//------------------------------// // A Headache at Daybreak // Story: Waking Up in Black and White // by _Kenzu_ //------------------------------//  Chapter 13 A Headache at Daybreak _______________________________________________         It was early, that much was obvious at least. The only reason I knew it was because sunlight had begun to peak over the window. Unfortunately a certain zebra was still trying to enjoy the last bits of her sleep.         I wasn't even sure I could have called what I had experienced “sleep”. After Vinyl’s little adventure involving the bass cannon I couldn't get any rest. What little I did manage was only between long periods of staring at the ceiling or my pillow. Even then it was more of a restless slumber. There were times I woke up with a chill running up and down my tail and spine as I looked around the room frantically to make sure I was still in the hotel. The images of that dreadful nightmare haunted my thoughts the entire night. Meeting Vinyl afterwards, the real Vinyl, did little to comfort me. I continued to lay there as I put my head between my forelegs, trying to push the nightmare away and think about the day before. Things the other day seemed to go so well at first. Vinyl, Redheart, Trixie, and me. We finally managed to meet up with one another, even if it wasn't really planned. It was a happy coincidence in reality. We were even making good time to get to New York.  Though the more I tried to think of the future, the more my thoughts drifted back to that lost colt from the nightmare, Jace. He was me right? Or, was I him? No that couldn't have been right. After all, he vanished in that nightmare. I could almost feel him fade away. But, if he really did disappear, does that mean I’m…. dead? ‘NO!’ I shook my head against the pillow in denial. ‘No, of course not. Listen to yourself Zecora. There’s no way you could be that lost colt. You’re a zebra, not a human. You lived in Ponyville for the past four years for Celestia’s sake!’ I searched my memories for reassurance. They were all there of course, everything important. I remembered my hut on the edge of the Everfree, my potions and brews I tirelessly worked on for my friends in the village… ‘my friends….’ They were the closest thing I had to a family in Equestria. ‘My family...’ I remembered something else just as familiar. A small house in a quiet suburb, a computer with countless of hours of music I’d done my hardest to work on before posting them online. They never made it far, but I did enjoy the little praise I got for them. There was more, a sister, a mother and father. It was those humans, they were my family. I couldn't explain it, but it was true. “Gah.” I mumbled into my pillow. I was beginning to feel overwhelmed by all this. Everything about me, memories, how I had been acting, and thinking, was all beginning to feel like a large tangled mess. I was happy one second, and an emotional wreck the next. Confident with myself and others one moment, but then as timid a kitten. Which things about me were real? Which things were fake? Why did it feel like I was forgetting? But most importantly, why did I feel like I didn't care at all? My self pity and doubt were interrupted by a new arrival into the room, Celestia’s sun. The early morning sunlight had only just began filtering through the cracked window, shining brightly on my face.         “Oh… right, you.” I grumbled as I finally shifted out of the covers. I moved sluggishly as my limbs complained with every move they made. It was an effort to even get myself to stand up on all fours. My entire body felt like a lump of lead as I tried to stretch, earning pops and slight pain from my joints. The worst pain however, was from the headache that had built up during the night. It throbbed like I had suffered a buck to the face by somepony. I fought back the fatigue as I pulled myself out of the covers and looked out the window. The sun shone brightly much to my frustration. Nothing sounded more inviting than going back under the covers. But with the sun up, it wouldn't be long before the group would set back out on the road. I sighed and turned back to stare at Vinyl, still out like a log. “Vinyl, it’s daybreak,” I whispered as I gave her a nudge. “It’s time to wake.” Unsurprisingly it didn't do much of anything to wake the sleeping DJ.         ‘Should have known.’ I thought to myself as I rolled my eyes. ‘This mare can sleep though an earthquake.’  I sighed and slowly heaved myself off the bed. I’d just have to wait for the sleepy wubmaster to wake herself up, whenever that was going to be. Hopefully, it wouldn't be long if we were going to get back on the road today.         Once I reached the floor, I trotted over to the opposite bed, hoping to have better luck in at least waking somepony else. I turned the corner of the two beds and was confronted with another surprise. Redheart was fast asleep... but she was no longer on her bed. She lay sprawled out on the floor in a pile of covers and bedding that seemed to have fallen with her.                  “Serah?” I moved closer to the nurse as I whispered. For once I was thankful that this floor was carpeted instead of tile from my parent. “The sun is already on the rise, it’s time to open your sleepy eyes.”         Thankfully the nurse was a lot easier to wake than Vinyl. She groaned as I tapped her with my hoof. “Zecora?” she opened her eyes and took stock of her surroundings. “W-what am I doing on the floor?” she asked in a very confused tone.         “No! Not the bees! Oh god not the bees!” Trixie hollered as she suddenly exploded from underneath what covers were still on the bed. The frightened show mare flailed wildly before suddenly and ungracefully falling off the opposite side of the bed. “OW! Oof!” came a voice as we heard the sound of the mare hitting floor. My ears flattened against my head from all the noise as my headache, quickly becoming a migraine, flared up again. I groaned as I sat back down on my haunches and rubbed my aching head with a hoof. “Oh... sorry for being so avowed,” I whined as I scrunched my nose and closed my eyes, “but could you try not to be so loud?”         Slowly, Trixie’s head came around the corner of the bed as she looked around, eventually stopping to stare at myself and Redheart. The nurse and I stared back at her, dumbfounded. “Where are... Oh...” Trixie began awkwardly as she stared at us, baffled. Just as the look of confusion became apparent she brought her chin back up in a dignified manner and trotted back over to Redheart and myself. “A mare needs her morning exercises to keep up a brisk blood flow for a hard day’s journey.”  “Trixie...” Redheart paused as she got back onto her hooves. The nurse got right back to work as she began to fix the sheets back onto the bed before turning back to look at Trixie. “Did you happen to kick me in your sleep?”                  Trixie tilted her head slightly at the question, “Ah...” she trailed off as her hat and cape were suddenly encased in her magic. “So that was why it felt so real when I kicked that bear off of me. I did warn you that I might kick in bed.” She finished as her cape and hat fastened themselves back onto herself.         I arched an eyebrow as I watched Trixie. ‘Well, at least she is honest.’ I told myself. It didn't seem to be enough for the nurse however.         Redheart glanced over from her making the bed with her own raised eyebrow at the show mare. “First you’re screaming about bees, then a bear? Just what kind of dream were you having?”         Trixie shut her eyes quickly, deep in thought. “For an expert in magic, the mind must be considered a training ground, one of constant danger to guard against, much like the real world.” The blue unicorn continued as she walked past me. “You would do well to learn that.”         I stared at Trixie for another moment with a subtle frown. It certainly didn't sound like a convincing argument, but with the dreams I had lately, I really couldn't discount her for it. The two in front of me would probably think I had lost my mind if I had told them of all the unusual events that had taken place in my own dreams. At least the show mare didn't have to confront a cockatrice.                  Once Redheart had finally finished making the bed neat again, she walked towards the door. “I’m going to see if the others are awake yet. The sooner we leave from here, the better.”         I nodded to the nurse as she passed and turned my attention back to Vinyl. If Redheart was getting the others we’d surely be back on the road sooner than I thought. I hopped back onto my bed and tried to nudge the sleepy unicorn again.         “Vinyl we do not have time to waste.” I prodded. “You must get up and make haste.”         My only response was a loud, almost whinney-like snore as she turned over. I rolled my eyes again and I nudged her harder. “Vinyl, please?” I was debating begging now.         As soon as Redheart approached the door, it swung open, almost hitting her in the face. She quickly jumped out of the way, revealing Merille as he walked inside the room. “Hey, everyone else is up already.” The human shouted. “We were wondering if you wanted to come get some breakfast with us.”         Somehow Merille’s words seemed to work like magic. Before I could react Vinyl shot out up from the pillow in excitement. “Breakfast! So, where we going? Waffle House? IHOP?” “Gah!” I fumbled backwards from Vinyl’s sudden bout of excitement. I put a hoof back finding nothing but air bellow it. There was a brief moment of weightlessness before gravity quickly reminded me who was in charge. “Oof.” I grunted as I hit the floor. I sat there for a moment as I let the once again throbbing pain in my head dull slightly. “I am glad to see that you are now awake,” I looked back to Vinyl in mild frustration as I righted myself. “but must every morning start with a headache?” Vinyl didn't seem to pay it any mind as she put her hoof to her chin in thought.  “Hey...” she called out to all of us, “I just got a great idea. How about we start taking pictures while we’re on this road trip! Breakfast can wait a bit.” I just stared at her for a moment, wondering if she had even heard my complaint before I realised what she was implying.“You want pictures of all four of us?”I asked myself aloud, unconsciously mimicking Vinyl’s movements. The idea wasn't too bad actually when I thought about it. I still had my Facebook account that I used to get into contact with everypony here. It was almost certain that we’d inevitably run into more of ourselves the closer we got to New York. Of course that would mean that we’d have better chances to run into somepony who knew what was really going on, or better yet, even help us.  “I guess it’s not too much of a fuss.” I agreed. Redheart clopped her hooves together excitedly. “That sounds like a fun idea! It isn’t often that someone goes across the country.” “I have journeyed across the country plenty of times,” Trixie spoke up in an unamused tone before she sighed. “Though I suppose a record of our exploits would do no harm.” Vinyl pointed her hoof at Merille with a grin, “You got your phone with you, right?” He nodded as she continued, putting back on her glasses, “Could you take a photo of us four sitting on the bed?” Redheart giggled a bit as she happily climbed up on Vinyl’s bed, back legs kicking for a few moments as she pulled herself up from the edge. It was sort of a funny sight to see. Most ponies sat on their legs, though there were a few known exceptions. The nurse from what I had remembered wasn't amongst those ponies though. I stopped for a moment to look up at the nurse. “So, if I may?” I asked sheepishly as I clambered onto the bed beside her. “Is this spot ok?” Redheart simply nodded and grinned. I just gave a sheepish grin back to her as I tried to make myself comfortable. I wasn’t that much of a picture pony, but this didn't seem too much to ask. “On the bed?” Trixie asked suspiciously as she scrunched her face. Apparently it was indeed too much to ask for the show mare though as she eyed Vinyl’s bed like it had been infected. She didn't get an opportunity to object however as a blue aura suddenly enveloped her. I looked over to Vinyl as her horn glowed with a similar blue aura. “Yes, on the bed!” She said as she rolled her eyes behind her glasses at the show mare. “Aye!” Trixie managed to squeak out as Vinyl’s magic plopped the blue unicorn next to the DJ. For a brief moment Redheart and I glanced at each other in confusion. Were these two going to bicker about everything? “Come on, Trixie,” Vinyl teased with a big grin. “Smile for the camera!” There was a quick flash as Merille snapped the picture. He took a quick look at it and said, “It came out good, but for some reason, the colors of the room changed to blue.” He flipped the phone over to show us, and, true to the human’s word, the colors of the picture were quite different from that of the actual room. I stared into the image with surprise. Of all the things that the Draconequus could do, why would he bother messing with a picture? What on Equestria did that accomplish? I tried not to think too much about it as I let myself slowly off the bed. “Well, we are all travelling to New York to stop Discord, maybe he thought such a simple parlour trick would frighten us?” Trixie said curtly before she pulled herself off the bed as well. “Now,” Vinyl began as she got off as well, apparently not noticing the step away from her that Trixie took.  “With that out of the way, how’s about we get some food?” My stomach gurgled in response to the idea of food. I slowly raised my hoof up with a blush, earning another giggle from Redheart. “Hmmm...” Trixie smacked my lips together. “Breakfast does sound like an amazing idea right now. What time is it?” The show mare asked as she stretched. “The clock appears to be missing.” Everypony else looked at to where the clock once sat. My blood went to ice as I looked at the empty spot on the desk, and briefly glanced to my pack sitting still zipped up safe and secure at the end of the bed.  “That’s weird.” Vinyl spoke up as I looked back to her. “Oh well. I’m too hungry to care.” She said simply as she shrugged. I did a double take as I turned to face Vinyl. “Hmm.? Don't you recall? The changes you installed....” I trailed off noticing something very wrong with this scene. Everypony was looking at me as if I had gone insane, even Vinyl herself. Actually, the Dj was giving me a look like I had just sprouted a second head. “What are you talking about?” Vinyl asked confused. “I don’t know how to install anything unless it deals with a computer.” ‘Of course!’ I scolded myself. ‘Vinyl knew, not Gage!’ I mentally slapped myself for my mistake. What was worse was I hadn’t thought to come up with a cover story on exactly why we wouldn't be waking up to the sound of an alarm clock till just now. ‘Come on Zecora, think....’ I just stared at the rest of them with a fake grin. A bead of sweat began to form on my forehead as I tried to think of an excuse, any excuse that could save my flank. Nothing was coming. I was done for, and I knew it. A chuckle finally broke the awkward silence, “You must have had one odd dream.” Vinyl laughed lightly as she began to walk past me.         ‘D-did, that, just happen?’ I asked myself as I stared at her like a deer in headlights. ‘Roll with it!’ “Oh....” I joined in her laugh, chuckling weakly as I began to rub the back of my mane. “I guess that’s easier to accept. I... might have broken it as I slept...” I lied as coolly as I could. ‘Please buy it, Please buy it Please buy it.’ “Wow Zeccy,” Vinyl’s chuckle turned into full laugher, “I had no idea you would break things as you sleep. Anyway, let’s get some breakfast. I’m starving!” I stared at the wubmaster for another moment in disbelief. It actually worked? I sighed quietly in relief feeling like I had just been released from death row. With everypony satisfied with the explanation of the missing alarm clock we returned to packing our things and making our way back to Luis’s Prius. This time I was almost insistent on carrying my own pack, nervous if either human got too curious about what was inside.  As usual I took my position in the back of the herd as I watched the DJ and show mare with caution. I couldn't believe my luck in convincing Vinyl about the alarm clock, but Trixie kept watching me like a circling shark. She suspected something. She made no real effort to hide that, but what was it? The bass cannon? No, Trixie had that look the other night as well. There was something else that was on her mind. I gulped as I averted my eyes to the pavement. I just hoped I’d find out sooner rather than later. The sound of the door being magicked open by Vinyl broke me out of my daze as I realised the others were waiting for me to hop in after them. I hurriedly caught up to the group as the door closed behind me. “You all ready to go?” Luis asked. “We’re going to head over to the nearby Waffle House.” “I am prepared!” Trixie shouted confidently. “Onward, driver!”