“Oak? Are you done packing your things? We’re leaving in a hour or so, so you better start hustling.”
“All right mom.”
Mindlessly, I shuffled through the piles of dirty clothes and other belongings before me, deciding which should go in the trash and which I should take with me. At least I have that much control over my life.
I sat down on my bed, fiddling with a stray sock I found on the floor, and thought about the past couple of weeks. I finally graduated from my elementary school with flying colors.I no longer have to deal with the kids that give me grief every day since I ever started school. After school ended, I hung out with my small circle of friends the entire summer. Me, Jerry, and Urnie have been best friends since 3rd grade, and we did everything together. When the jerks in our school would harass one of us, the rest of us would help cheer him up, no matter what. Every summer we would hang out, but this summer was extra special since we graduated 8th grade. We would never have to go to our crummy middle school ever again. What’s better, we’re all going to the same high school, so we can still be together.
Or at least that’s what I thought.
My parents told me two weeks before school started that we were moving away.
They said that Louis K. high school was a terrible school, with a low graduation rate of 76%, and that they want better for me. They told me about this other school, Canterlot High, and said that it was the best school in the district. I didn’t want none of it. I argued that my only two friends were going to Louis K, and I wanted to be in the same school with people I know. Then they started spewing crap about how, “I can make new friends”, and that, “They’ll be fine without you.” I wanted to argue more, but they said that it was too late. Their mind was made up and that we were moving to another house closer to Canterlot High.
I knew that my time with Jerry and Urnie was running short, and that I have to tell them myself what’s going on instead of their parents telling them. I called both of them the night before the move, and told them to meet me at the park at six, and that they better show up.
I went to the park 30 minutes before just to make sure I’m not making them wait. I went to our usual hangout spot, the tree by the soccer field, and found out that they had the same idea as well. “Hey Oak,” Urnie said.”what’s up?”
“Yeah, I was having a sandwich before you called,” Jerry said.
I took a good look at my fellow comrades for what could be our last meeting. Jerry a little on the scrawny side, but anyone could look skinny if they’re over 6 feet tall. His height is the primary reason he gets teased, that and his underdeveloped muscles. Couldn’t do more than 5 push-ups, but he is a pretty smart guy. Not Einstein smart, but above average. Urnie has the strength and the average intelligence, but is pretty obese.(also the primary reason he is a outcast) Jerry and Urnie are pretty cool when you get to know them. Jerry like to read a lot and Urnie likes to play board games and video games and pretty much anything that’s under the category of “games”. Jerry likes to run and Urnie the more stay-at-home type. I took a long look at the two guys that made my life bearable.
“Uh, Oak?” Urnie asked.
“Yeah,” I said, remembering all the good times we had together.
“You’ve been staring at us for the past couple of seconds. It’s getting creepy.”
“Oh, right,” I said, shaking out of my reverie.
“Soooo.”
“So what?” I asked naively.
Jerry was getting impatient. “You called us to come over here to talk. What is it?”
“Oh, right.” I deflated a little. Jerry and Urnie looked at each other with blank faces, then simultaneously said to me, “What’s wrong?”
I told them that I was going to go away to another school, that I had to move away and that right now could be the last time that they ever see me again. I knew that they were upset. The more I explained, the sadder they got, and when I was done, they had full-blown frowns on their faces. “Are you sure you’re going away?” Jerry asked as he sat down to take all the information in. “You’re not messing with us, are you?”
“Jerry, you know that I would never joke about this kind of thing. You guys are my best friends in the entire world,” I pleaded, but I knew I was just depressing them more. Urnie looked at me in the eye and said with a straight face, “You said that we will always be best friends. That we will never leave each other.” “No Urnie, we can still be best friends-”
“But YOU LIED! LIAR! YOU ARE THE SCUM OF THE EARTH AND I DON’T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOU!” Urnie spat in my face. I was hurt. Urnie never yelled at anyone, and especially not at us.
At me.
At this point, the only option there was left was to leave. I ran from the park.I ran from my friends, my old life as I know it.
I ran from happiness, and I didn’t looked back.
I remembered each and every moment in vivid detail. I wanted to tell them that it wasn’t my fault. It was my parents’ doing. I wanted to tell them that if I had the choice to stay here, with my two best friends, or to leave to some “better future”, I would always choose friendship.
