Chapters I opened my eyes and gasped for air, feeling as though I had just been drowning. I was somewhere achingly familiar. It was a small marketplace, under a gloomy gray sky. Various shopkeepers went hither and thither, announcing their wares and mind bogglingly low prices. But I didn't pay any attention to that. There, in the corner of the marketplace, squatted a small colt pony, hiding underneath the table cloth. he was dirty, raggedy, one would believe he was homeless, and he certainly played the part. He had cunningly hid himself behind an apple booth, far away from the hustle and bustle of the market. One would really have to know what one was looking for to spot him, but I could see him. He was the only thing I saw.
Quick as a whip, he reached up and snatched an apple off the booth, pocketing it under his rags and dashing off. But he wasn't quick enough; the pony who ran the booth, a thick skinned, yellow furred earth pony, spotted him, "Hey! You! Get back here!"
The little colt screeched to a halt, standing in the road with his head hung guiltily.
The pony walked towards him, shaking his head disappointedly. Just let him take it, I thought, Don't you think he had a reason? But nevertheless, the pony strutted up towards him and held out his hoof. The colt placed the apple he had snatched in his awaiting hoof, and then the pony gave him a knick across his crown, causing him to stagger, but not lose his footing like before.
"Don't let me catch you trying that again," he said, and walked back to his stand, muttering various obscenities under his breath.
The colt stood there until the pony was out of sight, then dashed down the path fast as his little legs could carry him, removing a second apple from his rags. The little devil! I got up and followed him, he didn't notice me chase him down the path, he didn't notice me follow him up to an old, decrepit house far away from any others, and he didn't notice me slip inside as he brought the apple to the side of an old, sick pony lying in a bed heavily laden with mismatched quilts and blankets.
"Look Nana," The colt said proudly, "I got you an apple," he pushed it towards the frail old pony, "Eat up, please, you need your strength."
The old pony, Nana, eyed the ruby red apple, a warm smile stretched across her aged, wrinkled face. That smile, it just made you feel right at home, as if nothing bad would ever happen again, and everything was as it should be. She pushed the apple away, "Dear," she said softly, in a loving, creaky voice, "You eat it."
The colt was surprised, then refused, "No, Nana! You need to eat it, it'll make you feel better, please."
Nana ignored the small child's helpless pleas heartlessly. she reached out and felt the colt's face with her aged hoof, "You need it more than I, you must be starving!"
"I'm not hungry!" the colt argued loudly, immediately refuted by a loud growl emanating from the empty pit of his stomach.
Nana let out a soft chuckle at that, then sighed lovingly, continuing to feel the colt's face, "You were always such a good boy, Isaac."
Isaac reached up and felt Nana's hoof with his own, his eyes filling with helpless wonder. "Nana..." Why wouldn't she eat the apple? It would make her feel better, she would get her strength back, and then the two of them could go fishing down by the river, like they used to. Why wouldn't she eat the apple?"
"Do you know why your parents named you Isaac?" Nana asked softly, and without waiting for a reply, she said, "It's because Isaac was once the name of a mighty hero, a pony of legend, who saved countless lives, and even fought the devil himself!" Nana chuckled at the old legend, which was interrupted by a sudden fit of coughing and hacking. Isaac looked extremely worried for a few moments, but then the coughing died down, and Nana continued, "But the hero Isaac had one flaw, He could save the lives of everypony around him, except those who were closest to him."
Isaac blinked tears away. He never understood that legend, ponies would tell him it all the time, he must have heard it a thousand times by now, but he still didn't get it.
"Isaac," Nana continued, "Promise me, you'll live up to your namesake. Save those who cannot save themselves, for me?"
"I-I promise, Nana, I promise," Isaac promised. He would never forget this moment.
Nana smiled, sighed, and leaned back in her bed, "Never forget, my child..."
"Nana...no!" Isaac was now crying freely, he just didn't understand. He didn't even understand that he didn't understand, why wouldn't she just eat the apple? She would feel better then! ...right?
"Your parents loved you very much, Isaac," Nana said, her creaky old voice now a dim whisper, "But not as much as I do..." and with that final breath, Nana closed her eyes, and opened them no more.
