Book of Nightmares - Echo

>Thunder and lightning crack and boom above Hollow Shades.

>The sound is, fortunately, not enough to wake you.

>The rumbling of the earth that vibrates through the trees, however, does.

>Very little evening light filters through your bedroom window.

>It's also pretty strange that you don't feel like you're upside down.

>You discover that you lay on your back on the floor.

>An attempt to roll over meets with failure.

>You notice your breathes are incredibly shallow, the sound of rain drowning them out.

>Something presses onto your chest as you try to move your limbs.

>It feels like your walls are closing in on you, but they don't move.

>You try to turn your head to look towards the window, but your neck muscles refuse to budge.

>A figure starts to loom over you as it sits on your chest.

>A crack of lightning lights the room up.

>Its dull orange eyes glint from the light as it glares at you.

>Its leathery bat wings spread to its sides.

>A viscous red liquid drips from its sharp teeth and fangs.

>You try to scream, but nothing comes out.

>Its lips don't move as it starts to talk.

>"What's wrong, Echo? Bat got your tongue?"

>The voice is feminine, so you assume the bat p0ny to be a female.

>You try to speak, but all that forms is a single thought.

"Who are you?"

>She cackles as the red liquid drips onto your face.

>"You know what I am, Echo. You know why I'm here. You know why I've haunted your dreams for the past week."

>Your breathing quickens as you feel like you're being suffocated.

>She jumps at you, her jaw dislocating to help her rip at your face.

 

>But nothing happens.

>As you awake in a cold sweat, you notice there is no thunder or lightning to sound throughout the night.

>No rain patters against your house's roof.

>There is no sound, except for your brief scream.

>Your heart threatens to dislodge itself from your chest as you uncling from the ceiling.

>On the way to your bathroom, you mistake your hoofsteps for an intruder's, causing you to turn in the dark and click your tongue.

>Nothing out of the ordinary.

>You shake your head as you step into your bathroom and turn the lights on.

>Two orange eyes meet your own as you look into the mirror.

>You flash your fangs at your reflection and trace your tongue over them.

>The dark navy and pale blue locks of your mane stick out in every direction.

>You pick a brush up in your hoof and start to brush it all down.

>Bags were starting to form under your eyes.

>Where was Princess Luna when you needed her to safeguard your dreams?

>Whatever was happening, you could only wait for her to return.

>It had been announced about two weeks ago that she, along with the other princesses, needed to take care of some urgent business in the Crystal Empire.

>You didn't understand how she couldn't continue doing what she normally did.

>As expected, though, other bat p0nies were having nightmares.

>Nop0ny would talk about what they saw in their nightmares.

>Something about that was frightening, even moreso than what you were seeing.

>Maybe it would be a good idea to write to Princess Luna.

>Except, you weren't too sure on where to send it.

>You sigh and press your face to the mirror.

>Lack of peaceful sleep was taking its toll on you.

 

>An owl hoots outside of your bathroom window.

>You shudder as you leave the bathroom.

>Time to start the night, and find your friends.

>A small group of six of you were tasked to keep watch on Hollow Shades' south-western border.

>None of you were told why, but you never questioned against a paying request.

>And the town paid the six of you well, just for standing guard for a few hours.

>You never saw anything, and nothing was ever reported.

>But again, you didn't even know what you were looking for.

>You shake the thoughts out of your head as you enter your living room.

>It was the start of the night, and you needed to get to your station.

>Helmet, check.

>Armor necklace thing, check.

>Lance, also check.

>You were ready for anything.

>Except more nightmares.

>You shudder as you feel eyes bore into your back.

>But as you turn to the source, your front door, nothing reveals itself.

>Nothing, but a light tapping at your door.

>You nearly jump out of your skin and cover your mouth with a hoof to stifle your scream.

>It's probably just somep0ny at the door.

>Maybe it was one of your friends, retrieving you to start the night and your guard duty.

>You chuckle to yourself and approach the door.

>You freeze and shudder as you reach a hoof towards the lock.

>A voice in the back of your head tells you to keep it locked and to walk away.

>The knocks sound again.

>A soft voice calls from beyond the wooden barrier.

>"Echo? Are you in there? We're gonna be late."

>She sounds nervous, whoever it is.

>You should recognize the voice, but your mind is blanked from your fear.

