Chapters Follow those above you, even though you have the control
There was a thud as Garrison hit his head on the top bunk of the bed.
"Bleh..." he muttered under his breath. He slowly rolled out of bed and onto the floor. Walking into the kitchen with most displeased look on his face. He sat down at the table close to the television. The early news was on, reporting the same thing it always did. Deaths of the soldiers who attempted to hold back rebels... the incoming weather, new buildings and such.. nothing interesting...
Garrison noticed a bowl of cereal and a piece of toast on the plate in front of him. A blue aura surrounded the toast, and it levitated towards Garrison's open mouth, as he took a large chomp out of it. He directed his sight towards his younger brother, who happily ate his cereal, unaware of Garrisons death gaze. He redirected his annoyed like back to his food, and focused on his eating... his serious case of bedhead made the whole thing look ridiculous.
"You better eat that quickly, you don't want to be late for school again!" His mother piped up from the kitchen, not looking at him. She was washing her hooves and putting away her apron. Garrison nearly choked on his food, looking at the digital clock on the wall in the kitchen. 6:44 it read, only sixteen minutes before class started. He quickly levitated the cereal towards him, chugging down the milk and flakes within seconds. He grabbed the rest of the toast and ran towards the bathroom. He took out a comb from the drawer and forced his mane down, removing the ridiculous bedhead.
Charging towards the door, he grabbed his saddlebags and put them on as quickly as possible.
"I'm guessing my friends came by recently?" He inquired from the front door, still struggling to put on his bags.
"Yep, I tried to wake you up, but you refused," she giggled "Of course until you hit your head... I could tell you where awake from in here!"
"Bleh..."
The door opened and slammed and the only thing that could be heard was the sound of hooves hitting the floor as Garrison raced down the stairs.
"I swear, that boy is so silly..." the mother shook her head at her sons antics.
"Mom?" opened up the young brother from the table. "Why does those two weird ponies come to tell Gary he's going to be late every day?
The blissful mother smiled and turned to her inquiring son.
"Well Hook," she gave a slight giggle "They're just great friends is all." She trotted up to Hook, still sat at the table. "Now finish up, I have to be ready to take you to school. And don't call random strangers weird, it's quite rude." Hook could only smile innocently as his mother ruffled his hair "You rambunctious little pony you."
Garrison bolted down the sidewalk, chomping into his toast every few feet. He raced past building after building, not even noticing the screeching of vehicles passing by. He took one last bite out of his toast as he made a final charge towards the entrance of the large school. Revel Academy, the most difficult and prestigious school in all of the metropolis. He smashed into the push doors of the building, just as a loud ring went off throughout the school building. Garrison glanced at the clock, it read 6:55.
Whew... just barely made it. He wiped the sweat from his brow, and exhaustedly walked to his class. Passing by hundreds of ponies, knowing only a few of them... even if they were the popular social class. He reached the door to his first class, with only two minutes left on the clock. He sat down on the bench next to the door, and took out a book from his saddle bag. Energy and How to Use It; Study Edition. Opening up the first chapter, he began reading each sentence with eager anticipation... this was the first book on Energy redirection that he'd received in his class... it was the only subject he found entertaining.
Chapter 1: Understanding the uses of Energy
The first step to using Energy is understanding the basics, such as its movement and purpose. Energy is taken from the pre-Revelation term energy, which was used to power electrical objects. This kind of 'energy' was limited in access, as ponies could only change its flow to a certain direction, and to do this, all energy had to be contained within a specific wiring. (e)nergy moved at an estimated speed of 300,000 kilometers per second, or 186,411 miles...
Garrison paused... if the energy traveled that fast, then how were the older day ponies able to harness it? Then a better question popped in his head, how did they even have energy? They lived in green, grassy areas, and to what he knew, trees didn't produce energy.
"Wow, you're actually reading that?" said a friendly sounding, female voice. Garrison lowered the book, to reveal the face a young mare staring at him. Her bright red mane, yellow eyes, and grey-white coat gave away her identity easily...
"I'm more surprised to find you not reading it. Ancient technology is your favorite subject Rose!" he countered.