"Nana...? Nana...!" Isaac said frantically, quickly panicking, "C'mon, Nana, wake up! Please!" He shook Nana's hoof, begging her to wake up. I could hardly stand to watch, but I couldn't take my eyes away. Isaac was soon blinded by tears, and finally abandoned his once beloved grandmother, dashing out the door in the midst of tears and sniffles, the apple forgotten.
Isaac stumbled down the path, consistently wiping tears from his eyes, reached the simple dirt road, began running, and didn't stop. He ran and ran and ran on and on and on, far away from here, far away from the only being who ever showed him love.
I tried to follow him, to comfort him, to say anything to him, anything at all, but I suddenly fell to the ground as if it were water and the world around me dissolved.
"...Isaac!" called a friendly voice from someplace far off in the distance.
I snapped up from where I lay, gasping as if I were just drowning, the dream fading fast. I tried to remember it, any of it, but it was already gone.
Suddenly a purple unicorn mare burst into the room where I was, smiling warmly, "There you are, sleepyhead! Come on, it's time for breakfast!"
I only had time for one thought, "What?"
I slouched over in my chair, half-heartedly munching on a bowl on soggy cereal. My memory was foggy, and the only thing I could really grasp was my dream from last night. That poor colt, Isaac, It was heart wrenching to watch, unable to do anything to help.
I happened to glance up. That purple unicorn was staring at me eagerly, her eyes full of wonder and curiosity. It was highly unsettling to see how much somepony could be interested in me. I set down my spoon and asked politely, "Could you stop that?"
The pony didn't even respond, but took the chance to assault me with a barrage of words and questions, "I found you out in the forest, you were out stone cold, and I was worried, so I brought you here, cared for your wounds, and set you in bed!" She said all this with a smile on her face, as if it were a great accomplishment. "I found this journal next to you," She said, suddenly turning and digging through a saddlebag until she withdrew a fat, aged book, entitled, 'What I didn't ask for'.
I took the book, nodding to acknowledge that it was mine. It felt familiar, but I couldn't place a hoof on it.
She didn't give me a chance to respond verbally anyway, "I didn't open it, didn't want to pry, but I was sooooo curious!" she squirmed in her seat like a giddy schoolgirl, "I want to know everything about you!"
"Well I'd love to tell you," I said coolly, "But I can't remember a shred of it."
The unicorn was clearly disappointed, but then nodded, "I should think so, that's quite the bump you've got there.
I suddenly felt a throbbing sensation in my head. I reached up to feel a dangerously large lump, underneath a strip of gauze and a thick, matted mane. It hurt. I winced.
The unicorn was at my side immediately, "I wanted to clean your mane and wounds, but..." she didn't finish, only blushed. I rolled my eyes, "I decided to wait until you woke up."
I nodded understandingly, then rose, my breakfast soon forgotten, "I should get on that, then."
The unicorn nodded, then gestured down an adjacent hall with her tail, "Bathroom's that way, second door on the left, can't miss it."
I nodded gratefully, then headed towards the hall.
"I'm Twilight, by the way," she said, introducing herself finally.
I nodded, acknowledging it, "I'm-"
"I know your name, Isaac," She interrupted suddenly, then bashfully looking at the ground. "It was...written on the inside of your journal."
I rose my brow.
"But that was just what I looked at, swear," She said, crossing her heart.
I simply nodded, then headed for the bathroom, thinking. She had called me Isaac, could that colt have been...me? I opened the door to the bathroom. No, I couldn't have been Isaac. He had cyan fur and an auburn mane, turtle green eyes. My fur may have been cyan at one point, but was now a mess of twigs and dirt that resembled what one would find after digging a foot in the forest. Any my coarse, matted mane was jet black, shiny with grease. My eyes were blood red. It was quite the shocker of an appearance. I saw the bandages on various parts of my body: head, chest, and legs. I noticed something else: I was standing on my hind legs, and walking around like that. I hadn't even noticed. Why was I doing that? That wasn't normal, right? I tried to drop to all fours, but it just seemed...unnatural, and quickly hopped back up.
