I slept in relative peace until something seemed wrong. I was no longer sleeping on the soft surface Fluttershy’s bed, and instead felt hard ground. I opened my eyes, and there I was, lying in a forest clearing. This was, however, no ordinary field. The grass was orange and the trees were purple with blue leaves. As I rose to my hooves and stretched, I realized I was dreaming. I looked up to a blue sky and saw dual suns, but they gave no warmth. That, I found odd as everything else was real enough, from the grass underhoof to the breeze blowing through my mane.

I gathered myself, and upon seeing if I was lucid, I was most certainly not. When I tried to fly, I found my wings to be missing. When I tested my strength by bucking a tree, I was shaken instead of knocking it down, as was my intent. ‘How ironic that in the one place that I could truly be a god, I am stranded as a weak, mortal earth pony.’ I thought with a small chuckle as I regained my bearings. I looked around, and upon seeing a small checkered path nearby, I decided it would be best to follow it. This obviously was not going to be a fun “Do whatever the hell you want” dream. One doesn’t have a sense of time in a dream, as an in-dream minute could be a month in reality, and vice versa, so I should not dally.

I trotted along the path at a reasonable pace, passing a few oddities (likely born from fractures in my psyche) such as a juggling minotaur, flying, dancing sausages, and a lobster playing a bass guitar. Very queer indeed.

Further down the road, I met a burly squirrel who was blocking the path. Conveniently, the shrubbery had grown so dense so that passage around the squirrel was impossible. As I drew near, the squirrel pointed a furry finger at me and asked with a tangy drawl not unlike Applejacks:

“Are you Dirty Dan?” I blinked a few times before responding:

“Cry your pardon, but I do not understand the question. I was expecting a riddle… in this a riddle?”

“Are. You. Dirty. Dan.”

“No. My name is Red Storm.” Upon hearing this, the squirrel shrugged before exploding into flames. I leaped back, startled, but returned to my normal stance as the fire died down. All that remained of the squirrel was a pile ash, and I couldn’t help but feel bad for it. That is, until I remembered that this is a dream, promptly stepping over the ashes to continue. As I continued on my way, the trees slowly cleared forth before disappearing entirely, cobblestone taking place of the grass. I also noticed it was growing darker. Upon searching the sky for the reason, I noticed that the once blue sky was now a dreadful crimson, filled with black clouds. ‘This does not bode well,’ I thought, as I entered what appeared to be Ponyville.

The new red lighting brought on an eerie feeling of dread to the town, and the shadows cast from the clouds danced alone the once cheery streets, causing me to look over my shoulder more than once. As I walked along, alert of movement or sound, something caught my attention. Down the street, I saw what appeared to be another pony, hopping and skipping to the tune of some unknown song. As the figure approached, I could more clearly see a bouncing pink mane. Pinkie Pie. However, upon closer inspection, I soon realized this was not the Pinkie Pie I had come to know and love(?).

This Pinkie Pie wore a red jumpsuit, with a large air canister on her back, paired with a gasmask that somehow allowed her mane to flow freely while concealing her entire face. As she skipped closer, I heard her singing a tune, but due to the mask, it came out as muffled “Mmphs”. Something else I noticed was that she was being followed by… a balloon. It was in the shape of a pink unicorn, and floated idly by her shoulder. “Balloonicorn” was the only word that came to mind when I saw this… thing. I simply stared in disturbed silence as the mare hopped right up to me. She stopped, looked at me sideways, and pulled out a cupcake, which she then offered to me. I took it reluctantly, and she started to hop off again. The Balloonicorn stared at me as she left… it stared at me. Anyways, as soon as she and that devilish balloon were out of sight, I examined the cupcake she gave me.

It was a cyan blue with rainbow icing on top. I sniffed it, and there was something about it that seemed irresistible, yet odd. I took a bite into it, and I immediately spat it out. A red liquid seeped out of the cupcake where I bit it. ‘Blood…’ I thought with disgust as I tossed the cupcake to the side. I searched for the twisted mare who gave me the gory treat, but she was long gone, and the blood was beginning to pool around the discarded cupcake, staining its cyan blue form sanguine.

I began to trot again, now wondering if this was simply an aimless exploration of my psyche, when I heard a familiar voice sound from behind me.

“Red Storm… Wait!”

