Figment of your Instrument
You sighed as you shut the door to your apartment behind you. Your day was finally over. You'd just gotten off of work. A lovely shift that ended at a timely three in the morning. Full time college didn't leave much in the way of hours for normal jobs. So, needing the money like you did, you took up a job where you could work nights. Shipping and Receiving at a distribution center. Wasn't exactly glamorous, but they were one of the few places nearby that had a shift you could work. At least they paid decent. Well, if you're only counting monetary value.
Combine the job with your school, and that left you with maybe four or five hours of sleep a day. You'd been alright at first, but it's slowly starting to affect you. Thinking about your shit sleep routine didn't make it easier to sleep while you could, so you decided to save the debate for after your graduation. In one more year. Fuck.
Well, for now you'll settle for the sweet embrace of your pillow. Tossing your backpack to the side, you fell face-first into the blissful comfort that was your bed. Might save time by just falling asleep now, rather than preparing for bed. Why not. You only tossed and turned for a couple of minutes, as your tired body was more than willing to skip the pleasantries and rest. Your mind however...
Your mind had other plans for your sleep. Mentally exhausted? Yup. Physically exhausted? Bingo. Made for the perfect target of some fucked up dreams. And so you dreamt... Almost.
You opened your eyes to a light much brighter than what you were used to. The hell was going on? Did you leave your light on when you passed out? You sat up in your bed and looked around for your light switch. Normally you'd know just where it was, but you were still groggy. Odd that you woke up before your alarm went off. Typically you beat the thing senseless in an effort to squeeze out any last drops of sleep you could manage.
As your eyes adjusted to the bright light, you slowly started to realize that you weren't in your bed. Oh god. Had you wandered into the wrong room? That would be embarrassing. No, someone would've surely woken you up. As you made to stand up, the sudden loss of balance informed you that you were not on your bed as you originally thought. No, you were on your couch. Or rather, someone's couch. Yours wasn't that shade of green.
Standing up, you began to think back and try to figure out where you were. You didn't recognize this place. You don't recall ever being here before. As you took in your surroundings, you decided that you must be in the living room of someone's house. Couch, center table, little cupboard thingy that was for decoration more than storage.
You spied what you assumed to be the kitchen, seeing as it had tile flooring, and headed in that direction. Once in said kitchen you stretched and popped your back. Must've slept funny cause you were sore as hell. Definitely a kitchen. Fridge, kitchen table, sink, green pony doing dishes. Wait. One of those didn't fit.
Sink? No, that was supposed to be in the kitchen... Oh, right. The green pony. Wait for it. Waaaaiiiit for it. There's the recognition! Yup, must be an alien. You're fucked. You begin to back away slowly, planning out where you're going to hide, when you bump into a chair at the table. The chair must've been crafted by Satan, as it didn't stop at disclosing your location to all within earshot.
No, it immobilized you by catching your leg. You swear you heard laughter come from its direction as you fell backwards. Landing on your ass with a significant crash, the green pony stopped whatever it was it was doing, and turned to look at you. Not just a green pony, but a green unicorn. Magic in this shit? Great, you're royally fucked.
You both stare at each other for what seems like eternity. For all your staring, you could only manage to think about how cute the damn thing was. Golden eyes, green coat, and what you could only describe as a minty mane and tail. Your butt began to hurt however, reminding you that you did not intend to wind up in that position.
As you stood up, the green pony screamed in terror and bolted right over you. Resuming the process of standing once more, you succeeded in obtaining the fabled vertical position. Alright, you're either crazy or having some really fucked up dream. Either way, you don't have much else to do. Fuck it. Might as well attempt first contact with crazy mint pony. Now, where did it go?
You made your way back into the living room, looking over it quickly. There weren't many opportunities for the mouthwash pony to blend in, so you moved on after not spotting the strange creature. The only other doorway led you to a hallway. This pony must not be very bright, as it was staring down the hallway from a door that was cracked open. Once the two of you locked eyes again, it squeaked in terror and slammed the door.
How the hell does it even work a knob with hooves? Maybe it uses magic. Is a unicorn and all. Unicorns use magic, right? Maybe? Eh, fuck it. Details. Might as well enjoy your lapse into insanity, dream or otherwise. You knocked on the door a couple times. Was it even intelligent? It is now. Your twisted reality, your thoughts are law!
If your thoughts are law, why the hell are you being polite and knocking? Good to know your manners didn't go out the window when you dipped into the deep end, you suppose. Maybe you're the nice crazy guy at the asylum? You'd have chats with the nurses about nothing and everything, read books backwards, and eat Legos when you could get away with it. The cool crazy guy that everyone wanted to talk with because you were just that far out there. That sort of thing.
