A New Element of Friendship
Did I Have To Grow Up?
Well, today was an interesting day. I can’t believe half the crap that’s happened to me. I feel as though I should start from the beginning. Otherwise, I’d confuse half of you. The other half would track me down for more information and I want to be left in relative peace and quiet. So, let’s back up to when I was a young colt, around the time I got my Cutie Mark to help explain my current situation.
I am a Pegasus, for those who cannot see me currently. As such, I was born in Cloudsdale, home to all flying races, but Pegasi seemed to be the most dominant. I had a loving mother and a caring father. I also had a normal childhood, as far as normal goes, and I never did too much outstanding. I got good grades, but I wasn’t a genius like some in the class. At least I could pay attention to the teacher, unlike Rainbow Dash. She wanted to fly faster than her previous time she set the day before. At the rate she was going, it’d be no wonder how fast she could do her job. She could even clear up the weather in about 10 seconds flat when push came to shove. Back then, she could only manage 17 seconds as the quickest.
I was never picked on by bullies for a while. Since Rainbow Dash, when we were young, took some kind of liking to me. She helped me fend them off until they got the message. That was actually how I ended up friends with Fluttershy as well. Even as shy as she is, which I suppose I should’ve seen coming (shy is in her name after all). If it wasn’t for the wings, she would be mistaken as an Earth Pony rather than a Pegasus. But for all her faults, she was very kind to me. I would always ask for her help when it came to animals, as she seems more interested in that than anything else. Though it was interesting on the last day of flight camp.
You see, bullies are sometimes too problematic. I got rid of mine with help and luck, but Fluttershy was a good target for them. It got so bad that Rainbow Dash had to beat them in a race in order for them to stay off of her. But, wow. What a race. It was going to be a normal race that always happens to her. But this one was special in more ways than one. From the word go, things went haywire. Rainbow Dash and the bullies sped right past Fluttershy and she took a sharp glide down into a plains area. Rainbow Dash, too preoccupied, started to beat the bullies one ring at a time. It got to the point where she was almost a blur. She went through the final hurdle so fast, I could swear she left a rainbow trail behind her. It soon became true, as she got to the point of extreme speed that she broke the sound barrier. Then, a rainbow sonic blast came from that, having her leave behind a trail of a physical rainbow. She got her Cutie Mark right then and there, but for me, I was inspired to do something as mind-blowing as that as well.
A few months roll around and a talent show was up in the works at the school. I had thought about not entering when I remembered the Sonic Rainboom Rainbow had made. I wanted to try and find something It was awesome to show off to the other kids. So I signed up for the talent show and tried to find something I was good at. It took me a few attempts, but I began to notice a pattern after a while. If I picked up an instrument, I wouldn’t know the first thing about how to play them. Yet I always seemed to play a song from start to finish without missing a note or beat. Each time, I would play the same song on a different instrument. I would sometimes have to adjust the song to be able to play. I even played instruments I’ve only heard of until I got them for the first time. Despite that, I was still able to play the same song. It took me a while to figure out the song I was playing. I picked one out at random to play, after all. It then hit me after the fifth instrument. It was the Cloudsdale national anthem. It took a few more instruments, but I was right.
I then had an interesting idea. I wanted to try and play a different song on the instrument that I heard once when I was a younger foal. I tried it, and to my surprise, it had worked. I even sang the song from memory and got it 100% right, no mistakes whatsoever. I then asked my parents for some of their classical music and for a violin. I had asked so that I could perform for the talent show that night. I listened to a couple of songs before the show had started and hoped that my guess was not wrong.
When it came to be my turn on the stage, I came out and told the audience that I would be performing a piece made by Octavia. It was adapted to a violin as well. I then tuned the violin and started to play. For those in the audience (as I found out later), it had sounded exactly like Octavia was there on stage herself. Only playing the violin instead of a cello. I timed the notes perfectly, the dynamics were never off. Even the melody playing was outstanding.
At this point, I should clarify something. While I may have a good memory, nopony I knew could up and play a song from memory alone. Not to mention using it without some practice, not even those skilled in the craft. This was something outstanding, even to fellow musicians when they hear this tale. It was at that moment I had realized my talent for playing music like I was the song itself made into physical form. My Cutie Mark appeared once the song had ended (which was one of the best finales I’ve had, even to this date). It was a heart made of a bass and treble note. I had never felt so happy before that moment. I now had the talent to call my own and it was an awesome one, to me at least, to have.
I then made it my mission to work on my talent, more specifically my memory. After all, it would be very bad to forget something you worked on, even if it came with ease. So I joined the local theater and started to memorize better, even outside of the script. It turned out I was a decent actor as well but was best suited for comedy and musicals (No duh on the last one, I know). I have been working in theater to this day and I still enjoy making the audience laugh and be moved by my singing.
This has led us back to where I would explain my current situation. I apologize for the info dump, but I thought it'd be best to explain my past. That way I could tell of a more recent past. It was when I turned 18. I had finally become a stallion and not some colt that got too big for his britches. It was that night, after a huge binge of alcohol, that things started to take a turn for the weird. I remember at the very least staggering towards my bed. It was right then that everything turned white.
When I woke up afterward, I realized 2 things. For one, I had memories that looked like something from a sci-fi comic book. You know, when an intrepid pony discovers a new race of aliens and all that. The second was that I had a huge headache. It was only after taking some coffee and pills for a headache that my head started to concentrate. What it led me to was something I never expected: It was from my viewpoint and these memories felt… familiar in a way. I spent all that day reviewing each memory, starting to connect everything together. Songs flooded back to me, filling in holes I never knew were there, making me feel more complete as a pony. Vacations started to be more visualized, showing me the wonders of the planet. My happier times began to liven me up a bit. It was the final memory that sealed the deal to me.
It was the memory of me, relaxing in my old home. Then I was getting sucked into some kind of limbo dimension to make a deal with the goddess in this world. I remember making the conscious decision to leave my old world behind. In exchange, I would live on this one and to get all my memories back at the age of 18. It was at that point I started to weep tears of loss. I had lost all my family. My friends. I was even about to ask a marefiend I had to be married to me. But then I realized something else that made me cry harder. They had forgotten about me as well, this time with no chance of recovery, as I no longer existed in that world.
*sigh* I’ll be back to talk later. These old memories do make me still tear up from time to time and I need a moment to recover. I’ll try to focus on something a bit happier next time. Right now though, I need to drink some of my favorite cocktail: tequila and root beer. It helps calm the nerves.
End of Chapter 1