My Little Dream Homeby DerpyMuffinzChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 1A married couple, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia walk down a small back road with Applejack, the old farmer who used to have several hundred migrant workers until a certain law was passed against it. They are looking for the perfect place to live since they just got married and a filly was on the way. "We're comin' up on the old antebellum home, sugar-cubes" says Applejack, turning to vinyl. " I absolutely cannot wait until we get there!" chirps Octavia, her pregnant belly jutting out from under her. The three of them stop just before a little cottage. It's medium in size and elegant with white pillars in front and beautiful art work carved into the wood of the stairs. "Wow..." was all Vinyl could say. "Just..wow" Applejack looked with uncertainty at the house and slowly lead Vinyl and Octavia into it. "There's an old fireplace!" giggled Octavia. "It's so perfect!" Vinyl could tell something was off about the house, it gave her the chills, but she knew it was just what they needed to start this family and the price was so low on the house. Vinyl sighed "Okay," she turns to Applejack." you have a deal" Applejack smiles a bit nervously and Octavia smiles at Vinyl. "Uh, alright darlin' , let's get the paper work done" Applejack says to Vinyl. Vinyl turns to Octavia "Octy, why don't you just sit down and relax while I go do this. I'll be back before you know it." Before the words escaped her mouth, Octavia sat down eagerly on an old, white rocking chair. Vinyl and Applejack left Octavia alone in peace when they went to sign papers. This house is quiet..almost too quiet, it seemed. It didn't frighten Octavia, not one bit, but it really bothered Vinyl. She finally stood up and started walking around the house, getting a good look at the place and getting anxious to settle in. Suddenly, a light scratching sound came from a room towards the end of a long hallway that Octavia just happened to stumble upon. She thought it must have been rats, which made her shudder and squirm with disgust. She decided to make sure it wasn't anything like that and walked to the door. The scratching came again, but louder and on the door. She opened it as quickly as possible, then a black cat lunged out of the room, hissed and scratched Octavia's front hooves. "ow!!" she screamed and collapsed to the floor.She stood back up, wobbly. "Oh..just a silly cat..how did it get in there?" She looked inside the room where the only way in or out was the doorway she was standing in. "Vinyl!!" yelled Octavia," Vinyl, come quick. please!" She started wobbling from the hallway to the front room, searching for Vinyl and Applejack, but she doesn't see them anywhere. She ran from room to room, looking, yelling..Finally, she came to a stop..she fell onto the floor and lay there, in tears. Oh how she wished she could find her Vinyl. She looked around once more at the empty house, hoping and willing for her to appear, but to no avail. She stroked her bulging stomach and closed her eyes. This act was useless, but it served to comfort Octavia and hopefully, her new filly ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "Octy?"Octavia heard a distant voice."Octy?" Who was this? It sounded so familiar. "Hey, sugar cube, wake up." Octavia replies "huh?" and slowly opens her eyes. Vinyl and Applejack stood beside her in the comfortable, white rocking chair. "Hey, Octy, looks like you fell asleep while I signed the papers. You okay?" Vinyl asks, looking concerned. Octavia jumps up out of the chair, turns toward the girls and yells "You two left me!" They both turned to each other, confused. Applejack replies," We were in the next room, we didn't leave." Octavia was angry and confused "Yes, you did! I went to walk around the house and neither of you were here!!" She stared at both of them for a minute, waiting for an explanation that didn't come. "Vinyl, I yelled for you. There was a cat in the very back bedroom, it scratched me, yet the only way in that room was from the door and--" She stops talking when her eyes drift to her front hooves. The scratches were gone. Applejack laughs nervously "Sugar cube, there's no cat here. And what back bedroom? There's only one here, at the front of the house." Octavia wasn't decieved. "There was a long hallway toward the back of the house and there was a room at the end of it....isn't there? No. I know it's here. I went to it!" Vinyl rushed to calm Octavia. "Hey, calm down. Look, it's been a long day of house hunting and you're probably being effected by a lot of hormones. Let's just hire a couple of movers to bring our bed here, we'll go out to eat, then we'll come home and rest as much as we can, to get used to the house. okay?" Vinyl looks Octavia in the eyes and smiles. Octavia finally sighs and nods "Okay..it was probably just a dream anyways." Applejack grins and cheers "That's the spirit, darlin'!" The rest of the night passed by in a blur for all of them, Vinyl couldn't shake the feeling of eeriness coming from the house, she knew something was up with Octy, and Applejack had this sense of guilt about her. Octavia had some similar feelings: The house that she was enchanted by at first, became a frightening and mysterious benefactor to her fears and she knew Applejack was hiding something from her and Vinyl, she was determined to find out what it was. What most scared her, was the dream..no-- the memory of the non-existent back bedroom and the cat that attacked her. At this moment, Octavia was sure of this: The house that her and vinyl just bought that day and Applejack, were hiding something deeper and more complex than she or any other pony could ever imagine... Chapter 2Octavia was jerked out of a restless sleep. It was the middle of the night and everything was dark except the faint glow of the street lamp by the road. Her dream was..troubling...She was in this very house, but years and years in the past, when Sweet Apple Acres still had migrant workers. She walked onto the porch where a yellow pony with blazing green hair awaited her arrival. She sat next to the mare and they smiled at each other. "Happy Birthday!" cheered the charming, yellow pony as she hugged Octavia."I'm so glad you're here!" Then, the mare stood up and walked into the kitchen, where Octavia followed her. She sat Octavia at an old, wooden table, like the one in her and Vinyl's dining room and lay a cake before her. They all gave a silent cheer, yelling, laughing..with no sound. everything was slowed down and distorted. It went back to normal when they placed a necklace around her throat and clapped. She heard someone murmur about it being her sweet 16..but she's 22.. That's when she had awoken. At the end of that dream..no--memory...Octavia knew that she had to tell Vinyl about this tomorrow, but right now, she needed some sleep, even though she was too startled to rest. