Everything was dark in the room. in fact, I don't think this is even a room. I felt weightless.

Be brave, A mysterious voice called out from seemingly no where.

"Pardon?" I called out to nothing. This had to be a dream of sorts.

Thou must be brave.

"Be brave? Why?" I asked confused.

We encourage thou to act bravely,

No matter how odd the plan,

If thou wish to find safety,

Go back to where thy journey began.

"What? What does that mean? This has to be a dream right?" I asked. I got no response and a sound emanated from in front of me. it sounded like when a child taps the glass of a fish tank. Suddenly, I was falling. Fast. The tapping came again, this time, it felt like a tap on my forehead.

"Who are you?" I ask the voice.

Be brave. We will meet again, we assure thou, the voice called out. It sounded in my mind, as though it were my own thoughts.

Then the tapping comes again as I emerge from sleep.

~~~QTH~~~

Tap tap.

I could feel something poking me on my face, something small and light. Speaking of light, I could feel the rays of sunshine cascading into my room onto my face.

Tap tap tap.

Whatever it was, it sure was persistent. I want to sleep a bit longer, but I don't think whoever was trying to wake me would stop until I was up.

Tap tap tap tap.

I groaned. The signal of my waking elicited a high-pitched gasp from above.

I peeked one eye open, my other eye had sunlight bleeding through my eyelid, so I'll keep that eye sheltered for now. Looking up, I spotted a blotch of white fur smiling at me from the brim of my forehead. Her little hooves were pressing into my head, tapping at me playfully a bit more for good measure.

My mind began to function properly now that I was waking up. My first thought, was that where one pony goes, her sister must be close behind. Sure enough, a tap on my chin caught my attention to the grey ball of fur pressing a pair of hooves on my chin. I could feel her rear hooves on my collarbone while she smiled semi-sleepily at me.

At this point, Vinyl was having a full-on drum solo on my forehead, banging away with her hooves. Except, given her size, it was more light tapping than banging.

"Alright, alright, I'm up!" I said with a grumble, giggling. My head was still groggy, but that didn't stop me from laughing along with the two ponies when Vinyl kept tapping.

"Oh, you think it's funny?" I asked playfully. I moved one hand up to scoop Vinyl up gently, the frost-white colored pony still giggling on her back in my palm. While she didn't suspect a thing, I turned my other hand into a weapon: a curved index finger. I brought my finger up and lined up with my target, Vinyl calming down and looking up, noticing my plan. She seemed confused, and it wasn't until the last moment she realized what I was doing. My finger came down to her belly and I began tickling her relentlessly. She cried out in high-pitched squeals, unable to do anything but break down in my palm. Octavia was still sitting on my chest, using her hoof to cover her mouth while she giggled at her sister.

Things seemed a bit unfair, so I planned on evening it out. I stopped tickling Vinyl for a moment to place her beside her sister on me. I then made both my hands into pointed fingers and brought them down to tickle both Vinyl and Octavia. Both of them were trying to push me away with their tiny hooves, but I just laughed along while they squealed simultaneously. They were both belly-up, trying to roll over and escape, but their smiles were too big and they were too weak from being tickled. I had to admit, their little squeals were adorable.

I didn't want to torture them, so I stopped after a bit and they just laid down out of breath. Both of them were panting while I just giggled at my actions. Just relaxing with them on my chest, sunlight intensifying through the blinds to illuminate the room. I felt like I could spend the whole day in bed, never getting up and just playing with the cute little ponies.

Octavia was readjusting her bow tie now that she had calmed down and Vinyl jumped down off of me to fetch her shades. The mattress made a little "pomf" as she landed on her face. Vinyl just sat up and laughed it off. She's such a little goofball.

I picked up Octavia and lifted her while I moved to sit up in bed. I placed her back down beside Vinyl so they could play while I got dressed.

As soon as I turned to go to the closet, I thought back to the dream I had with that odd voice. I would ponder it more, but Octavia began to call me in her high-pitched squeaks. I turned to see her at the edge of the bed. "What's up?" I ask while walking over.

Octavia sat back on her rump and began rubbing her legs and body. It took me a while but I think I know what she's miming.

"Do you want to take a bath?" I ask. Octavia nods and applauds as if we were playing charades. Vinyl walks up behind her and looks up to me. For some reason, she seems really interested in my response. "Uh, sure. We may need to improvise for your size though...." With them being so small, the shower is definitely a bad idea. The sink faucet might be nice, but they could easily slip on that material considering it didn't have any flat places to stand on since it was bowl-shaped.

Then, my brain hatched an idea. "Alright, come on."

