The Tales of William George
"Ughhhhhh."
I thumped my pencil against my forehead, trying to focus. I had quite a night ahead of me: finish annotating a book I wasn't even halfway through, and then write a ten page paper analyzing, oh, I don't know, the relationship between medieval Indian art and surfing in Iowa. Or something like that. And to top it off, I still had my hundred or so calculus problems.
Now, it's not that I had procrastinated. That much. Sure, I could have done the math a day or two ago, but I like to live in the present, and that means sometimes putting off work to daydream. I was stuck at school, but I could at least pretend to be in a land far away.
But as for the English work, it was only assigned yesterday, because, well, the professor is practically insane.
So, anyway, there I was, and there was my buttload of work. I was prepared for the all-nighter, too; spread out on my desk were extra pencils, pens, a notebook of paper, a box of Fig Newtons, and a two liter bottle of Coke--caffeinated, of course. I wasn't too keen on caffeine, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
The clock on my dresser across the room read 11:55, its glaring red digits screaming at me, piercing my mind like sunlight in a cave. Only eleven fifty-five. Five till twelve.
Make that four till twelve.
I thought of my roommate out partying, hanging with his "buds." Not that I cared for partying, me being such an introvert and all. What really mattered was the principle of doing whatever he wanted at that very moment.
But not that I didn't have friends, though. No, I had friends. I just didn't truly connect with any of them. None shared my views of the big things: life, death. Time.
The Clock.
11:57. Blink and you miss it. What was I doing wasting time?
Again I groaned as I turned back to the open book and highlighters. What was this book about, again?
Surfers, no.
Forcing myself to begin reading, I readied a couple highlighters and planted my nose firmly in the book. I was going to have to start sooner or later, might as well be now.
"William peered across the green plains, each blade of grass seemingly dancing to its own rhythm. The sun was barely above the hilly horizon, giving everything in view a golden halo. Although it was early, William knew he must continue on his journey west, even at the crack of dawn. It was imperative that he reach Ferrington before the cattle ranchers."
Highlight setting, check. Highlight imagery, check. Underline mood, yep.
The midnight air filtered in through my open window and mussed my hair, reminding me that I was stuck in that room, working.
Grumbling, I picked up a black pen to write a couple margin notes, when suddenly--
POP!
I wasn't startled by the noise; I assumed it was something outside. Turning to look out the window, however, I found myself face to face with someone.
I flew backward out of my chair. "Shi--"
Smashing my head against the edge of the desk, I slunk to the floor in agony. For a moment all I could do was clutch my head and pray that I wasn't bleeding, but soon I could make out giggling between the throbs of pain. Feminine giggling. They were more "roars of laughter," actually.
At that point, I honestly didn't care who was in my room. With the pleasant sensation in my head, I couldn't care less. "Either shut up and get me an ice pack or get out," I called out through clenched teeth. I could hear the howling trying to be stifled, but whoever it was clearly thought my misfortune was extremely funny.
"I apologize," came a smooth, slightly proper voice. "But you should have seen the look on your face!" Another giggle.
I opened my eyes to see the same face that had caused all this trouble, almost as close as the first encounter. There was a, what, blue horse--er, unicorn standing in front of me. It had wings. Well, she, I should say, based on her voice. And she was talking to me.
Now, I'm not a religious guy, so I tend to look for logical explanations to odd occurrences. But what was logical about a talking blue horse? I didn't really have time to contemplate it, though.
She had a hoof out to help me up, so very cautiously I took it. It felt very real, furry and warm like a real horse's.
Once I was up I took a closer look at the being before me. She was about my height, perhaps a bit shorter. Her mane and tail were a magnificent, translucent blue and seemed to sway in a nonexistent breeze. She was sporting a modest, black tiara--that is, if a tiara can be modest--and what I can only describe as a torc around her neck that matched her headwear. Light blue horseshoes crowned her hooves, each with a little flourish on the front. She looked like a coloring book character, definitely not like anything I'd seen before.
Realizing I was staring, I glanced around awkwardly. "Do I know yo--who are you?"
"That is unimportant now. Here, let me help you."
Her horn shone a light cyan and the spot on my head which was previously burning became numb. I assumed it was some sort of telekinesis. Hey, there was a talking horse in my room, what was telekinesis on top of that?
"Thanks..." I trailed off, partly unsure of how to react, partly fishing for a name.
"You can call me P--Luna."
"Okay, Puh-Luna," I smirked, "why are you here? Or perhaps more importantly, how are you here?"