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Vinyl woke up early the next morning. She was tired and still shaken by Octy's freak out the day before. She had weird feelings still, about the house, Applejack, and everything. It seemed so...mysterious and hidden with guilt. She saw Octy last night. How she'd woken from tossing and turning and how she sat and stared at Vinyl. Something about it was odd, but she didn't want to let it bother her, so she passed it off as jitters from being in a new home. Octavia was pretending to sleep and she saw Vinyl get up out of the bed and walk into the almost empty kitchen. She kept thinking about the dream she'd woken from, half-convinced that it wasn't a dream, but a memory..it couldn't be..right? She really wanted to know what's going on, all of it is so confusing only if--"Hey, Octy, look what I found under the rocking chair!" yelled Vinyl from the next room. Octavia stands up and walks into the front room where Vinyl was looking down and examining something. "what is it,Vinyl?" asked Octavia. She walked around Vinyl to get a better look at what she was holding and gasped. She couldn't believe what it was..H-How could it be? It was the necklace from her dream. The one the people had put around her neck..for her 16th birthday. It's impossible..unless, the dream..really was a memory. no, it can't be. Vinyl saw the look of shock cross Octy's face and threw the necklace back where it was. Octavia just stared. "Octy?.." Vinyl said." Look, I'm going to go grocery shopping, you can stay here and relax or you could come with me. Choose one." Octavia took a moment to think. She HAD to figure out what was going on here..not while Vinyl was around, she'd think so little of Octavia after that. "I'll stay here..to get more used to being here, plus, i'm 9 months pregnant, i really don't need to be walking everywhere right?" She replies to Vinyl nervously. Vinyl nods and walks out of the house, on her way to the market. Octavia stands up and walks around the house slowly. Nothing seemed amiss, but she couldn't be sure. Vinyl and Applejack had proven to her that there, indeed, was no hallway with a room at the end of it. Just the one bedroom at the east side of the house. Plus, there had been no cat either. Octavia was just being silly. She passed it off as nervousness about the new foal and laughed at her absolute lack of reality at the time. She just walked around the house, looking every which direction when the house creaked or popped. It was disturbing. To know that the things she'd encountered weren't real...Octavia knew that if she let it run through her mind and let it get to her, it would only get worse. That's when she heard a hoof step. It was faint at first, it was coming from near the back of the house. "Vinyl?" she called out. "Vinyl?" but no answer came. She walked toward where she heard it coming from, but this time, it wasn't a step she heard. No, it was a faint dragging sound and it drew closer to her. *drag*....she couldn't tell what it was. *Drag*....Octavia was so afraid, she couldn't move. She tried to take a step forward and came face to face with the hallway and the room at the end. *drag*...this time when she heard the noise, she saw something move in the shadows of the hallway. *Drag*...it moved closer to her, but she was paralyzed with fear. *drag*..the shadow dragged itself into the light from the front room and Octavia could see what it was..who it was. She saw its matted mane, green and grey with age. The hooves caked with blood, thin..and yellow. The eyes....there were none..all that was left were empty sockets and hooks attached..hooking the mare's mouth into a permanent, blood-dripped smile. Octavia knew who it was...the mare from her dream. The mare dragged herself to Octavia and placed a gnarled and grisly hoof on her pregnant belly. Octavia, of course, had no ability to scream or move..just stare and hold her breath, hoping it all would go away. The mare gurgled some incoherent words, drug her hand down Octavia's stomach and disappeared along with the the room and hallway. Octavia's world spun. She finally dashed to the front room, breathing heavily. She didn't know what to think of her encounter..Was it real? A dream?..Her stomach stung and produced a sharp pain that called Octavia's attention to it. There was a bloody and burned hoof print in the middle of it. The pain was strong and electric, producing tears in the corners of her eyes. She couldn't take the pain..the horrible, intense, striking pain. Finally, she collapsed on the floor, out of energy and passed out. There was nothing she could do... Chapter 3A warm, wet pressure on Octavia's forehead awoke her from yet another dream..this time, she was sure it was a memory. She opened her eyes to Vinyl's worried face, holding a wet wash cloth. Vinyl's face softened a bit when she saw Octavia was awake and she moved the wash cloth to the side of Octavia's stomach. When pain seared through her body, she knew that what she'd experienced was real....the mare crawling toward her, the hoof print....it was all very real. "Octy," starts Vinyl." i need to ask you a question." Her face turned grim again as she kept washing Octavia's wound. "Why, Octy, did you do this to yourself?" When Vinyl asked the question, she looked straight into Octavia's eyes in the most concerned and sincere way. Octavia was confused. She hadn't done anything to herself, she had no intention to. "I didn't do anything, Vinyl." she said. "Let me explai--" Vinyl interrupted "No need to explain. Don't tell me you didn't do this. No pony else can..." Octavia scowled at Vinyl. How could she possibly think she, Octavia, would intentionally harm herself? It's just not conceive-able. "Vinyl, you have to listen to me. I didn't do this to myself." Octavia said, getting no response from Vinyl. "Please, you have to believe me. You know me. I would never do this..It was another mare" Vinyl's ears twitched and she said "Another. Mare?" Vinyl couldn't believe what she's just heard. Octavia..with another mare..How could she betray Vinyl like that? "No! Vinyl, t-that's not