>"Echo. It's Moonshine, we need to go."

>You take a deep breath and unlock the door.

>It swings open as Moonshine stares at you blankly.

>"Another nightmare?"

>You nod slowly and swallow hard.

>"It's taking a toll on a lot of p0nies. Come on, maybe this job can get your mind off of things."

"Yeah. Maybe."

 

>On the way to your post, Midnight joins you and Moonshine.

>She looks agitated and tired.

"Midnight? Are you alright?"

>"Of course I am. Why do you ask?"

>"You look a little... tired."

>Midnight looks away from you and Moonshine.

>"Nah, I'm perfectly fine."

>Moonshine shrugs and trots farther ahead as your post comes into view.

"Are you sure you're okay? I can cover your shift if you need me to, for half of your pay."

>"I can do this, Echo. I'm probably the strongest and most experienced p0ny in our group."

>You can feel the venom in her voice.

>It doesn't matter to you.

>Her pride would do her in, and you could start covering her shift for more bits.

>That was an awful thing to think.

>She was kind of your friend, even though the two of you had a little bit of a rivalry.

>"Come on, Echo. Moonshine's waving us over."

>You look up and notice Moonshine beckoning to you.

>You and Midnight rush to her.

>As you approach, she points downward, at the base of one of the trees.

>"Any idea why she's down there, when she should be up here in the lofts?"

>"It looks like she's sleeping, Moonshine."

>Moonshine sighs and taps you on the shoulder.

>"Go get her."

"What?! Why me? Why can't Midnight go get her?"

>"Because she told YOU to, Echo. Or can you not do it because you're scared?"

>You swallow hard as you step over to the edge of the wooden platform that was built around and hung from the trees.

"I-I'm not scared!"

>"Then hurry up. Our shift starts in about five minutes."

>"Hey Moonshine, speaking of. Where are the other two?"

>You don't hear the rest of their conversation as you leap from the platform.

>Your heart races as you land beside the sleeping p0ny.

"Lullaby? Lullaby, wake up. Our shift's about to start."

>She groans and continues snoring as you push her with a hoof.

>You hated dealing with this one.

>She was incredibly lazy and tried to sleep as much as possible, or just throw her work on someone else.

>The worst part was, she refused to skip shifts, so you couldn't cover for her and get her share of the pay.

"Lullaby. Wake up!"

>She finally rolls over, her eyelids cracking to reveal her bright green eyes.

>"Oh. Hi, Echo. What brings you to this side of town.

>You slap a hoof to your face.

"It's almost time for us to start our watch, Lullaby."

>She yawns and smiles up at you.

>"Oh. Is it? I'm sorry, thanks for coming to get me."

>She lazily flies up to Moonshine and Midnight.

 

>Your own hooves clop against the wooden platform as you land behind the sleepy p0ny.

"Where are the others?"

>Moonshine shrugs and Midnight keeps looking toward the town.

>"Not sure, Echo. It's strange, usually those two are the first ones here."

"Oh, well. More money for us, right?"

>Midnight nods as she turns to look over the edge of the edge of the platform.

>"More money for us, but less information. Florence is usually the one to bring us all of the information from the mayor."

>That was true.

>For some reason, the mayor preferred to defer all information to Florence, who then passed what was needed to the rest of the group.

>You never listened to it, you only cared about the money.

>"Echo. Take your position and move forty wings to the right. Cover Florence's position. Midnight. You do the same, but to the left."

>You take the appropriate spot on the platform and look down into the forest.

>Four hours of just staring down into the woods.

>You didn't care why, just that it paid enough bits to live for a week.

>The strangest thing was, there was never a set of sentries to relieve you.

>Your group just dispersed after the four hours was up.

>And even passing by this spot at a later time revealed nop0ny watching.

>It's been a week since the mayor initially requested this to be done.

>But, four hours for several hundred bits wasn't bad work.

>Even if it was boring.

>"See anything, Echo?"

>Midnight calls to you.

"Nothing, as usual."

>As you continue to look between the trees, a glint of gray and blue flashes through the undergrowth.

>You raise an eyebrow and try to get a better look.

>"See something?"

"Just a rabbit, I guess."

>The brush rustles again as a gray blob darts behind a tree.

>Your muscles tense up as a gray ear slowly moves from behind it.

