A Part of Myself

Asuka was having a hard time sleeping tonight. It certainly wasn't because the bed wasn't comfortable. She actually wasn't quite sure why it was so hard for her to fall asleep at the moment. No matter what she tried her eyes just wouldn't stay closed. It's not like she was cold, or too hot. In fact her parents had managed to keep the house constantly just right. It was completely quiet both inside, and outside of the house. Maybe that was it. Maybe she needed the sounds of a bustling nighttime city to help her go to sleep. After hours of tossing, turning, and forcing her eyes closed Asuka finally decides to get up. She turns on the bedside lamp to give the room some light before making her way to the dresser she was currently keeping most of her belongings in. Not that she had many anymore. Asuka looks at herself in the mirror hoping that it would reveal to her the reason why she couldn't sleep. It didn't. After a few minutes of staring Asuka turns to lie back down and attempt to sleep. "Asuka, dear. You seem troubled." Her ears perk up. There wasn't anyone else in the room. Where had that voice came from? Asuka looks around the room. The door hadn't opened, and no one else had somehow slipped into the room. "Now now Asuka. There's no need to be frightened. It's only you." She looks back to the dresser. It's still just her slightly confused reflection. She stares at her reflection once more. Was she going insane? "After all, you won't be able to sleep if you're not calm." Why was her reflection's mouth moving? She wasn't talking. "Why don't you sit down dear? It will help keep you calm." Oh sweet Celestia/Solaris. Her reflection was talking. There was no way this was real. Asuka pinches herself to make sure she's not dreaming. No. She's certainly awake. "What? How are you..." Asuka fumbles her words while her reflection speaks clearly. "How am I what? How am I doing? Oh I'm peachy. Or maybe you wanted to know how tired I am?" Her reflection smiles. "No. I know what you want to know. After all, I am you." Her reflection pauses. "Well, rather a part of you." Asuka shakes her head this can't be real. There's no way she's talking to her own reflection. Unless someone was playing a prank on her. "Part of you? What do you mean? You're my reflection." The reflection sighs and adopts a look of disdain. "Oh dear. You don't get it do you? I'm more than just your reflection. I'm a part of you. The part of you that wants to keep us alive, and happy. The part of you that DOESN'T want to get us killed." The reflection almost seemed angry for a moment. "While you're off playing doctor, and getting shot I'm trying to be the voice of reason. I'm trying to keep us from dying." Was all of this true? Was she seriously speaking to a piece of her own mind? Asuka's mind raced as she tried to figure out what exactly was going on. The most likely situation she could think of was that she was becoming mentally unwell. "Don't look so frightened Asuka. I only want what's best for you. for us. That's why I think we should stay here in Ponyville. It's nice, peaceful, and not riddled with crime." Her reflection was starting to move now. It was walking around the room in the mirror. "We shouldn't go back to Vanhoover. Not now. Not ever. The chances of us being turned into swiss cheese are far lower here." She wasn't sure why, but something about the way her reflection was speaking struck a nerve. "And let others die in my place?" She growls into the mirror. Her reflection seemed to have expected this kind of response. "Better them than us Asuka. We have skills that are needed elsewhere. Why waste everything we've worked so hard for?" This only made Asuka even more angry. "Because it's our job to help them. It's what we agreed to when we decided to do this. It's our job to help those in need of medical assistance. Not leave them for dead because we're afraid of getting injured." This time her reflection turns back towards the mirror. "Saving others doesn't mean we have to put ourselves in danger. You didn't have to sign up to be a Tactical Paramedic. We would have been just fine otherwise." By now Asuka is getting quite angry. How could a piece of herself say such things? Did other lives not have any value? "Just like us, the ponies caught in those situations don't want to die. If we're there to help they're less likely to. Why can't you think about them? They have lives, families, and things they've worked hard for, just like us." "Because Asuka. They aren't you. It's not my concern if they live or die. I only care about us. About you." Asuka was starting to raise her voice now. She'd completely forgotten that everyone else in the house was asleep. "Then maybe I don't need you! Maybe I can take care of myself without you!" Her reflection started to chuckle. The chuckle eventually turning into a full on laugh. "Don't need me?! You can't just get rid of me Asuka! I'm a part of you! Wherever you go, I go! YOU CAN'T GET RID OF ME! NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY! I WILL ALWAYS BE A PART OF YOU!" Asuka springs backwards as her reflection jumps out of the mirror, shattering it to pieces. She lets out and involuntary scream as she falls to the floor. Betty is woken up by a scream from upstairs. Her eldest daughter might be in trouble. Her motherly instincts kick in as she quickly rouses her husband, Nobutsuna. "Asuka is in trouble." she tells him quietly as she slips out of the bed. Almost twice as fast as Betty had gotten up her husband springs out of bed, and hurries to the living room. He snatches his family's prized samurai sword passed down for generations from above the fireplace, and heads towards the stairs with his wife in tow. As the two round the top of the stairs they find their youngest daughter's bedroom door, and guest bedroom door open. Upon going to investigate they find their two daughters in the guest room. Their eldest lying on the floor sobbing softly while their youngest, Hiari, checks the room. Betty gasps, and rushes to Asuka immediately wrapping her in a hug. "It's okay sweetie. I'm here. You're okay." As both Nobutsuna and Hiari check the room for any intruders, and signs of forced entry. They can't find anything. Asuka's sleepless night had just turned into a sleepless night for her whole family.