Chapter 1
That day I'd first met her is a bit blurry in my mind- I can remember her clearly enough, and then, oddly enough, I'd let her into my house. I don't know what I was thinking, or if I'd had a bit too much to drink, and she was just a hallucination as a result of the booze. I knew it wasn't, though, because I specifically remember not being drunk, and I could feel the touch of her...somehow I just knew, I don't know the details. I'm honestly not sure why I'd let her in, or why I'd decided to show her even the slightest bit of hospitality. She looked like a monster, lying silently in the grass outside the wire fence surrounding my property. The darkness made it hard to make out any distinct features, the only remotely specific things I could make out was that it was tall, and its tired, slitted eyes shone like sapphires in the moonlight. I blush sometimes when I remember that I actually thought of them like that, even more so when I finally managed to get her inside and got a good look at what she was wearing. The dress itself was almost black, ornate and finely decorated in every way, even going so far as to accentuate her curves. I can still remember the way the dark fur covering her entire body looked in the yellow glow cast by the table lamp set next to the couch she sat on, light and dark colliding as the thing just dozed on my couch, its short, rounded muzzle wrinkling as it slept. It had a singular, white stripe running from the roots in her scalp all the way to the tip. Its voluptuous hair bounced as its head turned, facing the back of the couch as it shifted, making the furniture beneath it groan in response.
I sighed as I sat on the love-seat adjacent to the couch, watching the horned creature with interest, wondering what it was. I felt odd for staring at someone while they were asleep, but I couldn't help but stare- she was like...like...Aphrodite or something, from greek mythology. That...that was a bit of an overstatement now that I think about it...of course I've never seen Aprhodite, but this was what she probably looked like, if she ever existed. Tall, a bountiful chest, silky and voluminous hair, and just a generally captivating appearance. Minus the expansive wings, horn, and general...furriness. Point is, anyway, that she was beautiful, moreso than any other model on T.V. or in the newspaper advertisements. I realized that this thing, whatever it was, had hooves, forcing me to the conclusion that this...this...(person? Hybrid? What kind of thing is she, anyway?) was at least loosely connected with horses or something in its genetic...line? I think that's the right term.
Did that mean....ewwwww!!!!!!
The mare/woman/thing shifted in her sleep, forcing me out of my haze. I shook my head, and stood, rubbing my eyes as I began walking across the living room. Checking the locks on all the doors before heading to bed, I drew the curtains closed around the house, not wanting a nosy neighbor to find out I was housing a...a...
Anthro? Furry? The thought that she was a cosplayer or something crossed my mind, and I knew some of those people put effort into their costumes. If this was a cosplayer, she definitely went all out in her effort to appear as equine as possible. It was a possibility, though not a very likely one- if nothing else, the costume was too detailed. The dress itself was enough, but the rest of the thing was just too...too...over the top, I guess? She looked like she'd be something in a fantasy novel, a sorceress or something like that.
Rarity became remotely aware that something wet was being applied to her face. She assumed that one of her followers had actually taken initiative, and was attempting to rouse her. Water was being applied every so often by a wet rag, rubbing at her eyes and muzzle gently.
'We shall reward our servant for their actions,' a voice purred, filtering into her head 'many of them were much too cowardly.'
She knew the voice well, she shared this body with it, or rather her, after all.
'Indeed,' Rarity responded, feeling the rag brush at her forehead 'where do you suppose we are?'
'I haven't the slightest, I know nothing more than you.'
'I can feel ourselves waking.' Rarity observed.
'There was no need to alert me- I can feel it as well.'
Her eyes fluttered open, and the cloth formerly dabbing at her face withdrew itself, as if it were afraid.
"Wh- Who are you?" it asked, its roundish face full of fear "What are you?"
