Risky Business

Chapters

Chapter I: The Average Day
Chapter II: Good Morning
Chapter III: A Talk With Rivers
Chapter IV: Sweet Dreams

Chapter I: The Average Day

“Beep, -And we’ll take a look at the weather for this Thursday evening with what seems to be mostly cloudy the rest of the week with a small chance of rain but temperatures ranging in the high 60’s to low 40’s this eveni-“ I slammed the alarm clock as I urged myself to wake up. I sat up in bed with my eyes shut. A strong beam of light shone in through the window. That is when I realized; “Oh no.” I whispered. I took a look at the clock, 6:47 A.M. My eyes widened as I rushed out of bed. I got caught in the sheets and fell off the bed, landing face-down on the old carpet. I guess I had a bit of spring fever in me, since summer was nearly here. I staggered towards the bathroom where I hurriedly took a shower and brushed my teeth. I ate cereal while I got dressed and spilled small drops of milk as I did so. I was never very good at multitasking.

I bolted out the door not even bothering to lock it. My parents were already at work, so nobody could drive me to school. I hitched a ride on the city bus and checked my watch; 8:16 A.M. “Damn I’m late for school again,” I said with a shrug. I popped in my headphones and tapped my feet to the rhythm of the dubstep that flowed through my head. I got dropped off across the street from my High School. I quickly ran across the busy street, dodging speeding taxicabs as they screeched to stops and blared their horns furiously. This has been my third tardy in a row, and that means detention. SCHS (South Chicago High School). Home of the Southern “Bunnies.” What an embarrassment. They want to make us sound tough but send a good message to younger school kids. The whole concept of ‘school’ is a joke to me. Thankfully the doors weren’t locked. I scarcely walked down the halls trying to avoid any contact with patrolling teachers. “So far so good,” I said to myself in a reassuring voice. I nearly got to my English class when-

“Ah Mr. Smith. This is your third tardy is it not? Detention, in my office, this Saturday.” He strolled away, flicking his pen into the air with pride. “Oh and one more thing, don’t forget to turn in that money you owe the school for the broken window. I’ll expect that by the end of the day,” he reminded me. That was a stupid accident. I was sitting in French class watching a French love film. Ruler was the only object I could use to keep me busy and, just a friendly tip, don’t try to see how far you can shoot rulers across the room without the teacher seeing.

I grunted as he casually walked away. Great, just what I need to ruin my already “perfect” weekend. Summer is just around the corner and he gives a detention. I walked into class without saying a word. The teacher just gave me a stare of disapproval for interrupting her lecture. I sat down at my desk and twirled my pencil; ‘pretending’ to listen to my overage English teacher give a lecture on how Shakespeare was a loner his whole life. My annoying friend Jim must have noticed me with Mr. Young, because he had that stupid smug look on his face when he leaned over to me.

“What was that all about?” He asked with a half-smile on his face.

“Nothing, now fuck off,” I responded. I try not to swear, as I think it makes me look bad in front of the girls. Jim is about 8 months older than me. Weighed about 180 lbs. and was 6 foot 1. He was nearly half-a-foot taller than me. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy having Jim as a friend, but I can’t stand him when he gloats. Jim has always been the one to get the girls, he’s not extremely popular, but he gets girlfriends nonetheless. In the past year, he’s had more girlfriends than I could count. On the offshoot he always asks for help with his homework. Even though I don’t do well myself, but I’m still considered the ‘smart’ one. He’s trying out for the Junior Basketball team. I rolled my eyes at the thought of it. He may be taller than me but I could still take him down easily if I wanted to. He’s not the brightest person out there.

“Another tardy right?” He said in a gloating manner. This lit a fuse inside that was bound to go off if he didn’t quit talking.

“Stop bugging me about it.” I said as I glared at him. He backed off after that, finally. I must have been speaking louder than I thought, because the teacher took note of my rambling.

“Mr. Smith, is there something you wish to share with the rest of the class?”

“No ma’am. Sorry,” I apologized as the people around me chuckled. Jim wouldn’t stop talking to me though. That’s just not what he does. Yet I’m the one who gets in trouble.

“Ok then,” He whispered to me. “Say, me and some of the other guys are going out with a few dates to the football stadium Friday night. How about you join us?”

“Can’t,” I said in a passive voice, “Busy Friday.”

“Busy with what!” He whispered. He eventually stopped talking to me after getting a glare from the teacher. School was never really my thing anyways. I got decent enough grades so my parents still bought me what I wanted. They don’t give me allowance so they repay me in buying me what I would have bought anyways. There was a knock on the classroom door. I knew who it was. Madison Young. Yep you guessed it, she is also the Daughter of that “thing” patrolling the halls. She was late again as usual.

“Hi Mrs. Greenwood,” She said with a cheerful smile. She gets to be late. That doesn’t seem to impress the teachers or the rest of us.

“Just take a seat Miss Young.” She responded with a scowl on her face. Oh she was beautiful. Err Madison not the teacher. She has long flowing brown hair with sweet sapphire eyes. Oh she is the best one. She rejected the head quarterback of the football team. The head quarterback! Hard to believe she would date anybody. The one boyfriend she did have dumped her for the head of the cheer team. Figures, as it happens to the best of us.

My life back home is very uneventful. My mom was always working to keep the house she has come to love so dearly. This house is so run-down that we would be better off with something else. Jim was right about most of what I call my daily routine: I go home, watch some TV, and then occasionally watch some episodes of old movies. My mother works 12 hours a day for Monday through Saturday. The only time she is home I’m usually asleep or she is from working midnight shifts on Saturdays. I was dozing off in thought as I snapped back to reality. I had to sit through 6 more hours of a teacher give lectures and homework to students that only drink and party every night. Pfft, not me of course. I was never invited to those parties anyways…

My walk home went as it usually does. Police always patrolling the back alleys, shooting people suspicious looks as they watched. Come to think of it, they were two new officers that I hadn’t noticed before. And they were staring straight at me. I tried to ignore it however, and kept moving to my street. Oh I forgot to mention my father. Truth is I don’t know much about him myself. He left to live in New York after I was about five. He took the job as head police chief. We still have a pretty good connection with each other after he left, but in the past few years we stopped messaging each other. I completely agree with my mother leaving him. I still have some respect for him though. I thought seeing him would give us a chance to clear some things up. I’ve always wanted to go visit him. It just wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. I opened the door to my house. It was small in comparison to most houses, but it was bigger than any other house on the block.

