He was dreaming, and everything was on fire. He was burning, but not like everything around him. It was as if he was filled with an inner burning, something of extreme hate or anger. He looked on through the smoke and the collapsing auditorium. In front of him were...whatever was filling him were his hateful passion. There were seven of them, all female as he could guess. They had long hair, pointed ears on their heads, and clenched fists. Their long beautiful hair flowing down behind them were tied up at the ends. Were they super heroes? All he could see were their eyes, each set a different color. Some open in sympathy, others open in anger that could have paralleled his. The room was coming down around them, but he did not care. He had a singular task at hand. He opened his third eye...ok...he had three eyes now. This was good. His other two eyes were full of tears. He began to race at them, snarling. He had a magnificent voice that rocked the burning place he was locked in with these people. His arms ripped apart a beam in front of him. They were full of scales. He was a dragon it seems. This was nice, he had wanted to be a dragon since he was three, but hadn't had a dream as such since he was seven. He smiled as he grabbed one the girls. He was holding her up by her neck, and she was shaking and screaming. This was weird...why would he do this? He had never wanted to do this before, but it felt right. Almost normal in a way...but not normal enough. He relaxed his grip at her struggling, and was kicked in the face for it. That was a kick, DANG! He flew backwards a few feet, only to be blasted forward by a storm of diamonds. Diamonds! This was an odd dream.
Suddenly he was outside. Was this a concert? He didn't know. There was AMAZING music playing, but the crowd was ... oddly silent. He was sitting alone on a rock drinking a soda. He smiled as he listened to the beautiful tune, rocking back and forth, his hand smacking his leg in time with a beat. This was nice. He felt an odd sense of peace all around him. It was like everything was right with the world and he was at the center of the universe. The peace was short lived however, as a new tune began to fill the air. He stood up and threw down his soda, which was a little sad to him because he liked that kind a lot, but he couldn't focus on that. His attention was drawn to a distant hill top. This new music was good, REALLY good in fact, but to him, he hated it. It made his ears feel like they were on fire, and made his blood curdle and boil in his veins. He walked a little so that the large half-dome building in front of him was just out of sight. He could see six girls. They looked familiar, and they were playing music! But he knew that already...did he? This was even more confusing. He did not like these girls. He was pretty sure he didn't know them, but he was pretty sure he hated them. He was swearing at them. Soon though, it was ok. He saw a red light and a flash flew out over the crowd. He knew it was going to be ok, and sat down on the grass. But what was that flash? Maybe he didn't want to question it, because he wasn't concerned in the least. The sky was full of lights and full of ... creatures. They were part horse, but also part fish? He knew what they were...but the name eluded him for now. All was at peace again for him. He shut his eyes to relax, but opened them right up again. Something was wrong and he knew it. He shot up panicking, his face was already starting to cover itself in a cold sweat. His legs began to shoot him towards the dome building. He had to go faster, this wasn't fast enough. Why was he running though? He had just been so calm, so easy. The air was full of that new music again. The kind he hated and loathed, but it did not make him angry, it made him afraid. It made him worry, and it made his eyes sting. All of the crowd was cheering now as he was closing in on the dome. He felt his arms rip apart as scales covered his body. It hurt like nothing he had ever felt, but right now it didn't matter. He was a dragon again? But that was last time...or was it? Hadn't he always been like this? This seemed just so natural. The sky had turned bright white. All he could think of was to run faster and faster. He reached the back of the building and it was hard to see the ladder in front of him. As he climbed, it became harder to see, he was crying. He reached the roof and kept running. He ran so hard and so fast that his pants tore and dents were made in the roof. If only his old coach could see him like this. He ran to the edge of the roof. Below him were three girls. He saw them for a brief second and it filled him with joy unending. They were his light of lights and his moon and stars. One of them looked up at him with fear. He looked up and saw an angel of demise crashing down upon them from the sky. It was like a majestic equine god. But he had never felt more like he was facing an enemy than a savior in his life. He spread his arms out and then crossed them in front of him. He was become a shield, but for who? Himself? He felt a blaze like he never had before wash over him, and he screamed out in unbelievable pain...then all was quiet.
