Apparition Amphitheater Presents: My Heaven is Your Hell

Chapters

And There is No Tomorrow
If I Stay, I'll Fade Away
By Dawn, I Will Be Gone

And There is No Tomorrow

It was oddly calm out in the middle of that dreary, dead forest. The tall, spindly, naked trees stood against the backdrop of the sky like spikes in a cave or claws reaching as high as possible. Not a single leaf rustled, and not a whisper of the winds were heard. The Moon hung in the sky, full and majestic as always, casting everything in a silvery highlight, as the stars twinkled in their strange, alien patterns. The inky blackness of the sky was deep, with a curious empty longing seemingly felt far within its vast infinite. The contrast of the shining moon, the glittering stars, and the hollow void all around made for a profoundly sublime, and somewhat sad, image of beauty.

It was enough for the master of the amphitheater, which sat at the heart of this forest, to exit the confines of his home in order to gaze into the cosmos, deep in reflection and wonder. His eyes peered out from his half skull mask, gaze unbothered by the messy brown hair that sat motionless in the still of the night. His sharp, cloven hands hung relaxed and calm at his sides, careful not to let the barbed wire that wrapped his forearms to snag against his grey hoodie or his grey jeans. He could feel the cold of the nail's head, which poked through the skull like some makeshift unicorn horn, gently rub his forehead beneath the surface in an oddly soothing way. Nothing at all bothered him while he kept his eyes to the heavens, letting him feel comfortably and certainly alone. All he ever truly knew was his world around him, and that's all he ever needed to know for certain. Sure, he ALSO knew there were worlds outside of his own, just as they had the chance to somehow leak into his humble dwellings for a surprise visit, but he never bothered to want to investigate on his own accord. Maybe one day, but from then in those long years to now, he was content.

His attention suddenly shifted, as he looked towards eye level, as if spotting an interloper.

Ah, greetings. I believed I was alone tonight, but I suppose that time of year has finally come once again, hasn't it?

The entity gave a small chuckle, crossing his arms ever so gently. How could he forget that despite his solitude, he still had the phantom audience? His thoughts of certainly being alone feeling so firm in his mind, only to be utterly proven wrong at such a self reflective moment.

I am Wrath B. Forgivness, and welcome back to my humble realm.

His attention shifted back towards the darkness and light above him, as if he couldn't help but indulge himself while he had a job to perform.

It's marvelous, isn't it? The vast darkness that can hold such light so clearly? The same can be said in the reverse order, but I've always found it more profound this way. To have a state that seems so overwhelmingly bleak if on it's own, but becomes something so much more once it has had that bit of hope sprinkled in. It's why I love to tell horror stories. They may not always have a happy ending, but they always have a certain strange charm to them that few other stories can tell. It isn't always about good versus evil, about survival, or about lingering regrets and sentiments. Sometimes, there can simply be an admiration. An admiration for the dark. Though, I wonder? Can the dark admire back. What if it could? How would it approach the fixation of the light. I suppose that no matter how much it could admire it, it would be in danger of fading away upon touching it. After all, while it can tolerate the moon and stars, it cannot abide the sun's all powerful morning rays.

His attention snapped back to the audience, holding his index claw aloft to conduct attention.

Just for a moment, though, what if the darkness tried, knowing the risk? Well, I suppose we could have a story called:

My Heaven is Your Hell

-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-

She woke up with a sudden gasp, ripping away from the bed sheets that once wound her like a cocoon. Her already electric cyan and cobalt blue unkempt mane was a tad more messy, her magenta eyes took on a darker, redder tint from the bloodshot, tired nature, and her yellowish white coat felt like it lost some luster. With a heavy sigh, she lit her horn up and tossed the rest of the covers from her form and trudged to the nearby bathroom, where she quickly checked herself, giving her mane a quick rinse, before returning to her room to fetch her purple shades with the black rims. She always enjoyed wearing shades, even indoors, but it had only been recently that she needed them to hide the excess redness of her eyes, as well as the dark circles that sat below. She gave a deep yawn, still feeling the effects of the night, only accepting the slight inconvenience it brought as more of a relaxed reassurance of peace.

"Vinyl, breakfast is ready!" a familiar voice called from the dining room. Her belly rumbled ever so slightly from the mentioning of food, and so she followed the orders down to the kitchen to find Octavia Melody, already plating a set of pancakes for the two of them, careful to keep her long, dark grey mane away from the sticky morning meal and her light grey coat tidy. Trudging to her own seat, Vinyl eyed her stack of flapjacks for a moment, before pouring the entirely unnecessary yet suitable amount of syrup upon the already sweet cake, before sprinkling some extra icing sugar on top, then grabbing a single cherry from the fruit bowl and placing it at the top and center. When she did, she realized she missed a step, right before remembering they had run out of whipped cream a couple of days ago.

