If Vinyl thought hard enough, she could almost imagine that she was at a bar. She closed her eyes and pictured the scene; lasers and strobe lights lighting up the room, a bounding baseline thumping through her chest, the scratch of records in the distance as a DJ worked the turntables. She let a smile crawl across her lips as she imagined the bartender pouring her a shot. She grabbed it and lifted it up.

The rattling inside the cup cut through her daydream. With a sigh, Vinyl looked down at her shooter. Seven pills of various colors looked up at her. She gave a sigh, throwing her head back and tossing the pills in her mouth. She ignored the cup of water; she’d taken enough pills during her stay to learn the finer tricks of getting them down.

The metal hatch on the door slid closed, cutting off her view of the hallway. The nurse was the only one she saw on a regular basis. She’d been stuck here, in Room 1952, for a long time and never spoken to any doctors. Always the nurse. Not that the nurse ever spoke back. She could ask questions all she wanted, but the nurse would simply stare at her through the door slot until she took her pills.

The mattress gave a squeak as she sat down, pressing her hooves to her head and trying to remember how long she had been here. She had a life outside of this room, she knew that much. She had a job, and hobbies, and a mare that she loved more than anything else. She could picture her now; the wonderful charcoal mane and the gray fur, the purple...thing on her flank.

Cutie mark. Treble Clef. Octavia.

Vinyl slammed her hoof down into the pillow with a growl, her other hoof pressing to her muzzle to stifle a sniff. She blinked away the tears that threatened to burst forth. Vinyl would have loved to have a pen or a pencil, something to draw and write with. Some way to guarantee that the medicine would never dull her thoughts of Octy. She tried to summon her magic to burn reminders of her life on the wall, but as usual, nothing came.

With a sigh, Vinyl stood up on the bed, peeking out one of the pair of windows that were set up high on the wall. They were too small for her to squeeze through even if they didn’t have the metal grating over them, but they let in natural light and allowed her a limited view of outside.

Hooves resting on the small ledge, she took in the sight of the trees blowing in the wind and the green grass. On clear days, she even thought she could see mountains in the distance. A long, brown dirt road stretched along left to right as far as Vinyl could see in either direction.

And there, in the shade of one of the trees that lined the road, was Octavia.

She was sitting like she always did at home, staring at the building in front of her. Vinyl wished she was closer, wished that she could make out the expression on her face. Vinyl slammed her hooves against the metal grating with a loud rattle.

“Octy! I’m here! Right here!”

Vinyl leapt off the bed and slammed her shoulder against the metal door with as much force as she could muster.

“Hey!” Vinyl’s hooves slammed against the door, sending a loud metallic echo into the hallway. “My marefriend is out there! Let her in, I wanna see her! I want a visitor!”

Vinyl’s horn pressed against the metal shutter, trying to wedge it open, to scream and shout until someone heard her. With a growl of frustration, she ran back to the bed, jumping up to look out the window, a dull ache running through her body as her heart pounded in her chest.

“C’mon Octy! Come inside!”The words came out in the form of a sob, her throat catching as tears began to flow freely down her muzzle. “Please...Don’t go Octy. Don’t go again...”

Vinyl kept her eyes locked on the grey form under the tree, watching as she eventually stood up and began walking left down the road.

“No! Nonononono!” Vinyl slammed her hooves down harder against the grating. The metal gave a sudden squeal as it bent, spiderweb cracks darting along the window. “Don’t leave me! Don’t leave me here!”

The door gave a high pitched squeak as it slid open, the nurse running into the room. She grabbed Vinyl’s legs and pulled her away from the window, where she landed with a bounce on the bed.

“Just let her in, I just wanna see her again!” Vinyl kicked her legs in all directions, feeling the pressure of the nurse holding her down, pressing her against the bed. There came the sharp sting of pain in her leg, followed by a burning in her veins as something began to flow through her blood.

“Please!” Vinyl screamed the word as loud as she could, even as a sudden lethargy ran through her. Her legs grew weak, dropping to the mattress as the nurse stepped back. A light buzz filled her ears and the ceiling above her dropped in and out of focus.

The nurse looked down into her face. Vinyl could feel herself falling down into unconsciousness, even as a wave of terror and nausea ran through her. The blurry pony above her grew dark, sinister, warping into a multitude stretched shadows that towered over her. She opened her mouth to scream, but only a small gasping groan escaped her throat. Glowing green eyes stared back at her.

They were laughing now, the three of them clustered around her bed, moving her limp body as the shadows liquified, wrapping around her form and pulling tight. Vinyl couldn’t breathe. She choked and gasped for air, but the drug had taken hold of her system. She had no strength left to fight them. The buzz in her ears turned into an endless, eternal screech as the darkness engulfed her.

Vinyl was unsure how long she had been staring out the window for. She had switched to the left window; the cracked glass of the other made it difficult to see. Red eyes locked on the tree, desperate to see her Octy. With a sigh, she lowered herself away from the window, sitting on the edge of her bed.

“Please, Celestia...get me out of here.” Vinyl wrapped her legs around herself, trying to imagine that it was the embrace of anypony who wasn’t a nurse. “Whatever I did, I’m sorry...”

The familiar metal scraping sound of the door hatch echoed in the room, followed by the familiar rattle of pills in a plastic cup. Vinyl turned to look at the door, seeing her medicine waiting for her on the little shelf. The eyes of the nurse watched patiently beyond it.