He was still dreaming, at least he thought, but this felt more natural. He was in a dark room with little around him. There were no windows, and possibly not even a door. He could hear rain, and also faint dripping. In front of him were three pairs of eyes, but these did not fill him with joy. He was shaking and sweaty. He was...afraid maybe? This feeling was not good. He was only acutely aware of a green tinted air around him. It seeped out of his body as if he were a bag of tea floating among boiling water. He looked up at the pair of eyes in front of him. The eyes were fierce and spoke to him. He didn't answer, he didn't know how. Finally the eyes softened and he could make out the details of them. They were a violet-pink color. It was beautiful. They looked at him with such care, such compassion...or at least to him, that is what he saw. He could not get enough of it, but they were speaking and he had to answer. He reached out a hand, and he was aware that he was kneeling in front of the pairs of eyes. They began to take form as a golden arm and hand reached out to him. He took the hand and kissed the top of it so softly, he wasn't sure if contact had actually been made. The eyes flashed once...and then he awoke.
He sat up straight in bed and let out a noise. He was breathing heavy as a loud ringing filled his ears. He turned to the right and saw his alarm clock going off on his night stand. He groaned and smashed the top of it with his palm, making the clock bend a little, but also stopping that annoying noise. He was covered in a cold sweat and the first thing he did was check his arms. No scales, no burns. He rubbed them up and down. How could a dream have felt so real? He had no idea...but this was almost too intense. He had never in his life felt anything like what he just experienced. He looked to the window to his left. Great, it was still dark out. He must have set the wrong time on his alarm. He laid back and put his arms behind his head. He looked up at a poster that had been signed for him by one of his favorite bands. It said "Never give up on your dreams, Magnus. #WRG" Magnus smiled at this, but he immediately frowned. Part of him regretted NOT going to the dance last night, but he knew it had been for good reasons, at the time at least.
In his almost three months of being here in Ponyville, he had yet to make a real friend outside of the few he talked to at school, but they were more...at school friends. Not the kind you would really see outside of school, or text for no reason. Just something so you were not totally alone during the day. Going to a dance where everyone knew each other would have been weird and awkward and he wanted no part in that. It was bad enough that he missed the tryouts for all the sports teams because he had been sick. So much for being a 'star' athlete. Magnus groaned and rolled over so he could look out the window on his side. There had been ONE girl he did want to ask but...he was almost eighty percent sure she was going with a big group of friends. Nothing wrong with that of course, but it did make him feel just a tad bit hollow inside. She was probably unaware he even existed. He sat behind her in history class. Her yellow flowing hair always made him feel enraptured. And her face, her face was so cute. Innocent and full of compassion. His tongue would tie anytime he tried to speak to her about anything that wasn't class related, and with the way she would look at him shyly and say almost nothing back made him KNOW she thought he wasn't worth her time.
So far this year had been a bust, and he was mad his mom had even dragged him to this ridiculous town. He wasn't eighteen yet, so he didn't REALLY have a choice, and he hadn't spoken to his father since he left them almost ten years ago. Most of his other family were states away, and a few even lived over seas. He was completely alone for the most part. His mother worked two different jobs to support the two of them and save up for the school she wanted him to HOPEFULLY go to after his senior year here, which was this year.
