The Second Nightmare Part 1
The Second Nightmare Part 1
Written and Edited by: TheTraxicEnd
As you float in the void you're currently stuck in, you begin to reflect on your dream. The dream left you with several questions with very little or limited answers. When referring to your identity, all you know is your first name. This causes your brain to start listing off several questions you couldn't answer at the moment. These questions are reactions to the situation at hand. Examples of these questions are:
Who am I?
What have I done?
What are my accomplishments?
Why can't I remember!!?
You can't answer these questions! The only reason you can't is because of your brain. It's scrambled memory isn't helping the situation.
As you continued to try and remember your past, you spot a bright radiant light in the distance. You couldn't help but grin at this, considering you've been bored out of your mind since you've arrived at the void. As you began to float towards the light, you begin to hear feint sounds of a voice. This piqued your interest entirely. You know the voice sounded familiar, but you couldn't put your finger on it due to the voice being muffled. You decided the only way it was going to be clear was to move closer to the light.
When you got as close to the light as possible without becoming blind, you were able to hear the voice completely. You could now identify the sweet melodic sound emitting from the radiant flash. The voice belonged to your mare's. You decide there was only one thing you could possibly do to make this situation perfect.
You look up to what would be the sky and announce proudly,
"I CAN SEE THE LIGHT!"
You couldn't help but snicker at your joke. Unfortunately for you, no one else was around to hear it, so you looked like a loner for a few seconds.
...
Anyway, You enter the light's midst, embracing its radiance...
When the light started to fade, you were able to see your new surroundings. You were currently on a gurney, being rolled into another corridor of what appeared to be a hospital. You suddenly panicked when you realized you were in the hospital. You tried to move your arms and legs, but you couldn't feel them. They were incredibly numb, as if they were non-existent. Knowing you couldn't get out of this situation, you just let the world go on around you.
You look to your right and see a nurse shouting,
"MOVE YOUR ASSES OUT OF THE WAY!"
Fortunately for the nurse, there wasn't any asses in the hallway.
You avert your gaze to your left and see another nurse holding the gurney tightly. She was looking down at you, smiling brightly. The sight of the nurse smiling at you warmed your heart. Judging by that smile, you knew you were in good hooves and without missing a second, you bring yourself back into the darkness, embracing it with tenderness...
Hello my fellow recipient...I am here to deliver a message for you.
The writer of said letter wants to remain anonymous, so I will read it to you without mentioning said writer's name.
*AHEM* Well...Shall I begin?
...
"I have words for you...
My servant, I want you to understand...
I have no attention of killing you.
That would be too easy...Rather,
I'm here to receive what I am owed.
Until you relinquish the payment you so dearly owe me;
I will come back and drive you to the brink of insanity.
So please, take this message into consideration;
for I am not one who lies about my atrocities.
I am here only to spread them,
so all who exist may fear me,
and those who don't
will perish in their own blood."
I hope you take my master's words into consideration. He means what he does...
Now, I will let you wake. Rise! You have ten hours before the next message awaits you.
While you have your eyes closed, you begin to hear faint beeps bounce inside your ears. Groaning due to your horrible case of grogginess, you slowly begin to open your eyes. As they receive the light, you begin to see your environment. To your right is a small desk and a lamp. To your left is a IV with a oxygen tank nearby. You look up from the IV and see a clock. You look closely at the device, reading it with intent. The time-displaying device reads nine o'clock. These are all the typical necessities a hospital would need to help cure or treat patients. There's only one thing that makes this different from atypical hospital.
In front of you was your mare. She was currently sleeping at the end of the bed, curled up in a ball. You try to formulate a smile, but your nerves stop you by sending a sharp shot of pain into your brain. This causes you to fall back on the bed and embrace the soft imprisonment of the pillows.
Damn head pains...
Once the pain subsides, you try to lift yourself off the pillow without disrupting the sleeping mare. Utilizing the flexibility of the human arm, you hoist yourself up so you could see the heavy sleeper at the end of the bed. Seeing your mare once again made your heart flutter. Fortunately for you, she is asleep. Why is this such a fortunate case?
Initiating Operation: Pleasure the Mare
Preparing yourself for your mission, you shift slightly in the bed for easy access to the mare. Once you were in a comfortable position to begin your surgery of the patient, You begin your operation.
You reintroduce your hands to the mane of your loved one. As you start to pet her mane, you decide to get a bit more intimate, diving your head into her mane. You take in her enticing scent. It always reminded you of the scent of a clear spring day. While taking in her scent and caressing her hair, you hear a soft moan emit from the mare.
She must think she's dreaming...
You decide to move onto step two of your operation. You slowly move your left hand away from the magically flowing mane of Celestia. Using your fingertips, you glide them over her cheek, caressing them with care. While you do this, you move your right hand towards her majestic wings. Mimicking the same movements with the right hand, you glide your fingertips over the exterior edges of the wings. This makes your mare sigh and moan loudly. As you begin to knead her left wing, you feel her wings start to rise to attention. You also see your mare begin to shift under your touch. This made you grin from ear to ear, knowing your mission is almost complete.
You commence the final stage of your three step plan. You move your right hand away from the feathery appendages. As you move them, you glide over her furry backside, causing her to shiver slightly from your touch. You move your hand towards her rump, directly above her cutie mark. You grin mischievously due to the thought of your next move. You slowly pull your hand away from your intended target, before returning to it with a strong force. Your hand makes contact with her cutie mark, causing a loud slapping sound as a result.
The reaction you receive from your mare was astounding.
She moans loudly, causing her to wake herself up. She turns to your direction, smiling happily. She shifts her body towards yours, rubbing up against your right side. She snuggles up against your arm and kisses you on your right cheek. You comply with the sudden shifting and move your right arm around her. She sighs and says,
"I'm glad you're back honey..."
You sigh in content and announce,
"I'm glad too."
You both lay there in silence, reveling in the embrace you've waited so long to return to. After a few minutes pass, you decide to ask her the grueling question.
"What happened?"
She looks away from you for a moment, before returning her gaze to you. She states,
"A lot of things happened..."
"Like what?"
She looks up at the ceiling for a moment and says,
"You...sleep walked."
WHAT?!
You look at your mare, puzzled like an unsolved jigsaw puzzle. You've never sleep walked before. Hearing the oddity emit from her screamed about thirty different measures you didn't want to bring into the light. You decide to ask her,
"What do you mean by 'sleep-walking'?"