But it was too late. From that moment on, I have no friends. Again.
Also from that moment on, I knew two things in my life were certain:
1. I will never forgive my parents for the pain they caused me.
2. Canterlot High will be the worst thing that ever happened to me.
I know I’m being negative about this whole situation, but honestly, is there anything positive about this?
That’s what I thought.
I got up from my bed and started packing my belongings at a much faster rate, now fueled by my anger at the world. If they want to be like that, fine, I thought furiously, they could jump off a cliff for all I care. I looked to my side to find a picture frame,on the dresser, of Me, Jerry, and Urnie at the zoo. Urnie was eating a corn dog while pointing at the Lion exhibit , and me and Jerry were behind him because we were scared of the lion. I picked up the frame and soon warm memories came to me, followed soon by my hatred of their betrayal. I took out the picture from the frame and ripped it down the line, separating me from Jerry and Urnie. I shoved my half in my pocket and threw theirs in the waste basket. I am alone, and I will always be alone.
I closed the luggage and started my way down the stairs of the house.
Always.
I put my luggage in the mover van and went to the car, where my backstabbing parents are waiting. I got inside and didn’t say a word. Both my parents looked back at me with those sadistic smiles of theirs and said cheerfully, “Ready?” I looked at them with all the disgust I could muster. They stopped smiling. I smirked at myself for causing them to frown. Maybe I was the sadistic one?
It was Mom who spoke first. “Oak, listen-”
“Let it go Maple. He’ll come around soon enough.”
“But Red-”
“Trust me on this. He just needs to...adjust, that’s all. Just give him some space.”
The conversation ended, but not my hate for them both. Dad started the engine, soon leaving behind my home, as well as my memories made there. I didn’t want to look back, but I couldn’t help myself. I turned around to look at my house for the last time when I saw the most heart-wrenching thing in my entire life.
Jerry and Urnie waving good-bye.
After we pulled up to the new house, (which is similar in layout with my old one, so I didn’t have much trouble finding my way around) I packed away my things as best as I could, convinced myself that I’ll do it tomorrow, and laid down on my bed (which the movers just got in, as well as the rest of the heavy furniture.) I put my hands behind my head and thought about the events of today once again, the hate still bubbling inside me. I took out my phone and looked at my contact info. Even though Jerry and Urnie are no longer my friends, I couldn’t bring myself to trash their information. I just couldn’t. It was like, if I deleted it, I practically deleted them from existence. I know that I might need to talk to them one day. Hopefully, over time, they might forgive me for being a traitor, for making them lose their only friend they got. A small part of me wants their forgiveness more than anything.
The rest of me wants to ring their necks.
I rolled to the side. I didn’t do anything wrong! I thought. They should be begging at my feet for forgiveness, not the other way around! Fueled up with rage once again, I got up and grabbed the nearest object I could find: a shoe. It. Wasn’t. My. FAULT! and I threw the shoe at the wall.
The shoe cracked the wall.
I took deep, agitated breaths as I looked at the damage I done. It wasn’t a big crack, nothing more bigger than a forefinger, but it was big enough to be noticed. Luckily, the crack was located behind the door, so it was easily concealed. But I didn’t care about the damage.
I want revenge.
I do not like being ignored. I do not like being cast out.
And I especially do not like being betrayed.
Wait, what am I thinking?!?
I sat down on the bed again and tried to calm myself down. Am I thinking about causing harm to my friends? Soon, I became scared of myself. I had full intentions to hurt them in any way possible and I didn’t even think twice about it. I put my face in my hands.
I’m a monster.
I shook my head as if I had a bug on me. No, I’m not. I got up from my bed and took a good look at myself through the mirror I had in my room.
At 5’11”, I was almost as tall and wiry as Jerry, but not quite. I was as broad as Urnie, but not quite. I was… in the middle. I was not too wiry, but not too broad. Not too tall, but not too short like Urnie.
I’m average.
I took a deep breath and went back to my bed, this time for actual sleep. I turned off my bedside lamp. I needed to get as much sleep as possible.
I have school tomorrow, after all. Great.
I didn’t wake up in any special way, no vision of foretold danger or some destiny I had to fulfill. Just… average. I ate my breakfast: Cereal. I got all my stuff together and put it in my backpack. Canterlot High doesn’t have a specific dress code, so I put on a pair of worn blue jeans and a plain red shirt. After I made sure I had everything I needed, I waited by the door. “Mom!” I called, “I’m ready for school… I guess.”
