The strange chill in the air was the first thing I noticed. I opened my eyes, only to be greeted by a dim light coming from a crack in the dark blue curtains. I rolled over to look at the still silent alarm clock. I saw that I had once again woke up five minutes before my alarm.
More time to eat breakfast I suppose. I thought, feeling the emptiness in my gut.
I got out of bed, much to my body’s chagrin, and quickly switched off the clock. It's flashing red numbers disappearing, blackness consuming the area next to my bed. I walked to my dresser and grabbed a pair of jeans as well as my favorite shirt, it read: Hokey Pokey Anonymous, a place to turn yourself around. The first time I saw this shirt, I nearly died laughing. The shirt was black and the writing was orange on a yellow background. I also grabbed boxers and socks from the drawer just below where I got the shirt.
I walked towards my door, hearing the shower still running. I opened it and stepped out, instantly bombarded by the freezing air. Feeling goosebumps form on my arms, I pounded on the door with my fist.
"Hurry up sis, it's freezing out here!" I yelled, earning a muffled grunt for my efforts.
I turned around, walking towards the guest room, dusty from lack of use. I passed it, casting a wary look to the silver doorknob. I didn’t notice the door second door until I hit it, recoiling in both surprise and pain. I looked up to see the door to my parent’s room, used even less than the eerie guest room. I headed towards the stairs, sliding down the banister to reach the bottom story, it was the fastest way to get down. I reached the bottom and threw my clothes a nearby chair before heading into the kitchen. I quickly made myself breakfast consisting of cereal and an instant breakfast milkshake. I quickly ate the food, barely pausing for breath, before placing my dirty dishes in the dishwasher. At that moment, I heard the shower finally shut off.
Finally, any longer and I would be late to school. I thought, grabbing my clothes before taking the stairs two at a time.
I reached the top and walked to the bathroom. Before I could pound on the door for a second time, it burst open, my sister running down the stairs with just a towel on. I laughed at her antics before returning to the mission at hand, take a fast shower and get to school.
////
"Well, mission complete I suppose." I said, looking at myself in the clouded mirror.
I looked like I did every other day, my brown hair, wet and combed through, my unshaven face, showing promise of a beard that would never come. I was average height, about six feet three inches, yet my muscular build was better than most people on my old football team. I was positive it was because I was so scrawny to begin with that my muscles started showing first, but my coach always used to say it was because I did things right.
I went to my room, checking the clock upon entering. It was 6:45, we still had plenty of time to get to school. I grinned, thinking about the perfect prank to pull on my little sister. I grabbed all that I needed for the day: belt, wallet, keys, phone and iPod. After checking the charges on the electronics to see if I should bring their cords with me, I ran downstairs, threw on my black pumas and ran into the garage. Pressing the button to open the door, I jumped into my blue 2010 Honda Civic and started the engine. My sister heard this and ran out to the garage just in time to see me pull out.
“WAIT! I need a ride to school! It's freezing out here! Can’t you be a good big brother and wait for like ten minutes?” She yelled out the door before turning to go finish her make-up.
She knew I would wait for her, which no longer made this fun. I drove the car back into the garage before running inside myself to grab a coat because, she had been right, it was freezing out here. Having grabbed my varsity letter jacket and thrown it on over my shoulders, I waited patiently for my sister to finish. She was done surprisingly fast and we were out the door and on the road in a matter of minutes.
“Why don’t you give your jacket to your girlfriend?” She asked randomly.
“Well, first because I worked so hard for this jacket and I don’t want it to be ruined. Secondly, she has the rest of my jackets. Lastly, because...” I lost my train of thought, my eyes being drawn to the girl on the side of the road.
She looked way too familiar, the way her rainbow hair was not only shaped, but arranged on her head. The way she carried herself, confident yet not too cocky. But mostly it was the the fact that she wasn’t wearing any clothes and she was trudging through the snow towards the street. My sister followed my eyes until she saw the girl too.
“Hey bro...doesn’t that look an awful lot like...” She began until I cut her off.
“Yes, yes it does.” I said quickly pulling over to the side of the road.