“Mom I’m home,” I shouted, throwing my backpack down in the corner. No answer. I noticed a bright pink note on the counter. It read; “Working overtime, see you tomorrow.” Strange I thought. No ‘I love you’, or ‘call me’. I brushed it off and went for the fridge, flipping the radio on. “Beach Boys, great,” I thought to myself as ‘Surfing USA’ played. I finished some leftover Subway and sat at my TV. I flipped through channels, trying to find something that wasn’t related to drama or sexual themes. Amc, Cartoon Network, Disney, FX, Spike, HUB… My Little Pony marathon. “Ponies. What a joke,” I said to myself as I turned on the Play Station.

I checked my watch; 11:21 P.M. I was tired but my mom wouldn’t come home until 2:00. I got up from the couch and picked up my Electric Guitar. I enjoyed guitar as a hobby. It was my replacement for sports. I hated sports. I’m not good at any of them. I sat in my computer chair and played with the radio. This lasted for a good half an hour until I heard a car pull up to my driveway. I knew it was my driveway because of that damn pothole that was right smack in the center of it. That thing was always impossible to avoid. Then there was a knock at my door. I sat there for a second, deciding whether or not to answer it. Then there was a voice. “Uh, Morgan Smith?” the voice called from behind the door, “I have a package here for you.” That was my mother's name. I got up and walked towards the door. I peered through the glass siding. There wasn’t anyone there.

“Is this some kind of a joke? I must be more tired than I thought,” I thought out loud. I decided to check for a package anyway. But there was no package at the doorstep. There was a small creature staring up at me, eyes beaming. “Ok, this is trippy,” I said taking a step back. The creature was horse-like with white fur and a flowing Multi-colored mane and tail. It just looked and smiled at me. It had a red bow on its head. “Kind of cute,” I thought. I heard something break in the kitchen and I turned around quickly. I looked over my shoulder back at the door and the pony figure had disappeared. I blinked in disbelief. I closed the door and held my forehead. “Hello? Is there anyone there?” I asked cautiously. No answer from the kitchen. I could smell an aroma emanating from the fridge. I cautiously staggered over to the fridge. I only had my fists as defense. I jolted the fridge open and there was nothing there. All the food was gone too! “Ok, time for bed!” I said aloud, walking to the bedroom. “I am seeing apparitions,” i said to myself. I stopped, dead in my tracks. There was food scattered all across the floor!

I suddenly started getting drowsy. Then I heard another knock on the door. “Oh boy,” I said. The radio music began to fade. My vision became blurry. The door opened on its own, as six colorful figures walked in. I could barely see them as they approached me. “S-Stay back,” I said trying not to pass out. They all stood there and watched me as I knelt from the effect of whatever poison I had consumed. The light blue one began to approach me. “Am I being abducted?!” I thought to myself as the creatures curiously watched me fade into oblivion. The light blue one however walked up to me and stared right into my eyes. That’s when I collapsed on the hardwood floor. I could hear voices around me saying to move me to the bed, that’s when I lost all thought and fell into a hypnotic state of sleep.

Chapter II: Good Morning

I didn’t know how long I was out, and I didn’t care, all I wanted was for the hallucinations to disappear. My alarm clock went off. “Good morning downtown Chicago, and it is a beautiful Saturday morn-“ Wait, did he say Saturday? I’ve been out for TWO days?! Shit, this is bad news for my school attendance record, as if being late to school wasn’t bad enough. I sat up and looked at the time. 6:46 A.M. I lied back down with a sigh of relief. “Oh thank god it was just a dream,” I said out loud. “Last night was pretty trippy.” Then I heard some shuffling in the darkness. “Mom?” I asked. No response. Someone was in the room with me. This can’t be good. I reached for my bedside light and flicked it on. I was frozen there, wide-eyed at what I saw. There was a blue creature on my bed just inches away from my face. “So I’m still dreaming,” I said as the creature turned and began whispering into the darkness. “Now they’re TALKING?!” I thought. I fell off the bed, tangled in the sheets. “Ok, so the hallucinations haven’t stopped.” I thought aloud. Then there was a feminine voice coming from under the sheets.

“Hey! What’s the big idea?” said the voice. That does it. I got up and staggered towards the main light. I turned it on and pretty much almost fainted again. To my surprise I saw five pairs of eyes staring at me from the corners of my room. They all were just waking up themselves.

“Now I’m worried.” I said still thinking I was hallucinating. I slapped myself a few times to try and get myself to wake up from this damned nightmare. Then some of them started whispering to each other. They didn’t do a very good job.

“Is it alright Twi?” asked the orange one. “IT?” I thought. I was offended for a brief moment, but I guess they couldn’t really tell. Oh god, I’m thinking about them as if they were real. But it seemed all the evidence was pointing to them really being in my room. The lavender one whispered back to the orange one after looking me over thoroughly.

“I’m sure she’s fine.” The lavender one responded reassuringly. I could tell there was some confusion in her voice though. “Hey, at least she guessed,” I thought to myself. I felt sick to my stomach at that point. One of them tried to approach me with a friendly gesture but I wasn’t going to fall for that. I ran to the bathroom and threw up into the toilet. I ran my hand through my hair, questioning what the hell I just witnessed. “This isn’t happening. You’re just having a bad dream that’s all. You’ll wake up soon,” I kept telling myself.

“Excuse me Miss,” came the voice of the lavender one. I quickly shut and locked the door. This is almost as bad as the time dad left. I react the same to similar situations it may seem. “Ok Mark, take a breather,” I said trying to calm myself down. But then there was a knock on the bathroom door. I would never open the door to one of those creatures. But then there was a soft voice from the other side.

