I awoke on the ground where I had laid myself before I fell asleep. Why I had fallen asleep, I didn’t have an inkling. I did know that the floor felt different from when I had first lay down. It seemed more toothed than what my skin had me remember. I brushed my arm across the ground to confirm what I had already thought: green grass. It was fun to just slide my arms and legs over the grass.
I wondered why I was out on grass in the first place. Perhaps I had wanted to relax out in the sun? Its rays felt great against my fur, warming me. But I quickly grew uncomfortable from my prolonged openness to it. I hopped up onto my hooves while a slight breeze cooled me off. In tacit wonder, I tried to figure out where exactly I was.
A field, of course, but what field was it? I had no recollection of this place. Its hills and rocks and flowers were as foreign to me as the grass. The earth waved across into many hills interrupted by white fences. Wherever I was, it would most likely be found on the other side of these hills.
I took my time, stopping periodically to look about the expanse for anything that caught my interest. A bird, a fly, a piece of floating cotton, they all had something interesting and new about them. The breezes came in succession, counteracting the midday heat. It was strange. Why was it so alluring to view such normal things?
As I reached the top of the tallest hill, I looked down and around in search of some clue to my current location. I was surprised to see that there was, in fact, a town directly below where I stood. I could see ponies bustling about the streets, turning corners, socializing with one another. I could feel the echo of the town reverberate through me.
I don’t know what came over me at that moment. I felt exhilarated, elated. Some unknown force emanating from the town pulled me in. I ran as fast as I could down the side of the hill, careful not to trip on any loose gravel or depressions that riddled its ground.
At the bottom, I stopped for a moment to catch my escaping breath. The town paid me no attention as they went about their business. The ponies ate lunch without pause, the market made their barters without skipping a word of negotiation. I smiled. There was an undefinable good to just standing here.
I approached a pair of ponies conversing over plates of salad, one purple, one an almost bleach white. I didn’t feel as though I was interrupting, but their expecting expressions prompted conversation.
“Hello? Do you need something?” the purple one asked.
“Not really. I’m just watching.” I answered.
“...us eat salad?” The white one looked sore at my unintentional interruption. “Darling, that is a bit strange.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you,” I apologized. “I’ll get going.”
“No, no, it’s fine. You don’t have to leave,” the purple one said quickly. “We weren’t discussing anything important.”
I stopped and turned back around.
“I haven’t seen you around Ponyville before. Are you visiting somepony?” she asked. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. And this is Rarity.”
“Hi, Twilight. It’s nice to meet you,” I replied. “I don’t remember my name, though.”
“You don’t remember?” Rarity asked. “Do you have amnesia?”
“I suppose so.”
“We could give you a name until you find out what it really is, if you want,” Twilight offered. That was a good idea. It would be easier to call for me if I was needed.
“Sure, go for it.”
“How about Dream Runner? That sounds like a nice name,” Rarity said.
“I love it. Thank you.” I smiled.
“We should take you to the hospital, Runner. It isn’t smart to be running around with memory problems,” Twilight said. “The doctors should be able to help you remember.”
“I don’t want to remember,” I said. It was true, I didn’t. The reason why elluded my explanation, but I simply did not want to remember who I was.
“What? You can’t really mean that.”
“I do.”
“Well, you’ll remember sooner or later, Runner. You can’t hide away from it forever,” Rarity pointed out.
“I guess so. But I want to be like this for as long as I can,” I said without thought.
“If you insist,” Twilight sighed. “We could go around town and introduce you to our friends. After that we’ll figure out what to do about your housing.”
“That’d be great. Thanks a lot,” I said cheerily.
I let the two finish eating their food before we headed out further into town. It was bigger than I had thought from the hill, but, at the same time, seemed smaller than what I expected. Most houses were of a similar design, but a few stood out in color and size.
Many ponies walking passed greeted the two and I with sincere smiles and salutations. An orange pony walked beside us.
“Hey, Twilight. Rarity.” the new addition greeted. “Who is this stallion?”
“I’m Dream Runner,” I answered with a smile. I did very much like that name.