She glares at you and says,
"Exactly what it means. You sleep walked and passed out."
You respond,
"Care to elaborate?"
She facehoofs and groans slightly. She then shifts out of your embrace and onto the floor. She lands on her hooves and turns her body towards you. She then sits her rump on the ground and says,
"Listen carefully. I don't want to go over this again."
You nod and cut the comedian act in its tracks.
She sighs and begins the tale,
"It all started when I woke up for my morning duties. I decided to take a light bath to release the built up tension in my body. You were in bed when I was in the bath, but when I returned from it; you were gone.
I thought that you just went out of the room to get a glass of water or something, but I realized at the moment...the servants didn't wake up until nine o'clock. You left the room around seven-thirty. I tried to keep calm in this situation but I felt the need to find you; I didn't want a repeat of when you first arrived here."
A laugh escapes your mouth, causing her to smile at you. You grin and motion for her to continue with her story. She nods and continues,
"I went to the first place I thought you were at. I walked down the hallway and into the kitchen to see if you were still trying to get a glass of water. You know what I walked into?"
You shake your head, puzzled by her question. She declares,
"I walked into a state of emergency."
You smile and ask,
"What did I do?"
She grins and says,
"You tripped over a sack of flour and broke about half of the royal china."
You couldn't help but laugh at the damage report. How did I manage to do that?
Once your laughter subsided you say,
"So what happened after that?"
She continues,
"Thanks to your trail of fluffy powder, I found where you struck next.
Apparently, you knew how to cover a whole table with flour. I looked into the royal dining hall and saw flour piled up on every seat, corner, and crevice. You really did a number in that room."
You smile sheepishly, rubbing a hand behind your neck. You respond,
"Well I did a lot of weird things when I was drunk, but this is sleep walking; so I have nothing to compare this to."
She giggles at this and continues,
"After seeing the trail end at the south entrance of the dining room, I continued my course. I fortunately ran into the Hall of Arts."
You interrupt her by saying,
"Wait...That's the pointless hallway of random paintings right?"
Her face contorts and her muzzle scrunches up at your statement. You sigh saying,
"It was a joke dear..."
She beams a smile at you and reproaches you,
"It's a very pointless hallway of random paintings of you and I in provocative positions..."
You feel like your face just turned into thirty different colors.
Celestia laughs at your reaction, gripping her stomach with her hooves as she laughs loudly. You stare down at her, not approving of her reason for laughing.
After a minute passes, she finally stops laughing and continues her story,
"You decided to go through the Hall of Arts, smashing anything that dealt with Discord..."
You interrupt her once again,
"Yeah... He wasn't a nice guy to most of your ponies anyway..."
She persists,
"Anyway, I found you sleep walking down the stairs that branched off from the Hall of Arts. What was weird about you though...whenever I tried to shove you or wake you up, you didn't respond at all. You seemed to be in some sort of realm I didn't know about."
Oh shit...
You shift in your bed slightly, uncomfortable with what she said. She looked at you with curiosity and asks,
"Is there something you want to tell me honey?"
You nod slightly but say,
"I want you to finish the story though. This may somehow be linked to it."
She averts her gaze to a nearby window and says,
"You went straight past the Archives and slowly walked into a long corridor. I didn't understand why you walking down that specific hallway, but I soon found out..."
She stops momentarily to take a breather, allowing you to ponder at what happened.
Did I kill someone?
Did I teleport Dracula into the hallway to suck somebody's blood?
Did magical rainbows fly out of my ass or something?
What did I do??!
You continue to let these questions plague your mind. The hallway bit of the story seemed almost exact to the end of the dream, but you didn't want to assume so.
You avert your gaze to your mare, who was currently looking out the window; tears sliding down her cheek. You decide seeing her upset like this over a story was too much. You say,
"Tia, please come here."
She looks at you and nods slowly, tears still sliding down her cheeks. She slowly trots back to the bed and climbs into it. You move to your left, allowing her to have the right half of the bed. She smiles and snuggles up against you, using your shoulder as a pillow. You respond by kissing her on the cheek and wiping her tears off with your hospital attire. You nuzzle her cheek slightly and ask,
"Feeling better?"
She nods and nuzzles you back. She then sighs and says,
"You...opened the door to the Centuries Office and approached the desk.The Century Commander asked why you stormed into his office, but you didn't acknowledge his orders."
You grin and state,
"I'm such a heavy sleeper..."
She giggles at your proclamation. She continues,
"You punched a hole straight in the desk for some reason. The Commander was first astounded at your strength, but he didn't take the gesture lightly and tried to restrain you.
I told him not to hurt you, because you're sleep walking and you don't know what you're doing."
She pauses and gazes into your eyes. You look back at hers and admire the glow they simply give off. Her eyes are like an aura full of joy and sunshine. Every time you stare into them, you feel warm and simply lose yourself in her eyes.
She nuzzles you again before continuing her story. She states,
"You suddenly stopped moving and collapsed onto the ground. The Commander didn't know what happened and simply panicked. He turned towards me and started to apologize. For that moment though, I told him I didn't care about pointless apologies. I cared about your well-being more."
You smile and kiss her on the lips. Her eyes widen in surprise before fluttering closed. You feel her brush her tongue against your lips, causing you to open up for her entry. She meets your tongue in the battle for complete dominance. As you continue your kissing, you move your right hand towards her cheek, caressing it with care and compassion. When she feels your hand come in contact with her fur, she moans loudly into the kiss. You continued the session for two more minutes before breaking the kiss.
You both nuzzle up to each other again. You say,
"I love you Celestia."
She smiles and says,
"I love you too honey."
You both continue your cuddling for a bit longer, neither party saying anything to each other. You both were too busy reveling in each other's embrace.
You continued the embrace for a moment or two, before halting it with a question,
"Celestia, I still feel something is missing from the story...Did anything else happen?"
She responds instantaneously,
"Besides being in a coma due to blood-loss then no, nothing else happened."
Now this answer made you shiver slightly.
You gulp a bit of saliva down. Trying to find your voice once again, you stutter,
"Ce-Celestia?"
"What honey?"
"H-How long have I b-been out?"
She gasps slightly, realizing what she told him. Realizing she has no way of dodging this, she sighs and declares,
"Two weeks."