“Go on ahead oak,” mom called from atop the stairs, “the school isn’t far away from here. Just head on down to the right of the house for a couple of blocks and you’ll find it.”
“Ok,” I yelled. “I love you!”
“Me too. Now go! You’re going to be late!”
“Alright,” I yelled again.”Bye.”
I walked in the direction Mom told me to walk and pretty soon, I… HOLY SMOKES, IT’S HUGE!
My jaw literally dropped.
It was a giant building with a statue of a horse standing on it’s rear ends at the front of it. It looked more like a castle than a school, with a round dome at the top center of it that also made it look like a observatory. I was surprised. No wonder it’s the best school in the district, I thought, just look at it! I deflated a little. I am going to get seriously lost.
Well, no point just standing here.
So with that in mind, I walked to the entrance of the school. I headed for the entrance when I saw the prettiest girl to ever walk the earth.
You wouldn’t really notice her through the crowd, since she’s passing out flyers for something by the statute and not really trying to stand out, but I could notice her from a mile away. She was wearing a plain white tank top and a green skirt with pink underlining and three butterflies on the bottom right corner, all different shades of pink. To top it off, she had green knee-high boots with pink socks. I’m in love.
I started towards her, but I remembered that I had to get to class by 8:30 A.M or I’ll be late. I looked at my watch. 8:20.
I got time.
I went to her, passing and bumping through the crowd of students around me, until I finally got through the crowd and was now in front of the statue.
There she was in all her beauty.
I made a straight beeline for her until I was right in front of her. My heart is beating at rates that aren't healthy, but I don’t care. This is fate. She is the silver lining to my stormy day, and I am not losing her that quickly.
I’m about to say something when she interrupted me with a flyer in my face.
“Um… excuse me… would you like to adopt these poor creatures? They are in desperate need of care and attention,” she whispered.
I took the flyer, so that I won’t seem rude. It had some pictures of dogs, cats, even a ferret. It also included a address to the location of the animal shelter and their website. I noticed that the girl had a huge stack of these flyers. She must volunteer at the local shelter, I thought. I smiled on the inside. She’s so nice.
“Um… I don’t mean to be rude… but why are you smiling?”
Crud. I smiled on the outside as well.
I wiped the smile off my face and asked her, “What’s your name?”
She grabbed her elbow with her other hand, looking very nervous all of a sudden. It made my heart melt. She’s so sweet. “Um… my name’s… Fluttershy,” she said in a small whisper.
“Uh, what was that?”
“I said my name’s… Fluttershy.”
Oh man, she was one of those really shy types. This might take a while.
“Look, I don’t want you to be nervous around me. I’m not a bad guy,” I said. She just kept looking down on the ground, looking extremely uncomfortable. “Maybe, if we got to know each other a little more, we can get along. Look, I’ll start: My name is Oak Wood,” then I reached out my right hand for a handshake.
Big mistake.
The girl let out a high-pitched squeak and backed off suddenly, as if I’m brandishing a knife. I put my outstretched hand down and looked down to the ground. I really am a monster. Then I did something I have never done in a long time: I cried.
They weren’t big, whooping cries. Just silent tears. They felt warm across my cheeks, and I couldn’t help wiping them. I did a couple of sniffles and kept rubbing at my eyes to stop the tears, before she looks at me, but I couldn’t. With all that was going on, I needed a little reassurance at I wasn’t some hell-bent monster who wanted to destroy everything he holds dear. But this chick, backing off like some abused animal backing off from it’s tormenter, really got me. I’m a monster, and even she knows it.
At this point, I stopped hiding my tears. I just let them fall, letting nature take it’s course. I looked up to see if the girl was still there, or if she left in fear of me. She was there all right, but what surprised me more was that she had tears in her eyes too.
She spoke in a shaky voice. “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings. I didn’t mean to make you upset. It’s just that I’m a little shy around strangers. I got scared when you came in front of me, so I kinda panicked,” she got close to me and gave me a hug. “My name is Fluttershy. It is very nice to meet you.”
