A cool breeze rolled through the night and caused Stephen to shudder. He must have forgotten to close his bedroom window. But now that he thought about it, he didn’t remember opening it to begin with. When another breeze rolled through, he realized he wasn’t wearing covers and everything came into perspective. Selena, his long time girlfriend, must have come to visit him late at night. It was a bad habit of hers to invite herself over whenever she was bored. The time of day or what Stephen was doing never stopped her. Even if it was late at night and he was sleeping. Stephen smiled at his girlfriend’s antics. No matter, let her open his window and have his covers. He needed to get back to sleep as soon as possible. There was a myriad of responsibilities awaiting him for the next day and being well rested was part of preparation for them.
Stephen employed his best method of falling asleep first. The better he could visualize something in his head, the quicker he’d drift off. Another breeze rolled through the room as Stephen pictured himself waking the next morning and shaving the stubble from his chin and sideburns. Maybe Selena would be kind enough to make breakfast for him. His thoughts continued and he felt himself start to nod off. Just before he lost consciousness, a gust of wind rustled the trees and chilled Stephen to his bone.
That was the last straw. That blasted window must be closed and he must reclaim his blankets from Selena. In an ideal scenario, he’ll be able to complete his objectives without waking Selena. Preparing to move from his bed, he noticed that something else was different. Where he laid was cold, moist and had a familiar texture. Grass? His eyes shot open only to show him that he was enveloped in darkness and he turned sharply in hopes of finding Selena.
He was alone, outside and lying on the grass. Where was he? How did he get out here? He scrambled to get up but something else was wrong. He couldn’t feel his hands or feet and his equilibrium was off. If only he could see. He might be able to make heads or tails of this. On cue, a thick cloud drifted away from a full moon. The landscape was flooded with a soft blue luminance.
Stephen felt his heart make multiple attempts to leap from his chest. It only stayed in because his breathing was keeping pace, causing his chest to expand just as his heart made more escape attempts. There was too much information. There were too many questions. The sensation of a rubber band snapping occurred inside Stephen’s head and after a moment of mental silence, a single thought played on loop.
I’m not in my house. I’m not in my yard. I’m in the woods. I don’t know where. I don’t know why.
This went on for a moment while he got himself to sit upright but still felt strange - as if he was standing on his fists and feet while not being able to feel either of them. A wolf’s cry echoed through the wood. Every little moment of that horrible sound crept through his spine and all the way to the back of his head. Glancing over his shoulder, he found two small orbs of yellow light floating in the distance. Then he noticed how they were suspiciously close together and low to the ground. A split second after this information processed, the broken record of questions playing in his head was replaced with a single word; RUN.
Stephen picked the first direction he could think of; forward from where he was facing and galloped on all fours as fast as they would carry him. He tried to get up and run properly but he just couldn’t do it. So he focused on moving as fast as possible, by whichever means necessary and praying that this was the way out of wherever he was.
The forest around him became was a blur of trunks, branches, leaves and vines. There was no end in sight. Sight only went a few feet in front of him. Feet stamping the ground, leaves rustling and twigs snapping were all sounds that resounded from not only Stephen’s stride, but from everywhere around him as well. Barking and another howl called Stephen’s attention to his left. The forest had wicked, glowing, yellow eyes. They were following him and they were not far behind. Fear took over and threw Stephen’s body into autopilot, somehow making him go faster than what had previously been as fast as possible. It wasn’t fast enough. He needed to run faster still. He couldn’t but that didn’t stop him from trying with every stride.
Stephen’s exhales became cries for help. His cries were swallowed by the thick woods and the sounds of wood thumping against wood, cracking twigs, shuffling leaves, pounding feet, barking getting louder and louder and howls coming from every direction. Not daring to glance over his shoulder again, he sobbed fearfully and continued to barrel though the forest at speeds he didn’t think anyone was capable of.
Iron clanged against iron in the distance. Stephen had no idea what was causing the commotion. He only knew it was dead ahead. “Help! Help! Someone please help me!” Stephen sobbed out.
The clanging responded by getting louder and more rambunctious. The wolves started to whimper. Some of the howls and barking stopped. But he knew he was still being pursued. Stephen kept his eyes forward and continued to cry out. A light appeared through the trees. It was close but still way too far away. The clanging was getting louder with each of his strides. He was saved if he could get to it. The wolves were starting to fall back. Though he couldn’t stop himself from shouting, there was hope yet.
There was a figure running back and forth across the lights. “Run!” he heard a soft female voice shout.
“Help me please!” Stephen retorted. The wolves howled in the distance. The barking had almost completely stopped. There were no noises other than Stephen’s fearful sobs and the clanging of iron. Stephen cleared the last tree at the edge of the woods and kept running. There was a large cottage about twenty yards from the edge of the forest. Stephen rushed to the door and slammed his body into it. “Help me please! Wolves are chasing me! Open up! I’m begging you! I don’t know where I am! Please!”
The iron clanging stopped. Stephen was under the light but he knew he was still being pursued. Now he had made the biggest mistake of his life - he had stopped moving. His heart and lungs were going too fast. Lactic acid was burning everything in his body. His head was light and he was out of breath. Though he was at the source of the clanging and under the light he had seen, no one was opening the door. He was going to be devoured here on their doorstep and he couldn’t move. He could feel a presence closing in on him. So he collapsed and cried out in terror.