I got out, telling my sister to stay in the car. I began following the girl, curious as to her lack of clothing. Suddenly she collapsed, shivering uncontrollably. I ran up to her and, without question, threw my jacket over her shoulders before running back to the car. I placed her in the back seat, my sister yelling something about kidnapping. I didn’t care, I needed to get her someplace safe and warm, fast.
We arrived home, I grabbed the girl and went into the house. I ran up to the bathroom, my sister following anxiously in my footsteps. I turned on the warm water and turned to my sister.
“You can take it from here, I’m not washing her, I’m a guy and that would be weird.” I said, walking out before she could make any complaints.
I walked down the two flights of stairs to my sister’s room. I walked in and over to her dresser, trying to find some clothes that would fit our new ‘guest’. Having found some sweatpants and a loose sweatshirt, I went to the laundry closet to grab a fresh towel as well. I placed them just outside the door to the bathroom and made sure my sister knew about them.
I decided to write a note to our guest explaining the situation to her so she wouldn’t freak out when she woke up. It read:
Hello, did you have a good rest? Please do not be alarmed, you were not kidnapped. Me and my sister saw you collapse in the snow so we brought you here. If we are not here by the time you read this, it is simply because I am bringing my sister to school and will be back soon to answer any questions.
Your humble host, Rael.
P.S. There is food in the fridge if you get hungry, but I suggest you stay out of the bottom drawer. You probably won’t like what you see.
Happy with my note, I placed the pen down and found some tape. I walked up to my room and put it on the door. As I did so heard the water stop running in the bathroom, as well as the quick opening and closing of the door.
“Ugh! Really Richard? You brought the ugliest clothes I had didn’t you? Gah! Come in here and watch her while I get some better ones.” My sister yelled from inside. “Don’t worry, she has a towel on.”
“F-fine, just hurry Rachel, I don’t want her to wrongly assume I was doing stuff to her while she was out cold.” I said, walking into the steamy room, seeing the limp form leaning against the wall.
I sat about a foot to her right, leaning my head back, looking to the ceiling. I waited, trying not to look at the only other person in the room. Trying not to look at the tremendous amount of cleavage that was showing, water dripping from her wet hair, down her incredibly fit, tan shoulders and along her similarly colored back.
Wait a second, tan? In the middle of winter? That’s not right... I thought, pausing to think about all the ways that couldn’t be.
I kept thinking about it and came up with a theory, well two but the first one was definitely crazy. My intelligent side says, maybe she just moved here from a place with alot of sun, got homesick, got drunk or stoned, and went outside without clothes on without realizing it. My adventurous side says, maybe she actually is who you think she is and she came here by magical means. I hoped for the latter, but the former was way more probable.
“Hey bro, get out so I can dress her.” Said my sister from just outside the door.
I got up and left for Rachel to dress her, coming back in when she needed help lifting the rainbow haired girl off the floor to get her pants on.
“Interesting choice of clothes.” I said, ignoring the sly look my sister was giving me.
“Just giving you more to look at.” She said, snickering.
“I have a girlfriend I’ll have you know.” I returned, acting offended.
“Oh come on, you won’t dump that slutty piece of trash for this smokin’ hot bombshell? That you just saved might I add, talk about points! C’mon, you saw her, she is H-O-T and you know it.” She continued, being completely serious this time.
“Okay, yes she is amazingly beautiful, and yes I was planning on dumping my girlfriend. Today actually. I found out that she cheated on me yesterday, after I warned her the first time. I doubt this new girl’s gonna like me though, we haven’t really met yet and in case you haven’t noticed, I’m kind of a jerk.” I finished, grabbing my sister and giving her a huge noogie.
“MY HAIR!! HOW COULD YOU! MY BEAUTIFUL HAIR!!” She exclaimed, running back to the garage.
“Jeez, calm down Rachel, you sound like Rarity.” I yelled back, chasing her out the door and into my car.
She sat in the passenger’s seat, fake crying and doing a really bad job at it. Thinking quickly, I put the key in the ignition and backed out of the garage. She stopped her fake crying for a second before looking out the window, before slowly turning to me, a baffled expression on her face.