"I'm surprised you care about it, aren't you more interested in the 'previous world?'" she gave a snide sound at 'Previous world.'
"Well yeah, but who wouldn't want to live in that grassy green world, full of life... nothing like this dump, where everything is dark and boring," Garrison replied, displeased.
"Come on! " Rose exclaimed "You really need to get used to the feel of the now Gary!"
Suddenly, the bell rang, indicating the start of the first classes. Garrison stood up, and put away his new treasure. He casually entered the class, Rose trotting behind him happily. The took a seat together in the back of the room, where the seats where at the highest elevation. For a middle-school, It looked way too much like college. More and more ponies filled the room, taking seats in different places. Garrison noticed two ponies in particular... one, a large buff punk pony, who took his seat in the front, between to mares, who blindly adored him. Then there was the other, an average blue colt, who took his seat next to Rose, and so the trio caught up.
"Bout time you got here Top!" Rose giggled "Jeez, where were you?"
The young stallion sighed as he put his black saddlebags under the table.
"You do not
"Oh right, the 'cool' stallion, hanging out with a nerd, and a pretty geek, and sitting in the back row," Garrison smirked at his remark "Most badass pony I've ever met."
"Damn straight," Top replied proudly "have you ever seen a stallion this badass?" he put his left hind hoof on the table, and put both his fore hooves on his sides. Rose couldn't help but giggle, but then nearly die of laughter as Top Gun fell off the table as the bell rang. 7:05, time for class.
"Alright class!" exclaimed a proud voice in the front of the room, "Let's get ready for some testing."
II: The Feel Of Whats To Be
"Alright class!" exclaimed a proud voice in the front of the room, "Let's get ready for some testing." the glass screen in front of each student lit up, revealing a green, three dimensional image of some sort of hoof-worn object, popping up In front of them. The image was complex, with each bolt and screw on the object clearly visible. It looked a little bulky to be worn around somepony's hoof... Garrison gazed upon it, confused.
"A portable scanner?" Top whispered from the right of the trio "Why would they want us to disassemble a scanner? Why wouldn't it be a ship or something, like we normally get?"
"Not sure?" Rose shrugged "But at least we get a chance try something new in this class."
One of the students raised her hoof.
"Mr. Terrain?" she spoke, her voiced pitch to a questioning voice "This doesn't seem like something we'd normally do-"
"Ah yes, well as all of you know," Terrain began "These have yet to be produced, but I thought I'd give you a feel of what's to be. It's a very interesting model really, allowing you to scan even the largest objects, all with an item that fits around your hoof! It's a top-shelf model, with steel forming and-
Garrison tuned out his chatty teacher. Sometimes he couldn't stand to listen to what the stallion has to say. Realizing he was wasting time, he waved his hoof across the detailed image, paying attention to every detail of the odd machine.
Huh... that's odd, Garrison wondered If these have yet to come out... how does he know what it looks like, in perfect detail..? He pushed his hooves apart, increasing the size of the image. He then circled his hoof around, and pulled it towards him, while watching the screws release from the object. For the next ten minutes, Garrison, as well as the rest of the students, made odd hoof movements, further disassembling the mysterious object.
However, just as Garrison began to reassemble the device, his mind began to wander. The dark room began to change, the blades of green grass formed from under him, the walls and ponies began to disappear, replaced with wondrous pine trees. The lighting changed from the dim, washed out brightness, to full sunlight, as the closest star shone brightly in the sky. The cool wind pushed his floppy ears down, and his luscious mane forward. Garrison turned his head towards the cool breeze, letting his mane flow in the wind.
"Garrison." The room formed back to its original appearance. Most of the class was already about to leave. "I need you stay back so I can talk to you." Mr. Terrain ordered, displeased.
"Pfft, loser..." spoke a bulky stallion "Can't go one class without daydreaming..." He heard a lightly pitched giggling near him, as he could feel the mocking of the annoying creatures known as 'citizens.' And like that, they were all gone, leaving only Mr. Terrain and Garrison. Mr. Terrain took a seat next to Garrison, and took of his glasses. He leaned on the table and looked concerned.
