Chapter 1 - A Dream Come True
I stood before them. Six faces, their gazes locked on to mine. After all these years I knew they were always there, waiting for me. I wasn’t watching a silly show anymore; no, I was finally living it.
They surrounded and watched me, my eyes filled with tears; these were not tears of sorrow. These were tears of joy and disbelief. I was in what appeared to be Princess Celestia’s castle. How did I end up here?
Sweat was beading on my forehead. Is this real? Real or not, I knew what I needed to do. I slowly started to walk towards the ponies, and looked each pony in the eye as I passed by.
Fluttershy, attempting to avoid direct eye contact, had her mane over her eyes. She occasionally gave me a timid side look, even managed to smirk a little. I could not be offended by that; after all, that is just the way she behaved.
Then there was Rainbow Dash, slightly off the ground using her wings to keep her levitated. She had such boldness in her eyes; it felt like a competition just to see who would break eye contact first. I almost considered to take off running the other direction just to see if she would chase me, but I decided that would be silly.
Rarity stood with such posh, yet not snobbishly like other regal ponies. ‘Twas impossible to miss the elegance brimming off of her. Yet her physical beauty was merely a compliment to the golden heart she possessed.
Applejack. You take one look at her, and you know that you can't go wrong when choosing her as a friend. She'd be the best you could ever have. It seemed like she was going to lunge at me just to shake my hand. After all, she likes meeting new people, well, new ponies.
Perhaps the brainiac Twilight Sparkle could explain as to why I am here? She definitely had to know something; yet she stood there, her face shining with a cheerful look.
At the end of the line of ponies was Pinkie Pie. Regardless of the tears in my eyes, she returned to me the most ridiculous smile I have ever seen. She was doing tiny little hops as I was walking towards her; my heart skipped a few beats as well.
I was so excited to see all the ponies, and yet I was nervous. I’ve studied these ponies for who knows how long; the countless minutes turned to hours, hours turned to days, to weeks, to years; all what seemed to be in vain. But now in this very moment, I stand before them.
To think that they were finally mine. To think that I was finally theirs.
Pinkie was about 2 feet away from me with the other ponies behind my back. I looked Pinkie in the eyes, and she looked straight back at me with a toothy grin. I could no longer could restrain myself any longer; it was time to find out if this was real. I extended my arms as far as I could to give Pinkie the biggest hug she would ever receive. It is almost as if she knew what I wanted, because as soon as I spread my arms, she jumped at me to sneak the hug away.
Something happened.
As soon and my arms folded around her, she vanished. I looked down right where she was supposed to be, but she was certainly gone. “What?!” I sharply glanced over my right shoulder and then slowly started to turn around.
All vanished. No ponies. Nothing. I no longer found myself in the castle; no, it was now an abysmal darkness.
SLAM
My phone fell off the nightstand, buzzing on the hard floor. I laid there, knowing it was just an all too familiar dream again. There is a certain bliss from these dreams, but I always feel depressed after the dream is done. I was so close, and yet I was so far away.
“Another day, another paycheck,” is what my father used to say, until...
As I was lugging myself out of bed, his words always seemed to come to mind when I prepared myself for work. The words themselves never did encourage me to work harder or anything. Probably just the thought of my father telling me is what comforted me. From what I remember, he was a tall man with blonde hair and light scruff on his chin. If you were to open any model magazines, you would see a lot of wannabes of my father. He was no model, however. He just worked a simple job in an office. He was an assistant manager so he had a pretty steady income. He used it to support myself and…my mother. Now that my father is not around anymore, I have to support myself.
I quickly showered then ate a granola bar. I was never the kind of guy that liked having a big breakfast; I would much rather just grab something and munch on that. Besides, I was much too groggy in the morning to actually be able to focus on cooking something. I took a step outside my small house to see a lonely field. Living in the country had its benefits along with its disadvantages. I considered myself an introvert, so the space and freedom is nice. However, the town being about 20 miles away was inconvenient when I had to go shopping. The factory I worked at was also located inside the same town.
