I sighed as I watched the waves gently wash up on the shore, the moon shining in the ocean waters. It was peaceful on the beach, everyone at home to watch the all important Super Bowl. I never was a fan of American Football, thinking any sport that has you beat the other person senseless was a little odd—granted, the Romans didn’t think so. See where that got them.
The pier off to the side was brightly lit, the night crew cleaning up after the tourists had had their fill. Every now and again, a homeless person would wander up to me and I'd give them a dollar or two, let them buy something to eat in the morning. The wind blew in rather harshly from the sea, carrying the strong smell of salt over the beach, nullifying all other smells. I looked up into the cloudless sky, looking at the bright twinkling stars.
I took my jacket off and loosened my tie, taking a relaxing breath as I let it hang loose around my neck. God I hate these things. I looked distastefully at the black tie. Unfortunately it was mandatory to wear a tie and shirt at the newspaper office, even if we were crammed into a little cubicle typing away on a computer, and no one ever saw us. I folded my jacket and laid it on my lap, keeping a hand on it so it didn’t blow away. No one even reads the darn things anyway. I unbuttoned my collar, letting a sigh as I felt the wind ruffle the shirt.
I watched the waves silently get higher and higher on the beach, the tide getting stronger. I scratched my beard, closing my eyes as I listened to the ocean. Even if I wasn't a fan of it, the ocean still was the most calming thing to me and my nerves were shot. Leyends Reborn, the book I labored on for the last five years, was finally being released. The publishers didn’t think it'd be a big hit and just assumed it was another failure, passing it along with several more beginning authors.
I blinked as the wind increased, and stared at the ocean, wishing its tranquil sway would help answer so many of my questions. Like usual, I was wrong; the ocean kept its secrets to itself, if it even had any to share. Well, there goes that hope. I sighed again.
And to think, things were looking up. I was finally getting my book published, the child of long nights asking a friend to proofread, then going back to fix what he suggested were mistakes. I got a fairly decent job as a newspaper reporter, which let me move out of my parent's house, pay the bills, and buy my own car.
Granted my ride was a dark blue 1969 Mercury Cougar that barely ran— but it was my car; still had its original interior and everything. I smiled, thinking back to how my grandpa had helped me fix the car up and got it running like it used to back in his day, with just a few more coughs then when it was new.
I looked at the sky, hoping to see a wishing star; instead I saw what looked like a bird dropping from it. As it neared to the ground, I stared at it, realizing it seemed to be bigger than your common pigeon, maybe the size of a large dog. It extended its wings with difficulty, trying to stabilize its flight. I tensely saw it coming closer and closer to the ground, almost unable to slow down the fall.
Something attracted me to it, and I got up to get closer to the falling avian. Its features became more differentiated the closer we became, each second releasing more information to me about how it looked. It was gray, had a large head, and seemed to have more than a couple appendages, flailing around it. I suddenly stopped when I saw a… a blonde tail? And hair of the same color too? The hell?
I squinted in the general direction of where it was supposed to fall, trying to confirm what I had just seen, or verify it had been just a trick of the eye. What I saw was a creature that had barely slowed down its pull from gravity, with oddly large eyes full of fear as it finally crashed into the water. It was only for a split second, so I wasn´t sure if what I had seen was really there.
Thankfully, the landing site was right where the coast dipped, or it would have otherwise been quite more unpleasant for the creature. My first instinct was to reach the place of the wreck and investigate—an instinct that would, as people tend to say, make me the first one to die in a horror movie—and so I did, carrying my jacket with me.
As I got closer, I watched the smitten bird bob on the surface for a moment, the waves carrying it towards me. I still couldn’t get a good look at it, so I threw my jacket and tie on the sand and waded into the rather chilly water. Something nagged at me in the way to the unlucky bird, as if I recognized the creature but couldn´t quite put my finger on what it was, or from where I recognized it.
When I finally reached it, I bent down, looking at it closely, and reached out to touch its fur. I accidently pushed its wing aside, revealing a tattoo of at least eight bubbles on its side. My eyes grew as I instantly felt recognition rush to me, and I floundered into the water, falling down as the thing slowly came closer to me. I quickly backpedaled like a crab, feeling my shirt get soaked from the water.
I sat on the wet sand, staring at the one and only Derpy Hooves, unconsciously floating in the water, moving with the tide. The… the hell is going on? I made the effort to look around, thinking I was just seeing things. When everything looked normal, I thought back on my day, trying to figure out if I added anything new to my diet, but couldn’t think of anything. What in the hell they putting in sodas these days?
She bobbed for a moment, before slowly starting to sink to the sand under the surface. I hesitantly moved forward, putting my hands underneath her and pulling her out of the water. She wasn´t as heavy as I thought she´d be, her wings hanging limply at her sides, useless. I looked at her, trying to see if she was hurt. Then I paused. What would I even be able to do if I found an injury anyways? Ask for help? She felt pretty real, and looked it, but hallucinations do too.