Rarity barely registered that the thing had spoken, much less the rag in its hand. It sounded like a mare, still young if her guess was correct. Her throat burned, rendering her unable to speak to the creature. She'd expected Nightmare to speak her piece, demanding she be respected as the queen that she was, ('queen' spelled with a capital 'Q', that is), and the like. There was no demand for respect, there was no threat on the creature's life, there wasn't even so much as an attempt to sway it to join her legion.
'Cat got your tongue?' Rarity thought, directing the question at the other.
'I find myself not capable of speech,' she stated 'if I was- this unbearable silence would not have lasted this long.'
'Ah, that would explain it.' Rarity thought, her tired expression still facing the thing.
'In case you've forgotten- I CAN hear you.' Nightmare huffed, indignant.
Rarity was about to reply, when the creature began to speak to her, nervously kneading the wet rag in her hands, droplets of water splashing against the carpet as a result. It was obvious that it'd never seen something like her before, if its wide, green eyes, and amazed expression was anything to go by.
"C-can you talk? You..you were just...um...asleep...and- and dirty...I th-thought I'd just...uh...clean you up a bit..."
Rarity nodded, answering the creature's question.
"You...you can?" the thing asked, its eyes going even wider- if such a thing were possible.
'Ignorant foal.' Nightmare stated.
Rarity ignored her, and tried to push herself up, only to have the thing rush over to her, persuading her to sit back.
'We may not have to convince this creature to join us, she seems so attentive already!' Nightmare chuckled.
"Please don't move," it said "I...I don't know how badly you're injured, if you're injured at all..."
Her arms burned as she attempted to lift them, mimicking writing with a quill on parchment. The thing thankfully understood, and scurried out of the room, rag still in hand.
'Quite an odd predicament we find ourselves in, isn't it?'
'None of this would've happened if I hadn't given in to you.' Rarity spat
'Yet you did; no sense crying over spilled milk.'
She could practically see the evil smirk on Nightmare's face, grinning deviously.
'Itcantalkitcantalkshecantalkshecantalk!!!'
That was the only thought that sped through my mind like a bullet as I desperately searched for paper and a pencil. I had no time to break the information down, no time to even check if this was actually, truly, happening.
'It is! It most certainly is!' my mind screamed back, refusing to believe anything else that logic threw in its face.
I tried to calm herself, at least enough to find the ever-important writing utensils for the creature. In the back of my mind, I also began to wonder why I was trying so hard to be nice to the thing. Of course I was being hospitable, but that only went so far! Was this thing like a siren? Somehow commanding her to do as it pleased?
'It's no wonder none of my friends come over...' I thought amusedly, finding my train of thought to be ridiculous.
But, if a possible, actual, winged unicorn was sitting in my living room...then who the hell was I to question what else might happen?
'One,' I thought to myself 'it's only one; I can handle one!'
I finally discovered a pad of notebook paper, hiding beneath some vanilla folders in a desk drawer. Tearing the protective, plastic packaging off, I immediately went to the kitchen, where a mug of miscellaneous pens and pencils sat at the ready. Picking out a #2 pencil, I discovered it to be unsharpened. Placing it back in the porcelain mug, I picked up a pen from the collection, and hurried back to the living room. The dark-coated thing looked up, a hand in its plentiful mane, still idly twirling a lock with its pointer finger.
"Um...th-this was all I c-could find..." I stammered, almost afraid to look the thing in the eye.
'What's wrong with you?' I asked myself as I got barely close enough for the woman/thing to take the pen and pad.
Her slitted eyes met mine, making me shudder. They bore into me, almost questioningly as she held up the pen, as if to say 'What in the blue hell am I supposed to do with this?'.
"I...what?" I asked, confused as to what she wanted "It's a pen."
She tilted her head, an ear flick, and then silence.
"You write with it." I stated, mimicking writing on the pad.
Still nothing.
"May I?" I asked, holding my hands out.
She hesitantly handed me both objects. Tapping the end of the pen, I began writing a short sentence out on the pad.
'Have mercy, if I have to teach this thing to write, I'll kill myself.'