SERIOUSLY??!
"Celestia, I-"
"TWO WEEKS HONEY! I'VE BEEN AT YOUR BEDSIDE FOR TWO WEEKS!"
You sigh and say,
"Celestia, Can you let me say this?"
She sighs and says,
"Okay...but don't think you're free to move... I have a leash in the other room."
Uh...Well.
"I'll keep that in mind..."
She giggles slightly at your reaction. You sigh and say,
"Remember when you asked me if something was wrong with me?"
She nods curtly.
"Well...there's something terribly wrong with me."
She gasps and asks,
"What's wrong dear?"
You smile and say,
"Remember when I told you I didn't have a name?"
She grins and says,
"Yes and that's why I call you honey and dear."
You put a hand to your heart and say,
"That really pulls on my heartstrings. I think they're going to break!"
She gasps and kisses you on the cheek. She holds the kiss for ten seconds before returning to her original position. She states,
"I'm sorry honey. May you forgive me?"
You smile and nuzzle her cheek with yours. You respond,
"Always."
You pause for a few moments before continuing,
"Anyway, When I was sleep walking, I was actually reliving a dream."
You pause to see if Celestia would react to the statement. Surprisingly, she motions her hoof towards you, indicating for you to continue.
You comply with her demands and carry on,
"It was in this dream, is where I found out about part of my past. I found out what my old house looked like, where things used to be, and I even found out my true first name."
She gasps and asks,
"What is your name then?"
You smile and reply,
"Graziano."
She looks at you, confused look covering her. She asks,
"That's a name?"
You puff out some air in disapproval. You say,
"Yes, it my language, it means beloved."
She gasps and says,
"I'm sorry Graziano...I-"
You interrupt her apology by saying,
"You've been sorry for too long. I want to take up the torch this time."
"Okay Mr. Graziano."
Now my name is used as a paperweight for the doors to a broken down gas station.
"Now Tia, The dream didn't end there."
"What?"
You shrug and state,
"It's just begun."
"What do you mean Grazy?"
You smile at the new nickname you received. You look into her eyes and ask,
"What time is it?"
She looks over at the clock in the left corner of your room. After reading the clock, she turns to you and states,
"It's twelve twenty."
"In about seven hours, I will be returning to my dreams. It'll help me figure out about who I am...and possibly how I arrived here."
Celestia glares at you, concern enveloping her eyes. And at that moment, the dams broke.
You see your mare put both of her fore hooves around your neck and nuzzling her head into your chest. She's currently crying her eyes out, using your shirt as a sponge. You sigh and nuzzle her cheek against yours. You say,
"It's okay Tia...I'll be fine."
This was the wrong thing to say.
Tia removes her head from your chest, looking at you with fierce anger. She yells,
"FINE!? NO IT WON'T BE FINE! I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU AGAIN!!!"
That Canterlot voice will make me go deaf soon...
You sigh and hug her, pressing your body against hers. She smiles slightly, still trying to hold an angry countenance. You know she couldn't handle this sort of thing well, so you decide to seal the deal. You carefully bring your lips to hers, giving her all the love you possess. At first, her eyes widen due to the unexpected move you pulled on her. Eventually, her eyes flutter closed. You hold the kiss for a little longer, before pulling away and nuzzling her cheek with your own. Celestia hums softly and returns the embrace.
This is where you bring the punch.
You say,
"Celestia, I promise I will be fine. These dreams won't faze me and they certainly won't faze you. You're a strong mare, a ruler of an majestic kingdom. You have the experiences to possibly compare this to. This dream stuff is very foreign to me, but I need to know about my past and fortunately for me; my dreams harbors it."
She nods slowly, much to your delight, and returns her head to your chest. You smile and lay down, letting the world go around without you or Celestia's watch.
After a hour of lying together, intertwined in each other's limbs; you turn your head towards Celestia. You nuzzle her gently, attempting to wake her from her nap. She stirs slightly before waking up from your gesture. She turns to you and smiles nuzzling you back. You eventually turn away and ask,
"Celly...Where's the doctor?"
She responds,
"He's-"
"Right here!"
You both avert your attention to the stallion who awaits at your room's doorstep. He's a unicorn wearing a white lab coat that you've never seen before. He's also wearing a black bowtie. He's got a brown mane, blue eyes, a light brown tail, and a thought bubble as a cutie mark. He approaches your bed, checking the clipboard at the end of the bed. He smiles and looks up at you.
Take it as a good sign...
"My Prince, Glad to see you here."
You chuckle slightly and say,
"Still have to get used to that title, but thank you kindly."
Celestia gaze's over at you with lidded eyes. She smirks and declares,
"He gets the title every time were in..."
"Celly...don't say it."
She tries to repress a laugh but utterly fails. Instead, she starts to laugh too hard. She rolls off the bed, almost knocking into the IV. The doctor glares at the regal mare.
Let's just say...He's not tickled pink by this.
The doctor shouts,
"DO YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY? PLEASE, LEAVE THIS FACILITY AT ONCE IF YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY! I DO NOT TAKE IMMATURITY AT THIS PRESTIGIOUS HOSPITAL!"
This statement brings something new into the light.
You begin to ponder about the real status of Celestia.
Does she have full power over everything or only ninety-five point nine percent of the time?
Let's take the latter option.
You say,
"Doctor?"
The stallion averts his gaze towards you and replies,
"Yes?"
You stare into his eyes and say,
"Is it possible to not kick her out? Maybe she can stay in the waiting room?"
The doctor continues his glare at you, his eyes evicting restrained anger and frustration.
Note to self: never make Canterlot doctors angry.
The doctor nods slightly and turns back towards your mare. She's currently in a shocked daze, unable to comprehend the situation. The doctor waves his hooves in front of her eyes, causing her to return to reality. She smiles sheepishly and says,
"I'm sorry doctor. I shouldn't act so commonly. I am a Princess of this fin-"
"Ma'am. Please go to the waiting room."
The mare sighs and nods. Leaving the room with a sad countenance. Seeing her face like this stabs your heartstrings; but you know she brought it upon herself. Besides, you need to ask the doctor a few questions without her interrupting you with her trademarked 'provocative details'.
The doctor turns over to you and says,
"Well Prince, I think you should be fine for now. Your charts indicate normal heart rates and your brain seems to be fine. I have to still ask this though..."