“We are going to school after this just happened? You would leave a complete stranger at our house for eight hours!?! Thats crazy talk!” She began.
“No, you’re going to school, I’m not, because I don’t trust a stranger alone in our house for eight hours.” I said, eliminating room for any argument.
“Aww, but thats not fair!” She continued.
“Well, would you rather have life be unfair for a day, have some stranger steal all of our stuff, forcing us to live on the street for the rest of our lives-” I countered.
“Yeah, yeah I get it.”
“You would have to work one of the corners downtown and have nasty creeps pay you for your services. How would you like that?” I said calmly, obviously creeping her out a little.
“I-I wouldn’t.” She finished.
We drove the rest of the way in silence. The trip was only about 15 minutes, but the silence made it seem much longer, each second crawling by. Eventually we made it to the school, Rachel got out and walked into the building without a word. I shrugged and drove back home, putting off worrying about my sister until I was sure that the girl at home was okay.
I had an obsession with this girl, not a creepy one but still, it was an obsession. I just couldn’t stop thinking about her, I hoped that my wild hunch was correct, but the chances of that were slim to none. They just looked so much the same, it was nearly an uncanny resemblance between the two. The determining factors would be, eye color, mark, and grammar. If her eyes were magenta, if she had a red, yellow and blue lightning bolt coming out of a cloud, and if she used words like everypony instead of words like everybody, then it is still more likely for her to be some kind of obsessed pegasister basket case then for her to actually be Rainbow Dash. But hey, a man can dream can’t he?
I arrived home, earlier than expected, looking at the clock it read, 8:47. So much can happen in such a small span of time. After a few variations of, ‘Time flies when you’re having fun’ cycled through my head, I opened the door to the house, only to find the girl I had been thinking about not ten seconds ago. She was currently bent over looking into the bottom drawer in the fridge, precisely where I told her not to look, with a plate of chips and fruit on the counter behind her. At hearing the door close she whirled around to look me in the eye.
Magenta eyes? Check. I thought.
Suddenly, those unusual eyes were only inches from my own. I couldn’t see but I was sure she was scowling at me, trying to be menacing. It didn’t matter, I was lost in those eyes. A strange shade that, in the light, made you think they were made of cotton candy. Yet in the dark, they were the shade of a classic love potion. No longer a light and fluffy sweetness, but a deep, thick concoction that promised infatuation. I was so lost in her eyes that I didn’t even realize she was yelling at me.
“Huh? Answer me!” She yelled.
“Huh? Sorry, I lost you.” I said dumbly.
“I said, who are you and where am I? Is this another of Discord’s tricks?” She continued, raising a fist in the air threateningly.
"Relax, I'm not gonna hurt you. In fact I was just about to go check up on you. Are you okay? My sister and I saw you collapse in the snow." I said, leaving out the part about her being naked.
She backed off, walking back to her plate with surprising ease, until her knee gave out and she began to fall. Luckily I had learned something in football about catching a falling teammate. I lunged forward, grabbing her shoulder and flipping her around. I then put my arm around her waist and the back of her head. We ended up looking like we were in a love scene from a movie.
I was once again stuck in those eyes, not realizing how red her face was getting. I could see subtle traces of yellow in the ocean of pink. She smelt of shampoo and slight traces of detergent that lingered in my sisters clothes.
"Uh you can let go of me now..." She said, averting her eyes.
"R-right." I answered, feeling my face get hot.
I got her to her feet, being cautious in case she fell again. She turned back to the counter, stumbling as she went to grab her plate of chips and oranges. She looked down at her hands, then back at the plate before sighing and turning back to me.
“Listen, I’m not from around here, and I need help with...these...how do I use them?” She asked, gesturing to her hands.
“Well, how good are your motor functions? Can you clench your hands into fists?” I asked, giving her an example with my own.
She did as I had showed, showing that she had control over them. Many exercises followed, each to try out her strength and flexibility with her hands which, much to her chagrin, were not as strong as she would have liked them. She would often go off on mumbling rants about how she had traded her wings for useless appendages. Eventually, she was able to grab things of various sizes and even write a little. Happy with her progress, I checked the clock, 10:00 it said.
