Incident I: The Coffee Maker
Echoing
By: Aynine
Incident I: The Coffee Maker
She changed back then. I don't know what, or how, but she became somepony else... She was still the same mare I loved, but at the same time... she was somepony I no longer knew. One day, something within her started to unravel, and slowly, bit by bit, what was revealed was a demon that I never thought could exist. And it consumed her.
***
I remember the first time she snapped at me, the first sign of change. Despite our careers and status as celebrities, our home life was quiet. We always had a harmony between us, even with our different taste in music, and I can't remember the last time we had a serious fight. Well, until all of this happened, that is. We loved each other very much and life was perfect. But somehow, it seemed as if what twisted everything up made it all seem surreal.
Winter had begun and both of us had the day off. No plans. Just sleep in and relax at home. The late morning light was somewhat welcome as it hit our eyes. I rolled over and gave her a kiss before swimming out of the sheets and blankets of the bed. After getting ready for the day, I sat down and enjoyed a nice cup of coffee while reading the newspaper. She went to grab a cup after me and that was when the change started.
"Did you break the coffee maker?" she asked.
Without taking my eyes off the newspaper I replied, "No. Did it die again?" I wasn't prepared for what came next.
I remember my eyes faintly absorbing an article about a fancy new restaurant opening when the print smashed into my face. Hard. I toppled backwards in my chair, blinded by pain, before I knew what hit me. An angry flurry of words came my way as tears welled in my eyes and blood ran out of my nose. I rolled over and picked myself up off of the floor, noticing shards of glass around me. She had thrown the coffee pot at me.
"You need to get off your lazy flank and get another one! I don't work so you can sit at home. You could at least make yourself useful and make sure our coffee maker works!"
I was stunned, or would've been had I not still been dazed by the glass colliding with my face. I held a trembling hoof to it and moaned. "What the hay was that for? It's not my fault the coffee maker broke. We use it every day!" I yelled back, my body in shock.
There was a brief moment where we glared at each other, but whatever contempt she just held for me melted in an instant as she gasped, her hooves clasping over her mouth as horror took hold of her features. She grabbed a towel and ran over to me. There was a moment as she got close where I flinched and pulled away, but she slowly brought the towel up to my nose, gently dabbing away the blood.
"I'm so sorry! I don't know what got into me. I'm really sorry. I just... I'm sorry. I'll clean this mess up and buy a new coffee maker."
"I-Is everything alright?" I shakily asked. "Are you stressed about work?"
"I... yes," she replied, moving to grab another towel and the broom. "It's been so... crazy lately."
I didn't know how to respond to her outburst, so I let it go. "While you clean this up, I'll go buy a new coffee maker," I said, my body wanting to get away from that situation.
"Alright," she said, not looking at me. I grabbed some things before heading out the door, but I stopped to cast a worried glance at her. She had never acted like that before. Thankfully, the pain in my face had begun to subside and I stepped outside the door.
"What was that all about?" I muttered to myself after the door to our apartment closed. Not even in my wildest dreams could I have ever seen something like that happening. I walked to the store, my worry and trembling fading with each step I took. Even after the shock had passed, there was a doubt beginning to well within me. I mulled over the events as best I could, finally asking myself, Did I do something wrong? Was it my fault?
I shook away the feelings, assuring myself that it wasn't my fault and she simply had a bizarre reaction from stress. Nonetheless, I hung my head in thought as I walked to the nearest store, careful not to draw the attention of any fans I might have on the streets. Fall had settled in now, and I was thankful it had not yet become cold outside; I'd left any warmer articles at home.
Stepping into the store, I quickly located the nearest coffee maker, grabbing it and flipping it around to scan all of its features. This will do, I thought. As I turned to head for checkout, I hesitated. She won't be mad if I get this one, right? I shook my head again. Ridiculous. What would she be mad for? It was just a one time occurrence.
As I purchased the coffee maker and made the trek home, a winding breeze bristled my fur. I quickened my pace to return home. With a sigh, I opened the door and walked inside, setting the new coffee maker in the kitchen. She had cleaned up the mess. I could hear music playing in one of the other rooms. She must be trying to calm down, I thought. I opened the door to her music room only to have my ears filled with the sounds of her favorite artist. I waited until the particular song finished before getting her attention.
"Hey," I started weakly. "I'm back from the store." She turned and beamed to me.
"I cleaned up the mess. I'm sorry about... earlier."
I felt better hearing her apology, and the softness in her voice made me finally cast away all of my earlier worries. I stepped closer to her and hugged her. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
Author's Note
10/26/2014 - Publishing.
I've had this story idea on my mind for a while. Something short and simple. I've always wanted to do first person, though I'm sure I have much to improve on. Feel free to offer your perspectives and critique.
More info in the blog post.
PS: In case anyone was wondering, it's not related to my defunct and abandoned story "All & Nothing". They have entirely different intents.
