Chapter 1
Ever since he was adopted from the Canterlot orphanage, Simply Brilliant was a somewhat troublesome child. When his parents first adopted him, they had no idea what they were in for. He would shout at random for no reason. He would throw things across the room, saying his friends told him to do it. He would talk to himself for hours on end, pretending like he was talking to someone. This got him teased in school relentlessly. He wondered why the other children couldn't see his friends too. Despite these things, he payed lots of attention. He would absorb the information like a sponge. The teachers would always congratulate him for the a's he received.
His friends would congratulate him too. As long as his friends were happy, he was happy.
But when he moved on to middle school, his friends would ask him to do things. Bad things. Bad things he didn't want to do. But he had to do them, or else his friends wouldn't be happy. His head hurts when his friends aren't happy, constantly yelling, telling him to do the things they said. They asked him to hurt other ponies, so he did. At first, it was ponies that were mean to him, ponies that deserved to be hurt. But then the friends started telling him to hurt completely innocent ponies. When he refused, his friends would scream and scrape at the walls of his mind.
One day, he found a rock, picked it up with his hoof, and started beating another pony to death. He didn't even know the pony he was beating, he just wanted his friends to stop hurting him. Luckily, the staff was able to pull the boy of the child before he killed him. As he was being dragged away, he shouted "I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T WANT TO, BUT THEY KEEP TELLING ME TOO! PLEASE MAKE THEM STOP!"
The friends were satisfied for a long time that day.
When his parents took him to the doctor, he told them about the friends. He told them about the things they say, the things they tell him to do, they things they do to him if he doesn't listen. The doctor's said he had a disease in his brain. They called it 'schizophrenia', then they gave him special pills to make the voices stop.
The pills have always done there job. The voices would stop, and he wouldn't have anymore headaches. He could finally focus more in school. He always liked school. He wanted to become one of the ponies that changed the world simply by making a good idea. He was born to do it, as evidenced by his cutie mark. A thought bubble, filled with advanced mathematical equations. He didn't understand them at first, but in time he would.
All throughout high school, the voices never said a peep. He was incredibly smart, but he was still taunted by bullies. He couldn't make friends, real friends, because he simply didn't know how to act normally among other ponies. He still payed lots of attention in class though, and when graduation day came, he was given an award for his intellect. The ponies in the stand stomped their hooves in congratulations.
It seemed like his life would finally look up for here on. But then, he was beginning to hear the voices again.
The pills weren't working anymore, no matter how many he took. Not only was he hearing the voices, he was starting to see the bodies the voices hold. They were horrid creatures, holding some resemblance to a pony, but having bodies that fought against the very laws of nature. He just tried to ignore them, but the headaches would keep him from focusing. He told his parents about the creatures, but they didn't know what to do other than to take him to the doctor again. When he told the doctor about the creatures, he told him about an experimental procedure, one that could potentially cure him, but it was extremely painful.
The words the boy spoke still ring in the doctor's ears today.
"Right now, the creatures are telling me to take your stethoscope and strangle you to death with them. Please doctor, I don't want to start hurting ponies again. I'll do whatever it takes to get rid of them."
The procedure was a spell that only the most advanced of unicorns could cast. A metallic wire would be wrapped around the spell caster's horn, than parts of the wire would be attached to the patient. Then, electric shocks would be sent to the patient through the wires. They called it 'Electric shock therapy'.
He still remembers the pain, but Simply know's that, without the procedure, he would probably be out somewhere, killing poor ponies to please his 'friends'.
He still see's them, but there not horrid abominations anymore. Now they look like simple earth ponies like he is, but they have pitch black eyes. There's only 4 of them instead of the large numbers they were. They don't speak anymore either, but they still can cause headaches without warning. Honestly, he wouldn't be able to tell them apart in a crowd without seeing there eyes, and since they always seem to stare at him, he could always see them.
He moved out of his parents house, and out of Canterlot as well. He told his parents he was looking for a quieter place to live. It was partly true, Canterlot in it's busier hours can cause headaches in itself, But the other half was that he wanted to live somewhere smaller. Somewhere he could spot his hallucinations easier. He heard of a small town a few miles from the city, a place called Ponyville. So, he packed his bags with as many bits he could carry, said his goodbye's to his parents, and boarded the next train to Ponyville.
When the train finally stopped, he grabbed his bag and began to trot down the aisle. As he was trotting, he saw another one of the hallucinations, standing right in the middle. The other ponies didn't even know he was their, but how could they? They didn't see him. Simply couldn't stop, lest he'd block the path of the other ponies. As he was getting closer, his headache was getting stronger, And when he started walking through the pony, his head felt like it was going to burst. He barely felt like he could walk.
"Hey, buddy." The pony behind him said. "You alright?"
"Yeah." Simply began with a lightly strained voice. "Just a bad headache, need to get off the train and get something to eat."
"I hear you." The pony continued. "The food on this train was terrible."
Simply laughed. The food was sub par, at best. He finally reached the door exiting the car, and already felt his headache diminish. He still needed something to eat.
As he looked around the town, he spotted what looked like a giant gingerbread house. He assumed it to be a bakery, and trotted up to it. He walked to the door and opened it, hearing a small bell go off above him.
"Coming!" He heard a female voice coming from the kitchen.
He went to the counter and waited for whoever was running the shop. The next thing he saw was a pink earth pony, with an even more pink mane, and three balloons for a cutie mark, appear behind the counter.
"Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner! My name is Pinkie Pie an-" Before she finished, she hopped up in the air, emanating a loud gasp, and ran off in a direction before Simply could ask for what he wanted. He wondered if Pinkie Pie was like him, only had a different way of dealing with what she saw.
"Oh, sorry about that dear." He heard another female voice, this one softer and slower. He looked back to the counter and saw a blue earth pony with a dark pink mane.
"That was Pinkie Pie you just saw. She's about to throw you a party for being new here in Ponyville."
"Does she do that to everypony that comes through here?" Simply asked.
"Yes, actually." She giggled. "Now then, what can I get for you, dearie?"
"Can I have half a dozen glazed donuts, please?"
"Of course." She walked back to the kitchen.
Moments later, she walked back out, carrying a small blue box with her. Simply assumed it was his donuts. She put it down on the counter.
"That will be 2 bits, please."
He reached into his bag, grabbing 2 bits and placed them on the counter.
"Thank you." He said as he grabbed the box.
"You're welcome. Now, be on the lookout for Pinkie Pie, odds are she's going to throw you a 'welcome to Ponyville' party at you're place."
Simply laughed "Luck's out on her, I'm not currently living anywhere." He reached his hoof out toward her. "My name is Simply Brilliant, by the way. You wouldn't happen to know a place with open residence, do you?"
"I'm Mrs. Cake," She shook hooves with him. "And the only place I know of is the Ponyville library, near the center of town. It's built into a large tree, you can't miss it."
"It was nice to meet you misses Cake."
"A pleasure to meet you too, Simply."
He trotted out the door. As he looked around the town, he noticed some of the hallucinations, standing around, staring at him. But with them, came the smiling faces and friendly waves of the towns people.
Simply was beginning to like this place already. Maybe things will be different here. He thought. Just maybe...