“Nice to meet you, Runner,” he said. “It’s not everyday something new happens in Ponyville.”
“But there’s always some disaster going on. Don’t you remember last-” Twilight began to argue.
“I was just making a joke. Just to ease the mood.”
It’s funny. He almost reminded me of someone. That smile and joking seemed familiar, but were so far off I couldn’t get a memory to reference it to. Just a feeling.
“You thought about it, didn’t you?” the orange pony asked with a smirk.
“Hm? What?” I asked, not really hearing what he said. I was still trying to remember why he was so familiar.
“Nothing.” He rolled his eyes. “I’ll see you all later.”
“Bye,” we all said simultaneously.
We walked a bit longer around town to a destination that was unknown to me. I waved my hoof to ponies that I didn’t even know, and they waved back without hesitation.
“Oh, dear.” Rarity suddenly stopped. “My apologies, but I just remembered that I need to finish up an order. It shouldn’t take very long, but with the deadline fast approaching, I believe it would be best to be done with.” She looked to Twilight. “Could we meet up at the library in, say, an hour? Maybe two?”
Twilight and I smiled and gave her a nod before Twilight spoke up. “Sure thing, Rarity.” Rarity smiled and trotted off to her shop.
“My home is in that tree down the street,” Twilight pointed off to the horizon. “I’m sure if we can’t find somewhere else to stay, we’ll have enough room for you there.”
“Thank you, Twilight.” I pause. “It’s really nice of you to be offering me your home and everything.”
“Well, I can’t let an amnesiac pony roam the streets, can I?” Twilight sighed.
The tree was even more massive now that I stood before it. It must have been ancient to have grown so tall and wide to fit an entire home inside.
My awe was interrupted by a blue image racing across my peripheral vision. It had landed directly next to Twilight and me before I could react.
“Hi, Rainbow Dash!” Twilight greeted.
"Hey, Twilight. I just finished the first chapter of that thing I'm writing and I want you to read it because it'sawesome!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
“Really? Well, I’d love to look it over some time. You don’t happen to have it with you now, do you?” Twilight asked.
Rainbow shook her head.
“I left it at my house so I could read it again later,” Rainbow replied. “Twilight, you could totally write the next Daring Do series. Your story is the best.”
“You really think so? Some other ponies I showed it to told me it was really boring and unoriginal.”
“They must not have read it. It was definitely one of the best stories ever,” Rainbow Dash confirmed. Her gaze suddenly turned to me. “Who’s this guy?”
“I’m Dream Runner,” I answered. It was getting easier and more natural to say my name.
“Are you a friend of Twi’s that I don’t know about?”
“I actually popped into town not too long ago.”
She nodded. It had just dawned on me that she had wings, which were folded on her sides. Could I have wings? I looked myself over for the first time since I awoke. My fur was orange all over, excluding my hooves, which were caked with drying mud from my race down the hill. I peered at my sides and discovered, with great delectation, that I did indeed have wings. They looked so nice, almost like brand new.
I didn’t wonder why I hadn’t noticed them before; I was too enamored by my tail. It was a deep blue, like one would see if they glanced at the top of a deep lake. I waved it around a few times like a whip. A large grin emerged in my expression as I looked back to the other two. They didn’t seem to have noticed my self-examination, instead discussing a topic lost to me.
Upon whim, I looked at Rainbow Dash and asked giddily, “Do you want to race, Rainbow?”
She looked at me with confusion. “Really? I mean, seriously? I’m the fastest flyer in Equestria, Runner. You don’t stand a chance.”
This only heightened my excitement. I would not be deterred. “Please? I really just want to race. Just once.”
She smiled. “Alright, then. Fine. How about to Sugarcube Corner. The place that looks like a big pastry?”
“Sure!” I didn't have a clue as to where she was talking about, but it didn't matter to me in the slightest. “Count us down.”
Twilight obliged. Upon a countdown from three to one, we were off without hesitation. Perhaps I went off too fast. The dry air stung my eyes as I flew at what I assumed was my top speed. I couldn't move any faster even if I tried to.
