Songs of Sorrows

"What's your problem?!" Trebass yelled at Shock Bolt.

"You attacked a lady! That's why!" Shock Bolt returned the shout with vigor.

"Ugh! I can't take this anymore!" Royal Flush stormed out of the cafe, furious.

Trebass reached out to Royal, but he felt a blunt object smashing on the back of his head. He fell chin first into the wooden floor. A blue figure, which was likely Shock, began to chase the furious mare. Trebass' vision began to blur, then eventually turned to black.

Trebass awoke to the sounds of the birds chirping outside, and the nearby radio that was playing music. A pony in a white outfit held a clipboard beside the bed that he lay on. The ceiling, walls, and floor tiles were all white. He assumed that he was in a hospital of some sort, but he could not remember the events of last night clearly. He attempted to get up from the bed, but a large pain in his head knocked him back down. He put his hoof to his head and noticed a piece of cloth wrapped around it.

"Easy there. Try not to move okay?" The nurse said, patting him on the shoulder.

Trebass looked up, and caught a glimpse of the nurse. She had Royal's face! But the moment she turned away he noticed that it wasn't her, she had a surgical needle for a cutie mark and her mane was black. He began to see Royal's face everywhere he looked. The ceiling fan, the swinging doors, even other ponies around him seemed to have her face. Soon, the mirages began to fade away as Trebass was blinded by a bright light shined right in his eye. The light moved away to reveal a pony in a white lab coat and glasses. The words that the pony was speaking were muffled, but it sounded like he was asking him something. The pony in the white coat spoke to the nurse behind him and took a needle from the nearby table. Trebass panicked, he didn't agree with needles at all.

He glanced over to table beside him, a tray with food lay there. He quickly grabbed the tray and threw it in the air. The food on the tray went in all directions and created quite a distraction. Trebass leaped out of his bed and rushed towards the door. He rammed through the door and down the hallway. Occasionally, he stumbled trying to run away but eventually reached a flight of stairs. He ran down to the first floor, a pony stood in his way.

The stranger wore a black mask, he had black and red wings that blocked Trebass' path down the stairs.

"Quick! This way!" The stranger shouted.

Trebass nodded, and followed him. The stranger led him to a large door that opened into a blinding sun. Trebass shielded his eyes from the bright light. He looked back, and realized that he was in a hospital the entire time. Trebass had stirred up quite a commotion, the shouts and yells of ponies could be heard from inside. The stranger and Trebass fled the scene into a nearby alley.

The two arrived at a suburban house. The two walked up to the door, and the stranger took a key from his jacket and unlocked it.

Trebass wasn't quite sure why he was following the stranger, but he had no choice. He had no other place to go, as the area he was in was unfamiliar to him. They both entered the house. It looked like any ordinary house. They sat down in a dining area, the stranger took off his mask.

"I can't leave you alone for five minutes can I?" The stranger revealed his face. His face was black, and his mane was black and red. It was Alexander.

"I had a feeling it was you." Trebass said.

Alexander stood up and walked over to the kitchen counter behind him and began to pour some coffee into two mugs. He placed both mugs on the table.

"You have some explaining to do. And make it quick, you're not exactly out of the woods just yet." Alexander said as he sipped his coffee.

"What do you mean?" Trebass asked.

"You pulled a gun out in public Trebass, do you think the police won't get involved?" Alexander explained.

Trebass sighed, "There's something I need to tell you, but you can't tell anypony. Understand?"

Alexander nodded.

Trebass put his coffee down, "I'm.... Different, from other ponies."

Alexander spoke up, "We're all different Trebass, but we're all ponies aren't we?"

Trebass shook his head, "There's.... Somepony else... Living in me."

Alexander's eyes widened, but allowed Trebass to continue explaining.

"He... doesn't have a physical form of his own, so he uses mine."

Alexander thought to himself, "This sounds so far fetched. But I've heard and seen stranger things in my time..."

Trebass continued, "He's a mental persona that takes over my body when my emotions become unstable."

"Unstable?" Alexander raised his eyebrow.

"I don't know how he's doing it, or where he came from. But I can  somehow nullify his actions with alcohol." Trebass explained.

Alexander sipped his coffee again before speaking again, "That explains why you're always at the bar whenever I see you."

