"8:00 PM. Same time as usual". Nocturnal Dream sighed as he slowly slipped out of the cheap motel's bedding, one of the springs from inside the mattress groaning under the stress of an entire stallion's weight was shifted on top of it. Looking out the small window opposite the bed Nocturnal saw the sun setting on what must have been another wonderful day, for everypony else that is. With the night fast approaching the guard would shift soon, and many ponies his age would be going out to the clubs, especially on a night like tonight. It was midsummer, and the late nights were just warm enough to keep you from freezing, and just cold enough to keep you awake so you could have more fun before morning. Unfortunately, the clubbing life wasn't on Nocturnal wanted to have. It seemed fun and all before, but now that he has the opportunity to do it, the whole idea of getting drunk, dancing to some weird music, and most likely ending up with a random mare in his bed, didn't really appeal to him. Why would anypony risk catching a drunk mare in heat, and ending up getting stuck with paying thousands of bits in foal support, just for a single night of young adult fun?

*Knock, Knock*

"Hello?" Nocturnal grumbled sleepily. It usually took a cup or two of coffee, or a hot shower, to wake him up all the way.

"Hey, you're awake!" somepony said from outside, the voice sounding unfamiliar, "Can you come open the door?"

"I don't even know who..." Nocturnal said, stumbling over his words as he tried to keep his eyes open, "Know who you are"

"It's Colgate!" the strange voice shouted, sounding a little more than upset that he didn't recognize her voice. She was the town's best dentist, and was a little bit like Nocturnal in that she hated the night life most other ponies their aged lived. The hate probably stemmed from her first hangover, and her work as a dentist. Her biggest complaint is when a mare comes in, her teeth all gooey and sticky with-

"HEY!" Colgate shouted, cutting off Nocturnal's train of though, "LET ME IN!"

"Fine, fine..." Nocturnal said as he got off the bed, the springs in it creaking back to a relaxed state. The motel he was staying in really spared no expenses when they bought these beds. They must have been made by the most "amazing" eight year olds in town, what with how amazing they were at stabbing into you and leaving you more sore than a full day of running. As he opened the door there was a loud bang, which was quickly followed by Colgate lying on the ground in pain.

"Why would you open the door so fast..." Colgate groaned in pain as she held her nose, causing her voice to become muffled. From what he could tell, she had been going to look in the peep hole to see if Nocturnal was actually going to open the door, only for him to do so when she had most of her weight pressed against it.

"Looking into somepony's room like that is dangerous you know," Nocturnal said, scolding her, "And I'm pretty sure it's against the law as well"

"Shut up..." Colgate said as she pushed herself up to her hooves, the end of her nose a bit red from the fall.

"Did you at least have a nice trip?" Nocturnal asked jokingly, which quickly earned him a punch in the shoulder from the blue mare in front of him, who was still rubbing her nose.

"If you're done being an ass, I have a proposition for you," Colgate said, catching his full attention with that last statement.

"What is it?" he asked, trying to hide his intense curiosity. Colgate grinned as she moved towards the bed so she could sit down, but the sight of a spring sticking out of the other side made her quickly change her mind. Looking around quickly she found a chair nearby that looked fairly safe to sit on, so she did just that. Once she was seated Colgate cleared her throat, and began to talk.

"So, you know how people say the Everfree Forest is supposed to be dangerous, right?" Colgate asked, and once Nocturnal nodded she continued, "Well, from what I hear, Princess Luna sends some of her guards to the old castle in the forest once every month. No pony knows why, but we do know one thing..."

"And that is?" Nocturnal asked, not doing a very good job of keeping his interest hidden.

"This also happens on the night of a new moon," Colgate said, the news causing Nocturnal to scrunch up his face. What would Luna's guards going into the forest on the night of a new moon have anything important to do with him. Though, he did notice that whenever there was a new moon it was even harder for him to stay up during the day so he can sleep at night.

"So..." Nocturnal started to ask, but Colgate already knew what he was going to ask.

"You should go into the forest tonight and find out why they're going out there!" Colgate said happily, making Nocturnal learn away from her a small bit. In the three or four months he had known Colgate he's never seen her this excited about something as strange as this. Though, it would be interesting to find out exactly what the guards were doing out tonight...

"So all I have to do is follow them?" Nocturnal asked, getting a nod from Colgate, "...Okay, fine. I'll do it"

"Woo!" Colgate screamed as she got to her hooves, quickly pushing Nocturnal out of the motel room, "C'mon, we gotta get going before they go too far in for you to follow!" As he was pushed away from his uncomfortable motel bed, Nocturnal felt a shiver run up his spine. Tonight won't be a good night...

"WHY DID I LET HER TALK ME INTO THIS?!" Nocturnal screamed as he dropped to the ground, the eerie noises of the forest getting to him. Timberwolf howls. Cockatrice screeches. Some probably terrifying type of bird constantly flying overhead. It looked like it had bat wings of some sort, but with how big the shadow was...

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!" Nocturnal cried as he got back to his shaky hooves, worried that going further into the forest was going to end with one of Fluttershy's pets carrying his dead carcass into her yard. When he took a hesitant step forward Nocturnal stepped onto was he hoped was a twig, but with a quick look it turned out to be a cockatrice skeleton, it's hollow eyes staring into Nocturnal's very soul. As he continued to stare into the empty sockets, he could almost swear he was turning to stone, but a sudden warm feeling down his hind legs helped remind him it wasn't possible. It also served as a reminder that he was still alive, this wasn't a dream, and that he should probably find something to wipe the little bit of piss that was stuck to his fir.

"This is the worst night of my life..." Nocturnal moaned as he tried to dry himself off completely, but when things suddenly got even darker than before his efforts were halted.

"This is the worst night of your life..." a stranger said from behind her, "...so far"

*cricket noises*

"Seriously? How long did you wait to make that joke?" Nocturnal asked, the horrible cliche being enough to put the fear off for a few seconds.

"Shut up, you set me up for it!" the stranger said, sounding annoyed and embarrassed.

"Ah.. true..." Nocturnal said, his brain quickly reminding him that he was being attacked by a stranger, "Oh, and by the way... OH, PLEASE NO! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! I AM TOO PRETTY TO DIE! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGG-"

*THWACK*