The Chaotic Contest of Calamity

The hallways were dark and gloomy, shadows battling the light as it flickered between life and death, much like a crushed fly… only, not as messy. The once pale white walls were blackened and broken, torn asunder by a force I had yet to locate but was clearly more powerful than I.

I brushed my hair from my eyes and poked my head through one of the larger holes in my personal wall, searching for any discernable source of the distress. When none came, I retreated into my room and sat myself on the bed beside the young boy already seated there.

Why don’t you go out there? I looked at the boy, at the angry expression on his face. His hands were curled up into little fists, and his posture was tense… He was indeed angry. If anyone tries to hurt you, you just kill ‘em! Would it be that simple? I couldn’t say, but I could agree that sitting on my bed, however comfortable and natural it felt, wouldn’t help a whole lot.

So I jumped off the bed and dropped to the floor, laying there for some time. I could hear murmuring, a whispering of voices coming from the hallway. Whatever threat there was would surely take care of that, what did I have to worry about?

I agree with Ares. Might be better if you go out there now. They gave you a way out, maybe you should take it before it gets closed up again! Something pulled on my hair, getting me up to my knees. Hands rested themselves on my shoulders, and I felt a wetness on the back of my neck. A kiss, but not one of love… comforting? Was I sad? I suppose I was, since if I had a way out that meant I would have to leave my room and if I had to leave my room I would have to go to a strange place.

“But imagine how fun that would be!” I shouted to the two, adjusting to a cross legged sitting position. Arms went around my midsection, and rested there. I noticed several things at that point, all of which I voiced to my companions. “The voices are too quiet, the walls aren’t white enough… the darkness is too bright. I’m dreaming, but not a normal dream. You two are real, but everything else is fake, which means this isn’t a dream I can control. This isn’t my dream, so… whose dream is it?”

A shadow danced in the darkness before me, a strangely shaped shadow with a long neck and long head, and two different arms. One was thin, with talons; the other was thick, furry, and pawed. Posture suggested confidence, which implied the source was powerful or believed they were powerful, or at least more so than I was. Possibly a bluff, to throw me off guard… but doubtful.

Conclusion: They are responsible for the dream. “Nice work. I almost thought I was awake.”

“Most of your kind wouldn’t have so much trouble figuring such a thing out. You are… strange.” He replied in a peculiar voice, one that felt strangely fitting to whatever characteristics he might have. I couldn’t know such a thing, so I filed that in with the dream creating powers under ‘things to ask about’.

I didn’t turn around, even if the arms around me were to permit such an action. “That would be a correct assumption to make, of course. That is why I am here, and why you broke me out. Of course, by your shadow I am to assume you have little room to talk about ‘strangeness,’ no?” You must not show that you are frightened. Fear is equal to weakness.

He chuckled, “I suppose you’re right, there. What gave the dream away? I always wish to improve, you know.” He approached, but kept some distance between us. That would imply he felt I was a threat to his well being, but in a dream...

“The odd hazy texture of everything around us coupled with the muted look of the lights, doesn’t feel real.” said the three of us to this strange creature. “What do you want with us, since I am to assume this is for more than a friendly chat?” I stood up, the arms around me impeding little, and I turned to face the beast.

Some amalgamation of various animals I recognized, much like a chimera only appearing to be far more intelligent… coupled with the bipedal stance and the questioning look in his eyes… he definitely had some human in him, somewhere. (Not to say that only humans are smart and walk upright, but… I had a feeling.) The arms of a chicken and lion, the legs of a goat and some scaled creature, the wings of a bat and bird, and a serpentine tail…

All topped off with the head of a horse, a horn and antler on that very head. “You are quite a peculiar creature. If I hadn’t already realized I was dreaming, I would have now. What are you?”

I asked him two questions, but I had no preference to which he answered first. He took a moment to think it over, or come up with an equally as convincing lie, before replying, “I am a draconequus, known as a chimera in your world’s legends.” That part was obvious. “As to why I want you… It seemed like a fun idea!” For what do you want us, though? “Before I get on with that business, however, I have to ask… Why are you here?”

A lot of reasons. World thought I was crazy, they didn’t believe when I told them what Ares and Victory told me, I stole a number of firearms from all sorts of interesting places, and I was considerably smarter than them all. I just got bored and let them catch me.

“It’s pretty complicated. They probably have a problem with me wanting to be a woman, and would rather I never got the chance to do so. Even if they did agree to give me those hormones or whatever, they haven’t started so I am to believe they never will. It’s a worrying situation, but I’ve had a plan of escape for some time. Just no reason to do so.” So what if I was clearly lying? He wouldn’t know that. Telling him the truth might convince him to leave me here.

“Also, this isn’t a dream. You’re altering my perception of reality to make me believe this is a dream, so I wouldn’t realize that you are indeed truly so disturbing. You are doing the same to the others at this very minute.”

He looked quite surprised by my total shot in the dark. “How in the hell could you have figured that out?”

Think quickly. “Well, for one thing, whenever I dream, everything I feel doesn’t feel quite right. However, when Victory wrapped her arms around me, I could clearly feel that as though I was awake. Plus, whenever I dream, I never have dreams with other people in them, nor do I ever dream about this place. While it may have been possible that you simply chose this location for us, and put those people in the background… I very much doubt it.”

He nodded, grinning at me. “You are going to be fun. Alright, I’m running out of time, so I’ll make this quick. You have two years, cause as much chaos as you can without harming any of the original residents of the world you wake up in. You have a month to make friends with a pony, and if you are one of the first three people to do so, then you will get a little bonus prize. Would you like to wake up in Ponyville, Manehattan, or Draconia?”

Draconia sounds too dangerous, and he said ‘pony’ which may imply that there is a creature like a horse but is sentient enough to be befriended. In a place such as that, dragons may exist. They would surely live there. That would be quite dangerous.

Manehattan, if it is anything like the original, would be big. Too big to navigate, and too big to recon. Plus, it’s a pun name, and I despise puns.

Ponyville sounds small. “I choose Ponyville.” I must know the name of this creature, it may very well come in handy. “Might I know your name, sir?”

I think he laughed, although the sounds were starting to taste strange, so I can’t be sure that what I saw was a laughing texture or a talking texture… “Hey, who turned out the lights?”

Colors exploded around myself, Ares and Victory, the various hues cloaking us in neon lights. Wind whipped past me, threw up my skirt, pulled at my hair. My companions each took a hand of mine and held on, my own hands tightening around their wrists.

My feet met solid ground, I rolled into something soft. Yellow filled my vision, then blackness...