This is a story about a man. A man who learns a very valuable lesson about friendship. Of course, you have learned many lessons about friendship before arriving here, but it is only fair that I teach you one, that perhaps you have not learned yet.
It will take some time, as all stories do. However, I'm sure if you stick through to the end you'll be quite surprised. So take a seat, if you aren't already. Keep the thoughts of your work out of your mind. Be mindful of the clock, we wouldn't want you to be late for work. I promise I won't take up very much of your time.
If you have to leave, just try and remember where you are. Don't worry, I'll help you remember. You and I are going to go on a journey together. And this journey begins with a small boy, named Kayl Jayden.
Kayl was a boy born with no brothers or sisters. His father is a lawyer, serious and straight minded. He is loving as a father, but doesn't grasp comedy as well as most should. He is by no means a bad person, but not a very emotional one. Still he is a good father, who has taught Kayl about things like responsibility, time management, and staying clean.
His mother, a biologist, who loves every plant like a child. She isn't very big on humor either, but she would always try to tell funny stories to make Kayl happy. Kayl thought that the stories were quite boring, but his mother had always taught her not to be rude when someone is telling a story. Kayl's mother taught him how to be cautious, careful, and especially tactful about life.
Despite these very valuable lessons, Kayl did not have the chance to learn many of the lessons of friendship that you and I have grown to learn. There were stories of Equestria in his life, no lessons about pets, galas, dresses, or para-sprites Such things didn't interest the Jayden household. Still, as any young boy would be, Kayl grew up going to a charter school. He received a good education, and he even made friends.
Now this might seem a bit much to focus on, but I assure you it has all of the importance in the world when it comes to understanding who Kayl is. One day, he was getting picked on by a bully at school. No matter where kids go, there are always going to be those who think that they can get what they want through force. On this day, Kayl had a pocket full of lunch money that he wasn't willing to give up.
Just as the boys were ready to pounce the smaller and younger Kayl, a group of other boys and girls rushed up and chased the bully off! They were classmates that Kayl had spent time with in class, and had tried to be polite to. These were his first friends.
They continued to go through school together, talking friendly to each other, sharing stories, having sleep overs, and Kayl learned that he could quickly garner attention by simply being polite with people. At least, the kind of attention that he wanted.
Kayl grew up a smart boy, he knew the difference between right and wrong. He knew that people were worth more than trash, and should be treated as such. But what he didn't foresee in his high school years is that friends can sometimes turn sour.
He had planned to run for student body president. All of his friends told him he would be great for the job. Kayl wanted all of his friends to help, he knew that if everyone could help him, that he would be able to convince the whole school that he was the best boy for the job.
Now, Kayl would never learn what happened to his friends. On the night of a big rally, when everyone was supposed to show up, only one friend showed up that day. Kayl became furious, but he was also confused. As I said, Kayl grew up as a smart boy. He looked past the problem and wondered how it could be that friends would betray him. After everything he had done for the others, then why? What was the point of having friends if they can't show up in your time of need?
Kayl finished high school with high marks, mostly due to the fact that he put everyone else that he knew behind him. However, the one friend who did show up that night stuck around. Her name was Barbara. I'm only telling you this name because it would have been rude not to explain who she was. I don't want you to think too much about her right now. Just try and remember the name and we'll come back to it later I promise.
Kayl went to college and learned business. He studied economics, marketing, management, team building, and generally a whole mess of things that I personally would have died from. Kayl had grown up as a smart boy, and it only made sense that he grew up as a bright man as well. High school and college had taught him that people were worth only for what they could offer. He soon saw people as something to be managed. This didn't mean that Kayl was cruel, in fact many thought of him as very caring.
He was not, and is not however, a caring, generous, or even loyal person. Kayl would often think that those who he was befriending would never really know that they were not his friends. And as he graduated from college at the top of his class, he had garnered a circle of allies to whom he could rely on.
He built strong connections with which he used to find a good job. He even met a nice girl whom he decided to date near the end of college, her name is Beth, at the moment they just had an argument but we'll get to that soon. Sadly, the only reason Kayl could find to accept these terms, was that he knew that any respecting leader had a significant other at their side to show that they weren't completely unlikable.
