I took a deep breath as I leaned my back against the door. The cold from my bathroom tiles served as a reminder that I was certainly not dreaming. Not that I wanted to be reaffirmed of that at the moment. Not right now.
A gentle knocking came from the other side of the door. “Anna? Are you okay?” despite the youthful sounding voice, I knew that its owner was not the young girl it sounded like. “You seemed really freaked out when you saw me earlier.”
I pinched myself, grateful yet hating my decision to grow out my nails. It hurt. BAD. “Ugh, dammit. I really am awake.”
There was a giggle from the other side of the bathroom door. “You still doubt that I’m real, don’t you?”
“You can’t be real,” I loudly called back. “It’s a literal impossibility.” The handle shook as my uninvited guest tried getting in. “The door is locked. Good luck getting in.”
“Please? I just want to talk.” I rolled my eyes when I heard that. I reached for the pocket on my sweatshirt to grab my phone. If I could call my friends, I was sure I could reaffirm that I wasn’t suffering from spontaneous Schizophrenia or slipped some LSD at some point. Just had to find my phone… which wasn’t in either pocket of my sweatshirt.
“Oh no, don’t tell me I dropped my phone.” I facepalmed at my mistake. Seriously, the one time I should have my phone on me, and I freaking dropped it. But, if I timed it right, I could run to my room and grab my phone before… it… was able to catch me and get back into the bathroom.
“I could save my lonely soul for you~”
“Oh no.” I knew that ringtone all too well.
“But the feeling in my heart can’t follow through…”
“Um, Anna, there’s a weird thing in your room playing music.”
“I can hear it, thank you very much.” I heard footsteps walk away from the door and let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding in. Hopefully, it had taken the hint and left- no wait, the footsteps were back and the music was louder.
“So, what do I do with this thing? It says somepony named Katie is calling you.”
My blood chilled at the implication. No. Anybody but Katie. “Don’t answer that!”
“Hello?” My heart dropped. “Hi Katie! I’m a friend of Anna’s.”
“No you’re not!”
“My name? I’m Sky Dancer.” There was a long silence, leading me to assume Katie was talking on the other end. “No, I’m not a hippie. I’m a pegasus!”
Panicking, I yanked open the door and snatched my phone from the offending equine. “Kates! Hey, what’s up?”
“Annie, what the hell kinda joke are you pulling on me?”
“Uh…”
I heard a groan on the other side of the line. “Let me guess, you’re practicing a new Brony LARPing persona, aren’t you?”
I froze up as the small pegasus nuzzled against my side. Much to my growing terror, I could feel how soft her forest green coat was. “Uh, yeah! You got me.” I forced some awkward laughs to try and convince her. How’d I do?”
“Stick to text, Annie. You sound too cheerful doing that voice.” I swear, she was smirking on the other end when she made a jab at my disposition. “You were a lot better at doing those angsty characters.”
“Did you need something, Kates?” The pegasus was sitting next to me, her large blue eyes staring into me with diabetes-inducing levels of cuteness. “Normally you don’t call me.”
“Yeah. You weren’t answering my damn texts. Will you be on later for a raid? I finished my new build and want to hunt a Hydrolyst.” I facepalmed. That’s right, we were going to go on a hunt in our game later.
“Yeah, just so long as you don’t bring that terrible excuse of a frame again.”
“Ok now you’re asking for it! I’m bringin’ Nezha, so prepare yourself… Sky Dancer.” I rolled my eyes at her teasing tone. I had a feeling I’d never live this one down.
“Alright, see ya Kates. I’ll text you when I’m online.” I quickly hung up before the pegasus could say anything damning. Once the call was ended, and I saw the eight different messages she had sent me, a majority of which were her cussing out her friend for not answering. “So, Katie now thinks I’m crazy in all likelihood.”
“I don’t think you’re crazy.” I glared at the small green pegasus, her large blue eyes still staring at me adorably.
“Ok, we need to talk about whatever the hell is going on.” She nodded enthusiastically, her chocolate brown mane bobbing with her. She followed me as I cautiously walked to the living room. I flopped myself down on the couch and watched as she joined me on the couch rather than taking the loveseat like I had hoped.
She kept smiling at me with that adorable look on her face and tried getting a little closer until I pulled my legs close to my chest, being grateful I wore leggings for once rather than a skirt. “So, what did you want to talk about, Anna?”
“First of all, how the hell do you know my name?” That was currently one of the biggest things I was wondering if not worrying about. The fact that a random pegasus who shouldn’t even exist knew her name was setting off plenty of red flags.
