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// A mare's mind/ The crossroads of destiny 
// Story: The Dreams of Octavia and Vinyl Scratch 
// by Silver-Brony 
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Author’s note— This is going to be confusing, deal with it.

Octavia was lying on her back; her old synthetic leather jacket padded against the cool ground. Not like she knew the leather was fake, let alone know what leather was in the first place. Regardless she knew the jacket was comfortable, and she liked it. Her mane laid scattered across the ground in the absence of any head gear.
“It’s about time you showed up,” Octavia sneered when she heard her friend approaching. 
“Pardon me, ma’am, I am sorry that there were complications impeding my arrival,” Octavia replied calmly. She took her hat  off and smoothed her mane over at the sight of Octavia’s messy appearance. Afterwards she smoothed her overly formal dress and continued towards the spot where Octavia was now getting off her back.
“Whatever mom. Really, you’re what I meant when I said I didn’t wanna end up like them.”
“Thank you for your opinion, but I disagree. My mother did a splendid job of raising me.”
Octavia groaned and rolled her eyes at this, “Princess, just get over here and sit down.”
“This is just why I desire more dominance, you are just irredeemably irritating.”
“Sweetie,” Octavia said to further push Octavia’s buttons, “You don’t ask for dominance, you assert it.”
“Uh! I say, where did you learn to be so positively repulsive. All I’m asking is for more than a day or two of mental influence; nothing you need to ‘assert’ over.
“Look, it’s bad enough that I let you out that long, and we’ve discussed this already. That’s why I’m even here, remember, every week I come to talk if I get majority of the time in control was our deal.”
Octavia scoffed, “Well I can’t believe that I agreed to that.”
“Hindsight is 20/20, sweetheart,” Octavia grinned.
Octavia narrowed her eyes, “And why must you insist on calling me such names?”
“Darlin’, would you prefer we go back to callin’ each other Octavia?” Octavia asked rhetorically, “Because I’m sure you remember how confusing that was.”
“I’d prefer that you maintain a single nick name for me, if you would even have the mental capacity to do that.”
“Whoa, we haven’t even sat down yet, let’s not start fighting yet.”
They started trotting through the blank white world to a table that stood alone in the abyss. A simple brown wood staple in this world of nothing. They pulled the chairs out from under it and sat down. Octavia picked up the tea cup in front of her and, after putting a sugar cube in it, took a sip. Meanwhile, Octavia picked up her cup and dumped her tea on the nothing behind her. She then poured in some scotch and began mimicking Octavia’s motions.
Octavia just sighed.
“I wish it was prettier in here.”
“Pretty? Please I wish there was something here.”
“Well, I found a wonderful room with chocolate pastries one time, though when I tried to return it was filled with fire crabs,” Octavia remarked.
“What’s a fire crab?”
“A what?” 
“I’m going to go.”
“No! You cannot!”
“And why’s that, Princess?”
“We are waiting for Octavia.”
“Ah!” Octavia looked around at the emptiness, “You sure it was here?”
“Positively sure.”
“Octy, she should be here.”
“Be patient.”
“What do we do if she doesn’t come?” Octavia shivered and tugged the ends of her jacket together.
“We’ll come tomorrow.”
Octavia winced at the thought of further time with Octavia at this table waiting for Octavia, “We came here yesterday.”
“Ah no, there you’re mistaken.”
“What do we do then?”
“Nothing to be done,” she shrugged, ruffling her dress and displaced her hat.
Octavia took off her hat and examined it scrupulously for the foreign body that had lodged itself inside. Failing to find anything, Octavia flipped it and tapped the top; she examined it again before returning it to its post on her head. While Octavia was playing with her hat, Octavia was struggling with her bow tie.
Failing to alter its position she sighed and looked up, “Listen.”
Octavia continued to fuss with her hat, “I hear nothing.”
“Hsst!” Octavia turned her head to hear better, “Nor I.”
The sound of approaching hoofsteps lay dead on their eardrums. When Octavia walked out of the shadows they heard her draw near and say, “Um…”
“Hello, are you Octavia,” Octavia beamed.
“Yeah.”
“If you’re not Octavia, who are you?”
“I said yes,” she replied irritated.
“Nice to meet you Yes, my name is Octavia and my friend in the crazy dress over there is Octavia.”
“My name is Octavia.”
Octavia frowned, “Why didn’t you say so?” She smiled again, “Here, take a seat, we’re waiting for Octavia. So what personality are you?”
“I-I’m just Octavia.”
Octavia turned to Octavia, “She might be…”
“No, she can’t be Octavia, it’s too early?” Octavia asked more than stated.
“You’re probably right,” Octavia turned back to Octavia, “Here, take a seat.”
Octavia rolled her eyes, “Why do you have to be so nice to these dreadful fads that manage to gain a personality.”
“Speak for yourself, I thought some of them were lovely.”