"Sorry, I haven't been able to do any shopping. I know how you like your whipped cream. Though, I dare say you could use a little LESS sugar in your diet," Octavia stated in her posh and polite accent, starting to chide the pony across the table from her as she sat down to her own stack, "So, maybe this is a good thing." With gentle precision of years of practice from her occupation as a cellist and violinist, among other classical instruments, she cut through the fluffy cakes and daintily ate from the fork. After patting her mouth to keep herself as proper looking as possible, she continued to speak. "Also, you really shouldn't be wearing those shades indoors. Aside from how garish it looks, you might bump into something you can't see."

Vinyl gazed at her table companion for a moment before she jammed her fork into the top of the stack and consumed the first pancake with a massive, single bite. After chewing for a while and swallowing her food, she spat the cherry pit out, only for it to sale across the air and land in the trash can with a light metal "ding". Octavia stared at her with a cross, disapproving look, giving a begrudged sigh before continuing to carefully cut another piece off of her stack. The two ate in relative silence as they continued their meal, which was one of the very few times the house was ever so quiet.

After finishing her meal before her housemate, Octavia gently patted her lips once again, and gave Vinyl another look. This time, it was more of concern rather than of one for chastising. "Vinyl," she started, which caused the mare opposite of her to stop mid bite on the last flapjack, "Are you alright?"

Vinyl, her mood darkening slightly, set the pancake back down onto the plate from whence it came. She gave a sigh and shook her head, before giving a weak smile and a shrug. Octavia knew this was a sign that she wasn't going to get an answer, but her concern didn't fade. "You've been a bit more reckless than usual lately," Octavia explained, "For over two weeks now, actually. Don't think that I haven't noticed you pulling all nighters on your latest project. I'm just worried you're forsaking your health for your career."

Vinyl felt a chill run up and down her spine. It was true that she was up all night lately, but it wasn't because of the project she had been working on. If anything, after years of experience in mixing and altering sounds for the sake of her passion and calling in the world, as indicated by the reversed bridged eighth-notes on her left flank and the normal bridged eighth-note on her right, she knew it would be a matter of time before these sleepless nights caught up with her. However, there really wasn't much she could do. Every night, after a session of work at her gear, she'd climb into bed, fall fast asleep, and then... She shivered a bit, but hid it with a wave of her hoof, trying to assuage Octavia and present circumstances as under control.

Octavia raised an eyebrow, knowing something was wrong, but gave a disappointed sigh, knowing there wasn't much she could do as long as Vinyl remained tight lipped about it. "Well, please at least promise me you'll try to take care of yourself more. I'd rather you not end up sick while I'm gone."

Vinyl's attention snapped back to Octavia properly now. That's right, Octavia was going to be gone for a few days, having been booked to assist in a few symphonies and concerts around Equestria, meaning Vinyl would have no moral support through that period of absence. She wanted to say something, anything to communicate the distress she was starting to go into, but her own pride of wanting to handle this alone, coupled with other personal thoughts kept her quiet.

Octavia rose from her seat, slipped on the white collar and pink bow around her neck that somewhat matched her violet treble cleft cutie mark, and cantered over to her instrument case before slinging it across her back. She turned back to her companion for a moment, worry still planted firmly in her expression. "Please, stay safe and sound. I'll see you later." With those words said, the cellist exited the house, leaving Vinyl alone at the table.

She gazed down at her breakfast, feeling less hungry now after the dour conversation she had. She rose from her own seat, and began wandering off back to her room to continue her work, not really in the mood for breakfast anymore. That was, until she rushed back, hastily consumed the rest of her pancakes, downed the glass of milk and glass of orange juice that was also provided, before once again retreating to her room. She wasn't going to just leave a good breakfast behind, after all, no matter how soured her mood was. The dishes could wait, though.

With that, she found herself back in her room, gazing at the light clutter and mess that reflected her rather slapdash, messy lifestyle. It was a comforting feeling to be among her disco tech such as her lights, keyboards, samplers, recorders, decks, and a bookshelf of rows upon rows of vinyl disks, some as albums and compilations, others were entirely unique products of her own activities. Here, she could just enjoy the sounds and notes like a true audiophile she ultimately was, running experiments on sounds through filters and mixers, just to see what she could come up with.

Trotting over to one of her decks just past her bed, the thought of running these experiments to help enhance her current project put some ease back into her soul and mind. Just as it did, however, she tripped over something from her hind leg. Shooting a gaze down to the offending hoof, her breath froze and her heart stopped as she saw something black retreat under her bed. The color drained from her face as she stood motionless in that position, just staring at the back hoof closest to her bed, which was the only thing bothering to move, sliding a littler further away from the bed's gap. There was no way something could actually be underneath her bed. Boggarts are a foal's tall tale, not some real thing haunting random mares. Still, she swallowed hard, mustering the courage to check.

Slowly, she dipped herself lower and reached for the dangling sheet, and quickly flipped it up as she gazed into the darkness under the bed. Pushing her shades up to get a better look, all she could see was mostly pitch black, with a few dust bunnies in front of the void. She gave a sigh of relief. Of course there was nothing under the bed. It was just a trick of the eyes, brought on by stress and... the weird nightmares she's been having. She shook her head, letting go of the bed's dangling sheet, and continued towards her deck. Upon reaching it, she noticed something. Every single time she came back to check her device to start her work, she'd find everything on her deck set in the optimal positions, as if they were readied the night before so she could just jump to the bulk of the jockeying. The problem with that thought was that she didn't recall ever re-setting the devices last night. Heck, it seemed like it was happening every day recently, every time she decided to start work up again, ever since almost two weeks ago.

