Bunkroom Rules

Rainbow Dash trotted into the bunkroom with the too-long sign: “Pony Rainbow Dash… end me… vs. The Garfield Show… scary eat.”

A giant poster showed a orange cartoon cat with a grin that looked a little too hungry.

“Quick nap. Then I fly,” she said, flipping her phone timer to ten minutes.

She hopped onto the bed and yanked up a thick blue blanket.

The blanket snapped back like it had elbows.

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash grabbed a corner.

“Don’t,” the blanket said, voice scratchy like dry leaves.

Rainbow Dash froze, wings half-open.

“Uh… blankets don’t talk.”

“I do,” it whispered, and slid away

The Second Hand Smile

Rainbow Dash sprang for the blanket again.

The thick blue blanket whipped up and dropped over her head.

“Hey! Let go!” she shouted, stumbling off the bed.

It tugged hard. Rainbow Dash slid across the floor and out a side door into a tiny café. A bell jingled. Clocks ticked from every wall.

Behind the counter stood a bearded man in round glasses.

“A clockmaker,” Rainbow Dash gasped, kicking free.

“It is mine,” he said, pointing. “It won’t let anyone sleep.”

Her phone timer hit zero. BEEP-BEEP-BEEP.

“Good,” the blanket rasped. “If she sleeps, the orange cat will eat her dreams.”