The doctor pauses to collect his thoughts. Once he does, he asks,
"You have any questions for me?"
Prepare to be in for a questionnaire my medical aid...
Grinning from ear to ear, you say,
"Yes. I have a few questions needed to be answered."
The doctor comes to your bedside and sits down near the end of it. He smiles and says,
"What do you want to know my Prince?"
You say,
"Well first, call me by my real name. Its Graziano."
His smile changed into a appearance of shock. He asks,
"Didn't you say you didn't know what your name was when you first came here?"
How does he know that?
"How did you know that?"
The doctor responds,
"Remember that interview you did for the Cloudy Informer?"
Oh that's why...
Two days after your arrival in Equestria, you were swarmed by a bunch of news reporters. They would asks what your opinions on Equestria are, where you came from, and all sorts of things. But when they asked what your name was, you said you didn't know. Everything relating to your past was a blur.
Now, your past is starting to return and you don't know how.
You respond,
"Now I remember. I think that was when I was in Ponyville correct?"
The doctor smirks and replies,
"Yes. You were talking to my daughter."
Awkward...
You try to smile, but your brain decides to reject the order. If anyone looked at your face at that moment, people would say you might've taken a leak in your pants. Fortunately for you, you didn't leak in your pants. You were just tied up by the whole situation.
You respond,
"Coincidence?"
"Maybe so Graziano... Anyway, what did you have to ask?"
You question,
"Did Celestia tell you about how I ended up here?"
The doctor puts his hoof to his muzzle and starts rubbing it. He looks over to his side, looking out the window. From this angle, you realize the stallion has a bit of a goatee going.
HOW DO THEY HAVE FACIAL HAIR?
The doctor averts his gaze back to you and says,
"Yes. It regarded you sleepwalking right?"
You nod and reply,
"That it did. I was sleep walking through the Castle and suddenly collapsed in the Century Office. I think this ties to my dreams. I was wondering if you knew anything about the subject."
The doctor looks at you and sighs. He states,
"Yes I do. Unlike most doctors, I graduated with a side degree in dream psychological treatment. It's a prestigious and difficult degree to obtain due to the fact that there is only one teacher in Equestria who actually teaches it."
You smirk and say,
"Let me guess. It's Princess Luna."
The doctors countenance shifts to one of utter shock. His mouth was agape, unable to understand how you knew it was Luna.
After realizing his mouth was wide open for longer than a minute, he closes his trap and asks,
"How did you-"
You interrupt him remarking,
"She and I are personal board game buddies. She uses some of her 'dream' techniques on me."
You begin to remember the typical moves the Princess of the Night would pull. She would always put you in outrageous situations. Whether it was running from a giant manticore, riding a ursa minor, or traveling bear back; you would always be entertained when you spend time with her. Except this one time...
It was that time of day again.
Adventure Time.
Now, in this case, adventure time wasn't some perilous, ultra-crazy, ridiculous, high-flying, acrobatic, heart-racing, thrilling quest. No, today you were more or less helping Luna with her little investigation.
Which you regret majorly.
You were currently strapped to a operating table. To the right of you was a small vase with the words: "Don't buck with the Night' written on it. This small unique vase was floating aimlessly in the corner. You couldn't fathom why Luna needed a vase like that, but you didn't need to solve the issue. After all, Luna does have a very transcending personality...
Despite the vase, you avert your glance to the left of the room. In this corner, you had nothing but a floating axe to talk to. Apparently this inanimate object was supposed to be her 'assistant'.
Yes a floating axe as a assistant, who knew?!
Yet, you were somehow able to communicate with this thing.
Not that anything in Luna's domain was 'unable to speak'.
You say,
"Axe?"
...
"Axe..?"
The object responds,
"What do you want?"
...
"I wanted to ask you where Lu-"
You were suddenly interrupted by a sound of an explosion. You turn your head towards the direction of the sound, only to realize it was Luna's fault.
Note to self: never give an Alicorn anything explosive.
Note taken.
The elegant 'nightmare' trots towards you, giddy as can be. She smiles brightly at you, holding a small syringe in her hoof.
Wait SYRINGE?
She states,
"Now this won't hurt a bit..."
Whenever someone says that phrase, you always panic. Not because it's probably going to hurt, it's because...
It will hurt.
You await for the impact of the syringe to come.
...
...
Any second now...
...
...
...
Oh for heaven's sa-
The syringe falls short of your arm, instead impacting the side of the bed with a loud CLING.
You ask,
"Luna how did you miss my arm?"
You look up at her and see the issue.
She was currently looking teary-eyed. She states,
"Because, I-I was actually aiming fo-or your..."
She blushes slightly and looks away. You try to comprehend what she was trying to hint at. You look down to where she was intending to hit.
You gasp slightly at what you see.
You look at your member, who is currently the size of a cucumber. Unfortunately for that cucumber...
It's twisted in about twenty different directions.
...
Initiate scream.
You scream on the top of your lungs, whisking you out of your dream...
"That sounds very interesting there..."
I SAID THAT OUT LOUD?
"Um...Did I say all of that out loud?"
The doctor nods, making you flushed. The doctor looks away for a moment, looking at your chart once again. He pulls out a penuill, which is a new writing utensil you devised, and scribbles a few words onto the chart. Once he finished his writing, he averts his attention to you and asks,
"Does Luna really have that bad of aim?"
You smile sheepishly and state,
"Yes...apparently she does."
This causes the doctor to chuckle lightly and say,
"Alright. Well, Its currently five thirty-five so I was wondering if you needed anything else."
WHAT.
You swiftly turn your head towards the clock, focusing intently on the time it states.
It was five thirty-five.
SHIT.
You turn towards the doctor and ask,
"Well before it hits seven o'clock, I need you to return back in with some nurses..."
The doctor eyes you carefully before asking,
"Why is that?"
You sigh and respond accordingly,
"My dream told me it would return to me at seven o' clock."
The doctor nods slightly and leaves the room. When he leaves the room, you hear a loud shout equivalent to a mega phone being shattered. The shout questions,
"CAN I GO BACK IN THERE WITH MY GRAZY?"
Since when did I become a possession?
You couldn't possibly answer the question due to the fact that the owner of the voice is now in your room.
Damn she's quick.
Celestia smiles brightly at you and asks,
"So how did the talk with the doctor go?"
You sigh and say,
"It went well honey."