"I am not entirely sure."
That kinda surprised me. How do you travel to a different world without knowing how you did it?
"Where exactly am I, if I may?" she asked me.
"You're in my dorm, to be exact."
Clearly I needed to be more specific--or general, I suppose?
"Heard of a place called Planet Earth?" I joked.
Her blank gaze clued me in.
"Where did you say you were from, again?" I inquired, well aware she hadn't told me in the first place, but I was hoping she'd share some info.
"A far off land."
"Wh--"
"You said this was a dormitory? So it's a school?"
I sighed. Obviously she was going to be tight-lipped about her personal details. And obviously I wasn't going to get any work done tonight. Thanks, Puh-Luna.
"Yes, and students actually do work here when they're not being interrupted by talking horses."
"Ponies," she corrected as she paced to my desk and peered at what I was supposed to be working on, a curious smile gracing her lips. "The Tales of William George,” she read aloud, slowly pronouncing the character's name as if it were a foreign language.
"Yes, I'm supposed to have that read by tomorrow."
"May I see the rest of this establishment?" Already losing interest in the book, she began toward the door.
"Uhmmm," I started, jumping in front of her. "There are other people here, and maybe I hit my head or something, but you got a pretty mild reaction from me. Anyone else, and the government might be after you in an instant. Perhaps it's best we don't confront other people."
"Oh, is your government tyrannical?" Luna questioned, honestly unaware.
"No," I started. "It's just, we don't typically see talking, colorful ponies walking around, and the government likes to capture and hide supernatural things."
"Oh," she said again, thoughtfully. For a moment she stood staring into space. Her eyes were definitely not any normal eyes, even for a horse's. They were large and cartoonish, but at the same time brilliant, like each had its own miniature night sky. I felt like I was being sucked into a black hole just gazing into them.
Suddenly her horn was glowing that light blue hue again, and before I knew it, we had been transported to the roof of my building. At least, I assumed so. For a moment, however, I was caught by the sudden sensation of my stomach flipping upside down. I do enjoy experiencing that on roller coasters, but taken off guard like so, I was left heaving.
Once again, I heard a familiar chuckling beside me.
"My misfortune is just hilarious to you, isn't it?" I wheezed.
"Sorry, I'll warn you next time," Luna grinned.
"Laugh it up now; I'll get you back," I waved at her dismissively. "What is that, magic?" I scoffed.
"Yes," she replied with inflection as if it was a dumb question.
"Seriously, though," I deadpanned. "How do you do that?"
"I just told you, it's magic. All unicorns are able to use it."
"Of course. I don't know why I find it hard to believe magic exists when I'm conversing with a pony." Magic. What next?
She trotted to the edge of the roof and peered over, myself close behind. My dorm was maybe ten stories tall, so I wasn't worried about being spotted all the way up here. Besides, Luna's dark coat helped her blend in with the sky quite nicely. That made sense, considering her name meant "moon" in Latin. And looking at her now, I noticed a crescent moon among some black spots on her flank. Clever.
"Very impressive," Luna commented.
I looked up to see she was referring to the cityscape. My school isn't located in that large of a town, but it does have a generic downtown with a few high rises. I guessed that where she came from they didn't build things quite the same.
Her gaze shifted to the sky. "So, you mean to say your kind doesn't use magic?"
"Well, it's kind of hard to utilize something that nobody knows exists."
"Who, then, raises the sun and moon?"
"Huh?"
"The sun and moon don't raise themselves...?"
"Uh, the earth isn't the center of the solar system, so the sun only appears to rise and set. Of course, it's really just the earth rotating. And the moon orbits Earth, naturally."
"How peculiar."
"You mean to say in your world someone raises the celestial bodies?"
"Somepony, yes."
"Somepony, right. And how does that work, exactly?"
"Magic."
Yes, magic. Duh. How could I be so blind?
I realize the circumstances, but this all felt surreal, as if it were a dream. And yet it wasn't; I was conscious of it all and I could tell it was reality.
"So do you just say it's magic but nobody actually knows how it works, or what?"
"Oh, no, my sist--one of the rulers of my land raises the sun. Every year on the summer solstice ponies celebrate it."
"Is there similar recognition for the moon?" I asked.
"Not particularly. The moon is included in the Summer Sun Celebration, but it doesn't have its own holiday."
"That's kinda lame," I said. "Does that bother you at all?"