“Because I’m your friend, Anna.” She shrugged. “I’m not sure on the specifics, but it’s sorta like how I got here. One minute I’m in Cloudsdale, and the next I’m here to greet you.”
I put my head on my knees and tried to ignore the impossible pony in front of me. “Okay, I’m officially insane,” I mutter under my breath. “I’ve gone crazy. There’s a pony sitting on my couch, and I’m genuinely talking to said pony.”
“You’re not insane.” The pegasus wrapped her forelegs and wings around me, giving me a gentle and warming hug. “I’m completely real.” She nuzzled against me as she held me close. She was very warm and soft… and smelled faintly of vanilla. “You’re pretty huggable,” she said out of nowhere.
“Please stop talking.” She giggled before letting me go, sitting in front of me with her wings still flared out to her sides. “So… Equestria is real then?”
She nodded. “Yup! Where else would a pony come from?” I rolled my eyes at the statement, but she continued on anyways. “Sure, it’s a different world entirely, but yeah, Equestria is a real place!”
“I kinda assumed it was another world since we’d know if there was a kingdom of talking ponies from a cartoon show.” Although that had me thinking. If Equestria was real, what else was real? But, more importantly… “So you have no idea why you’re in my house? In the human world, no less?”
“Not a one!” I groaned at the pony’s cheerfulness. For an extra-dimensional straggler, she was too cheerful about most likely being stuck in another world. “But, as long as I’m with you, I should be fine.”
“You’re putting a lot of faith on me not calling the cops or something.”
“What’s ‘the cops’?” she asked in confusion.
I rolled my eyes. Go figure. Cloudsdale probably had guards instead of cops. “Our equivalent of the guards. Their basically law enforcement.”
“Oh, okay.” She put a hoof to her chin in thought. “That’s a funny word though. Cops.”
“Look, as funny as you learning how humans talk is, do you have any idea how you’re going back?” I wasn’t trying to come off as a total bitch, but I didn’t want a cartoon pegasus sitting in my apartment for all of time.
She shook her head. “Sorry, but I can only assume somepony will notice I’m missing and eventually get the Princesses to bring me home.” Go figure.
“Well, if you’re stuck here, I suppose it only makes sense to at least give you a place to stay.” I got up from the couch and adjusted my leggings. “I can give you some blankets so you can crash out here if you want. Only got one bed.”
“Oh, that’s ok. We can share!” I stared at her with a raised eyebrow but got a grin in response. “In case you haven’t noticed, I only come up to your waist. Plus, I’m really light and can curl up, so it’ll be like having a puppy in your bed. Or I could be like a cuddle pillow for you!”
“Cuddle pillow?” I could only assume the thing she was talking about was like a body pillow and not something weirder than that. “Look, it’s not a large bed, and it’s a little weird you immediately want to try sharing my bed.”
“Well I’m here for you, so I should be with you.” I sighed again.
“Fine, but don’t make it weird.” She cheered and fluttered her wings in excitement. “Now if you don’t mind, I have stuff I need to do.”
“Anything I can help with?” I looked at her suspiciously. She climbed off the couch and started following me to my bedroom.
“No, I’m just doing my homework.” Sure enough, my backpack was where I left it when I got back from my morning of classes: in the doorway to my bedroom; right where I dropped it at the sight of a green pegasus on my bed.
“Aren’t you a little old to still be going to school?”
I scoffed at her. “First of all, I’m 20. I’m not old. Second, by human standards it’s normal to be in school at my age since college helps you get a good career.” I pulled out my laptop and one of my textbooks and set them down on my bed. “If you want to stick around, be my guest. Just know I’ll be focusing on school.” I unzipped my sweatshirt before casually tossing it on the floor. No need to be overdressed for homework. My tank top and leggings were enough.
“You humans wear a lot of clothes.” She let me get comfortable before jumping up herself. I braced my laptop on my knees and opened the text book to the dog-eared section. “Why don’t you all do what we ponies do?”
“Because, Sky Dancer. We humans don’t have fur and we’re self-conscious about our reproductive organs being on display.” She nodded as I began pouring through the long passages of uninterrupted text that covered the pages. I was able to get a good hour of work in with only the occasional question from Sky Dancer about what my life was like. Dinner was quick and painless since I ordered a veggie deluxe pizza for us to split. I’ll admit, the raid with my friends was strange since I had a small pegasus snuggling into my side the entire time, but it wasn’t unpleasant.