“Well, hello, my name is Rael, but my friends call me Richard, you are in my house in the city of Columbus, Ohio. Ohio is a state in the United States of America, which is a country on the planet known as Earth. You are a human, a creature that evolved from an ape. Though most humans are omnivores, there are some who are herbivores. Humans are greedy good for nothing monsters who will stop at nothing to get bigger, better things. Well most of them anyways.” I lectured, giving a brief explanation of the world around her.
“Um, okay I guess. Hi my name is-” She began, until I cut her off.
“Wait! Lemme guess, your name is Rainbow Lightning Dash, you live-or lived as the case may be- in the town of Ponyville where you and your friends, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy learn lessons about friendship. You’re a race of sentient ponies that in itself has three different species, the strongest, Earth Ponies, the smartest, Unicorns, and the fastest, Pegasi. You were the fastest pegasus in all of Equestria, the country in which the town of Ponyville resides. You were so fast you were able to create a Sonic Rainboom at a whim. Sound about right?” I asked, leaving a very confused girl in front of me.
“Y-yeah...are you sure you’re not one of Discord’s creations?” She asked, reaching forward to touch me, making sure I was real.
“Nah, I’m sure,” I said, laughing as she once again poked my chest, “over here your world is a little girl’s show. However there are some people who like it even into their adult years, me and my sister are two of those people. We are called either bronies or pegasisters, depending on our gender, and we each have our favorite pony, you just so happened to be mine.”
“And your sister’s?” She continued, stunning me with how well she was taking this.
“Twilight, she admires the realism that Twilight follows.” I responded.
“Why am I your favorite?” She asked, slightly shifting in her seat.
“That depends, what has happened recently in Equestria? Big events are more helpful.” I said, choosing my words carefully to try and change the subject.
“Uh, Twilight just became an alicorn and she was testing a teleportation spell when I jumped in the room and scared her. She teleported me here and you pretty much know the rest. Thanks for the save by the way, it was way too cold out there.” She answered.
“Yeah, and yesterday it was mid sixties and sunny, welcome to Ohio.” I said, laughing a little.
“Why do you keep looking at the clock?” She asked, seeing me watch it change.
“Meh, just an exercise routine, not all that important. Well, that and training. ” I answered, seeing her face light up at the notion of training.
“What do you train for?” She said.
“Let me show you.” I said with a grin.
The two of us got up and she followed me through the kitchen door to the garage. It was definitely cold in the dusty converted workshop, but I knew I would be warm soon enough. I took off my jacket and offered it to her since she would only be watching. After her rejecting it numerous times, I placed it on a nearby hook and went about taking off my shirt. The second it was off I was aware of and embarrassed by every single blemish, zit and imperfection on my torso. It didn’t matter though, she wouldn’t be paying attention to those after a couple moments.
I went over to one of the cupboards by the workbench and pulled out a worn pair of brown gloves, they had holes for the knuckles and for each one of my fingers. I then returned to the workbench and pulled out a roll of white tape, wrapping it around my wrists and forearms. I placed the gloves over the tape and instantly felt at home, even the biting chill of winter couldn’t penetrate when I was zoned out. I walked to a corner and brought out a punching bag that equally worn as my gloves. I put it on a large hook in the center of the garage before going and turning on the sound system.
The sudden booming of the base frightened Dash and she flinched comically. I chuckled and turned to a different channel. Suddenly a piano played on one of the channels, normally I would have changed it, but I knew this song, and it was perfect for the moment.
Yeah you can be the greatest, you can be the best.
I turned back to the bag in the middle of the room, only it wasn’t a bag anymore. It was my opponent in the championship match. I grinned as the ref explained the rules, I didn’t need to be told, I have done this kind of thing before. As soon as the bell rang, I began my assault, mercilessly throwing combo after combo, each hit breaking through his defenses as if they were nothing.
Right, left, big right, left, roundhouse. I thought, planning my next combo before the first one was even finished being executed.
