Creepy dreamed... and her dream was strange. She found herself standing in a dark forest, a full moon high in the sky. This was very strange. She suspected she was about to have a nightmare, but if she was, this was different from the ones she normally had. Most of her nightmares involved King Sombra coming and taking her parents away...

Even though she'd had that nightmare a dozen times before, and she'd just finished having a good, long cry, the thought of watching that all over again nearly made her burst into tears. Still, moment of weakness aside, she had to be strong. She had to be brave. She had to keep going, no matter how much she hurt inside...

Suddenly, she heard the sound of approaching hooves behind her. Whipping her head around to look behind her, Creepy saw what was, hooves down, the single strangest sight she had ever seen in her entire life.

A horse was approaching. It didn't have a head. That didn't seem to bother it in the slightest, as it was moving at a full gallop. Creepy could not help but marvel at the absurdity of it: How could it see where it was going without eyes? Shouldn't it just randomly bump into things? Where did it keep its brain? Did it even have one?

Creepy was so caught up in her confusion that she did not realize that the headless horse was set on a collision course with her until it was too late to dodge...
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One thousand years ago...

"Creepy, did I ever tell you how I made Theodora?"

Held in her mommy's lap, Creepy looked up and smiled, but didn't say a word. The little filly of three loved to hear this story, so she didn't want to say anything that might stop her mommy from telling it.

To just about any pony in the world, Lovely Day would have been considered 'country-mare pretty'. Not a spectacular beauty like Celestia or Luna, nor like any mare of the nobility or the royalty, but certainly pleasant on the eyes...

But to Creepy Crawly, she was the nicest, prettiest, most wonderfullest pony in the whole entire world.

"Well," Lovely began, smiling, "when I was getting ready to have you, I thought to myself, every little girl needs a friend to watch over her and protect her from all the bad things in the world. While mommies can do that, most of the time, a mommy can't be everywhere. So, I decided to make you a little friend."

Creepy Crawly cuddled the teddy bear in question, smiling, then nodded, indicating that mommy could continue.

With a small laugh, Lovely continued, "I found some nice fabric from an old dress that my grandmother had worn when she was a little filly. It was of the finest velvet, and I knew of no better fabric I could find in all the world to start with. I very carefully took it apart, then kissed it together into a little bear." She then gave a little kiss to both the bear and to her beloved daughter, eliciting a fit of giggles from Creepy. Theodora, ever the stoic, said nothing.

Smiling, the mare continued, "I then stuffed her with all the love I had in my heart for you. Of course, it was tough to squeeze all of that in, but I was determined. But somehow, impossible as that sounds, there was still some room left over... so I went to see Mister Swirly. You remember Mister Swirly, don't you?"

Every little colt and filly in the Crystal Empire knew Mister Swirly. He was the nice wizard who came every year to the Crystal Fair, and cast spells to awe and amaze everypony in the city. Creepy had met him once, and he'd let her tug on his beard...

"I said to Mister Swirly, 'I'm making a teddy bear for my little girl when she's born. I want it to be the best bear any mother ever made for her daughter. I've stuffed her with love, but what else can I do for her?" Smiling, Lovely took on a deeper, gruffer voice and said, "'Well,' Mister Swirly said, 'All the love in the world isn't worth much without a heart to hold it in.' Mister Swirly then took a piece of crystal about the size of your little hoof, and made a little heart for Theodora out of it. He then placed three very special magic spells inside of it."

Tapping a hoof against the tip of her daughter's nose, Lovely continued, "The first one was one that would give Theodora the power to protect you against all the scary monsters in the world. If a big mean monster ever comes after you, you can just swat him once with your little bear, and that monster will suddenly become as weak as a kitten. You can then squish them like a bug, shoo them out the front door, or keep them in a little jar." Creepy giggled at that last one. She'd actually done that for a week, before finally taking pity on the little creature, and let it go...

"The second," Lovely said, smiling, "gave Theodora the ability to speak. You see, I may not always be around, what with work and all, when you might be feeling sad or alone, but if you hug Theodora, she'll be able to remind you of how much I love you."

Creepy giggled, then squeezed Theodora, causing the bear to exclaim, 'I love you'. Theodora might not have been talkative, but she always knew exactly what to say.

Kissing her daughter atop her head, Lovely finished, saying, "And the third is a spell that will connect the two of you together. If you're ever lonely or afraid, all you have to do is think of Theodora, and she'll be there for you."
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Creepy smiled, and picked up Theodora. Dream or real, she was always near. Swinging her hoof around with all her might, Creepy brought her teddy bear around in a powerful strike, connecting with the headless horse's face... except that it didn't have one...

Regardless, the bear struck something, and the Headless Horse went flying, as if she'd been struck by a battering ram at full speed. When it came to ground, it landed in a tangle of limbs. It struggled to rise on unsteady legs, but eventually succeeded. After it had found its hooves, it sat, and then.... just stayed there, its shoulders shaking...
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A thousand years ago...

"How are you so brave, daddy?"

Gallant Guardian, Creepy's father, smiled down at her little girl, after having shooed away the monster spider that the little filly had found in her room. Like many fillies, Creepy was a little bit scared of spiders when she was four...

There were bigger stallions in the guard, and there were stronger stallions in the guard, but as far as Creepy Crawly was concerned, the stallion who could shoo out the scary, ugly, nasty spiders that sometimes found their way into her room was the bravest knight ever.

"Well, little lady, I'll tell you a secret: There's no such thing as a scary monster." At his daughter's disbelieving expression, her father laughed and said, "Well, it's true: Any creature, no matter how big, no matter how ugly, no matter how strange, has a heart. It is no different that you or I. They feel happy, angry, or sad, just like anypony does... and you're not scared of other ponies, are you?" Creepy shook her head, and her father continued, "They might look big, or scary, or mean on the outside, but inside, they are no different from you or me. Tickle them, and they'll laugh. Hug them, and they'll smile. Hurt them, and they'll cry... and no one likes being hurt."

Creepy, looking up at her father, her eyes wide, asked, "How can you be sure?"

With another chuckle, he said, "When in doubt, look them in the eyes: When you look any creature in the eyes, you can see their true heart, no matter how strange they may be."

Clutching Theodora close, she asked, "What if they don't got eyes?"

With a big, booming laugh, Gallant said, "Then look them in the eyes they haven't got!"
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Creepy looked into the space where the Headless Horse would have its head, if it had one, and into the eyes it didn't have... and saw that it did, in fact, have a head... and it was crying.

Big, soulful blue eyes, currently gushing tears like twin waterfalls, were seated in a face that, if not flawless, was definitely pretty, and framed by a golden blonde mane that, if not as long, flowing, or luxorious as Whinny's might have been, seemed more... real. Whinny might have been ethereally beautiful, but this pony's beauty was much more down to earth, somewhere between 'country-mare pretty' and 'noble beauty'. Her coat was a light tan color. She was definitely bigger than the average pony, but she wasn't scary anymore, now that Creepy could see her face.

Sadly, one of the mare's cheeks was badly swollen, apparently from Theodora's impact. It seemed impossible that a teddy bear could do that kind of damage, but given what had happened to Whinny, she supposed that different rules might apply where that bear was concerned...

Feeling bad, Creepy walked over to the weeping pony, and gave her a hug. After a moment, she said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."

The filly suddenly found herself swept up into a big, warm hug, as the nightmare exclaimed, "It's okay, I forgive you!" After a few warm, comfortable seconds, the pony turned Creepy around, then held her at foreleg's length. Smiling as bright as the sun, she said, "My name's Heddy! What's your name?"

"Ummmm... Creepy Crawly?" This... this was weird... Really, really weird...