“Heh...another day, another paycheck,” I said as I smirked while pulling up to the factory.
I was at my workstation where I bend metal. Definitely exciting as it sounds. All the tired employees do the same thing as I do, bend metal and go home. It’s the best job I can get considering that I never finished high school. Not that I am dumb; much as I really wanted to finish it, there were some...situations that did not allow me to.
My mother used to tell me when I was little, “Honey, I know how much you would rather be doing something else other than homework. But please, do it for me.” I somehow found that reasonable as a child and I did my homework. But as soon as I was done, I would do a belly flop on my couch to watch Pokemon or play some video games! Those days were the best days of my life; how I yearned to go back. The days where nothing could go wrong, the days where I had the innocence of childhood. But, I guess that was before...it happened.
“Hey!” My boss yelled at me. I was daydreaming again, straying from what I was supposed to do. In my childhood, I was never yelled at, at least during the day. However over the night, everything contrasted. My dad became a very angry man, and my mom cried more…and more. I could not comprehend what was taking place in front of me. At that moment…I didn't realize that it would be my last moments of innocence. I badly yearn for my lost innocence.
Maybe I even yearn for the innocence of a -
“Are you even listening?!”
I didn’t realize it, but I spaced out again and was not paying attention to my job. If the production line was not backed up before, it sure is now!
“Ah, so sorry!” My voice was a bit louder than I expected, due to the shock of the line being crammed up.
“One more mess up like this, and I’m sorry, but you’ll be fired.” My boss said.
“Won’t happen again!” I said, while I knew full well it was a half lie.
Promising that I would not get lost in my thoughts is a really difficult task. I was always a dreamer, a deep thinker. My boss shrugged his shoulders and walked off. I need to concentrate all my focus and attention in order to catch up.
Finally after a long day at work, I returned to my house. My hand ached, my feet were sore from standing on concrete floor all day, and my eyes were woozy. I plopped down onto my comfortable chair in front of my computer. Before me, was what I called my life. While it booted up, I started to think about my parents again. Usually I do not think of them so frequently, but today was different. I remember the good times I used to have with them, the three of us. Mother. Father. Son. My life now…it seems like…a shell of my former self.
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My dad tried his best to be a good father; yet the temptation was just too great for him to tolerate. My dad…he went out one night to go watch a football game with his friends. He never returned home that night.
Everything changed.
He came back home the next day. Mom and I were sitting on the couch watching television. He came through the door, emitting the smell of alcohol. My mom heard him enter and just about passed out as she saw him in the face. Being the responsible mom, she sent me to my room so they could discuss.
That’s when the shouting began, and I knew it would never be the same.
It has been a week after that ordeal and my dad never visited me anymore. “Where are you daddy?” My mom tires to comfort me to the best of her ability, but I could only imagine what she was going through. I heard her crying during the night; I knew it best to leave her alone.
Although I was a child at the time, I often look back in regret. I always think to myself that there could have been something that I could have done.
My dad never came back to my mom.
They got divorced.
It hurt.
It hurt me so bad.
I kept living with my mom; I was young so I did not fully comprehend it at the time. But not seeing my dad still made me want to tear up. She tried to make me as happy as she could even though the situations were grim. When I asked her about dad, she seemed to shrug it off and say “Don’t worry, honey, you and me can live happily together forever.”
One month passed. My mom is in the hospital. The doctor told me that she has been taking care of herself and she is very sad, she might not be around for much longer. But she takes care of me, and she smiles. The doctor must have been playing a joke on me.
The doctor said it was alright if I were to go in and talk to mom. I went into the room still thinking the doctor was being silly and this was all just an act to make me laugh. Maybe I felt this way because I did not want to accept the truth.
"Mommy, the doctor told me that you might die."
My mom turned her head towards me, her eyes barely open. "Don't be silly, of course I won't die."