Eventually, he went down as I simultaneously heard the music in the background end and a chain snap. I was pulled out of my fantasy to see the mess I had made. I had thrown the bag off the hook, splitting the seams on its sides, sand spilling everywhere. Looking down at my hands, I saw they were red, the tape torn and the gloves drenched in sweat. I took a look at the rest of my body to see a similar sheen of sweat all along my chest and back.
“I was wondering when you would stop, geez. You've been at that for an hour now. The stereo was stuck on repeat, I didn't know how to turn it off." She said, now wearing my jacket.
"How do you know about stereos?" I asked, getting suspicious.
"Me and Vinyl Scratch used to hang out a lot." She answered matter of factly.
“Huh, the show didn’t say that.” I said, scratching at my scruff in thought.
Suddenly my doorbell rang. Giving pause to my thoughts, I went to answer the door. Once opened, I saw four of my friends on the other side. Sam, long dark brown hair curling up at the ends, face as pale as the surrounding snow. His brown eyes were looking at an abandoned spider web that had been formed over two summers ago. At first glance, you might think that he was an Asian who loved to play video games, his eyes looking similar to theirs, but then you would be racist because he was definitely American, his love of Pop-tarts and Nutella proved this.
Greg, whose hair was similar to Sam’s had more curls as well as it being dirty blonde. His skin only slightly darker than Sam’s. He was currently laughing about something with Steven whose straight black hair contrasted with the curls his friends had. The last was Zach, who I could hardly see through all of the layers of clothing he was wearing. The longer I stared at him, the harder it was to stifle my laughter. He had what must have been two winter coats, three sweatshirts and four shirts on. When compared to what everyone else was wearing, he looked huge, like a big black snowman with skinny little legs. That combined with the way he crossed his arms, and the look on his extremely red face nearly sent me sprawling to the ground in laughter, but I managed to keep it in check.
“BWAHAHAHAHA!! OH DEAR CELESTIA, WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?!? YOU LOOK RIDICULOUS! HAHAHA!” Exploded Rainbow from behind me, this was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“HAHAHAHAHA!” I followed suit, noting the way Greg’s head snapped up at her exclamation.
That will have to be dealt with later, for now I he needs to get those stupid coats off of him. I thought, still laughing.
I ushered them inside, Greg still looking at Rainbow curiously and Zach giving us all a death glare. He slowly shed his shell of odd clothing, revealing a much less ridiculous t-shirt, a Kyuss butterfly insignia printed on the front. I looked at all of them, realizing that they all had very similar styles to my own. They were each wearing jeans, skating shoes and a shirt that had some kind of band on it. Greg’s was Blink 182, Sam’s was Weezer, Steven’s had Korn, and mine had my father’s old band, Death in the Midwest. They each had unique designs on them, proving the differences and similarities of the bands they represented. I told them to make themselves comfortable before pulling Rainbow Dash off to the side.
“You need to come up with a backstory for yourself, where you came from, why you’re here as well as a new name.” I said after making sure we were out of earshot of the group.
"Uh, I don't know anything about you humans,do you expect me to come up with something like that.” She said.
“Hmm...your name... Bradley Dashel. Strong and unique with a slight amount of femininity. You are a family friend who came from uh, Oregon go to OSU, and you are staying here until you get yourself set up." I said, feeling happy with myself.
With that, we walked back into the living room. We walked in on a conversation, only for it to stop abruptly as the people in the room noticed us. Greg was eyeing us with particular suspect. The rest of them didn't seem to notice and went right down to business.
"So, who is this exactly?" Greg asked, gesturing to Dash.
"I think I will let her introduce herself." I said, stepping aside so they could get a clear view of her.
Their reactions weren't expected. Instead of the grand reveal I was hoping for, their faces were ones of disapproval. As she introduced herself as Bradley Dashel, I noticed that the others were only kind of paying attention, they were mostly casting shady looks at each other and at me. I stood behind her politely, waiting for her to be done with her charade, until Greg suddenly stood up and walked directly towards me. he seemed to have a hateful glare on his face which struck me as odd because Greg doesn’t normally get angry about many things.
