That Night
9:06 P.M.
“Let’s hope this thing works,” I say quietly. I’m sitting up in bed looking at the orb that rests in my palm. I have to admit, I’m a little nervous. If this does work, what would I say to the people I’m going to talk to tonight? What will they say? How will they react?
Well, I did figure out who'll be the first person I'd talk to. After careful consideration, I’m going to talk to my brother first. I feel that I am closer to him in some regards and he can better grasp what I will say. He can take news very well and is very mature, so he’s the first one to go.
“Alright, here goes something.” I lay down on my back and adjust myself to get comfortable. I close my eyes and wait for sleep to take over. And that doesn’t take long
I wake up in the white limbo, back in those black clothing articles once again. I’m laying on my my back, looking up. I get up and look around. Now, the limbo must have gotten an interior decorator, because I see doors on my left and right. Different colors and sized doors on either side of me. There are even pictures on the top of each door. On my right side, I see a picture of my Aunt Sophia above a brown wood door, my Grandfather above a green one, my cousin Daniel above a grey one. On my left side, it’s my friend Connor above a black and white door, Pat’s picture is above a white one, and it just goes on from there. So the left side is my friends and the right is my family.
“Okay, let's see where my brother is.” I jog down the row of doors to see if I can find him.
It doesn’t take long to find his picture above a dark brown door. I just sand in front of the it for a few moments. I need to mentally prepare myself for whatever happens. Who knows how he’ll react or what he will say.
After taking a few minutes to prepare, I open the door and a bright flash appears before my eyes, blinding me. I shield them for a moment and I start to hear something. It sounds like a group of people cheering. A large group of people really, hundreds maybe. I uncover my eyes and look to my sides, seeing different people of all sorts cheering and applauding. Some are even waving banners and flags.
I look to where everyone is gazing at and it looks like an indoor track and field event. It looks very familiar. I think this is The Armory in New York. My brother has talked about this place quite a number of times. I wonder where he is in this stadium?
I look at the event going on. It looks like one of the long distance events. I see two guys running ahead of, maybe twenty, other runners. But the one in first is a guy a couple inches taller than me, has buzzed hair and is much more tanner than me. That’s Tony! My brother’s in first!
I decide to get caught up in the hype and cheer him on. The guy could use all the support he could get, despite it being a dream.
He gets closer to the finish line, approaching it at a sprint. I keep shouting “GO! GO! GO!!” He is going really fast, legs moving like they were a machine. He’s almost there! And… HE WINS!! I jump up and down from my seat along with the rest of the crowd. “THAT”S MY BROTHER!! THAT’S HIM RIGHT THERE!!”
Tony’s teammates race over to him and huddle around him, hugging him and congratulating him. Tony’s hugging everyone back with the biggest smile on his face.
You know, I’m glad he’s dreaming about his sports. He’s probably trying not to worry about me, so he’s keeping his mind occupied with something else.
Well, I should walk up to him and see what’s up. Would security be altered if I just came onto the field? What am I saying? This is a dream, doubt they could care less.
I walk down to the railing and hop over it and successfully land on the ground. I jog across the track to where my brother's teammates are starting to move away from him so they can prep for their own events. Now’s the time to break the ice.
“That was a good race there man!” I say. Tony’s back is turned to me as he finishes talking to his last teammate. After doing so, he turns around and he looks like he’s seen a ghost. His eyes are as wide as I have ever seen them and his mouth is agape. It’s priceless really. All I can do is smile at him. Though this is a dream, it’s good to see him again.
“N...Nick?” he asks. I grin a little wider and open my arms out to him as he has the shocked look on his face.
“Hug me brotha’,” I say to him. He and I, at a brisk pace with open arms, get close to each other and when we get close enough, we embrace in a tight hug. It’s warm, comforting really. I’m so glad I am back with him.
“This is an insane dream,” he whispers.
“This may be a dream, but I’m one hundred percent real.” He and I move away from the hug, still holding onto each other's shoulders. He still looks confused and shocked. I would be too. “Dude, it’s me! I am no figment of your dream. I’m the real thing. I am in your dream bro.”
“This-this is…. This is nuts. This is just a dram. You aren’t actually him.” That kind of puts a dagger through my heart, but I’m not letting it phase me. I know I can-
“He speaks the truth, young one,” a female voice says. It’s Luna’s voice! She’s here? Me and my brother turn our heads and the both of us see the Princess of the Night trot up to us.
“Uhhh….”
“Let’s clear up the stadium,” I suggest. “Then I’ll explain everything.”
“...and then that takes me to this moment now.” Tony, Luna and I are just sitting on a middle section of some bleachers. Since it’s Tony’s dream, he’s the one who can make everyone disappear. It was weird, he just snapped his fingers and everyone just evaporated. Man, dreams are real trippy.
The whole time I talked, Tony was silent. Same with Luna. She didn’t really add anything to the conversation. I guess she was here to physically prove to my brother I’m telling the truth or in case I need her. Either way, I’m glad she’s here.
“So, that’s pretty much it.” I have to admit it, it was difficult at times to discuss some things. Like not being able to go home was emotionally difficult, but explaining being stuck in the My Little Pony world was just difficult overall. But like what I said, Luna kind of makes it easier to prove. “So?” Tony is quiet for a few moments. He just looks down at the floor and runs his hand through his buzzed head, probably thinking over what I explained to him.