She shook her head. Considering how stressed out she was, maybe she actually did set it up every night up to now, but just forgot due to what's been going on. It was kind of hard to tell for her with how she's been feeling. Honestly, right now, she just needed her audio fix. And so, casting the thoughts that plagued her mind aside, she turned on her deck and put on her trusty earphones, holding one speaker a little tighter against herself with her hoof, listening closely to the music. Her other hoof almost danced across the device, moving sliders, turning dials, rotating disks back and forth, hitting buttons, and all sorts of other well practiced efforts. The stress of the nightmare melted away once again as she lost herself into the music.

However, from under the bed, far below and away from her line of sight, a shadowy mass gathered, staying underneath and away from the sun's glorious light that touched the floor of Vinyl's room. Eyes like yellow pips of light peered out, and watched the pony make her music, mesmerized.

If I Stay, I'll Fade Away

It had been quite the long session. Vinyl stretched and popped her aches from standing at her decks all morning long, mixing and matching to make music, chasing after those perfect sounds. It was the afternoon now, and the DJ had decided it would be good to stroll through town to get some exercise in and limber up for another session later in the night. With headphones on, listening to her favorite tunes that ranged from a variety of non-classical genres, she did just that. It was also definitely not to avoid doing the dishes that she left behind. Absolutely not. Besides, It was just a little stroll, she'd be back soon anyway. A little stroll that took her through the market, around town hall, and past the neighborhood full of kids and parents enjoying the daylight, gently bobbing to the rhythms and melodies fed directly to her ears. She even had the chance to pop into the library, where Twilight Sparkle, the resident librarian, would then lend her a book detailing types of sound distortions that could be synthesized by a variety of means. She knew of some techniques, but the book would easily cover any gaps in her knowledge that she may not have been privy to prior. Vinyl forgot the book was returned in that day, so it was quite the nice surprise and lucky timing when swung by.

After that nice walk to clear her senses, and with the perfect book in hoof, she returned to her and Octavia's home that evening. Walking into the dark, silent house, she pulled the headphones down around her neck as she shut the door behind her and locked it, music still gently beating from the stereos. Looking about in the shaded home, she then flipped the switch near the front door and illuminated the entrance near the dining room and kitchen. Vinyl then let her gaze fall upon the table that still had the refuse of breakfast just lying as they were when she first abandoned them. She thought for a moment about cleaning up, but decided that it could still wait. There wasn't any rush to get to the chores with Octavia still being out of town for a while.

Instead, she trotted towards her room and shut the door behind her, jumped into her bed and began to lounge for a moment, cracking open the book she brought home. To be quite honest, Vinyl rarely ever read. Sure, she'd read lyric booklets that came with officially released albums from bands and artists she took interest in, or the instruction manuals on the variety of devices she had collected over the years to help her career and hobby, but seldom was it ever a full on book out of interest. In this case, it was a much more comprehensive guide that explained both natural and artificial ways to experiment with sound engineering. Certain methods were quite basic and were ones that she had either executed once prior, or knew of on a conceptual level while she performed more advanced methods. That said, her experience was still on the minuscule end compared to the variety of sound designers, engineers, composers, and other audio artists that mastered their parts of the craft over the years, so there was always enough room to learn.

As she flipped through the book, scanning each page and taking mental notes, she soon was sparked with a flash of inspiration. Pawing at her chin with her hoof, she considered the logistics on how it could be done, and gazed to one of her decks. Slipping a card in between the pages and setting the book aside, she bounced off of her bed and moved to one of her sound mixers. Using the attached keyboard, she played a note and set it to be sustained. Then, she started pushing buttons to add filters, tweak nobs to alter tones, properties, and other perimeters, and began gently moving sliders back and forth, all while listening carefully for the smallest of changes. It didn't take as long as she thought, but she ended up with a unique note that could as really bring some personality to her project. Saving the sound, she then played a short, small melody on the keyboard to test it, and got slight chills over how good it sounded. She smiled deeply, feeling accomplished in being able to add to her project. A project she hoped her fans enjoyed.

Before she realized anything, however, a quick gaze out of the window told her it was nearing night time. Quick as a flash, she robbed her personal coffers and raced out the door, only to appear back at home moments later with a piping hot pizza in hoof. An artist needed fuel for the creative fire, and she really didn't want to cook anything right now, nor engage in any other chores on top of that. Having her impromptu supper for the night, though still having some slices left over, she jumped back into her project, now armed with knowledge and sustenance, and let her work consume her attention and time. The hours flew by in an instant all through her intense concentration, and she only pulled away from her work when fatigue finally started to set in. Gazing at her clock, she realized how late it was getting, and only then did a small prickle of dread needle at the back of her mind.