He kept his form trim, healthy, thin, and respectable. He drank when appropriate, ate salads and then joked with everyone that Beth would leave him if didn't stay in shape. Occasionally, he would “give in” and go out for a burger. Though honestly, it didn't matter to him one way or another. On his vacations, he would stay home. “Too tired from work” he would always say, and then laugh when they would try and take work from him. He kept his hair short and trim, because no respectable businessman has long hair.
Kayl quickly found work at a corporate sales firm. He had good connections, but he also had good sense. He rapidly grew through the ranks, out stepping those who had even been at the firm twice as long as he had. But for every person who held a grudge against him there were five more who thought they were his best friend. As much as Kayl knew, he had no real enemies. If he did, they posed no threat to his impenetrable circle.
I know we've been covering a lot of exposition, and you've been very polite so far. I promise you, these lessons that Kayl had previously learned are what made him who he is now. You may wonder where his parents were through all of this? Well of course they were there, but as I established, his parents were very serious minded people. His mother thought more of a grain of sand then of her neighbors. His father cared not for people much at all. To him, only his family was worth something. Neither truly took the time to teach Kayl about friendships.
Of course, I did say that Kayl would learn a lesson about friendships didn't I? Perhaps I should be clearer. He is going to learn several lessons about friendships. However, you all might learn a lesson about friendships as well. Any of you who already know the stories might already want to ask Kayl how he could not see the magic of friendship. To this, I'll tell you that it would take a moment of cosmic alignment to bring Kayl to the right stage to hear the words be told.
Now we have focused a great deal on what Kayl “has done” and “has learned”. It's time we left the past and moved into the present. Each and every second of time that passes will tell of the lesson to be learned. But we still have a bit of catching up to do. So please sit still a while longer, and I promise you'll be able to take a break soon.
Kayl learned in business that there are three ways to gain allies. The first was simply to ask “How are you doing?”
“Oh well thank you Kayl, it's nice of you to ask” would reply one of his associates, I suppose she can be called Stephanie since I'm just grabbing for names at the moment really. And honestly, Kayl never really cared about who was who and who had what problems anyway.
“I'm doing well Kayl, but I'm worried about the reports that are due next week”
“Well don't let it overwhelm you.” He would often reply, “As I always say, you can't take the whole world on your own.”
He would always get a smile from this. And such things would be repeated until the target was content again.
The second way to make allies, is to remain tactful. You and I might know that tact is a valuable tool when you're dealing with someone you don't like. But what about honesty? No, not for Kayl. Honesty was the quickest way to insult someone because they didn't want to hear that what they had was rubbish. Kayl was always thinking strategically. Every conversation was steps on a dance floor.
“Kayl, what do you think of the Lebowski report that I filed last week?” His boss would come and ask. When it came to work, Kayl was always on top of each thing that came and went. Of course, when your boss is coming to you to ask what they think of the report that they filed. They aren't looking for your approval, or your criticism, but rather just something thoughtful and well said.
“Well it was certainly informative, although I think we'll all agree that your work on the Smith account was the best I've ever seen”
The boss would light up at Kayl's words. Kayl, honestly couldn't care about Smith or Lebowski. To him they were both just two names of people who the boss wanted to hear.
I'm trying not to ramble here, but I hope you catch my meaning. The third way that Kayl knew to make allies, was by constantly giving the resemblance that he was “open” and “hospitable”. It wouldn't be enough for Kayl to simply go to work and then go home. You don't make allies that way. You certainly don't make friends that way, but we already established that Kayl didn't care about that.
So every now and then, Kayl would invite people over after a big account was finished, and everyone on the project took the weekend off. There would be music, drinking, dancing, and Kayl would recite the same old dance routines he had learned from his classes.
This was the hardest of the routines Kayl had to follow. Beth, that girlfriend he has, had always bugged him about moving in together, but Kayl would always talk his way out of the big commitment talk. Inviting everyone over to his house was a different thing all together.
And so it came to one particular party, where we find ourselves quickly approaching the present. The party was in full swing, and Kayl had welcomed everyone in. Several people were watching videos on the Smart TV. Others were simply around and talking. Some people were asking Kayl what he thought about politics and television shows.