Rarity watched as the creature sat on a small table, scribbling something out on a piece of lined parchment.
'Lined parchment!' Rarity thought to Nightmare 'So strange!'
'Yes, and no quills as well,' Nightmare responded 'such a pity we had to come to this backwater planet.'
'I wouldn't say it's exactly backwater- a bit more...less progressive than Equestria, perhaps.'
'I don't see how you could make that claim,' Nightmare said 'we haven't been outside yet, it could be a volcanic wasteland out there, for all we know.'
'Don't put such horrid ideas into my head,' Rarity replied 'I'd rather not have to think of what that would mean for the both of us.'
'We would be, as your rainbow friend would say, 'royally screwed'.'
Rarity winced, trying to push the thought of her friends out of her mind. She detested what she'd become, and they were forever separated because of it, because of her.
'Oh, come now,' Nightmare cooed 'a lady doesn't be ungracious to her host.'
Rarity lifted her head, it felt heavy, as if filled with lead. Managing to meet the creature's staring eyes, she found it holding the pad of parchment. On it, clearly written in black ink, were the words 'My name is Robin'.
I watched in fascination as the woman took the pad in her hands, and scrutinized it for a moment, reading what I'd written on the pad. She suddenly motioned for the pen, and I complied, handing it to her. This too, was apparently interesting to her, as she inspected the pen with a careful eye, as if inspecting it for blemishes or imperfections.
Her hand awkwardly curved around the writing utensil, and the pen pressed to the paper. It glided silently as I waited for what the woman had written (with baited breath, I'm a bit ashamed to admit).
Finally turning the pad around, I could see what she'd written below my handwriting. In elegant, loopy letters, it said:
'Mv lema as Resadv.'
Then right below that:
'Nirr neno aik Naijhdnero. Koer no.'
The longer I stared, the less sense the writing made. She must speak a different language, but...how would that work? She seemed to understand me just fine a few moments ago...maybe she was taking a wild guess? I don't know- all of this is making my brain hurt.
"Well, uh..." I stopped, unsure how to continue "there's a blanket."
I pointed to the love-seat, where a blanket hung over the back.
"You must be so tired, I know I am."
The woman only continued to stare, unblinkingly at me.
"I'm going to go to bed, my room is down the hall," I said, feeling awkward at the one-sided conversation "come and get me if you need anything."
With that, I left the room, leaving the woman to her own devices. Part of me was screaming that I should stay up until she goes to bed, and then go to sleep myself. I didn't listen. What'd happened already was enough to force myself into bed, and stay there until morning, come hell or high water.
Was I actually sure if she wasn't just some burglar? I shoved that thought out of my mind, if only how ridiculous it sounded. If she did steal something, I was okay with that, if only because I don't have anything of real value lying around the house. Face-down on the bed, I began to wonder if I'd wake up dead tomorrow, if the whole thing was actually an act to get me to fall asleep, and then she'd stab/shoot/whatever-the-hell-else in the middle of the night. Standing, I stood, and locked my bedroom door.
'There,' I thought 'and now-'
I fell onto the bed, sleep and exhaustion taking me. I was perfectly fine with sleeping in my clothes, I'd change them in the morning, anyway.
Author's Note
I'm trying my hand at a real-world setting for stories, this is more of an experiment, more than a story. Let me know what you think.
Robin blinked wearily, finding herself in her own bed. Tiredly rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she crawled out of bed, and to the dresser in the far corner of the room. Half-awake, she pulled out the top drawer, and removed a sweatshirt, then closing the drawer shortly after. Making an attempt to bend over, Robin pulled out the drawer below the first, a cache of jeans inside. After yanking out a single pair off the top, she tossed both articles of clothing onto the bed. Shucking off her top, as well as her pants, she tossed them both into a 'clean-later' pile in the corner. She pulled the sweatshirt over her head, then proceeded to do put the jeans on when a small knock came at her door.