My hand goes down to lay on the bed so the ponies could board. The only thing that seemed suspicious was Vinyl looking worried as she crawled on. With the two in my hand, I walked into the kitchen. I wouldn't need to change clothes yet, since it's likely I'll get wet in this process. Once in the kitchen, I grab a somewhat large cereal bowl, and then head to my final destination.

I walked in with the pair in tow, closing the bathroom door behind me. I left them on a counter while I turned on the sink and filled the bowl from the kitchen with water, testing it with a finger first to make sure it was just the right temperature before setting it down in my bathtub. It was a multi-purpose tub with a nozzle near the bottom and a shower head above. A metal lever could switch which end the water would come out when turned on. I then pivoted back to fetch the two ponies to move them to their improvised bathtub. Octavia had already removed her bow tie and hung it on the sink lever. Vinyl, on the other hand, still looked a bit nervous about something.

"Hey Vinyl. You okay?" I asked.

She nodded shakily and tried to play it off, but I knew there was something making her nervous. I moved my palm to lay on the sink counter, Octavia stepping onto my hand calmly while Vinyl hesitated before joining her sister. I lifted them up carefully and stepped into the tub which held the bowl of water.

I knelt and lowered my hand to meet the rim of the bowl, Octavia striding forward and diving in, making a small splash. The water was perfect height for her to stand up in the bowl so she wouldn't have to worry about staying afloat. Vinyl, still in my palm had her tail between her legs and she didn't move a muscle.

"Vinyl, are you sure you're okay ?" I ask. Vinyl was now lying in her stomach on the edge of my hand and poking the water with a hoof, as if testing it for piranhas. Then, my mind deduced a reason behind her demeanor. "Wait, Vinyl. Do you dislike taking-" I didn't get to finish my sentence when Octavia rushed forward, grabbing Vinyl's hoof and tugging her in the water. Vinyl slides in with Octavia, both of them squirming around in the water. Octavia separates herself from her sister and stands up in the bowl. Vinyl, on the other hand, was flailing-about with her head above the water. Her eyes were shut and she looked like she was about to drown. "Vinyl, just stand up!" I call to her, hopefully getting through to her. Vinyl's hoof meets the floor of their "tub" and her face freezes. She realigns her hooves and stands up properly in the bowl so her head was above the water. Her whole flailing about ordeal had removed some water from the bowl; just enough so Vinyl could actually sit on her rump to think about how silly she looked.

Octavia was laughing at her, while Vinyl's head craned down, eyes watering, and her lower lip stuck out in a pout. This was where I needed to step in. "Hey, Vinyl, are you okay?" I ask, my finger coming down to scratch under her chin, forcing her to lift her face to me as her expression brightened. I swear, she loves being scratched so much, it might be the reason behind her name. Her eyes looked into mine and she managed a slight nod through my petting, her eyes clearing. I smiled; knowing that she was okay made me feel better. "I guess you just don't like taking baths, huh?" I ask. My scratching stops for now as she nods admittedly. "Well then, let's just get this over with, okay?" As soon as I was sure I brought peace to the pair, Vinyl turns around and throws her arms forward, making a splash that hits an unsuspecting Octavia. Octavia's bangs are now stuck to her forehead as she processes what happened. Vinyl is giggling to herself and adapting a fighting stance, crouched and expecting a reaction.

In a few moments, Octavia’s expression contorts and she adopts a war face. With a war cry, which was just a high-pitched squeak, she began flinging her tiny hooves in circles, throwing water this way and that. Vinyl put up a hoof to block the incoming water and retaliated with splashes of her own. Octavia was easily hit, her face scrunching to prevent the water from getting into her eyes. She covered her face with a hoof and kept up her assault. They continued to giggle and cry out cutely, splashing each other in their tiny bath. I just laughed along with them, letting them have fun. Vinyl stopped suddenly, covering her face with both hooves. Octavia thought she had surrendered, but she should’ve thought better. Vinyl let out a high-pitched ‘rawr’ and dove forward, causing a miniature tidal wave to hit Octavia. This was followed up by more splashes from the two, throwing water all around.

Eventually, they both became tired, settling for lying down in the water. Wait. Lying down? Sure enough, the level of the water had lowered yet again, coming just up to their shoulders in their position. Outside the bowl was a lot of droplet of water, running to the drain at the other end of my bathtub. “You guys splashed all the water out!” I fake-scolded. Now I needed to fill it up again. Unless….