Her embrace made me feel warm and fuzzy, inside and out. Since she was a little shorter than me, I had to bend down a little. She smelled like a flowers and, surprising enough, a mixture of different animals. She let go of me after a while and I was still shocked from the embrace. Fluttershy asked me, “Um… what was your name again?” “Oak Wood,” I said with a bit uncertainty.
“Okay, Oak Wood. Um… so would you like to help the animals?” she asked.
“Oh, uh, I can’t have pets in my house. My parents don’t like pets,” I said awkwardly.
“No, that’s ok. But can you help out at the shelter? They’ll really appreciate the extra help.
“Uh, sure. Yeah, I could do that-” that’s when I felt a soft tugging at my leg.
I looked down to see some form of blue energy around my leg. Before I could say anything, I felt a sharp tug that sent me sprawling on my back. “Oh, my!” Fluttershy exclaimed. Before I could recover, I was being dragged towards the base of the statue. “Hey! What the heck is going on? HELP!” I clawed at the ground and looked around for anything I could latch on to. I thought I was done for, but Fluttershy grabbed my hand and pulled against the unknown force. I looked back to see where the invisible force was taking me. To my horror, I realized that half my lower body was in the statute.
I was half-in the freaking statue!
With the unknown force tugging at my leg and Fluttershy pulling at my arm, I felt like I was going to be pulled apart. I’m surprised she was this strong, but I could feel her grip loosening. I have no idea what is going on, but my intuition told me that going in the statute would be bad. I don’t want to go in, but I don’t want Fluttershy to get dragged into wherever I was going. “Fluttershy, let go of me!” I pleaded.
“No! What if there’s something bad in there?” she squealed.
Hm, never thought of that.
But I couldn’t take the chance of dragging her along as well. I did the only thing I could think of: I pried her hands from me. “What are you doing?” she yelled. “I can’t drag you with me.” I yelled back. “You said so yourself, there could be something bad in there.” With all the strength I had, I pulled free, letting the invisible force take me. “See you!” and I was gone.
Fluttershy looked at the base of the statute for a long time, and didn’t stop until the bell rang. But how, she thought, It was supposed to be closed. I saw it close with the others…the others! Fluttershy grabbed her bag and hastily put the flyers in there, making sure to avoid hurting the critters she had in her backpack. She closed her pack and ran to the doors of Canterlot High. I must tell the others!
I woke up with sore legs and sore arms.
I looked around to see...a room. I was a bit dazed, so I didn’t take into detail the entire room, but from what I could see in my semi-conscious state, the room was made of crystal.
Crystal?
I turned around to find a mirror behind me. It was a very nice mirror, the frame being in the shape of a horseshoe. I tried to get up, but was too weak. I turned back around to find a white horse.
I nearly wet myself.
It was a large white horse, but it didn’t look like a horse you see on T.V or in a book. No, this horse was larger than myself, and had both wings and a horn on the top of it’s head. I must of hit my head really hard.
“Are you alright?” the horse asked.
It can talk?!?
My senses were sharp once again and my fatigue wear off instantly. I jumped up and tried to back away, but fell over. Something didn’t feel… right. I looked down and nearly jumped out of my skin.
I’m a horse!
From my hooves to the top of my head, I looked like a horse. The thing was, I was emerald green and when I looked around, I had wings.
I have freakin wings!
Before I could say or do anything, the horse lit up it’s horn with the same color aura like the one that grabbed my leg. “I am terribly sorry, but for this to work, you can’t remember anything about your world. I hope you make the best of this situation.” The horn grew brighter, then I saw a flash.
Then nothing.
I woke up in a field. I was a bit groggy, so I didn’t bother finding out where I am. I laid on my side to try to go back to sleep. I’m about to close my eyes ,but in the distance, I see a purple horse coming in my direction. As she came closer, I noticed that it had a look of concern on it’s face and was coming to me at a rather fast pace. I had a ringing in my ears, but I swear I could her a girl’s voice. When the horse got to me, it rolled onto my back, which was uncomfortable since there was something on my back. I tried to focus, but in my semi-conscious state, that was near impossible. I noticed the ringing stopped in my ears, so I could hear the voice clearly. It was coming from the purple horse.
“...going to get you some help, ok? Can you hear me? Listen, I will get you to the hospital as soon as I can. Just hang in there and let me get Rainbow Dash. She’s a much better flyer than I am. My name is Twilight Sparkle. What’s your name?”
Huh. Talking horses. Then I went back to sleep.