? ?, ?,
Beep...
Beep...
Beep...
What the hell? I thought as I woke up. A bright blaring light met my eyes forcing them shut. I felt weak.
“Echo? Daring?” I tried to call but my voice came out raspy, “You guys there?”
I heard an unfamiliar voice say something I didn't catch. After a few minutes I could open my eyes just enough to make out blurry images.
One of those blurry images leaned over me and said, “Can you hear me?” I nodded, “Can you tell me you name?”
“S-Shiro.” I replied weakly.
“What was that?” He asked.
“Shiro,” I said a little stronger, “Shirotora.”
“No, your name is Micah, remember?” He said as he placed his hand on my shoulder.
Hand!. My eyes shot open and I saw I was in a hospital room with the doctor beside me... the human doctor. I started to panic.
“What happened? Where am I?” I demanded.
“Calm down.” The doctor said, “You've been through a bit of an ordeal. Your sister brought you here when you wouldn't wake up. We're not sure what caused it, but you were in a coma for eight months.”
I glared at him, “No. Where's Daring and Echo? Where's Jynx? WHERES MY FAMILY!”
“Calm down please.” He said, “We called your sister. She's on her way. Just try to be patient.”
This can't be real. I thought, This is some weird kind of trap in the temple.
I tried to sit up but found I was too weak to move. Wiggling my fingers was a chore. If this was just an illusion, it was a damn good one. I tried looking around for anything that would give away the nature of this illusion. The doctor was completely unfamiliar to me. I could read the words on a poster by the sink. I could feel the pain of a headache. Shit. What kind of illusion is this?
I tried figuring out the situation for at least a half hour before a voice I hadn't heard for almost three years came from the door.
“Oh my god! You really are awake.” My sister ran up to me and gave me a gentle hug, “We thought you would never wake up.” tears were streaking down her face.
“Karmie? What's going on?” I asked.
“I found you passed out beside your computer.” said my brother from the door.
He was always the tough guy, so it was a shock to see him holding back a tear.
“Where's mom?” I asked.
“She's on her way.” Said my sister.
“Is this real?” I asked, “Am I really here?”
“Yeah,” Said my brother.
“What's wrong?” Karmie asked, seeing the tears on my face.
I thought for a moment. Should I tell them? It wouldn't matter if this was just an illusion, but what if it wasn't? What if I was really back on Earth? I missed my family so much, but what about my new family? Needless to say I was torn. I didn't know what to think. If I was really on Earth, would I ever see my wife and children again? An even worse thought crossed my mind. If I was in a coma, did I just dream all that? No, I knew it was real.
“I doubt you'd believe me if I told you.” I finally answered.
“O...K.” Said my sister.
She told me about what had been going on. Part of me was happy to see them again. I thought they were lost to me forever. The rest of me, though, just wanted to get back to Jynx, Razor, Midnight, and all my friends. I remembered when I said I wouldn't come back, even if I could, but now I wasn't sure. I still cared for my mom, brother, and sister.
“Sup, Elick, long time no see.” I said to my brother after Karmie finished.
“Yeah, eight months.” He said, “Is this going to be a regular thing for you?”
I let out a weak laugh. Not even a year and a half prior to my arrival in Equestria I was shot in the mouth. It shattered my jaw and left me bed ridden for over a month.
“You have no idea.” I said recalling my various stays in the Canterlot and Ponyville hospitals.
As the day went on my mom, nieces and nephews came in to see me. They were all so happy to see me awake and aware. After I gave my hellos to everyone I asked to talk to my brother alone. He and I were always close despite not really being related. Technically I never had a family here, but that was just what was on paper. That never mattered to us. My mom was my still mom, my sister was still my sister, and my brother was still my brother. The way we saw it, family was who you shared an unbreakable bond with; who you would gladly die for.
“So, He started, “The doctor told us you said your name was Shirotora.”
“Yeah.” I answered, “What would you say if I told you that for three years I’ve been living in another dimension?”
“I'd say you had some pretty crazy dreams.” He answered.
“And if I said that I experienced sensations I never had before?” I added, “If it was a dream that would be impossible.”
He looked at me with a thoughtful expression, “Hell if I know, but I doubt you were in another dimension. You were lying in this bed the whole time.”
“Maybe it was something like John Carter.” I offered, “You know my mind left and a new body was made.”
“Alright, fine.” He said, “Let's say I believe you, tell me about it.”
“Alright, but first I need to explain something I found out about this world.” I said, “We have magic.”
I explained the theory I had of information exchange between earth and other dimensions.
“And the world I ended up in was...” I hesitated, knowing what his reaction was going to be, “Equestria.”
He shook his head and scoffed, “Really? That My Little Pony crap?”
“Dude...” I said, “Scientific mindset.”
“Fine, go on.” He said.
I told him about everything that happened to me from my arrival to that moment, everything I did, thought, or said. I told him things I will not put in this. Why? Because he's my brother. When I finished he sat there looking at me thoughtfully for a bit.
“I'll admit, that's a lot of detail.” He said, “You fucked a pony?”
“I married a pony, had a son with her and adopted another.” I said.
“OK. So I have a sister in law I never met and two nephews. That's fucked up.” He said.
“You believe me?” I asked, “And you're not going to say something about bestiality?”