I spun around to face the owner of the voice, and about forty paces behind me stood the mare from my Funeral nightmare. Without thinking, I ran in the opposite direction of the mare at a full sprint. I kept running until I was out of the pseudo-Ponyville and into a new area of my dreamland. A rather unnerving forest with dead trees all around, but in such number that they made up for their lack of leaves with sheer volume of branches. In short, I was lost and couldn’t see buck. Suddenly, a raven flew down and perched itself on a nearby branch. I felt the odd need to speak to the black bird, so I asked it:

“Strange beast, what is thy name?” It simply sat there, before cawing:

“Nevermore.” Before I could comprehend its meaning, the ground disappeared, and I began to fall into oblivion. Amidst my filly-screaming, I decided to look down. I saw what appeared to be the dead forest, just miles below. Knowing I would surely die a brutal(and quite messy) death on impact, I calmed down and let myself fall. No need to die soiling myself. Then, after I straightened myself out, I noticed that an older stallion with a beard and an orange-and-purple suit was falling next to me. He was sitting at a tea table which was also falling at the same rate as us, and he was also sipping a teacup, waving for me to join him. I have dreamt some weird things, but damn! This tops it all. I paddled through the freefall to get to him, and sat down on the chair across from him. I then noticed we were coming no closer to hitting the ground, whilst obviously falling, so I decided it was good as time as any to answer some questions.

“Who are you?” I asked the strange and almost certainly mania-induced stallion.

“Who am I? Who are you? Who are we? And would you like a biscuit?” He answered with a thick Trottish accent. I blinked few times, startled by how odd he really was, and watched as he ate the biscuit he had just offered me. He was more than likely a manifestation of my madness, I realized.

“Would you happen to know what’s going on right now… us falling nowhere for instance?” I asked as he sipped tea floating in front of him in freefall.

“Why would I have any idea what’s going on, lass?” I flinched when he called me a “lass”, but I let him continue. “It’s your head! I’m but a humble figment of your maddened mind, making me mad too!” He paused to laugh before continuing. “Though I have one word of advice for you, seeing as you’re here to learn something: Trust nopony. You’re family’s out for your head, and in the end, there can be only one. You, or your father, I mean. When you realize the fact that one of you has to die, only then will your mind begin to mend itself. In the long run however,” he ran a hoof through his white mane, “That problem is just the tip of the iceberg of your many, many problems… then again, why should you listen to me? I’M COMPLETELY INSANE!” He laughed again before the table disintegrated and he began to fly away. “Gotta fly, and you’ve got an appointment! And remember, no matter what: DON’T LAND IN THE BROCCOLI!” Before I could find meaning to his madness, I looked down and found that the ground was rising rapidly to meet me. ‘Hello ground!’ was all that ran through my head as I landed in a broccoli patch, and the world exploded.

I opened my eyes and found that I was back in Fluttershy’s room. Something was not right, however, as when I searched the sheets for the mare, I found nothing. She could not have been up and about, as it was still nighttime. Suddenly, the door to her room exploded, and a huge, and I mean BUCKING HUGE stallion stood at the doorway. He had a long, scraggly beard, and long scraggly mane. He looked like a mountain of a pony, and was an earth pony too. I thought that even my father would have a hard time bringing down a pony as sturdy as this. He spoke, and I steeled myself:

“Yer a unicorn, Red Storm.” Was all he said. I looked at him sideways, and realized I was still dreaming. Then everything exploded… again.

I woke up again, and this time I felt a lump lying next to me. I relaxed and laid back in bed. However, when I shifted my weight, I found that the mass next to me rolled around. I took a deep breath, and turned on the lights. What met my eyes was a horrendous sight. Lying there, next to me, was Fluttershy’s head. She wore an expression of pure terror, and the blood was seeping into the white sheets, turning them a bright red. I screamed. And screamed, until my throat was raw.

I was shaken awake, and Fluttershy was leaning over me.

“Red Storm! Are you ok? You sounded terrified! You just kept screaming in your sleep… what’s wrong?” I looked into her eyes, before holding her close.

“I dreamt that I had lost you. That you were dead. I… I was so worried.” She smiled lightly before responding:

“It’s ok now, Red Storm. I’m here. I’m alive. And nopony’s going to hurt me, because I know you will protect me.” I also couldn’t help but smile as she said this. I was now her protector, and I wouldn’t let anypony hurt her. She snuggled up against my chest, and I closed my eyes once more. Then… I felt a light ‘whoosh’ of air hit my nose. My eyes flew open, and Fluttershy’s were already open. She stared into my eyes, burning holes into my very soul. Then, she began to cough up blood. I lay there, shocked as blood gushed from her mouth, spattering onto my muzzle and chest. Before she collapsed, she said one thing:

“Red Storm…” Then the life drained from her eyes, and they shut forever. The smell of blood reached my nostrils, and a tear formed in my eye. I saw a gaping wound in her back, blood gushing from it like a fountain, and all I thought was: ‘I failed you before I could even begin to protect you… my Fluttershy…’ From the darkness behind her, I saw a new pair of eyes. Red as blood, slit like a cat’s, and glowing with evil. My father stepped out of the dark, and into the light. He wore a smile across his face, and he had a look of satisfaction.

