A Nightmare on Rumble's Street (Unfinished) by Nomine

 

(05/01/2018 - 12/01/2018)

 

 

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The day was bright and clear, sunshine cascading down in rippling waves, seeming to color the entire town of Ponyville with its golden beams. The sky was clear, not a cloud to be seen. A rainbow-maned pegasus had cleared them all away that morning in just eleven seconds (she just woke up from a nap). Even the temperature was amazing, not too warm, not too cold, just perfect for a lazy day spent out of doors with ones friends. Yes, Celestia had conspired to make this an awesome summer’s day!

 

Of course, all this mattered very little to the grumbling filly currently trapped in a colt’s closet. “Stupid Celestia with her stupid Sun.” Violet groused to herself, curling up tighter, wedged under a shelf. “Can’t even get over to the filly I wanted to scare and who really deserves it! Nooo, I’m stuck here in this stupid closet with these stupid old toys. And I can’t even play with them!” she muttered.

 

All this was, of course, said in near silence. One did not gain the title of Boogeymare by getting caught so easily, after all, no matter that one time in Manehatten. Violet shuddered at the memory of that morning, a spectral hoof going back to rub her equally spectral flank. Sometimes, in the middle of the day, she swore she could STILL feel the ghostly pain of that hairbrush smacking down.

 

“Focus, Violet.” She scolded herself, wrenching her thoughts back to the present. “We need to make a plan. The plan needs to be thought out. The plan needs to be cool. We need to figure out how to get from here to there without being seen.” She said, the filly talking to herself as she always did…it helped to keep the loneliness away.

 

“Okay, so…EEP!” she yipped as she heard a thunderous crash of the bedroom door, the filly immediately melting into the shadows. And not a moment too soon! The closet door flew open and a small pegasus colt, about eight or nine, gray and…really kinda cute…rushed inside, holding a stack of magazines in his mouth. Looking all around, the colt then spotted the shelf she was hiding beneath, and shoved the magazines under there, nodding to himself before shutting the door and rushing back out, the sound of scampering hooves fading down the hallway

 

Now Violet was very curious indeed, and unlike many she had never heard the old saying about cats and curiosity, so she had no reason to let it go unsated. Instead she slowly reformed herself, taking a look at one of the magazines, opening it up before shutting it in disgust.

 

“Ugh…what is it with boys and looking at pictures of mares in clothes? What even is this thing called…Playcolt? Who even thought of that stupid name…” she said, the sanctimonious little filly shaking her head as she smiled. “Butttt….at least it gives me a target for tonight. Someone’s been a naughty little pony indeed…and naughty little ponies get EEEP!”

 

Once again the bedroom door slammed open and she melted away, though this time the hoof-falls of the colt were followed by much heavier stomps. “RUMBLE! GET BACK HERE!!!” the older stallion shouted. “I swear, little brother, when I find out where you hid them…”

 

“I didn’t take them, Thunderlane!” came the returning shout, and Vi carefully slithered her way to the crack beneath the door, peeking out to see what was going on. Through the crack, she saw the young colt..Rumble, was it…arguing with an older teenager, jet black. That had to be Thunderlane…and maybe the magazines were his?

 

Their next words confirmed her suspicions. “I know you took my magazines! Where did you hide them?! Colts like you shouldn’t even know what those are!” Thunderlane shouted, only for Rumble to put on an innocent face.

 

“Thunder, I didn’t take them, I don’t even know what you’re talking about. Maybe you just misplaced them somewhere? Your room’s pretty messy…” Rumble said, shaking his head, still with the practiced look of innocence. Unfortunately for him, Thunderlane wasn’t buying it.

 

“I know you took them, don’t play innocent with me!” he snapped,the older stallion reaching over onto Rumble’s dresser and grabbing the hairbrush, waving it menacingly. “And if I find proof…if I see one of them turn up not where I might have left it…I’ll take this hairbrush to your flank myself!”