“Please hurry…if you don’t mind,” the demure voice spoke. Stephen stopped crying when he heard it. “We have to hurry inside but you’re in the way of the door.” Without thinking, Stephen rolled out of the way of the door. His vision had gone blurry but when he heard the door open, he rushed inside and collapsed on the floor. Relief came when he heard the door slam shut. Now he could permit himself to catch his breath and regain his senses.
“Oh my goodness…I hope you’re okay…Timberwolves are quite scary…Why were you out in the forest?”
Stephen was finally starting to catch his breath as he opened his eyes and allowed his vision to focus. The cottage he had taken refuge in was wide and mostly open but still very well put together. He immediately noticed a small round dinner table with stools around it. Small pictures and shelves of flowers were set up along the walls. A single couch sat against the opposite wall, adjacent to a wooden staircase, with end tables on either side. To the left was a chimney with some impressive cobblestone work and a wood-burning stove. Then Stephen looked up. A yellow pony with a long pink mane had set herself in front of him. It was staring into Stephen with a look of concern. Stephen had no idea what was going on. Nothing was helped when it opened its mouth and, “Are you alright?” came out in the soft voice that he had been heard before.
Stephen stared for a long time and tried to make sense of the situation. He remembered going to bed – but that’s it. Somehow he got to the wilderness. Not only did wolves chase him, but also they were timberwolves. Stephen could only assume they were somehow worse. So he ran to the first sign of civilization he saw, a cottage just outside the wilderness. Now, before him, was a small and yellow horse that could talk. He had nothing to go on except a thought that ice cream and Animal Planet do not mix well before bed. While this thought process went through his head, the pony sunk lower and lower, seemingly trying to hide behind her pink mane. The situation was getting awkward beyond justification as an onslaught of the usual questions someone might ask in this situation poured into his head. Stephen asked the first one that he could hear clearly in his own mind.
“Where am I?”
“Oh…um…this is my cottage,” her response was almost too quiet to hear.
That didn’t help. Next question. “Where is this cottage?”
“Ponyville,” she said even more quiet.
That didn’t help either. “Where is Ponyville?” Stephen asked.
“Um…Equestria…”
This wasn’t going anywhere fast. “Where is Equestria?”
“I’m sorry,” the pony said. “Please don’t be mad. I don’t know how to answer that. It’s our land where we live.” She shuttered and shrank in her place even more. “Please don’t be mad at me.”
Why was she apologizing? “It’s okay,” said Stephen. He almost asked ‘how did I get here?’ but he knew she wouldn’t know the answer to that. So he tried to ask ‘who are you?’ but somehow managed to say, “And you’re a talking horse?” The pony perked up momentarily. Her green eyes gave a look that combined disgust and confusion before shrinking back behind her mane.
It took a few moments for her to respond. “Um…So are you?” Her statement sounded unsure as if it was half question. Her right front hoof pointed to Stephen’s left. Stephen turned to see a dresser set against the wall with a mirror on top of it. Stephen exerted some effort to get back on all fours. When he did, he noticed another pony come into view in the mirror. This one had a dark red coat and a short but thick and curly mane running from the top of the pony’s head to the bottom of his neck. The eyes were large, round and blue. There was a short, yet very puffy tail perturbing from its rump. It was slightly taller than the yellow pony but not as round at the barrel.
Confusion mounted on top of confusion. Experimentation was in order. Stephen squinted at the mirror. The red pony squinted back. Stephen turned his head to the left. So did the pony in the mirror. Stephen raised his right hand to wave at the pony. The pony mirrored Stephen’s movements before they both lost balance and fell over. The evidence was stunning but Stephen required a second opinion. So he looked down at himself. His body was round, covered in dark red fur and bore hooves.
“I give up. I’m dreaming,” said Stephen. He got back up and tried to walk away only to fall back over, harshly bumping his lower jaw on the cottage's hardwood floor.
“But then…how am I here?” the yellow pony asked.
“You saved me from those wolves. Whatever’s going on here I should thank you. Do you have a name?” Finally he asked his question properly. Stephen leaned closer preemptively, knowing the answer was going to border on inaudible.
“It’s…Fluttershy,” she responded with a pause.
“Fluttershy? Did I hear you right?” Stephen asked. Fluttershy merely took a step back and nodded her head. “Thanks again, Fluttershy, for saving me. But it’s time for me to wake up. I’ve got a long day ahead of me tomorrow.”
“But…but…but…”
Stephen ignored her. “Okay,” he said to himself. “Wake up!” He waited. Nothing happened. “Wake up!” He said a bit louder.
Stephen barely heard, “You’ll wake the animals,” from his right side.
“Great, I can’t wake up.”
“Oh…I’m sorry,” said Fluttershy.
“It’s okay,” said Stephen.
“You should sit down,” said Fluttershy.
Stephen didn’t fully hear her. “What?” he asked.
Fluttershy backed up again. “Oh…I mean…if you don’t mind that is. You seemed to be pretty out of breath when you got here.”
