//------------------------------//
// 6 
// Story: New Friendships (My First Fanfic) 
// by Blazer 
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The beeping of a life-support apparatus was the first thing I could hear. Opening my eyes, I noticed the difference in location.

Instead of my preferable, sweet-smelling bed, I was laying on a menthol-reeking hospital bed. My mom was grasping my hand, sound asleep. Bryan sat in the corner, also asleep, but looking a little less comfortable than my mom. 

A large vase of yellow daffodils and white tulips gave the room an unnaturally festive look, in addition to all of the other cards and flower arrangements that sat scattered about the room. 

I tried to sit up straighter, but it pulled on my IV, which didn’t really feel pleasant at all. I groaned from the discomfort, waking up my mom. She was always a light sleeper. 

“K-Keith?” She said slowly, blinking groggily. 

I gave her a sheepish smile. “Hey. Why am I in the hospital again??” I asked.

She sat up, her face turning serious. “You really don’t remember anything??” 

I scoffed. “Why would I remember anything? I was sleeping from yesterday until today.”

Our conversation had woken Bryan up, who became a little excited when he noticed that I was awake too. “Oh! Hey! Sis found you laying in bed after school, but she said that you wouldn’t wake up.” 

My mom’s face went from serious to worried. “You wouldn’t even respond if we shook you. It was almost like you were in a coma.” Her shoulders started shaking a little, her speech becoming halted and stammering. “I-I was s-so worried for you!” She sniffled. “W-we took you to the hospital, and th-they didn’t know w-what was wrong… When the doctor told us that they d-didn’t know how long you’d b-be like this, Kelsey got so worried about you…”

“She wouldn’t stop crying, since she thought that we’d lost you.” Bryan finished. “She thought that you’d gone to sleep forever, like Mindy.” 

Mindy was our favorite German Shepherd. She was Kelsey’s favorite, and had always loved her from when she was a baby. The family was never really the same the day she was euthanized; especially Kelsey, who didn’t even talk for days. Our mom became so convinced that she would end up as a screw-up later in life because of the trauma, and sent Kelsey to a therapist for a month. It was a scary month for us all; we thought that Kelsey would end up in a mental hospital. 

Imagining Kelsey going through that whole ordeal again really hit me hard. I never realized that these little forays into Equestria could be so catastrophic on our family bonds. 

My mom slowly calmed down, her hiccups and halting speech dissipating. She blew her nose in a Kleenex taken from her purse. “I almost sent Kelsey back to Mr. Shragg, since I thought that you wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon.” 

Bryan stood up, scratching his head. “The docs said that there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with you; The only thing that seemed abnormal was your inability to wake up, and your vitals being similar to people under hypnosis.”

I cocked my head. “Huh??” 

Bryan screwed up his face, struggling to explain. “After they ran a bunch of tests, scans and MRIs, they said that you were in some kind of trance, and nothing but the hypnotist responsible could wake you, but you served as your own hypnotist.” 

I thought hard, bringing my hand to my chin. “So, I brought myself down with this pseudo-coma thing?” 

Bryan shrugged. “I guess that’s the closest we’ll ever come to understanding it as.”

I chuckled. “And yet, I’m still so confused!!”

My mom grabbed my wrist, squeezing it gently. “Keith… this isn’t something just to brush off. Remember the state that Kelsey’s in?” 

I nodded slowly, my smile fading. “Don’t worry, I know it’s serious. But what am I supposed to do? Never fall asleep?” I shrugged, forcing a grin. “I don’t have Freddie Krueger to motivate me to keep myself awake.” 

My mom’s frown deepened. I stopped smiling. “Sorry mom.”

She relaxed, sitting back in her chair and sighing. “I don’t know, Keith. I’m sorry. I guess that’s a question for the doctors, although we all know they have no clue what’s wrong with you.”

I shifted uncomfortably. I really didn’t want her to get worked up over something so vague. “Uh… I’m kinda hungry.” I said.

“Oh, I’ll see what they have in the cafeteria. I’m getting a little hungry myself.” My mom replied, immediately leaving the room. 

Bryan snorted. “I guess I’ll just starve then.”

I breathed out deeply, letting my head plop onto the pillow. “Ugh, I wish she’d stop being so worried. It’s almost like she thinks everything is her fault.”

Bryan looked out the window, staring blankly at the neighboring buildings. “She’s been like this since Kelsey got all depressed about Mindy. And you can’t really blame her for feeling that way either.”

“But she doesn’t have to feel bad about me falling into a self-induced coma for a day. It’s my problem, and I can handle it without her worry. It just stresses me out anyways.” I said.

Bryan pulled out his iPod Touch while unraveling his Sony earbuds. “Look, it’s the only way she can get rid of stress. I know it affects everyone else around her, but look at you. Everyone at school was dying to know what happened to you, Kelsey was deathly afraid of losing you; you even had me going for awhile. And I grew up with you. I’d usually know better than to doubt you.” He said, not even looking up.