Or you could be the guy that was planning his escape using spoons and the medication supplied to you by the staff. Either way, you're still the crazy guy. Insanity is fun! You knocked on the door again, hoping for a diplomatic response. Much to your surprise, it opened.
You got a diplomatic response all right; A response equivalent to a declaration of war. As you ducked to avoid the first pillow turned meteorite, the second hit you square in the jaw. Seeing as it was a pillow, it quickly fell to the floor leaving you to stare at the minty looking unicorn. It was terrified and searching the room for another object to weaponize. With your luck, it won't be something as soft as a pillow next.
"Woah, hey now--"
"YOU CAN TALK!?"
"YOU CAN TALK?"
You both froze in time at the realization that yes, as a matter of fact, you could both talk. If you're crazy, why is this a shock to you? Shouldn't you be rolling with it right about now? You slowly reclaimed your upright position and decided to try and break the ice.
"My name is Anonymous. What's yo--"
"WHAT ARE YOU?" Well, it's talking. Sounds like a girl, too.
"I'm... a human?"
"What's a human?!"
"Uhhh... me?"
"How did you get in my house!? Why are you in my house!?"
"I don't know, and I don't know. I just woke up here and... yeah. So uh, good morning?"
The green unicorn looked you over, fear still etched in her face. Seeing as you'd likely petrified her, you decided to act nice and slow. You took a few steps back, shut the door, and walked back to the couch you'd woken up on. Maybe if you go to sleep on the couch, you'll wake up from this dream back in your apartment? Worth a shot, right? This is one rollercoaster of a dream you're more than ready to remove yourself from. Especially if you're going to be targeted by murderous pillows or other furniture items.
You sat down on the green couch and tried to wrap your mind around what exactly was going on. Go to sleep, wake up in a house with a mouthwash colored pony. Nope, no logic. Well, there was logic, but it was dream logic or some shit. Might as well play by the strange rules. If you go to sleep in your dream, you should wake up for real, right? Worth a shot anyways.
You lay down on the couch, closed your eyes, and attempted to let your worry melt away. After what felt like a minute or so, you opened your eyes again for a reality check. Much to your surprise, you found yourself in your room once more. Light was still on, body still sore, still wearing the same thing you passed out in, and only an hour or so before you had to be at class. Yup, time still has no fucks to give regarding your sleep schedule.
At least you can relax a little knowing it was just a fucked up dream. Shaking your head, you decided you might as well get up and get ready for class. No sense trying to milk a thirty minute nap after that ordeal. Besides, you'll probably only wake up tired.
As you sat down for your second class of the day, you could already feel the lack of sleep nibbling at your conscience. Your professor was babbling on about something or other, you weren't really paying attention at this point. Rather, you were hoping you weren't making snoring sounds more than anything. You shook off sleep's sneaky grip a couple times, managing to only nod off once or twice during the class. Maybe... Maybe you could call in sick?
Could be worth a shot, right? Huh, a full night's sleep... That'd really fuck your sleep schedule to hell and back, wouldn't it? You were snapped back to reality as you noticed other students standing and making to leave. Apparently the class was over. You sighed and began putting things back into your backpack, thinking of some measly little disease or ailment you could blame for not being at work.
If you called in and said you had the runs or something, surely they wouldn't question you. Would that be a legitimate excuse to call in sick though? Better do some research first. Maybe you can find some obscure disease that died off in the 1800's or something. So long as it sounds legitimate, you should be alright.
You finished putting your things away, slung the backpack over your shoulder and headed out the door to your next class. The rest of your day went off relatively smooth, until you were a few classes away from completing your academic requirements for this hell of a day. Why? Well, it could have something to do with the pony from your dream looking at you from across the room.
Seeing as this was a calculus class, you were already not paying any sort of attention; add a hallucination to that equation, and you have yourself not learning shit today. You stared at the mouthwash pony throughout the entire class, and she stared right back. Definitely a hallucination, seeing as none of your classmates cared to point out a unicorn in the room. Yup, definitely time to call in sick. Whatever it is you've got, sleep deprivation isn't helping.
The sudden outburst of motion signaled to you that it was time to move on to your last class of the day. Whatever it was, you weren't really concerned with at the moment. Your body knew where you needed to go, so you let it lead the way. If there's anything you can do to make the hallucination go away faster, it's probably best to just ignore it. Taking a brief detour, you stopped by a bathroom to wash your face with water. Maybe it'll wake you up a bit more. As you splashed a third dose of cool water onto your face, you heard an eerily familiar voice.