He got up to go to the bathroom since the rest of his body was now waking up. He looked at himself in the mirror as he let the shower warm up. He was a mess. Bags under his eyes, face full of grease...he smirked though. He knew if he tried hard enough he could pull it off. Maybe in a ruffian sort of charmish way. He ran a hand over his chiseled, stubble covered chin. He could wait longer before shaving. Only his mom really liked his facial hair anyway. She said it kept him away from his terrible baby-face syndrome that he had. He didn't think that was really a thing though. He enjoyed the way he looked. His dad always had loads of facial hair, and in all the old pictures of him, it made his dad look...threatening. He ran his fingers through his short bronze hair before taking off his shirt, exposing his ab muscles, tight stomach, and built chest. He wanted to get back into some kind of regimen of working out now that he had no sport to do it for him. He was afraid of losing the tight physique he had acquired over the years. Sadly, he knew it was one of his only redeeming, fetching qualities. Part of him was actually terrified to let people really know what kind of person he was, which wasn't much. He was boring almost, maybe even a push over who was mostly just...empty. He hated violence, he was NOT secure with himself or most of his actions, he was constantly afraid people were talking about him and he couldn't do anything right. He was a homebody for sure, and got simple joys out of being alone and doing his own thing, like writing little stories, playing his video games, or maybe reading the occasional book. But this self exile from the world around him was a double edged sword, and as much as he enjoyed it, he HATED it, as it would remind him of how lacking in substance his life was. His mother knew all of this, she was hard to get anything past without her knowing. She worried about him constantly, so he tried to keep up his own little mask of 'don't worry, I'm ok' but it rarely worked. He sighed as he rubbed his hazel eyes one more time. He took off the rest of his clothes and hopped into the shower.
Fully dressed and way more fresh, Magnus stepped out into the chilly, still damp Sunday morning air. He was wearing a light jacket as he took a little walk. His mom was already at work, she hardly ever had a morning to herself, and he was going to need to get some things for dinner. He patted his wallet in his back pocket as he took his cell phone out of his front pocket. He opened up Face-Place on his phone and began to flip through all of the posts and pictures on the social media app that assaulted his eyes. He frowned as he did. Hundreds of pictures and post, hashtags and selfies, all of them about this stupid dance the night before. Also, and oddly enough NOT really posted much about, was a giant crater and missing front half of the school. Magnus raised an eyebrow as he casually read the news report on it. This seemed...VASTLY more important than a dance. He shrugged and put his phone away after placing it on silent. It's not like anyone would really try to get ahold of him anyway. All around him people were starting the day. A few cars drove by as he walked down the sidewalk. Almost no one he went to school with was out and about. Why would they be? They were still exhausted from, apparently, a cataclysmically glorious evening. Magnus stopped at a crosswalk waiting for it to change to a green light so he could cross. What would it have been like if he were there? He probably would have just been in the background anyway. The music was probably terrible as well. He smirked at his poor attempt to cheer himself up. He crossed the street at a lazy pace, he didn't wait for the light. Traffic was super weak and there was no worry of getting hit.
Magnus stopped into a corner convenience store to buy a soda. He was thirsty and had neglected to really get anything until now. Soda was not the best thing, maybe juice would be better, or even some coffee, but he wanted something terrible for him. He went up to pay for the soda, and a very cheerful girl with a long blueish ponytail was more than happy to accept his money. He hadn't seen her before. Man this place had a high turnover rate. He smiled back at her as he took his soda and left. At least she was happy to actually be at work. It was rare to find that these days. Especially with people his age. He was KIND of sure she was around his age, though he had no memory of her at all. Or did he?
It was only about ten more blocks to the little grocery store he usually got everything from. Tucked inside his wallet was the stamp card the grocery store gave out as part of its little promotional this month. He was going to get fifty dollars off this shopping excursion, and he was going to use every bit of it. His mom deserved a good meal every now and then, especially with how hard she worked. Magnus didn't really work, but the child support his father sent him, and had been sending since Magnus was seven, all went into his bank account. His mother refused to touch any of it, saying that it was for the care of her son, so he should have it. In fact...she hardly ever spoke about him. He had never been too weird or irresponsible with the money. He knew better. This wasn't fun time money, this was 'I need to live' money.
The stroll down to the store was uneventful, with the exception of a girl at the hot dog cart on the corner who gave him the most flattering of smiles and batting of eyelashes he had ever seen. Why couldn't he put a face to her? With as friendly as she was he was SURE he would have had to have seen her at some point. He needed to get out more...something about her attitude was almost off putting if you ignored the flirting, but the bangles in her hair were shiny and hard to ignore. He walked inside of the grocery store and waved to a few of the cashiers he knew from school. Some of these teens still had lives to live outside of the drama of a high school. At the back of the store was the freezer with the GOOD meats in it. He walked over to it, hand on his chin as he thought. There was much to display inside the standing freezer. "Let's see....mom has sworn off beef this month, not sure WHY. Maybe chicken? No, last time it had plastic in the wings. Pork? No...not really in a porky mood." Magnus frowned as he looked. His choices were limited.