Trebass didn't share Alexander's humour. "I just wish I could get rid of him somehow, he's been causing too much pain around me..."

Alexander stood up from his chair and walked over to a display cabinet.

He placed his hoof on a photo of a frame, then twisted it to the right. A loud rumbling echoed through the house. Then, out of nowhere, a passageway appeared in the wall.

"I think I have a solution to your problem, and it's just beyond here." Alexander tilted his head towards the passageway.

Trebass knew Alexander long enough to trust him. He always noticed Alexander doing strange things, but never thought anything of it. The two walked down a long dimly lit corridor. The ceiling, walls, and floor were made of metal; which caused their hoof steps to echo back and forth. Trebass walked quietly with his friend, until suddenly.

"Oof!" Trebass exclaimed, falling backwards.

He had walked straight into a vault door. Embarrassed, he stood up in front of it. Alexander placed his hoof on a glowing pad next to the door. A light blue line trailed down the pad and down his hoof. Trebass was confused, he had never seen anything like this before.

The line of light faded away, and the vault door began to vibrate. OSmoke began to emerge from the door as it opened slowly. A loud scraping could be heard from the door's metal surface. The smoke cleared, and the inside of a large room could be seen. Trebass didn't believe his eyes, the room was like nothing he had ever imagined. A large computer stood in the middle of the room. Pipes stretched across room from wall to wall. And a strange velvet chair stood in a glass box that sat next to the computer.

"What is this place? Trebass asked with his jaw hanging open.

"This, is my laboratory. I do most of my work and research here." Alexander replied.

"What's that glass box over there?" Trebass asked, pointing towards the box.

"That, my friend, is the EyeGlass. It's my own invention that I've been trying to test out. And you'll be my first pony subject. Let's hope it helps us figure out the origins of... Um..." Alexander attempted to find a word to describe Trebass' other persona.

"Bable, that's the name I gave him when he first started appearing when I was younger." Trebass explained.

"Ah, well then... This machine allows us to travel to any point in time and any point in space." Alexander continued.

"But how is it supposed to help me with Bable?" Trebass asked.

"If we can travel to any point in space, then we should be able to travel into your mental subconscious. Presumably." Alexander replied, sounding unsure of himself.

The two walked over to the computer, and Alexander began to type something into the keyboard that was connected to the computer screen. He asked Trebass to sit down in the velvet chair. Trebass was skeptical at first, but agreed eventually. The glass box had a small door on the side that opened up automatically. Trebass was fascinated by the advanced technology that lined the walls in this strange room. Alexander entered the glass box, holding what looked like a metal bowl. The metal bowl had strange antennae jutting out of it with glowing lights on the end of them. He put them on Trebass' head, the unicorn had been friends with Alexander long enough to trust him. Alexander left the glass box and closed the door behind him.

"So how's this going to work?" Trebass asked, with the metal bowl on his head.

"Well, the EyeGlass is going to disappear from this room. Then well... After that I'm not too sure. The only thing I know for sure is that wherever the Eyeglass reappears, it's sure to return to this room after a certain amount of time. So be sure to be on it when it leaves. Oh! I forgot to give you this." Alexander entered the Eyeglass again and handed Trebass what looked like a watch.

"This is the M.A.S.T., it stands for Micro Analyzer of Space and Time. This little gadget will tell you when the Eyeglass is about to leave, where you are in time or space, and it also includes some helpful applications that might assist you if things go wrong." Alexander left the glass box and returned to computer outside.

Trebass started to doubt this entire endeavour, but he was desperate. Bable had ruined his life in a single night. Trebass wanted him out. Immediately.

Alexander placed a pair of goggles around his eyes.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

Trebass simply nodded, as he wrapped the M.A.S.T. around his hoof.

Alexander typed something into the computer, Trebass didn't understand what any of it meant.

The black and red pegasus reached for a lever near the computer, took one last glance at Trebass, then pulled it down.

Sparks flew from the Eyeglass rapidly, Trebass clenched his teeth and snapped his eyes shut, and then... The Eyeglass was gone. It had vanished from the room entirely. Alexander removed his goggles and sat down on a wooden chair that was placed near the computer. He reached over to a night stand nearby and took a cup of tea from it's plate.

He slowly sipped his tea, awaiting the return of his best friend.

**To Be Continued**