Truth be told, Kayl never watched or cared about any politics. He voted along the lines of his work, and watched only a few highlights of things to remain in the know. Kayl had moved his whole life around the aspect of forcing people to think that he was the greatest man in town.
But there were two people who knew better. Beth, who after dating the man for five years was growing very tired of being ignored. She knew very well that Kayl had no wish to move in together, and Kayl was starting to suspect that she was knowing better about Kayl than he wanted.
The other is Barbara. Barbara went to school with Kayl, and she constantly kept in touch with him. This annoyed Kayl above anything else, but deep with in the core of Kayl, there was a small part of him that remembered that Barbara was the one that showed up that night in high school Barbara didn't work for the same company as Kayl did, but she was always invited to his parties, much to the disagreement of Beth, of course.
But, I'm forgetting myself, I mentioned earlier that Kayl and Beth were having a fight. I apologize if you wanted me to tell more about it then, but these stories take time, and if you rush into these things then you lose track of what's really important, and that's not even happened yet. But yes, they had a fight.
It began as a joke. Someone mentioned that the place was far too clean to be Beth's house.
“Oh, but it isn't. Kayl and I aren't living together. Weren't we going to talk more about that, dear?”
Kayl had gotten out of his last argument with Beth by insisting that they would find time to talk about it later. Kayl, for all his good intentions to actually have that conversation, had gotten wrapped up in the party.
“Sorry darling, you're right. I suppose it would be rude to regale everyone with our plans...”
Oh, but Beth was not so slow. She didn't want Kayl for money, though he had earned quite a bit. She wanted to know Kayl more, and she had finally learned that Kayl, for all his good intentions, was an astoundingly rotten liar.
“No, we wouldn't want to be rude to the guests. Certainly these guests are the most important thing in your life. You put off everything for your...guests...you can't even go and visit your grandparents because you have to have your silly party”
Beth began to get weepy eyed. For all of “her” good intentions, she didn't know how to stand strong. Others at the party started to worry, one person even asked if it was true.
“Of course not!” Kayl insisted. “It's true I care about all of you very much, but I don't see that as a crime?” He tried to keep his cool, but Beth needed to shut it or else he was going to have a lot of explaining to do.
“Then why do you keep ignoring me!? I want to move in with you! I want to marry you, damn it Kayl! But you're so damn afraid of it that you have to rush off to your parties and invite your tramp friend along with!”
There was a definite silence that fell over the room. Kayl wasn't a stranger to anger. He had become furious with people, even after his time in high school But he learned that anger had to be expressed intelligently, or else it would ruin his allies. But he didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure how to make Beth happy, while keeping others happy. He began to mutter that he didn't realize it was a problem when he heard movement behind him.
Barbara stormed out of the room, and Kayl was frozen. He knew Barbara wanted to be his friend. And he knew that Barbara knew better of him. Kayl turned back to Beth and asked if they could just talk about it later.
“You want to talk about it later!?” She snarled as she grabbed her coat from the closet. “Fine, I'm sure you'll have something nicely recited then!” And with that she left. Barbara, Beth, and there were still people looking at him. Some were looking at him with concern, but others, who didn't really like the position that Kayl held, were more spiteful.
“I apologize everyone. I think it would be best if everyone went home.” Kayl's blank face couldn't muster the energy to even fake his emotions, and with in a few minutes. Everyone had said their goodbyes, some even told Kayl to cheer up, while others said nothing. Finally, Kayl was left alone in his house.
And so, Kayl did the only thing that he could think of. He opened up bottle after bottle and started to drink. In better light, Kayl would have known this was a terrible idea, but Kayl wasn't truly thinking at the moment.
Beth was probably not going to want to listen to Kayl say that he's scared of commitment. He knew he had used that line before, recently in fact. As Kayl tried to think what he could tell Beth to make her happy he began to see no through that mess. Beth was the first woman that Kayl had been significant with, and for a moment, he wondered if he really only saw Beth as an ally. After all, if Beth had been anyone else, he would have simply left her and explained to everyone at work that Beth and him weren't the same.
But it was Barbara that plagued his thoughts more. He had known what Beth had thought of her. Barbara would call late, and when she did Kayl would often have to get defensive. Barbara knew very well how Kayl saw others. And for the longest time, Kayl knew he wanted to preserve something with Barbara that he couldn't get with any ally. He would tell Beth the story from high school, and that she had been he only true friend, and that would work for a while. And then the phone calls would come again.