what I meant! I meant that-- well, it's hard to explain. I--..." Octavia stopped her words, for she knew, that no matter what she said or did, Vinyl wouldn't believe her and that she looked guilty as ever. She let tears falls from her eyes and she looked deeply into Vinyl's eyes, which were (for once) not covered by her shades. "Explain." was the only word that left Vinyl's mouth. She wanted to know exactly what happened to Octy.. Octavia was not caught off-guard by Vinyl's word. At least she had a chance to tell Vinyl everything. So, she did..down to the very last detail. All that'd happened and her suspicion of Applejack. She stumbled and stirred over words and incidents until she reached today's epidemic. That's when Vinyl laughed and admitted that even if it WAS true, it sounded really ridiculous. Vinyl had listened to Octavia..really listened to her. Vinyl believed Octavia aswell, even if her tales were unreasonable and weird. After they had their talk about everything. They examined the hoof print on Octavia's stomach. It was scarred and bloody, but burnt around the edges. They had to know why this was happening and how Applejack ties into it all. Until then, Vinyl had one idea that would get Octavia's mind off of everything. "Octy, what do you say to inviting all of our friends over? We could have a dinner party, like a house-warming. Wouldn't that be cool?" Vinyl asks, looking at Octavia and smiling with her shades down. Octavia thought about this for a moment. Nice, calm, classical music and a nice little chat over dinner. It would be nice. So, she agreed with Vinyl and invited everyone over. But it was nowhere near what Octavia had thought, not with Vinyl around. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Fluttershy was the first to arrive. Octavia could tell because it wasn't a knock, but a light tap on the door. Octavia opened it for Fluttershy who asked. "C-can i come in? I-I mean, if that's okay with you.." "Of course, Fluttershy, come in" Yelled Vinyl from the next room. Fluttershy walked in and sat gingerly on the floor. All of the sudden, every pony showed up the door at once: Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. She let them in and stopped....One is missing..Where is Rainbow Dash? "DIVE BOMB!!!!!" Octavia heard Dash's voice from the clouds. Rainbow Dash was on the nearest cloud. She looked over the edge, spread out her wings and jumped off the side, dive-bombing straight into the house. "WATCH OOOUUUUTTTT!!!!!!" Dash hit the wooden floor with a loud thud and did several barrel rolls before she crashed into the wall. Vinyl laughed and high-hoofed Dash. "Nice one, R.D! Now it's time to start this party right!" Vinyl ran to her..D.J. system? Oh no.....She blasted her horrible, trash music (skrillex) as loud as the speakers would go and everyone, including Fluttershy (of all people) cheered and played around. Octavia covered her ears and rushed out of the room. She didn't want to subject her new foal to this....music (If you could even call it that) Octavia decided to suck it up and go back out there and have fun. She put on a smile and walked into the front room. When she looked around, she noticed that Rarity wasn't in there. Octavia figured that Rarity must have gone into the dining room to eat or the bathroom. When the party slowed down and the music quieted, Octavia noticed that Rarity still hasn't returned. She went to Vinyl and asked "Where's Rarity?" Then a scream came from the bathroom. "Never mind, I found her" Rarity bolted out of the bathroom and straight to Octavia."T-There was some pony i-in your b-bathroom!! S-she had no eyes!! Who was that?!!" Octavia and Vinyl shot each other a sideways glance and Vinyl ran to the bathroom to look. Octavia started talking to Rarity "Tell me exactly what happened." "W-well, I was in the restroom fixing my fabulous hair and make-up when i heard an odd gurgling sound, then something grabbed my back hoof. When I turned around, there it was, clinging to me. The mare....had green-ish hair and no eyes..her mouth was hooked..it-- it was ghastly!" Rarity told Octavia. "I-I need t-to leave..I'm sorry dear Octavia. bye." Rarity bolted from the house and everyone stared. One by one they all departed, separating themselves from the house..all except Fluttershy. She walked up to Octavia and started to talk to her in almost a whisper. "U-Uhm, Octavia?..I think I know w-who Rarity saw.." This surprised Octavia. Fluttershy knew?? She pressed Fluttershy for answers, to which she immediately received the answers. She now knew who the mysterious mare was and what had happened to her. Fluttershy told Octavia that the mare was an old migrant worker for Sweet Apple Acres. The mare had fallen in love with Big Mackintosh and one day she revealed her love to him and he refused because he loved Cheerilee , so the mare tried to murder Cheerilee to win the love of Mackintosh, but she was caught before the act was committed. As punishment, Sweet Apple Acres sent her away to this home, where the owner of The Acres at the time, tortured her and starved her until she died... Since then, they did construction on the house. A hallway with a room at the end, was destroyed..the room where she died. Also, when the mare died, she was 9 months pregnant because she'd been raped by a farmhand. It all made since... the hallway she'd seen and her being pregnant. She knew why the mare was doing what she was. Octavia has what the people had taken from her..a foal. Chapter 4Octavia knew why now..Why she was being followed by the mare. Octavia had a baby and the mare's was taken from her when she died... but why would she bother Octavia's foal? That was the question that really needed to be answered... Vinyl was fast asleep as Octavia paced their room, thinking, waiting...maybe something would happen tonight, maybe not..All Octavia knew is that she wanted this freakish nightmare to end. They're had to be answers to the new questions she has, but where to look for them? Octavia wanted to rest, but her complete fear for what might happen to her, shied her away from the cloud-like comfort of the bed. Though, she yearned for it's sweet, cottony softness..the down-feather pillow and blankets..it's all she needed to make her drift into a deep, restful sleep.She gave in to the temptation and plowed her head right next to vinyl's, straight into a fluffy pillow. She sighed with the soft touch of Vinyl's body next to hers and basked into the perfect warmth. Octavia let her eyes close and she slowly fell asleep, unaware of what would awaken her. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ A sharp screaming awoke Vinyl from a deep sleep. She sat up as quickly as possible and turned to Octavia who was wincing in pain." Octy! What's wrong?!" Vinyl yelled as she tried to calm Octavia. " Vinyl, it's the foal!" Screamed Octavia, who was holding her stomach and gritting her teeth. Vinyl rushed into the bathroom and grabbed tons of towels. She positioned one under Octavia and the rest around her. "Just breathe Octy, okay? That's all you need to do right now." Vinyl instructed her. Octavia took deep, labored breaths as she reached for Vinyl's hoof, which soon, wrapped around hers. Vinyl kissed Octavia's hoof and took off into the next room to call the hospital for Octavia. She dialed 9-1-1, but the phone was mysteriously shut off. She looked to where Octavia was and saw a dark, broken shadow standing over her, touching her belly. Vinyl rushed to where the shadow stood and tried to push it away, only to get shoved into the mirror on the wall. Vinyl was knocked unconscious and fell to the floor in a heap. Octavia stared up at the mare above her..the grey hair, her permanent smile and the cold chill the surrounded her, letting Octavia know that this was no dream. Her stomach was lined with towels and was hurting so much. The mare was running her gnarled fore-hooves over it slowly and to Octavia's surprise, numbing the pain. Then came the worst part. There was pain that flooded Octavia's vision. "M-My stomach..." Octavia mumbled to herself. Though the mare had numbed the pain that came from labor, she couldn't stop the sickening crunch of Octavia's spine. Octavia was now paralyzed..not just with pain now...she tried to reach for her foal, but she couldn't move a muscle. The mare stared at Octavia's stomach with pure joy. She'd finally get the child that was taken from her. She kept rubbing Octavia's stomach, not trying to help Octavia, but to help the foal find it's way out of her. Octavia whimpered and thought to herself asking "Why does it hurt so much? Why can't it just stop right here?!" She felt as if her stomach was being pushed from the inside, but it couldn't be...right? There was just no possible way, but there it was..she felt it, then she heard the ripping..the horrible, pain ridden, ripping. She felt it all at once..her stomach being ripped apart from the inside, the blood running down her sides, and then, nothing..it was all numb. She couldn't breathe, think ,or feel. Though her vision was blurred, she saw whatever it was..something that wasn't her foal, moved out of her and into the dead mare's arms. The mare lifted the filly to her chest and laughed a slight, gurgled laugh. Octavia's breath shallowed and stopped..It was the end of her. The mare was delighted that she'd gotten her foal back..and she left, along with Octavia and Vinyl's baby..They were gone. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Vinyl's eyes opened to a horrorific scene. The body of her Octy lay motionless on the bed, her stomach torn apart, and her body covered in blood. The crooked shadow that was there before she passed out, was gone and so was the filly. She stood up and trotted to the bed. She gently touched Octavia's face and let her tears fall silently. Never once has Vinyl cried, but now every tear she had fell onto Octavia's cold and forever resting body. She wondered where their child had gone, but right now, she was too heart broken to care. She didn't want her Filly if Octy wouldn't be there..still, she had no idea what to do about the missing foal. 3 days later, they held Octavia's funeral. Each and every pony stopped just before her coffin and lay a single white rose on the top along with several baby-related tribute. The pastor started talking " Today is not only a day of mourning the loss of Octavia, a great musician and wife, but also the loss of her foal, the one that never made it through. Though we have lost both, we all know they are in a better place.." The pastor started the saddening music and allowed Vinyl to get one last look at Octy. As Vinylstood there, an unfamiliar pony came and stood beside her. " I'm sorry for your loss.." she said idly. "She was a great inspiration to many ponies. My name is Maple, in case you were wondering..." Vinyl turned to the pony in anger, but before she said a word, she looked at Maple's features. She was pretty, you could say.. She had gorgeous green hair and the biggest blue eyes. In her hooves she held a small new born foal the looked like her. " A loss of this size must be a huge impact on you.." Maple said in a whisper as she gave Vinyl a tight hug. " Don't worry though..it won't last long." She sneered to herself and Vinyl gasped. As Maple backed away, she slid the rusted knife out of Vinyl's chest and got splattered with blood. Maple cackled and fell to her knees in a crawling position, facing Vinyl. " You don't recognize me?! ahaha!! Why don't you ask your little wife when you meet her in hell!!!" Maple laughed uncontrollably as Vinyl's eyes shut tight. Vinyl knew..She knew that there was nothing she could do now, but sit and wait for the pain to end. Her world turned empty and numb as she realized it was all over now. Her cursed life..her loneliness..gone. Vinyl opened her eyes to Octavia standing above her " Hey sleepy head, nice of you to join me" Chirped Octy in her accented voice. Vinyl sighed in relief that it was all a dream and jumped up to hug Octavia. " Oh Octy, I'm so glad you're here, I'm glad i was just dreaming!" Vinyl said to Octavia, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. " Well, yeah....What was your dream, Vinyl?" Octy asked as she smiled and hugged Vinyl back. Vinyl replied "It's too complicated to explain." Vinyl let go of Octavia and looked around that their home and smiled, everything was the same and it was definitely not haunted. She grabbed Octavia's hand and led her to the bedroom to unpack everything. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The new tenant looked at the old antebellum home with uncertainty. He knew the house's history, but wanted to move in right away. He knew of the murders of the Scratch couple and the one before, yet something about it invited him in. He walked into his new house and set everything down. He had to see what his home had in store, so he trotted slowly around the house. He heard a slight creaking and followed the noise. He stopped right before a hallway and stared down it, there was an eeriness about it as he stared unknowingly at the single room at the end....