I turned around and turned on the tub faucet. I lifted the lever just a bit so the pressure of the water was a thin stream instead of a rushing flood. I turned back to the relaxing ponies and picked them up gently in the bowl. I then moved the bowl so it sat beneath the nozzle. The result was a bowl of water for them to relax in with a light waterfall in the corner of the bowl cascading from above. Octavia smiled and stood up, walking to the waterfall. She stepped into the water, letting it douse her hair and her tiny body. She chirped at the water, moving her head around and melting into the water pressure. She ruffled her mane with her hooves to rinse it out, ensuring it was soaked.

I wasn't sure if human shampoo would work for them, but what's a bath without soap to clean with? I popped the cap to a green bottle squirted a dime-sized drop onto my fingertip. I brought said finger in front of Octavia as she stepped out of the water. "It's shampoo," I stated simply. She sniffed the apple-scented goo before smiling and nodding pleasantly. She took out a fraction of the already small amount and began to scrub it into her hair. I turned and offered some to Vinyl so she could wash up. Vinyl looked at the substance and I told her what I told Octavia. Vinyl just stared and refused to take some. Octavia stepped in and took the rest of the shampoo on my finger and began scrubbing it into Vinyl’s hair. Vinyl was indeed surprised upon her movements, squealing a bit when Octavia covered her hair in suds. Vinyl just grumbled like an upset child and hunched over, accepting her fate. I decided to intervene, using my finger to help scrub in the shampoo into Vinyl’s hair. Octavia nodded in thanks before returning to her own mane. Vinyl’s face contorted into a goofy smile as my fingernail hit one of her favorite spots behind her ear. Her rear hoof began thumping under the water, making small ripples as I rub in the suds. At this point, Octavia had taken some leftover suds and looked to her tail. She tried to reach for her tail to clean it, but making that reach also pulled her body, making it spin. She spun in circles, getting aggravated that she couldn’t capture her tail. I found the little act adorable, watching her spin in circles while I help Vinyl with her mane. Octavia eventually caught her tail, grumbling as she lathered in the soap to her black hair. Vinyl was in her own world, her hoof still thumping as I scratched her head. I eventually moved to Vinyl's tail, soaping it up as well.

After they were covered in soap, I pushed Vinyl under the water to rinse the suds. I thought she'd be upset since she hated baths, but instead she squealed under the pressure of the water, cleaning herself off. When Vinyl was done, she stepped out of the waterfall to give Octavia a turn to rinse, not before shaking her head like a canine to throw water around. Octavia stepped elegantly into the shower and rinsed out her hair of shampoo, her mane lay matted against her head. It covered all of her face and she had to pull apart her charcoal curtain of hair to see.

Now that they were both done, it was time to turn off the water. I moved to twist the handle, but Vinyl squeaked out loud at me, running under the water and sitting under the water pressure.

Apparently, she didn't want to leave.

"Vinyl, I thought you didn't like baths?" I asked. She just beamed up at me. I shook my head and turned off the water, Vinyl pouting at me. "It's okay Vinyl, you can take another bath later," I assure her. She shrugs at trots around in the water, shaking water droplets from her mane next to Octavia, showering the grey pony in water. Octavia grumbled and tackled her playfully, the duo of ponies wrestling around again. "Guys, come on. It's time to dry off," I said, laughing with them as they played.

I brought my hand back down in the bowl and they both hopped on, Vinyl slipping and clinging to the edge of my hand before I used my other hand to catch her safely. She giggles, scrambling to the center of my palm next to her sister.

I pick up a towel from a rack and hold it flat in my empty palm. I then place my hands together and the two ponies hop onto the towel, wiping their hooves. Octavia grabs an edge of the towel and uses it to dry off her body, while Vinyl just knelt down and began rubbing her head on the towel. It was funny to me and Octavia, watching Vinyl roll around on in my hand like dogs roll in the grass. Although I couldn't really question her, given that she was dry before Octavia with her "methods".

Once Octavia was dry, she ran her hooves through her hair to readjust it, combing it to the side. Vinyl didn't seem to care much, her two tone hair a mess on her head. I set them both down on the counter so Octavia could put on her bow tie. I took this time to empty the bowl of water.

I looked down to the two ponies and noticed they were both ready for the next thing on our to-do list for today. I lowered my hand once again and they climbed on. I took the bowl in my other hand and walked back to the kitchen. After placing the bowl in the sink to wash later, it was time to announce my plan for the day.

"How about we go to the market today?" I ask the two. Octavia nodded calmly while Vinyl threw her hooves in the air, excited to go. Her excitement was short lived though, as a sudden rumble broke her cheer. She blushed and clutched her hooves together, embarrassed by her tummy rumble.

"Maybe we should have breakfast first, huh?" I ask, using my other hand to tickle Vinyl's belly. She laughed and squealed for a bit before I decided to start the food.