Now Barbarba was sure to think that she had been expendable. Again, had it been anyone else, they would have been right. Kayl didn't want to see Barbara go, or Beth. And now, he was going to have to go to work on Monday and try to explain to everyone that Beth was stressed out, or perhaps something worse.
“Lies on top of lies, my boy” Thought Kayl to himself. “You're a right mess you are.”
It was just at that time that Kayl had forgotten where he was. He knew he was in his house, but he was in a room he had been using for storage. There were things cluttered around the room, and he didn't recognize most of them at first. However, he did recall at one point he had made Beth happy by moving things into his house. But that had been months ago, and that appeasement quickly ran out when he ignored the problem again.
Kayl found a chair from a corner and placed it in the middle of the room. He couldn't recall when, but he also had a case of beer with him, of which he had already drank over a dozen of them, and was ready to pass out all together. And now we find our hero, sitting in a chair, alone in a room, wondering how in the world he could possibly make his life better now that everything had come out.
“No more lies Kayl” He told himself, “No more running. But what can I do?”
The room was silent, as rooms are not meant to do more then bounce sounds off walls and return them to their owners. As it was, Kayl found himself poised with his own question. But one part of the room caught his eye more than the others.
It was a mirror, ornate, jeweled, with polished oak and even marble. Kayl knew at once that it was not his, he wouldn't have allowed anything so exotic in his home. Kayl chose art that was tasteful and well themed, something he knew Beth would have ruined had he allowed her to move in. But the mirror drew him closer, as if each negative thought he put out was just another reason for him to step closer to it. And being incredibly drunk, Kayl had nothing really else to do.
The low hum of the air conditioner in the midst of the summer evening was all the sound he heard at first, but with each step he took towards the mirror, he felt as if he could hear laughter and screams of thrills and singing. He saw lights on in the house next door, and figured that he wasn't the only one having a party that night. But such a thing could not draw his attention for longer.
“Well Kayl, you've ignored everything else in your life. But you will not ignore this mirror. Which speaking off...whose is it?” Kayl spoke quietly into the mirror.
“It's mine...” Answered the mirror.
As Kayl reached out to touch the mirror, the world around him suddenly went black. He was sure that he had simply blacked out, or would have been sure had he recalled the story later. But after a moment he felt the rush of air around him. He felt like he was falling, or soaring. He could feel his hair grow and sweep around his face. His body lurched forward and he felt his skin bristle like pins and needles. And as he started to feel a terrible pain, he saw a bright light ahead of him, and without any control, flew right to it.
When the light subsided his eyes were still closed, and soon he felt the hard floor greet his body. His body lay limp and in pain. He felt weird, and he coughed exasperatedly. As he was opening his eyes for the first time, he expected to see himself at the bottom of some stairs. Instead he found himself in a much different place, and someone was calling out to him.
“Hello! Who's there!? Are you hurt?” The gentle voice called.
“Barbara?” Kayl answered, his voice was horse.
“No, I'm Twilight Sparkle. But who are you?”
Kayl began to panic, he wasn't in his own home, and whoever he had fallen in with was probably a hippie. He looked around, but it was very dark, though he could make the outline of shelves around him, wood floors, desks piled with books lit up by the moon.
“I can't see very well...”
“Oh!” The voice jumped with surprise, “I'm sorry. Spike! Can you go get the lights for us?”
There was a loud yawn, and a short whining voice replied, “Yeah yeah, keep your hooves on.”
Kayl started to breath heavily. And as he tried to stand he found it especially hard to. He kept tripping over his feet, that felt like they had been taken clean off. He was numb with alcohol perhaps, at least as far as he could tell. But nothing would have prepared him when lights suddenly filled the room.
Kayl looked up to where the voice had come from, and there was no woman but a horse. A purple horse, with a purple main, a purple horn, and purple wings.
And as the horse descended the stairs, the last words Kayl heard before he passed out kept him disturbed in his dreams. The same gentle voice that he had heard from a now smiling horse creature.
“What a mess you've found yourself in haven't you?”