Chapter 1
Thomas fell to the bottom of the pool as he exhaled as much air as he could, slowly sinking to the bottom. If he could, he thought, he would sit at the bottom of the pool for as long as he wanted, just thinking about whatever came to his mind.
This was one of his escapes, his way of trying to leave behind everything around him, just to find peace. The other was watching My Little Pony, that was the one that allowed him to escape the most. The cartoon ponies that bounced to life on his computer screen seemed to be the only things that ever brought him happiness anymore.
His mother hardly looked at him due to his more than successful brother making so many accomplishments, she hardly ever gave him a passing glance.
His lungs began caving in and he rushed to the surface to breathe again. His black hair covering most of his face as he breached the surface and filled his lungs with air again. He decided it was time to get out, and went for the pool box next to the door. He grabbed a towel and began drying himself off as the door opened revealing his brother.
"Thomas, mom says it's time to eat," he said as he looked down just in time to see the dog leave for the yard
"I'll be there in a minute, Jason." Thomas replied
Jason stared at Thomas' long, black hair, noticing the oddity in it.
"Your streak is getting bigger you know, " Jason said with a tone of concern, "are you under any stress, the doctor said that if you don't watch yourself, your going to go grey really soon."
Thomas grabbed the part of his hair that was grey, but in the light it looked silver. He turned around and said, "I'm not under any stress," he said with a tone of annoyance, "You don't need to worry about me you know?"
Jason sighed and said, "I know, I just worry about you sometimes, it's not easy being the big brother you know? I worry about you a lot."
Thomas chuckled to himself before he said, "I know, I'm just getting in your hair a little is all", as he said that he walked up to his brother and put him in a choke-hold while he gave him a noogie.
Even though Thomas was younger than Jason, he was about an inch and a half taller than him
As he was doing so their mother called out to them, "Boys, hurry up and get in here, the foods getting cold!" She said it
almost as if she was furious that they weren't in earlier.
"Sorry mom," Jason yelled into the house, "Hurry up dude or she might just get the bat!"
After changing, Thomas sat at the table with his family, Jason, the eldest , Annalise the youngest, and their mother, Katherine. The four were eating in silence until their mother spoke up, "Thomas, I hope you stopped watching that children's show like I told you."
A little back story here, Thomas and his mother never really got along, and when she found out that what he was watching, it only worsened the flames between them.
"It's bad enough it's a kids show, but it will ruin your mind." She said this knowing full well that Annalise watched it about as much as Thomas did.
"Why can't you just let me do what I want", he questioned with a tone on the border of anger, "Anna watches it as much as I do." Even though he didn't want to bring the others into this, he was trying to make a point.
"Do not bring your sister into this", she said in a furious and loud voice that made Anna flinch, she looked directly at her and said, "Look what you've done, you made me scare her! Go upstairs and I swear to god if I find you watching that show again I will take away everything from you."
She said the last sentence as Thomas made his way upstairs, he found his door and slammed it behind him. He locked the door and slumped to the floor. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes, but he didn't let them fall. He wiped his eyes on his shirt and went to his desk to turn on his computer. He unlocked his door and went to the bathroom while his computer started up. He looked into the mirror and noticed he had a bit of dirt under one eye. He bent down and cupped some water to splash on his face.
Then he looked back at his eyes, His dis-colored eyes, he never liked his eyes, only because they made him look weird. One eye was a light blue, almost like the sky, while the other was a tint of green. He sighed and went back to his desk to turn on his computer screen.
Behind the screen he noticed a small box with colorful wrapping on it. He grew curious as to what it was and picked it up. He noticed the card on the side that said his name. He opened it up to find a birthday card that said,
"Thomas, thanks for being the greatest brother anyone could have wished for. Happy Birthday."
Thomas could feel the tears welling up again, but this time, he let them fall, a steady stream of tear ran down his face as he opened the box. When he opened it fully, he saw a fluff of pink and yellow as he reached in to pick it up. He didn't even need to look at it fully, he already knew what it was. A small figure of Fluttershy, his favorite pony, from his favorite show.
Another bit of back story, Jason was not always the happiest person in the house hold, at school they would bully him because of his small stature, he would often come home either bruised or bleeding, which made his family worry with each day.
This was before Thomas and Jason went to the same school. Once Thomas got there it was a whole different story.
Jason came home with less and less bruises every day, due to Thomas intimidating anyone who used to bully him.