"Well, as you may already know, I'm a bit low on food, so breakfast will have to be simple," I told them, placing them down on the kitchen counter. I opened the fridge and pulled out some bread, placing it next to them. "How about sandwiches, like last night?" I ask.

Vinyl groans and slumps down dramatically while Octavia shakes her head. "Uh, okay. Here, why don't you take a look," I say, placing my hand down for them to climb on. They both trudge on and I lift the pair up and in front of the fridge, letting them pick something. I'm scanning the contents, trying to think of something before Vinyl squeals in my hand, jumping up and down. "Find something?" I ask, smiling at her cute actions. She nods furiously and points at the rack in the fridge door. I follow her hoof to a jar of Nutella. "What? This?" I ask, taking out the jar and holding it up to them. Vinyl nods and looks at me pleadingly. "You can eat chocolate?" I ask confused, only to get another excited nod not only from Vinyl, but from her sister too. I had only assumed chocolate would be poisonous to them, since it's poisonous to most animals, but if they know what it is and say it's okay, who am I to deny them? "You want it on the bread?" I ask, closing the fridge and bringing the jar to the counter. They give a final nod, confirming what we'd be having to eat.

I took out a plate and removed some bread slices.  With knife in hand, I took out a good helping and spread the chocolate on the bread. I covered it up, forming a chocolate sandwich of sorts. I cut it in half for them to share. Vinyl was quick to dive in, munching away at the crust of the bread while Octavia slowly approached it.

"You were hungry, huh?" I ask the snow-colored pony. She sits on her rump and faces me, eyes closed and a wide smile covered in chocolate as she chewed her food and nodded at me. I chuckled as Octavia began eating her half slowly and carefully to not make crumbs.

I prepared my own meal while the two ate in relative silence. Vinyl was the first to finish, laying back on the cleaned plate with a bulge in her belly from the food. She was licking her lips, catching any Nutella she might have missed. Octavia was only halfway done when I finished my second sandwich, myself quite hungry as well.

"I'm going to change into some clean clothes, and then we can leave, okay?" I ask the two. Octavia nods once while Vinyl is still on her back, lazily lifting a hoof to wave me away. I smile at their antics.

My life took quite the turn when I stumbled upon these two. If I had the chance to go back in time, I would do nothing differently.

I walk off into my bedroom, pulling out a fresh shirt, double-checking the front so I knew it had a breast pocket. Upon changing out, I also switched my pants into some jeans, dressing comfortably for a nice walk to the local store. Checking the weather out the window, I concluded that today was a good day to head to the market; the sun was out, so it was a great day for a walk too.

I left my room and returned to the kitchen, Octavia was dabbing her mouth with a scrap ripped off a paper towel roll on the counter. Vinyl, on the other hand, fell asleep on the plate. I know I feel the same way after a big meal, even though to me, she only ate a mere half a sandwich.

"C'mon Vinyl, you can go back to sleep in my pocket," I whispered, my finger coming down to scratch her head, right behind her ear. It twitched in response, Vinyl letting out a cute yawn before chirping under my finger. I continued scratching her until she stood up and stretched.

"Alright, c'mon girls," I say, laying my hand on the counter. Octavia steps on while Vinyl trudges on. I lift my hand up to my shirt pocket, letting the two hop inside my breast pocket. I could feel Vinyl curl into a ball at the bottom, her tiny body against my heart. Octavia was hanging on to the edge of the pocket, poking her head up at me. She was rubbing her hoof in her hair and looking at me, squeaking. I got the message and gave her a turn of scratching behind the ears while I gathered my keys, wallet, phone, and anything else I would need when I'm out of the house. I also took a shoulder bag to hold the groceries since we'd be walking there and back.

With the bag over my head and shoulder, I had to stop scratching Octavia's chin, her hoof settling after thumping against me from my scratching. She looked up at me questioningly to which I replied, "You have to get down. I don't want you guys to be seen when I'm in the lobby. Who knows what the landlord would do if he found out about you guys?" Octavia nodded and huddled in with her sister while I opened the door to leave the house.

All seemed to be going well, until just as I predicted, the landlord was in the lobby. I tried to act natural, cruising by and not making eye-contact. But to my bad luck, he noticed me and spoke up.

"Hey, bud. Where ya headed?" He asked.

"Just the market to pick up some groceries," I answered, not stopping to keep up a conversation.

"Alright. Well, have fun," he said. Something about his tone worried me. But that will have to wait. The more I'm in his line of sight, the more I endangered my fuzzy friends. So I just kept walking, leaving the building and walking toward the market.