"It's... It's Anonymous, right?"
You stood slowly, letting the water drip off of your face as you turned to locate the source of the voice. Yup, your hallucination had started talking to you. Just ignore it and carry on; you'll be fine after calling in sick and getting a good night's sleep. You started your trek to your final class of the day, only to be stopped once again by the hallucination speaking.
"Hey, alien, I'm over here." You stopped walking and turned to look at her.
"You're just a hallucination. Please leave me alone, I just want to get through today as fast as possible and get some sleep." Considering you were talking to a hallucination of a minty green unicorn, you probably needed the sleep.
"Hey! I'm no hallucination! You attacked me in my house, remember!?"
"Hey now, I didn't do shit to you! I just woke up and--"
"Exactly! I went to sleep, and woke up here!" Well, fuck. Either this is one elaborate hallucination, or you're in for one hell of a night. What do you do? Do you just hope this is a result of blatant sleep deprivation and ignore it? Should you try and help it? What the ever loving fuck do you do?
”Why do you have to bother me NOW of all times? Couldn't you wait until I was asleep? That's what you did last time!"
"YOU barged in on ME! I was minding my own business making lunch, when you just waltzed into my home!"
"I told you, I didn't waltz into your house, I woke up there!" The absurdity of this conversation was beginning to show, as you were getting cautious and concerned glances from your classmates wandering the halls.
"And I'm telling you, I woke up HERE!" You put your hands on your face in defeat. She's obviously not going away any time soon.
"Listen; just stay quiet until I finish this class. I need to focus, and having a minty green unicorn distracting me won't help."
"Well how long's the class? Can't you skip it? I need your help! No one here can see me except you!"
"Oh? And just how did you come to that conclusion?"
"I followed you into that little room and three other... uhh..."
"Humans?"
"Yeah! Three other humans walked through me! It was creepy."
"And waking up in an alien world isn't creepy?"
"I just figured I was dreaming at first!"
"Just what makes you think you're not dreaming?"
"I'm holding a conversation with you, for one; two, I haven't ever had a dream like this before; and finally, I've never seen anything like this place before!" Great. You would stay and ponder the curiosities of what was going on, but you needed to get to class.
"Alright fine. I'm taking a shot in the dark and saying you’re not some hallucination. Just stay quiet until this class is over, and we'll go from there, alright?" She nodded her agreement and followed you to your class.
Having physics as the last class in a long schedule didn't help your grades any; having a minty unicorn wander around that only you could see wasn't doing anything to improve the situation. She would wander around looking at your classmates and the work on their respective desks. Easy enough to ignore after she continued doing so for the first five minutes of class.
You took your notes, paying as much attention as possible to the professor while trying to not fall asleep or think about the mint pony. Simple task, until you caught sight of what she'd taken to doing now. She would wander around and try to interact with your classmates now. Making funny faces at them, putting her hoof through them, laying on their work on their desks. Strange that she was affected by things like tables and furniture, but not paper or humans.
Why couldn't she just walk through walls or something like that? The curious glances your classmates started to give you were reminding you that only you could see the pony. As you once more resumed attempting to ignore the unicorn and take notes, you were relieved to find that she'd settled down a bit and was sitting next to you. Maybe she was going to be a nice hallucination? Long shot, but you can hope. At least she can't weaponize pillows on you. Or if she can, she hasn't so far.
It is kind of weird being on the other side of your dream. So this is what it was like to be her? Have some alien not just up and appear in your world, but try and talk to you while you go about trying to do your shit? At least you weren't trying to beat her with furniture like she was you. The class had reached its end, signified once more by the sudden uproar of motion around you.
"So, is it over? Is the class over? You can help me now, right?" You didn't want to talk to her right now, as there were still plenty of people around to call you batshits insane. Trying to be discreet, you put your finger to your lips and motioned for her to follow you. She got the message and quietly followed you all the way back to your apartment.
Not a terribly long walk, but long enough to let your brain and body to remind you of how desperately you needed sleep. Soon you were back in your small apartment, safe to confront the hallucination alien that had been following you around for a couple hours now. The moment you were both inside and the door was shut, she began her stream of questions.
"So how did you get back? Do you know what's going on? How do--"
"Woah now, slow down. I don't even know your name."
"What?"
"Your name. Remember, you asked me mine but I never got a chance to ask you yours."
"Oh... Right... Well, my name is Lyra. Lyra Heartstrings."
"Now that that's out of the way, we can hopefully try to figure something out."
"Like what's going on?"
"Exactly. Going on the long shot that this isn't some elaborate hallucination, it would seem that I got pulled to your world when I went to sleep."