“Um, excuse me? Is anypony in there? I apologize if my friends startled you. We were waitin’ for you to wake up yourself, but I guess they were becomin’ a bit impatient. If you’d open the door I’d gladly introduce myself to ya.” I hesitated for a second but then I decided to man up. I cautiously opened the door. I saw nothing at first, to my relief. But then I had to look down and, sure enough, there was the orange pony standing in the doorway looking up to me. “So what’s your name Mister,” she asked with a smile. I was very hesitant with every action I took towards these alien creatures. They seemed harmless, but this could all be a part of their ‘sinister plan’ to abduct me. Or was I already abducted? Was I being experimented on right now?! These thoughts made me shiver and I refocused me attention. I stammered a bit while I spoke.

“M-My name is M-Mark,” I replied, “Mark Smith.” I was taken back by their ability to speak my language. I half expected them to start speaking some form of Korean or Spanish. “What the hell are you all doing in my house?!” I yelled. This startled some of them. But they responded almost immediately.

“That’s just the problem ‘sir’, we don’t know,” answered the Lavender one. She finally figured out I was a guy. The others probably clued her in. “We were all asleep when it happened. Then the next thing we know, we’re in this strange place. We came to you hoping you would be able to assist us, but so far you're just shown what looks like fear. If you would be able to help us I could make it worth your while." Those words, 'worth your while', got me interested. I'd give anything to finally get some revenge on Jim. That was a big question to ask at the moment, so I just brushed it off and tried to ignore it. I quickly scurried over to the kitchen to check the contents of the fridge. It was stuffed with all sorts of foods that I didn’t even realize I had before. Smoked salmon, Almond milk, Cheerios. Cheerios in the fridge? Come to think of it, they weren’t in my fridge before last night. I looked back to the others who were watching me intently. The lavender one answered me first, “Pinkie got hungry on the trip here and helped herself to whatever she could find,” she said with a nervous look on her face, “But to save you the trouble of getting more, we explored the so called ‘Grocery Store’ and replaced what we used.” I had a dark suspicion for a moment. I flipped on the TV and channel surfed until I hit the news. Just as I suspected too, “Last night there was a break in at Wal Mart superstore in downtown Chicag-“ I muted the TV. I ran my hand down my face in agony. I looked at the six of them,

“You stole from the supermarket?” I asked in disbelief.

“Good heavens no,” the white one replied, “The people there generously gave it to us,” she said with a smile.

“Were they scared in any way?” I asked, raising a brow.

“Well they were cowering in the back office. But he yelled at us to take whatever we required,” She pleaded. I rolled my eyes and looked back at the TV. Says the security cameras went out just before the robbery took place. No coincidence I assumed. I turned back to them. By the look in their eyes, they could sense that what they did was wrong. I looked towards the six of them. Might as well ask for their names.

“What are your names then?” I asked, gesturing to the six of them. They stepped forward a bit and that’s when I got a good look at them. I never actually noticed they had horns and wings. Some had neither but others had both wings and a horn. Very interesting. The lavender one stepped forward and bowed her head.

“My name is Twili-“ she was cut short by the light blue one.

“I’m Rainbow Dash,” she with a bold look on her face. The lavender one shot a look of disapproval down at the blue one.

“Like I was saying, my name is Twilight Sparkle. Pleasure to meet you Miss,” she said. I drooped my head and sighed in disapproval. She wasn’t sure what she did wrong but I would explain it to her later. The other two stepped forward.

“I’m Applejack,” said the orange one, “Pleasure to meet your acquaintance,” she said with a southern accent.

“And I am fair Rarity,” she said brushing her mane back with her hoof. “And I must say you have a wonderful place darling, if I do say so myself.” I looked at the yellow one who was quivering behind a potted plant. Rarity looked at her and tried to coax her out of her hiding spot, but she wouldn't budge. The pink one wouldn’t stop bouncing. She looked like she had something to say, so I gestured to her.

“Hi! My name’s Pinkie Pie!” she said with a huge smile. I became startled at her 'loud' introduction. She gazed at me in awe, “Ooooo. I’ve never seen anything like you before Mister. Although I’ve seen lots of other things before, like turtles, cats, humming birds, vultures, eagles, dogs, donkeys, bunnies, mice, parrots, fish, dolphins, snails,” she laughed after she said that, “Snails are so small. Did I mention they’re slow? All snails are slow, but they’re still so adorable!” she exclaimed. The Pink pony was inches away from my face at this point, bouncing up and down in position.

Applejack moved in to keep her calm, “Calm down now sugarcube,” she said pulling pinkie back. That’s when I remembered. Mom. Oh shit she was supposed to be home by now. The phone rang. Hopefully it was mom. The six of them jumped at the startling sound. Our phone was from the 1980’s. Not the most reliable version of a phone we could get. I would have to ask the six of them more questions later. I forced myself up from the position in front of the television. Rainbow was curious I guess. She flew up and poked it, causing it to fall over and onto the kitchen tiling.

“Whoops. My bad.”

I rolled my eyes and answered the phone. It was mom. Thank god she was all right. “Hey, where are you?” I asked nervously. “You’re WHERE? I’ll be over there when I’m ready,” I said and hung up the phone. I sighed in disappointment.

“I have to go to the police station,” I announced, “She’s been drinking again,” I muttered to myself. The last time this happened was with dad. Strange, it’s like he’s been here the whole time. “Look I need you six to stay here and, for the love of god, don’t touch anything if you don’t know what it does. I ran and grabbed my wallet. The Police had arrested her for assaulting a co-worker. So many things were happening at once. First I find these six and now my mom has been arrested. She hasn’t been arrested since dad was with her. I clenched my fists at the thought. She never admitted it to anyone, but I knew that my dad was abusive to her. She keeps telling me that he would never try to hurt me. She had every right to leave him. Him leaving to New York was god’s gift to my mother and I.

“Yessir,” Applejack said reassuringly “You can count on us!” she shouted as I walked out the door.

“I’m thrilled,” I muttered. Maybe I shouldn’t leave six aliens alone in a house. I thought for a second, but maybe a walk is all I need to I walked down to the police station. My mom was sitting in the waiting room. She was in tears. “Hey.”

“Oh,” she began, wiping some of the tears from her eyes, “Hi honey. How was school last night?” she asked as I gave her a hug.