“Jeez dude…” he says, not looking at me and sounding a little distraught. “You seriously can’t come back?” I shake my head. “Man… this sucks!”
“Tell me about it.”
“What about everything you worked for back at home? What about us?”
“I want to come back more than anything Tony!” I look at him seriously with a hint of sadness on my face. “I miss you, Joan, mom, dad, all of you guys. You think I wanted to be whisked away into a kids show? I have to start my life all over again.” I cup my hands over my face and run my hands through my hair. Just talking about this is starting to put me back into that dark place from this morning.
“God man…”
“I know…” I just stay quiet for a little while. There’s more I need to say to him. “How’s Joan been?”
“Just like mom and dad, she’s worried sick. She’s not taking it very well. She hasn’t assumed the worse but she is beyond worried.”
“Guess I should see her next. I’ll talk to mom and dad after.” I stand up and pace around for a few moments.
“What’s it like?” Tony asks. “Living in a world of ponies that is?” I turn around and look at him. It looks like he really wants to know.
“Well… to be honest, it isn’t all that bad. Where I’m living, Ponyville...” Tony cringes at the name, “...it’s actually a pretty nice community. Very welcoming and kind.”
“Well, at least you’re in a good place.”
“Yeah…” Tony and I stay silent for a while. I’m probably overstaying my welcome here. “Yo Tony, I’m gonna get going. I’m going to see Joan, mom and dad.” I walk back to him and look at him square in the eyes. “Don’t worry about me, I’m perfectly fine. I’ll drop by again soon.”
“Alright man. Glad to see you’re okay. Though, it’s weird you are in a land of talking ponies and that you now can get into other people’s dreams, but you’re okay at least.” He gets up and and embraces me once more and we hold on for a while, savoring the moment.
The hug lasts about thirty seconds and we let go, looking each other in the eyes. “Take care of mom for me, okay?” Tony nods in understanding. I look at Luna because I need to ask her: “How do I go back to the limbo?”
“Just close your eyes and focus,” she says. Alright, with her simple instructions, I do just so. I think of the limbo and the doors and in a flash, I’m out of Tony’s dream and back to where I started.
It’s good that I was able to talk to my brother once again. I’m missing out on so much and I’ll miss out on more no doubt, but as long as I am using this orb, I can still at least talk to my loved ones. I feel that it is unhealthy, in a way, to not talk to the ones you care for.
Any way, I should move on to Joan now. “Now where is her door?”
Monday
6:50 A.M
I have to say, going from dream to dream is weird as hell. My family seem to dream about the weirdest things. Joan, for example, was having a dream where Sonic the Hedgehog, Mickey Mouse and Jack Skellington were debating over whether or not Russell Crowe was a good Javert in Les Mis. So glad I was able to interrupt that because that was just getting weird for me.
My dad was having a U2 concert dream. This was actually something that happened because he told me this story many times before. U2 was having a concert at JFK stadium in the 1980s I think it was, and before the concert started, there’s this gigantic beach ball being bounced around the stadium. When the ball got to my dad, he hit it so hard, it popped. That was the only one and 10,000 people at JFK stadium were booing my dad. That was something interesting to witness.
My mom, had an interesting one. She dreamt she was in a hotel very similar to Fawlty Towers. The servant was from Barcelona, the owner had a bushy mustache (and talked like John Cleese), there was a confused Army guy who lives there. It was weird, but good.
Luna was with me the entire time when I talked to them. I made sure to tell my family what I already told Tony: that I’m safe, alive, well and that I am in a good community. Sure it was hard for them to hear that their eldest son/sibling was unwillingly whisked away to a fictional world, but I assured them that I will be okay. Luna backed up whatever I had to say and they all seem to trust her.
My sister, when she saw Luna, went nuts! She was asking her so many questions, telling her how much of a fan she was, it’s like a fifteen year old meeting Justin Bieber for the first time. Joan even told me she’s actually a little envious of me. I don’t blame her all that much since she’s been a fan of My Little Pony for a few years now and I’m living in the actual show.
Back to the original topic, my family was able to get some closure on what happened and you know what, I think they will be okay.
I think just talking to my family tonight will suffice. I’ll talk to my friends tomorrow and tell them the same thing. But only so many at a time, I don’t want to abuse the power Luna has gifted me.
Sitting up in bed and placing the orb on the nightstand, I rub my eyes and look out the window to the new day. I use this time to reflect on everything that has happened in the past week. I end up in a cartoon world where I can not return to where I once was, but I have become friends with a lot of the townsfolk, like Octavia, Lyra, Thunder Lane, Rainbow Dash, and most importantly, Twilight.
It may not be a complete loss. I still have so many peo-ponies in my corner here and my loved ones back home are with me in spirit. They’re going to support me whether I’m ten feet away from them or ten million light years away from them. It may not be as bad after all. I shouldn’t be so pessimistic, I have a fresh start now and new possibilities await my future. I’m going to take this world on, headstrong. Look out Equestria, this human is going to take advantage of his situation… right after I shower and get some breakfast, my tummy is getting the rumblies.