“So, how is this going to work?” I asked her. It was finally time for bed, and I was remembering that I still didn’t know how we were going to share the bed. “There’s not much room there for both of us.”
“Don’t worry. Like I said, I’m small enough that we can just share it!” She patted the back of my thigh comfortingly. “You just climb on in and get comfy.”
“Okay…” Getting myself under my comforters, I got myself into just the right position to be able to turn off the light and not move myself. “Alright, now what?”
Sky Dancer spread her wings and gently flew into the air before landing on the bed behind me. Tucking herself under one of the fleece blankets on my bed, she snuggled into my back. “Okay, you can turn out the lights.”
I sighed and counted backwards from ten before turning off my lamp. Once I was comfortable under my sheets, I was more distinctly aware of Sky Dancer making herself comfy against my back. I was content to ignore it until I felt her drape one of her wings over me. “Sky Dancer?” Rather than getting a response, I heard soft, adorable little snores from the pegasus as she nestled against me. “Great, the little pegasus is now asleep.” I had to admit though, as awkward as it was to have her doing this, it wasn't entirely unpleasant.
“Stupid customers, thinking a gas station is a freaking super market.” After the shift I had at my job, I was in a less-than-perfect mood. Add in that I had a full morning of classes before my five-hour shift and that added up to an attitude where I was on the verge of shanking someone. As I jumped off the bus and walked into my building, my thoughts turned to the pegasus I had left unattended all day. “I hope Sky Dancer was alright today. I did kinda leave her completely alone.”
“Sky Dancer, I’m home.” Thankfully, the apartment was much like I left it that morning, with the noticeable difference being an empty glass and a plate in my living space. No, wait, the apartment smelled like vanilla and cake. “Are you cooking something?”
“Hi Anna! I’m in the kitchen.” I walked into the kitchenette that came with the apartment and saw that she was getting ready to pull a tray of cupcakes out of the oven. “I got bored while you were out and figured I’d make you something to show my appreciation!” I looked the cakes over, taking note of the fluffy golden color and the bowl of white frosting sitting on the counter top.
“You’re a baker? Wouldn’t have figured that with a name like ‘Sky Dancer’.” I took a quick peak at her flank, realizing that with all the craziness from yesterday, I never saw her Cutie Mark. I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting, but a bird doing a series of loops seemed a bit on the nose to go with her name.
“Oh, I’m actually a performer,” she said once the pan and pot holder were out of her mouth. “But my mom always told me that a nice cake is a great way to show your appreciation to somepony! In fact, this recipe is one she gave me specifically for that purpose.” I went to dip a finer into the frosting bowl, but her wing shot out and whacked my hand away. “Hey! No trying to frosting on its own. It has to go on the cakes first.”
I rolled my eyes before moving towards my room. “Yeah, yeah, okay. Just make sure to clean up after yourself. I’ll be cooking dinner when you’re done in there.” I heard her agree with me as I made my way to my room. Once I had changed out of my work pants and shirt and got into a pair of yoga shorts and a tank top, I walked out to see Sky Dancer carefully setting the cakes on a cooling rack. “So am I gonna be able to eat those soon or should I wait until after dinner?”
She giggled at my question before rolling her eyes. “Obviously they’re for after dinner, silly. Not everypony eats cakes for lunch and dinner.”
“Well, someone should tell that to the people who write the show,” I told her as I started looking through the fridge to figure out our dinner. “They show Pinkie Pie giving everypony cakes and pies regardless of the time of day.”
“Really? I mean, I know she works in a bakery but that seems a little excessive.”
“Wait, I thought you lived in Cloudsdale?” I gave her a skeptical look at her comments about knowing Pinkie. “How would you know her if you lived there instead of Ponyville?”
“You do know Princess Twilight and her friends published a book about their adventures, right?” She was looking at me like I had two heads, as if I was the weird one for questioning it. “I bought a copy of their book when they published it.”
I thought about what she said, trying to remember that particular episode. “I think I remember that one,” I admitted. “I might have skipped most of it, though. I was a little put-off by how everyone was treating the Elements of Harmony and I didn’t like how it was all Starlight’s fault.”
“That’s okay,” she said with a smile as she gave me a hug despite my awkward position. “I suppose it does seem weird for me to mention stuff like that.” She gasped in excitement before letting me go. “I know! Maybe we can watch the show together! I saw those weird boxes on one of your shelves and a bunch of them were about Princess Twilight and her friends!”