To be fair, there's a possibility that the bad dream she'd been having for a few weeks now might not happen again tonight. To be fair, she had quite the productive day, though the same could be said about every other day prior. Staring at the bed for a moment, contemplating on whether she should just go for it and get an early rise tomorrow, or try to work through the night and sleep all day, she decided to chance the night once more. Saving her progress before shutting off her devices, she then exited her room and raced to the bathroom, preparing herself for (hopefully) a good night's sleep.

Approaching her room again and staring at her bed, intrusive, second thoughts began to worm their way to the front, warning her it could happen again. She wasn't exactly keen on re-living such an experience, but honestly, now that she had gone through the trouble of getting ready to sleep, she was now insistent on seeing it through. So, without further to do, she shut off the lights to her room, removed her shades, setting them on the nightstand nearby, and clambered into bed, tucking herself under the cozy fabrics that swaddled and cradled her as she slowly began to drift off. The calm and the quiet of the night began to take hold as she felt her consciousness slowly slip away and her eyes grew heavier and heavier. The last thing she thought was a calming moment of reassurance, that perhaps this time, she'll get the sleep she's wanted.

-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-

Her eyes suddenly ripped open. Her heart quickened from the sudden shift from her calm state of mind to one of absolute alertness, and the stress rose with it as she stared up into the darkened ceiling of her bedroom. The air was still and quiet, and the only thing she could hear for sure was her own breathing, but something wasn't right. In an attempt to find out what or why, she tried to rise from her bed, but something kept her there. Then she tried again. And again. And again.

Panic began to take hold. While not physically restrained, her body was entirely locked up. No matter the attempt or willpower, her body simply wouldn't move. It was the nightmare again, returned to deny her the desire of a peaceful, anxiety free night of sleep, but something was different this time. Previously, while she was totally afraid of her forced circumstance, she was always, bone-chillingly alone. This time, despite not seeing anything or hearing anything, there was something in the air that said there was a presence here. Her eyes, quite literally the only thing she could move at all, darted about, trying desperately to see what it was, as if ancient pony instincts of the fight or flight response kicked in. She soon got her wish, though she almost wished she hadn't.

From the very edge of her peripheral vision she saw a strange shadow against the wall near one of her soundboards. It almost blended in with the shade of her stuff, but this particular shadow seemed richer, darker. It was just barely out of sight, but it was there, and her whole body shivered as soon as she was fully aware. Then, it moved.

If her eyes could widen more than they already had, they probably would have popped right out of her skull from the shock alone. Did it really move? Why wasn't this dream letting her try to get away? Why is everything so freaking quiet? Then it moved again, coming away from her periphery, but staying low and still hard to see. Soon, it dipped entirely out of sight, and right after she could hear something on the floor shuffling against it, as if something was being moved just below her bed. Her breath quickened as her barrel got tighter and tighter. She wanted so desperately to jump right out of bed and flee, but she was just stuck, paralyzed in place, entirely vulnerable and completely helpless. All of the energy she had during the day simply diminished as this strange nightmare continued, time seemingly standing still.

Then, the sound of her door slowly creaking open caused her to jump. Well, it would have if she could move, but the agonizing sensation of wanting to ached all around her body. What opened the door? Was it something or someone from outside, or... She kept her eyes fixated toward the sound of the door, of which she could just see the edge of as it slowly swung further into her room. Then, she heard more shuffling as whatever was moving, or was being moved, sounded like it was leaving her room. The door, as far as she was aware, never made another sound or left the edge of her vision, as the sound of shuffling got further and further away. She laid there, petrified and terrified, waiting for something to happen. Anything. However, there was nothing.

So, alone she remained in her bed, eyes trying and failing to see more around her than she was capable of doing, entirely unable to even shift around in bed, and agonizingly immovable, all while having this sense of foreboding dread that something is there. Or, at least WAS there. The silence was absolutely deafening, with the sound of her own breathing and the violent beating of her heart began to fill the void. Tears welled up in her eyes as this nothing drove her up the metaphorical wall. It was frightening, frustrating, and frankly too much to handle, despite being forced to handle it for no discernible reason. She hated it the first day this happened, and hated it just as much now, if not more so, as this continued to happen every single night and seemingly felt so much worse every time.

Then, her door creaked again. She couldn't tell how long it had been silent, save for her own breathing and beating heart, but the squeaks of the door hinges shattered the silence quite effectively. Again, she wanted to jump from the sudden change, but she remained entirely stationary, leaving only the denied feeling to once again antagonize her entire body. She shivered, almost as if her own body demanded to move but separately knew it was incapable of it, right up until the click of her door shutting made her want to jump a third time.

Was it over? No, she was still stuck in this oppressive, persistent darkness, with only the moon barely peeking into the room and casting a small sliver of its light against the wall. Normally, this would be the point of where she'd suddenly wake up, almost breathless, the next morning, but it seemingly wouldn't be that easy this time. In fact, what happened next made the night so much worse.