"Mommy, I'm worried!" I blurted.
"You have such a gentle heart, you always have." She broke her eye contact with me to look down towards her feet. "There is no need to be worried, Mommy will be fine. I promise we will be home in a few days."
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October 10th at 08:20PM – My mom took her last breath.
I cried, I cried for a very…very long time.
“Was... Was I a bad boy? What did I do? Why is this happening to me?”, I asked the only person who was there for me, the nurse. She tried to comfort me so I would calm down. But I would brush off her feeble attempts. I didn’t blame her, I knew she was doing her job.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Why am I so alone?”
“The other kids look so happy, why can’t I have a normal life?”
I’ve always heard rumors that people could die over heartbreak. But I didn’t believe it, that is, until...she died.
I felt like giving up. Maybe even to the point of death. I didn't know she was so sad, she always looked so happy. If only I had done something to help, if only I had known...
I reflect upon those days, still wondering if I could have changed everything. Maybe my father would not have left. Maybe my mother might still be alive and here with me.
Here I sit at my computer; it’s all I have. It is the only thing that has not left me. Even though I sat there feeling empty, I knew I could always rely on one thing to fill the void. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. There was just something about the show that hooked me in. I started watching it because I consider myself a cartoon enthusiast; cartoons always brought me back to my childhood. But what was it about My Little Pony that made it stand out from the others?
This world is concentrated with hatred and deceit. Yet, Equestria is a world full of love and friendship. Why is our world so dark, when theirs is full of life?
Even though it sounds ridiculous, I cannot help but believe something.
A show with such presentation could not have been drawn from pure fiction.
Somewhere... there are ponies. Somewhere... there is an Equestria.
“They have to be out there…” I said as I realized I forgot to turn my monitor on so I was staring at a blank screen. I turned it on and went to the central brony news hub. “Trixie, Trixie, Trixie, Story,” I said as I scrolled down the page.
But the brony community was not just the typical fanbase; how could I even label this as a fanbase?
It was my family...my only family.
They accepted me with open hands, and I am eternally grateful. If ponies were not real, how could it affect so many people the way it did? It gave me something to hope for in my life. Ridiculous as it may sound, I believe in it.
creak
Suddenly, all my thoughts left me as I heard the noise. What was that? It sounded as if it came from upstairs. I slowly got out of my cozy chair and on to my feet, taking my time to get up being very observant to my surroundings to see if I can hear something again.
creak
There it was again; it seemed like it was coming from upstairs. I started to take very slow steps toward the stairwell. "I'm probably just being dumb", I whispered to myself with a slight smile. Slowly creeping up the stairs, I continued to hear the sound. The house was pretty old so it really was no shocker that I hear sounds. "It's just my imagination," I whispered again even though I continued to sneak towards the sound. Part of me wanted it to be someone - no. Not someone. Somepony. The thought of that put a full smile on my face as I entered the room that had the sound.
To no surprise there was nothing in the room except a couch and a chair. The original plan for the room was to make it into a guest room, but I never have guests. Still being tired from work, I plopped myself on the couch. This was a change of scenery; I never did go into this room to rest. There was one other room upstairs which was my bedroom, that was also quite bare.
I started thinking, what would I do if I actually did find a pony? What if I came in my house and Pinkie Pie had a surprise party for me? What if Twilight wanted to read...or better yet, write a book with me? And when I was writing a book with Twilight, Rainbow Dash would come in and call me an egghead. I wouldn’t even be offended, I would be...happy.
Thinking of the happy thoughts put a smile on my face as I started to lay down and eventually started to doze off on the sofa.
So begins another dream...