"Um...hello?" she called, blushing furiously as she hurried to pull the jeans up.
She only needed one guess as to who was on the other side of the door.
"J-Just a minute!" she called.
The door's knob twisted, and I don't mean turned, I mean, full-on twisted. The brass object squealed as it bent, leaving marks in the door itself. The knob popped off the door, landing with a soft thump on the carpet. My jaw refused to work, staring in denial at the object on the floor. The woman entered a short while after, pushing the door open with ease.
My gaze stared up at her slitted pupils, rather meekly, I'm ashamed to admit. I vaguely became aware of the fact that the woman was in the room, and I had yet to fully pull my jeans up to my waist.
"Like what you see?" I asked sarcastically, furiously blushing in a rare moment of stupidity.
Her usually-navy face became as red as a tomato's. She covered her muzzle as she backed out of the room, hobbling more than anything else.
'For god's sake...' I grumbled to myself, buttoning my jeans.
Exiting my room, and reminding myself to freak out about the doorknob later, I entered the living room, finding the woman to be in the process of limping to the couch.
"Do you...do you need any help?" I asked quietly, causing the woman to yelp as she nearly tripped over the coffee table.
The woman apparently didn't, as she sat herself somewhat gracefully on the nearest end of the couch. The two of us shared a beat of silence, starting at each other awkwardly. Coughing into my fist, I then tried to talk to her.
"I...um...are you h-hungry?" I asked "I can...I can make you something..."
The woman seemed to think for a moment, then nodded slowly, the thick curls of her hair bouncing a bit as she did so.
"Okay...um...what would you like?" I asked.
'What does her kind eat, anyway? Aside from hay and grass?' I wondered as I waited for the woman's answer.
The mare/woman pantomimed something with her hands, which of course, was wholly and entirely lost on me.
'Frozen waffles it is, then.' I thought, turning to head into the kitchen.
I suddenly stopped, much to my surprise, as a dark glow took hold of my body. It was as if someone had taken a picture with a camera filter, my vision laced with the anomaly. My body jerked backward, nearly snapping my neck as my feet ignored my commands. Falling forward, I landed on the couch, across the woman's lap. Blushing, I tried to stand, only to find that I was being held in place. The glow finally disappeared, and I flipped over, trying my best to end the awkward encounter as fast as possible. Staring up at the woman's face, past her chest, I found her eyes to be as thin as daggers, smiling with a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. Gulping, I froze, unsure of what I should do, or how the hell I managed to get into this. An actual tear slipped down my face, afraid of what this maniac was going to do to me.
I lay there, my eyes screwed shut, as I waited.
Nothing.
Taking a peek, I discovered her dagger-like pupils to be...uh...less...dagger-like? Instead of looking like she wanted to eat me, the woman now looked like she was just as surprised as I was. A moment later, her expression changed into one of sympathy and compassion, befuddling the ever-living-hell out of me (what little I had left, anyway).
Rolling out of the woman's lap, I brushed myself off.
"Just what in the hell was that about?" I asked, turning around to face her.
The woman said nothing, and instead looked abashedly off to the side, trying as hard as possible to hide herself. Rolling my eyes, I flopped onto the seat next to hers. Her frame looked like it was a good foot taller than mine, making me feel teeny compared to her. Taking initiative, I placed a hand on one of her own, rubbing comfortingly. The woman's hand twitched beneath mine, as if she wanted to pull it away. She and I stared at each other- I lost track of just how much time was lost with both of us locked in a staring contest. The look on her face was sort of a mix between surprise, shock, and curiosity. Already feeling awkward, I spoke.
"It's uh...okay..." I said pathetically "I'm not...hurt or anything..."
Her mouth opened, as if she wanted to say something, and just as I thought she was about to speak, she clutched her throat with her other hand, letting out nothing more than a pained grunt.
"Are you okay?" I asked, then face-palmed.