Chapter 1A married couple, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia walk down a small back road with Applejack, the old farmer who used to have several hundred migrant workers until a certain law was passed against it. They are looking for the perfect place to live since they just got married and a filly was on the way. "We're comin' up on the old antebellum home, sugar-cubes" says Applejack, turning to vinyl. " I absolutely cannot wait until we get there!" chirps Octavia, her pregnant belly jutting out from under her. The three of them stop just before a little cottage. It's medium in size and elegant with white pillars in front and beautiful art work carved into the wood of the stairs. "Wow..." was all Vinyl could say. "Just..wow" Applejack looked with uncertainty at the house and slowly lead Vinyl and Octavia into it. "There's an old fireplace!" giggled Octavia. "It's so perfect!" Vinyl could tell something was off about the house, it gave her the chills, but she knew it was just what they needed to start this family and the price was so low on the house. Vinyl sighed "Okay," she turns to Applejack." you have a deal" Applejack smiles a bit nervously and Octavia smiles at Vinyl. "Uh, alright darlin' , let's get the paper work done" Applejack says to Vinyl. Vinyl turns to Octavia "Octy, why don't you just sit down and relax while I go do this. I'll be back before you know it." Before the words escaped her mouth, Octavia sat down eagerly on an old, white rocking chair. Vinyl and Applejack left Octavia alone in peace when they went to sign papers. This house is quiet..almost too quiet, it seemed. It didn't frighten Octavia, not one bit, but it really bothered Vinyl. She finally stood up and started walking around the house, getting a good look at the place and getting anxious to settle in. Suddenly, a light scratching sound came from a room towards the end of a long hallway that Octavia just happened to stumble upon. She thought it must have been rats, which made her shudder and squirm with disgust. She decided to make sure it wasn't anything like that and walked to the door. The scratching came again, but louder and on the door. She opened it as quickly as possible, then a black cat lunged out of the room, hissed and scratched Octavia's front hooves. "ow!!" she screamed and collapsed to the floor.She stood back up, wobbly. "Oh..just a silly cat..how did it get in there?" She looked inside the room where the only way in or out was the doorway she was standing in. "Vinyl!!" yelled Octavia," Vinyl, come quick. please!" She started wobbling from the hallway to the front room, searching for Vinyl and Applejack, but she doesn't see them anywhere. She ran from room to room, looking, yelling..Finally, she came to a stop..she fell onto the floor and lay there, in tears. Oh how she wished she could find her Vinyl. She looked around once more at the empty house, hoping and willing for her to appear, but to no avail. She stroked her bulging stomach and closed her eyes. This act was useless, but it served to comfort Octavia and hopefully, her new filly ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "Octy?"Octavia heard a distant voice."Octy?" Who was this? It sounded so familiar. "Hey, sugar cube, wake up." Octavia replies "huh?" and slowly opens her eyes. Vinyl and Applejack stood beside her in the comfortable, white rocking chair. "Hey, Octy, looks like you fell asleep while I signed the papers. You okay?" Vinyl asks, looking concerned. Octavia jumps up out of the chair, turns toward the girls and yells "You two left me!" They both turned to each other, confused. Applejack replies," We were in the next room, we didn't leave." Octavia was angry and confused "Yes, you did! I went to walk around the house and neither of you were here!!" She stared at both of them for a minute, waiting for an explanation that didn't come. "Vinyl, I yelled for you. There was a cat in the very back bedroom, it scratched me, yet the only way in that room was from the door and--" She stops talking when her eyes drift to her front hooves. The scratches were gone. Applejack laughs nervously "Sugar cube, there's no cat here. And what back bedroom? There's only one here, at the front of the house." Octavia wasn't decieved. "There was a long hallway toward the back of the house and there was a room at the end of it....isn't there? No. I know it's here. I went to it!" Vinyl rushed to calm Octavia. "Hey, calm down. Look, it's been a long day of house hunting and you're probably being effected by a lot of hormones. Let's just hire a couple of movers to bring our bed here, we'll go out to eat, then we'll come home and rest as much as we can, to get used to the house. okay?" Vinyl looks Octavia in the eyes and smiles. Octavia finally sighs and nods "Okay..it was probably just a dream anyways." Applejack grins and cheers "That's the spirit, darlin'!" The rest of the night passed by in a blur for all of them, Vinyl couldn't shake the feeling of eeriness coming from the house, she knew something was up with Octy, and Applejack had this sense of guilt about her. Octavia had some similar feelings: The house that she was enchanted by at first, became a frightening and mysterious benefactor to her fears and she knew Applejack was hiding something from her and Vinyl, she was determined to find out what it was. What most scared her, was the dream..no-- the memory of the non-existent back bedroom and the cat that attacked her. At this moment, Octavia was sure of this: The house that her and vinyl just bought that day and Applejack, were hiding something deeper and more complex than she or any other pony could ever imagine...
