Waking Nightmares

by Kelvin Shadewing

Chapter 2

"My name is Pinkie Pie!"

"Please don't."

"And I am here to say,"

"Cut it out."

"I'm gonna make you smile,
and I will brighten up your day!"

"Pinkie, please! Not right now!" A few people noticed my outburst and stared at me as I walked from my apartment to the campus. I pulled my jacket's collar up and hid my face as best as I could with it.

"What's the matter?" Pinkie asked me, "I thought you loved that song." She gave me her filly pout again. I swear, a pony coukd rule the world with a face like that.

"I do," I grunted back, "But you really don't seem to understand what a bad idea it is for me to be seen talking to you!"

"Um, David?" a soft voice above me said that made my heart melt.

I looked up and saw Fluttershy hovering over me. How could I dismiss somepony like her? I sighed, completely helpless against her pleading eyes. "Yes, Fluttershy?"

"Do I have to go too?" she asked, "I mean, I understand if you don't want me. But I'd like to stay... that is, if it's alright with you?" As she asked me this, she lighted down and let her mane cover her right eye.

Confound these ponies. They'll drive me to drink. I gulped and braced myself. "I'm sorry, Shy, but you have to go too. All of you have to go, and I'm gonna find a way to do it today. That's that."

Now tell me, have you ever seen a child's face when you tell them there is no Santa Claus or tooth faeries? That the Easter Bunny, if he ever existed, was likely shot by your neighbor, Billy Bob McCoy and made into pie? That's the kind of asshole I felt like when I saw Fluttershy's eyes welling up with tears.

"You... don't like me?" Fluttershy started to sob.

"I do like you!" I said defensively, "I just don't believe you're real, that's all." Yeah. I'm really tactful, aren't I?

The small yellow pegasus burst into tears and ran off back in the direction of my apartment past a multitude of bystanders who took no notice of her at all.

I sighed, determined not to feel sorry. But how could I not? Imaginary or not, I made Fluttershy cry, and I felt like a prick for it. Turning away from the pink party pony still nearby, I kept walking.

"I don't have time for this crap. I'm gonna be late for class."

I stepped down the stairs of the auditorium in my physics class and scooted down the row to my seat. It wasn't one of those really big auditoriums like you see in movies; just a small one for about fifty or so students. Still a big class, but not intimidatingly so.

The other students were taking their seats as well, and I was beginning to feel very crowded. Our professor entered the room and pulled over a blackboard on wheels.

"Not as impressive as Celestia's school, but still nice." Twilight was sitting on the desk of the guy next to me who was looking right through her.

I glared at her and tried to ignore her, opening my notebook and looking down at the stage.

Professor Langley began his lecture on kinetic energy and how it transfers between objects of varying phases and forms, then began drawing up formulas in chalk.

"That's funny," Twilight spoke up, looking away from the sheet of cartoon parchment she was scrawling on in Equestrian cursive, "He hasn't once mentioned the effects of leylines on gravitational shifts."

"That's because magic doesn't exist," I growled softly at her.

"Dude, why are you talking about magic?" the guy next to me whispered.

"Never mind," I said back, then grunted as Prof. Langley flipped the board over. "Great, thanks a lot. Now I missed the end of his notes."

"Don't blame me just cuz you can't focus," my classmate berated me.

"Sorry," Twilight said, "I can share my notes with you if you want."

"No, thank you," I whispered. The guy behind me was staring at me. I met his gaze. "What?"

"Nothing," he said before hastily returning to his own notes.

I scowled and went back to writing. A sudden flash of every color in the rainbow startled me into jumping back, making me fall out of my chair. "Shit!" escaped my lips as I hit the forty five degree mark before accelerating towards the ground and hitting the short carpet floor.

Prof. Langely and the rest of the class all looked at me. "Is everything alright?" he asked.

Rainbow Dash was standing on my desk, glaring daggers down at me. "Hey! I heard what you did to Fluttershy!"

"I really don't have time for this," I said through gritted teeth. Unfortunately, I didn't keep my voice down this time.

"Don't have time for what?" my professor asked, "If you've something more important than physics on your mind, Mr. Cavaliere, please, feel free to share it."

Dash glanced down at the professor. "Who's this egghead?"

I picked myself up and reset my chair, taking my seat once again. "Sorry, sir... just had a bad headache." It wasn't exactly a lie; these ponies were really starting to get on my nerves.

Ironic how the very ponies who had once been my mental santuary from stress were now becoming the source of it.

"Well, try to keep it together, will you?" Langely said, and went back to the lecture.

I held my head and sighed.

Dash raised an eyebrow at me. "Well?"

"I'll apologize to her later, OK?" I whispered back, "Can I please just get through class?"

"Yes, Rainbow," Twilight said, "This is an important time. We'll see you later."

Nice how Twilight was still trying to include herself in my classes, but at least it seemed to get rid of Rainbow Dash for now.

"Twilight," I said to the lavender mare as I trekked to my next session, "Why are you still here?"

"I think it's apparent that we're going to be here a while," Twilight responded.

"No, I mean, why are you here? In college with me? It's not like you can actually participate." I figured if these hallucinations were going to persist, I might as well try to understand them.

"I just like to learn," she replied, "And this is a place of learning, right? So I wanna see all that I can. Besides, I got the notes you missed in physics."

I had to raise an eyebrow in disbelief. "How did you do that?"

She paused in thought. "I payed attention and wrote. It's what I'm good at."

"Well, I've got C++ next, so if you'd please let me concentrate this time? Programming is a more hands-on, or hooves-on, class."

Twilight nodded. "Alright, I'll keep quiet. But I'm still sitting in."

"Fine," I said, and went ahead to my next class with Twilight trotting happily beside me.