“Why am I here? Why are you doing this to me?” Vinyl approached the door, picking up the cup of pills. There were more of them this time. Or had there always been seven? She looked back at the nurse who predictably, didn’t say anything. Simply watched her with those cold blue eyes.

“Can...Can I have a visitor? She...she comes outside. She waits out there...can...can I just see her for a little bit?”

The nurse simply blinked in response. Vinyl took her pills and tossed the cup out the hatch. It closed without a word. Vinyl shut her eyes, squeezing them tight. That was how it worked here, she told herself. She’d take her medicine, and get better, and then she could have visitors. They’d go outside and bring Tavi inside, and they could see each other.

She turned her head, looking up at the window. She tried not to hope too much as she stepped up onto the bed again, hooves gripping the edge of the window as she pulled herself up and looked outside. There she was! Vinyl’s heart picked up as she saw her grey mare walking along the road, stopping to sit under that tree again, looking towards the building, towards her!

Vinyl switched windows, looking at the bent grating she had caused, and the cracked glass. She threw a look at the door, before she drew her hoof back. She didn’t care what the nurse would do to her, she needed to let Octavia know she was in here!

Vinyl felt the impact through her hoof, the metal grating squeaking and rattling in it’s frame, the crunch of cracked glass. Pain lanced through her hoof as she drove it against the window once more, then again and again. Behind her, the door began to creak.

With a growl, she put all the force she could behind the next punch, and she watched the glass shatter. Did Octavia notice? She couldn’t tell. Vinyl wanted to shout to her, but she had taken too long; she was pulled away from the window by the damned nurse again.

“No, no please! I gotta call her! Just let me...”

The burning in her veins returned, the empty syringe dropping to the floor. The world around her lost cohesion, and the shadows were back, grinning at her, pressing over her and shoving her down into the darkness again. They were keeping her here, keeping her in and Octavia out!

“Just wanna...” Vinyl looked up into the grinning shadow with pleading eyes. “Wanna...see. Tavi. Octavi....”

The shadows wrapped around her. They grew tight, making her gasp as her vision exploded in bright light which vanished as quickly as it had appeared, until she was lost in the inescapable blackness once more.

Octavia watched over the form of the pony she loved, looking for anything; a twitch of the hooves, an attempt to talk, a flicker of recognition. She planted her hoof under Vinyl’s chin, tilting it up towards her to look into those brilliant red eyes, once so full of life and happiness that now stared off into nothingness.

No matter how many times Octavia came here, she never got over the look of the room. Being Vinyl’s lover had gotten her accustomed to a certain degree of messiness. Yet, Room 1952 was devoid of her personality; only clinical coldness remained in a white linoleum floor, plain white walls and a bed that had been bolted to the floor. No window to let in natural light, just bright lights that made Vinyl’s coat glow a sickly yellow color.

Octavia wrapped her hooves around Vinyl’s unresponsive form, lifting her with just the hint of a groan. As gently as she could, she settled the mare into bed, pulling the covers and tucking them around her. Her hooves tapped gently on the floor as she moved back to see Vinyl’s wide, staring eyes.

They gave a blink. Such a motion used to get Octavia’s hopes up. Yet it was just a reflex. Octavia realized that the small jump in her heart she used to feel when Vinyl blinked had faded. Octavia wondered how long it’d been gone.

Heya Tavi!
Hey Octy! What’s up?
C’mon Treble Clef, don’t be like that!
Octavia heard the words in her head and could even remember the vocal inflections Vinyl added, but the words were empty and hollow. Not real. The sadness didn’t even phase her anymore. It had simply become a fact of life.

Octavia had come into the room. She had told Vinyl about her day, tucked her into bed. The usual ritual she had performed countless times. Octavia gave a resigned sigh, pressing her lips to Vinyl’s forehead. No response. Ritual fulfilled. Completed. Done with. Octavia had no idea how many more times she’d complete the cycle.

Octavia offered no goodbye, stepping out into the hallway and closing the door behind her. The hallway stretched on and on with who knew how many rooms on each side, each one meticulously numbered.

With a resigned sigh, Octavia pushed open the door to Room 1953. A plain room greeted her, along with the all too familiar sight of Vinyl’s wide staring eyes. Octavia walked in and sat down before her, looking over her. The exact same. Every room, a new Vinyl to take care of.

“It’s very nice of you to come!” Nurse Redheart pushed the logbook over the counter, pushing away the feeling of sadness she always got when she looked at Bon Bon. The ponies that she visited rarely ever gave any sign that they noticed her. “I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you!”

Bon Bon signed her name, setting the quill down on the counter. “You know they won’t be. It’s like they don’t even see me. They’re off in their own little world.”

Author's Note

Nope. You really didn't see this. Next chapter please.

This was a story I had written for a Halloween colab contest that someone was putting on. I don't remember the author behind the contest, but I know that I was impressed that I had actually managed to finish this on time. But, I never submitted it to the contest.

When all was said and done, and I went back to re-read this, I came to one solid, firm conclusion; I cannot write horror. All that being said, I actually had a friend who encouraged me to submit this to the contest anyway, and I had finally relented, only to find out that the contest had closed a day or so previous. I wasn't confidant enough to post it as a stand-alone on my own page, so into the "Old Ideas" file it went.

To be honest, this is the only story that actually deserves to be here; It is the only one that was completely self-contained, with absolutely no plans for continuation.