Ignoring that small quirk, I almost looked normal. I hoped I was normal, I still had no recollection of anything. Ignoring that for now, I climbed into the ornate tub and switched on the water, allowing it to take away all the dirt, debris, and blood that was caked in my fur.
After the excessively long bath, I was feeling much better on the outside, but not so much on the inside. I still had no Idea what I was doing here, or even what I had done in the past.
I walked out and found a deep black trench coat, fully washed and neatly folded, waiting for me. I slipped off my towel and put the coat on. It fit like a glove, even when I stood up on my hind legs. In fact, it seemed to fit better then, as if it had been specially made for that purpose.
"Why do you walk like that?" Twilight asked, suddenly appearing from behind me. "On just your hind legs, I mean."
I shook my head, "I really don't know myself. It just works, I guess."
Twilight obviously thought it as odd, but hey, I thought walking on all fours was odd. Two legs just felt natural. she shook her head dismissively, then asked, "Have you remembered anything?"
I turned around and walked towards 'my' journal, holding it and looking at it, "No," I confessed, "But I assume this book will shed some light." I cracked open the book to a random page. That handwriting seemed familiar, maybe it was mine. Nevertheless, there, on the page, was a block of text, strangely formatted and written out as if it were a poem, or a song.
I wanna hide the truth,
I wanna shelter you,
But with the beast inside,
There's nowhere we can hide.
No matter what we breed,
We still are made of greed,
This is my kingdom come,
This is my kingdom come.
When you feel my heat,
Look into my eyes,
It's where my demons hide.
It's where my demons hide.
Don't get to close,
It's dark inside.
It's where my demons hide.
It's where my demons hide.
Memories came in waves, names, places, events, all disconnected and arranged in a random fashion, one that made no sense. I slammed the book shut and involuntarily threw it across the room, panting as if I had just trekked a mile.
"Isaac!" Twilight yelled with concern, coming to my side, "What is it?" she asked worriedly.
I had written those words, I couldn't remember the events that lead up to it at the time, but I knew a few things very, very well. One, I was a monster. Two, where I went, death and destruction followed. Three, I had to get away, now, before anypony else got hurt.
I pulled myself up, collecting my senses, pushing Twilight away, "I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry," I babbled, "I have to go, now, now!" I ran towards the door, scooping up the awful journal as I ran.
"Isaac!" Twilight called, her eyes begging me not to go. I ignored it, focusing on the facts. If I stayed, ponies would start dying, good ponies, innocent ponies. I had to go, I had to remember what had happened.
I opened the door and ran down the path, not paying attention to my surroundings, not paying attention to the fact that I was running on two legs, I just ran and ran and ran. Always running. I was always running.
More senseless memories came rushing back, I pushed them away, I would make sense of them later, I just had to get away now.
After quite a bit of running, I finally ran out of energy a few miles away from where I had started, at least. I was all alone now, out in the middle of a vast grassy plain. I could make sense of myself here. Clouds gathered above very quickly. It started to drizzle.
I pulled out my journal, protecting it from the increasingly heavy downpour. I couldn't bring myself to open it, but I knew I had to.
"Look girls, it's raining!" suddenly cheered a high pitched voice from somewhere in the plains.
I immediately ducked down, not wanting to be found, not wanting to hurt anyone.
"Maybe our cutie marks are for rain dancing after all!" cheered a filly. There they were, stupidly standing atop one of the many rolling hills as the clouds thickened and darkened above.
She was joined by two others, the third of which cheered, "Let's keep dancing!" and they all began doing a crazy dance in the rain. I couldn't move or they would see me. I just stood there, crouched down in the plants, rain plastering my mane to my face, forced to watched the three fillies dance
Something changed in the sky. I couldn't see it, but I felt it, somehow, if that makes sense. Clouds where thickening, rubbing up against each other, charging themselves negatively with the ground. I couldn't see it happening, but I knew something was about to happen, something that wouldn't have been bad, but those fillies were directly in the line of sight.