“Oh you know, the daily routine.” The whole daily routine thing was a joke to her the past few days. I expected her to laugh or at least chuckle, but there wasn’t even a grin. But it was my way of life. “I had some strange things happen to me last night though,” I started. I questioned whether to tell her or not. Maybe later but for sure not right now. She has too many things on her mind right now.

“Really?” she asked curiously, “What sort of things?” This surprised me. She went from bawling, to no expression whatsoever. There wasn’t even a tear in her eye.

“I’ll tell you about it later,” I responded. She sat back in her chair and waited for her lawyer to come talk with her about her lawsuit. Mr. Rivers. Rather skinny man with glasses. He wore his hair back like a greaser from the 1950’s. I could guess he was about fifty or sixty years old. Judging from the massive amounts of dye he puts in his hair to hide the gray. He looked at me with disgust.

“Hi, Miss Smith. I’m Roy Rivers. I will be your attorney for the lawsuit. Shall we go discuss the matters of the case in private?” he asked with a smile.

My mom turned back to me. “How bout you head back home sweetie. I’ll be home later today,” she said as she walked away with Mr. Rivers. I figured I should get home though. Who knows what those six could have done while I was gone. Or maybe they’re gone. Oh god I sure hope they are. “Oh and Mark, I called your father. He said he would come over to watch you while I was on trial,” she called back. I froze.

“HOW COULD SHE?! She would NEVER call him, especially if it was to watch ME!” I thought. This was turning out to be the worst day ever. But I can’t worry about that right now. Had to get home. I arrived at my doorstep. Nothing was on fire, that’s a good sign. I cautiously opened the door. They were still there, so they must be real. They were all sleeping in front of the TV and on the couch. I guess my alarm was too early for them. Wait, there were only four of them. Weren’t there six before? Did they wander off? Oh great, the pink one is missing. She could end up giving someone a heart attack. The one called Twilight was also not in the room. I just hope they don’t end up getting caught by anyone else. The TV was muted with black and white sparks on the screen.

Everything else seemed fine. Nothing broken, no fires. At least they know how keep themselves out of trouble. Then I saw the yellow one. She was still behind the potted plant, covering her eyes with her hooves. She would uncover them, only to become scared and cover them again. “Uh, hi,” I said approaching her slowly. How could I get her to come out? She was the only one who didn’t introduce herself, so I didn’t know her name. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. I won’t hurt you, I promise,” I reassured her. Still wouldn’t budge. “You know this might be easier for both of us if you would just open your eyes.” Still nothing. I gave up and sat down on the couch with my guitar. I studied the ones sleeping. Some had horns and others had wings. The other two were neither. I tried to guess their race. Ponies, but they were all different. What are horses with wings called? Pegasi? Ok, and Unicorns? Then just plain ponies. Strange, but I find it fascinating.

I softly played some chords and god lost in thought. I still couldn’t believe my dad was coming over. Mom was acting strange too. I don’t know what compelled her to call him. I heard some flapping behind me. I assumed it was the yellow one and I tried to ignore it, thinking I might scare her if I looked. She flew down towards the end of the couch and sat there. Watching me from a distance. I could tell she was full of questions to ask me, but couldn’t for some reason. I still avoided making eye contact. She was very skittish. I tend to get lost in thought while playing guitar. I just play whatever comes to mind. Songs that I learned myself come to me more often. Songs by Trooper, Pink Floyd, ACDC, or Lynyrd Skynyrd. I took a chance and glanced over to the yellow ‘Pegasus’. She was sound asleep. I unmuted the TV and flipped to AMC. Re-runs of The Walking Dead were on, so I watched that. Then I remembered something. HUB was showing a My Little Pony marathon. My suspicions were correct. All of the characters on the show, called the ‘Mane Six’, were here.

“Great, I’ve been visited by a bunch of cartoon characters,” I sighed. I still had no idea why they came to me. Maybe its because I was so approachable? Nah, half the features of this house would scare them to death. Maybe it’s because I was the first one they saw? When did they get here exactly? Have they been here for weeks? Years? I have no clue. I guess I’m stuck with them for now. I pushed the power button on the PlayStation and put in Battlefield. Two hours had passed and I was exhausted. I turned the game off after getting my ass handed to me by a bunch of eight-year-olds. Today’s youth. They're being given too many privileges.

There was a knock on the door. “Oh god not again,” I said to myself as I brushed my hand through my hair. I got up and went to answer the door nonetheless. I looked through the glass and saw the two other ponies waiting. I was relieved to know they were not seen. That’s what I thought until I looked to the right of Pinkie, who was bouncing up and down. There was someone else with them though, a person. “Oh shit,” I thought. I opened the door and my mind was blown. I was frozen in place. My head began pounding almost instantly. There, standing in the doorway, was the beautiful Madison Young.

Author's Note

Well this didn't take as long to make as I thought it would. Then again I already had most of the ideas for this chapter already set up. Just a matter of typing it. I've got a lot of free time while I'm on vacation I guess. Anyways, enjoy and tell me of any mistakes I made, or things you would like to see added.

Chapter III: A Talk With Rivers

“M-Madison?” I asked in disbelief. She just gazed at me for a few brief moments. She looked absolutely clueless about her surroundings. She looked at me with a smile and spoke in a soft and pleasant voice.

“Hi Mark,” she said. I must have blacked out after that moment, because I woke up and I was in my bed once again.

“Jesus, please tell me they didn’t bring her into this mess!” I said aloud. I checked the time. 9:36 A.M. My stomach growled and ached in pain. I couldn’t remember the last time I ate anything. I mostly snacked on some small things yesterday. I sighed. “Whatever, it’s not like I was planning on falling asleep again anyways,” I thought. I staggered to the living room and turned on some of the smaller lamps in the room. I knew they were sleeping, only because I could hear them snoring. The fridge door was open though. I wiped the crust from my eyes and went to close it. But before I could close it, I noticed Rainbow looking for some food. She saw me and became startled.

“Oh, hey Mark,” she said with a nervous look, “I got hungry and I couldn’t sleep,” she answered. She saw me looking at the small mess she had left on the floor. “Hehe, sorry about that, I guess I got carried away,” she said with a nervous smile.

