//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: It's all About Perspective... // Story: From the Other Side // by Trivium //------------------------------// Chapter 1: It's all About Perspective... *** Allow me to introduce myself. My name's Trivium, I'm a male pegasus, 23 years of age. I have a black coat, with a mane that fades into red at the end. My tail mocks the same pattern as my mane, and my eyes, well... I have "Heterochromia Iridium," which means my right and left eye have separate colors. My right eye is a bright cyan, while my left eye is lime green. I'm engaged with the pony of my dreams, Rainbow Dash. We've been together for a long time now, and I recently proposed to her. I've had my fair share of disturbing events (Mass death, killings, suicides, beatings, etc...) occur near me, but it's never seemed to have much an effect on my mental sanity state. *** I lay still, un-able to sleep. Rainbow Dash was next to me, sleeping the night away. I turned to look at her. She looked amazing, even when she was sleeping and her mane was all messy. She'd guided me through a lot, and introduced me to a lot of ponies. It was just one of those nights, and I was not able to fall asleep, no matter what. I sighed, rolling over to face the wall. "Triv...?" I heard Rainbow Dash's raspy voice. "Yes?" "Why haven't you been sleeping?" "I... I can't fall asleep." I said, looking at her again. "Oh, that's an easy fix." Rainbow Dash sprung out of bed, energetic enough to seem like she hadn't slept any more than I. "Come on!" She said, pulling me out of bed. She bolted to the door, and outside. I followed, seeing her sitting at the very edge of the cloudy mansion we lived in. The moon soared high in the sky, accompanied by a million stars. I walked up next to her, sitting down. "So..." I started. "What's the fix?" "We..." Rainbow Dash grinned, looking at me. "Race." She dove off the cloud without another word, speeding towards the ground. Oh, you're ON! I leaped off, flying directly downwards right after Rainbow Dash. The wind howled past my ears, rippling through my mane. I looked ahead, to see Rainbow Dash bolting upwards. I continued to hold the imaginary trail we normally raced on, slapping one of my hind hooves on the lake which served as a checkpoint of sorts. I began flying upwards, breathing heavily. Rainbow Dash was rediculously good at flying, and literally always beat me in a race. But not this time! I flapped my wings with as much power as I could muster, actually managing to start catching up to Dashie. She blasted through cloud, leaving just a hollow ring, which I blasted through just seconds behind her. She glanced back for a second, speeding up once she realized how close I was. Oh no you don't! I forced my wings just a little bit more, getting myself within reach of Rainbow Dash. "Gotchya!" I cried, biting down softly on her tail. "Hey!" She cried, grabbing me in a hug, halting the race. "No fair..." She chuckled. "No physical contact." We hugged for a bit. "Now what?" I asked. "We...." She looked around. "Race to..." "Twilight's house!" I blurted. "First one past her house wins!" "No grabbing, or biting, and if you crash into her house, than you lose by default." "Go!" I cried, diving at a slight downward angle. I let my wings stretch out fully, carving through the night sky as I descended and blasted across the sky. Rainbow Dash suddenly bolted past me, leaving a blue blur for a second. "Smell ya later!" She cried as she passed me. I laughed, picking up the pace. *** BOOM. I rolled across the dirt floor, dazed. I lay still once I stopped rolling, aching all over. My ears rang, and my vision was blurred slightly. "Rainbow Dash?" I called out, seeing a melting rainbow stretched across the sky. Did she just...? "Sonic Rainboom!" I heard Rainbow Dash yell, seeing her pump a hoof into the sky. "I win!" I stood, hearing a window creak open. "What's all that noise?" I recognized Twilight Sparkle's voice. "Rainbow Dash...?" "Sonic Rainboom!" Rainbow Dash repeated. I lifted off, seeing Rainbow Dash hovering next to Twilight's window, where she was looking out at her, looking like she'd also gotten no sleep. "Trivium? Rainbow Dash? What are you guys still doing up?" Twilight asked. "I'd ask you the same." Rainbow Dash replied, panting. "Studying." Twilight said flatly. "Studying? For what?" "Fun!" Twilight said enthusiastically. "I'm working on a new spell!" "Only you would study for fun, Twi." Dash said. "Just you wait..." Twilight said. "It'll pay off one day." *** "So, ya tired yet?" Dash asked me as we flew casually back home. "Yeah..." I said. "Never fails." Dash chuckled. "Never." "Thanks," I said, stifling a yawn. "Now I know that I can rely on you to get me tired." *** I snuggled into bed, closing my eyes. "Good night, Rainbow Dash." "G'night." *** "Wake up, Trivium..." I groaned. "Wake up..." I opened my eyes. "Who's there?" I was alone, other than Rainbow Dash, who was sleeping soundly. "Go outside." I shook my head violently. Am I hearing things? "Hey, Rainbow..." I shook Rainbow Dash lightly. "Wake up, I think someone's here." Rainbow Dash snuggled deeper into the bed, still asleep. "Go..." I suddenly felt urged to go out to the front balcony. I slid out of bed and walked, as if in a trance, to the front balcony of the house. I looked out across the sky, but there was a thick mist which prevented me from seeing anything. "Come on in..." The voice seemed more lucid. It was a mare's voice, it sounded silky, dancing through the air into my ears. I stretched out my wings, and flew into the mist. It got extremely dense. I stretched out a hoof in front of me, but couldn't even see it, until it was practically pressed against my face. "Just a little bit farther..." I slowly continued, my mind feeling numb. "Now..." I stopped, hovering in the mist. What was about to appear? The mist suddenly cleared. I found myself hovering in the middle of black clouds. A storm! I quickly began to dive, but began to feel light-headed. I was surrounded by a loud rumbling, and saw a bolt of lightning strike nearby, the loud crack screaming painfully in my ears. Which way is out?! Another CRACK! I saw a white flash, and felt stiff. Pain arced through my whole body, paralyzing me. I began to fall, the opposite direction of what I thought down was. I was flying upwards?! I tried to regain control of my body, but I was still paralyzed as I plummeted towards the ground. Dear Celestia... Please don't let me die! As I neared the ground, my vision faded into whiteness, the wind rushing changing to a faint wind going through what sounded to be like a tunnel. *** Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. "He's waking up..." "Got it." I felt a sharp pain in my arm, and then nothing. I opened my eyes, finding a bright light shining into my eyes. I was laying in a hospital bed. "What... Happened..." I grunted, trying to sit up, but failing. "You flew right into a thunder storm..." I Rainbow Dash's voice again. "I... What?" "You woke me up, saying that they were calling... That you had to go... That you were... Sorry..." She paused. "You sat at the end of the cloud-house balcony for... Like... 30 minutes... Chanting under your breath... You ignored everything I said, too... Than you took off, at speeds even I struggled to keep up with. You flew right into a thunder-cloud cluster, and got struck, but somehow lived. You fell out of the sky, unconscious, and somehow survived the fall, too." The mist is calling... I heard that voice again. Am I going insane?