“You… killed her… you killed her… I WILL KILL YOU FOR THIS!” I roared as I flung myself at him. With the speed of a daemon, he sidestepped me, grabbed the back of my head, and threw me against the wall. Wood splinters showered me as I hit the hard surface face-first, and I felt my nose break. As I got to my hooves, blood streamed down my mouth and chin. I stared at Red Wing with the fury of a hundred thousand revenants from hell, and heaved with all the hate that came with it, but he simply laughed.

“Foalish child! I raised you better than that. Do you really think you stand a chance against me? Even here, in your dreams, I can kill you again and again, and you wouldn’t even touch me.” I looked at him with burning hate, but also confusion. ‘Another dream? But… it’s so REAL. The smells, the pain…’ He obviously noticed.

“You don’t really think this is real, do you? I may have not found you yet, but believe me, I would do far worse to your beloved than that.” He motioned to the still-warm corpse of the yellow mare.

“I would rather die,” I said, gritting my teeth.

“Allow me to oblige you, then.” He shot forward, but before he could touch me, a blinding white light enveloped the room.

“ENOUGH!”

The image of my father was dispelled, and I found myself instead facing the mystery mare that has been following me. In the light, I could see her features much clearer. She was a dark blue, not black, alicorn dressed in a royal garb. I knew this to be the mare from my family’s dark history. The Princess of the Night. The Night Mare. The Princess of Dreams. Almighty Princess Luna. She then spoke to me.

“We are Princess Luna, and we have been trying to locate you all night.” I couldn’t help but blush at the fact that I had been unintentionally avoiding the Princess. “We are to guard the dreams of all in Equestria, and although there are other ponies in need of our aid, we found thine dreams most distressing of all. What ails thee, Red Storm?” she paused to think about something, before adding: “And who is thou, for that matter?” I stood tall, and wiped the blood from my face before responding:

“I am Red Storm, son of Red Wing, and heir to the Sanguine throne… and my ailment is of the conflicting emotions variety.” I finished this statement by falling back to my knees, lowering my head. The princess’ brow furrowed.

“Thou ist the descendant of Redmane?”

“Aye, that I am,” I said, not looking at her.

“Why is thou here?” she asked accusingly, not unlike how Twilight Sparkle had on our first meeting. I looked at her with a glare.

“To get away from my evil and corrupt family, your highness. With all due respect, but can we not talk about this?” She nodded slowly, and I returned my gaze to the ruined floor. “I’m not here to spy, or invade. I just wanted to get away from the bloodshed and lies and find a new home.” I turned to the gored body of Fluttershy. “And a new life with somepony that I care about. The problem is, that I’m afraid that my presence here may lead to her injury, or even her death.” Luna simply nodded before a flash of light bust from her horn, and engulfed the room. When it subsided, the room was clear of debris and Fluttershy was gone. She then put a hoof on my shoulder and spoke:

“While these fears have fertile ground to grow upon, as I know your family and their potential, it is up to thou to overcome them. For that is all these fears are. Fears. While we can make no promises, we can assure thou that if Red Wing does set his hoof on Equestrian soil, our sisters and our self will personally make sure that he is expunged. However, on the subject of thine love for another… that is beyond us. Perhaps it would be better for thou to speak to our sister Cadance? Otherwise we can impart no wisdom to thy, Red Storm… we have no experience in such a field.” I nodded to this, but the Princess continued.

“We can, however, shed light on your nightmare problem. Thouest mind cannot rest easy until thouest heart does! That is all we can say for now…” With that, she began to fade away. She added, with her voice echoing: “Until next time, Sanguine Prince. And perhaps on better terms.” She gave a wave, and I waved back until she had faded completely. I got up, walked across the room, and collapsed onto the bed.

I awoke again, but this time I knew I was truly awake. I was met with sunlight and the delightful smell of breakfast wafting through the air. And then my hangover kicked in. Nonetheless, I grinned as I walked down the stairs to see the mare I love.

“Thouest mind cannot rest easy until thouest heart does!”

‘I will keep that in mind, Night Mother Luna,’ I thought as I joined Fluttershy at the table. I gave her a huge hug, which surprised her, and sat down across from her. As she handed me a cup of the dreaded “Wake-up-juice” she gasped, and said:

“Red Storm! Your nose is bleeding! Are you ok?”

‘This does not bode well…’

Author's Notes:

Holy crap! Thought I would never get this done! I was actually going to release it sooner, but the bloody computer blue-screened and I just said 'buck it!' and waited 'till today to re-write it and post it. Hope you liked it! I'm gonna try to get some more out soon... also, Red Storm's bloody nose was from the dream. 'mind over body' and all that. NOT for the reason you were thinking, you dirty person.