“Well then, lets make some early morning breakfast,” I said as I reached for the eggs and vegetables. “You like meat?” She had a disgusted look on her face and couldn’t believe what I had just asked. “I take that as a No?” She nodded her head and chuckled a bit. That made me smile. I cracked the eggs into the pan on the stove. Eggs were the only food I ate for breakfast. “Want some vegetables?” I asked as she opened the fridge again.

“You got any apples?” she asked, scanning the fridge.

“Bottom left drawer,” I answered. She opened the drawer with her teeth and picked out a red one. She devoured it in a few quick bites. I thought for a moment as I looked at her wings. She would probably want to go outside. Today would be the perfect day too. Sunday, everyone’s at church. Well, everyone within a ten-mile radius of my house. “I’m going out for a run later today, wanna come?” I asked with a smile. She immediately gleamed in excitement, and I assumed that meant yes. I finished my breakfast as Rainbow waited impatiently by the door.

“Can’t I just feel the air?” she asked pleadingly. I shook my head to her disappointment. I grabbed my jacket and turned on my iPod. I don’t jog though, I run. My method is that you push yourself to the limit and do better every time. I was just about to head out the door with Rainbow, when I heard a groan from the couch. It wasn’t one of the ponies. Rainbow just about lost it at that point. I had completely forgotten that Madison was here.

I wasn’t sure if what I was seeing was real or not. “She’s just as real as these other ponies,” I thought. I sighed and decided to deal with it after the run. I needed to clear my head. These ‘ponies’ would have a lot of explaining to do when we got back. She should be ok for the time being. I opened the door and Rainbow flew straight up into the clouds to feel that amazing air breeze brush against her wings. “Just stay close!” I shouted up to her. I didn’t know if she heard me, but she knew where the house was. I usually take this time to think about what the weekly schedule is. What homework I’ll get, how much free time I have until Mom comes home from work. But now I had bigger things on my mind. To be honest the ponies were the least of my worries. My parents were causing me a lot of stress lately. Especially after what happened yesterday. This whole “other worlds” thing is driving me insane. Only some MIT graduate would be able to explain something as complicated as that. Who knows, maybe someone will realize they’re gone and come looking for them. I could only hope.

I saw a car rolling down my street slowly, looking for something, or someone. I looked and checked for Rainbow, but she was out of sight. Thank god. I noticed the driver, it was Jim. “Shit, why now,” I said to myself. He had a bunch of his ‘friends’ in the back. They were all members of the football team. I also saw the head quarterback, Josh Andrews. Jim had a brand new Ford F150. He probably leased it. I tried to avoid eye contact, but he noticed me and pulled up next to me.

“Hey man, check out my sweet ride!” he exclaimed.

“It’s outstanding,” I muttered. I continued to run, but Jim turned the truck around and followed me. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“Nah, parents are in Florida for the week. They left me with five hundred bucks and a new truck,” he answered. Jesus, all he ever does is gloat about his new shit. Josh eyed me with a scowl and hopped down from the truck. These guys are always doing drive-by’s early in the morning. It just so happened that I was their next target.

“So you’re Mark Smith?” he said with a playful tone. “Funny, I expected something a bit more, intimidating than you.” I knew what he was doing. I wasn’t going to play his game. “You know, Madison talked about you all the time. Said you were amazing. Everything she ever wanted. And I thought that guy was me.” He chuckled. “Guess I was wrong,” he said with an evil grin on his face. That’s it I’m out of here. I started to run in the opposite direction when I heard Police sirens. I stopped, thinking it was my dad. But I turned around only to be met with a fist that landed an uppercut into my stomach. I fell to my knees. The wind was knocked out of me, and I saw the cops put Josh facedown onto the hood of the truck. He was handcuffed and put into the squad car. I got up with a frown. I guess they didn’t want me, because they took off as soon as Josh was secured in the back seat.

“That was a little too close,” I said to myself. I looked over to Jim. The whole time this happened Jim just sat in the driver’s seat with his headphones on. The rage I felt needed to be expelled from my system in some form. I reached into the car and grabbed Jim’s phone.

“Hey! Give that back!” he yelled. I smiled and chucked it into the side of his truck. It left a good little dent in it. I ran off back towards my house. All Jim did was sit there and stare at his broken phone. I’ve never been happier about anything in my entire life. I turned onto my street and forgot about the whole ordeal. My stomach hurt, but it wasn’t anything serious. I heard wings flapping behind me. I turned and saw Rainbow with a confused look on her face.

“Where have you been?” I asked.

“Up there, watching you,” she responded. “Who was that guy?”

“Someone who might be going to jail,” I responded. She looked at me with disappointment. “Hey, if I’d done anything to fight back, I would be in the same damn situation as he’s in right now,” I said with a scowl. She simply rolled her eyes and trotted behind me. I didn’t want to think about it. Even though this was the first time he picked on me in particular, I’ve seen him bully plenty of other freshman and sophomores. He used to bully seniors, but that ended almost the day after he started. Some kids are just born to be delinquents.

I heard another car pull up behind me. I turned around and saw that Rainbow had flown up before the car came into view. I saw Mr. Rivers standing there with a file in his hand. He had an officer with him as he approached me.

“Son, I’m Mr. Riv-“ he was cut off.

“I know who you are,” I scolded. He simply nodded his head and adjusted his tie.

“I’m here to talk to you about your mother. As you know she’s being charged for assault with a deadly weapon,” That didn’t sound like the charges I heard before.

“Where did the deadly weapon come from?” I asked.

“We had a witness come forward this morning with information detailing the crime. She described a 44. Magnum pistol that was used as the weapon of choice. The butt of the gun matches the marks on the defendant’s forehead,” he explained. Shit this changes the whole situation. Each day just gets better and better I suppose. The lawyer looked at me with suspicion. I knew something was up.

“What is this really about Rivers?” I asked with a smirk. He was taken back by my challenge towards him. I suspected he was lying about something. He sighed and gestured towards the police officer. The officer stepped forward with handcuffs. “What the hell are you doing!?” I yelled. The officer put me onto the hood of the car and handcuffed me.