She asks,
"Can I-"
You interrupt her,
"Don't even have to ask baby."
She grins and climbs into the bed with you, being careful of your IV. She rests her head on your shoulder and snuggles in with you. You sigh in content and rest your arm around her neck once again. As you lay there with your mare, you talk about random things. The conversation would bounce back and forth between Luna's horrible aim to Equestria's malfunctioning train systems.
After chatting for the remainder of your time, you take a gander at the clock.
It reads six fifty.
You turn your gaze towards Celestia and state,
"Celly it's almost time for me to go to dreamscape again."
She looks at you, her former smile turning into a slight frown. She says,
"Promise me you'll be back in one piece...please?"
You bring her close and kiss her on the lips, bring her into a embrace unlike no other. She hums and moans slightly into the kiss, making you a bit turned on. Unfortunately for you both, you let the kiss fade, giving room for you to shift you arm back to your side. You say,
"I promise."
She asks,
"Why can't I just lay here with you?"
You smirk and respond,
"Unless you want to be the one to be operated on..."
That got her going.
She looks away from you, a blush forming at her cheeks. You grin from ear to ear, reveling in your success. She looks back at you for a second and states,
"No...I'll just sit here in this chair..."
You grin and nod briefly.
As you do this, your doctor returns with two nurses beside him. The two look like twins, except one has a white coat and the other has a blue coat. They approach your bedside, checking your IV and other medial tasks. The doctor stands at the foot of the bed, checking your charts one last time. You gulp and take a final look at the clock. It reads: seven o'clock.
Suddenly you hear a voice in the back of your head. It states,
Time to leave...my servant.
You groan loudly, feeling a sudden burst of pain gulf your brain.
All the personnel in the room turn their attention to you and try to ask you what's wrong.
You couldn't hear a single thing they were saying. As the pain entered your brain, you lost your hearing and feel of touch. You couldn't even keep your eyes open for long, as your muscles began to deteriorate. As you take your last breath, you mouth to the doctor,
"Take care of my sunshine..."
You turn your head westward, embracing the darkness as it takes you in.
You say the first phrase that comes to mind in your head:
My name is Graziano.
My name is Graz-
My name is -
My name -
My na-
My -
M-
...
..
.
"UGH!" You shout as you fiddle with the device you're currently creating. At this very moment, you're inventing a new device for your marefr- *Ahem* Princess Celestia. She wants you to create this contraption to help advance technology in Equestria. Unfortunately for you, you're the only one who can make these things.
HAZAAH!
As you pat yourself on the back for a job well-done, you sigh and sit down in your comfortable human-sized chair. You've been in Equestria for roughly two glorious months and you've been loving it. When you first arrived in Equestria, you were scared out of your mind. Apparently, you first woke up in a hospital bed and engaged with your surroundings. It didn't seem like a normal hospital because you didn't have a gown protecting your more masculine areas and the door seemed slightly smaller than most entrances. When you found out you were on a different planet and or dimension, you immediately fainted. The distinction between reality and dreamland wasn't apparent at the time.
When you regained consciousness in the hospital, you were surrounded by nurses and doctors. They were undergoing an examination of your body and you were not comfortable with it. When you screamed out "What the FUCK!", you caused all the staff to flinch. This was the first time you've laid your eyes upon these ponies, and you didn't want anything to deal with any of them. All you wanted was to go home, sit on your computer, and watch some Lost while you ate some Pringles. This idea was on your mind ever since you landed in the bed and now, you regret thinking of it.
To you, Equestria feels like a land of fairy tales. Pegasi flying around, Unicorns casting spells, ponies talking, and the dangerous mythological creatures of the Everfree Forest; they all relate to the stories you read in Mythology class back on Earth. Unlike the stories, you can actually associate and have a intelligent conversation with most of them. This is basically a dream come true for you and you never want to leave.
What's weird is you don't remember your name and most of your past life. It's not your fault, apparently the injuries you sustained when you first entered the hospital were the reasons for it. After regaining your composure, you were able to ask the doctors about your injuries. They told you that your brain lost any capabilities of remembrance regarding anything before the age of five, and some bits and pieces between six and your present age. They also told you some other things relating to a broken nose, a few cuts on your arms, and a weird ear infection that you somehow knew was already there. After a while of speaking with them, you were able to calm down enough to not freak out that you were in a land filled with talking ponies and...
...not a single human with you.
You slide in your seat and sigh contently, embracing the comfortable seat cushions. You had no idea ponies took pride in their cushions. Heck, you didn't even know they had the capability to build buildings, have magic, talk, create a monetary system, create a nation, and forge a government. The list could continue from there but you didn't want to think about it. This is your restraint from over-thinking too much.
And restraints are fun...
Shut up.
Your mellow state breaks as your mind enters the gutters of the abyss...
Brain, I'm sending you on a one-way trip to the pornography shops of hell.
Okay see you in a while.
Just shut up. Now.
You hear faint sounds of laughter before the noises fade away.
You hate your brain sometimes. It has a mind of its own at some stages and even acts on impulse without you knowing. A perfect example of this was when you first met Princess Celestia. You were still at the hospital at the time, recovering from your injuries. You were snuggled up nicely to the pillows they provided you, currently in a state of bliss. While you were embracing perfect comfort, Twilight Sparkle, one of the mares who assisted the others in bringing you to the hospital, was questioning you a bit. She was afraid of you when you first officially spoke to each other, but she lightened up to you and managed to question you about yourself.
About half way through the interrogation, you were interrupted by the sound of knocking. You couldn't help but become slightly irritated, because you were explaining why deep-dish pizza was the best pizza ever created. Even though Twilight winced at the ingredients provided, she understood your position for the most part. Twilight grudgingly trotted towards the door, her purple aura beginning to surround the door. Once the door was enveloped in a sea of amethyst, the door swung open. The pony on the other side of the door was none other than Princess Celestia herself.
This was the first time you saw her and for some reason, you felt attracted to her. No not in the like-like attraction, rather, you were attracted by the fact she was a Princess and a pony that stood slightly above your height. At first, the word 'princess' didn't affect you at all. When you came to full realization that she was indeed a princess, well...let's just say your cerebrum had an overload. It was too much to process, causing you to collapse to the ground. Yet again, this is why you still despise your brain to this very day.
Enough reminiscing! You have work to do!
