It Begins With A Dream
Hello my name is Reva. I’m 25 years old, my fur is a dull yellow, my hair is dull purple.My cutie mark is five glowing dots, one glowing green, one glowing blue, one glowing yellow, one glowing purple, and one glowing red. I’m a trained flyer but not in the Wonderbolts….yet. Something very special happened to me. It was almost the death of me…
I was flying through the sky and I was coming from the Ponyville market. It was about evening and I needed to head home and make dinner. I saw my cloud house in the distance and hurried along.
At home I prepared dinner and ate it with my cat. My cat can walk around in my house because I put some wooden floors under the clouds. Anyway, I headed to bed. This is the weird part.
I had a nightmare, at first I was floating in crystal clear water. Then I felt myself slowly crept over the edge of a waterfall. This wasn’t a lucid dream so I couldn’t do anything. As I fell I hit the water, it didn’t hurt but it felt like I hit the ground because I did go under.
I began floating again, pretty flowers and green grass surrounded my peripheral vision. Then the water became murky and dirty suddenly, and a thick vine wrapped around my throat, dragging me under. Then I wake up…
I’ve had that dream so many times now. I can recall everything that happens, and I can tell if I’m dreaming that dream. But it’s just endless water under I get dragged under. I heard drowning dreams mean that something is happening that’s out of my control, but what?
***
I was eating dinner at some restaurant with my brother, Firefly. And I brought up my nightmares.
“So...have any dreams lately?” I asked, staring at my plate.
“No,” Firefly said. “I hadn’t been having many dreams, at least not that I can remember. Why?”
“Um. I have been having these...nightmares.”
“About what?”
“Well,” I started. “I’m swimming somewhere. And then, I get pulled under and I drown, but before I die, I wake up.”
Firefly was staring at me, “you should talk to someone about that. Do you have it every night?”
“Yeah. And when I wake up, I can’t breathe.”
“Maybe you should talk to Princess Luna about it,” Firefly suggested.
“No it’s fine. And anyway, Luna has too much stuff on her plate.”
“You're practically a Wonderbolt, of course she’ll make room for you!”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Just... Forget it.”
Firefly sighed and said “I’ll pay,” as the unicorn waiter walked over.
“Thanks,” I said, a weak smile playing my face.
We exited the restaurant and Firefly took off, just then I felt a wet drop of water hit the back of my head. The drops quickly grew in numbers and became a spotted shower. I let myself get soaked as I trudged along to where I knew my house was floating.
I looked up, rain falling into my face. Then I hovered above the ground until I was above a thin line of clouds. I saw my house floating in the distance and flew toward it.
I sighed entering my house, my cat greeting me as I entered. I filled her bowl with food and water and headed toward the bathroom. I flicked the light on and stared into my reflection’s eyes. After awhile, my reflection distorted. It was only a second but it was enough to make my heart skip a beat.
I calmed my breathing down and splashed water on my face. Too tired to even brush my teeth, I exited my bathroom and entered my bedroom. I tried to focus on the things that make me happy. That way, I hopefully wouldn’t have that nightmare again.
But, despite my best efforts, my subconscious had other ideas. I slipped into that nightmare again, but I was prepared. I struggled, but nothing happened. The cold water splashed against my face and it hurt all over, my hooves hitting what felt like rocks.
“AHH!” I screamed and woke up with a jolt, my head spinning. I looked around, and found I was on the floor, covered in sweat and bruises. I got up slowly and limped over to the light and flicked it on. I could see bruises up and down my forelegs, with some spots having tiny, yet deep, cuts. Moving into the bathroom again, I washed my forelegs and wings off in the shower. I sighed, dripping with water. I dried myself off and entered the kitchen.
Warm milk and cookies cheered me up as a filly, so I tend to have a lot on hoof nowadays. As I reminded myself of this fact, I swung the fridge door open and stared at the container of milk. As my vision swirled for a second, I took the handle in my mouth and shakily poured myself a glass.
With that out of the way, I tossed some cookies onto a plate, then put it into the microwave with the milk. I leaned onto the counter and listened to the hum of the mircowave, looking over some of the cuts that had started to scab over. However, I became so engrossed that I flinched at the loud Beep! coming from the microwave, signalling that my midnight snack was ready. I took the plate out and the cup of milk, flying through the door and finding a cloud to rest on.
***
I let the plate and glass fall as I turned onto my back, staring up at the twinkling sky. Small dots shined against the almost pitch black sky. I can’t imagine how anypony could see a bear, or an apple in this mess of stars.
But it was peaceful and I drifted off into the first dreamless sleep that I had in weeks…
***
“You okay, you seem a bit. Off,” Soaring Skies said to me. She was a member on my flying team.
“Yeah” I said, focusing my attention to the contents of my locker. I grabbed my things and closed the locker.
“Aren’t you hot? What’s with the jacket?”
“Nothing,” I muttered.
“Come on, you can tell me,” Soaring pleaded.
“Soar, if you ever cared a dime about me then listen to me when I say: don’t get involved.” I stated, placing my hooves on her shoulders.
“Okay, Fine.” She said.
The bell rung, signalling the start of class, I looked up at it. I felt someone push me aside and hurried along.
The was a line forming in front of Captain Spitfire, I stood next Soaring.
“Okay, you guys managed to pass the first course. Are you ready to be a Wonderbolt,” Spitfire asked.
“Yes Ma--”
“NO! If you had what it takes then you’d already be a Wonderbolt. Now, that doesn’t mean that with practice and hard work you can’t be a Wonderbolt. In this lesson we will work on you stamina,” Spitfire said, looking at the line of pegasi in front her. I started at my hooves.
“REVA,” she shouted, and I flinched, looking up. “Take that jacket off!”
“But--”
“Take it off or you're out the WONDERBOLTS,” Spitfire ordered.
I whimpered, slowly dragging the zipper down my jacket. I sighed, letting it fall to the ground.
Spitfire lowered her glasses, she stared at me. Before pushing them back into place, “500 laps, ALL OF YOU.”
The line took off at breakneck speed, I however slowly fluttered upward.
“Expect you,” Spitfire said pointing to me. “My office now!”
The End.