Chapter 2Octavia was jerked out of a restless sleep. It was the middle of the night and everything was dark except the faint glow of the street lamp by the road. Her dream was..troubling...She was in this very house, but years and years in the past, when Sweet Apple Acres still had migrant workers. She walked onto the porch where a yellow pony with blazing green hair awaited her arrival. She sat next to the mare and they smiled at each other. "Happy Birthday!" cheered the charming, yellow pony as she hugged Octavia."I'm so glad you're here!" Then, the mare stood up and walked into the kitchen, where Octavia followed her. She sat Octavia at an old, wooden table, like the one in her and Vinyl's dining room and lay a cake before her. They all gave a silent cheer, yelling, laughing..with no sound. everything was slowed down and distorted. It went back to normal when they placed a necklace around her throat and clapped. She heard someone murmur about it being her sweet 16..but she's 22.. That's when she had awoken. At the end of that dream..no--memory...Octavia knew that she had to tell Vinyl about this tomorrow, but right now, she needed some sleep, even though she was too startled to rest. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Vinyl woke up early the next morning. She was tired and still shaken by Octy's freak out the day before. She had weird feelings still, about the house, Applejack, and everything. It seemed so...mysterious and hidden with guilt. She saw Octy last night. How she'd woken from tossing and turning and how she sat and stared at Vinyl. Something about it was odd, but she didn't want to let it bother her, so she passed it off as jitters from being in a new home. Octavia was pretending to sleep and she saw Vinyl get up out of the bed and walk into the almost empty kitchen. She kept thinking about the dream she'd woken from, half-convinced that it wasn't a dream, but a memory..it couldn't be..right? She really wanted to know what's going on, all of it is so confusing only if--"Hey, Octy, look what I found under the rocking chair!" yelled Vinyl from the next room. Octavia stands up and walks into the front room where Vinyl was looking down and examining something. "what is it,Vinyl?" asked Octavia. She walked around Vinyl to get a better look at what she was holding and gasped. She couldn't believe what it was..H-How could it be? It was the necklace from her dream. The one the people had put around her neck..for her 16th birthday. It's impossible..unless, the dream..really was a memory. no, it can't be. Vinyl saw the look of shock cross Octy's face and threw the necklace back where it was. Octavia just stared. "Octy?.." Vinyl said." Look, I'm going to go grocery shopping, you can stay here and relax or you could come with me. Choose one." Octavia took a moment to think. She HAD to figure out what was going on here..not while Vinyl was around, she'd think so little of Octavia after that. "I'll stay here..to get more used to being here, plus, i'm 9 months pregnant, i really don't need to be walking everywhere right?" She replies to Vinyl nervously. Vinyl nods and walks out of the house, on her way to the market. Octavia stands up and walks around the house slowly. Nothing seemed amiss, but she couldn't be sure. Vinyl and Applejack had proven to her that there, indeed, was no hallway with a room at the end of it. Just the one bedroom at the east side of the house. Plus, there had been no cat either. Octavia was just being silly. She passed it off as nervousness about the new foal and laughed at her absolute lack of reality at the time. She just walked around the house, looking every which direction when the house creaked or popped. It was disturbing. To know that the things she'd encountered weren't real...Octavia knew that if she let it run through her mind and let it get to her, it would only get worse. That's when she heard a hoof step. It was faint at first, it was coming from near the back of the house. "Vinyl?" she called out. "Vinyl?" but no answer came. She walked toward where she heard it coming from, but this time, it wasn't a step she heard. No, it was a faint dragging sound and it drew closer to her. *drag*....she couldn't tell what it was. *Drag*....Octavia was so afraid, she couldn't move. She tried to take a step forward and came face to face with the hallway and the room at the end. *drag*...this time when she heard the noise, she saw something move in the shadows of the hallway. *Drag*...it moved closer to her, but she was paralyzed with fear. *drag*..the shadow dragged itself into the light from the front room and Octavia could see what it was..who it was. She saw its matted mane, green and grey with age. The hooves caked with blood, thin..and yellow. The eyes....there were none..all that was left were empty sockets and hooks attached..hooking the mare's mouth into a permanent, blood-dripped smile. Octavia knew who it was...the mare from her dream. The mare dragged herself to Octavia and placed a gnarled and grisly hoof on her pregnant belly. Octavia, of course, had no ability to scream or move..just stare and hold her breath, hoping it all would go away. The mare gurgled some incoherent words, drug her hand down Octavia's stomach and disappeared along with the the room and hallway. Octavia's world spun. She finally dashed to the front room, breathing heavily. She didn't know what to think of her encounter..Was it real? A dream?..Her stomach stung and produced a sharp pain that called Octavia's attention to it. There was a bloody and burned hoof print in the middle of it. The pain was strong and electric, producing tears in the corners of her eyes. She couldn't take the pain..the horrible, intense, striking pain. Finally, she collapsed on the floor, out of energy and passed out. There was nothing she could do...
Chapter 3A warm, wet pressure on Octavia's forehead awoke her from yet another dream..this time, she was sure it was a memory. She opened her eyes to Vinyl's worried face, holding a wet wash cloth. Vinyl's face softened a bit when she saw Octavia was awake and she moved the wash cloth to the side of Octavia's stomach. When pain seared through her body, she knew that what she'd experienced was real....the mare crawling toward her, the hoof print....it was all very real. "Octy," starts Vinyl." i need to ask you a question." Her face turned grim again as she kept washing Octavia's wound. "Why, Octy, did you do this to yourself?" When Vinyl asked the question, she looked straight into Octavia's eyes in the most concerned and sincere way. Octavia was confused. She hadn't done anything to herself, she had no intention to. "I didn't do anything, Vinyl." she said. "Let me explai--" Vinyl interrupted "No need to explain. Don't tell me you didn't do this. No pony else can..." Octavia scowled at Vinyl. How could she possibly think she, Octavia, would intentionally harm herself? It's just not conceive-able. "Vinyl, you have to listen to me. I didn't do this to myself." Octavia said, getting no response from Vinyl. "Please, you have to believe me. You know me. I would never do this..It was another mare" Vinyl's ears twitched and she said "Another. Mare?" Vinyl couldn't believe what she's just heard. Octavia..with another mare..How could she betray Vinyl like that? "No! Vinyl, t-that's not what I meant! I meant that-- well, it's hard