“I'm not saying I believe you.” He said, “But I’ll try to be open minded to the possibility. That does seem to be too much specifics to just be a dream. And about you and this Jynx chick... she sounds smarter that most humans, so I can't call it bestiality. Just don't tell mom.”
We sat there for a little bit in silence before Elick asked a very difficult question.
“Let's say this shit's real and you were given the chance... would you go back, or stay here?” he asked.
I sighed, “That's not easy to answer.” I thought for a moment, just to make sure what I was going to say was the absolute truth, “I love you guys. Y'all took me in and called me family. I can never repay you for that.” My next words were the hardest words I ever said, “But y'all don't need me, Jynx, Razor, and Midnight do. If given the chance I would go back to Equestria.”
I looked over at my big younger brother (seriously, the guy's HUGE) expecting to see him upset, but instead he was grinning as if that was exactly what he wanted to hear.
“That's exactly what he wanted to hear.” Told ya.
He brought him palm down on my chest hard. Causing me to practically fold in half.
I sat up and yelled, “What the... hell?” the last word coming out with confusion as I stared at the wall of the temple room.
I looked at my paws to make sure I was me again. was that a dream? I thought, No, that wasn't Earth or my family, but it wasn't just a dream. I figured whatever it was, I would find the answers deeper in this fucked up place. I pushed the events of the night(?) to the back of my mind and decided to get ready to continue.
A pungent funk filled the room. It took me a few seconds to realize it was me. No surprise there. I hadn't showered on a week. A quick look around revealed the bathroom. I wasted no time jumping in and scrubbing myself very, very, very thoroughly. After I dried off I cleaned my gear, put it back on and went back into the main room. Daring and Echo were still asleep.
I decided to go ahead and see what I could make for breakfast. After rummaging through the cabinets I decided on omelets and hash browns. I made sure to make the meat very visible so Daring wouldn't get Echo's by accident.
As I ate my breakfast I let my mind wander back to that “dream”. If nothing else it proved one thing... we weren't alone. I didn't know what it wanted, but there was a presence here. I felt it watching us since the barrier stopped letting me through, I just couldn't be sure. There was something here that was waiting for me, but why? What did it want? Was it good or evil? Why does Twilight read clopfics of herself? I knew I wasn't going to get any answers until I got through the Temple of Mind-Fuckery.
My thought's were interrupted but the door to my companions' room opened and the two archeologists came out. They were apparently drawn to the food on the table. Despite the obvious chunks of sausage Daring grabbed the non pony friendly.
“Daring. Unless you're secretly a carnivore, you might want to get the other one.” I warned.
“Huh?” She said, “Oh, yuck.” She quickly rectified her error.
They ate while giving compliments on my cooking. After the finished and were preparing to leave the Ancient Ruin Inn I decided to see if they had a similar experience.
“Hay, did you guys have strange dreams last night?” I asked.
“Not me.” Said Daring.
“I dreamed I was a cabbage.” Said Echo. Daring and I gave him the “what's wrong with you” look, “What? Like you've never had screwy dreams.”
“Let's just go.” Daring said, “Of all the males I could have married I chose the one with veggie fantasies. You're luck I love so much.”
“I know.” responded the dog.
We opened the door opposite from where we first arrived, and were greeted by three murals. The first depicted my fight with Gray Fang. The other two were painful for me. One showed me being consumed by darkness, and the other was of me killing ponies. I tried in vain to hold the tears back.
“This is my greatest shame.” I said.
“It wasn't your fault.” Daring said, “You said yourself, it was like a dream that you couldn't control.”
“It was still me that killed those ponies.” I replied, “Let's just get out of here.”
“Uh, guys.” Echo sounded confused, “There's two doors.”
I looked to both sides of the dark images and saw, like he said, two doors. One had a picture of me, while the other had them.
“I guess we're suppose to split up.” I said.
“Famous last words.” Said Daring, “We need to stick together.”
“There's a reason for this, I know it.” I said, “This place has a purpose for me and I intend to find out what it is. That means playing by the rules.”
“He's right.” Echo said to his wife, “I don't like it myself, but we don't have a choice.”
The adventurer hung her head in defeat, “Fine, but don't blame me if you die.”
I took a step toward my door and took a deep breath. I opened it and walked in only to find myself dangling from a cliff... oh wait that's you. Trololol
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Fact #6; Daring Do got the idea to write books based on her adventures when she was in a bar in Kuusa, Griffany. She was telling a couple of the patrons about her latest adventure in the desert near by. It was one of her most exciting expeditions to date and was happy to have an audience to hear it. After she finished, one of the griffins mentioned that the story was better than most of the books he read. It was then that she decided to try her hoof at writing. Her first book, which was an accurate telling, failed due to lack of excitement. The publisher told her that she should include an antagonist to the stories and to embellish a little. The next book, “Daring Do and the Jade Statue” was the #1 best selling adventure novel for seven months in a row.
Important note: How would you like to be a character in my next big sci-fi epic, “Into the Black: A Mare's Tale”. That's right, not just some OC of yours but YOU. I'm looking for someone to do cover art for the story. In return, you'll be a major character in the story, not just a cameo. So if you have any kind of talent and are willing, send me a PM with a links to some pictures you've drawn (the more the better). Thank you in advance.