~~~QTH~~~

The sun beat down on me from above, relieving the chilly Autumn breezes for the moment. The bag over my shoulder was full of a variety of things. Bread, milk, eggs-which were tightly sealed in the container so they wouldn't shake around in my bag-, and other necessities. Vinyl had reminded me to get more cookie dough, so that was somewhere in there. Octavia hadn't asked for anything until she noticed the store sold vanilla pudding cups. That was when she was tugging against my shirt and begging me to get some for her. I was careful to keep in next to the milk to keep them cold. We had enough goods to last us a week, maybe even longer if preference over what we had to eat didn't matter.

The ponies were holding onto the rim of the pocket, observing their surroundings in quiet. No one was around, so no one could see them. I could feel Vinyl's tiny hooves gently tapping against me to some song that must be stuck in her head. It must be the one she listened to last night during her moment of being a DJ. Octavia was nodding her tiny head to a song of her own. I smiled down at the pair, as they occupied their own worlds.

Things were going smooth, nothing unusual. Until I turned the last corner to the apartment.

"Guys, get down," my tone went stern as they looked up to me. "Now." They obeyed, scared by my tone, but I had a reason.

Outside of the building, two police cars were parked, lights flashing. There was also a large truck, the words "Animal Control" painted on the side.

Something was going on, and I felt like I should run away, as they had to be at my apartment for a reason.

Upon focusing more, I could see a cop looking at me from afar. It was at that moment that I was stuck. If I bolted, it would be suspicious. I had to gather my confidence, and get into my apartment as fast as I can. If I can just make it inside, I could hide Vinyl and Octavia somewhere before I get questions.

I walked casually past the officer into the building, giving a nod to him as I passed. He smiled and nodded back, hopefully not suspecting anything. I hunched over a bit, trying to hide my breast pocket from sight as I walked into the lobby. Everything was clear. I noticed a pair of police men and the animal control person in the landlord's office, their backs to me as they discussed something. I kept my sight on that room, assuring myself they weren't watching me as I took a step up the stairs. Once they're out of sight, I was home free.

Then something struck me. Don't policemen usually travel in pairs? There were two cars outside, meaning four cops total. Two were in the office and one was posted outside.

Then something struck me. Literally this time. I had walked into a person on the stairs, knocking me back as I fell down a few steps onto my back. My eyes shut as I hear a cracking sound out. I wasn't hurt, so it must have been the eggs. But that wasn't the problem.

The person I had knocked in to was the fourth policeman. And my fall had gathered some attention, the landlord coming out followed by the whole group of people in there with him.

"THAT'S HIM! THAT'S THE GUY WITH THE ALIENS!" the landlord shouted, pointing at me.

Next thing I knew, I was on my feet, my arms held fast by two cops. Worry bit me hard as I struggled, trying to escape their grip but it was hopeless.

“LET ME GO!” I shouted, squirming as their hands remained on my arms, holding me back.

“THEY’RE IN HIS POCKET! CHECK ‘EM!” he shouted. My eyes dilated as the animal control person put on a rubber glove and reached into my breast pocket. I could hear squeals as he pulled out his hand, Vinyl and Octavia in his grip. He took them and threw them into a small container, something you’d use to carry a hamster or something in. My heart wretched as the two ponies cried out from being handled by someone who wasn’t me. When they fell in the container, they scampered to the plastic wall, Vinyl banging her head on the window and Octavia rearing up to place her hooves on the glass, staring at me and banging the window.

“NO!” I shouted, giving a final tug at my limbs, breaking free of their grip. I don’t know how, but a sudden burst of adrenaline flowed through my veins as I ran forward. I had it. I was going to punch the animal control and take the container, jump into his truck, and escape. Everything came into place as my plan formed. I don’t know where I’d go, but as long as I had the ponies, I’d be fine. I made a promise to protect them, and I was not about to let them down.

Until I was hit with a blunt object on the back of my head. My mind blanked as I collapsed mid-step, my face hitting the cold floor. I looked up to see a policeman stow his baton. I felt handcuffs on my wrists and something prevented me from struggling. I felt my consciousness slip.

"...No...," I muttered, my voice drifting into nonexistence, "why are you doing this...?"

I heard no response. The last thing I saw, was a pair of purple plastic shades and a pink and white ribbon on the ground in front of me.