I managed to keep my eyes open long enough to spot a building in town that more or less fit the description I had been given. The roof was like frosting covering a cake. I felt hunger pains just by looking at it.
I landed near the front of the shop, looking around for any sign of Rainbow Dash; I had not seen her the entire way there. She was nowhere to be seen.
“Hey!” I heard someone yell. “How the heck did you get here before me?” It was Rainbow Dash. The expression on her face projected her annoyance, confusion, and what? Jealousy, maybe? I couldn’t tell.
“I was just flying as fast as I could,” I replied. “I thought you were ahead of me!”
“Not even close! You zoomed off way ahead of me,” Rainbow said with what almost seemed like wonder. “Are you really faster than me?”
Before I could respond, the doors to Sugarcube Corner burst open, nearly smashing a few solicitors into the wall behind them. Bouncing out with energy that could be felt even a few meters away was a puffy, pink pony. She looked around quickly before her stare fell upon me. She smiled with overwhelming and unreasonable glee.
“I knew my senses were tingling! I don't know you and I know everypony, so you must be new here! Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie and you must be tired. Well, I mean it looks like you're tired. Have you been running? Has it been from monsters? Oh oh, if it's monsters just tell me and Rainbow Dash. We've seen so many-"
“Pinkie!” Rainbow exclaimed.
“Sorry, sorry!” Pinkie apologized, still talking with the same pep as before. “We need to have a party for you right now! I’ve got cake and goody bags and games and cake and-”
“I’d really like a party, Pinkie. Thanks a lot,” I said. No sooner had I finished my sentence had I been dragged into the bakery. Inside was a menagerie of ponies already waiting for my presence. A loud exclamation of surprises filled the room, and the party started. The wide rainbow of ponies so densely packed into the room caused me to avert my eyes for a moment.
Pinkie had disappeared, so had Rainbow Dash. I was alone in the sea of conversation around me. I began to feel increasingly uncomfortable for some reason.
“Hey, Runner,” Twilight said, emerging from a gap in the wave, an orange pony following close behind. “This is Applejack, another one of my friends.”
“Nice to meet you, Applejack,” I said.
“Same to ya, sugarcube,” Applejack replied. “I was just on mah way over to Twilight’s to ask for some help with mah apple bucking when she brought me over here to come an’ meet ya.”
There it was. A way out of this mess of a party. I nodded quickly. “I could help you if you wanted, Applejack.”
“Well, I sure wouldn’t turn down an offer for help,” Applejack said. “If you really want to, I suppose we could go down over by my orchard and start up again.”
I was already out the door by the time she had agreed.
Sweet Apple Acres, as it turned out, was beautifully vast, stretching as far as the eye could see with apple trees. Some already had their apples skillfully removed off the branches, the fruits piled high in baskets still underneath the trees. The mass majority, however, were still full of red apples.
“Just get started on the left side of the field, sugarcube, and I’ve got the rest on the right,” Applejack said. I agreed without argument, though I couldn’t will the courage to ask what apple bucking was.
She trotted off to her half of the field and I pretended to trot over to mine. I looked back once I was halfway to the nearest tree and watched as Applejack kicked the tree with her hind legs. The apples fell neatly into the baskets placed below without falling to the ground.
I came to my first tree, and turned myself to the opposite direction. I took a deep breath and pictured what I had just seen Applejack do. I brought my legs all the way back to my hidquarters and pushed them back and into the tree.
I had suspected that it would be painful for me once my hooves connected with the sturdy bark of the tree, but to my surprise, the apples fell into the baskets as neatly as Applejack had done.
I let out a surprised laugh.
For minutes onward, I followed the same basic pattern of work. I would buck a tree with all my strength, wait for the apples to drop, then fly to the next one. Even though I was huffing and puffing all the way around, I never exactly got tired.
Minutes turned to a half-hour, then to an hour, then two. I had come to my last tree on the left field and, with one solid buck, knocked all the ripe apples clean into the baskets waiting underneath.
