Escape to Realms

by Flutterwhy4

A Strange Day in Ponyville

Escape to Realms

Chapter 1: A Strange Day in Ponyville

By Flutterwhy4

My name is Token. I’ve worked in Ponyville my whole life, toiling to maintain the town arcade. It’s an okay job; I love the smiles on the faces of the colts and fillies that stop by for some entertainment after school. I make good money, but that's never been the point.

I wouldn't say my life is particularly exciting. I spend most of my time alone, either working, or relaxing at home. Even when I do my errands, I tend not to socialize much.

Ponyville's many residents are usually friendly, but I see more eye-to-eye with the children. They have that childlike wonder, a passion for having fun even when there’s little to be had; that’s something I envy. A wise pony once said “If you carry your childhood with you, you will never grow old.” Those are words I’d like to live by, but it’s not always so easy.

Ponyville welcomes me as I leave my house to go to market. The sky beams with a brilliant shade of blue. My ears pick up the unmistakable titter of children laughing in the distance. The sun is high in the sky, but a welcome, gentle breeze keeps me cool.

I walk to the market, wrapping myself in the sights, sounds and smells of this day. The scent of flowers on the breeze tickles my nose as I pass Lily’s place. Nature always helps me relax. Everything seems significant, even the sound of my hooves on the pavement below me, something I’ve never paid much attention to before, makes me smile.

It’s just one of those days when it’s like I could do anything. An adventurous streak wells up inside me and I pause to think of the best way to satisfy the feeling. Should I get a special treat from Sugarcube Corner? My mouth starts to water as I daydream about assorted sugary snacks. I keep walking. Ideas, some more daring than others, begin to flood my head as I approach my destination.

Colorful tents and banners depicting various items for sale fill my vision. The market is a bustling hub of activity this afternoon, to no surprise. A cacophony of conversations stacked upon each other sweeps through the area. Pegasi, earth ponies, and unicorns alike swing from booth to booth filling their saddlebags with goods, and I move to join them.

I check my mental list: broccoli. Turning to the green tent, I step up to the counter, that’s when I see it. A sign behind the proprietor of the broccoli stall. The sign depicts the vegetable and two parallel lines indicating that it equals a certain cost, but the following symbol is unfamiliar. It looks like an ‘S’, but with a vertical line through it. My brow furrows and scratch my head for a second.

“Excuse me miss,” I say, turning to look at the green-maned, white mare behind the counter, “exactly how much does this broccoli cost?”

“Check the sign pal.” she replies in a nasally, disinterested voice. I look back to the sign which now shows two gold coins in place of the symbol I thought I’d seen.

“But…” I stammer, “I thought… urm, sorry ma’am, here’s two bits.” I drop the money on the table and lift a head of broccoli into my bag before turning around and starting off again. My head shakes from side to side. I could’ve sworn that sign read something different, but I dismiss it as my eyes playing tricks on me. The next provision I need is cucumber.

My weekly trips to the marketplace are about the only opportunity I get to socialize with ponies my age. My daily routine has become as methodical and predictable as the steady march of time. Each morning I wake up, I make myself hygienic and then I eat grab a bite to eat before heading out the door. I arrive at the arcade at exactly eight A.M. sharp, every weekday. I check each machine, fixing any problems before looking over my messages and doing some clerical work. I open for business two hours later and stay until late in the evening before locking up and travelling home for a belated dinner. It’s demanding work that leaves very little time for myself, but thus is the sacrifice a pony must sometimes make to go into business for him or herself.

Weekends have become my one respite, a chance to do things for myself. I want so badly to break the mold, to explore and try new things, but each day inevitably becomes a sad dance of excuses and reservations. Rather than discovering Ponyville, or better yet, travelling somewhere new, I resign myself to running errands and waiting for the workweek to give my life purpose.

As I ponder my life, it occurs to me I’ve not done a great job of pursuing that childlike spark that I value so highly. A sigh escapes my lips as I walk. Perhaps it’s just part of getting older, something nopony can overcome. I shrug off the thought with steely resolve as I’m reminded of a certain pink pony I know. No, Pinkie Pie demonstrates better than anypony that getting older doesn’t mean getting boring. Then again, she is Pinkie Pie.