Mark Smith, you are under arrest for the assault and kidnapping of Madison Young,” the officer explained. My mind was frozen. The use of kidnapping and Madison Young in the same sentence scared me. He began to read me my rights but his voice was drowned out by my sorrow inside my head. I saw Rainbow in the clouds above, watching as they arrested me for a crime I didn’t even commit. I just sunk in the chair in sorrow.

“We have your prints on THIS weapon at the scene of the crime last Thursday night,” Rivers said pointing to the picture of the weapon, “We have enough evidence to put you in prison for a long time sonny.” I just stared at him in disbelief.

“Who are you, really?” I asked. He became enraged at my question and rested his fist against the concrete walls. “Listen Rivers, you’re not going to get a confession out of me, but I’m willing to cooperate with you until this matter is resolved.” He looked at me with a smirk.

“I am Agent Marcus H. Rivers, and I work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” He answered with a grin. He was hoping to scare me with his act of boldness but I didn’t even flinch.

“So the arrest on my mother was just to get closer to me?” I asked. He nodded with a disappointed look. He pulled out a folder from the filing cabinet and slid it over to me. I opened it, only to be met with photos of me in North Korea, Japan, Russia, Canada, and the States. My mouth was agape. “These pictures aren’t of me,” I protested.

“You’re right, they’re not. They’re all of you as a thirteen-year-old,” he explained. “Each one of these people have been questioned, all with different names and different alibis.

“Say what now?” I asked wide-eyed. All this information was a lot to process.

“And the funny part is, they all have the same exact fingerprints,” He said leaning in on the table. “Same dental records, same allergies, same bone structure. There are five other versions of ‘you’ roaming in five different countries. He leaned in closer and whispered. “This has happened to hundreds of other people across the globe. If you knew what was really going on right now, you’d piss your pants right here on the spot,” He said. He gestured for an officer to come inside. He had the cuff keys with him. “You’re free to go,” He said and got up from the chair, “Sorry for wasting your time.” He motioned towards the door. I was dumbfounded.

“What about the charges? Or the Kidnapping?” I asked.

“What charges? We caught the guy who did that,” he said with a wink. “Her father transported her to your house last night for you to keep an eye on her while he was away,” He said and walked outside with his suitcase. I guess it was nice to have someone actually 'looking out for me'. The officer approached me with the keys.

“I’d be happy to give you a ride home if you’d like,” He offered. I shook my head as the officer undid the handcuffs from my wrists. I began my long walk home from the station.

“How is that even possible?” I thought, “Five other versions of me?” I kept thinking that was impossible. But with what I’ve experienced so far, it seems anything could happen. I got to my door and saw Rainbow waiting on my rooftop. She was looking out into the distance.

“Rainbow, I’m down here,” I said. She suddenly looked down and smiled.

“I thought you weren’t ever coming back!” she exclaimed. “What did they want anyways?” she asked as I unlocked the door to the house.

“Nothing, just asking some questions,” I lied under my breath.

I opened the door and Rainbow trotted inside. “RANBOW!” I heard Twilight yell. “Where in celestia’s name have you been!?” she yelled with a very stressful look.

“Calm down Twilight, I just went for a run that’s all,” she responded with a chuckle. I jumped at the sight of Twilight. Her mane was out of place, and she was pacing back and forth across the living room carpet. We were gone for almost two hours.

“Where did Madison go?” I asked after I noticed she was missing from her previous position.

“We moved her into the master bedroom. She was mighty tired,” Applejack answered with a yawn. The time was only about 11:55 and Twilight must have woken everyone up with her worries. I heard something shatter in the bedroom. “Oh god,” I muttered. I got up and cautiously approached the bedroom door. “You six stay quiet,” I whispered. I opened the door and saw the bedside lamp had fallen over and shattered across the hardwood floor. I flipped on the main light and saw Madison, sitting up in the bed with a very worried look on her face. She looked at me with a sigh of relief. But then she quickly became agitated.

“Where am I?! How did I get here?!” she kept yelling. She obviously suspected I had brought her here. She got up and began to slowly make her way to the door. “I asked you a question,” she said, inches away from my face. I just stood there in disbelief.

“You mean you don’t remember coming here?” She must have taken that offensively, because she simply grunted and sat back down on the bed. Her head was drooping and I could tell she was very upset. I didn’t know what to say. This is the first time I’ve ever talked directly to her. “So you don’t remember them?” I asked as I opened the door, revealing the six ponies curiously watching the two of us. She became terrified at what she saw. She had a tear trickling down the side of her cheek, as she kept moving away from the door.

“I-I thought I was only dreaming!” she exclaimed. I felt a bit of guilt for her. She didn’t deserve to be brought up in their mess. Then again I didn’t deserve it either. But I guess luck was never really on my side anyways. I walked out of the room and closed the door. I was biting my nails in anxiousness.

“Why the hell did you bring her here?” I asked impatiently. Twilight stepped forward.

“I brought her here, because she can help us get to our homeland; Equestria,” she responded. “I’ve been doing a lot of research lately on your ‘laptop’ that you have on the desk there.” I was surprised she figured out how to use it so easily. I walked over to it and noticed some of the keys were scratched up and worn down a bit. I rolled my eyes and returned my attention to Twilight. “I researched whatever I could find on ‘Teleportation and other universes’, but could only find a fictional story that was written on the subject.” I still couldn’t believe she was using my laptop. It’s my pride and joy, and I couldn’t afford to replace it. “It states that that only way that universal teleportation is possible is through the use of either dark magic, or the magic of love and affection. The problem with love and affection is that the relationship has to be extremely powerful.” She kept reading off notes she had taken down in her notebook. She was pacing around while reading and levitating it with her horn.

“Amazing!” I thought, “Can she make anything levitate?” I questioned in my head. Twilight’s rambling seemed to last forever. I constantly checked the clock every minute. Only twenty-five minutes had passes, but it seemed like six hours had gone by.