'Stupid! Of course she's not okay!' I thought.
"Your throat hurts?" I asked dumbly, standing.
The woman glared at me, still holding her throat.
"Right...right...I'll, um, be right back..." I stated, shuffling into the kitchen.
'Did you really have to do that?' Rarity asked, gently massaging her sore throat 'The poor thing is scared of us, now.'
'It was offending our presence, ignoring us like that-' Nightmare stated haughtily 'and to think, she showed such excellent servitude.'
'I would be grateful if you would show a little respect to our host,' Rarity replied 'especially after what she just attempted to do.'
'I will not show gratitude for false gestures and empty words.'
'You should at least be thankful that she has shown us kindness- we would most likely have been taken to the nearest authorities if she had not taken us in.'
'Kindness...just like dear Fluttershy.'
'You...you be quiet.' Rarity seethed.
'Why? Do I remind you of the mistakes you made? Of the friends and family you left behind?'
'If I didn't have such a refined persona...I'd slap the hay out of you...' Rarity growled.
Nightmare was silent, not bothering to respond to the petty threat made by the former-unicorn. A high-pitched whistle soon assaulted her ears, making her wince as the sound quieted, dissipating almost as soon as it had begun. 'Robin' entered a moment later, a coffee mug in hand. Steam rose from the mug, indicating to her that the contents were hot.
"The only kind I had was chamomille, and I didn't know if you wanted honey or not..." Robin stated, setting the mug on the coffee table.
'That smells heavenly...' Rarity thought, sniffing at the faint scent that was given off by the mug's contents.
'Most likely sewer water from outside.' Nightmare hissed.
'Darling, be positive for once.' Rarity sighed, carefully picking up the mug.
'I would be, if I didn't have to constantly put up with being mistreated.'
'Is the mighty queen of the night, pouting?' Rarity smirked, gently blowing on the mug to cool the tea.
'I AM NIGHTMARE MOON! I DO NOT POUT!!'
Nightmare's sudden shout surprised Rarity, causing her to drop the mug. The hot tea sloshed out of the mug, landing on her dress as the mug itself landed on the carpet. Rarity shrieked in pain, standing. Two things happened at once; Rarity bashed her head against the ceiling, resulting in yet another jolt of pain blossoming in her head, and what little of the tea hadn't already been absorbed by the fabric of the dress, spilled onto the carpet, joining the mug.
Robin rushed forward, taking her by the hand.
"L-let's get you into the bathroom...I-I-I'll bring you a change of clothes..." she said, leading her past her room.
The bathroom was a bit more cramped than the hall, especially given Rarity's height. Robin closed the door, giving her privacy.
"I knew I should've let it cool..." I muttered to myself, searching my dresser for anything that might be big enough to fit my guest.
Of course, I found next to nothing, save for a single pair of cargo pants with an elastic waistband.
'This might do the trick...but what about a top?' I wondered.
My question was soon answered, as the woman stepped into view. I shielded my eyes as I devolved into a string of incoherent babbling. I had no clue if this...this mare/woman had any inkling of dressing herself, but the way she was 'showing off'- you wouldn't think she did.
"H-H-Here..." I stated, my eyes still covered as I held out the pants.
I felt her take them, her fist taking the pants into her possession, leaving me with a fistful of air.
"I...I don't have anything else that'd fit you..." I stated, hearing the woman shuffle a bit.
More shuffling, followed by a ripping sound filling the air. I actually did look up, in time to see the woman tearing two perfectly good shirts, one blue, the other yellow. Both of the articles of clothing were encased in the same dark glow that held me earlier, and it had crossed my mind at one point...that I used to live a perfectly normal life. The two shirts surrounded her entire upper-body, and fused together, creating an entirely new, larger shirt out of the two smaller. The woman, looking satisfied with herself, looked through my bedroom door, directly at me, a contented smile on her face.
"I...um...cool..."
I've got such a way with words, don't I?
