//------------------------------// // Chapter One // Story: Insomnambula // by Charles Xavier //------------------------------// Chapter One … Octavia rose up early the next morning fresh as a daisy. She aimed to arrive at Ponyville’s theater during its opening hour. With the music festival nearing, she would have dreaded even missing a half-hour of cello rehearsal. DJ Pon-3 was still dreaming away in bed. She probably wasn’t going to wake up until around the late morning or early afternoon, Octavia predicted. After showering, brushing her teeth and drying herself, Octavia was raring to go. She returned to the bedroom… and stopped immediately on her tracks after doing so. Oddly enough, she found her cello and bow out of their case, laid out neatly on her chair, as if ready to play. This was most unusual. Octavia swore she locked her instrument inside her case, as she’d regularly do every night before going to bed… then again, she recalled how much she’d been overworking yesterday, so a simple mishap like this seemed credible. Octavia gently placed her cello back into its case along with her bow, before heading off to make her bed. She always tried to keep her side of the house tidy. A little unlike DJ Pon-3 though, she proved to be quite sloppy at times. Every so often, Octavia did the favor to clean up her side of the room too. She would try to educate her housemate about the importance of cleanliness… though it was questionable if DJ Pon-3 actually heeded her advice. After straightening her blanket and fluffing up her pillows, Octavia went to grab her cello case… when she gasped, nearly screaming. Under mysterious circumstances, her cello and bow were discovered out of their case again and neatly placed on her chair in the same exact position as she had found it just minutes ago. Octavia glanced over at DJ Pon-3, still snoozing away. There was no possibility that she could have been responsible for this. So just what on earth was going on? This disturbed Octavia tremendously. That was until she inspected the clock on the wall and was reminded of the time. Knowing that she was running late, she snatched her cello and bow and returned them inside her case, shutting it securely. … Octavia arrived at the theater just a few minutes behind, thankfully. Amidst the mad rush getting there, she began thinking to herself and speculating; might there be a connection between the knockings she heard the night before, and the peculiar case of her moving cello…? Her notions were quickly cast aside when… “CHEESE!” Pinkie Pie sidestepped into Octavia’s way as she approached the theater’s entrance, raising her camera and snapping a photo without warning. “OH!” Octavia staggered back, temporarily blinded again. “Good morning!” Pinkie Pie greeted her gleefully. “And how’s Ponyville’s favorite cellist faring today?” “Could be better. Significantly better as a matter of fact.” Octavia replied rather unenthusiastically, rubbing her eyes to regain her vision. “Now listen here, if you’re going to ask me again about Applejack’s invitation this afternoon, then my answer is still respectfully no.” “I know, but that’s not why I’m here actually.” Pinkie Pie assured her. “Since you’re not coming, I just wondered if I could treat you for lunch instead?” Octavia sighed deeply, moved by the kind gesture but was considerate. “That’s awfully generous of you, Pinkie. But again, this festival, it means a lot to me and…” “Come on! Twilight’s coming to join too, you know.” insisted Pinkie Pie, hopping up and down like a feverish bunny. “You know how hard it is getting a busy princess like her to join you for lunch? It’s once in a lifetime… well, not literally, but you get my point!” Come to think, it just occurred to Octavia that she had completely neglected her breakfast! How could she have forgotten the most important meal of the day? That was most likely due to getting spooked by her cello. So putting that into account, denying her good friend’s offer for a meal seemed too shameful to pass. She couldn’t keep herself starved for the day, and without denial, she needed the extra boost of energy to practice her music. Octavia rolled her eyes aside and lightly shrugged: “Well… maybe I could use a bit of a bite...” … It was another busy day at the Hay Burger, chock-full of customers. It was lucky that Pinkie Pie managed to reserve a table, otherwise it would have taken her hours to find a place to even sit. The only other unoccupied table was a tiny one, enough to fit just two, located behind where Octavia was sitting. Breakfast tea, milk and two lumps of sugar was what Octavia drank, along with half of a cucumber sandwich, since the regular portion was rather filling for her. She offered the other half to split between Pinkie Pie and Twilight. They weren’t the most recommended orders from the diner, but Octavia was one pony that had a penchant to watching her diet and maintaining good physique. Pinkie Pie and Twilight had persuaded Octavia to try some of the more delectable selections such as the famed burgers, horseshoe-shaped fries, soft drinks, and milkshakes. As tempting as they were though, Octavia politely declined even a sample or a bite. Regardless, Pinkie Pie and Twilight could see through observation that something was troubling her. She appeared incredibly withdrawn and tense, jittery even. She constantly shifted