That threw me for a loop. Well, not so much that she wanted to see Twilight’s adventures, but that she knew it was a show yet not what a DVD case was. I wanted to question her one it, but when I looked into her eyes, still sparkling with excitement, I figured it probably didn’t matter as much. “Sure, I guess. I suppose it couldn’t hurt. It’s been a while since I watched the older seasons.”
I looked back into the fridge and smiled when I saw the vegetables I still had left and the two bottles of soy sauce. “Let me know when you’re done,” I told her as I started grabbing peppers, broccoli and sugar peas. “We’re having stir-fry for dinner and I want to get all my prep-work done.” I looked over by the stove and frowned when I saw I had half a bag of rice left. That told me what I was doing in the near future: grocery shopping.
Dinner was uneventful, if I had to say anything about it. The highlight had to be how much Sky Dancer loved the taste of the stir fry as we watched season 1 and 2. Although, it was pretty funny hearing her make snide comments about Twilight and the others as they had their adventures. Those cupcakes were pretty good though. That was a bit of a plus, even if she was extremely insistent about me having just one tonight.
“It’s good,” I said around a mouth of sweet vanilla cake. “It’s really good.”
She smiled brightly as she snuggled into my side. “See? The perfect thing to show I appreciate you letting me stay here.”
“I think you're right about me just having one though. Anymore than this and it would be too sweet for me.” She nodded again, her smile not breaking. “I really love this though.” I don’t know what it was about it, but just eating the cupcake made me feel a little bit lighter, like everything would be alright. Once it came time for bed, I found myself happy to feel her lay a wing over my side and smiled as I enjoyed her company.
I let out a heavy yawn, making sure to move my head to not disturb my bed-mate. It had been about a week since Sky Dancer had appeared, and I had become much more accustomed to sharing the bed with her. The other night, she somehow wound up under the comforters with me. While normally, I would have freaked out, I had decided to treat the pegasus like a teddy bear. Not that she minded. She welcomed the warmth and snuggles with open wings and reciprocated by using me as an over-sized pillow. Sure it was kinda weird to wake up hugging a pony, but something about her just made me feel like nothing bad could happen; it just felt... right.
“Anna? Is it morning already?” I suppressed the urge to coo at how adorable the pegasus looked when she was just waking up. Something about her bleary-eyed look as she was snuggled into my chest just made my heart throb. She buried her face back in my cleavage, making me laugh a little at her mane tickling the patch of exposed skin from my tank top. “Let’s just go back to sleep.”
“Sorry, Sky Dancer. But I have school today.”
“Noooo…” she whined as she clung to me. “I don’t wanna lose my cuddle pillow.” I gently pried the soft pegasus off of me before stroking her mane.
“I know, but I have stuff I need to do.” I tucked the pony back in before going about my morning rituals. Once I was dressed, I gave a sad smile to the sulking pegasus that was sitting on my bed. “Hey, would it make it better if I got us ice cream for after dinner tonight?”
She sniffed before turning one of those sapphires to me. “Can you get something with brownie chunks?”
I laughed before gently rubbing one of her ears. “I can get you some, yeah. I’ll see you when I get home, Sky.”
She flew off the bed and hugged me. “Thank you, Anna. Have a nice day!”
I honestly wished I had a good day, not that I blame her for wishing me one. It started as I took the bus to my campus. There were just so many people who were just awful. They would glare at each other, yell if someone got too close, and seemed extremely untrusting of me when I tried cheering them up. I guess some people just don’t want to be cheered up. It’s weird though, how did I not notice they were all so angry at each other before?
Once I got to school, I noticed just how down and serious everybody was. It was strange; when did everyone get so depressing? When lunch rolled around and I met up with Katie and our other friends, things got a little more heated.
“Oh shit. Annie, look! Bacon burgers are the special today!” The perky girl almost ran to the serving line where she eagerly grabbed a large burger with tons of greasy bacon and cheese on it. I had to put a hand to my mouth as I gagged a bit at the sight. She grabbed another one and tried handing it to me. “Here, Annie. Snagged you one.”
The smell of the meat made me flinch as my stomach lurched. “Uh, no thanks, Kates. I’m not really feeling it.” She stared at me in disbelief as I put the burger back under the heat lamp. Instead, I grabbed myself a large garden salad with Caesar dressing and a dish of fruit salad.
