Insanity caused by sanity

I sighed inwardly, careful not to let any of it out.

What was with that odd stallion in the corner? I swear, it's like he's leering at me. What did I do?

No matter that every time I look around he was busy in a conversation with a mare. No matter that whenever I had him in my sight he wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to me. I could feel the physical force of his gaze. It made my coat stand on end.

I stepped up to the counter, ordering my usual coffee, paying and quickly leaving to enjoy the rest of my day off. Coffee at three may seem odd, but it's better than falling asleep in your home and ruining your sleep schedule for who knows how long.

The stallion didn't follow. I guess he was just trying to scare me off. Not like I was even on his mare's radar, though. Maybe he just didn't like the way I looked?

He was a pegasus, too, so it wasn't a racial thing. Could it be?

I shook my head, trying to clear it of thoughts.

Walking down the street with my coffee balanced between my wings may seem unusual for a pegasus, but I liked the ground. It was direct and solid. It was a constant. I guess it's just something I grew to cherish while living in Ponyville.

I soon found myself walking into a park.

Nice, sunny day. Not too many others around. I should have brought a book or something.

I trotted around the park, looking for a bench or something to sit on.

I soon got that niggling feeling in my mind, though. you know, that one where something feels just slightly off? I tried to think it over, making sure that I had locked the apartment and kept my bits all on my person. I had, but there was still that feeling.

The two big points were through, so I decided to pass it off as something minor.

I didn't feel like worrying with it anyway. Now was the time for not being a downer! Only problem was I had no idea how to not worry about something. I'm used to worrying about everything that wasn't planned, because in Ponyville, those things turned into a disaster all the time and then some.

Why do I keep thinking of that town? I came here to get away from it.

Blowing air through my nose, I found a bench I liked and sat down.

It took all of five seconds for something small, round and fast to rattle my brains.

Rubbing my head and looking down at the ball, I kicked it back at the colt who had missed his shot. He sheepishly grinned at me and left with his friend. At the time, I hadn't noticed, but the feeling in my head had left when that unexpected thing happened.

It was brilliant, really.

Something happens that I didn't plan on relieves my worry. Despite my intense desire to express my lack of knowledge as to how that would even work, I shall return to the story at hoof.

I sat back down sipping coffee and relieved to be enjoying my day again. It wasn't really a setback, just a minor annoyance I flicked away without so much as a casual thought.

Ah, yes. Trottingham was good.

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I hadn't even realized I'd fallen asleep on that bench, but I certainly realized it when I woke up.

It was just getting to sundown, with shadows slowly stretching across the ground. So much for avoiding a ruined sleep schedule. My stomach growled, clearly becoming aware that it had missed supper by an hour or two.

My coffee was empty, so I left the cup in a trash can by the bench and flew off, intent on getting back to my home.

In the few hours that I had been asleep, the odd feeling in my mind had returned, but it was only at the strength it was back at my job a few days ago. Small victories, right?

Anyway, I could almost swear that certain shadows were stretching just a bit faster than the rest. I really had to look to see it, but it must have been there.

Didn't help that a turned a corner and saw the pegasus from the coffee shop flying in the opposite direction as me, just a few feet higher than I was.

We glanced at each other, but he soon looked away and so did I. Still, that couldn't have been coincidence. Okay, it could have been, but I didn't think it was.

So, I made it to my home and locked the door behind me when I went in.

Small victories against the outside world, locks. Able to keep all but a few things in or out with but a small click. Unless it was either kicked or broken with brute force, in which case, buck.

I let out a breath, assured that whatever else was happening, I was safe.