A dark room, I could only see red carpet that led up to a throne. None other than Princess Celestia was seated before me in the throne. She had a smile as she looked at me, she almost looked like she had something to say...but she did not. We gazed into each others eyes until she eventually broke our interlocking eyes and looked down. Shortly after looking down, she looked to the left where there was a reasonably sized picture with a figure in the middle. I was the figure on the picture. I looked happy, and I had a strange necklace on my neck in the picture. It was a silver necklace with a gem at the end. I swear I have seen the gem before. It was a pink star with 6 points. Behind me, were 5 other gems, all different shapes and colors. As I looked back at Celestia, her smile was completely gone. I have never seen her look so serious in any of the shows, so why was I seeing her like this. It seemed like a minute passed when I heard her faint voice, however her lips didn't move. It was hard to make out what she said the first time, but it was clearly audible the second.
"Find us."
As she said that, the mane six slowly started to fade in, appearing beside her. As they were appearing, however, the room faded until the point to where all I could see was black. Having somewhat of a lucid dream, I realized the dream was over and woke myself up.
It felt like I was only sleeping for five minutes but lying there, I thought to myself that that dream seemed...real. I know all dreams feel real, but this one almost made me feel uneasy. I went to check my phone that was located in my pocket.
"Huh, what’s this?"
There was something else in my pocket. What could this be? I pulled it out but it was too dark in the room so I couldn't see, but I could see that it was a little shiny and smooth to the touch. "Is this...is this the...no..." I stuttered to myself. I rushed downstairs to where it was brighter, I looked at it and saw...to my disappointment, just a boring piece of metal. It must of fell into my pocket at work. "Getting all worked up at a piece of metal..." I said to myself as I snickered and connected a palm unto my face.
I continued to walk into the kitchen to get a glass of water, but then I noticed a rock on my table.
Being in full light I knew exactly what it was.
As I creeped up closer to it, I could not believe my eyes.
It was one of the gems from my dream.
It was real.
Making the epiphany, I withdrew from the gem backwards only to topple over my couch to met the hard floor. As I laid there half dazed, I couldn't even get my thoughts together to focus. I had so many questions that I knew I could not answer.
I got up and immediately went back to the gem. On closer inspection, it glittered unnaturally. Almost as if there was some sort of magic on it. I picked it up, and as I pulled it closer to my face, my smile grew bigger and bigger, just like Pinkie’s when she first experienced joy. Before I knew it, I was doing one of Twilight's famous dorky dances. But I didn't care how stupid I looked.
"They are real!" I shouted as I shed tears of joy, "I knew it!"
After the joyous celebration, I got more serious and started to ponder on how this gem came into my world and what my dream meant. I wanted to stay up to study about this, but my body said otherwise as the fatigue kicked in. It would be best to get shut eye and then tomorrow morning I can try to figure this out.
Saturday morning arrived, and my sleep was lacking because I was too excited. It's been so long since I have been so giddy. I had all day to figure out how this gem from my dream became real. I assumed that because my dream was real, Equestria was also real. I have seen this gem before, so it must of been off one of the shows. Skipping a shower and breakfast, I went right to watching the first episode of My Little Pony. "The Elements of Harmony!" I exclaimed as I looked at the gem in my hand. It was the Element of Magic.
Equestria was real.
I sat back in my chair, in complete joy. I could not contain it anymore. I burst out laughing, this was too good to be true.
But it was true.
As always, the questions appeared shorty after. Why the Element of Magic? I guess it’s magic obviously that it got here in the first place...but could the answer be that simple? Magic? The gem and the dream..were both simply magic? What happened to the other elements?
But the most important question...How would I get to Equestria? My resources, the internet fanbase, and the show, were outdated in my opinion. I was living a life of magic while everyone else was still living mediocre lives.
I knew what I had to do. The only way I could find out how this happened is to find one of the ponies and ask them.
It seemed so unrealistic, but now it’s possible - no, certain. I knew Celestia would know that I would be searching for them, she specifically asked me in the dream. What made me different from everyone else?
That's it! Too many questions and not enough answers. "It's time for me to go." I said out loud boldly while standing up.
As I stood there confident, I felt like a goof because I had no idea where to start. Almost as if it was whispered in my ear at the same time I said it, I said "Just go."