You shift in your seat, before returning to work on your mechanical part. The current part you were working on today is just one piece of a full assembly. Apparently, ponies never heard of factories, mass production, or assembly lines; so you have to carefully mend with what little resources you have. It also seems that they have the technological advancements similar to the ones of the medieval era. With that in mind, You could make use of some of the resources to make some awesome weaponry that Equestria has never heard of. The only issue with this idea is that this weaponry would change this peaceful place. You wouldn't want to change the tranquility of this beautiful landscape even if the government gave you all of its money.
As you continued to mend your mechanical part, you hear a subtle knocking on your office door. Yes, you own an office. Your job, as Lead Architect and the only Mechanical Engineer in Equestria, gave you an office. This means you would have the most privacy in the whole castle, except when somepony wants to visit you.
Who could that be?
You announce,
"Come in."
The knocking ceases and a yellow glow fills its place. You realize the golden yellow glow from anywhere. This was the glow of Celestia's. You smile and await for your marefriend to enter. You always thought being with Celestia was the best time of the day. This signified two things: your day for work was over and the fact you get to spend the rest of the day with Celestia.
Anyway, the door swings open gently and the regal princess enters the room, grinning from ear to ear. She slowly approaches your desk and says,
"Time to stop working honey."
You smile and leave the comfort of the cushions. You slowly approach her and give her a light kiss on the cheek. She hums and nuzzles you beneath your neck. You smile and ask,
"Do you mind if we go to your chambers today? Work has got me a bit worn out and I'd like to relax with my beautiful marefriend."
Celestia continues to nuzzle your neck, causing you to sigh in content. You love when she nuzzles you right under your neck. Her warm fur rubbing slowly across your bare skin makes you feel like you're in heaven. Fortunately for you, Celestia is your heaven so you're technically already in heaven. You start to laugh a bit due to your brain over-thinking things again. Celestia notices this and stops her nuzzling. She asks,
"What's so funny?"
You stop your laughter and state,
"Nothing baby, just my brain having its moments."
She smiles deviously, stating,
"Were you thinking about my flank again honey?"
The word flank immediately entices your mind to drift into the gutters again. You begin to imagine the plot, the smooth curves...
I told you to stay in the shops brain.
They kicked me out for causing a ruckus.
I hate you brain.
Love you too.
You come back to reality to see your marefriend on the ground in a fit of laughter. You look down at her and feel a sudden rush of blood enter your cheeks. You realize she will be making fun of you for days about this situation, all thanks to your brain.
After completely being embarrassed by your mare, she gets up and motions for you out of your office. You smile and motion for you to follow her. Apparently, She likes it when you're leader, probably because she hates being called by her royal title for so long. You can't really figure her out though. You always thought Celestia might be slightly bi-polar, but you dismissed the theory when she told you she wasn't. Right...
You both walk through the long hallways of the Canterlot Castle. For some reason, they decided to extend the hallway from your office to build a small bathroom. When you first heard about this, you thought it was going to be a very small extension due to the castle's sheer size. You were horribly wrong once again. They extended it too far out. It felt like you had to walk a few miles just to get to the bathroom.
When you arrived to the huge staircase of death (as you preferably like to call it), you turn to her and ask,
"Why the heck have we not gotten some sort of elevator for this yet?"
She looks over to your direction and says,
"Funds."
"FUNDS? Hold on."
She looks at you, a puzzled look scattered across her face.
"Let me get this straight," you rub your temples as you try to figure out the situation. "You can't get enough funds to make an elevator, yet you have enough funds to extend a hallway enough for a marathon to be held for a small bathroom?!"
Celestia looks down in shame and says,
"Blueblood wanted it..."
You try to resist the urge to facepalm, but you unfortunately fail at doing so. You facepalm so hard, the sounds of it traveled throughout the city of Canterlot. Your Princess looks up at you and says,
"Is that bad?"
You declare,
"It's not just bad...it's unnecessary."
Your Princess smiles and responds,
"Please, honey, don't overreact again. Last time that happened, I had to send a 'nurse' to your office."
You groan,
"Please...don't send Luna again. She messed up my mind a bit."
You see your mare snicker quietly. You sigh and start your journey up the large spire...
About an hour later, you and Celestia are at the doors of her chamber. As you know, the castle is ridiculously huge. The main tower alone is equivalent to the height of the Willis Tower. You couldn't fathom on how you were able to have enough energy to walk up those stairs and still be breathing. Celestia tells you it's because of her magical powers that stimulate you to get to her chambers as quick as possible. Even though it's slightly true, you can't connect the dots.
Celestia turns her attention to her guards and motions for them to move. The guards nod and move out of the Princess's way. She grins and opens the door with her magical unicorn horn. You can't help but be jealous of her horn or any unicorn's horn for a fact. They can grip onto anything they need to without the use of hands.
You both walk through the doors of the chambers. Celestia turns around and says,
"You may shut them now."
The guards nod and shut the doors, giving you and your mare privacy.
You both smile at each other and walk towards the bed. You begin to strip down, leaving only your boxers on. Celestia also strips down, removing all jewelry from her midst. Once you both finished stripping down, you both climb into bed. You and Celestia snuggle up against each other, Celestia setting her head on your chest. She looks over at you and asks,
"How was your day?"
Come to think of it...your day wasn't horrible.
Besides tinkering with the mechanical part, you also received a letter from your pen pal in Ponyville. The one thing you loved about your pen pal was her letters. She always wrote letters that would either warm your heart or make you laugh at loud. Today's letter was no different. Apparently, your pen pal was in her shop when a bird swooped down and tried to land on her mane. Fortunately for her, she closed the window before the bird could even enter the shop. Unfortunately for the bird, he hit the window going full speed, causing it to make a loud bone-breaking sound. She said she dropped the bird off to Fluttershy to see if she could nurse it back to health, but she warned Fluttershy to keep the bird away from her mane.
After being lost in thought, you turn to your mare and say,
"My day was good, thank you for asking."
Celestia smiles, happy with your answer. You always love seeing her smile. Every time it happens, you feel like you contract diabetes. Maybe I should get checked out for diabetes later...
You decide to return the question and ask,
"How was your day dear?"
Celestia's reaction to your question was interesting. Her muzzle began to scrunch up and her face began to contort. If this wasn't her thinking face, then you don't know what is. After a minute of thought, she returns to reality and says,
"It was good for the most part. Day court was the same as usual, but there was something that disturbed me."