“I don’t think your world has any source of ‘dark magic’, so we’ll have to use love,” she answered, closing her notebook with pride in her eyes. Either she knew I liked her and brought Madison here knowing that, or she just picked her out of pure coincidence. I don’t think I have enough feelings towards her to generate what Twilight was rambling about, but then again this could just be some extremely false lead she picked up from a Wikipedia site. I picked up the remote and turned on the TV. Amc was showing Iron Man. Eh, a decent movie, but not one I would watch five times over. I opened the fridge and pulled out an apple for a snack. Applejack’s face lit up at the sight of it.

“Y-You have… Apples here?!” she exclaimed with excitement, “Does that mean theirs apple orchards here too?” she asked. I nodded my head with a worried expression. “Yeehaw!” She threw her hat up into the air and landed it right back on her head. “So, when can I go?” she asked with a big grin on her face.

“I think we’d better wait a while before we start going sight seeing,” I retorted. Her ears flopped down in disappointment and she trotted towards the apple stash. Rainbow was already munching on a Granny smith and Applejack picked out a Golden one. Twilight continued pacing around the room and took notes for future reference. She still had offered me anything I desired in exchange for helping them. I chuckled. “Hasn’t housing them been helpful enough?” I thought. The ponies were all entranced by the immense action with the movie. Rainbow was practically pushing her nose against the glass screen as the man in Iron Armor wiped a terrorist camp off the face of the earth.

I went to check on Madison in my mom’s bedroom. I knocked softly against the cold wooden door. There was no answer. I opened the door just enough so the bed was visible from the entrance. She was lying down on her side. She wasn’t asleep, but she knew I was there. I couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of responsibility, like this was my fault. “I’m sorry for all this, I didn’t mean for you to get caught up in this mess along with me.” I left the door cracked open and walked out to the couch. I sat and watched the rest of the movie with them as they all fell asleep. I ended up watching the next two Iron Man movies after that.

The time was 10:38 P.M. Most of the ponies had moved themselves into my bed, so I had to sleep on the couch tonight. I scanned the room for my guitar, which was propped up against the TV. My head was throbbing again, just like this morning while I ran. I picked up the instrument. It had a metallic blue coating with a redwood neck. I sat back and played whatever came to mind. I dozed off into deep thought about my parents. I have been holding back a lot of emotions for the past eleven years, and I wasn’t about to let it all out now. I would have vivid flashbacks while I relaxed. My dad reading stories to me every night, telling me famous quotes of life from Theodore Roosevelt, or Martin H. Fischer. The quotes I remembered the most were from Hans Andersen. I smiled and drifted off to sleep. I had a dream that night. A dream in which I ran for miles. Where my legs would not stop, and there was no limit. I was happy there, and that’s all that matters.

“Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.”

~Hans Christian Andersen

Author's Note

Keep in mind, the incident at the police station was not a random action. It is deeply related to the overall plot of the story. Enjoy this chapter and again let me know if I missed anything.

Chapter IV: Sweet Dreams

“Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today.”

~James Dean

I ran down what seemed like an endless tunnel of light. The walls and ceiling above me were filled with illuminating streams of white and gray paints. I heard many sounds that echoed through the tunnel. Sounds of footsteps and voices that came from the end of the tunnel. I thought I would never reach the end. I stopped to rest from my tiring run, and that’s when I came across a door. It was a wooden white door that was placed on the right side of the tunnel. I approached the door and it suddenly became a vibrant canvas of black and brown mixtures. Cracks and tears formed in the base of the door. I felt compelled to walk inside. I opened the door that led into a room filled with white picture frames on the walls. As I approached a painting, a memory was placed in the white opening. I paced around the walls as countless memories filled the white walls and ceilings. It made me smile. The memories filled up the entire room, from the ceiling to the floor.

The paintings moved at light speed across the floor and through the walls. I was under constant bombardment by my memories that I wanted myself to see. However I was disappointed. I had expected more from myself, and my memories. Hoping that they would provide some form of inspiration for me. The noises suddenly became louder and increased in volume. I tried to cover my ears, but it was no use. I screamed and the noises cut out. The frames had disappeared and all was left were loose portraits of memories. However they did not last long.

Then the memories slowly faded. The white room was enveloped in a drizzling paint of multiple shades of brown and grays. The room formed around that one wooden door. The room suddenly became our old house in Michigan, where we had a dairy farm. I stood there in my old bedroom, blue curtains covering the windows. I looked towards my bed and smiled. Memories flashed by from the bedside. The times when our family was a whole, and before dad left. I was only about four or five. Memories of sadness and smiles that took their place in that bed. My dad read me stories in bed as I fell asleep. It would replay the sounds of that night too, which made me hurt inside. He would read me some of his old comics. The ones that I liked best were ones of adventure and Sci-Fi. I loved Captain America. But every time he read it, he would become stressed and leave the bedroom angry. It made me scared to see dad so angry. Dad had served in Vietnam before he met mom. He was only eighteen when they met. He must have had some bad memories while he read those comics.

One night, when mom was asleep, and dad had just gotten back from a trip. He came into my room and read me Captain America. “Dad? Why do you get so angry with me all the time?” I asked with a frown. He stopped reading. His eyes became teary and he hugged me.

“Son, don’t you ever think that. Those times I get mad, it’s not your fault. You don’t have to worry about it,” He said and kissed my forehead. That was the last time my dad read me a story. The rest of the memories were sad. The day we moved, the night mom cried herself to sleep because dad left. My eyes filled with tears and they slowly rolled down my cheeks. I looked down, and walked out of the room of memories. I shut the door behind me, closing out the memories from those years. I continued my long run down the tunnel of emptiness. Still chasing after the light that I had been seeking for so many years.

I stopped to the sound of a whistle in the distance. I looked to the left and saw another door. This door was metal, with a single glass window at the top. I approached the door and became smaller. I was unable to see over the door. I turned the handle and pulled. The door would not budge. There was something on the other side, pulling the door closed. I tried as hard as I could, but stopped from exhaustion. I gave up, and started walking in the opposite direction. But the door opened and revealed a bright light, a light that was much brighter than the one at the end of the tunnel. I peered inside the white, blank, room, and became enveloped in yet another memory. I was struggling to recall this memory as I walked through what seemed like an apple groove. I was suddenly surrounded with the sounds of chirping birds and moving water. The apples on the trees were ripe for picking. I looked down the tunnel of trees and noticed their distinct pattern and placing. This was an orchard, not a groove. I looked to the techni-colored sky and saw a blue figure descending from the air above my head. The memory began to fade. The floors had eroded before me and I fell back into the endless tunnel.