“Okay, who the hell are you and what did you do with my Annie?” I looked at her with a raised eyebrow as I grabbed a soda and paid for my food. “The Annie I know never turns down bacon burgers. What’s wrong with you today?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” I told her. What was wrong with her? “I just wanted to eat a little healthier today. All that grease is bad for you.” I set the tray down before eagerly digging into my fruit. It had to have been fresh for once since it was just so incredibly flavorful.
“You? Eat healthy?” she laughed a little before taking a large bite out of her burger. I winced at the grease that dripped down her chin and the stronger smell of the meat. It was so disgusting, but at least I had my food to take my mind off it. “You’ve never cared before, so why now?”
“I just… want to eat a little healthier.” I began digging into my salad with only a few problems. For some reason, the fork I was using felt a little awkward in my hand.
We ate in silence for a few minutes before she decided to speak again. “You seem different.” I looked at her as I savored a mouthful of romaine lettuce. “You’re a lot more expressive than usual, and you just seem all around… brighter. Have you done anything weird lately?”
I considered telling her about my new roommate, but that wouldn’t make sense. “Nothing different than usual,” I told her with a shrug. Not only did I not feel different, but even if I did, there’s no way Sky would have something to do with it. “If anything, you seem gloomier than usual. Something on your mind?”
“I’m literally acting like I always do!” she snapped. I winced at her annoyed expression. I didn’t know what had her so angry. I was just asking to make sure she was okay! “You’re acting weird, Annie. I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but you’re not acting like yourself! You’re too happy to be your usual self!”
“Is that really so wrong?!” I slammed my fork down before grabbing my empty tray. “I don’t know what’s got you so angry, Kates, but don’t take it out on me.” I stormed away to dispose of my trash. The last thing I wanted was to cry right now. Katie was my friend and we fought before, so why did her yelling at me hurt so much?!
I was able to hold out for the trip home, making sure I grabbed the treats I promised Sky. It was so much harder than I expected, though. All of the people on the bus and in the store were angry and depressing, so I had to keep myself from breaking down from the sheer negativity surrounding me. I genuinely ran up the stairs of my building to reach my apartment.
“Hi, Anna!” I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw my pegasus friend sitting on the couch waiting for me. Her smile dropped into a frown when she saw how relieved I was. “What’s wrong?”
My eyes burned as I felt tears starting to well up at how concerned she was. I put my bag on the loveseat and dropped the frozen treats on the table before pulling her into a hug. She gently returned the hug with both her wings and her forelegs. “I’m so sorry,” I choked out as the tears finally fell. “It’s just, everyone was so angry today. Katie and I had a huge fight, and I just…” A couple of hiccups shook my body as I sobbed gently in the pegasus’ embrace. “I shouldn’t have gone out today.”
“It’s okay,” she told me softly. She rubbed my back with her hoof. “I’m here, now.” She gently coaxed me onto the couch before releasing me. “Wait here. I’ll go get you a spoon and we can enjoy our ice cream.” I nodded as she trotted to the kitchenette before returning with a spoon and the last of her cupcakes. “Here, since we’re already eating sweets, I figured you could use this.”
I nodded before gratefully accepted the pastry. It was exactly what I needed; I felt myself feel a little better once I finished the vanilla cake and smiled at my pony friend. “Thanks, Sky. I needed that.” Grabbing my spoon and opening the two pints of ice cream, I turned on the T.V. to resume where we left off in season 7. We sat there, enjoying each other’s company with ice cream while watching Twilight and her friends have fun.
Two episodes in, Sky Dancer looked at me sadly. “Anna, I have to tell you something.”
The expression on her face immediately set off red flags for me. “What’s wrong, Sky?”
She sighed. “I think I’m going home soon.” My stomach dropped. No… no no no no. That couldn’t be right, did she really just say that- “I don’t know how, but it’s similar to how I just knew I was meant to be here with you.”
“No! You can’t be leaving so soon!” I put my empty container on the table and hugged her close. I felt her hesitantly wrap her forelegs around me. “Sky, you’re my best friend! I can’t lose you now!”
Her breath hitched as she clung to me. “I know, but I don’t think I’ll be allowed to stay here. I don’t think I can keep staying with you.”
There had to be something I could do! I couldn’t lose Sky Dancer, not like this. Why couldn’t she just stay here? What if… “Wait a minute… What if I went with you?” She froze in my embrace, but I pulled back and looked at her with a smile, never removing my arms from her pony shoulders. “I’m sure the Princesses would understand if I wanted to come with you to Equestria. We can stay friends!”