I couldn't stand it. I had to do something. I jumped up and sprinted towards the fillies. They saw me. They screamed. I ran up, scooped up the filles, and threw them as far as I could down the hill, where they tumbled to a muddy, but safe, mess.
That's when the sky broke.
The clouds had been rubbing up against each other, charging their particles, building up power, forming a path of least resistance to the ground to release the energy. I knew it was happening before it released it. The brilliantly white bolt of lightning struck, a clap of thunder rolled, and it all ended directly on me, where the fillies had been standing moments before.
I knew the lightning would strike before it did, and I sacrificed myself to save the fillies, who would have been struck if I hadn't thrown them.
The thing is, that wasn't the end. I was perfectly fine, my mane wasn't even singed. Of course I screamed, but it was from surprise more than anything. I was just struck by lightning , and I hadn't even felt it.
The fillies stared at me, not fully comprehending what had just happened. I doubted they ever would.
I just turned and ran, but this time, it wasn't away, it was back. I had questions, and to answer them, I needed someone else.
Twilight heard a knock on her door. she was all curled up on her couch, listening to the storm outside with a good book. she went and opened the door and saw me standing there on two legs, soaking wet. I smiled and asked, "Can I stay here tonight?"
"There's nothing out here! you're getting old, you're off your rocker!" teased an old, motherly voice somewhere off in the distance.
"Now darling I swears I heard som'n out here, and I ain't resting 'til I find it!" rebuked another, grouchy voice.
I was in some unfamiliar forest, stranded among the trees and bushes. There, in the middle of a clearing, stood two ponies-a mare and stallion-searching through the bushes; the stallion searched with much more gusto. They looked amish, or at least very, very old fashioned. I quickly stood behind a tree so they wouldn't see me, but accidentally hit something solid with my foot. Looking down, I saw that young colt again, Isaac, crouching among the plants, shivering and trembling from either the cold or fear, or both.
He didn't notice me, I must have been dreaming, although this didn't register consciously. Isaac looked terrible. A bit older, he was, skin-and-bones thin, fur worn in some places to the skin, and matted beyond belief in others. His mane was a mess too; too long, and absolutely filthy, as if he had been living in the wild for a year or two. And he probably had been.
"There!" called the stallion, pointing at where Isaac was crouching. I felt him tense up. Sure enough, they had spotted him; the couple dashed over to him, and I slipped away unnoticed. The mare scooped up the poor child, motherly concern filling her gaze, "What in all of above or below did this to you, you poor thing?" She asked, picking out debris from his mane.
Isaac didn't respond, only squeezed his eyes shut as if he were wishing to be invisible.
"Let's take him to town," Suggested the stallion, "We can see if he belongs to anypony there, and if not, we'll take him to the orphanage.
Isaac didn't seem to like that, he began pushing and squirming, trying to get free, but that old mare had quite a strong grip, surprisingly.
Suddenly, I heard a rustling noise in the forest behind me. Spinning around, I managed to catch a glimpse of what looked like a shadow darting across the forest ground, but nothing more happened after that.
I turned back around, and ended up in some place different. I was no longer in the forest, but now in the middle of a town, next to a certain house. It seemed familiar, but I wasn't sure.
There, on the porch, sat Isaac, a few years older than he had been a few seconds ago. He was a proper young teenager by now, he'd probably start puberty soon. He sat on the porch, quietly sniffling and consistently wiping away tears, as if he were holding it in.
Suddenly, that mare came out of the door onto the porch. She saw Isaac there on the porch, put a disappointed, but relieved, hoof on her face, turned back towards the open door, yelled, "See what you do, Hutch!" and slammed it shut. She then walked over slowly towards Isaac, settling down gently next to him. "Hey," she said in a nice, motherly voice, "It's alright, he didn't mean those things he said."
"He was right, though," Isaac responded, wiping his face, "I was stupid to...to..." tears started welling up.
The mare let out an, "Aww," and wrapped her forelegs around Isaac, "No, no, you weren't stupid, you just didn't know any better, it's our fault for not teaching you." She then turned towards the door and yelled, "Hutch! Get out here and apologize!"