"And that I got pulled to yours..."
"Looks that way."
"So... How did you get back?"
"I figured it was a dream and tried to wake myself up by going to sleep."
"By doing what?"
"Going to sleep."
"Going to sleep in a dream is how you wake up from it? That's... weird."
"Call it what you want, it worked for me." You cast a glance to your alarm clock, and decided that now was as good a time as any. "Listen, can you stay quiet for a minute or two?"
"What? Why?"
"I've got to make a call."
"A call?"
"Yeah, you know, telephone call?" The blank stare she was giving you made it apparent that she did not, in fact, know what the hell you were talking about. "Listen just stay quiet for like five minutes, alright?"
"Alright..."
"Just hop up on the couch or something. Might as well make yourself at home."
"Really? You'd trust me like that?"
"I don't plan on weaponizing pillows on you if that's what you’re asking." Her ears drooped as she made her way over to your couch, silently taking a sitting position. She seemed to gather that you were still sore about the whole ordeal. Fair assessment, if that's what she thought. Not your biggest concern right now though.
Right now you have to make a very convincing call to your manager that'll hopefully get you some time off tonight. You weren't exactly lying when you said you were feeling under the weather anyways, no need to be nervous or anything. Just don't mention the minty unicorn in your living room, and you'll be alright. After a thankfully uneventful phone call, you'd convinced your boss to let you stay home this shift.
Lyra was sitting on your couch looking pitiful; probably due to the weponized pillow remark you'd given her earlier. Provided she wasn't some figment of your sleep deprived imagination. After you'd stopped talking on the phone, she decided that now was the opportune time to speak.
"Hey, I'm sorry about the whole freaking out thing... I was just really scared..."
"Listen, it's no big deal. I can't say I wouldn't have done something similar had you popped into my reality first." She still looked like she felt bad, but there wasn't much more you could do about it. "Why don't we focus on getting you back home, hmm? I could use some sleep, and I'd bet you didn't intend to be here when you went to bed."
"Heh, not exactly..."
"Alright. So, if going to sleep worked for me, I'd take a shot in the dark and say it'd work for you."
"You think so?"
”Well what else are we gonna try?"
"Good point."
"Go on then, go to sleep."
"I can't just sleep on command!"
"You've got to be tired; you came here after laying down."
"I guess I am still kinda tired..."
"Then just lie down and close your eyes."
"Do... Do you have a bed or something? This couch isn't very comfortable..." Might as well.
"Yeah, follow me." Not to say that she couldn't find your bedroom on her own in your little apartment, but might as well lead her the way. After she was curled up on your bed, you decided that you wouldn't like someone watching over you while you tried to fall asleep either.
"Alright, I'll be on the couch if you need something. I'll check back in a couple minutes." She nodded her understanding and closed her eyes as you quietly shut the door to your bedroom. Sitting down on the couch, you began to try and decipher if this was a result of sleep deprivation or if you were legitimately going insane. If you were to go insane, would you ever be able to tell?
Shuddering at the thought, you decided you'd give Lyra fifteen or so minutes before you went and checked on her. When you opened your eyes next, you were in a dark room. Did someone turn the lights out in your apartment? As you were pondering just where you were, a door opened, lights flicked on, and you heard steps as someone entered. Sitting up, you watched as a pony with dark hair and a grey coat let out a sigh and put some bags on the floor of the room.
She went about her business, apparently completely oblivious to your presence. What looked like groceries were being put away, as the realization hit you that you must be dreaming again; meaning you probably fell asleep on the couch. Fuck. Wonder if Lyra made it back? Before you had time to ponder the answer to that question, you noticed the grey pony looking you over.
"And just what, pray tell, are you doing in my apartment?"
"I--"
"Never mind. I don't want to know what horrid fantasies Vinyl had planned with you. Please collect yourself and be on your way."
"You're... you're not freaked out by me?"
"Of course not. You poor minotaur, surely you're aware that you're not Vinyl's first experiment?"
"Minotaur?"
"Please don't play games with me; I'm not particularly in the mood."
"I'm not playing games, and I'm not a minotaur."
"Sweet Celestia, did Vinyl drug you? I've noticed she's been getting more daring with her fantasies, but that's a bit far even for her."
"Who is Vinyl? And no, I don't recall getting drugged."
"Would you recall getting drugged? What do you mean 'who is Vinyl'? She's the pony that gave you the key to our apartment."
"I don't have a key, and I've never met Vinyl. Prior to the other day, I was sure I was going mad."
"If you're not here to meet Vinyl; why are you here and how did you get in?"
"I don't know, and I don't know. Same thing happened last time I went to sleep, except I woke up in another house."