I sat there on the illuminated surface. I just wanted to wake up now. This sudden flow of memories was making my stomach churn. I began to tear up at the sudden flood of memories that had escaped the darkest depths of my mind vault. Then I heard a voice from behind.

“A warm welcome to you, ‘Mark Smith’” came a very calm and feminine voice. I turned and saw what looked like another pony, but much taller than the others. She had wings and a horn. She wore a crown, and crystal shoes that covered her hooves. Her mane and tail were flowing with an image of the starry night sky. It was absolutely mesmerizing.

“Who are you?” I asked, wiping away some tears.

“I am Princess Luna,” she said with a smile. I just wanted to run away and be left alone forever. I definitely didn't need another one of them in my life right now.

“What the heck are you doing in here?” I asked, starting to get angry. I saw my dad standing there next to me. “Dad?” I said to the figure. It quickly faded away when I reached out to grab him. I wrapped myself up and buried my head into my arms.

“You opened up your deepest memories, and thus allowed me to enter,” she answered. She frowned at my sorrow.

“Why would I want to let all of this out? It just causes me more pain.”

“You were able to open the door you kept locked for so long, thus allowing me to access them. I opened the memories in the vault and displayed them to you,” she explained. This made me angry with her. Was her goal to cause me pain and suffering?

“How could you do that to me?” I said with angry tears forming in my eyes. I couldn’t believe that I would openly allow those memories to escape.

“Tell me, what is your relationship with your father?” she asked with dismay.

“I have no father,” I retorted, looking over to her. She had crept closer and was a few feet away from where I was sitting. “All he's caused me is pain, and that’s all he’s ever done to me,” I yelled back.

“But what you saw in those memories, they were pleasant feelings, were they not?” She did have a point, but I wasn’t about to admit that she was right. A big white board moved next to me. A memory was plastered on the white canvas and I recognized it immediately. It was the night dad left us.

“NO! STOP! I don’t want to see anymore…” The memory suddenly paused in front of me. I was surprised. “Did I do that?” I asked, looking back to Luna. She nodded solemnly.

“Your mind will continue to reveal long lost memories until you allow them to be seen,” she replied. “But you still have enough control over them to seal them back inside the back of your head.” I sighed. I knew she was right. I let the memory unfold before my eyes. I was quickly encased in a dark room. Light was seeping in through the cracks in the small door. I brushed my head against shirts that were hung a few feet above my head. I was in a closet. There was a thunderstorm outside. Constant waves of rain and sleet struck my bedroom window. The closet door suddenly opened and I saw myself as a child with my mom. She was moving me inside the closet and telling me to stay here no matter what you hear.

I watched myself as tears ran down my cheeks. I was scared and alone. There were shouts coming from downstairs. The bedroom door opened, it was dad. “Mark? Mark!” he kept shouting. I could hear my mother’s sobs in her bedroom. My dad simply turned and shut the door behind him. I got up and opened the closet. He left me a present, with a note attached to it. I wasn’t able to read at that age, but I put it somewhere safe to read when I was older. He left me a metallic blue guitar, with a red bow attacked to the tip of the neck. That made my heart sink. I welled up in ears as my younger self smiled in joy over the gift.

“So that’s where I got the guitar from,” I said aloud.

“Indeed,” Luna said, appearing next to me in the closet, “And I think it would be beneficial to both of us if you read the note your father left you. But only do so when the time comes.” She said with a serious look. I nodded my head and heard my dad close the front door. This caused the memory to fade into oblivion before me. I ended up in the tunnel again, only this time, there was a very welcoming light at the end. “You have been running for so long, yet you have made little progress. With this new knowledge you will be able to fully accomplish your goal that you have been seeking your whole life,” she said and gave a smile. "And I think your new 'friends' will help you get to that light." She meant the ponies? Sure, what could they do? A piece of paper had appeared in my hand as I faced her.

“Thank you, for everything,” I said and sat back down. I was left with a picture in my hand of our family when I was young. She knelt down and put a comforting wing around my body.

“You are very welcome,” she replied with a smile. She then suddenly gasped in fear and I looked up. I was met with a dark shadow figure standing a few yards away from the two of us. The figure shape-shifted into many people I knew and cared for. It stopped changing when it reached the figure of me. I gazed upon it in horror. It looked at me and had a very evil grin. It made my body shiver. “Run Mark, go towards the light!” she yelled, giving me a shove with her wing. I instinctively ran as the figure levitated at light speed towards Luna. Her horn was glowing as she stood in a defensive position.

I glanced back for a brief moment and ran, head on, into a horse-like figure. I was knocked back a few feet and gazed at the figure ahead of me. Its eyes were a chilling ocean blue. Its body was all black with holes scattered throughout its legs and wings. It had a spear-shaped horn and had a scales that ran down the back of its neck. It opened its mouth to reveal piercing sharp teeth. Then it shape shifted into my mother. I was frozen in fear. It gave me an evil grin and flew at me, bearing its sharp teeth. I could not move, I simply gazed at the terrifying creature that was seemingly moving in for the kill. I closed my eyes awaited the creature to reach me.

I jolted up from the couch I had slept in. I was sweating from my head down to my feet. I was breathing heavily as I had been clutching something in my hand. I opened my fist and found the photo of my family. It made me smile. I lied back down, pressing the photo to my chest. I stared up at the ceiling, with a smile that lasted throughout the night.

Author's Note

This is a mini chapter I created for the soul purpose of revealing more of the protagonist's past. Tell me what you think. I felt it was necessary to shed some light on his past for I have received some comments about his past and thoughts on the situation being a tad dull. Now we know what's really been on his mind. He is constantly thinking about his dad it seems, while the ponies are the least of his worries. But they will soon be the only thing he needs to think of as the plot unfolds...