All he could see was a reddish haze. Dark shadows moved in the background. “I’m dreaming!” He realized. He was dying, and he was dreaming his life away. Might as well enjoy the show while it lasts. He listened to the shadowy figures of his dream.

“...he is dying.”

“Yes. He is dying. But his time has not yet come.”

“He is dying. That is all that matters. It is time.”

“No. His time has not yet come. He must be brought back.”

“He can not be brought back. The implications-”

“I understand the implications. I understand that he cannot be brought back.”

“Then why do you speak as if we can? We must carry on.”

“He cannot be brought back to this world. He can be brought back...elsewhere.”

“You don’t mean..that place?”

“Yes. That place.”

“No! You cannot bring him there! Think of what might happen!”

I have thought and thought about this. It is the best place.”

“You are sure about this?”

“Yes. I am sure. He will begin his journey toward a new life. Now.”

“Understood, sir.”

“Good. Now get going.”

“What on Earth was that conversation about?” He wondered as the shadows departed. But as he wondered, he felt a shift. He no longer felt the omnipresent sentiment of death. His dream no longer had a reddish hue. With a bit of a jolt, he realized he wasn’t even dying anymore! “I suppose they were talking about me, then? They’re sending me to a new life somewhere else, not in my life. Perhaps this reincarnation will prove somewhat more hospitable.” He realized, with some triumph. He decided to sit back and enjoy the ride to his new life, perhaps even with a caring family.

Throughout his journey, he saw many things. He saw the world as a whole, and saw many families. They were suffering just as much as he was, some even more. Yet they didn’t end their lives. They were important to their families, and they knew that. Instead of lamenting about how horrible their lives were, they set out to improve their lives. They got up at the crack of dawn to sell supplies to make a few meager cents. They worked until midnight to gather more junk to sell. He realized he really had no reason to end his life. Just as these realizations hit him, he felt a jolt. “Woah! What the hell?” He realized he had stopped drifting along the earthly continuum. Everything was dark, so he had no idea where he was. “I guess this is where I get off.” He mused to himself, then realized he had no idea how to “get off”. “Hello? Anybody there? How do I get out of this thing?” Soon, he got his answer. A immensely painful electric shock shook his entire body, and everything went black.

“Ughrgdagh” He mumbled, trying to get his mouth to work again. “Shhhhhh...don’t strain yourself. You’re still weak.” A comforting voice said. “Wrrgh...What? How did I get here?” He tried to grasp his surroundings. He was lying on a soft bed, and he sensed a presence near him. He tried to force his eyes open. What he saw did not amuse him.

As his blurred vision came into focus, the first thing that hit him was the smell. Everything had a overwhelming scent of fresh made fudge. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it was slightly overpowering. A concerned looking face leaned over him. It was not a human face however. Damn! He had clearly been reborn into some kind of crazy messed up alien planet. Oh well. At least he had gotten another chance. Maybe the aliens would have some kind of device that would be able to send him back to Earth. For now, he would play along. “Where am I?” He tried to ask. But it came out more like: “Whrgez arv Ahf?” His caretaker/captor (he didn’t know what it/she/he was) whispered again: “Quiet, now, you need to rest.” He slipped into unconsciousness once again.

“Is he going to be alright?” He heard the same voice ask someone else. “I don’t know. That was quite a fall, and it looked like he had been hit with quite a shock. Maybe even stronger than a lightning bolt.” A masculine voice responded. He opened his eyes again, and tried to sit up. Immediately he regretted it. Waves of nausea hit him, and he almost threw up. “There there now.”, said the feminine one. “Don’t strain yourself.” “Who are you? What are you? Where am I? And why does everything smell like fudge?” Questions poured out of him as he realized he had fully regained the ability to speak.

“Well, first of all, My name is Twilight Sparkle. Second, I am a unicorn, obviously, since I clearly have a horn. Everyone in Ponyville is either a pony, a unicorn, or a pegasus. Including you. Third, you are in the Ponyville hospital, and Fourth, what do you mean everything smells like fudge? Have your olfactory senses been discombobulated as well as your memory storage capacity?” Now he was really confused. He was a pony now? This self-proclaimed “Twilight Sparkle” was clearly not a unicorn, as unicorns were mythical creatures. But she did resemble one, as she looked like a horse and had the horn that made a unicorn a unicorn. But then, the true impact of what she had said hit him.

“I am not a pony!” he yelled. “I am a human! A normal person!” “Twilight Sparkle” looked at him with some concern. “Of course you aren’t a pony! Silly you, you’re a pegasus! But I don't know about this 'human' thing. Is that the knew street term for pegasi?” This hit him even harder. “Wha-wha-what? I’m a what now?” He stuttered out. “Silly you, stop acting dumb!” Twilight Sparkle smiles. “You know that you have wings! Well, if you're still confused, I'm sure we can get you help.” The unicorn had started using a baby voice. He examined himself with horror, and realized that she was right. He had the body of a horse with wings, just like the mythical pegasus. “What have you done to me?!?” He screamed. Suddenly, he felt very, very, angry. He lashed out and overturned his bedside table.

His vision turned red. Why? Why? He had been given life, and he thought that he would actually be able to live life again. Instead, he had been transformed into a monster from a Greek myth, stuck inside a world that smelled like fudge! He ran and ran. He had been a relatively good athlete, despite only having gone outside in the sun for a few hours in his life. He now only knew to run. He ran. Ran away from his new life, his past, he ran from everything.

The pangs of anger and disappointment slowly faded away, and when he finally looked up, he realized with a sickening lurch that he was lost. Gone were the bright colors of the town that “Twilight Sparkle” called “Ponyville”. Instead, a dark palette of blacks, dark blues, and dark greens dominated the landscape. Worst of all, the sun was going down. He was cold, hungry, and utterly at a loss as what to do. He knew nothing about the wild. He had never even seen such large trees, as the only trees he had ever saw were bonsais. “I should have stayed in the hospital.” He bitterly muttered to himself.

Only now, when he was finally away from everyone, away from everything, was his head truly clear. But his brain couldn’t have picked a worse time. This new, hostile landscape ignited a primitive premonition of danger. His many fears started to overwhelm him. I'm just a coward. I'm just a stupid, sniveling, bratty, spoiled, coward. He almost locked down with panic. Great. What the hell was he supposed to do now? It was when he was in the worst possible situation, that the dream had finally seemed to end.