Out of the peripheral vision, a tall, shadowy form approached the center of her sight, looming over her. It seemed formless, and yet it wasn't. Solid, yet insubstantial. The dark of its shape shifting around slowly, like a bucket of worms squirming, or a pit of snakes writhing. Once again, though, it wasn't that. There was nothing, almost an absence of anything at all in the shape of something. However, either because she couldn't help herself in wanting to know what she was being subjected to, or simply had a pang of curiosity over what was terrifying her, she looked further up the creature. There, she was a pair of yellow... eyes, she wanted to believe. If anything, calling them eyes was incorrect. Whatever was there mimicked the idea of eyes, but even by just a glance, one could tell that something was amiss.

The questionably formless thing loomed over her, staring down at her own eyes, as if gazing deep into her soul. It tilted what seemed to be its head to the side slightly, almost as if it were trying to get a better look. Was it trying to judge how scared she appeared? Was this thing trying to terrify her for its own pleasure? Or was there something more sinister involved in this horrible game it was playing? Before any answer could come to her, the thing reached out to her with what looked like a set of claws, getting closer to her own face.

It was then, all so suddenly, she managed to gain some semblance of control, intentional or not, and was able to slam her eyes shut, plunging her world into true darkness and blotting out the vision before her, ending the nightmare.

-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-

She woke up with a sudden gasp, ripping away from the bed sheets that once wound her like a cocoon. She hyperventilated for a moment, trying to gain control of herself, feeling the rush of blocked sensations coming back to her all at once. Overstimulated, she sat on the bed, trying to process everything that had happened, feeling utterly exhausted from it all, more so than she ever had before. She looked about the room, and at first glance, everything seemed right. The morning rays peaked out from behind the curtains, tipping the walls with patches of light, giving off a sense of peace and tranquility that she was missing all night long. Her breathing soon slowed and her heart followed suit. Hopping off the bed, she suddenly crouched low to the floor and ripped away the dangling sheets that obscured the underside of her bed to gaze into the darkness beneath. Once again, there was nothing but the inky blackness of shadow, and a few dust bunnies, although they seemed to have moved a little. Probably from whatever push of air that happened from her activity in her room while tending to her project.

With a shake of her head, she let go of the sheet and rose back to her full height, giving a stretch to work out the kinks, only to find her unwanted rigor was not going away. Not properly, anyway. Whatever happened in that nightmare had caused her body to actually ache from the stiffness it still had, reflecting how hard she fought just to move in the dream.

She gave a shaky sigh, trotted out of her room and entered the bathroom. The dark circles were bolder today, and the redness of her eyes were just as present as ever before. With a quick rinse of her mane and wash of her face, she returned to her room and grabbed her shades. While she wasn't planning on going anywhere today due to how she was feeling, she still found comfort in wearing them. Besides, even though she wasn't in the mood to cook for herself, she still had...

A thought hit her like a freight train. She forgot to put the left over pizza away. She glanced around the room, on decks, her bed, shelves, the surface of drawers, and even the floor, but couldn't find the box anywhere. The pizza was gone. Maybe she placed it somewhere else? She ran out of her room and began to search. The living room was clean. The kitchen was clean. The dining room...

She froze as she looked at the dining room. The chairs were neatly pushed back into place. All extra condiments were removed and seemingly put away. The fruit bowl was tidied up and sat at the center as if it were untouched. The table was clear of dishes, and wiped spotless. She knew for a fact she left it alone ever since breakfast. Another chill raced down her spine, stronger than it ever had been before. She slowly approached the front door of the house and checked the lock. It was entirely untouched. Then, another thought crossed her mind.

Vinyl then returned to the kitchen and opened the icebox. There, the pizza box sat, properly closed and placed inside with care, still with a couple slices remaining. She never moved it there. Her vision was then pulled towards the sink. It was empty, save for signs of use such as residual soap and droplets of water. The dish rack held the clean dishes aloft, drying in the morning air. Then, she heard a creaking noise come from her room. Her heart stopped. Was what she saw last night really all just a dream?

She raced back to her room, hurriedly shoving the door open, almost as if she were trying to catch whomever or whatever was here. But, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Even when she checked under the bed a second time, there as nothing but darkness. Rising back up and feeling more frustrated than scared, she noticed something at the corner of her eye. Approaching her deck, she found all of the dials, nobs, and sliders were reset to their proper positions, waiting for the next session. She knew for a fact that she didn't touch them after she finished last night.

Something touched them. Something was definitely here in her room. Her heart raced, but not out of fear this time. Sick of the nightmares and sick of feeling helpless, she stormed out of the house, intending to hit up the library to help formulate a plan of attack, and perhaps catch a nap to get some vigor back. Whatever was going on was ending tonight. She would make sure of that.

