbed its nap or something? Ah well, that doesn't matter, because now is the time to get your bearings again.
It's evening, and it seems you somehow found your way out of the forest and are now at its edge in a small, hilly meadow with quaint trees and flowers and stuff. You're also near a cottage with a stream in front. Wait, a cottage? Someone might be living there! You immediately head for it to see if there's anyone there to lend you aid of any kind in this bizzare and dire situation you're in, yet you can't shake this odd feeling of familiarity about the setting.
You compose yourself and knock on the front door. After a moment, a young man's voice calls out, "Just a moment, please!" A young man. You hope he's cute, but more importantly, you hope he doesn't mind seeing you in your pajamas, all tattered and dirty. After a moment, the door opens, and you're facing...
...a pony. A cute, little, yellow pony with a short, pink, breezy mane and a flowing pink tail, wings on its back, and some pink markings on its flanks. Wait, what?
The two of you stare at each other for a minute, then it let out a frightened little squeak and shut the door on you. You aren't startled, hurt, or anything. Anything but confused. You turn around and start wandering out in front in a daze, trying to get things straight. So far, you woke up in a forest clearing, got chased by a monster, and the young man who met you at the cottage door was a pony... apparently. Then, in exasperation, you slap your forehead, which stung, but that doesn't matter because this simply MUST be a dream.
In any case, you hear the door open behind you, then the hoofsteps of the yellow pony.
"Um, pardon me, I didn't insult you or anything, did I?"
So, by the sound of the voice, this pony was the young man you heard earlier. Can this get any more bizzare?
"Um... hello?"
"...hm? Oh, no, not at all. In fact, I should apologize for scaring you earlier."
"It wasn't your fault, really, it's just... I've never seen anything like you before, and, well, I kinda freaked out...", he said with a blush. Still, not only is it partly your fault, you're essentially a "thing" to this pony.
"So you've never seen a human girl before?"
The yellow pony blinks at you. "Human? Girl? Ah! You're hurt!"
That's when you noticed the scrapes on your arms from when you fell down, and you immediately cringe from the pain.
"Wait right here," said the pony, and it went back in, gently closing the door this time. You sit on the doorstep, clutching your arms and cursing your clumsiness. After a few minutes, the pony came back out, carrying a basket with some bandages and bottles of ointment in his mouth, clearly intending to nurse your wounds.
"Oh, it's not that bad..."
"It IS bad! If we don't take care of those scrapes, they might get infected, and you might get sick, and... and... I can't just let that happen!"
So, you roll up your sleeves and let him bandage your scrapes. Which is unusual, because he doesn't have any fingers to hold anything with. Instead, he holds everything with his lips and manipulates stuff with his forehooves with astonishing dexterity, and in no time at all, he's finished.
"There. Be sure to wait a few days to give time for your scrapes to heal before you take your bandages off, okay?"
"Oh...kay..."
The pony sits down right next to you, apparently with the courage to strike up some small talk.
"My name is Butterscotch, by the way. May I ask for yours?" (What kind of mother names her son after some kind of sweet?) You give your name in return.
"That's a really cute name. (Lame compliment, but you gotta praise him for trying.) Where did you come from?" You respond again, and the next reply is quite as expected.
"I've... never heard of that place."
"I thought you wouldn't. After all, I've woken up in the middle of a forest, got chased by a monster, and now I'm talking to a little yellow horse who just nursed my wounds." You somewhat expected him to be taken aback by what you called him, but he seemed concerned.
"Monster? What do you mean?"
"What else would you call a giant lion with bat wings and a scorpion tale?"
"A manticore?! (You got it right.) By the moon! Is it still nearby?!" He then flew up with his little wings and looked towards the nearby forest.
"No, it went back after I got near your house. I think it's just because I woke it from its nap."
"Really?" You nod, and he sighed in relief. "My friends might be right. I must be crazy to live in a cottage right next to such a dangerous place. Um, now that I think about it, do you have a place to stay for the night?
"Dude, I just got here from practically nowhere."
"Oh, yeah. Well, you can stay in my house if you want. You can sleep in my bed, and I'll take the couch." You'd object to the stranger's offer, but the recent turn of events left you quite exhausted, so you gladly take up his offer. Besides, he's just a timid little pony. What's the worst he could do?
The inside of his cottage is... quite unusual from your typical bachelor's pad. All the furniture are old-fashioned and antiquated, and you see several miniature footpaths strewn across the ceiling that seems meant for cats or some other kind of small creature. You'd ask about them, but again, you're too exhausted to. You have all kinds of questions to ask, but that will have to wait until after a good nights sleep You do, however, ask about something important.
"You wouldn't happen to have any spare pajamas, would you?"
"Um, pajamas?"
"Like the one I'm wearing. I just don't want these to get your bed all dirty."
"Don't worry, I've got pleny of spare bed sheets. Besides, I'm sorry to say, but the only clothes I have are my winter clothes and a suit my friend Elusive made for me for the Grand Galloping Gala, and, well, it's pretty worn out, to say the least."
"Ah, makes sense. Anyway, I'm truly grateful you're letting me spend the night. I'll try to find someplace else in the morning, so I can get out of your hair."
"Okay, but you can stay here as long as you like or need. After all, no creature should be forced to sleep out in the open."
As you lay you're head on the pillow, you think about the things to be grateful for. Not only did you escape death, you also met a nice man willing to take care of you until you get back on your feet, even though he's a pony, and an outright adorable one at that. If this is a dream, you wouldn't mind sleeping in it a bit longer.