A Vivid Dreamer

by Kronoxis

Prologue: Build a body

A Vivid Dreamer – Prologue

I ‘awoke’ within a void, not sure how I knew I was awake or not. I could not see anything or even feel my extremities. It was quite a unique sensation to say the least. I couldn’t tell where my body ended and where the void began. I tried to turn my head to see if I may have just been facing my bedroom wall or not, but either my brain was not sending the signals or my neck was not receiving them. It sure didn’t feel like I had a neck anymore. When I tried to ‘feel’ for my neck itself the message my brain received through me for a loop. My body was essentially telling me that my ‘neck’ was somewhere on my right heel. Now I just had to figure out where my right heel was.

Oooookay, I thought to myself. Perhaps I’m lying in my bed caught in the limbo between awake and asleep. Not the first time I’ve been there. This was both frightening but at the same time an uneasy sense of weightlessness was also calming.

So now that I’ve convinced myself I am still sort of asleep I try to recall my dream. Only to find out I cannot remember anything about it. Not the first time I had forgotten my dreams but still quite the disappointment. You see not so many years ago I taught myself how to have lucid dreams. Best damned choice I’ve made in my life. I find myself quite an enthusiast when it comes to expanded universes that resided in the fiction section of today’s media, be it books, movies, or games. While these universes themselves are quite exciting it’s what lies under the hood that enthralls me, so to speak. Such things like ‘if the flood in the Halo series were such versatile and resilient parasites, why are their infection-forms so fragile?’ along with ‘if the markers from Dead Space reanimate dead tissue what would happen if your arm lost circulation?’ and lately ‘do griffons from the show My Little Pony: FiM lay eggs or give live births?’ These are the kinds of questions I keep myself up with at night pondering.

Yes I watch MLP: FiM, it is quite a fantastic show in my opinion although I don’t quite voice it. Does that make me a Brony? I don’t know I think I’m on the fence about that one. If being a fan of the show and participating within several Brony-centric online communities makes me a Brony then yes, I am a Brony. If I have to run around at conventions screaming “RARITY IS BEST PONY” with a cutie mark tattooed to my butt then no I am sadly not a Brony.

So back on topic MLP has been the latest universe to enthrall me with its possibilities. Such as ‘how does the griffon government operate?’ or ‘was Gilda’s attitude the average or an outlier for female griffons?’ and better yet ‘are ponies, dragons, griffons and diamond dogs the only intelligent races? Could there be other races that exist off screen, Such as fairies, centaurs or perhaps even sea-ponies?’ I can literally drive myself bonkers with the possibilities, and then lose my sanity trying to figure out how they would interact with ‘established cannon’. I enjoy every last minute of it.

That’s where lucid dreaming has really brought me the most joy. I can literally create entire worlds around myself and watch it in motion. My subconscious even goes so far as to fill in and of the minor details whenever I call attention to them, it’s amazing. If you’ve ever seen the movie Inception, I like to think of myself as an architect and I get to build myself wondrous worlds for myself or go on epic adventures. Although I am quite ashamed to say that my social life has taken quite the nose dive upon learning to lucid dream. Seriously who wants to go see a late night showing of the latest blockbuster movie, which is actually a rehash of a 1990’s movie? When you could take a stroll on the surface of mars in your swim trunks while holding a decent conversation with an alligator… or was it a crocodile?

So there I am floating, trying to recall when I fell asleep or if I even did fall asleep. Suddenly a small white flame flickered to life in front of me. With nothing to get a frame of reference from; I had no idea if this flame was right at the end of my nose or even hundreds of kilometers away. Even with the light it was giving off did nothing to illuminate the void.
“OH? You’re awake… or should I say aware?” said a female voice that was almost to smooth to be human. If I still have eyebrows one of them would be raised.

“Huh?” my voice almost squeaked.

“I was expecting a reaction with a little more excitement. Perhaps even some screaming?” the voice almost cheered to itself.

“Why would I scream?” I replied. Then subsequently shocked myself into silence when I realised, I just talked without any sensations from what should have been my mouth. Or even signals from what should have been my ears.

“Oh I don’t know, to make things a little more exciting, I suppose.” Saying this almost seemed to bring her flame down to a low simmer, before it burst back to its original brightness. “Now where are my manners…” there seemed to be a pause while she considered something. After a moment there was something akin to the sensation of someone trying to get you to shake their hand, but from behind you, while you’re not looking. “You can call me Flynt, since I’ll be providing the spark for your journey.”

“Hi, you can just call me Ryan.” While I was still processing her last sentence I tried to take in my surroundings again, just as the handshake sensation left my ‘back’? ‘NOPE, still void’. “So Flynt, where are we?” if I was talking to disembodied voices in my bed I was probably insane. Or perhaps I wasn’t in my bed anymore, ‘did I even get in my bed to begin with’ recalling that I still couldn’t remember going to sleep.

“Oh right. Welcome to INBETWEEN!” Flynt announced with so much grandeur that if she had hands I’m pretty sure she would be groping the ceiling.

“In between what exactly?” I tried to get here to finish her statement.
“heh heh, why the universes silly.”

It took me a little longer then I would have liked for it to click for me. “…oh” this response seemed to get her flame to sputter for a moment. “’oh’? Is that all you have to say to this great and wonderful reveal? Is ‘oh’?” she replied almost sounding wounded.

