Actuality Ch1
_______________
“Hey come down from there,” I yelled rather irritated “You know I can’t fly!
I was rather upset and disappointed that my brother would leave me on the ground while I had to walk. I always envied Flame’s wings. Anywhere we had to go, he could always get there faster and then would gloat about it for weeks after.
“Oh, and why should I? I can get there faster if I fly and beat you to the lake!” He yelled down. Though he was high up, his black coat made his smirk easy to see.
Flame always had it in his mind that his wings made him better than me and no matter how many times I tried to explain to him that each pony was equal, his reasoning was concrete. Wings did seem to make a Pegasus better than an Earth pony. Normally, I dismissed his statements and reasoned that just because one can fly, it does not mean they are a better pony. This was not always the case. Sometimes, when I was in a dark place, sad, scared, or upset, I would believe him. Sometimes I actually thought that his wings did make him better than me.
“You know Mom wouldn't like if it you left me here alone!” I responded in a desperate attempt to bring him back.
His path crossed the sun and for a brief moment I was scared that he had actually continued on without me. My worry went away when he loudly landed behind me.
“I hope you understand,” he said softly, “That I would never really leave you.”
Flame, as unique as a pony could get, he had to be one of the most unique. Most of the time, he would show his usual self-absorbed persona. He would go out of his way to point out how he was better than me. Any great things he had ever done or any things he’s ever owned would be easy ammo for him to use. The most common being his slightly older age and possession of wings. Rarely though, the masquerade would end and his soft side would shine through. This appeared to be one of those times.
He walked to me and gave me a small hug.
“I would never leave you.” Flame barely whispered. I observed the shadow of a sad smile on his face showing beneath his orange mane. I began to believe that his statement had more meaning than just flying ahead.
I was glad that he came back. I wasn't excited to walk all the way to the lake on my own. In fact, I’m timid when my brother is not with me. Whenever we go anywhere I put up with him because I feel much better being with him.
“So,” I began, “Why are we going to the lake again?”
“Well, my friend invited us to see the new boat he built.”
“Oooooh, cool! Do you know what he’ll name it?” Ever since I've been small, I have always had a fascination with boats.
“Well,” Flame smiled, “I heard he was going to name it The Fire and Ice.”
For a second I stared at him, disbelieving. When the smile didn't leave his face I saw that he was serious. Apparently the boat’s name was a play on our own. Our parents had always said that my brother and I were always perfect and seemed to be born for one another. So, they though it only right to name us Flame and Freeze. With my brother’s midnight black coat and bright orange mane, he seemed to live up to the title. I, nearly the opposite, had a bright blue coat and stark white hair.
We continued walking silently along the path in the direction of the lake. The sun was just ascending from behind a nearby large mountain and began to make the ground glow and the shadows of the trees began to stretch almost indefinitely. It was then that I had a sudden interest in my own shadow. I looked down planning to giggle at the length the sun makes my legs appear. When I looked, the shadow that I saw didn't appear to be my own. It looked slightly too long, even for morning. The first thing I noticed was its reduction in legs. It only had two! As my eyes slowly followed it, I saw that it also looked as if the missing legs were much higher near the head and were swinging with each step that I took. I then noticed the round head with facial features completely different from any pony. I stopped, gasping, and tried to show it to my brother. He looked quickly and continued as if nothing was wrong.
It was then that the entire world began to fade and went dark.
I opened my eyes to find myself in bed. The sun was shining through the window and forced me to squint. Sadly, I lifted my arm to see my normal, human, hand attached. I gave a quick sigh as I sat up blinking the tiredness out of my eyes.
For the past few years, I have been having dreams about the show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I used to attribute them to my deep seated adoration of the series, but that was before. In the beginning, the dreams were just the episodes playing in my mind. The adventures of The Mane Six were the most often. Later they started to evolve. Over time, I began to realize that the dreams no longer seemed as if I was watching them, but started to seem as if I was in them. After that they started to change further. My dreams of the original adventures seen in the show were occurring less often. Instead, I began to get dreams of adventures they've never had.
The scariest part of this was that most of the ‘new’ adventures I was dreaming about ceased to be new soon after. They stopped being dreams and started to appear as episodes in the series. When I first saw this I was riddled with a mixture of different feelings. The first was obviously excitement. I mean, if your dreams started to become reality wouldn't you be happy? Soon after followed fright and confusion.
What did this mean?
About as soon as it began, these dreams about new episodes stopped altogether. They were replaced with photorealistic dreams about a pony I have never heard of called Freeze. The oddest part was that these even newer dreams didn't seem to be about that pony but over time began to be about me. Very slowly it seemed that in the dreams I became this pony. I began to see through its eyes, think its thoughts, and even began to be able to control it. Each dream seemed to come after the next. When I would wake up it’s as if it paused, waiting for me to sleep again. I no longer felt like I was in a dream. I could see everything clearly, smell everything, and even feel the ground under my hooves. They stopped being dreams and became a second life.
This had continued for a year…