"But Darla..." came a disappointed voice from inside, "He needs to be disciplined!"
"Hasn't the poor boy been through enough?" Darla responded.
Hutch made a disappointed sigh, then came outside, sighed, and said, "Yeah, alright, I apologize, son," to Isaac, "But y'all shoulda' known better...!" He trailed off as he saw Isaac sniffling and his little green eyes quivering. He couldn't help letting out an, "Aww," of his own, smiled (no, really, he smiled) and settled down next to Isaac, wrapping a big, strong foreleg around him, "Yeah, it's not your fault, son. It's ours, we're sorry." and he gave him an affectionate nuzzle through his mane.
Isaac giggled, stopped crying, and settled down more comfortably between the two. Then, after a moment of silence, he said, "I love you guys,"
This clearly surprised the two adoptive parents of young Isaac, Hutch even whispered, "He said he loves us..."
Darla shushed him, hugged Isaac tighter, and said, "We love you too, Isaac." Hutch then scooped the boy up onto his back and suggested, "Why don't we go and have some peach cobbler, boy?" and they all went inside together.
Such a nice scene, It made my heart feel happy.
Then I blinked.
In an instant, I was again transported to a new location. It was night. The house had burnt down, and was now nothing more than a pile of cinders and ash, with a multitude of ponies throwing water all over what remained of the fire.
There, far away from the burnt down house, sat a doctor, consoling and treating Isaac, who hadn't changed a bit, as if the fire had happened very, very soon after the scene I had just left. Isaac was in shock, he did nothing except stare at the ground while the doctor checked his vital signs.
Then, another pony dressed in a crude, old fashioned fire suit came jogging over. Isaac looked up when he arrived, but the firefighter did nothing except take off his helmet and look at the ground.
Darla and Hutch had perished in the fire.
Isaac clearly understood that. He just closed his eyes as tears streamed freely out from under his eyelids and his lips started quivering. The doctor could do nothing but hold the colt close and try to comfort him as he broke down in choking sobs.
Suddenly, Nana's words echoed throughout the air, but I seemed to be the only one that could hear them, "He could save the lives of every and anypony, except the ones closest to him..."
The last thing I remember seeing was Isaac some time after that evening, being lead up to a large, stone building by the doctor. It must have been an orphanage.
I awoke back in Twilight's house, in a cold sweat. That poor colt, Isaac! First his Nana, now his adoptive parents! I had so many questions. Why was I having these dreams? Was Isaac me? No, no, Isaac couldn't have been me, his mane and eyes were a different color than mine. Plus, he didn't walk on two legs.
I looked over and saw 'my' journal on the table next to me. I wanted to open it and read it, all of it, but I dreaded what I would find.
I ignored it all, pushed my dreams away, and went downstairs, slipping on my trench coat as I went. Maybe Twilight had made breakfast by now.
I walked down the stairs and found Twilight busily cleaning up her library. For a moment I stood there, watching her. She hadn't lost her memory, she didn't have a fear that she was a monster deep down. She had a normal life, full of normal things, likes lunches with friends, dates, sleepovers. Did I have any friends? Obviously I didn't know. I didn't know anything. For a moment, I was envious of her.
But I put these thoughts aside and replaced them with new ones, why had I come back? I had been struck by lightning and escaped unscathed, I was confused, I didn't have any sort of idea who or what I was, and I kept having strange dreams, that seemed to follow the life of a colt who may or may not have been me. But there was...something different about Twilight. She just seemed...familiar, like the way she took steps in groups of three when inspecting a shelf, or the light, airy, intellectual feel about her. I couldn't place a hoof on it, but somehow, someway, I knew she could help me.
She finally noticed me standing there on the steps, clad in my specially made black trench coat, which had finally been dried out from the rain. She smiled and said, "Oh, good morning, Isaac!"
I nodded in response, too deep in a tangled mess of thoughts to respond verbally.
She nodded, finished her chore, and went to the kitchen, most likely to prepare breakfast, "Do you remember anything yet?" she asked.