“Are… are you sure?” She put her hooves on my forearms, with a hopeful look. “What about all the people you have here?”
I pulled her close, as if I was afraid she would vanish if I let go of her soft form. “They don’t matter like you, Sky. You mean the world to me. I couldn’t imagine losing you.”
“Thank you, Annie. That means the world to me.” She tightened her grip on me before pulling back to smile at me. “It really does.” My heart was pounding a mile a minute. Why did I feel like something was wrong? I was with Sky Dancer. Her eyes, those shining sapphires, half closed before she leaned in. I don’t know what I expected when she kissed me, I had never kissed a pony before, but it felt absolutely magical. I felt her push me back so she was on top of me, her wings flaring out as I deepened our kiss. Her mouth still tasted like the fudge brownie ice cream I got her, but my nostrils were filled with the scent of vanilla.
After an eternity, she pulled away from me, her eyes cloudy with lust for me. “Annie?”
“Yeah, Sky?”
“Will you be my special somepony?”
“Only if you’ll be my marefriend.” She smiled before assaulting my lips again, and I lost myself in her kiss. Even when she pulled at my clothes, I couldn’t care less. All that mattered was the mare in my arms. I could faintly hear music but I simply blocked it out. I lost myself in Sky's love for me. There was... just... nothing but...
“Sweetie, wake up!” I groaned as I forced my eyes open. The walls around me were a familiar white. I was laying on something incredibly soft and wrapped in a warm blanket. I sat up and saw Sky Dancer cheerfully flying into the room with a plate in her hooves. “Come on, you can’t just sleep all day.”
I looked around and saw that I was in the room Sky and I had shared for years ever since we got together after graduation. “Thanks, Sky. I don’t know why, but I feel exhausted.”
“Well you did have a long day yesterday, Miss Attorney,” she said in a teasing manner. She set the plate down, and I smiled at the vanilla cupcake she brought me. “So, I whipped up something I knew you'd like a whole bunch.”
“Thanks Sky.” I wasn’t sure, but it felt like something was off. Choosing to handle my hunger first, I grabbed the cupcake with my right hoof as I stretched my wings. They always felt a little stiff in the morning. Taking a bite out of it, I groaned in satisfaction at the sweet flavor that exploded in my mouth. “This is exactly what I needed.”
She smiled and gave me an affectionate nuzzle. “Happy to help. Now don’t stay in bed all day. My parents are coming by this afternoon.”
“Nice to know they still don’t trust me with their daughter.” She giggled at my joke before going on her way. I quickly finished my treat before climbing out of bed. I stopped in front of the mirror and checked my appearance with my emerald green eyes. My black mane, while choppy, still looked somewhat presentable, and my turquoise coat still shined from my bath the night before. The law book on my flank stood out as proudly now as it did the day I got it as a filly.
Loud music began blasting from the closet. “What the hay is that?” I trotted over to the closet and opened it up to find the source of the rock music. A small box I didn’t recognize seemed to be the source, so I opened it up. On top of a bundle of fabric was the source of the music: a small glass box with a bright picture of some pale skinned creature with a black mane smiling at me. KATIE IS CALLING was written across the screen with the words ANSWER and REJECT underneath it in green and red.
I gently scooped it up with one of my hooves and looked it over. Using one of my pinion feathers, I tapped the green word before holding it to my ear. “Hello?”
“Annie?! Is that you?! Oh thank God! I’ve been trying to reach you for days! Where the hell are you?” I winced and held the box away for a moment.
“I’m sorry, but who are you?”
There was silence on the other end for a moment. “Annie, what the hell are you talking about? It’s me, Katie!”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know who this Annie is. My name is Law Book.”
“Annie, this isn’t funny. What the fuck is going-” the voice cut off altogether, much to my confusion. I looked at the strange object, noticing the screen flashed the message NO POWER SHUTTING DOWN before going completely black. Shrugging, I tossed it back into the box before putting the lid down. Whatever it was, it was broken now.
“Law, sweetie? Are you out of bed yet? I could use some help in the kitchen.” I smiled at my Special Somepony’s voice.
“Coming, Sky!” I spread my wings and took off down the hall of the house I shared with my marefriend. Now wasn’t the time to worry about weird glass boxes. My potential in-laws were coming over today!
Author's Note
Something a little more subtle in how dark it is. Whereas Not Everypony Deserves a Welcome Party took a cosmic horror approach, this one took more of a gradual, psychological shift. It could easily be a touching story, unless you read between the lines