>A dark orange eye peers up at you, causing your breathes to become short and shallow.

>It's here.

>Your nightmare is real.

>The red liquid from your dream starts to pool from behind the tree, the creature's sharp fangs showing as it smiles at you.

>Your vision starts to tunnel.

>Her lips move, but you can't hear what she's saying.

>Your vision blackens before you can start to read her lips.

>You hit the platform as your legs numb and give way.

 

>A hoof jabs into your side.

>Several bat p0nies crowd around you.

>Moonshine is the first to speak up.

>"Echo? Are you alright?"

>Midnight tries to help you up, but you just slack against her.

>"You fell asleep, Echo. And you were panting and breathing heavily."

>Moonshine looks at you and smiles.

>"Our shift is over anyway. What do you say we hit the bars and try to relax?"

>You nod and lean on Midnight as the three of you start walking into town with Lullaby in tow.

"How long was I out?"

>Moonshine sighs and looks over at you.

>"Nearly the whole shift. Was it another nightmare?"

>You nod slowly.

>Lullaby lazily taps your shoulder.

>"Care to tell us what was in it?"

>You swallow hard.

"I'm not too sure that's a good idea."

>Midnight bumps you as you start to stand on your own.

>"How about over a drink?"

>You sigh.

"If you're buying, then fine."

>She glares at you.

>"Fine, but only because I feel bad for you."

>You lean into her and whisper into her ear.

"You aren't much better off. I can tell you haven't been sleeping well."

>She rolls her eyes, but you know her pride was going to get the best of her.

>Midnight would never show weakness to anyp0ny at any time.

>You knew her all too well.

>"Shut up, Echo."

>Free drinks on Midnight and all you had to do was talk about your nightmare.

>Oh.

>Wait.

>There was an old mare's tale that if you talked about your nightmares, they'd come true.

>You shudder and look over at Midnight, who smirks to herself.

>She must know about it too.

>Oh Luna, this was going to be a fun night.

 

>The Mango Tree Pub.

>One of the best pubs in all of Hollow Shades.

>They had the best mango mead in all of Equestria.

>Your favorite part about the place was that it smelled of fruits and cinnamon.

>Lullaby sips at her pint of blood orange juice.

>Moonshine has already downed three pints of apple spice wine.

>Midnight glares at you as you suck down your second mug of mango mead, while she gingerly sips at her cherry wine.

>She finally speaks up.

>"So are you going to tell us about your nightmares?"

>You sigh and shake your head.

"I really, really don't want to. What if they come true?"

>Moonshine laughs and slaps the table.

>"Y-you mean like in thosh old mare's talesh? Keekeekee! Oh, Echo, pleash."

>That wine wasn't even potent.

>It was like two percent alcohol or something.

>It was practically just apple juice.

"Yeah. I mean, what if?"

>Midnight rolls her eyes.

>"Look, if you don't tell us, you can pay for my tab. I don't care either way."

>You didn't want to spend more money than you ever had to.

>Whatever, the worst that would happen was that a bat p0ny from your nightmares would cannibalize you and then go away.

>That was pretty bad.

>But on the other hoof, it WAS just an old mare's tale.

>And how many of those actually had truthful merit to them?

"Alright, fine. I'll tell you."

>Midnight smirks.

>"Good."

>You take another sip of your mead.

"Alright..."

>Deep inhale and exhale.

 

>Lullaby yawns throughout your story as Moonshine "drunkenly" comments on everything you say.

>Midnight just sits there slack-jawed and wide-eyed as you explain to her.

>You explain the paralysis, the weird feelings, how everything is distorted.

>You describe the bat p0ny in your dreams, from her dark gray coat to her dark turquoise mane, to her judging orange eyes.

>Midnight stops looking at you as you start on about the p0ny's teeth and the red liquid.

"I can't smell in my dreams, so I don't know if it's blood or not. It looks like it, but... I'm not sure."

>She shakes her head and looks at you.

>"No... It's blood alright."

>You feel your jaw drop and your eyes widen as Midnight gets up from the table.

>She drops a small pouch of bits on the main bar counter in front of a bartender.

>He nods as she leaves.

>Was she having the same nightmares?

>She had to have been to know that was blood.

>You shudder at the thought of another p0ny suffering through what you saw.

>That was something you would never wish upon anyp0ny.

>Not even your rival.