"Oh? And do you have any proof of this, or should I get security now?"
"Do you know a pony named Lyra Heartstrings?"
"Lyra? Why yes, of course. We're in the same orchestra, why?"
"I woke up in her house last time. It's a long story."
"I'm sure. If you leave now, I'll forget this incident ever happened, and we can both get on with our lives." Seeing as there was no way she was going to believe you, you might as well try and find out if Lyra made it back.
"Alright fine, we'll do this your way. Can you at least point me in the direction of Lyra's house?"
"I will not. Please leave before I'm forced to get security." Not needing another hint, you made your way out of the apartment as quickly as possible. Heading for what you hoped to be the end of the hall, you turned a corner to find another pony. Bracing yourself for the inevitable impact, you peeked through your tiring arms when it never came. Looking around, you found the same pony walking along as though nothing happened.
Are you going to have the same limitations as Lyra did in your world? Only able to interact with her? Obviously not, seeing as that other pony could see and hear you. Realizing this, you formulated an idea. She might be able to help you, but you needed to prove to her that you needed her help, and that you weren't here for some 'Vinyl' character. You made your way back to the apartment, knocked on the door, and waited for a response. Hearing an annoyed groan, you waited for the door to open to make your move. As soon as the door had opened, you pushed your way inside, and sat back down on the couch you'd woken up on.
"Do you mind?"
"Not at all. Now, I need your help--"
"No, you need to leave. I thought I made it clear that I would get security if you didn't?"
"That you did. Go ahead, get security. I'm not leaving until you hear me out."
"Very well, have it your way" she said as she left the apartment. Part of you was worried that this wouldn't work, or that the guards would see you. On the other hand, you really wanted to get it through her head that you're not some kind of prostitute minotaur. A few moments later, she returned with two other ponies.
"Please remove him from my apartment" she said, pointing to you. The guards looked at each other, looked at you, then to the grey pony.
"Listen lady, we don't take too well to pranks. Don't pull this again." The grey pony was dumbstruck as the two other ponies left, leaving you alone with her once more.
"Now will you listen?"
"What... what did you do? Is this some sort of twisted prank by Vinyl?"
"For the last time, I don't know anyone named Vinyl! I've only met one other talking horse, and her name was Lyra!" The grey pony sighed in frustration before shutting the door behind herself as she re-entered her apartment.
"Very well. I'll play along if it'll mean I can get you out of my hair and get some decent sleep."
"Believe me, I want nothing more than to have a nice quality nap; but so far, every time I do, I wake up in a world of talking horses."
"First off, I'm a pony, not a horse; secondly, why can only myself and apparently Lyra see you?"
"I wish I knew. I'm Anonymous, by the way."
"My name is Octavia. Now, you said you've done this before?"
"Not intentionally, but yeah. It's happened at least once before."
"And just how did you get back to wherever you're from?"
"I went to sleep."
"Then please, by all means, go to sleep so that I might go to sleep." You nodded your agreement as you lie down on the couch and shut your eyes. Normally you'd be a bit put off from sleeping knowing that someone else, let alone a talking pony was watching you sleep; but your desire to sleep was great. The next time you opened your eyes, you were back in your apartment on your couch; back hurting and all.
How long you'd been asleep, you didn't know. You shrugged off the strange dream to a tired mind, stood up, and made your way to your bedroom. Maybe it had something to do with not dressing properly and sleeping in your bed? At this point, you'll try anything. Thankfully, it seemed that Lyra had made it back to her world as you'd yet to see neither head nor tail of her.
After prepping yourself for bed and shutting off all the lights in your apartment, you welcomed the sweet embrace of your soft pillow and warm blankets. Trying desperately to fall asleep as quickly as you had just done in your dream, you tried to think yourself to sleep. Of course, the first thing your mind brought up was sleep, and that thinking of sleeping actually pushed sleep farther away. The mind certainly is a wonder; shame yours seems to want to kill itself by not resting.
You really do need to rethink your schedule, there's no way you can keep functioning like this. Well, there is, but you'd rather not go down that road. Maybe you can drop a class or request less hours? At this point, you'd be willing to go through another year of class if it meant you'd get a good night's sleep every night. Eventually you'll either pass out or go crazy; either of which would be accepted greatly at this point.
Your mind needed to rest or go all out, and your body was tired of playing the guessing game. One way or another, you'd stop worrying about sleep if you didn't get any soon. Just as you were dozing off however, the lights in your bedroom flicked on. Groaning at the interruption of sleep once more, you looked around to find out what had caused the lights to switch on. Didn't take long to find a grey pony with dark hair standing in your doorway.