I couldn’t really be done already. It felt like I had just started not too long ago. The sun was still high in the sky. I could see Applejack still only halfway done with her side of the field. I finally had to accept that I was done working for the day. I had felt so free and now I had nothing to do.
Applejacks tree bucking sounded like banging metal from this far away. It was strange. I sat down on the earth and drifted off as I continued to listen to the banging. It came irregularly, like a bell, but it was almost soothing.
I decided that it was probably best to just wander around for a while. The area beyond the farm was as vast as the hills from where I had arrived. A few minutes into my stroll, I could see a small dwelling off in the distance. Squinting did nothing to clarify the shape. I flew towards it.
As I neared, I could see that it was a small cottage with small animals darting around it. Outside was a butter-yellow pony feeding the animals from a small sack of feed. I landed behind the pony, trying to avoid the scurrying squirrels and small birds.
“Hi there, miss,” I greeted. “My name’s Dream Runner.”
The pony turned around with her bag of feed, and smiled weakly before slumping away behind her mane.
“I’m sorry if I was bothering you, I just wanted to see what you were doing,” I said.
“I’m just feeding the little woodland creatures,” she replied. “My name’s Fluttershy, Dream Runner. It’s nice to meet you.”
Hiding behind Fluttershy was a small squirrel, obviously cowering from my abrupt appearance. I came up closer, but slowly. The squirrel recoiled slightly but did not run away. After a few moments of my slow approaching, the squirrel came up closer to me. I grabbed some feed from Fluttershy’s bag and fed it to the squirrel, much to its delight.
“Oh, wow,” Fluttershy said. “He usually only comes to me because he’s scared of everypony else.”
“I guess I’m just good with animals,” I shrugged.
“How long have you been tending to animals?” she inquired, coming in closer towards me. “Do you have a way to make them like you quickly? Could you show me?”
I began to feel awkward and uncomfortable with the sudden interest in me. I backed off slowly, but she kept on advancing.
A boisterous howl from within the nearby woods ceased our impromptu game of advance and retreat. The animals around the cottage suddenly began to flee, scared from the noise. Fluttershy began to hide behind her hooves.
The howls came louder and more frightening. They sounded nothing like any animal I had ever heard, almost like a cross between a scream and a roar. As quickly as they had come, the noises disappeared.
“What was that?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Fluttershy replied. “But they are probably the scariest things in the forest. I’m going to make check up on the animals and make sure they’re okay.”
“I should probably get going, anyway,” I said as I glanced at the setting sun. “I need to spend the night at Twilight’s.”
“It was nice meeting you, Runner,” Fluttershy said.
“And it was nice meeting you, Fluttershy,” I said as I flew off the ground and back towards town.
Once Twilight’s tree house was in sight, I began to descend to the door. Twilight, surprisingly, was already there waiting for me.
“There you are, Runner!” Twilight sighed as I landed right next to her. “I’ve been looking all over town for you.”
“Sorry, I was just exploring,” I replied.
“It’s okay,” Twilight shook her head. “We should get your bed set up in the guest bedroom. I’m going to need help with that.”
“No problem,” I said. At that, we both entered her home. My sight was immediately overtaken by the plethora of books sitting around the house. While of course there were some in bookcases, there were mounds of assorted literature on top of tables and chairs.
We arrived in a room that seemed to not have been used in a long time. The sheets there were, in fact, already made.
“Oh. Spike must have made the bed when I told him we were having a guest,” Twilight said. “He’s such a good dragon.”
I smiled and looked around the room, but my smile faltered a bit as I finally took a good notice of the size. “Wow, it looks a bit cramped in here.” I couldn’t much help that only moments later my wings rustled and twitched a bit.
Twilight apparently noticed and shook her head before smiling at me almost apologetically. “I’m sorry, Runner, you’re right. I forgot pegasi don’t do so well in smaller spaces.” She looked down and put a hoof to her chin before smiling and looking back to me. “Hey, maybe you could sleep with me. The main bedroom is pretty roomy, and near a window and balcony.”