By Dawn, I Will Be Gone

The results of Vinyl's return to the library were less than productive. She wasn't quite able to find what she was looking for in any books that dealt with her circumstances. At least, in terms of the simpler stuff to read. Many of the actual recommendations made by Twilight herself usually involved rather advanced medical books. Even then, considering she was convinced something was likely actively affecting her sleep made her convinced that even understanding said difficult books would ultimately be useless. She COULD try to explain to the librarian the reason, but elected not to bother due to the reason being a bit more outlandish than the usual crazy nonsense that would happen on a week-to-week basis. Besides, she wasn't much of a talker anyway.

So, instead, while taking a walk through town to calm her nerves and pick up an apple from the Sweet Apple Acres stall as a light snack, she considered a different plan of attack. There was no way she could go home without some way to handle the situation, but her frazzled mind due to the lack of sleep made it difficult to even consider something. That was then she realized what she could actually do, at least for the time being. With the nice, juicy fruit heartily eaten, giving her some satisfaction for the moment, she wandered towards the public park and sat herself beneath a comfortable looking tree. This was the start of her cobbled together plan.

As she was so exhausted in the first place, it really didn't take very long for Vinyl to begin to peacefully doze off, despite the intense, beat heavy music pumping into her ears. Actually, to be quite frank, music like that was more calming to her than any of the pieces Octavia would have her listen to from time to time. So, as her eyes closed and the sounds in her ears slowly seemed to get further away, her consciousness steeped into a deep, lovely sleep. For the first time in weeks, despite not really being one even for afternoon naps, Vinyl felt herself in such a state of calm and peace that it no longer mattered. Her breathing was even and relaxed, all of her aches began to subside, and the anxiety that sat in the pit of hear heart slowly began to diminish. For the first time in a long time, even longer than when the nightmares began, this musical unicorn felt as if she were sleeping like a pegasus upon the fluffiest clouds. She mused a bit at that, wondering what it would be like to actually sleep on a cloud.

Thoughts and emotions sorted themselves out covertly, leaving the sleepy mare unbothered in her honestly therapeutic sleep, right up until something in her head manifested as a dream. She found herself back home, but the dining room was left a mess. Further still, her room was worse than before, and her gear was always in a state of chaos. It wasn't strange to see any of this, as it was often how the house would be some of the time. She'd then return to the kitchen, looking for a snack, only to bump into a rather disappointed looking Octavia.

She felt a slight pinprick of dejection. It was only a thought, a figment generated as the byproduct of her sorting feelings and experiences, but it was enough. She hadn't been taking very good care of herself or the house to much of a degree, opting to postpone any chores in favor for her projects. It wasn't always a thing that could be helped, but that didn't keep her from feeling a little guilty. Octavia had always been the more mature and upstanding of the two in their long running relationship, and Vinyl had always appreciated it, but didn't do much outside of just that. Often, even when she made assurances that she'd get around to doing a set of chores, she'd put it off until the last moment, or forget entirely, the latter of which would cause Octavia to pick up the slack. She gave a mental sigh, knowing that she'd need to make more of an effort to fix that bad habit.

Those thoughts, however, also gave rise to a new consideration. Whatever that was haunting her at home had also been cleaning up after her, at least overtly once. Prior to last night, or this morning before she was out of bed, her equipment was either reset to base parameters, or were tweaked to interesting and useful setting combinations. Why though? If there was something actually haunting her, why was it also trying to do her a solid?

Every moment she lingered on the topic at hand, the less afraid she started to become, greatly diminishing whatever anxiety was left deep in her heart. If this thing was always present, then it wasn't a threat to her. Perhaps there could be a way to confront it? Considering that she couldn't find any sign of it last time she looked, she'd probably need to create a situation to catch it by surprise.

Just as she was getting into the grove of brainstorming within her new, relaxed self, her eyes suddenly popped open. She was still outside, but the sun had already began to set over the horizon. She had slept under the tree for half the day, if not most of it. She'd need a clock or sundial to confirm it. Due to the apparent time change, It was a cool breeze that startled her awake, as the temperature began to shift along with the introduction of the evening hours. With a lengthy yawn and a big stretch, Vinyl pulled the knots from her body and managed to recompose herself before rising back to her hooves. Even if it was just a single afternoon's worth of sleep she had gained, she felt like a new mare, ready to take on the task ahead.

She didn't have much of a plan in mind, but perhaps with a little bit of rope she spied in the market while cantering back home, she could pull off an idea that might work.

-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-

Upon returning home, she scoured the entire building from top to bottom for signs of her phantom presence, hoping to get a read as to where it might be hiding, if it was indeed hiding, and she wasn't just nuts. When nothing turned up, she assumed that it must be somewhere in her room, and will remain that way until she went to bed. With that possibility in mind, she decided to act like usual for the most part, but only to mask her true movements and motivations.

First, she dumped the rope near the curtain, and made a show of jumping into her work, turning on her gear and began mixing sounds again like a possessed mad scientist, mixing, altering, and distorting sounds, all while she'd covertly reach over to the rope and place it in position. Next, she feigned a technical problem, saved and shut down the machine, only to approach the back of it to work on the issue. With it looking seemingly believable, she used her body to mask her action and tied the thin rope to the pull string of the curtain. Once she was done "fixing", she turned the device back on and hit the play-back button, listening to what she had concocted while setting things up, and... honestly actually really liking the tune. She'd have to save that one. While the mastered track was playing, she moved over to another device and began using its synthesizers to create and adjust a good melody to go with the tune to give it flavor while she used her horn to snake the rope beside her hind hoof, up the wall, and behind the mixer before slipping under the covers and into the bed itself.