Did I? Those dreams could be considered memories, even if they weren't mine. Or maybe they were. I was just tired. Tired of thinking, tired of wondering, tired of running.
Wait, what?
Tired of running...that sparked something. Whatever my past was like, it had quite a lot of running involved.
I hadn't responded to Twilight's question. She peeked her head around the corner and looked at me worriedly, "...Isaac? Is everything alright?"
What are you, daft? Of course not! I had no memories except for a few bits and bobs, dreams and stardust to guide me, but every time I discovered something new, it discouraged me from going any further even more. But I shook my head, "No, I'm fine,": I made my way down the steps and sat down on the couch, pulling my journal out of my pocket.
'What I didn't ask for,' That's what it was called. I had chosen that title, what did it mean?
Twilight set a meal down in front of me. Eggs and salad, blech. Was that a pear? I hated pears! ...I think. The meal just made me sink even lower into this palpable depression settling in my mind, it reminded me of the last meal you give a prisoner before execution. I simply pushed the plate away and put my head in my hooves, sighing quietly.
Twilight could tell I was depressed, though I doubt she knew what for. "Hey, cheer up!" She said brilliantly, giving me a friendly knock on the shoulder, "My friend Applejack always says, if you're feeling down, the best medicine is a little hard work! In fact, I'm going over to her place later to raise a barn, would you like to come along and help out?"
What else was I going to do, sit here and sulk? I definitely wasn't going to crack open that journal. It just sat there, foreboding. Maybe a bit of hard work would do me good; I got up and nodded, forcing a smile, "Alright."
Twilight was pleased, "Great! Let's go!"
"Now-*grunt*-Y'all just...hang...tight....there!" The orange earth pony Applejack said, stepping away from the newly raised barn wall, panting. Twilight and I had arrived in the middle of the barn raising.
"Hello, Applejack!" Twilight greeted warmly.
Applejack turned to see the purple unicorn and said, "Twi!" They exchanged hugs, and then Applejack noticed me. I was quite the sight, with my jet black mane that drooped down and covered most of my head and face, my blood red eyes which sharply contrasted my pale cyan fur, not to mention the fact that I was wearing my comfortable, all black trench coat and standing upright on two legs. She leaned towards Twilight to whisper, "What's with the freakshow?" She hadn't meant for me to hear. I heard anyway. I wasn't offended, I would feel the same way if I saw me, but Twilight was embarrassed at her insensitivity, "Applejack, hush!" She whispered back, "He's not a 'freakshow', he's my new friend, and he's here to help you raise your barn!"
"Barn raising, huh?" Applejack proclaimed louder, directed towards me. She took a step closer to me and asked with a very serious look in her eye, "Tell me, mister, whaddya know 'bout raisin' barns?"
I looked her in the eye and gave a smile that probably made me look like the bad guy in an old cartoon, "Is it that difficult?"
She was shocked, "Well, ah never! Y'all think yer all high 'n mighty, why dont'cha go over yonder and raise th' next wall?"
I looked over at the barn in question; it had three walls raised, the only one left was the broad left side, and there it lay, on the ground, ready to be lifted.
It seemed easy enough, I could probably infer enough to figure it out. I walked over on two legs to spite Applejack and knelt down next to the barn wall. It had a rope tied to what would be the top of the wall in three places. I picked up the center rope and slung it over the board where the wall would be nailed in, then backed up and braced myself to pull. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Twilight looking over with wonder, but Applejack was snickering as if I was acting like a cute fool.
I wrapped my two forehooves around the rope, which was much more comfortable than pulling the rope in my teeth, and began pulling, using my rear hooves as a brace against the ground for traction. The barn wall was upright lickety-split, and a dumbfounded red furred stallion at the top of the wall nailed it in, all the while staring at me in awe.
Applejack and Twilight approached me from behind, each with a similar look, but none more so than Applejack, "That wall takes three exceptionally strong stallions to go up, four regular ones, and y'all did it all by y'self..."
Woops. Once again I had let my apparent supernatural abilities show, the same way how I had saved those three fillies, who, coincidentally, were standing atop the hill behind me, staring in awe as well.