 

THAT threat caused Rumble to scoot back more than a bit, hooves going to cover his bottom. “Y…You wouldn’t! Mom would spank you too! Even harder!” he said.

 

“And then I’d tell Mom you stole my magazines, and tell her about that time you stole some candy from Barnyard Bargains and I went in and covered for you.” Thunderlane snapped back, the older stallion grinning from ear to ear. “So you’d best hope I don’t find proof you took them. I know you did it. Best just come out and confess, Rumble…I’ll make the spanking easy if you do.”

 

Rumble just sat there, still shaking his head. “I didn’t do it, Thunder, honest!” he said, backing himself into a corner to save his bottom from that dreaded hairbrush.

 

Thunder sat there for about a minute, looking down at his brother, before nodding. “Maybe I’m off my hinges, but I believe ya, little bro.” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t know why I suddenly do…but you’re right, my room IS pretty messy. I probably just lost them in there. C’mon…let’s go. We don’t want to miss the hoofball game.” He said, reaching into the corner and scooping his brother up after tossing the hairbrush onto the bed.

 

Violet watched as the two brothers left the room, looking back at the magazines as it dawned on her what had really just gone on in there. Grinning from ear to ear now, the ghostly pony shook her head. “Oh, naughty naughty, Little Mr. Rumble. You’re in big trouble now…I’m staying here tonight for sure…” she said, hunkering down to wait for nightfall…and more importantly, for Rumble’s bedtime.

 

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It had been many long hours indeed since all the hullabaloo with Rumble and the magazines. Long, boring, mind-numbingly tedious hours of nothing but waiting for the sun to set and Rumble to be put to bed by his mama.

 

Not that Violet had waited that entire time, no ma’am! Even a bogeymare had to have some entertainment, after all. And, snooping a bit in Rumble’s closet, she had finally found a toy she could play with quietly, and a nice big stack of comic books! She had pulled her old stuffed bunny out of his hiding spot, given him a big snuggle, then tugged over what had to be Rumble’s old plushy for a snuggle as well.

 

That done, the Violet mare had settled in to read comics for hours on end, enraptured by the adventures of the Power Ponies. At one point, with a giggle, she had turned to her bunny. “Shame you’re not in there, Mr. Hiphop. You coulda given that Mane-iac a real bad Hare Day.” she quipped, only for him to fall over from where he was sitting, one stuffed paw patting her rump.

 

“Aw c’mon. It wasn’t that bad!” she giggled, then settled in to read a little bit more. Finally, after they had made it through five issues of Power Ponies, three Supermares, and two issues of Teen Titans, she heard the door to the bedroom open and immediately moved to put everything back the way she found it, giving Rumble’s old toy a last snuggle...she had seen Toy Story, she knew they were alive, and needed love.

 

Peeking out the closet door, she saw the pajama-clad little colty being snuggled and hugged by his Mama, the dropseat to his pajamas having fallen open and making her giggle. His mama was preening his wings as he wriggled, plucking feathers and at one point giving his rear end a warning slap.

 

“There we go, sweetie.” Mama said as she smiled. “All done. Now, snuggle under the covers and I’ll read to you...I know you want to hear more of the Harry Trotter book Thunderlane gave you for Hearth’s Warming…” she coaxed, smiling as she held it up. Violet almost screamed with joy herself...it was the very first one, and she had already heard the second and third!

 

Her words were rewarded with immediate obedience from a certain colt, the gray boy diving under the covers and snuggling down immediately as his mama laughed, picking up the book and beginning to read. “Ahem, Chapter Seven , The Sorting Hat.”

 

Violet listened in herself, enraptured by the story, sympathizing with the main character very much as she remembered her own nervousness at first using her strange magic. Idly as well, she wondered which house she’d be sorted into if she wore the hat, a thought echoed as Rumble looked up at his Mama.

 

“Mama? What house do you think Thunder and I would be in?” Rumble asked as the mare finished the chapter and marked their place with a bookmark.