I stared forward, receding into thought. “You’re stressing out everyone else too, and if Mom wants to make it her problem, let her. It makes her feel like a good parent. Think of it as doing her a favor.” Bryan called from outside the door, then continued down the hall, searching for a vending machine, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

~~~

I sipped some orange juice out of a juice box from the cafeteria, offering the rest of my cookies to my sister. “Here. You can have the rest.” 

My sister looked up at me, a concerned look on her face. “I think you should eat them. You’re still sick.” She said. 

I laughed a little. “Don’t worry; I just need the juice. You can have em. Go on.” She squinted at me suspiciously, then didn’t even hesitate to ensue wolfing down the cookies.

My mom had left during the morning to visit her parents, but had left my sister, who had the day off from school for Labor’s Day, in my care. She had even went ahead to beg the hospital to allow my sister to stay overnight. After listening to five minutes of her explaining reasons, the doctors complied. It wasn’t bad, since my sister could watch me all she wanted and wouldn’t have to worry. 

She had brought her little suitcase along, filled with various objects to pass the time. She even brought the old recorded episodes of MLP for us to watch, which is what we spent most of our day doing. 

We were in the middle of another one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ misadventures when I realized that there could be a way to keep my sister from being so worried whenever I fell asleep. 

And it was for good reason too. If I didn’t get her to stop, I’d never sleep again. She literally had kept me awake the entire time by crying whenever I said I was going to rest my eyes for a bit. Not the whining-crying. More like don’t-leave-me-alone-in-this-world crying. It killed me every time too; I never felt annoyed with her for crying.

But maybe if she knew what was happening when I fell asleep, she wouldn’t be as worried.

After the episode ended, my sister got up to switch to the next tape. I stopped her by gently putting my hand on her shoulder. “Uh, Kelsey? Can you keep a secret?” 

Kelsey turned, a curious look on her face. “Why? Did you start doing drugs?” 

I mentally tripped, taking the verbal double-take. “Well, not exa—WHAT?! Where did you hear that?!” I asked, hoping to pound the person responsible for teaching Kelsey about drugs. 

She shrugged. “A guy came to our school and talked about how bad drugs are.” 

I shook my head. “I think you’re a little too young to learn about drugs for now; and no, I’m not on drugs.” 

She pouted a little. “Not my fault; Katrina’s mom had him talk.”

“I see.” I said sympathetically. Katrina’s mom over-protective mom would do that, although it did seem a little redundant. She was probably getting a little too paranoid for her own good.

Quickly changing the subject, I returned to my question. “Anyways, can you keep a secret? I need to tell you something about when I fell asleep yesterday.”

She was immediately interested, nodding profusely. “Yeah. What happened?” 

I adjusted the bed so I was sitting up, and began recounting the events since I first traveled to Equestria.

~~~

“So you’re going to Equestria every time you sleep?” She asked, still not really believing me.

I nodded. “I know it sounds crazy, but—”
“But mom says cartoons aren’t real.” She stated flatly.
“Yes, I know, but I did all kinds of crazy things to try and wake myself up. I hit a tree to see if I would wake up, and I didn’t.”
“Are you sure you’re not on drugs?” 

I sighed. “Yes. I’m sure. Look, I don’t need you to believe me, but I just want you to stop thinking that it’s all just—” 

Before I could finish my sentence, the VCR suddenly sparked, film pouring out of the video slot. Smoke started trickling out of the cracks in the VCR, giving off a very nasty burning scent.

“What the—”

I was cut off again as the pixilated appendage reappeared in front of us. 

My sister’s mouth dropped open. “K-K-Keith? Is that what you saw before??” She asked. 

I nodded slowly, not realizing that she wasn’t looking at me. “Yeah. That’s it.” I said quietly, hardly believing it myself. 

Suddenly, it reached out, wrapping itself around my sister, which she did not like one bit. She screamed loudly, kicking and struggling within its grasp. “Keith!! Help me!!” She cried, reaching out for me. 

Instinctively, I grabbed her hand, leaping out of bed. I felt a tugging on the other end, and the appendage slowly began retreating into the screen. The sense of urgency rose as Kelsey’s feet disappeared into the static that occupied the screen. 

“Keith!! Please!!” she begged, gripping even tighter. 

I planted my feet on the wall, desperately fighting for custody of my sister. “Let her go, you sonuva—”

The appendage lurched upwards, bringing me with it. I banged my head on the ceiling, smashing the fluorescent lights above me. My grip loosened, but I still had a firm hold on my sister’s arm. 

However, the upward lift had deprived me of my foothold, sending me and my sister flying through the screen. We fell through the static, seemingly falling endlessly. I swam towards my sister, calling her name.

“Kelsey!! Kelsey!!!” 

She didn’t answer. She probably banged her head as well, but didn’t take it so well. I swam towards her, reaching out to her arm. I caught her wrist, pulling her close. I shielded her head with my hands, keeping her tightly gripped. 

The static disappeared, leaving us falling in complete darkness. As darkness fell, I also noticed my vision was failing too. I struggled to stay awake, my senses becoming less and less alert. My hands and feet went numb, along with my arms. No longer in control of my body, I was forced to release her. 

The last thing I saw was her unconscious figure disappearing into the dark. 

Kelsey…