Twilight slowly approached me and asked quietly, "...who are you?"
I shrugged in reply, "You've got me."
Twilight was grabbing my hoof and leading me away forcefully. She could be quite irritated when she was confused, and you wouldn't like her when she was irritated. She lead me towards some unknown destination, I was practically falling over myself trying to walk on two legs as she lead me, but I managed to stay up long enough for her to lead me towards her house. She went inside, practically dragged me inside, slammed the door, shut it, locked it, and turned towards me sprawled out on the ground with a steely look in her eyes. "Explain," She demanded.
I wasted no time in answering her, "I've got these powers," I started awkwardly, not bothering to stand up.
"Powers," Twilight repeated, as if she was just done with me.
"Apparently so, yes," I nodded.
She brought her hoof to her face, looked this way and that, as if she was searching for some way to voice her thoughts, "Why?" She finally asked.
I simply shrugged, "Beats me,"
Twilight inhaled heavily. She was not amused, "That won't be the only think beating you in a moment."
She just looked so serious I couldn't help but crack a smile. "Look, I really wish I could help you, but I don't understand this anymore than you do."
She just sighed again, put her face in her hoof, and asked around her hoof, "What sort of powers ."
"Well," I began after a moment, "abnormal strength, apparently, and, uh, oh! I was struck by lightning the other day, but I was perfectly fine."
Twilight threw her hooves in the air as if to say, "Well what the @#$% man". She then verbally asked, "Do you have any sort of idea what's up with you? Anything at all?" Her voice was stretched thin, as if she was seriously straining to hold it together.
I thought for a moment, "Well, I have been having these dreams..."
"Now you tell me?" Twilight asked disbelievingly. not waiting for a response, she continued, "What about?"
"Well," I began, "They follow the life of this colt, Isaac, but I don't think he's actually me, his mane and eyes are a different color than mine."
Twilight had calmed down a bit by now, and was a bit more interested, "When do these dreams occur?"
"At night," I said obviously, wondering if she was functioning properly.
She just froze for a minute, realizing what she had just asked, then revised her question, "Do you think you'll have any more?"
I hadn't thought about that, "Well, maybe, I don't know."
She rolled her eyes, then said, "Look, I've got other stuff to do today, so just stay here, inside, okay? I can't have you flaunting your superpowers all around town," She then contradicted herself by using magic to pick up her saddlebags, but she didn't even notice the double standard. She instead said, "Why don't you read that journal of yours? Maybe that'll answer some questions of yours." And then she left.
I rolled over and saw the journal just sitting there, mocking me. I wanted nothing more than to know who exactly I was, why I had these abilities, what the heck was just going on in general, but that journal scared me. The first time I looked into it I only caught a glimpse of some poem or song, but it brought back so many memories.
And then I asked myself, why so many? That journal was exceptionally thick, I just now noticed, how long had I had it?
I got up, walked over and picked up the aged book, just looking at it and sighing in defeat. And finally, finally, I managed to get the courage to open it.
The page I found was completely blank, all except for two words, one written on each side of the book:
"Why me?"
Why me.
Why me.
Why me?
I was suddenly somewhere else.
I was in a forest again. Wait, no I wasn't, I was on the edge of a forest, looking in. Turning around, I saw a large stone building, with the word, "Orphanage," written across the front.
There, behind the building, there was a rope made of bed sheets stretching out of one of the windows, with a teenage colt clambering down the side of the building. It was Isaac.
He hadn't made the rope long enough, and hung there a few feet off the ground. He let go and fell with a thud, but quickly picked himself up and dashed across the yard towards the forest.
He was running away, I suddenly realized. He dashed right past me, not even noticing. For a colt, he ran quite fast. I managed to keep up with him, though, following the colt through the forest until he finally reached a small forest clearing, where he collapsed and started panting. I was panting too.
Suddenly, a charming, deep voice spoke from in the forest, "What are you doing all the way out here, little colt?"
I was startled, and so was Isaac. There, from the opposite edge of the clearing, stood a strange stallion. His fur was so black it looked as if it was sucking away all the light from around it. other than that, he had a silvery gray mane and blood red eyes that shone in the dark. He did not step outside the shadows where he stood.