 

“Hmm...well, you and your brother certainly aren’t in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, if your grades and messy rooms are anything to go by.” Mama teased, and Violet giggled a bit. “In fact, I’d say you were both Gryffindor, since you have to be very brave indeed to smart off to me like you two do.” she said.

 

With that, Mama leaned down for a final kiss to Rumble’s forehead, nuzzling her errant son before she trotted out the door. “Goodnight, sweetie.” she said.

 

“Goodnight, mommy…” he replied, jerking Violet out of her stupor as the lights were turned off and the colt curled up. Enough lollygagging, there was work to be done! This colt had been very naughty indeed and deserved a good nightmare for his misbehaviors.

 

With that in mind, Violet waited for another hour or so, until the noises of the house had stilled and Rumble was fully asleep, then crept out of the closet, quiet as a mouse, sneaking up on the sleeping colt’s bed and preparing to pounce.

 

Once she got there though, she noticed something odd indeed. He was wriggling and whining in his sleep, talking a little. “Thunder no, I’m sorry…” he whined out, causing her to shake her head. These were symptoms she knew all too well, having caused them herself in many a foal. Rumble was already having a nightmare.

 

Violet sighed as she watched the wriggling colt in his bed, sitting back on her haunches and resting her head on a hoof. Idly, she sampled his fear from his bad dream, not taking enough to alleviate the nightmare…Luna only knew he deserved it for his actions…but enough to get a taste. “Hm…bit heavy on the terror, good balance of general fear…oh, is that horror I detect…yum.” she thought, then noticed another flavor, one she knew all too well. “Blind panic…That can’t be right…” she said, then made the decision on the spot.

 

Three steps left, six steps right, three steps back again…a twist and a turn and a sidestep through the veil, and Violet found herself on the ground of the dreamscape, staring at the bubble containing this little colt’s nightmare. Without a second thought, in she went, dropping her filly shape and assuming the form of a proper Nightmare as she went!

 

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“Thunder, NO!” Rumble cried out as his brother chased him through the halls of their home, waving a giant hairbrush studded with holes like a paddle, one that bent and whipped like a belt. “Come here, Ruumble! Come on, or I’m gonna tell Mom about all the bad things you’ve done and you’re never gonna sit down again! You’ll get five hundred different spankings a DAY!” Thunderlane called, snapping the giant tool down across those flanks.

 

Rumble screamed as he felt his bottom catch on fire, feeling the burn spread all over his hind end as he fled…or, at the very least, tried to flee. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t run. He was being pulled back to Thunderlane! Thunderlane was grinning. Now he was being pulled across Thunderlane’s lap!

 

Rumble flailed his hooves and cried out again. “No! Thunderlane, I’m sorry! Please don’t spank me!” he begged, but his brother didn’t care. That hellish implement crashed down against his backside again, the holes making it whip down faster so it hurt even more!

Down and again the nightmarish implement cracked into his flank, before, suddenly, inexplicably, it stopped. Looking up at his brother, Rumble rubbed his flank…and then saw a monstrous creature standing in front of him, all fangs and claws and milky-white dead eyes.

With a jolt and a scream, Rumble woke up, only to find a paw over his mouth and that same creature staring down at him.

 

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Violet slipped back out of the dreamrealm after waking the colt up, putting her claws across his lips and shaking her head. “Shhh. You had a bad dream. And I woke you up.” She told him, with many years experience guiding her words. “But bad dreams come from doing bad things…” she started to say, only for him to push her claws away and scream as loud as he possibly could.

 

“MOMMY! THERE’S A ONSTER IN MY ROOM!!!” he cried, causing both Gusty and Thunderlane to burst in after a minute or so, both of them passing right by Violet as she sighed. It usually happened like this when she had to wake one up. Idly, she just slipped into the closet again to wait it out…easier if he couldn’t point to her, after all.

 

Inside, she heard “Mommy” and Thunderlane consoling the colt. The usual stuff