Octavia snickered, “Yeah like that time you dreamed you were a stallion and when he got a personality you made out with him.”
“What the hell Octavia! We talked about you blurting that out!”
“Uh oh,” Octavia said looking at Octavia, “It’s not good when Octy uses your real name.”
She gritted her teeth, but smiled, “No need to get rough around a guest.”
Octavia let out a sigh of relief at the same time as Octavia, neither of them wanted Octavia beating anypony.
“So what brings you around these parts?”
“I-I-ah-a-a-um, how a-are there three of us?”
Octavia huffed and looked at Octavia, “What did you do?! You were in control last, what personality did you make?”
“How dare you! I’ve done nothing!”
“Sure…”
“Freeze! Please just stop…” Octavia moaned, “I really need some pony to explain what’s going on…”
They didn’t respond. Nor did they blink, or breath, or do anything, they stayed perfectly still, “Hello?”
Nothing.
Octavia stood up and waved her hoof in front of Octavia. When there was no reaction she turned to return to her seat.
“Hello Octavia,” A mysterious mare who was standing not five feet away said.
“Wha… How did you? Who are you?”
“Follow me,” she said.
Octavia looked at her; she appeared to be grey, but it was such a light shade that she could easily be mistaken to be plain white. The only reason Octavia could tell she was darker was because of the totally white background. She had a blue tail that looked to have a grey tint about the shade of her coat. Octavia looked back at the two of her sitting at the table, shrugged , and followed the mare.
“Unfreeze,” the grey mare said as they trotted further from the table, and behind them the arguing continued.



They had been walking for quite some time before Octavia said something again, “So who are you?”
The mare looked at her, “You don’t know me.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Why, actually, never mind, I don’t care, just tell me where I am.”
She frowned, “You haven’t figured out yet?”
“Obviously.”
“You’re in your mind, your head.”
“What?”
“This is the plane of your consciousness,” she explained
“Why is it blank?”
“Because you’re sleeping, or unconscious as it were.”
“How am I here?”
It took her a moment to respond, “You need to be here, so you are.”
“I need to be here? You’re kidding me.”
She turned and stared at her, “Do I look like I’d joke around?”
They returned to traveling silently as Octavia mulled over what she said. How could she be walking around in her own head, and with a mare she never met no less.
“Hold on, if we’re in my head, but I’ve never met you did I…” Octavia paused to think a way to politely phrase it.
“No, you didn’t create me,” she replied without needing the question finished.
“So…”
“Look,” she interrupted, “What do you know about time?”
Octavia thought for a moment, “I don’t understand the question.”
“Time, what do you know about it.”
“Well, sixty seconds is a minute, sixty minutes is an hour, and so on.”
“Octavia, time is an illusion, past, present, and future are just words. In our minds we see visions of ponies we’ve lost, ponies we’ve loved, ponies we think are gone, but our mind tells us their not. We’re still connected to them; because time is an illusion, and so is death.”
Octavia stopped as her words sunk in, “Wait, you said we’ve never met, how could I have a vision of you?”
“You’re the smartest mare I know, you tell me.”
Disregarding the first part Octavia thought, “You said time is an illusion, so… you’re somepony I will meet?”
She smiled and nodded.
“So how are you doing this? Actually how are either of us here? In my head I mean.”
“I’ve told you that you’re here because you need to be here,” she repeated, “I, on the other hoof, needed some help.”
A dark grey aura enveloped her mane, which Octavia noticed was nearly identical to her own, and she moved it enough to reveal her horn.
“Why are you here then?”
“Enough, stop with the questions about me. You need to focus on the questions about yourself.”
“Questions about myself?”
She rolled her eyes, “Yes, that’s what I said.”
“What questions? Do you think I don’t know myself?”
“You are at war within your own mind and body!” she shouted, “Did you know that?!”
Octavia recoiled, “What the hell are you doing in my head!”
“Showing you what you need to know!”
They glared at each other. After a staring match Octavia turned, making sure she hit the mare in the face with her tail, and trotted away.
“What do you plan to do now that you’ve been here, stand around on your cello? Should I go tune it?”
“Shut up and get me out of here,” Octavia said flatly
“And then what?! You never think these things through! This is exactly what happened when you bought that cello. You had it, then you had nowhere to go!”
Octavia spun around at the mention of her childhood, “I would have figured something out.”
“NO! If that children’s orchestra hadn’t found you, you would have starved to death!” She persisted.
“My childhood dreams have nothing to do with this.”
“Don’t you know those how don’t study history are bound to repeat it!”
“I know my future.”
“Is it your own future,” she growled, “Or is it some future you’re going to accept?!”
“Stop it; I know what I want,” Octavia once again turned away.
“I’m begging you Octavia! It’s time for you to look inward, and begin asking yourself the big questions. Who are you, and what do you really want?”