Nicholas found himself walking across a desert of snow. There was nothing as far as his eyes could see, hills and plains covered in untouched snow. Above him was the dark blue sky, with hundreds of sparkling stars. He wasn't cold, nor was he tired, he simply kept walking, step by step, making a path through the snow.
When he stopped to look behind him, he could see his footsteps stretch into the horizon, as if he had been walking forever. He didn't know where he was going, only that he needed to keep moving. It was important, but he couldn't remember why. So Nicholas continued forward, up the snowy hills, continuing North as far as he could possibly go.
Then suddenly, he fell down, tripping, falling and rolling down one of the snowy hills. The snow was soft, and he wasn't hurt, but nevertheless he fumbled around until he could get up on his knees. It was then that he saw it, something, no, some pony, standing on a snowy hill above him. The pony glowed brightly, yet the light was also gentle, and warm.
The light kept Nicholas from seeing any real details, but there were some things that stood out. The pony was tall, taller than any average pony. It had wings, and a horn... An alicorn?
The alicorn spread its wings, and Nicholas could tell it was looking at him. For a moment, it felt like their eyes met, even if he could not see them. Then suddenly it got up on its hind legs, and the glow became so bright Nicholas had to cover his eyes. When he felt the bright light fade, he dared to look once more.
His eyes widened, because instead of an alicorn, there was a large crystal star, floating maybe a meter above the snowy hill. It glowed that same light as the alicorn, its warmth seemed to reach Nicholas, like a gentle embrace. The wind picked up a little, the loose snow following the breeze up the hill, as if trying to lead him towards the star.
At first he was too mesmerized to move, but then like a whisper carried in the wind, he heard his name being called. It didn't come from a specific direction, neither did it seem male or female, in fact, it sounded like a lot of ponies he knew. His mother, his father, his brother, his friends, Applejack, and others. The whispers seemed to call his name over and over again, beckoning him to go to the star.
Nicholas got to his feet, and it was as if the wind tried to help him, push him up, then suddenly change to push him forward. Step by step he slowly made his way towards the crystal star, the wind picking up as the snowflakes seemed to fly up around the star and Nicholas, shielding them from the world around them.
He came to a stop, only within arm's reach of the strange star shaped crystal. The light seemed to be facing in and out, bathing him in its warmth. Now everything became quiet, everything from the voices to the wind. The only sound was this strange ringing, or a hum. Nicholas held up his hand, he felt compelled to touch it.
Slowly he reached out, and the closer he got, the more pulled in he felt. Then as soon as his hands touched the smooth crystal surface, he felt something strange. Like a bolt of lightning passing through him, but instead of deadly electricity, it was like something his mind simply could not decode.
There was a strung tug in his gut, and with one final breath, Nicholas opened his eyes...
Nicholas opened his eyes, he felt his heart galloping as if he had just been running for his dear life. The human sat up, ran a hand through his light brown hair, while trying to regain control of his breathing. When his heart calmed, he let out a tired sigh, mumbling to himself. "The same dream..."
"Nicholas, a dhuine uasail, an bhfuil gach rud ceart go leor?" A small voice suddenly said. Nicholas looked towards where the voice had come from, and he spotted a tiny pointed eared creature make its way towards him.
"Yes, everything is alright, Mina. Thank you." He assured her, and watched as the little creature climbed up onto his bed.
She was tiny, about the same size as a cat, or a small dog. She had white fur, big eyes, pointy ears, and had the resemblance of a cat almost. She wore a red tunic, and long pointy hat with a tiny bell at the end of it. This was Mina, an elf, and the first one Nicholas ever befriended when he first met her in the Everfree long ago. She was now his head elf, his number one assistant so to speak.
She gave him a concerned look. "An raibh an bhrionglóid sin agat arís? Tá an chuma ort go bhfaca tú taibhse." After years getting to know her and her fellow elves, the language had stopped being gibberish to him.
He smiled a little, and reached out and scratched her ear. "Can't hide anything from you, can I? Yes... I had that dream again."
Mina thought for a moment, scratching her chin. Then she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "B'fhéidir gur cheart duit stopadh ag ól an oiread sin seacláide te tráthnóna."
Nicholas chuckled lightly, and patted her head. "I don't drink that much hot chocolate in the evening."
"Cad faoi roinnt tae le do bhricfeasta?"
Again he let out a chuckle. "Thank you, Mina. Tea would be good, I'll be out in a minute." The little elf nodded brisky, and jumped off the bed, and went to a little elf sized door in the wall. Nicholas turned in his bed, and stood up in the small bedroom.
The room was not like any cottage back in Ponyville. Nichola's home, and workshop, was built into the trees and hills of the Everfree forest. If you looked at Nichola's home from the outside, you would see a normal grassy hill, but with round windows, a smoke stack, and a door on the side of the hill.
His room was small, but comfy. Wooden floor, thick and wide tree roots acting as beams above his head, holding the roof and ceiling up. Nicholas's whole house, whole workshop was like this. Hidden in the hills of the Everfree. It was a humble and peaceful life, and he enjoyed it very much.
The elves had taught him much about the Everfree, and despite its chaotic nature, Nicholas seemed to thrive here. In Ponyville he was mostly known as the local human, Santa Claus, jolly Nicholas. However he did also make a living taking care of the forest, keeping tending to it, and selling wood, mainly to his adoptive father.
He had a loving family in Ponyville, friends, and a purpose. Even so, lately he had begun to feel restless, as if something was not right with his life as it was. It had all started a few weeks ago, when he first started to have this strange dream. It had changed little over the weeks, there was no alicorn at first, nor any crystal star. These recent days though, they had all been the same. He would wander in the snow, fall down the hill, look up, see the alicorn, and then the star. It has been the same for five days now.
Nicholas wasn't sure what it all meant, but he knew it was not nothing at all. He needed to figure out what to do, and lately he had begun to get an idea what he needed to do. He had thought about it for the entire week now, but if he was going to do it, it needed to be soon.
Before hearth's warming eve...
He didn't know why, but he felt it was important, deep within his heart. Looking into the large mirror on the wall, he looked into his deep blue eyes. He was a grown man now, a human living in a world that is not his own. Nicholas had never found out who his real parents were, how he got to Equestria, or why he was here.
But he felt that the answers he sought might be out there. Somehow he knew it was connected to the dreams he had, he just knew it. Straightening a bit, he nodded to himself. "Right, you snooze you lose." He smiled a bit. It would be a waste of such a lovely morning to worry, and there was plenty to do.