A girl behind him stocking some chips whispered, "Go for the fish, trust me. Just put it in the freezer." Magnus turned just in time to see a large poof of bright orange hair turn the corner. He shrugged and went down a few sections to the fish. He made an amazed and surprised smile. Sure as the sun, there was the fish. It was stocked high and all of it had very in-date tags. Opening the freezer, Magnus grabbed the choicest salmon filets he could find. His mouth was already watering, and he could smell the lemon zest he would destroy it with later. Placing it under his arm, he went down the spice isle and picked out a few things, making SURE to grab a new container of lemon pepper. He had ran out of his favorite spice trying to help his mom save a roast she had forgotten about in the crock-pot one night a few weeks ago. Maybe that was why she was done with beef for now? It hadn't turned out TOO bad. Just really dry. And crispy. Who was he kidding, it sucked.
Groceries in hand tucked away in a bag, and now enjoying the soda he had to hide in his pocket in the store to make sure no one though he stole it, the walk home was pleasant. The hot dog girl was still there, dreamily staring at him. Magnus felt himself suck in his stomach just a little bit and wink at her as he walked by. She did the same after him, and even blew him a little kiss. He was NOT prepared for this of course and tripped, stumbling over a crack in the side walk that had raised a chunk of it upwards. "Darn city workers...aren't they suppose to watch for this kind of thing?" He turned around just in time to see her hide her laugh before he bolted. "Great job Mag...score another one for being a moron." He picked up his pace hoping no one would see him shake the red from his face.
Home was just how he had left it. The paper-girl was a bit late as he watched her come down the street. It was already nine in the morning. Oh well, maybe she was at the dance? Life can't always start when we want it to. She threw a paper to him as he waited in front of the door, key in the lock. It hit his shoulder, he wasn't ready to even try and attempt to catch it. She cackled as she rode off, sun fire highlights in her hair catching the light. Magnus picked it up and brought it inside. He looked at the front page as he went to put his fish in the freezer. It was talking about the winner of the Fall Formal. REALLY...? Nothing about the explosion or damage to the school?! He wondered if the people who ran this town were in their right mind.
His groceries put away, soda finished, and paper on the table for his mom, Magnus trudged back up to his room. Two months of this and he had never even SEEN the inside of another kids house. Maybe this was just his destiny. The people he had grown up with hardly tried to get a hold of him now. He dropped onto his bed and looked over at his blank T.V. screen, trying to think of something he could do. It was nice enough outside, maybe go for a jog? His mom did want him to sort out the attic above the garage. Magnus winced at these ideas, as they required great effort that he did not possess at this point. He finally settled on a video game or two. It had been a while since he had checked on his pirate colony. And if he kept staying in his usual slump of doing nothing when he was alone, it would just end up being wasted money.
Hours and hours passed, and Magnus remembered that he had a stomach, and that it was very empty. He couldn't actually remember if he had anything for breakfast besides the one soda he drank this morning. He knew he didn't want to waste any dishes yet, and it was a weekend, so there's nothing wrong with treating yourself. He decided on going to the diner that was popular enough with everyone at school, Sugarcube Café. It was around a twenty minute walk to the café; he got there at around three in the afternoon, and the place was packed! He had seen almost everyone inside sitting and eating at least once at school, but as he walked inside not many took a lot of notice to him. He wasn't surprised, but it didn't take any of the sting away from it. There was one open seat at the counter, so he chose it over trying to be awkward and take a table or booth with people in it. He plopped down in the seat with a heaving sigh. Things like this always brought him down, and made his anxiety begin to prick him in the back of his mind. Maybe it wasn't too late to bail and just eat something at home anyway? He was wrestling with this idea when the waitress came over to him. "Something eating at you hun?" Magnus looked up at the light pink skinned lady. Erm, girl would be more correct, and was that a fake southern accent she was trying? "Ah, no...no not really. Nothing to worry about. Just give me a burger and fries. Oh! Add bacon? And nothing but the cheese and ketchup please." Magnus didn't even take the menu she had held out for him. She smiled a big full toothy smile as she wrote down his order. She hung the ticket up by the window where the grill person could see. and placed her pen behind her ear. She wiped her hands on her frilly apron and went to go help someone else. Magnus put his head down a bit and looked around, hoping no one thought his order was odd. He blushed a bit as the waitress poured him a glass of water when she returned, offering him a warm...almost flirty look. He could hear the lady manning the grill shout out something along the lines of "Who doesn't want any of the GOOD stuff on it? Why pay for the whole burger?" He looked up to see her annoyed velvet red eyes look at him, her golden hair tied up into a tight bun. She squinted at him one time, then turned around to face the grill. "Wonderful..." he said to himself.