"You've got to be kidding me."
"Great. Just great. My dreams are going to haunt me now, is that it?"
"You're still babbling about your dreams? I thought I got rid of you when you disappeared! Why won't you just leave me alone?!"
"I would like nothing more."
"Then please get out of my apartment!"
"Your apartment? This is my apartment."
"Are you really going to play that game with me? You're as bad as Vinyl. Fine, so be it. I'll skip the waiting and go get security now." You almost stopped her before you realized she thought she was still back at her place. Eh, this outta be fun. When you heard the door open and shut, you got out of bed and went to sit on the couch. Sure you wanted sleep, but you equally wanted to see her face when you were proved right.
A minute goes by, and you're starting to nod off. Just as the sweet hint of sleep starts to tease you though, the door to your apartment whips open. The grey pony ran inside, shut the door behind her, and braced her back against it. You laughed to yourself as reality finally set in on Octavia.
"What... where... where am I? WHERE HAVE YOU TAKEN ME?!"
"Woah woah woah, I didn't take you anywhere. I was trying to sl--"
"Do not lie to me! This is obviously a result of your doing! Where are we, Tartarus?!"
"Tartarus? Where's that?"
"So you're going to play games with me, is that it?!"
"Listen, you're in my world now, whether either of us like it or not."
"When I find Vinyl I'm going to KILL HER!" Again with this Vinyl character? She's clearly convinced you're conspiring with this Vinyl; to the point that she's not willing to listen to reason.
"Octavia listen, just--"
"DO NOT SPEAK TO ME, HEATHEN!"
"Alright, have it your way. I'm going to go sleep." You rose from your position on the couch and made your way back to your room, turning out the lights in preparation for round two of attempted sleep. Finally finding yourself in a comfortable position, you felt sleeps sweet embrace begin to tickle at your mind. Right before something crashed to the ground in your kitchen. Sighing, you got out of bed and headed to the source of the noise. What you found was Octavia going through your kitchen cupboards, apparently in a frenzy to find something.
”Dare I ask what, exactly, it is you're looking for?" She popped her head out from the cupboard she was currently raiding, her mental state reflected by her unkempt mane.
"What am I looking for? I'm looking for something to help me get out of here!"
"...In my kitchen?" She looked from you, to the cupboard, back to you, and back to the cupboard before resuming the raid.
"I wouldn't expect someone of your nature to understand."
"My nature? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Anyone that can be bought so easily can't be trusted, of course!"
"Bought? Who bought me?"
"Don't toy with me, we both know you're working for Vinyl." She popped her head out of the cupboard, an eerie look of realization working its way across her face. "That's it, isn't it? This is some twisted game that she gets who knows what carnal pleasure out of, isn't it?!"
"Uuuuhhh...."
"I KNEW IT! Vinyl, I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!"
"Listen, Octavia--"
"I WANT OUT OF THIS RIGHT NOW, VINYL!"
"Octavia--"
"WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE, I'M GOING TO END YOU VINYL! DO YOU HEAR ME? END YOU!"
"OCTAVIA!" That got her attention.
"What do you want, minotaur?!"
"First off, I'm a human, not some 'minotaur.' Second, I haven't met this 'Vinyl' character. Ever."
"DON'T YOU LIE TO ME!"
"All I want to do is get a good night’s sleep. Why on Earth would I kidnap you if I wanted to sleep?"
"I DON'T KNOW, WHY WOULD YOU?! WHY IS VINYL MAKING ME PLAY THIS STUPID GAME WITH YOU!?"
"For fucks sake, I don't know Vinyl!"
"STOP LYING!" You sighed. This was going nowhere. ”You know what, fuck it. Believe what you want, just keep quiet about it. I'm going to get some sleep. I'd suggest you do the same." She cocked her head at you.
"Sleep? Here? Now?"
"Well, yeah. You've already made yourself at home."
"That's just what she wants, isn't it?! She wants to catch me off guard!" The sound of your hand making contact with your face echoed through the small apartment. "Well that just won't happen! I'm not going to sleep!" As you dragged your hand off of your face, the look on her face confirmed what you already suspected. Yup, she'd lost it. Stress of being somewhere completely alien while trying to make sense of it must've finally gotten to her.
"Fine. Knock yourself out. I'm going to sleep." You left her to her own devices, making sure to lock your bedroom door as you prepared for the knockout round of sleep. No more games, it's time for serious sleep. You could only hope.
