//------------------------------// // A Nightmare Spirit is your Bed (Appletank) // Story: Fimfic Authors Are In Your Bed // by Admiral Biscuit //------------------------------// A Nightmare Spirit is your Bed Appletank You slowly opened your eyes at the bright light streaming in from the window. It wasn’t daylight savings, so clearly it was already several hours past your normal. You force yourself to move your head and noticed you never set an alarm. You were contemplating calling in sick when your eyes glanced at your calendar and noticed it was a holiday. Huh. That’s nice. Perhaps this day wouldn’t be as bad as - oh, right. Ponies. Goddammit. Oh dear, Monday has barely started and you’re already expecting them. Must be a new record. In a few months, your first word is going to be “Damn ponies” instead of “Damn Mondays.” You groaned as your stomach reminded you that you are not a plant, and cannot run off of solar power. Welp, might as well make the most of your extra free day. You kicked off the covers and stumble off it to start your early morning routine. Clothes, brushing your teeth, washing your face, etc. After that, you went into your kitchen and looked inside the (somewhat charred) fridge. There wasn’t that much inside. Ponies tended to get home before you did, and they always seemed to forget that this was your home. And proceeded to steal your food. Perhaps locks would be a good investment. No, that might not be obvious enough. Earth ponies might just kick it off, thinking that you forgot to unlock it. For them. Yeah, no. Giant locks then, and multiple signs pointing out that this was your house, your fridge, and most importantly, your house, dammit. Might put it down on the list of things to buy. You decided upon a bit of leftover Panda and a fruit. You stare blankly at it. You don’t really recall buying just one peach. You sniffed it. Smelled fine. You left the leftovers on your table and brought the peach to a cutting board. Pulling out a knife, you cut the peach in half. OH GOD NOT AGAIN You licked the juices off the blade. Tasted normal. OWWWWW You bit the peach. It tasted like a peach. Probably is a ... hmm. There’s a very slight tingle that reminds you of ... “Magic,” you snarled, biting savagely into the peach. You tossed the peach core into the trash while you finish off the rest, idly noting a sprout starting to grow out of it almost immediately. You weren’t exactly sure how many times that would work, but free food was always something worth researching. You finished off the leftovers and dump the trash for the rapidly growing miniature peach tree and walked off to investigate your bedroom. You took a deep breath and opened the door. You sniffed the air. Yup, there definitely was a slight tingle now. Now that you thought about it, you realized that you never actually saw how these ponies appear. Do they just appear? Do they slowly fade in like the teleporters in Star Trek? Was there a big flash of light? Do they fall through a portal? Was that big black splotch on your bed yesterday? You move towards the bed and knelt. At this range, you could easily see that somehow, the fibers that made up your blankets had turned pitch black. You carefully poked it with a finger and ... yup. Magic. You stood back up. This investigation requires, “... Food.” Several minutes later, you managed to find some bread and made a sandwich. You pulled up a fold out chair and sat in front of your bed, staring at it. You turned your computer to face you as you waited to see what would happen to your bed. As it turns out, not much. The big black splotch did get bigger though. Since this was a Monday you weren’t taking any chances. Noon passed, and nearly the entire bed was black. The headboard also seemed to be a bit bluer. Curious. You waited some more. “Bluh?” You jerked awake. Watching a bed for hours on end was pretty damn boring. Who da thunk? You looked down at the bottle in your grip. A few hours earlier, you had decided that getting tipsy was a reasonable path of action when expecting another pony invasion. You looked back at the bed in the dimming light. The bed was noticeably smaller, and the headboard was definitely waving in an invisible breeze now. You took another sip from your bottle. Pop! What? Right before your eyes, the bed shrunk into itself, leaving a small, smoky blob with ethereal hair the color