His mother, however thought that it was due to her calling their parents and telling them to make their kids stop.
After this, Jason and Thomas had a deep bond that they thought nothing could break.
Thomas simply stared at the small pony in his hands as he let the tears flow down his cheeks and off of his nose, then onto the desk.
His computer made a sound that meant it was fully on and he snapped out of his trance.
He logged on and immediately opened the internet, and his computer journal.
"June 28, 2012, Nothing to exciting happened today, mom had her fit of rage, I leave, and Jason reminds me of why he's my brother."
He looked down at Fluttershy and began to feel the tears well up again. He closed the journal and went on the internet to watch videos for about an hour, then he went to bed.
That night, Thomas had a dream, it was interesting to say the least. He was laying on his back, in a meadow that seemed to stretch out for miles. He looked at the sky and noticed that the clouds weren't normal, they were brown, with a hint of grey in them. How strange he thought.
He got up to get a better view and noticed someone walking along the meadow. He tried calling out to them, but he couldn't speak, he tried getting their attention by jumping up and down, but that failed to.
As if things couldn't get any weirder, the sky turned from blue to a deep shade of red as a dragon looking figure flew down from it. It approached the other figure who just stood there, waiting for something to happen.
Thought the two were a ways away, Thomas could hear them whispering about something. Then they both turned to him and their eyes glowed a dark red. Thomas looked down to see that the grass was rising to entangle his legs. He tried to
move but couldn't, while the human figure walked towards him.
He stood completely still while the figure grabbed his head and brought it towards them. He could just barely see the persons face, due to dream vision being mostly blurry. The figure mouthed some word but he couldn't hear them.
He woke up in a cold sweat, quickly moving his upper body up to get a look at his surroundings. His room, no weird clouds, no plains, and no dragons. He made a heavy sigh and laid back down in his bed. He kept thinking about what that person had said to him, but he couldn't remember. Eventually, he did fall asleep again.
Saturday, his mom wouldn't be home, and Jason would be at work.. He looked at the clock, 10:30, slept in really late, again. He was supposed to Meet some friends at the mall today. He got up, went to the bathroom, turned on the sink, and splashed some water on his face. After drying off, he looked in the mirror and gasped. His streak had grown over night. His eyes widened with astonishment and worry. He let out a very heavy sigh as he walked back to his room and put a new shirt on.
He heard noises as he walked down the stairs, he figured Anna was watching TV. He got to the kitchen and grabbed a croissant and a glass of milk. He sat at the table and sighed again, only just a bit softer this time, not wanting to worry his sister.
After breakfast, he went back upstairs, got his house keys, wallet and cell phone. He walked into the loft where Anna was watching TV,
"Anna, I'm heading out to see Michael, when mom comes back from her yoga tell her where I went", he said trying to hides behind the wall so she wouldn't see his hair
"Okay, tell Mike I said hi', she replied, "oh, and Jason says to watch your stress levels, he went to check on you this morning because he heard you grunting in your sleep last night."
He cursed under his breath and said, "Alright, see you later.
"Bye!" she yelled as he walked through the door.
He locked the door and started walking to Michaels house, who also happens to be a brony. After about a ten minute walk he finally arrived at Mike's house. He rang the doorbell and was greeted by a young boy,
"Hi Thomas,' he said, "how are you today?" he asked in a high pitch voice
"Hey, Alex, I've been good," he replied
"I take it you're here to see Mike huh?"
"Eeyup," he replied imitating Big Mac. Alex chuckled and let Thomas inside.
"Mike! Get your white butt down here before I bring it down here!" Thomas yelled up the stairs making sure Mike would hear him
"Alright, just give me a minute geez!" Mike rushed down the stairs and nearly body slammed into Thomas before he stepped out of the way leading Mike into the wall behind him.
"Ow." Mike mumbled as he slid down the wall
"That's what you get for trying to body slam me"
"Let's just go already"
"Have it your way, see you Alex!"
"Bye, have fun!' Alex replied
"So, where to?" Thomas asked before he strapped himself into Mikes van
"Where do you think? We're meeting up with everyone else at the mall, don't you remember?"
"Oh yeah, I totally forgot" Thomas chuckled before they drove off to meet with the rest of their friends at the mall, not knowing what would await them when they returned home.
A/N and there you have it, the first chapter of Kindness. Comments are appreciated, as are brohoofs /)