her eyes sharply left and right, in all directions as if fearing that something was out to get her at any given moment. She hardly paid much attention to her friends. Twilight felt the urge to spark a conversation with her. “So… how’s rehearsal going for you, Octavia?” “Not particularly well, I’m afraid…” Octavia admitted. She went back to stirring her tea, dropping in a third lump of sugar and pouring milk excessively into her cup. “Why not?” Twilight asked curiously. Octavia stopped stirring, sinking her eyes down to the table with a sigh. “If I told you, you’d probably think I’m paranoid… or that I’ve lost my marbles.” Pinkie Pie finished slurping her delicious shake and said: “C’mon, try us! We’re your friends! We’ll listen.” Octavia paused skeptically… before asking: “Have you ever had that uncomfortable feeling like you’re being watched?” “Oh, of course!” nodded Pinkie Pie undoubtedly. “It’s called stage fright! Every pony has it when they go on stage to perform for the first time, but you get over it!” “Pinkie Pie, that’s not what she means.” remarked Twilight. Octavia continued. “I mean being watched by something you don’t even know, something you can’t describe, let alone see?” “Like air?” Pinkie Pie suggested, much to Twilight’s frown at her silly suggestion. She delivered back an embarrassing grin. “Hey, I dunno what’s eating her…” “I mean like… oh, dare I say it?” Octavia hesitated. “What?” asked Twilight. “A… a ghost.” Both Twilight and Pinkie Pie widened their eyes. “Why… why would you think that?” wondered Twilight. “Why would you think a ghost is watching you?” “I... I don’t know.” Octavia replied earnestly. “Lately I’ve been hearing odd noises, witnessing strange phenomena. In all probability, I may just be losing my mind, but…” “What kind of noises, what kind of phenomena?” asked Twilight, eager to know more. “It’s all just stress.” interrupted Pinkie Pie. “You’re under too much stress because of the Ponyville Music Festival, aren’t ya?” This forced Twilight to groan. “Can we just hear Octavia out please?” “Well, it IS true that I have been stressed.” Octavia wasn’t afraid to confess. “Although-” “Don’t sweat it. You’ll be fine. I know it!” Pinkie Pie went on, only trying to cheer her up. “It’s not like it’s the end of the world!” The end of the world… Twilight alone knew perfectly well what THAT felt like. If Pinkie Pie was only aware what Twilight endured weeks ago… traveling to the distant past, subduing the threat of Tirek and thusly averting Equestria’s cataclysmic fate. It was among one of Twilight’s most arduous and challenging adventures, let alone her most memorable experiences she had to undertake. Yet to this day, those forgotten events still remained solely to the knowledge of herself and Princess Celestia. The latter of whom once lived a former life as a human named Megan Williams, who ruled over and took precious care of the magical ponies of Ponyland millennia ago. Twilight grew concerned for Octavia. She knew the renowned musician was under a lot of pressure, which was fairly normal, and she appreciated Pinkie Pie only trying to offer positivity. Yet in her view, Octavia looked far more afraid than she had ever been. It was like her very life was being threatened so to speak. “Wait, just a minute! Don’t change that pose!” Pinkie Pie said, digging her hooves under the table and whipping out her same camera. “CHEESE!” The flash from the camera startled Octavia, making her to spill her tea across the table. “PINKIE PIE!” Twilight berated her. “It’s just publicity, Twilight.” said Pinkie Pie in defense. “The more photos I get, the bigger number of ponies will go out to see Octavia!” “But why of all times when we’re eating?” Twilight had to ask. “Hey, fans love to see their greatest performer taking a break, right?” Pinkie Pie grinned again, raising a brow and anticipating in hearing approval. Twilight simply shook her head. … Seeking to put her mind at ease, Octavia decided to spend the afternoon at the riverside park in Ponyville. With hardly any pony about, being out in the calm open air did make her relax. Not to mention, the change in atmosphere helped her to concentrate on mastering ‘Canon’ even better. As Octavia continued playing at her bench, the peace was disrupted when Pinkie Pie, out of a nearby bush, leaped out and not too surprisingly, flashed her camera at Octavia another time. Octavia, having gotten used to this by now, was mildly fazed, although she truly had enough for one day of shoots. “Honestly, do you always have to follow me wherever I go? I thought you were supposed to be with Applejack?” “Yeah, but I passed on apple picking at the last minute.” Pinkie Pie casually admitted. “I realized hey, I could do that any time any day. But with that music fest fast approaching, I gotta grab as many photos of you as I can! And besides, I just took a gorgeous one of you rehearsing by the river. This HAS to be a seller!” “There’s a little thing called private space, you ought to know.” Octavia grunted discreetly. “Sure thing, I get it.” acknowledged Pinkie Pie. “I’ll leave you to it then. I think I got enough for today.” With that said, Pinkie Pie left the cellist to her own practice. What a relief for Octavia. … The rest of the afternoon and evening went undisturbed. No more surprise photography or any paranormal activities within the household. Octavia