Satisfied and hoping she did this without being noticed, with no way of knowing due to how covert her creeping interloper was, she instead decided to continue her work, suddenly feeling inspired enough to finish the project tonight. It was so strange, feeling elated despite what she was preparing to do. It was quite possibly the oddest mixed emotions she ever had to confront, even as she continued to experiment, mix, and master sounds, cut and recut track paths, inject melodies and new beats, and have it all cleaned up by the time the moon was high in the sky.

Her stomach grumbled, as she gazed towards the clock nearby, realizing it was quite late, but not enough to head to bed yet. If this was going to happen, she was going to make sure her stomach was full. Before that, though, she took the time to save her work, and reset all of her equipment to its standard parameters, and put any notes and sound materials and audio files back where they belonged on the shelves. It wasn't a total clean up, but it was something she wanted to try to get into a habit of doing.

Vinyl then left her room, shutting the door behind her, and cantered over to the kitchen, turning on the oven and pulling out the pizza from the ice box. Fetching a baking pan, she placed the left over slices on top, sprinkled a little extra fresh cheese on the slices, and popped them into the oven. Once the oven had done its work after ten minutes or so, she retrieved the slices, put them on a plate, and sat down at the dining table to have her dinner, making sure to bring over a glass of orange juice to wash it down with. Once that was done, she took the time to gather the dishes and the now cooled off pan that had the pizza, and washed them all before setting them in the rack. Time consuming and boring it may be, but she felt the urge, the drive to be a little more capable outside of her profession. In a way, it felt kinda silly, but she always knew she was quite the silly pony.

Once that was all done, and with nothing left to do, she turned off the lights in the home as she made her way back to her room. Slowly opening the door, she gave her room a good long scan, seeing if anything had moved. Everything was set where it should be, just as it should be. She entered into her room fully, and once inside, she shut the door, drew the curtains closed, and turned out the lights. Hopping into bed, she made sure her hoof was placed on top of the impromptu extended draw string, made herself as comfortable as possible, and closed her eyes. She was hoping to feign sleep, especially since she was able to catch up on a little of it while she was out in town, but there was no telling what could happen at this point, especially with how much later it was tonight compared to other nights, practically in the early morning hours. Worse comes to worst, if she ends up stuck again, she'll try to use her renewed vigor and effort to break free from the paralysis. Tonight, she'll find out what was really going on, one way or another.

-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-

Her eyes ripped open suddenly, and her heart began to race. It was happening again. She actually did fall asleep, but this time her breathing was just a little more even and her heart was just a little calmer than normal. Was it the result of her own determination, or perhaps it was an involuntary sense of spite against the strange phenomenon she was being subjected to? Regardless of what, Vinyl took it as a sign that things were a little more in her favor this time around. She could still feel her hoof was on the rope, which was good news in all accounts. There was the distinct possibility that she could have accidentally moved from it or kicked it away before now, but neither was the case. She mentally thanked the forces that be that allowed her to keep her one chance to end this nightmare still within reach. Her eyes fixated on the window

However, like last time, she was unable to move, but the issue wasn't going to get under her skin tonight. She refused to let it. Instead, she took that defiance and tucked it away for the time being, hoping to call upon it when the moment was right. And so, she waited, staring into the darkened room, mostly at the ceiling, waiting for any sign of her intruder, be it real or imaginary. After some time, for what felt like hours, she finally noticed something. The door to her room, which previously had been shut, clicked and gently squeaked open, before shutting once again. She could then hear the sound of something very light shuffling against the ground for a moment, before she saw something rise from her periphery.

It was that same, nearly formless, constantly shifting... mass, wasn't the correct word to describe it. It was, as she reasoned last night, a shape. Something tall, something slender, something not really there, but had this overwhelming presence. Was it because it seemed to easily incite the fight of flight instinct deep within? Was it because it had some strange power or magic that it held? Honestly, it didn't matter why or how, but not being able to move right away made it almost unbearable.

Bear though it she did, though, eyes fixated upon its visage as it loomed over her. She needed to bide her time. It was clear this thing knew she wasn't able to move before, and believed the same tonight, For a moment, it took its gaze away from her, slowly wandering around the room, almost looking at the DJ equipment she had already reset, moving from one device to another. It paused for a moment, staring at her shelf filled with files, notes, audio recordings, disks, albums, and anything else a lover of sound and music would have in a collection out of appreciation and joy, before it came away back to the side of her bed.

It towered over her, staring once again deep into her eyes, the windows of her soul, with its own "eyes". It tilted the shape of its head slightly as a stray strand of her own mane slowly drifted into view before her own eyes, distracting her only for a fraction of a second. It was then that the phantasm, or whatever it was, reached out very slowly with its long claws. Vinyl's heart began to pick up the pace, was it going to do something? Does it know she's formed a plan of attack? She wants to move. She needed to move. She must move!

