Icarus (One Shot) by Dumoney


                                            >“You look tired anon, have you been sleeping well?”, asked Celestia.

                                            >Anons’ eyes drift up to the white monarch with heavy bags under his eyes.

                                            “I haven't been sleeping at all”, responds anon, exhaustion permeating his voice.

                                            >Celestia’s eyes widen in surprise

                                            >”Why not? Anon, you need your sleep”

                                            >His eyes look back down towards the floor, a flash of fear crosses his expression

                                            >Celestia notices, her demeanor switching from surprise to concern

                                            >She walks over towards a large, plush pillow and takes a seat

                                            >”What is it you're afraid of, anon?” asked Celestia with a soothing tone.

                                            >Anon takes notice of the invitation

                                            >anon stands up and joins Celestia at the plush pillows near the crackling fireplace

                                            “Is it that obvious?”

                                            >Celestia says nothing, and instead closes her eyes for a brief moment and subtly nods her head


                                            >Anon wrings his hands together before formulating his answer

                                            “Please don’t be upset with me.”

                                            >Celestia tilts her head before responding, ”Anon, you’ve been through so much, and I'm sorry you’re in so much pain. I only wish to help dull that pain, even for just a moment.”

                                            >Anon knows this, and he still finds it hard to confide in her.

                                            >”One step at a time”, Anon thinks to himself.

                                            “I'm afraid…” he croaks softly.

                                            >Celestia flashes him a small smile and stays silent, awaiting his answer.

                                            “I'm afraid…of…her.” Anon squeaks out as his eyes dart toward a tapestry on the wall.

                                            >A tapestry of a black splotch with a white Crescent moon in the center.

                                            >Celestia’s eyes follow anon’s and she closes her eyes

                                            >”I understand anon. Many ponies fear my sister.” she says with tenderness in her voice.

                                            >Anon looks back at Celestia with bewilderment

                                            “You…don’t seem surprised.” Anon says.

                                            >”The fear? No, unfortunately I am familiar with ponies being afraid of her. It's where your fear comes from that perplexes me.” Celestia says with trepidation.

                                            “Right…that. I should probably explain. It's only polite.” anon says with growing resolve.

                                            >Celestia stays silent, a warm smile on her face.

                                            >He thought of her


                                            “When I arrived in this world, I had nothing. Nothing that was truly mine. Not even these clothes are mine…”

                                            >Anon takes a deep breath and looks at his hands…

                                            “I lost everything. All I had left were my own thoughts and dreams.”

                                            >Celestia noticed that last word and flinched a little.

                                            >”Dreams…” Celestia said under her breath.

                                            “Every so often I would dream about being back home, or is it a nightmare? It was hard to tell sometimes.” Anon chuckled.

                                            “I started noticing ponies in my dreams. Well, one pony. I figured it was just from being here. But I don’t remember seeing her anywhere else.”

                                            >Celestia closed her eyes and frowned slightly as she listened to anon’s words.

                                            ”I get it. She’s the Princess of the Night. Defender of dreams or something like that.”

                                            >”Anon, I…” Celestia began before she was cut off with a raised hand.

                                            “I need to say this, Celestia. Please.” Anon said with a bit of desperation.

                                            >Celestia held her tongue as Anon sighed deeply and continued on.

                                            “I know it's normal for ponies, but for humans…for me…the content of our dreams are incredibly personal and intimate parts of our lives. She broke that.”

                                            >Anon pauses for a moment to let the thought sit, trying and failing to read what Celestia is thinking.


                                            “In my world, there is a movie that is famous worldwide…”

                                            >Anon paused as he noticed Celestia’s confusion.

                                            “Sorry, motion picture. It's like a book you can watch, sort of. Anyway, this movie is called Nightmare on Elm street. A story of a villain who Hunts people. It's famous for being scary and suspenseful.”

                                            >Celestia didn’t show it, but she didn’t like where his analogy was going.

                                            “The bad guy’s name is Freddy Krueger. He hunts his victims by invading their dreams and tormenting them to death.”

                                            >...

                                            “What makes him so scary is that we eventually HAVE to go to sleep. There is no escaping him.”

                                            >Celestia finally understood what Anon was getting at. Genuine sadness began to form on her once soft expression.

                                            “That's the kind of power she seems to have. In my world, it's all fake. We can laugh about it and sleep soundly afterwards. But here, it's real…and more terrifying than I could have imagined. She could do whatever she wants, see whatever she wants, and I can’t stop her…” Anon says as a tense quiet permeates the room.

                                            >Moments pass before Celestia finally breaks the silence, “Are you afraid of me, Anon?”

                                            >Anon looks back up at her again, looking deeply into her soft Magenta eyes.

                                            “Yes…”

                                            >She flinches away from Anon at that moment…

                                            “And no.”


                                            >Celestia relaxes once he finishes his answer. ”Thank you for being honest with me. That was very brave of you.”

                                            >Anon smirks a little at her words. She always seems to know what to say.

                                            “Pathetic, isn’t it?” Anon says with a hint of sarcasm.

                                            >Celestia didn’t appreciate that. “No Anon, definitely not. I have stories of my own.”

                                            “Maybe you can share them with me sometime?” Anon asked as he began to relax.

                                            >”Maybe Anon, but for now, I must ask. I hope you can trust me?” she asks with caution.

                                            “I don’t think I could have told you all that if I didn’t.” Anon replied.

                                            >”May I?” Celestia asked as she extended out a lustrous white wing towards Anon.

                                            >Anon nods his head in affirmation

                                            >He watches as Celestia scoots over next to Anon and drapes the wing over his back.

                                            >She doesn’t pull him in for a hug, but the gesture isn’t lost on Anon.

                                            >It's comforting.

                                            >They both stay like this for some time before Anon finally speaks up again.

                                            “Thank you, Princess”

                                            >”Celestia is fine as well, Anon.” Celestia calmly replied.

                                            “I know” Anon responds with a smirk.

                                            >Anon yawns loudly and rubs his eyes.

                                            >Celestia giggles a little, “Would you like to get some sleep?”

                                            “No, but I don’t know how much longer I can stay awake.” Anon said, rubbing his eyes.


                                            >”I’ll be here with you, if that’ll help?” she said.

                                            “I think I’d like that, but there are probably more important things you need to do.” Anon said through a squint.

                                            >Celestia turned her head towards the door, “Guard!”

                                            >Not but a moment, a white Pegasus stallion with a deep blue mane, clad in gleaming golden armor, appeared in the doorway.

                                            >”Yes Princess!” the guard said, with practiced speed and discipline.

                                            >”Find Raven Inkwell, and have her clear my schedule for the rest of the evening.” Celestia said politely, but firmly.

                                            >The guard responded with a salute, before turning away and leaving back out the room.

                                            “You're something.” Anon said, as sleep began to take him.

                                            >Celestia replied with nothing but a warm smile as Anon began to lie down.

                                            >It was the best night’s sleep he had in a long time.