At this point, sleep was a wild fantasy; Octavia's wailing in your kitchen only served to accent that. You just couldn't win, could you? As you lay in your bed staring at the ceiling fan, you tried and tried to make her wails background noise. You had little success. After what seemed like days, you looked over to your alarm clock to find that it had only been a couple of hours.
As you came to terms with yet another sleepless night, you noticed the wailing start to die off. Growing excited by the fact that you may actually get some peace and quiet, you quickly shut your eyes in eager anticipation of sleep. Only to be rewarded with a banging on your door.
"Minotaur!" More banging against your bedroom door. "MINOTAUR!"
"...yes, Octavia?"
"I demand water!"
”You should know where the glasses are by now; you've probably gone through most of my kitchen."
"Perhaps... perhaps we can come to some sort of agreement?" What? Was she finally going to listen to reason? You slowly made your way out of bed and over to the door.
"What kind of agreement did you have in mind?"
"You give me a glass of water, and I'll keep quiet so you can sleep..."
"Really? What made you come to that decision?"
"...I'm really thirsty..." Might as well take her up on the offer; if she's quiet, you might actually be able to sleep. You unlock and crack open the door. She's not armed, and appears to be sincere so far. Could still be a trap. Seeing as you're already up, might as well go along with it.
"Alright, deal."
You led her to your kitchen, and proceeded to fix her a glass of water. Setting it on the table, you began to ponder how exactly she intended to hold it. She stood on her hind legs, reached over and grabbed the cup with one hoof, using the other to steady herself against the counter. As your tired mind began to attempt to process just how she was doing that; your body reminded you that you were going to be sleeping soon, one way or another.
In an effort to catch yourself from falling, you reached out to the nearest stable object. That just so happened to be Octavia. She'd just set the glass back on the counter when your full weight caught the both of you, letting gravity take over and pull you to a horizontal position. The combination of falling down and Octavia landing on top of you knocked the wind out of you. As the two of you lay there dazed and confused, you began to return to a normal rate of breathing. Sitting yourself up, you took to checking over Octavia for any serious injury.
"Wha... what are you doing?" Nope, still functioning fine, it would seem. You pushed her off of your lap, thus allowing you to reacquire your vertical position.
"Alright now, we made a deal."
"Why did you knock me over?"
"That was an accident. I'm very tired, seeing as I've gotten little to no sleep over the past two days." She looked over your form in silence. "Now, you gonna honor your part of the deal or what?" She nodded silently; apparently your physical appearance was somewhat... sobering. She sighed.
"I am a lady of my word, Anonymous. I made you a promise, I intend to keep it."
"Good."
"Perhaps... perhaps I haven't been most agreeable recently..."
"That's one way to put it."
"Then would you allow me to make it up to you, somehow? Even if this is a ruse of Vinyl's, that's no excuse for me to behave the way I have."
"Well make it fast, I'd like to actually sleep rather than just talk about it."
"Then perhaps I could fix you something to help you sleep? A warm drink?"
"Okay, sure. Why not."
"Excellent. Erm... what do you like to drink? Coco? Warm milk?" She grimaced before suggesting the last option, "Coffee?" You chuckled a little. Coffee? When trying to sleep?
"Octavia, who do you know that drinks Coffee when trying to go to sleep?" She opened her mouth to respond, but you cut her off. "Wait, let me guess: Vinyl?" She nodded. "That's what I thought. This Vinyl character doesn't sound like someone I want to meet." She remained silent, apparently still not entirely convinced that this wasn't all some master prank. "Well, how about some tea?" Her dumbfounded expression told you she wasn't expecting that answer.
"T-tea? You drink... tea?"
"Sure. Not all the time, but it's better than coffee."
"I... I wasn't expecting that. No matter, I shall fix some tea. Tell me, where is your kettle?"
"I don't have a kettle, Octavia. I have a coffee machine."
"But I thought you didn't--"
"I don't; but it warms the water up all the same." She looked over your in confusion.
"You are a strange creature, Anonymous."
"Says the talking horse."
"I'm not a--"
”Yeah, yeah, pony. Same difference." She mumbled something under her breath that you didn't bother to try and catch, and turned to face what was left of your kitchen.
"So, where is this coffee machine?" You went and pulled the thing out of the sink that it'd been knocked into, setting it on the counter where it belonged. Octavia eyed the conglomeration of plastic with a studying gaze. "This device heats water?"
“Yeah."
She poked at it with a hoof, causing the pot to shift from its perch on the warming plate. Taking the pot in her hoof, she managed to scoot over to the sink and fill it up with water. The longer you stared at her hoof holding the pot, the more your brain hurt. When you noticed she was making to put the pot on the stove, you intervened. That was your only coffee pot.
"Octavia, what are you doing?"