“Well when I can create almost entirely different cities each night in my dreams. Finding out that the space between UNIVERSES is just an empty void, its kinda depressing.”

“Right I guess it is… oh that reminds me while we are here. How would you like to be part of another universe?” I could almost feel the smirk radiating off of the flame. It took a few moments for what she said to make sense to me.

“Wait you can do that?” I practically blurted it out.

“Sure it’s not sweat off my back, how about Equestria? Your sitting right on top of it.” I tried to look down but I was still in a void and could not make out any boundaries. That’s when it hit me.

“What’s in it for you?”

“Oh nothing I was just bored” she giggled to herself.

“Idle hands are the devils playthings” I muttered to myself.

“Maybe I am the devil?” Flynt whispered without conveying any emotion what so ever, sending shivers down my entire non-existent body. Just as suddenly as it left her cheeriness returned “you don’t have to worry about a thing. I’m doing this entirely for my own benefit.”

Her voice took on a more somber tone “I was lonely so I decided to pull someone out to talk to, that just so happen to be you. And since it will take the same amount of effort to send you back as it would to send you somewhere new. I’ve decided to give you the choice as a reward for entertaining me.”

“Thank you Flynt.” I responded with all the gratitude I could fit within my voice. “Perhaps Equestria would be a suitable change of pace, Earth is kinda giving me the cold shoulder.”

This seemed to flip a switch in the little flame as it started to hop around in circles giggling to herself. When she had finally stopped dancing to herself I could ‘feel’ her turn to me. “Now we just have to talk about what your new body will be.”

“Hmmm?” Flynt kind of lost me on that last sentence but was willing enough to explain.

“Well a human body would not be able to survive on equestrian for long. Being creatures without a magical spark in a land such as Equestria, you would suffer from magical osmosis. It would overwhelm your body and corrupt it to the point where it could no longer function.” Her voice took on an almost deathly tone. “Imagine your kidneys start producing cotton candy instead of filtering your blood.”

I grimaced, or as close to a grimace as I could, without a face. “Ouch! Like magical cancer. What a way to go?”
Flynt was back to her happy self again. “SO!? Watcha wanna be? An earth pony? How about a unicorn or maybe a Pegasus? Oh, oh you could be a griffon?” Flynt suddenly inhaled. “you could be an ALLIIIIIICOOOOORN!” she stopped cold, then just as suddenly started giggling to herself. “You know you don’t even have to be a stallion, you could be a mare. Or maybe even something in between.”

If I still had a face you probably would have been able to see all my emotion fall off of it as I deadpanned. “I’m not even going to touch that. And on a separate note I would rather like to keep my thumbs, my dad said they were only good for one thing… sticking them up my ass.” We both shared a laugh at my expense.

“So I guess ponies are out? You know, you don’t have to limit yourself to something from their own universe. I could send you in as a pokemon if you really wanted, with the ability to talk of course and if you want I can find room a few extra thumbs.”

I just had to giggle at her enthusiasm. “So your telling me that you could send me into Equestria as anything I want?”
“Yup, as long as it has its own internal magical spark that is need to survive in such a magic filled land. It doesn’t really matter what magic it does, it just can be human. Don’t ask me how the universe works I just visit.”

“Wow… well I have an idea. Something that is similar enough to the natives that they do not suddenly panic, but at the same time different enough that I would not fall into pre-established prejudices.”

“Oh you’re a smart cookie.” Cooed Flynt.

We spent who knows how long talking about what I would become upon entering Equestria. We discussed some very odd combinations on what I could recall from the show. I had settled of canon only. Since I didn’t know what kind of, if any, fanon applied. We had some interesting suspects from feathered dragons, to the downright creepy such as ponies with hands. We finally settled on a combination I found favourable. When I decided what I would be Flynt gasped, the preceded to giggle like a mad woman. She wouldn’t tell me what was so funny.

“Oh and make it fluffy. Nothing is as disarming as ‘HUGZ MEH IM FWUFFY’” I said with as deadpanned a voice as I could muster, trying to imagine myself extorting hugs.

“Will do captain, now that just leaves colour.” I could almost swear I saw the little flame salute.
I pondered for a moment considering the options “I think I’ll go for something exotic. How about albino?”
“aye, aye a little splash of no colour whatso ever.” Flynt gruffed.

With a twinge of sadness she said. “Welp, this is what you’re going to look like. Does everything look up to snuff?” she then began to project the image of what I would look like. The fruit of our labour was displayed to my mind’s eye.
Realising that we would soon be departing ways, my voice almost cracked “Perfect.”

“Well I guess this is goodbye and good luck?” it sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
“Goodbye. And perhaps you should come visit some time?”

Flynt’s reply just before my world was filled with a Technicolor showdown along with some colours I’m sure were beyond the range of normal human sight was there.

“Perhaps I shall?”

Comments

[omega-ze-wargod]

INTRESTING

[RedvsBlue327]

I like this. Good good on your imagination of getting him into Equestria in a new way.
The standard ways were getting dull.
1.Twilight Spell Gone Wrong (Any spells in general)
2. Space Ships
and 3. LOLfuck if we know. No Explanation.

[HaveANiceDay]

Almost a chessverse entrance. Looking forward to heading down this rabbit hole.

[FireheartThePone]

HE'S JUST LIKE MEEEEEEEEEEEEE