“We need to talk.” Was all he said as he walked past me and towards the garage.
I followed, shrugging at Rainbow when she gave me an inquisitive look.
“Okay, what do we need to talk about?” I asked, feeling like I was about to be scolded for something.
Greg sighed before answering with an extremely confusing, “Listen man, we all have our sexual fantasies, but you’re not supposed to seek them out.”
I stared at him blankly, tilting my head to the side for emphasis before replying, “Huh?”
“Don’t play dumb with me,” He yelled, suddenly very angry about something, “it can’t be a coincidence that you read clop about Rainbow Dash, and now you’re living with some pegasister fanatic and have no idea who she really is! Dude, you have a smoking hot girlfriend, that’s better than most can say. I thought you were better than this man, we all thought you were.” He finished, looking sadly at the ground.
“Wait, what? I’m very confused.” I said dumbly.
“Again with your feigned ignorance! You’re cheating on your girlfriend, a girl who has been there for you throughout high school, standing by your side for four years! You just decide to throw her away for this insane piece of trash? Just how much lower can you get?” He asked, his face now only inches from my own.
I felt my anger begin to surface, my blood begin to boil, “HEY! Shut the fuck up right now!” I yelled.
“MAKE ME!” He returned, shoving me backwards.
I retaliated, punching him in the temple as hard as I could. He staggered backwards, barely standing. I picked him up by the collar of his shirt before walking back inside. I ignored the surprised and very hostile looks I received from the people in the living room, walking straight up to the door. I opened it and threw Greg out, him face planting in the snow as I did so. I turned back to the rest of them, growling as I did so.
“Get out of my house, and don’t come back.” I said, my voice low and steady.
Still giving me looks of disapproval, they rushed out of the front door, me slamming it shut behind them. I leaned against the door, slowly falling to the floor as I did so. I put my head in my hands, the reality of the situation finally getting to me. Before I could fall into the pits of despair I had created, I heard a soft and caring voice talking to me. I looked up to see Rainbow soothing me, a sight I never thought I would see. I looked at her for awhile before realizing something, she was wearing my varsity letter jacket.
No one but me has worn that jacket, ever. It's the one thing I never let anyone wear, and I gave it to her without a second thought. I realized, mentally slapping myself for my incompetence.
Greg was right, on a couple parts that is. I had lost something I cared for, so I subconsciously went looking for something to fill the gap. I found something familiar, that I already loved, and used it to fill the hole before I could feel its effects. I had just let some crazy stranger take advantage of me because I was afraid I would get lonely, again. I got up and went to my room, not looking at “Rainbow” the entire trip up. I slammed the door shut before falling into my bed, looking at the clock as I did so, it said 11:47. I rolled over and stared at the ceiling, it was going to be a long day.
/-Greg-/
Picking myself up from the snow, I heard the door to the house slam shut.
“What the hell’s his problem?!’ Sam was spouting exposition, again. “First he gives some chick his coat, then he beats the shit outta Greg and throws us out?! What the fuck!?”
Finishing I replied, “Sam. Shut the fuck up.” he stopped not knowing how to reply. “I don’t know what’s wrong with Rael,” brushing the snow from my face and hair, “but he obviously feels that whatever he’s doing is right.” The group looked at me thoroughly confused. “Rael’s a smart guy, he’ll realize his mistake and make up for it in due time. I have no idea who that girl was, and frankly, I don't even care, but for now guys, let’s just forget about it.”
I pulled a joint and lighter out of my pocket. Lit it, and began walking towards my car.
Before I had the chance to get in Steven asked me, “Why are you lying Greg? You know who that girl is don’t you.”
Taking a long drag off my joint I replied simply with just one word, “Yup. I’ll tell ya later, but for now we had better get back home before our parents discover we’re gone and make us go back to school.”
Zach grinned saying, “He, you high schoolers are so cute and young!”
“Zach, you’re only a year older than us and you haven’t found a college yet.” I said, silencing further conversation with a rev of my engine.
Video games, pot, Monster and sleep. The perfect day. I thought as the joint fizzled out.