Maybe I should hire somepony. I suppose I could use a helping hand to watch the arcade so I can have some more time to myself. What would I do if I had more time though? As I walk towards the cucumber stand my mind swims in thought. I’m so preoccupied I nearly collide with ponies walking the other direction. I plant my hooves and allow them to pass, my face a bit red.

“Oops, sorry! Hi Bon Bon! Hi Lyra! Good day to you both!” I greet them with a somewhat forced smile as they pass.

I can’t think of another pair in the whole town more attached to each other than these two. On many a weekend have I seen Lyra and Bon Bon at the market, often talking or sharing some ice cream.

I’ve nursed a slight a crush on Lyra for several years, but I try not to be jealous of her friendships. I can't say I've done much to make her notice me. My eyes follow her as she strolls away. I admire her, from her short, wintergreen mane to her… my jaw drops. On Lyra’s flank I spy three blue and yellow striped pieces of wrapped candy. I move quickly to get a look at Bon Bon and sure enough… a golden harp where her cutie mark should be.

What is happening? This can’t be another coincidence. I run to a nearby trough and splash the cool water onto my face. My head shakes launching droplets from my mane like a slingshot. I linger in the moment, trying to calm down. As the sloshing water slows to ripples, my reflection appears; a confused, wet face stares back at me. My eyes are wide, aflame with worry. When I see myself, relaxation comes by force. It had to be a joke they were playing on me, or something… wasn’t it?

I look up only to be met with awkward gazes; I can imagine I’m quite the sight. Maybe it’s time to take my leave and get some rest. The market fades behind me as I start down the streets towards my house.

This day has been quite the oddity and I'm anxious to put it behind me, but the strangeness stalks me like a precocious foal pulling pranks. Buildings I've passed already come into my path again and again, ponies I've known for ages treat me as they would a complete stranger, and the town is covered with symbols I cannot fathom.

Have I gone mad? The more my mind struggles the more I realize these discrepancies can't be ignored. I should tell someone, but whom? There has to be somepony I can trust, somepony level-headed who can tell me if I’m losing it. Only one face comes to mind.

I break into a full gallop, making a bee-line down a side street towards a new destination. I’m going to see Twilight Sparkle; she’s a friend and she’ll be able to talk some sense into me.

Twilight and I became friends maybe a year and a half ago. She was... and I... come to think of it, how did we ever become friends? I think it had something to do with a birthday party she was helping to organize. It was at the arcade... yeah, that must've been it. Perhaps I'm getting older than I thought.

After a few minutes of dodging and darting down Ponyville’s haphazard streets, I finally arrive in front of the giant tree that holds the library. Ignoring courtesy, I swing the door open and burst inside, slamming it behind me.

“Oh, hey Token!” the purple mare greets me, looking up from an implausibly long piece of parchment scrawled across the floor. “Where’s your vest?”

“Twilight, I… wait, my vest?” I stumble, unsure of what she could mean.

“For Winter Wrap Up?”

“But it’s the middle of-” I start to correct her, but turn around to see powdery drifts of snow beyond the windows. “Whaa!” My hooves slip from underneath me and I come down hard on my rump. I scrabble across the floor, putting distance between me and the unexpected sight. The heart in my chest is pounding. What in the name of Celestia is happening?

“Is something wrong? You look terrible.” Twilight says, her voice laced with concern. I look up at the mare and clamber back onto my hooves, trying to compose myself.

“I, uh... Twilight? H-has, and I’m serious, has anything seemed… off to you lately?”

“What? What do you mean?” she asks with an inquisitive look.

“I mean, has anything strange been happening? That you’ve noticed?” I plead with my eyes.

“Hmmmmm… nope, everything seems fine to me.” I sink at her answer. Maybe I really am crazy.

“I... I’ve been seeing some strange stuff. At first it was just little things, ponies with wrong cutie marks and stuff, but then I nearly got lost on my way here, things were so weird, and just now, I swear to you it was summer when I came through that door!”

“That’s not scientifically possible Token,” she says scornfully, but changes her tone when she sees my troubled expression “but maybe my friends have seen something, we can ask them! They should be here any…” As she finishes her sentence the door pops open with supernatural timing.

“Hey Twilight! Hey Token!” each pony says as they enter the library, wiping snow from their hooves. I'm familiar with all five of them; they're more Twilight's pals than mine, but they've seen me enough to at least be called acquaintances, if not friends.