"I'm warming the water, obviously. That puny device may work for you, but tea needs to be prepared properly." You snatched the pot from her before she could turn on the stove.
"That's all well and good," you said, placing the pot back into the machine and turning it on. "But you would've broken the pot had you used the stove." She was definitely suspicious, but didn't try and argue with you.
"Very well. Where is your tea?" You reached into one of the upper cupboards and pulled out the Russian spiced tea mix. She took a whiff of it once you popped the top off, rearing back in disgust. "That... that's tea?"
"Yeah. Say what you want, I like it." The coffee machine beeped about that time, signaling that it was no longer a good idea to touch the warming pad.
"The water is warm already?"
"Not exactly, but it's not a good idea to touch the plate either."
"How much longer until it's warm enough to use for tea?"
"Probably another couple minutes or so." She resigned herself to wandering about your kitchen. "Anything in particular you're looking for?"
"Well, seeing as I can't find a way out, I suppose I'll try and find some drinking glasses." You decided to let her try and be helpful while you quietly retrieved two cups from a cupboard no too far from your current position. After a bit of frustrated rummaging, she finally gave up with an annoyed groan. When she looked back to you and realized you'd already gotten the cups, she was less than enthusiastic. After the coffee pot had beeped for the second time and the water was sufficiently warm, you poured yourself and Octavia some tea. She was hesitant to try the concoction, but powered on anyway; no doubt she was trying to seem less impolite than her prior behavior.
”You don't have to drink it if you don't want to, Octavia. I'm the one trying to get some sleep, not you." She shot you a look that was some mixture of annoyance and confusion before bringing the drink to her lips. She coughed down the first sip, setting the cup down. You chuckled to yourself, letting the warm liquid wash down your throat. The sensation that followed was very relaxing, seeming to allude that the drink was serving its purpose. Once you'd finished your cup, you rinsed it out and waited for Octavia to give up. To your surprise, she picked up the cup again and took another sip. Cringing only for a second, she paused for a moment.
"This... Isn't as bad as I thought." She continued sipping the tea.
"Glad you think so. Easy enough to make, so drink what you want; I'm going to bed." She pulled the cup from her lips and nodded. Once you'd turned your back to her, it dawned on you that you were about to sleep. Actually, legitimately sleep. The thought alone would've been orgasmic had you not been so tired. The journey to your room was shorter than you were expecting, but you didn't complain. After locking your bedroom door, you didn't bother removing your clothes and promptly landed on your bed.
Sleep's sweet embrace was swift and soothing. It had been so long that your brain didn't know how to react, so it decided to try out some crazy dreams. You were at your apartment, talking with the mint pony about something. You didn't really care what it was, but you did notice that you weren't tired. In fact, you were rather enthusiastic in that particular conversation. More so than you'd been in a while. There was some music playing from sources unknown, but you ignored it. You were more interested in the conversation.
Even more interesting was the fact that Octavia had just entered the room. Being a dream, you heard none of the conversation; only barely aware that there was conversing occurring. You seemed happy in your dream; which struck you as strange considering you were talking with pastel colored ponies. It occurred to you that while you'd only been visited twice thus far, it'd always been by one pony.
You'd never had more than one visit you at the same time. At least, so far. Whatever. Enjoy the dream; it's a sign. A sign that your body is finally recovering from the taxing past couple of days. The more you tried to focus on the conversation, the more you noticed something. The music was getting louder. You shrugged it off and decided to take in the surrounding of your dream. Typical apartment; but there were some changes. The kitchen was no longer a disaster zone, and there were some new additions to your living room.
Namely a couple of easy chairs. The green pony, what was her name... Lyra? Yeah. Lyra. She was curled up in one of the chairs while Octavia was sitting... It looked odd for a hor-- pony. It looked odd for a pony to sit like that, but whatever. The conversation was lighthearted it seemed, but the music never stopped. In fact, you were finding it odd that neither of them seemed to notice the music. When you stood from your couch, you started to wander around looking for the source of the noise.
The ponies continued their conversation like you hadn't done anything. As you started running your hands along the walls, the music steadily got louder. Stepping out into the hall, you found it empty and the music's volume increasing yet again. It had a beat to it, but it didn't exactly sound familiar. Whatever it was, it was certainly starting to get annoying. When you realized that it was getting annoying, it seemed to get louder faster. Soon you were covering your ears to try and stop the music, but it didn't help.
You snapped awake, looking around your dark room. You were lying on the floor, but at least you'd gotten some sleep. Still tired, but no longer full zombie mode. When the music from your dream continued, albeit at a seemingly quieter volume, you started to get concerned.