Magnus had finished his meal quickly. Leaving out a side door without a lot of people near it, he let out a breath of relief. It was some kind of weird torture listening to his school mates talk about all of the fun they had at the dance. It only reaffirmed his self appointed position of a total outcast. He needed something to take his mind off things. Walking off the sidewalk and going through a park, he was headed for a heavily wooded area right outside of town. The past few months, this had been his safe haven when he wasn't doing homework or trying to study for something. It was amazing out there. All of the animals that it had, and the way the untamed trees bent and twisted, it was like he had found a magical little kingdom full of life and peace. He found himself almost running as he recalled his happy place. No matter how high his anxiety or level of panic was, this place always managed to bring him back to a calm state of reality. He wondered whether or not the mushrooms in the clearing had grown bigger since Tuesday. The entire woods was tiny in size compared to the city, but it was dense enough that it could drown out all sounds and sights from the city, including some of the lights. In the center of it was a beautiful clearing with a canopy of trees covering it, and hiding it from the sun. There was a cave here, but he had never dared to enter it. Maybe it was out of fear, but Magnus liked to think it was more out of respect. He always had the feeling this place was special in some way.
As he pushed his way past an old barbed wire fence that circled the entire wooded area, he breathed a large sigh of relief. He could already smell a batch of freshly bloomed flowers ready to be pollinated. He took care to step down the path. There were new prints here, some of them looked like hooves. The last thing he wanted was to spook a deer. Off to the right in a dying oak tree was a massive bee-hive. Above him birds chirped happily, and he could hear the small running of squirrels everywhere. Occasionally, a small stray animal would come by. Usually a dog, but sometimes a cat. As far as he knew, no one but him came out here. He spent the first week picking up trash everywhere and clearing up debris. The animals seemed much happier after he had done all of this, and almost seemed content to his presence here. He reached the canopied clearing after a tiny walk. There was a ring of mushrooms directly in the center. A fairy ring is what it is called, if his textbook was correct. They are suppose to be magic in some way. He never really believed it, but the mushrooms never died, and even if they got damaged, the ring was always clear by the next day, and the mushrooms hurt would be fixed. They had NOT gotten bigger, despite his hopes that with the rain they would have soared upwards. He looked beyond the ring towards the cave. The cave was beautiful. Covered in moss and trees, it looked like the earth had just lifted up, hollowing out an entrance into its heart. At the same time, it seemed to have a wind blowing out of it, and the inside was so dark it seemed to drink in the light around it. Magnus looked at the cave, and then away. It was almost on instinct. He climbed one of the trees with extra low branches and settled himself near the middle.