“Oh, thank you. That would be great actually,” said Stephen. He made his way over to the couch.
“Please relax and make yourself comfortable. I’ll be right back.” Fluttershy left the room. Stephen could do nothing but ponder what was going on around him. Now that he had a closer look at the room, there seemed to be a lot of accommodations for various animals. He saw small beds, birdcages and perches everywhere. There was a hole in the bottom moldings of one of the walls that looked like a cartoon’s mouse-hole. Several small staircases lead to tiny wooden houses around the room.
Fluttershy came back into the room a couple minutes later balancing a platter and two glasses of water on her back. “I hope water is okay for now,” her soft voice spoke.
“That’s great actually,” said Stephen. “That run took it out of me. What were those things anyway?”
As Fluttershy set a glass in front of Stephen, he realized that she had wings sprouting from her back. This only added onto the questions, but he’d have to ask them later. “Those were timberwolves. They’re very scary. The only way to scare them off is to make a lot of loud noises.”
“How did you know to do that?” Stephen asked. He poked and prodded the glass of water with his hoof and tried to figure out how to grip it. While Fluttershy answered, he gave up, grabbed it in his teeth and chugged it down.
“My friend, Applejack told me about it. She has to do it with her Granny every year to keep them off her farm.”
“I see,” said Stephen after setting the empty glass back on the table. Some water had inevitably spilled around his mouth. He used his foreleg to wipe it off. “Sorry about that. I’m not used to drinking that way.”
“Oh…it’s alright.”
“So why did you help me?” Stephen asked.
Fluttershy waited a moment before responding. “I woke up when I heard howling. I was scared but then I heard somepony screaming and I knew they’d need help. Leaving them alone out there just wouldn’t have been kind.”
“Thank you very much,” Stephen repeated his gratitude a third time.
“Oh…There’s no need to thank me…but um…If you don’t mind my asking; why were you out in the Everfree Forest? It’s dangerous out there.”
“Really, I don’t know,” said Stephen. “All I remember is going to bed and then I woke up out there.”
“Oh…I see,” Fluttershy shrugged.
An awkward silence came over the room. Stephen suddenly realized something. “Jeeze, I’m sorry! I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Stephen.” Out of habit, he held out a hoof. Fluttershy touched her right hoof to his and they shook.
“It’s nice to meet you, Stephen.”
“Same here, Fluttershy,” Stephen wasn’t sure what to do next. He knew he was dreaming and not about anywhere he was familiar with. He couldn’t wake himself up. So there was nothing left to do but play along. “Now how about you tell me about yourself?”
“Oh…there really isn’t much…what do you want to know?”
Though this started out as a nightmare, it was turning out to be the most interesting dream Stephen ever had. Fluttershy was always on guard and trying to hide herself. Stephen guessed she either thought he was going to hurt her or had some kind of social phobia. Perhaps even both? She was soft-spoken and very quiet. So he had to make sure to listen intently in order to hear what she was saying. It took him a few tries before he could figure out how to ask questions that would entail specific answers. The whole time, he tried to joke with her to keep the mood light so she wouldn’t be scared.
They mostly talked about Fluttershy’s love for animals. After some prodding, Stephen got her to tell him all about the various animals she took care of. Stephen found it fascinating. When that topic was drained, she asked him about himself. He told her the basics. He told her about Selena and his job that he hated. There wasn’t much else to talk about. Throughout the conversation, Fluttershy offered to check on Stephen to make sure he wasn’t harmed or if he needed anything to eat or drink.
Eventually, Fluttershy got too sleepy to stay awake on her own. She offered Stephen her couch for the night. “If you wouldn’t mind, I can show you around town in the morning. Perhaps we can help you find your way home,” She mumbled as her wings carried her up the stairs.
So those wings do work. Stephen thought to himself. He wasn’t sure how to respond to her offer. So he simply thanked her again as the last of her long, pink tail disappeared into the second floor. Stephen was quite tired himself. He curled up on Fluttershy’s couch. With his eyes closed, he started to think about all the things he had to do in the morning.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Stephen’s eyes shot open again. He was back in his bedroom. His covers were on. Selena was not here. That was the second biggest disappointment. The biggest disappointment was that he did not feel even a moment’s rested from when he tried to go to sleep the night before.
Another thing that was odd was how he remembered the dream. He'd normally forget them as soon as the alarm went off but this one was sticking in his mind like glue. Maybe it would just take a few minutes to forget? Looking down, he found his hands complete with five stubby fingers covered in dark skin. Running those fingers atop his head, he felt his short, thick and curly afro growing from his scalp as usual. Everything was back to normal. “That was the weirdest dream ever!” was the first thing he said to himself. Groggily, he shoved his covers off and started his day.
THREE HOURS LATER…
Fluttershy came down the stairs of her cottage. She looked down to her couch to see that it was empty. She sighed disappointment and thought back on the previous night. She was certain she didn’t dream the interaction.
“Oh Fluttershy, you’re so insensitive!” she squeaked to herself. “You probably said something that hurt his feelings.” With another sigh, Fluttershy folded her wings and walked down the stairs to start her day.