felt more at peace by the end of the day. By bedtime, DJ Pon-3 had fallen asleep before Octavia. It was hard to believe that she was still tired from her outing with Neon Lights last night. Then again, it was about that time for Octavia to hit the hay herself. After packing up her cello and getting ready for bed, she turned off the lights… About an hour into slumber, Octavia felt sharp something poke her leg. At first, she thought little of it and rolled aside. Seconds passed, then something lightly tugged on her leg. “Vinyl, stop it!” a half-asleep Octavia complained. She tried to return to rest, until just moments thereafter, something yanked her leg forcefully within the blankets. Octavia almost slid off the edge of her bed. The very force woke her up in shock and daze. Octavia angrily rose from bed and shouted: “FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE, VINYL, ENOUGH WITH THE…!” she then stopped mid-sentence. DJ Pon-3 was still in her own bed on her opposite side of the room, snoring away. Octavia was speechless. She didn’t know what was going on or if she was dreaming. She began to smell something pungent… something she could only describe like rotting flesh. Her spine then froze, when scouring the room, she found her cello and bow out of their case once more, neatly positioned on her chair, exactly like this morning. Then all of a sudden, the door to the bathroom fiercely slammed shut on its own. The noise triggered DJ Pon-3 awake immediately as she sat up straight from her bed. She rubbed her eyes and noticed Octavia startled, then too noticed her cello and bow out of place. Even she knew well enough that her housemate never left her instruments lying idly around when she was sleeping. There came loud poundings on the door from within the bathroom, followed by rattling on the doorknob, as if something was struggling to escape. Octavia and DJ Pon-3 glanced at each other in trepidation and disbelief. They both heard it, so that concluded it was neither of their imaginations playing tricks. Both ponies crawled out of bed with extreme caution, not setting their sights away from the bathroom door. Together they approached the door apprehensively. Neither one had a clue what could be causing the commotion. It couldn’t have been some nightly critter trapped in the bathroom, as all the doors and windows were locked as always. And even if it was, the chances of that were mighty slim given the force of the pounding they heard. Only something sizeable like a bear or a buffalo per se could have trapped itself in the bathroom, but no way could it have been one entering their home without making a racket first. Octavia wouldn’t dare step nearer the door. DJ Pon-3 on the other hand, after gathering enough courage, magically flung the door open with her horn to face whatever was inside. Yet nothing came out and the pounding eerily ceased. DJ Pon-3 proceeded into the bathroom, with Octavia closely following her tail. It was far too dark to make out anything inside. So DJ Pon-3 flicked on the light switch, in hopes to find SOMETHING lurking… just perchance. To her bafflement, and to Octavia’s, they found absolutely nothing. All appeared safe and sound as normal. CRASH! BANG! THUD! Octavia and DJ Pon-3 jumped out of their skins from the thunderous noise coming from their bedroom. Emerging from the bathroom, both ponies were rendered in awe. Switching on the bedroom lights, they found the entire collection of DJ Pon-3’s records smashed to pieces, including shattered lamps, pictures frames, vases, mirrors, all scattered on the floor. Even worse, DJ Pon-3’s DJ controller was wrecked, as were her stereos and electric guitar. To Octavia’s utter dread, her cello had been smashed… It went without saying; this was a nightmare come true. The ponies were hardly given time to compose themselves, when out of nowhere, they heard random keys from Octavia’s grand piano being played in a distorted tune. Yet no one could be seen playing… the piano appeared to be playing by itself. Octavia approached the piano tentatively. As she got closer, the playing came to an abrupt halt. Carefully, Octavia inspected the keys. She could vaguely, just very vaguely, make out strange black dust on the keys, dust forming the shapes of humanly fingers… or likewise. Of course, having never seen a human in her life, this only perplexed Octavia more. A faint hissing in the room from behind caught her ear. She turned to DJ Pon-3’s direction. Behind DJ Pon-3, Octavia met eyes with the Crimson Spectre… except it was revealed that she bore no eyes. In fact, she was now a living skeleton in robe with only her white unkempt hair. She raised her bony hand, pointing an extended claw menacingly at Octavia. Her jaw gaped wide open with her disorderly teeth. She delivered a penetrating and ominous stare with her dark and empty eye sockets. A second’s sighting of this horror was enough to make Octavia unleash a high-pitched scream as she instantly recoiled to the corner in absolute terror. DJ Pon-3 spun around quickly to see whatever was behind her… but found nobody. The Crimson Spectre had vanished. Octavia clutched her heart and panted heavily. She was scared out of her wits. The disturbing image of the Crimson Spectre was still embedded in her vision. It was highly unlikely now that she’d be getting any further sleep tonight…