You began to grow concerned for her. You ask,
"What disturbed you?"
She removes her head from your chest and looks to the left. This concerned you even more. Celestia rarely gets shaken up by anything. Whether it's Discord trying to take over Equestria, or a dragon trying to burn down a city; she is on top of the issue and ready to strike it down. When she is perturbed by something or someone, it becomes your problem as well. In situations like this, you try and stay calm. You would talk to her in a monotone voice and tell her everything would be okay. You decide this would be the best way to calm her down.
You say,
"Celestia...look at me please."
She begins to gaze back at you, tears developing in her eyes. Without warning, you pull her into a warm, gentle hug. She gasps by the sudden contact. You smile and begin to wipe away her tears with your fingers. After a few moments, you break the embrace and return to the soft pillow on the bed. You return your attention back to your mare, who is currently shifting to get a better position in the bed. You state,
"Celestia, if you don't want to tell me it's ok-"
She interrupts you by putting her hoof to your mouth. She responds,
"No, I have to tell you..."
She pauses and takes a deep breath. Once she does this, Celestia states,
"In day court, citizens of my fellow kingdom would ask me to advise them on certain things or they would ask me if I could do something about an issue. Today, One pony came in and did something I never thought would happen."
You become a bit interested in the story. You ask,
"What did the pony do?"
She looks at you, her gaze locks to yours. She then says,
"She did neither of those. Instead, she told me the one I love will be in danger."
Now it's your turn to fidget slightly in the bed. You shift a bit in the bed, due to the discomfort of the news. You decide to ask her about the news the pony gave her. You ask,
"What did the pony mean by me being 'in danger'?"
Her gaze shifts to the right corner of the room, unable to meet yours once again. You decide you need to take a bit of an initiative. You ask again,
"Celestia, what did the pony mean by me being 'in danger'?"
She returns her glare to you and says,
"The pony said the one I love is in danger and I would be powerless in stopping the unforeseen dangers that lie ahead."
"Still doesn't answer my question..."
She facehoofs at your response. You try to stifle a giggle, but you see Celestia glare at you. She says in a defiant tone,
"This isn't funny; this is very serious! I'm worried about you and your well-being! I don't know if you noticed, but I usually have only two guards at my door. Tonight, I put three at the door!"
You begin to realize how serious the situation was. A pony you didn't even know is telling you to beware of the dangers ahead. You had no idea what this meant, but you wanted to take it seriously; so you didn't worry your mare any longer. You sigh and put your arm around your mare's neck. She sighs in content and snuggles into your chest. You say,
"Honey, I'm not saying I'm not worried about the situation. It's just not my top priority at the moment. My priority is you my sweet princess. Let's not worry about it at the moment. Right now, we should be worried about getting some rest; we're going to need it for tomorrow."
She smiles and says,
"Okay honey, thank you for watching out for me."
"I always will dear. Now rest, your ponies need the sun for tomorrow!"
She giggles at your declaration and sighs. She says,
"I love you."
You smile back at her and say,
"I love you too."
You both lay in the bed, intertwined in each other's limbs. As you lay there, you begin to feel sleep take you. You comply with your body's demands, letting sleep embrace you. One last thought invades you as you embrace the darkness. The thought states:
Sleep well...my servant.
As you slept, you begin to feel a suddenly chill enter your system. You couldn't help but feel uncomfortable by the cold, so you decide to wake up. As you open your eyes, you look to see something was missing. This something was very important to you. Celestia wasn't laying in bed with you.
You gasp and began to look around the room. You noticed the room you were in wasn't Celestia's. The bed you were currently laying in was small, but large enough for you to at least fit in. You began to look at the bed in a more in-depth perspective. The bed was made out of wood and the bed had bars surrounding the whole entire exterior, in case the occupant rolled around in their sleep. You decide it would be better to get out of this foreign bed then lay in someone else's bedroom. You sigh and grudgingly get out of the bed. You look back at the bed and notice the covers were as white as snow. In the middle of the covers was some lettering. The letters spelled out:
SERVITUDE.
You began to shiver a bit due to the cold still gripping you. You decide it would be a wise decision to leave the room and see if the rest of the place was the same temperature. You begin to walk towards the door. You open it slightly, taking a peek at the surroundings. The room you were in was connected to a hallway. You decide to open the door even wider and walk out of the room. You enter the hallway and look around. The hallway went in both directions, one led to what appeared to be another hallway. The other end led to what appeared to be a stairwell. You decide to take the stairwell, since you feel you've intruded for too long. You begin to quietly approach the stairs. As you approach the entry of the stairwell, you look down. The building you were in was two stories high and included a basement.
Due to your curiosity, you decide to check out the rest of the house. You begin to descend down the stairs. As you did this, you heard a loud scream and a crashing noise. Wondering what would've caused such a sound, you try to figure out where the source came from. You decide to go through the first floor and see what you could find.
You continue to descend until your foot meets the first floor. You smile slightly and approach the room in front of you. Apparently, you were in someone else's home. In front of you was a living room. This room was a bit smaller than what you thought it would be, but you didn't mind. The room had a large plasma screen television with two couches and a desk with a red vintage lamp on top of the desk.
As you continued to explore the home, you came up to the room to the right of the living room. You were currently in the kitchen. Now this room surprised you. The kitchen was equivalent to the size of the living room. Unlike the living room, the kitchen was a mess. The doors of the cabinets were ripped off their hinges; the sink, the countertops and the window sills were all covered in flour; and the table was snapped in half. You couldn't reason how this kitchen was so unkempt and destroyed, but it wasn't your problem. You decided you've seen enough of the kitchen, so you proceed to the next room.
The next room you enter is completely dark. You take a look to your right and notice a light switch conveniently placed on the wall. You flip the switch, causing light to fill the room. You gasped at what you saw. Inside this room was a play area with all the necessary items: toy cars, plastic dinosaurs, a small TV with a array of movies stacked beside it, a hot wheels race track connected and ready to use; and a basketball hoop.
You couldn't help but smile at the sight in front of you. It was like any kid's dream to own a play room such as this. What threw you off about this room was a note attached to the backboard of the hoop. You approach the hoop cautiously, checking corners for good measure. You carefully grasp the note and tug on it. This causes the note to be freed from the backboard, allowing you to take a gander at the note. You begin to read the note and gasp in shock. The note reads:
"Doesn't this look familiar?"
