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.