"Gary, are you okay?" he asked. His eyes gave a curious positioning. He looked directly at Garrison, making the question uncomfortable. "You've been daydreaming a lot in class, and I would like to know what's going on."
"Oh, well, Mr. Terrain-" he started, hope-filled, but was quickly interrupted.
"Gary it's okay, class is over, you can call me Terrence now," said Mr. Terrain. He sounded slightly irritated, but not angry. "Now, continue properly "
"Well, Terrence..." he began again, letting out a sigh "I've been have the same reoccurring dream... and It's kind of bothering me."
"What dream would that be?" then Mr. Terrain stopped him, then quickly inquired "Wait, is it one about the 'Better World' I've heard you talk about?"
Garrison's eyes went wide "Actually, yeah it is! I've been having the same dream about the better world, I'm in a luscious field, perfectly green grass everywhere, trees surrounding me and-"
"It sounds like a very interesting dream, and It's one I want you to hold on to for as long as you live, because it's something that will motivate you to work hard in life," Mr. Terrain started. His voice sounded sympathetic but concerned. "But listen to me" he leaned in closer to Garrison, and whispered to him in a rather disturbing manner. "You must never, never never , tell anyone else about that idea, hear me?"
"What?! Why?" Garrison looked discouraged, the very thought that his teacher would be telling him to hide his dreams terrified him.
"Because the upper-class doesn't like it... they don't want anything driving them away from the New World, so they destroy everything leading to the "Better World," understand?" Mr. Terrain looked directly into the colts eyes, green matching green. Garrison began to feel sick.
Why would they destroy anything leading to a better world...? he thought. He cringed at the idea of someone destroying something that's better for the community. Are these ponies absolutely insane?
"But-"
"Never, Gary, never."
"Alright Terrence..." Both Terrence and Garrison stood up and began to exit the room. Garrison eyes were filled with fear of the state of the upper-class. He didn't understand it, why would the upper-class be so pent up on a crappy new world filled with pollution and disgusting citizens?
It just doesn't make sense. He thought to himself. He began making his way through the hallways to his next class, progressing slowly to give him enough time to think things through. There was just so many things wrong about this city. He couldn't figure out what annoyed him the most. Was it the fact that they had no trust towards the people, and restricted them to few freedoms? Was it that they were never permitted outside the city? Was it that everyone was apparently brainwashed of the concerns for public safety?
Or was it the speedy progression through a harsh future?
Pre: The Feel Of Once Was
A dream is only a dream is the image, reality is the painting.
~Rose
The cool breeze blew past, rolling the grass as it went along. Each blade waved smoothly and gently, letting an easy intake on its beauty. The trees overhead circled the field, the leaves and branches giving in to the winds movement. The sun held high in the sky, shining brightly onto the field, letting the blades reflect the wondrous lighting... and to top it all off, there was complete peace inside the ring... no irritating sounds, interrupting the silence, no animals calling... only the wind. The only other piece of this excellent scene, was the pony who lay in the center of the field, staring into the sky.
Garrison let his gaze wander across the blue walls of the sky, taking in his not-so eternal peace. He knew there was a finite amount of time, before something interrupted him. It always happened, always will. He wished that the silence would last forever, and that he would never leave this painting of a beautiful world. Garrison's white mane lay elegantly in the grass, and his brown coat gave him only a compliment, something that didn't interrupt the beautiful sight. His mind was blank, as he focused only on the world around him. His blue eyes wandered across the green trees, and up into the blue void.
Gary...
Garrison's eyes went wide, as he frantically looked around the grassy green ring. His expression drastically changed from blissful to discouraged. He flicked his head to both sides, something wasn't quite right.
Gary
He raised his hoof directly into the air... the curtains were closing. Everything began to fade, falling apart into particles of what once was. Garrison mouthed No , obviously in desperation. The rest of the scene broke apart, until there was a complete nothingness.
"Gary! "
There was a thud as Garrison hit his head against the wooden frame of the top bunk.
"Bleh..." muttered Garrison, disgusted.