The claws that were inches away from her face, as sharp and needle-like as they were, ever so gently brushed the strands of mane away from her eyes. She could feel the something's touch against her head as it did so, before pulling them away. The confusion was palpable, but the resolve was stronger. She had to move! MOVE! NOW!

Suddenly and without warning, she gripped the rope, sprung forward from where she laid, and pulled the rope as hard as she could. The thing shifted back from the sudden action of Vinyl, seemingly surprised. Then, there was a loud crash and a sudden flip of the curtains, where one of her decks tipped over from the sudden yank, and the curtains themselves revealed the dawning sunlight, bathing most of the room in the warm morning glow.

The thing, as if were skipping frames like it were in a damaged or poorly cut film reel, moved backward into the shadowed out corner on the ceiling, as far away from the light as it could be. Vinyl stared, once again having full control over her body, breathing heavily from the sudden and intense surge of strength and willpower that it took to make her move. Now, out of its spell, or curse, or whatever had happened to her night after night, she felt the situation suddenly become real. This was happening. This wasn't a nightmare. That thing was definitely some sort of boggart as far as she was concerned, not that she knew what one actually looked like. Not that she could actually identify what she was looking at right now either, as the two seemed to stare each other down, not moving.

She gave a deep, satisfied sigh, feeling as if she managed to trap the thing. She had no way of knowing if light would do this, but at least it would have allowed her to reveal her spook, hopefully so she could find the courage to give it a good thrashing for subjecting her to such awful, sleepless nights. The thing, however, was entirely out of reach as a result of her action, but seemed unwilling to come down. She gripped the rope that was still attached to the curtain, twisting it in her hooves, trying to figure out what to do next as she kept a defiant eye on the thing.

That shape; that mass of ever shifting darkness, whatever it may actually be, with its yellow mimicry of eyes, looked away from the determined pony, and Vinyl felt something strange. Keeping an eye on its "form", the way it hung on the ceiling, as bizarre as it was, made her feel not afraid, but... sad? Why was she feeling sad? Or, rather, why was she feeling sadness come from it?

It was then that it slowly slid down from the ceiling corner, causing Vinyl to shift away, ears pinned back in agitation. She was very much ready to throw down with whatever it was if it made any sudden movements. However, the way it moved was slow and methodical. Very careful with each shift and step it took, moving closer to the light. When it reached that metaphorical barrier, it hesitated, staring at the pool of the morning sun's rays that imprinted itself on the floor. It then looked back up to Vinyl once more, and with a sudden step forward, it bathed itself in the sun.

The effect was immediate. Its shape began to destabilize rapidly as the shifting mass very quickly began to lose its form, disintegrating piece by piece. It seemingly curled in on itself for a moment, as if it were in great pain, before it looked up back at Vinyl's shocked face, before it reached out its claws towards the pony and suddenly disappeared, leaving behind a piece of paper that slowly fluttered from where it used to be onto the bed.

Vinyl sat there, confused and shocked as to what just happened. For a good long while, she just stared at the paper with a billion questions running through her mind, creating a jumbled, tangled mess in her head. Shaking her head, trying to dismiss it all for the time being, she slowly approached the paper that sat on the sheets. Giving it a poke, checking to make sure it wasn't some nefarious trap from the creature, she deduced it was indeed harmless. Picking it up, she then shuffled off of her bed most of the way, stopping to sit at the edge. It was then that she realized it was folded. Opening it up, she saw the words inside.

your music is beautiful

-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-

Wrath stood upon the stage of the empty, gothic amphitheater once again where a large book before him sat on a podium, which he then slowly closed. He gave a satisfied sigh as he stepped back, letting the shadow grow behind him as he sunk a little further into the spotlight.

Isn't it amazing what one can accomplish with effort and persistence? Sure, she had started a tad lazy and content to sit on her hooves, letting her talent alone carry her, but when pushed by an unlikely source, she was able to accomplish more than she once thought she could. I'm sure she'll be able to sleep so much better at least knowing that her efforts aren't wasted. Hopefully, she will remember to keep it up, for the sake of her desires, and the appreciation of others.

As for her interloper, however, it unfortunately learned a harsh lesson too late. Admiration is all well and good, but remember your boundaries. No one, not even a fan with good intentions, has the right to invade the personal space of another without consent or invitation. It may end up hurting the one you wish to be close to, or even yourself in the end, only leaving behind bitter memories and forgotten nightmares.

With these thoughts, I bid you all a Happy Nightmare Night. I hope to see you next year.

With those words of parting, he stepped backward, dipping behind the curtain, as the spotlights all shut down at once, draping the stage in absolute darkness. The wind howled its lonely tune as the theater grew still once more, home now only to echos, promises, and dark musings, trapped between the rows of seats, hidden by stray leaves, spider webs, and the dark itself, with the phantom audience now once again able to take its leave.

Author's Note

Happy Nightmare Night