of a stormy night sky. It darted to the window, tiny eyes peering out. “Is this still Equestria?” you heard it mutter, apparently not noticing you. “Am I truly free of that accursed place?” “Probably,” you said as the shadow spun in surprise, its woah slitted eyes widening. “My bed is apparently a portal, and ponies from that place keep ending up here.” Annnd now it darted into the shadows underneath the window, shivering in fear. Never knew you were that scary. “Who... who are you?!” it squeaked. You gestured to the room. “This is my house. I live here. I would like to know why you’re here.” “Sorry!” it squeaked. Slight glimmers of light formed on the edges of its eyes. You sighed. “Its fine. I’m not angry. In fact, you’re one of the most polite visitors I’ve had all ... “ You thought for a moment. “Actually, there weren’t any. Yay for that, I guess.” You waved at the ground beside you. “Come, come. Sit. You hungry? I got a peach.” Turns out, it did regenerate new peaches. Nifty. I HATE ALL OF YOU. F███ YOU, YOU, AND ESPECIALLY THAT ███████ PEACH DEFILING P█████ P███ OF S███! Pretty tasty, too. The cloud slowly floated over and joined me. I handed the peach over to it, who gratefully accepted it and M█████F████! consumed it (somehow) with gusto. “So... uh, I never got your name.” “I ... I don’t have a name.” It curled up, rolling the peach core between its tendrils. “I’m just a Nightmare spirit. Nopony likes things like me.” “Aww, don’t be like that., you said, attempting to pat its head but failing. “I’ll call you ... Melodia. How does that sound?” She smiled (you think) “Melodia... I like it. Thank you.” “No problem. So. From the sounds of it, you’re on the run?” She nodded. Or bobbed. “I ... think the Elements were after me.” “Well, unless they all appear at once, which pretty much never happens, and they were all looking for you at that moment, you should be pretty safe here. Do you need a place to hide?” “Um...” Melodia blushed. “Can I ... room in with you? In your head? I promise I won’t break anything,” she added quickly. “Its just that light and me don’t go together very well.” “Huh,” you said. “Can’t get any worse. Besides, sounds interesting. What do I need to do?” “Nothing, just don’t push me out, ok?” She floated up at you, and you had to resist recoiling as she surrounded your face and ... disappeared? “Hello?” you asked. “Hi!” You jerked in your seat. “Whoa, that’s weird,” you said. poking your head. “Sorry! I’ll stop - “ “Pff, its fine,” you said, standing up. “I have a pretty high tolerance for weirdness. (In fact, the first one who apologized and actually meant it) I just heard some stories, and want to see if I look any different.” You walk to your bathroom and ... woah, sparkly hair. Slitted eyes. And you haven’t even turned on the bathroom light. You could get used to this. Other people though ... ”Do you want me to tone it down a bit? “You can hear my thoughts?” ”Just the surface ones. I promise not to dig into your memories.” “Sure.” You felt her focus, and the magic slowly pulls back. You also felt a little heavier, clumsier. “Huh. Did you give me a power boost?” ”Y-yeah. Its an all around increase to your strength.” “Pretty cool. There’s no one home but us, so you don’t have to hold back for now.” She giggled. “Thanks. Haven’t heard nice things in so long ... ” “No problem,” you said, noting how easier it was to jump higher. “We’re pretty much roommates now. Any nifty tricks you got up your sleeve?” ”Well ... I can teach you magic.” “....Sweeeet.” aaaaaAAAAHHHH! WHY WON’T I DIE, DAMMIT? STUPID TREE. YOU MAKE MY LIFE SHIT. One week later And what a week it was. Between the two of you, you were able to stave off the normally crushing boredom and/or shitty customers. Even if there was nothing overt she could do, like pranking someone, having someone who wasn’t an asshole to talk to made the shift pass by like a blur instead of going backwards in time. Melodia also could pop into your dreams with ease, allowing you to pretty much lucid dream whenever the hell you wanted. And magic? You never knew how you could have gone for so long without it. Half the time you found that you didn’t need a car anymore. With a bit of audio/video illusions, you made a bicycle look and sound like a motorcycle, and with magic greatly enhancing your muscles, pedal fast enough to keep up the guise. A second pair of