“Ooh girls, I’m glad you’re here! Token was just telling me that some strange things have been happening to him. Have any of you seen anything peculiar today?” Twilight really is a good friend. I was right to come here, I think. The five other ponies stand contemplatively for a few seconds before breaking the silence with a smattering of negatives.

“Well, anytime I see Pinkie Pie I know it’s gonna be a strange day.” Rainbow Dash says with a chuckle, nudging the pink pony.

“That’s not what I… wait.” I speak, adding a seriousness to my voice that has everypony giving their full attention. “How do you all know me?”

“What do you mean? We’ve always known you silly! You're a friend of Twilight's and any friend of Twilight's is a friend of mine!” Pinkie Pie says, her face beaming.

“Yeah yeah, I know you know me through Twilight, but how? When did we first meet? And where? How? I can’t actually remember ever meeting a single one of you! It's almost like I've always known you, but I haven't.” I'm on the edge of hysterics; my whole world is unravelling like a poorly stitched tapestry.

“Well...”

“Umm...”

“I can’t remember.” Their indecisiveness is proof that something is very wrong.

"Token, I think you should lie down. You're scaring me." Twilight says, trying to usher me away from her friends.

Yeah. Yeah, maybe you're right." I don't get time to apologize though. Just then, the tree is rocked with a sharp tremor and a loud, thunderous noise. Everypony puts on faces of panic and I rush to the door.

As I make my way out the door, brown and red leaves blow past my hooves in the cool, fall breeze. I look up and see what can only be described as a shadow attacking the library. It’s a ghostly grey cloud with no discernible features, silhouetted against a cloudy moonlit sky. The shadow rams the tree again, shaking several branches loose from its leafy exterior. By now the six ponies and a terrified Spike have joined me outside.

“Oh no you don’t!” screams the rainbow Pegasus as she takes into the sky and streaks above the shadowy orb. “Get outta here!” As Dash shouts at the thing, a wispy, dark tendril springs up underneath her and wraps around her hoof, flinging her to the ground. Her friends rush to her aide, but I stand firm and brainstorm a way to stop the frightening entity.

My mind keeps thinking of the creature, thing, ghost, whatever in familiar terms… ‘shadow’. Maybe if I had a flashlight. I feel a weight in my hoof and I look down. There, before me is the very object I'd desired. How convenient. It’s just the latest in a string of weird occurrences and I’m no longer surprised.

The flashlight clicks on and I stare at my hoof. The creature smashes against the tree a third time and I can hear the sound of glass breaking. Why I think a simple light will be able to stop this powerful apparition, I have no clue, but I do. I lift my hoof and the diffuse beam swings like a sword, cleaving the shadow in twain. A screech pierces the night. A bright orange ribbon streaks across the edges of the shadow, not unlike a burning piece of paper.

A couple quick waves of my light and the shadow is gone, but a glance skyward reveals a swarm of them descending upon the town. The moonlight is choked as the sky darkens with black malevolence. Cries of terrified ponies ring out and Twilight races towards me.

“What are those things!” she barks.

“Look, I know you’re going to think I’m crazy, but all the things that have been happening, the weather, this flashlight, none of you have experienced this weird stuff, I’m the only one.” I say, my mouth moving a mile a minute.

“What are you talking about?!”

“I don’t know exactly what this is, all I know is that I’m involved somehow!” I shout over the sound of the wind.

“I don’t understand, but these phantoms are destroying the town! What do we do?” The purple mare puts her hoof on my back.

“O-okay…hold on, I’ll try something.” Not sure of what I’m doing, I push her away and concentrate. It seems worth a shot. I imagine the creatures gone. A blue sky. No clouds. My mind fills with peaceful images. My senses become meaningless one-by-one. Silence creeps into my ears despite the chaos around me. The wind whipping my coat crawls to a stop. Buildings and streets begin to blur like watercolor in front of me. I close my eyes and try to focus harder. My ears ring from the muteness. Bright light spills into my eyes through closed lids. I have no idea what’s going on, but in mere moments I feel weightless. A blast, a wave of heat and light rips across my body and my senses begin to return.

Comments

[mau5!]

holy shit that was eceting i mean a guy who buys food wow

[SuperChaosKG]

Alan Wake. You are Alan Wake ponified. I'm Callin' it!!