You begin to take in what the note stated. This play room does look familiar to you. When you were younger and back in your dimension, you remember playing with toys like these. The race track was your favorite thing to use. You would make the track so long, it would race outside and into the neighbors home. You would sit there for hours with the track and come up with new layouts to maximize your fun. Good times...good times.
As you continue your little reminiscence, you begin to wonder what the note meant. Someone couldn't have left it there and expected you to pick it up. There has to be someone who knows you're in the house. You decide to let the thought linger while you continue your exploration of the house.
When you exit the playroom, you hear a loud scream again. This time you are able to identify the possible location of which this noise was emitting from. Your curiosity sense ignites, leaving the exploration of this house for another rainy day. You begin your trek towards the living room. As you do this, you begin to ponder on whose home this could be. It seems so familiar to you, but you cannot put a name to the house yet.
As you enter the living room, you gasp. Someone has recently came through the living room. The plasma screen TV that once stood proudly was now on the floor in pieces. The couches were torn, cushions and cotton strewn about the room. The desk was split in half and the red vintage lamp was shattered. The only thing that piqued your interest was the lamp. It wasn't because it was vintage, but in the rubble of the destroyed artifact was a note. Your curiosity gives into the temptation and you walk over to the note and pick it up. Reading the note aloud, it says,
"If one forgets the past, then one forgets the future.
If one forgets one's identity, then one forgets their own.
If one forgets those who are near,
then one will be forgotten."
What does this mean? You ask yourself as you ponder over the statements. You've heard of secret riddles like this in the movies, but you never thought of encountering one as this. No longer needing the note, you set the note down where you originally found it. As you do this, you hear the scream again. The scream was louder than the last one, indicating you're closer to the sound than you thought. You grin slightly, knowing your adventure is coming to a close.
You begin to approach the stairwell once again, descending to the depths of the basement. As you step off the stairwell, you shift your gaze to the basement. It's a long hallway with a few rooms connected on either side. You slowly begin to approach the hallway. As you pass the first two rooms, you hear something cry out,
"Why did he leave?"
This voice sounded familiar to you.
All at once, the memories began to invade your conscience. The playroom, the living room, the kitchen, and the bedroom. This wasn't someone else's home. This was yours and you're in it right now. There's still a bit of doubt remaining if this house was truly here. You remember your sheets on your bed were red not white. You also remember the sheets didn't have lettering on them. Something seemed wrong here and you're on the case.
You slowly continue your walk down the hallway, peering into rooms as you passed them. Most of the rooms were surprisingly empty; not how you remembered them. Most of these rooms were filled with junk because your mother was a garage sale euthesist. She would always stop at every single one because she said 'There's untold treasures in every single box, nick, or cranny. It's my job to find them!'.
For some reason, all of her junk had disappeared. Another thing to tag on the list of doubts.
You were nearing the end of the hallway when you turn to your left and see a human-like figure, sitting with its legs crossed. It had its hands covering its face. You hear the figure sobbing and its tears were creating puddles on the floor. At first, you feel sad for the poor being, however; you had some doubt stilled in your mind. You didn't know how long the figure was there, but it would be pretty impossible to make several large puddles just from tears. Secondly, you spotted some blood on the walls; which made you very suspicious about the situation. Did the figure cut itself? Did it murder someone? What was it crying about?
You had to ask yourself all these questions because now, you're at a standstill. You didn't know whether you should check on the person and throw risk out the window; or move on and explore the rest of the basement. You couldn't even say curiosity distracted you because it was out for lunch. It was your decision...and yours alone to make.
You lean against the wall next to you , allowing you to ponder about the situation. As you do this, you hear the figure shout,
"Why...Why did he leave us? We...could've helped him with his problems..." The figure paused and sobbed a bit more. After a bit of sobbing it continued,
"We didn't want him to commit to the bet, but he did! Why did you do it!!"
The figure became silent once again, it's quiet sobbing continues on.
What does this figure mean by a bet? What problems did he have?
You decided to go and comfort the human figure so you can get some answers. You slowly enter the room, not wanting to alarm the figure. As you walk forward, you begin to notice the objects that surrounded the figure. A knife, a few bottles of igniter fluid, and some matches. These items confused you for the most part, but you didn't want to have anymore question sprout out. You just wanted the answers to the ones you have.
As you continue your pace, you suddenly see the figure stop its sobbing abruptly. It slowly turns to you and you meet its eyes. This was a mistake you will regret making. The human-like figure looked like someone you knew. This figure wouldn't be compared to a friend or a acquaintance. No, this figure resembled someone of your past...someone of utmost importance. The only thing disturbing you was the fact the figure's eyes were red. This threw you off a bit.
The figure says in a sympathetic tone,
"Graziano, is that you?"
Graziano? You look puzzled at the figure before asking,
"Was that my name?"
The figure gives you a glare, its eyes growing wider.
"This is what I named you." The figure gets up from its seat. You look down from where it sat and noticed the spot was covered in blood. You return your gaze to the creature and you notice its teeth weren't like a humans.
They were fangs.
You jump back slightly, scared by the sight.
The figure takes notice of your fright and says,
"What? Can't you recognize me?"
You shake your head slightly and begin to make a break for the hallway.
Unfortunately for you, you're dealing with a supernatural human-like thing...
...and it wants you.
The figure screams loudly as if possessed, causing the world around you to appear double. You slowly fall to the ground due to your brain unable to cooperate with your double vision. As you fall you turn to see the supernatural human grinning devilishly at you. It's eyes began to turn into a blood red. It's skin began to peel off in layers as if it was an onion. Before you collapsed to the ground, you took notice of the creatures hands. You didn't know why but it's hands were interesting. Unlike the rest of the body, it's hands were proportional to its head in size. The hands were also sharp, pointy, and claw-like.
When you hit the ground, you looked up and noticed the creature was right in front of you. You couldn't help but shake in fright as it's grin doubled in size. The creature notices this and says,
"I guess it's time to receive your end of the deal..."
It smiles before screaming and striking you in the arms. You close your eyes and await for the pain to hit. Instead, you're rewarded with a feeling of numbness and nothingness. You try to open your eyes, but you can't. Instead, you feel light and float in the darkness you're now planted in...
...awaiting for the light to shine on you once again.