"...w-who are you?" Isaac asked nervously, backing up slowly.
"No one important," He said charmingly, flashing a smile, "I've been watching you, young Isaac."
Isaac's eyes widened.
The pony continued, "I've seen the things you've lost; your parents, your Nana, your adoptive parents..."
Isaac gasped when he said 'Nana'. He started to tear up, then asked furiously, "How do you know about them?"
"Like I said, I've been watching you," He answered, beginning to circle around Isaac, yet still not leaving the shadows, "You don't like it when things are taken from you, I can help you," He offered enticingly, "I can teach you how to protect yourself, and others. I can give you power beyond your wildest dreams." He stopped walking and looked young Isaac in the eye, "wouldn't you like that?"
The moon passed behind a cloud. I don't know why I noticed that, but I did.
"W-what do I have to do?" Isaac asked warily.
What was he, nuts? He was listening to this stranger? Then again, would I have turned down that kind of power if I were in his shoes?
The stranger stepped into the clearing and looked down at Isaac, "Come back tomorrow night, every night, and I'll teach you how to fight, how to do things other ponies can't do."
Isaac backed up slowly, but the stranger matched him step for step, "O-okay," Isaac agreed, "W-what will you teach me?"
The stranger nodded towards an exceptionally thick tree on the opposite side of the clearing, "See that tree over there? Go punch it."
Isaac looked at him, "Punch it?"
"I need to see how good of a fighter you are first," He explained, "Go fight the tree."
Isaac walked over cautiously to the tree, then lifted his hoof and half-heartedly punched the tree.
"no, no," the pony said, walking over to him. "Stand on your hind legs."
Isaac looked at him, "W-what?"
"Just what I said, stand on your hind legs, it'll free your forehooves up so you can fight better." He explained.
I saw Isaac get up and awkwardly try to balance on two legs for the first time. Then he turned back towards the tree, lifted his hooves, and hit the tree with much more force than before. It rang with a resounding thwack. A slight smile crept across Isaac's face. He was right, when you stood on two legs, you had two whole limbs free to use for fighting, or anything, really.
"Good, good," Said the stranger. There was an evil glint in his eyes.
I blinked, and was instantly somewhere else. I was back outside the orphanage, the sun was rising, and there was Isaac, trying to climb back up the bed sheet rope he had made. Finally, he made it to the top, and I scaled the building to follow him. Right when he went inside, another pony, one who must have run the orphanage, threw the door open, sighing when she saw Isaac in there, "There you are, come along! You're almost late for school!" And she took Isaac by the hoof and lead him away.
I blinked again and was instantly somewhere else once more. I was inside a small, one room class, filled with teenaged colts and fillies. There was Isaac, sitting in the back corner of the class, looking bored. I could see it on his face; he didn't want to be here, he wanted to be out in the forest, training again.
Then, a filly came into class, looking as if she didn't want to be noticed, but I noticed her. She silently walked around the class towards the back, then settled down in an empty seat next to Isaac. Isaac didn't seem to notice, or care. The filly was a unicorn, with light purple fur and a darker purple mane. she seemed familiar for some reason.
She turned towards Isaac and said, "Hi," smiling friendlily.
Isaac simply nodded at her, not even bothering to smile, then went back to looking out the window.
The filly sat there awkwardly for a moment, then said, "I'm Rose."
Rose. That name...
Isaac looked over at her and said simply, "I'm Isaac."
"Hello, Isaac!" She said with a smile.
Isaac rolled his eyes.
"Isaac." The filly said, trying to get his attention. He did not respond.
"Isaac."
"Isaac!"
"Isaac! "
I snapped awake in a cold sweat. I was laying down on the floor, and the journal was clutched tightly in my hooves. Twilight stood over me, calling my name, "Isaac! Did you sleep here all day?"
I was in a daze, a web of thoughts and mistmatched memories swam in my head, I couldn't make sense of any of it. Rose...
Twilight just shook her head in amusement, "Come on, sleepy head, let's get you into a proper bed."