I stood there, biting my lip as I tried to think what to do. Ok… so this is a pretty realistic toy they’ve made. I felt something feebly try and grab me. I looked down and saw her reaching for my shirt, trying to pull her towards the warmth I emitted. She shivered slightly, her fur glistened with water. I could hear her faint breaths, her chest contracting and relaxing in my arms. It was so weird to hold her, feel her shudders in my hands and feel her heart beat strongly.
I remembered the bums wandering around earlier and quickly looked up, scanning the area, looking for people. I saw no one, but I didn’t trust my vision, especially after… well, Derpy. I held her in one arm as I bent down and laid her on my jacket, covering her up in a small dune. I did my best to blend my jacket and the sand so she'd be less noticeable. Thankfully, it was dark, making her harder to see.
Real or not, I made a decision. I jogged to my car, thinking she quickly would need a place to dry off and rest. No one was around, which slightly surprised me. There´s always someone on the beach… I looked around, feeling as if someone was watching me from the darkness that surrounded me.
I grabbed my keys and unlocked the door, sitting in the driver´s seat for a moment, before taking a deep breath and turning the car on, and doing the opposite for the radio as quickly as I was able to. I switched to the low beams and slowly made my way onto the beach, thinking of all the laws I would be breaking. The car crunched against the sand, the tires getting little traction, forcing me to go slower.
Finally, I made it to as near as I dared drive it and hopped out of the car, leaving the keys in the ignition. I turned around and pushed the seat back, exposing the back seats. I looked around one more time before making my way back to the colorful pony. She had soaked my jacket completely; I faintly smiled and picked her up, holding her carefully, trying not to disturb her. I looked into the darkness one more time before walking the few feet to the car, and bent down to gently place her in the back seat.
I pushed the seat forward and sat down, staring straight ahead. This can't be real. I must've been in some wreck, and I'm in a comma at the hospital. I turned on the radio to try and find something that was normal, something to show that I wasn’t asleep. There was a steady beat behind the song and I started tapping on the steering wheel in tune.
Eventually I started slapping it, the pain reaffirming I wasn’t asleep, but it wasn’t enough. I pounded on the wheel, the beat long forgotten as I let my frustrations out on the poor steering wheel. A few minutes later, I groaned and smacked my head into it, sighing as I closed my eyes. That… that felt good…
There was a girlish groan in the back, reminding me of the reason for me to be relieving my stress on an inanimate object. I turned back and looked at her as she cuddled up in my jacket. I sighed. Hell… if it’s a dream, it’s a pretty damn good one. I looked back as I started to reverse, getting back onto the street and driving in the general direction of my apartment.
I didn´t really have any destination in mind, so I just mindlessly drove down the dark roads between my apartment and the beach I had just left. I was only trying to figure out what to do with the cartoon character in my back seat. Well… she felt real, sounded real; she can breathe and grab me… I kept looking at my rearview window to make sure she was still there; she was, snuggling up to my jacket. Then… she´s real.
My mind went numb after that realization. I don’t remember much except driving for a few hours before noticing I didn’t have much more gas left. I sighed and looked up, surprised to find myself in front of my apartment. The building was dark, the lights around it out.
I got out of the car, and felt lucky my apartment was close to the parking lot. I jogged over to the door and unlocked it, to then run back and picked her up as quietly as I could. I ran inside with her in my arms, and locked the door behind my back.
For a moment I just stood in front of my door, trying to figure out how my life had set me up so that I was in that moment in my own apartment, holding Derpy Hooves in my arms, tugged in my jacket, which I brought there on my own car, something I could now afford with my own job, and left me time to finally publish a book in which I had invested so many effort and sacrifice. It felt much longer than the few months since I had gotten my degree.
After my not-that-brief pause, I decided to put Derpy in my couch to make a real check through for injuries. I faintly moved her around, checking out to see if I could see anything. I didn´t find anything that felt wrong, but I probably wasn´t the most reliable person to discuss that with. Hmm… I can´t see anything, but that doesn´t mean much with my knowledge about this. I paused. Maybe if I called my friend…
I was reaching for the phone before stopping and thought through what I was thinking on doing. What would someone else say? What would they do? How would I even ask for help? Hey… so you know Derpy from that cartoon show? Yeah, she's unconscious on my couch, think you could help me? I quickly put the phone down.
What if someone saw me carrying her? A sudden thought invaded my mind. I sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall. That’s just great, the hell am I supposed to do? What if someone else saw her fall? …Would they call the government?
I looked at the pony sleeping peacefully on my couch; she was turned away from me, resting her head on a couch pillow. I faintly smiled at her before leaning my head against the wall. If I was crazy, at least it would make me a little happier. Still, if I wasn´t… what would that mean? Any of them meant my next few days were going to be rockier than I expected.
Well… life got interesting… just when I thought it couldn’t get more stressful. I heard her yawn and I looked over, our eyes locked as she slowly leaned forward, squinting at me.
"Yeah, life is getting interesting all right."