to explain. I--..." Octavia stopped her words, for she knew, that no matter what she said or did, Vinyl wouldn't believe her and that she looked guilty as ever. She let tears falls from her eyes and she looked deeply into Vinyl's eyes, which were (for once) not covered by her shades. "Explain." was the only word that left Vinyl's mouth. She wanted to know exactly what happened to Octy.. Octavia was not caught off-guard by Vinyl's word. At least she had a chance to tell Vinyl everything. So, she did..down to the very last detail. All that'd happened and her suspicion of Applejack. She stumbled and stirred over words and incidents until she reached today's epidemic. That's when Vinyl laughed and admitted that even if it WAS true, it sounded really ridiculous. Vinyl had listened to Octavia..really listened to her. Vinyl believed Octavia aswell, even if her tales were unreasonable and weird. After they had their talk about everything. They examined the hoof print on Octavia's stomach. It was scarred and bloody, but burnt around the edges. They had to know why this was happening and how Applejack ties into it all. Until then, Vinyl had one idea that would get Octavia's mind off of everything. "Octy, what do you say to inviting all of our friends over? We could have a dinner party, like a house-warming. Wouldn't that be cool?" Vinyl asks, looking at Octavia and smiling with her shades down. Octavia thought about this for a moment. Nice, calm, classical music and a nice little chat over dinner. It would be nice. So, she agreed with Vinyl and invited everyone over. But it was nowhere near what Octavia had thought, not with Vinyl around. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Fluttershy was the first to arrive. Octavia could tell because it wasn't a knock, but a light tap on the door. Octavia opened it for Fluttershy who asked. "C-can i come in? I-I mean, if that's okay with you.." "Of course, Fluttershy, come in" Yelled Vinyl from the next room. Fluttershy walked in and sat gingerly on the floor. All of the sudden, every pony showed up the door at once: Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. She let them in and stopped....One is missing..Where is Rainbow Dash? "DIVE BOMB!!!!!" Octavia heard Dash's voice from the clouds. Rainbow Dash was on the nearest cloud. She looked over the edge, spread out her wings and jumped off the side, dive-bombing straight into the house. "WATCH OOOUUUUTTTT!!!!!!" Dash hit the wooden floor with a loud thud and did several barrel rolls before she crashed into the wall. Vinyl laughed and high-hoofed Dash. "Nice one, R.D! Now it's time to start this party right!" Vinyl ran to her..D.J. system? Oh no.....She blasted her horrible, trash music (skrillex) as loud as the speakers would go and everyone, including Fluttershy (of all people) cheered and played around. Octavia covered her ears and rushed out of the room. She didn't want to subject her new foal to this....music (If you could even call it that) Octavia decided to suck it up and go back out there and have fun. She put on a smile and walked into the front room. When she looked around, she noticed that Rarity wasn't in there. Octavia figured that Rarity must have gone into the dining room to eat or the bathroom. When the party slowed down and the music quieted, Octavia noticed that Rarity still hasn't returned. She went to Vinyl and asked "Where's Rarity?" Then a scream came from the bathroom. "Never mind, I found her" Rarity bolted out of the bathroom and straight to Octavia."T-There was some pony i-in your b-bathroom!! S-she had no eyes!! Who was that?!!" Octavia and Vinyl shot each other a sideways glance and Vinyl ran to the bathroom to look. Octavia started talking to Rarity "Tell me exactly what happened." "W-well, I was in the restroom fixing my fabulous hair and make-up when i heard an odd gurgling sound, then something grabbed my back hoof. When I turned around, there it was, clinging to me. The mare....had green-ish hair and no eyes..her mouth was hooked..it-- it was ghastly!" Rarity told Octavia. "I-I need t-to leave..I'm sorry dear Octavia. bye." Rarity bolted from the house and everyone stared. One by one they all departed, separating themselves from the house..all except Fluttershy. She walked up to Octavia and started to talk to her in almost a whisper. "U-Uhm, Octavia?..I think I know w-who Rarity saw.." This surprised Octavia. Fluttershy knew?? She pressed Fluttershy for answers, to which she immediately received the answers. She now knew who the mysterious mare was and what had happened to her. Fluttershy told Octavia that the mare was an old migrant worker for Sweet Apple Acres. The mare had fallen in love with Big Mackintosh and one day she revealed her love to him and he refused because he loved Cheerilee , so the mare tried to murder Cheerilee to win the love of Mackintosh, but she was caught before the act was committed. As punishment, Sweet Apple Acres sent her away to this home, where the owner of The Acres at the time, tortured her and starved her until she died... Since then, they did construction on the house. A hallway with a room at the end, was destroyed..the room where she died. Also, when the mare died, she was 9 months pregnant because she'd been raped by a farmhand. It all made since... the hallway she'd seen and her being pregnant. She knew why the mare was doing what she was. Octavia has what the people had taken from her..a foal.
Chapter 4Octavia knew why now..Why she was being followed by the mare. Octavia had a baby and the mare's was taken from her when she died... but why would she bother Octavia's foal? That was the question that really needed to be answered... Vinyl was fast asleep as Octavia paced their room, thinking, waiting...maybe something would happen tonight, maybe not..All Octavia knew is that she wanted this freakish nightmare to end. They're had to be answers to the new questions she has, but where to look for them? Octavia wanted to rest, but her complete fear for what might happen to her, shied her away from the cloud-like comfort of the bed. Though, she yearned for it's sweet, cottony softness..the down-feather pillow and blankets..it's all she needed to make her drift into a deep, restful sleep.She gave in to the temptation and plowed her head right next to vinyl's, straight into a fluffy pillow. She sighed with the soft touch of Vinyl's body next to hers and basked into the perfect warmth. Octavia let her eyes close and she slowly fell asleep, unaware of what would awaken her. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ A sharp screaming awoke Vinyl from a deep sleep. She sat up as quickly as possible and turned to Octavia who was wincing in pain." Octy! What's wrong?!" Vinyl yelled as she tried to calm Octavia. " Vinyl, it's the foal!" Screamed Octavia, who was holding her stomach and gritting her teeth. Vinyl rushed into the bathroom and grabbed tons of towels. She positioned one under Octavia and the rest around her. "Just breathe Octy, okay? That's all you need to do right now." Vinyl instructed her. Octavia took deep, labored breaths as she reached for Vinyl's hoof, which soon, wrapped around hers. Vinyl kissed Octavia's hoof and took off into the next room to call the hospital for Octavia. She dialed 9-1-1, but the phone was mysteriously shut off. She looked to where Octavia was and saw a dark, broken shadow standing over her, touching her belly. Vinyl rushed to where the shadow stood and tried to push it away, only to get shoved into the mirror on the wall. Vinyl was knocked unconscious and fell to the floor in a heap. Octavia stared up at the mare above her..the grey hair, her permanent smile and the cold chill the surrounded her, letting Octavia know that this was no dream. Her stomach was lined with towels and was hurting so much. The mare was running her gnarled fore-hooves over it slowly and to Octavia's surprise, numbing the pain. Then came the worst part. There was pain that flooded Octavia's vision. "M-My stomach..." Octavia mumbled to herself. Though the mare had numbed the pain that came from labor, she couldn't stop the sickening crunch of Octavia's spine. Octavia was now paralyzed..not just with pain now...she tried to reach for her foal, but she couldn't move a muscle. The mare stared at Octavia's stomach with pure joy. She'd finally get the child that was taken from her. She kept rubbing Octavia's stomach, not trying to help Octavia, but to help the foal find it's way out of her. Octavia whimpered and thought to herself asking "Why does it hurt so much? Why can't it just stop right here?!" She felt as if her stomach was being pushed from the inside, but it couldn't be...right? There was just no possible way, but there it was..she felt it, then she heard the ripping..the horrible, pain ridden, ripping. She felt it all at once..her stomach being ripped apart from the inside, the blood running down her sides, and then, nothing..it was all numb. She couldn't breathe, think ,or feel. Though her vision was blurred, she saw whatever it was..something that wasn't her foal, moved out of her and into the dead mare's arms. The mare lifted the filly to her chest and laughed a slight, gurgled laugh. Octavia's breath shallowed and stopped..It was the end of her. The mare was delighted that she'd gotten her foal back..and she left, along with Octavia and Vinyl's baby..They were gone. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Vinyl's eyes opened to a horrorific scene. The body of her Octy lay motionless on the bed, her stomach torn apart, and her body covered in blood. The crooked shadow that was there before she passed out, was gone and so was the filly. She stood up and trotted to the bed. She gently touched Octavia's face and let her tears fall silently. Never once has Vinyl cried, but now every tear she had fell onto Octavia's cold and forever resting body. She wondered where their child had gone, but right now, she was too heart broken to care. She didn't want her Filly if Octy wouldn't be there..still, she had no idea what to do about the missing foal. 3 days later, they held Octavia's funeral. Each and every pony stopped just before her coffin and lay a single white rose on the top along with several baby-related tribute. The pastor started talking " Today is not only a day of mourning the loss of Octavia, a great musician and wife, but also the loss of her foal, the one that never made it through. Though we have lost both, we all know they are in a better place.." The pastor started the saddening music and allowed Vinyl to get one last look at Octy. As Vinylstood there, an unfamiliar pony came and stood beside her. " I'm sorry for your loss.." she said idly. "She was a great inspiration to many ponies. My name is Maple, in case you were wondering..." Vinyl turned to the pony in anger, but before she said a word, she looked at Maple's features. She was pretty, you could say.. She had gorgeous green hair and the biggest blue eyes. In her hooves she held a small new born foal the looked like her. " A loss of this size must be a huge impact on you.." Maple said in a whisper as she gave Vinyl a tight hug. " Don't worry though..it won't last long." She sneered to herself and Vinyl gasped. As Maple backed away, she slid the rusted knife out of Vinyl's chest and got splattered with blood. Maple cackled and fell to her knees in a crawling position, facing Vinyl. " You don't recognize me?! ahaha!! Why don't you ask your little wife when you meet her in hell!!!" Maple laughed uncontrollably as Vinyl's eyes shut tight. Vinyl knew..She knew that there was nothing she could do now, but sit and wait for the pain to end. Her world turned empty and numb as she realized it was all over now. Her cursed life..her loneliness..gone. Vinyl opened her eyes to Octavia standing above her " Hey sleepy head, nice of you to join me" Chirped Octy in her accented voice. Vinyl sighed in relief that it was all a dream and jumped up to hug Octavia. " Oh Octy, I'm so glad you're here, I'm glad i was just dreaming!" Vinyl said to Octavia, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. " Well, yeah....What was your dream, Vinyl?" Octy asked as she smiled and hugged Vinyl back. Vinyl replied "It's too complicated to explain." Vinyl let go of Octavia and looked around that their home and smiled, everything was the same and it was definitely not haunted. She grabbed Octavia's hand and led her to the bedroom to unpack everything. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The new tenant looked at the old antebellum home with uncertainty. He knew the house's history, but wanted to move in right away. He knew of the murders of the Scratch couple and the one before, yet something about it invited him in. He walked into his new house and set everything down. He had to see what his home had in store, so he trotted slowly around the house. He heard a slight creaking and followed the noise. He stopped right before a hallway and stared down it, there was an eeriness about it as he stared unknowingly at the single room at the end....