Incident II: The Appointment
By: Aynine
Incident II: The Appointment
Things were normal again over the next month, and I was glad she had no more outbursts. I dreaded the thought of us fighting and one of us ending up out in the cold winter night, brooding. By now, my worries of another occurrence had long since passed, but that just made the next time all the more jarring.
She had an important dinner appointment set with her manager in the evening and insisted I had to be there. While she was out prior to it, I was at home practicing and said I would meet her there, but I guess I lost track of time. I glanced at a clock before realizing I would be a bit late. Five minutes or so is no big deal, I thought, but I raced out the door anyway, hoping to mitigate my tardiness.
I arrived at one of the nice restaurants we usually conducted our business at to see her standing outside, a scarf wrapped around her neck and her forelegs crossed over her chest. "Hey... sorry... I'm... late," I said between pants. She shot me a fierce glare before speaking.
"Where have you been? I've been standing around waiting for you!" she scolded with tufts of mist escaping her lips.
"Whoa. I'm not even that late," I said in my defense.
"Are you kidding me with this!?" She stamped her hooves and got in my face. She had never done anything like this before, and I nervously took a step back. "You have the nerve to make me wait for an important meeting, but it's okay because you're not even that late?"
Ponies had started to stop and stare and I tried to ease the conversation back down. "Look, I'm sorry. Can we not do this right now?"
For a moment, I didn't think that would work, but she gave me a disgusted look before huffing and heading inside. I glanced around at the onlookers and rubbed the back of my head, completely embarrassed about the scene we had made. Collecting myself, I quickly trotted into the restaurant after her. To my relief, she was seated and already speaking with her manager. Though she was smiling and chatting with him calmly, as if what had just occurred never happened, it bothered me. She glanced at me while maintaining her casual, upbeat demeanor, but I felt I could see glaze of disappoint in her eyes. You're going to get it later, it told me.
I took a seat, offering my apologies and making up a believable excuse. Her manager seemed to be oblivious as to what had just transpired outside, and the entire dinner went smoothly. When we finally parted ways with her manager, we walked home in silence. She didn't even look at me once until the door to our apartment closed behind me.
"Is everything alright with... us?" I asked nervously. I approached her and put a comforting hoof on her shoulder, but she lurched away. My body became unnerved, trembling as the situation unfolded.
"Of course it's not alright!" She whirled around and got in my face again. This time, I was afraid of her. I had never seen her so confrontational, let alone so angry. "You almost blew an important meeting for me!"
"Couldn't you have just started without me?" I had hoped to use logic for reasoning here, but she immediately found a justification for why that was unacceptable.
"It's about appearances! If my marefriend isn't there to support me when they're supposed to, how does that look?"
I started to lose my cool and shouted back. "Calm down! Where is this coming from? You've never been this upset before for anything like this!" I reached for her as I lowered my voice, instantly guilty for raising it at all. "I know this was a big deal and I'm sorry, but you're overreacting..."
"Over—Overreacting!?" She smacked my hoof away and spun around, heading for our bedroom. "Unbelievable. Just go away. I don't even want to see you right now!"
I opened my mouth to call after her, but she slammed the door so hard that that I jumped. Following after her, I neared the door only to find damage to the frame. I could hear her muttering just on the other side, but I decided it was best to leave her alone and let her calm down. This had happened before, so I was sure she would come around later.
I followed her wishes and went for a walk to clear my head. This was the second time she had become unglued in as many months, and it frightened me. Wind started to chill me, and I had become so absorbed in my own thoughts that I hadn't noticed night was settling in. I shivered not from the cold, but from how I felt when she blew up at me. When I got back to our apartment door, I hesitated to open it. A part of me didn't want to go in. I didn't want to face her. For an instant, I felt unwelcome in the home we shared. I pushed aside that feeling and opened the door to silence.
I closed it behind me as delicately as I could before maneuvering quietly through the dark, hoping I wouldn't encounter my marefriend in her angered state. I found her sleeping peacefully, and I took solace in that. I wanted to talk to her about what happened, but I dared not wake her now. Sighing, I slipped into bed beside her as carefully and quietly as I could. As I laid facing away from her, my thoughts ran wild. Did I really risk messing this up for her? Was it my fault? I fell asleep trying not to think about it.
When I awoke the next morning, there was a blissful moment I had forgotten about our fight. I entered the kitchen to get some coffee and saw that she had beat me to it. I stopped as she used it and wondered for a moment if she might throw the pitcher at me again. I was relieved when she turned around with only a cup of coffee. As I stepped past her, she put a hoof on me and I flinched.
"I'm sorry about last night. You were right. I was overreacting."
"Y-Yeah," was my weak reply. I couldn't bring myself to tell her it was alright. It wasn't alright. Her behavior was scaring me and I didn't know how to tell her. I was afraid it might be too soon after this last incident to broach the subject, so I dropped it for now.
Author's Note
11/3/2014 - Fun Fact: I got hiccups trying to read this aloud for the final edit and proofing. I'm still stuck with them as I upload this. :(