The hours had ticked by MUCH faster than he could have anticipated. Magnus had spent most of his time lying lazily on a branch above a birds nest, watching the baby birds with such fascination. All of the peace and mind numbing elegance of the forest around him had been broken once he felt his phone vibrate. Did he even HAVE a phone? And didn't he place it on silent? When did it switch back? It was rare anyone tried to text him. Pulling out his phone, he tapped on his messages to pull up one. It was from his mom asking where he was. "Crap! The fish!" He had not only neglected to tell his mom where he was or where he would be going, but he hadn't told her about his dinner plans. Magnus began to sprint back home. Running, now there was a thing he could always rely on. It didn't matter what sport he played, or what hobby he enjoyed, he was faster than anyone he knew, and it made him feel so alive and free. Not this time though, now he was in a slight panic. He was able to cross the long distance home in only a fraction of what he had done to get him there in the first place. He stopped and placed a hand to steady himself against the oak tree outside his house in the front yard. After he had caught his breath he was aware of laughing. Did his mom have a friend over? Odd...of course, he didn't tell her what his plans were, and he was PRETTY sure his mom had some kind of life that wasn't just work and watching old movies in her slippers, so if she wanted to have people over in HER house it was fine. He still wasn't sure why this got to him just a bit though. Magnus walked on in saying "Hey mom! Sorry abou-" He stopped. Sitting on his couch was a girl.
His mother and the girl had been the two people he heard laughing, the girl's laugh standing out from his mother's as an almost rhythmic, entrancing chime. They were drinking tea and...oh no...his baby album was out on the table. He had no idea what his mother was getting him into, but he was immediately NOT ok with it. "Mom! What are you doing?" Magnus shouted, snatching the book away. He closed it gently and put it back up in the bookshelf where it belonged. He turned and frowned at his mother, who spoke. "Oh now hun, I was just being nice to your girlfriend here. Which...I'm surprised you said nothing about." Her eyes grew sad, though her voice was stern. "Honestly now...I know you're all grown up and have your own life, but I would have thought you would have told me something like this."
Girlfriend.
Magnus turned to look at the girl, who was giving him a deep stare, mouth hidden behind her glass of tea.
Girlfriend.
She spoke "Right? I thought you loved your mother, that's what you've always told me anyway." The girl was familiar...eyes or ruby, her hair was a golden orange, a few streaks of red. Her sin was almost the same color as the honey that sat on the table in front of them. But he could not, for the life of him, pinpoint it.
Girlfriend.
"Mom I d-" He was cut off by her. "Now, let's just drop it okay? I saw you bought fish. I already have it unthawing. I'll be in the kitchen, I know when you need some private time. I'll have my judge shows on just...keep the door open, ok?" His mother gave him a little smile before she went into the kitchen. Only after he heard his mother sit down and get comfy did he turn to the girl.
He looked at her for quite some time before she stood up, taking a step forward. Everything about her was so certain, so poised. It was as if she belonged here, but Magnus was very well aware she did NOT. And what was this girlfriend business? She was so sure of herself and everything she was. At her chest was a ruby amulet. It was shining faintly. Magnus's mind was cloudy. He shook his head. "Who...who are you?" He said this quietly, he didn't want his mother to get worked up over this stranger. Was she a stranger? Now he wasn't so sure. "My name is Adagio..." she walked over and placed a hand on his chest. He was just taller than her, but only just so. "...and YOU are going to get to know me quite well." She let out a little laugh as he looked down, furrowing his brow.
*****
She gently kicked at some of the rubble out front. She was frowning. Behind her, two boys were packing up whatever they had brought. All three of them were dirty and worn out. They had been working all day to try and fix some of the damage to the school. The school's insurance had bought all of what was needed, but to avoid expulsion, since the three of them had been the ones who CAUSED the damage to the high school, they were told they had to fix things. Anything structural would be handled by professionals of course, but all of the annoying monotonous work would have to be handled by them. The girl wiped sweat from her forehead and took a deep breath. They had done a lot of work, but in the grand scheme of things it had been just a dent in a massive workload against them.
She was tired, angry, sore, and very exhausted, but at the same time, this was ok. In truth, it had been the first piece of real work she had done since she got here years ago. And she was proud of it. The two boys had left without telling her, and she couldn't blame them. She had basically roped them both into this before they ever knew what it was going to entail. Even she herself hadn't been real sure HOW the events of last nights dance were going to play out until it had. She got dressed in one of the temporary work rooms set up and placed her work clothes away. She pulled out her phone as she was walking home. She smiled as she browsed Face-Place. She was seeing happy things for the first time, good things. What's more, her messages were already filling up from the people she had brought into her life just a night ago. For the first time ever, she had REAL friends, and she was hoping she wouldn't ruin it.