I wasn’t sure why, but the thought of a more open space, and a window, somehow eased a bit of anxiety I was only faintly aware I had. I smiled and gave a nod before we both made our way out of the room and up the stairs I saw when we’d come in.
Upon reaching the top of the stairs, I looked to see a small basket with covers and a small purple-and-green-scaled dragon in it. Said dragon seemed fairly well asleep as far as I could tell My thoughts were soon confirmed as Twilight spoke up.
“The poor thing must’ve tired himself out,” she said softly.
I gave a nod and casually made my way to the bed before the sound of Twilight clearing her throat stopped me. I turned around to see her with a light blush on her face as she looked down shyly. She scuffed a forehoof on the floor, and I cocked my head to the side.
“Is everything okay, Twilight?”
She continued to look down for a moment more before she glanced up at me; almost immediately, her cheeks flushed a bright red.
“Y-yeah. I mean, yes. Everything is just fine. It’s just that, well” she paused and seemed to be trying to force herself to continue. After a few seconds, she managed to go on. “I hate to seem like a school filly here, but I kinda had a crush on you since I first saw you. That’s why I was so worried when I couldn’t find you.”
I quirked an eyebrow at that. I wasn’t quite sure what that had to do with anything. “Okay, uh, thanks? Is there something wrong with that?”
Her blushing seemed to worsen. She took a moment to answer again, but she seemed less timid this time. “It’s just that, well, I’m saying I like you, and now you’re not just going to be sleeping in my house, but in my bed, with me, all night.”
She stopped as though she expected me to pick up from there. I still had no idea what was going on. It must have been obvious on my face, because she then continued.
“You’re a full-grown stallion. I’m a full-grown mare. I like you, and, uh, I, I don’t really know how else to put it without just outright stating it.”
I still had no idea what she was talking about. “Well, then why not just say it?”
She gulped and closed her eyes. She stamped her forehooves for a moment before she quickly blurted out “I want to mate with you!”
Almost immediately she dropped forward slightly as she rushed her forehooves to cover her mouth. At this point, there was no more question what it was, and my eyes were wide in surprise. “Wh-what?” was all I could get out.
She forced herself back up and walked closer, visibly antsy. “Please? I-I really want to mate with you.”
I wasn’t sure what to think, but I figure I might as well help her out since she was being so nice. “Uh, sure. We can do that.”
Twilight had a huge smile on her face. “Could you go turn off all the lights in the house, please?”
“Sure,” I said. I opened up the door to the room to leave…
… and I left for good. The walls around me lost all color to them. The whiteness of the room burned my eyes. I raised my hand to cover my eyes until they had completely adjusted.
Memories flowed back into my consciousness. Memories that couldn’t possibly be real. They told me I was a human and that I was in a holographic projection room. I was on a ship that sailed the stars, and there was something terribly wrong with it.
The panels that were placed evenly across the walls of the room began to dim, as did the bright fluorescent lights from above. Metal paneling that covered some of the walls began to recess back into the ceiling, revealing windows behind them.
“No, its out of power!” I exclaimed without really thinking about the words coming out of my mouth.
The vents from above hissed as they opened up to regulate the ventilation of the room in response to the sudden power loss. The lights switched to the orange emergency lights once the fluorescent light had completely gone from the room.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
I was a pony. I’m no human.
Equestria is real, the ponies are real. This place is nothing but a nightmare.
I remembered someone telling me once that I couldn’t hide forever from what was going on within the ship. A friend had told me that. They told me that if I forgot, I would eventually think about it. But think about what?
I wanted to be free back in Equestria, to be with ponies and feel the ground, the air, the grass, the everything.
This place was foreign and evil. But why? Why did I hate this place?
A horrendous howl and bang from outside the window behind me interrupted my thoughts. I couldn’t see it completely because of the metal paneling still there, but I could almost make out its face. It was horribly distorted from what I could tell. He was covered in blood, and bile spewed from his mouth. It looked furious.
And there were more behind it, too. They all pounded at the glass, making small breaks with every hit.
These were why I hated this place, why I wanted to forget. Now, there was no more running. No more dreaming.
This was my reality and this is where I will stay.