eyes helped whenever your boss was lurking around the corner ready to spring more “unofficial” work on you. A quick step or a flash of magic, and it was as if you were never there. Want to give you more work? Should’ve asked when you were still on the shift, sucker! And best of all, aside from all the magical boosts you got, you finally had a friend you could chat with whatever you want. Made your shitty apartment not so empty, contrary to what an onlooker might think. Even the missing bed wasn’t a problem after she morphed from it. She could easily conjure a bed out of magic. So yeah, she was basically hugging you as you slept. Really nice. For once, a workday on a Monday wasn’t as bad as the past months. You shot back home pedaling a bike at 50 miles an hour after grabbing to-go from Panda. Melodia helpfully floated it inside your “bike’s compartment,” until you got home. As you skidded to a stop, you noted that your aggressive riding may require you to buy new brakes and tires soon. Oh well, that was for the future. In the meantime, you locked it up, dispelled the illusion (making sure no one was watching, of course) and walked into your apartment. You grabbed a peach from the tree still growing from the trashcan, AAARRGGGGGGHHHH and slid into your battered table for dinner. You didn’t have any plans, so you simply enjoyed the rest of the day with your headmate, watching TV or browsing the internet. At the end of the day, the two of you agreed to sleep, and you happily flopped into the air before the bed was even constructed. “Hey, be careful!” she said. ”I don’t want to accidentally drop you.” “I’m not afraid of that,” you said happily. “I trust your skills.” You felt her smile. ”Oh, t-thank-” A flash of light at the bottom of your bed cut her off and derailed your train of thought. A stab of horror went through your veins. You forgot today was pony day, and you didn’t remind Melodia to hide the magic that was visibly leaking out of you. And what luck, before you could register six mares standing there, you heard “Right there! Hit it!” and was hit by a wall of rainbows. Melodia, NO! You blink. Above your head was a curved dome of white. Beneath you was this pink, squishy mass with all these lumps and -- Oh. This was the inside of your skull. Somehow. Across from you was Melodia, and she was slowly disintegrating before your eyes. Your eyes widen in horror, and you dash to her. Strangely, she wasn’t just a cloud, but standing here as a tall, regal mare. “Melodia!” you shouted. “How are you feeling?” There was just a hint of fear in your voice. She ignored your question and slowly cupped your cheek with a hoof. “...Thank you for the best week of my life.” “W-what? Nonsense. There will be plenty of weeks after this. I can get you back, just --” “Shh,” she said, blocking my mouth. “They got me. Nothing more either of us can do.” Tears formed on both of you two’s eyes, though yours was full of horror, and hers of happiness. She leaned into you and wrapped her hooves around your neck even as her lower body faded away. “It’s alright. Most of us just ran around, terrorizing others and living in constant fear. Just being nice for me was all you needed to do. She let out a happy, resigned sigh as she snuggled into your shoulder. “I always wanted to do this,” she whispered into your ear. “Thank you for everything, friend.” Then the light faded away. Your room greeted your weary eyes with cleanliness. Your laundry was properly folded, the clothes in your closet were in even, straight lines, and even all the junk on your computer table was organized. A quick glance at the floor told you that even that was polished to a shine. You slowly sat up in your hotel-grade made bed, and never felt lonelier. The next morning, as you stumbled out of your bedroom feeling worse than a sack of bricks, you stared at the slowly pooling mass of blood coating your floor. With a few sideways steps, you found that it was leaking from the peach tree. Or the former peach tree. A dried stalk was what was left of the once magic tree, and instead of a peach, a bald, scarred head of a rather pissed off dude hung from the branches by his neck as blood slowly dribbled up his face. “Kill me,” he whispered. You decided to call in sick today Does she survive through a lucky roll of fate, or is she lost forever into the darkness of memory? What do you think?