"Why do you ask?" The look in Luna's eyes was a mixture of faint confusion and surprise.
"I mean, I guess if I were you I'd be a little pissed that people didn't appreciate the lunar goddess-guardian-dude."
Luna looked toward the ground, hiding her face. Initially I thought her deep sigh was purely from defeat, but soon I realized it was more of a sorrowful exhale. "I am not sure I would deserve such a holiday." She dropped her voice as she looked up at me, her eyes a little wet. "I hurt many ponies, and it may be a long time before they can truly forget my actions."
I was taken aback by Luna's sudden change in demeanor. Not wanting to dismiss what she had said but at a loss for words, I stepped over to her side and placed a hand on her withers, gently massaging her back.
"I apologize..." Luna trailed off. "I never asked your name, did I?"
"Jamie."
"Well, I am sorry, Jamie, you didn't need to know about that."
"No need to apologize." I gave her the warmest genuine smile I could.
"So I guess I made it obvious that I was one of the rulers of my land."
"Yeah, a little bit," I chuckled. "And you slipped up there with the whole 'sister' thing. It is really cool that you're a princess of a country, though!"
Luna sheepishly grinned.
At this point, there were an infinite number of thoughts whirling around in my head. It was like when you first discover that someone has the exact same music taste as you, but you're unable to find a starting place for a discussion. Eventually my mental cogs gained some traction. "So if you hadn't originally intended on revealing your identity, why did you come here?"
"My visit seems to be purely accidental. As I said earlier, I am not entirely sure how I ended up in this foreign land. In my world, one of my duties as Princess of the Night is watching over ponies' dreams. Although I can choose which pony's dreams I drop into, I tend to let my dream walking spell automatically pick those in distress. Apparently it decided you needed help, and instead of transporting me to a dream it transported me to your world."
"Fascinating. So not only do you do magic, fly, and rule a kingdom, but you can visit people's--ponies' dreams. And control them, I presume?"
"That's correct."
"Wow," I whispered. For the first time that night, it really struck me how crazy this all was. I must not have been hit by that realization when Luna arrived because I'd been too busy writhing in pain. That made sense. Perhaps a minute went by while I just stood, turning the circumstances over in my mind. Then I thought of a way to take advantage of the situation.
"Hey, Luna."
She turned towards me.
"You know how you caused me harm? Twice?"
A slight frown graced her face.
"I know how you can repay me." I cocked a cheesy grin at her.
"Oh?"
"I've never gotten to fly before. We humans, you see, we don't have wings." I was pretty sure she wasn't going to agree to anything ridiculous like that, so I was half joking.
"Perhaps some compensation is in order." For some reason, her sly smile made me a little uneasy.
Suddenly I was being propelled up into the air, until I noticed gravity's grip on me and I began to fall back to the roof. It was like an amusement park ride. Except there were no safety bars. I seemed to be growing accustomed to that uncomfortable sensation in my stomach.
"Luna, I swear to God--"
I landed on her back with a whump as she ran ever closer to the edge of the building. I was seated behind her wings, so I leaned forward and clung to her neck to steady myself.
"What, you're not afraid, are you?" she taunted.
We launched into the air and she flared her wings, catching the wind. There really was nothing I could do but let my excitement control my expression. Probably the biggest smile of my life was plastered on my face.
Only a few flaps of Luna's magnificent wings and we were kept afloat as we barreled through the sky. I looked up at the speckled canvas above, the fantastic glow of each star and planet contrasting the infinite black of all else. The night sky was so clear and bright, it was as if there were no light pollution from the city at all. I caught myself mouthing a wow and followed it with a thank you--to whom in particular, I wasn't sure.
The wind brushing my face almost gave me a shiver, but Luna's body was comfortingly warm. I turned my focus away from the sea above and watched the city below: sparse avenues with street lamp shadows, yellow-tinted storefront signs.
As the sleepy scenery whizzed by, I began to get an odd feeling in my gut. Now, I don't consider myself afraid of heights, but when you're two hundred feet in the air without safety rails, you might reconsider. I started to feel a little dizzy, and I knew I probably shouldn't be balanced precariously in midair if the world started spinning in my head. And suddenly I was getting tunnel vision. Great.
"Lunna, I donnn think," was all I was able to get out. The last thing I remember before falling unconscious is hoping I hadn't gotten fur all over my clothes.
_____
And just as smoothly as I went under, I drifted back into reality. Except now I was in my bed, under the covers.
"So it was just a dream...?" I muttered groggily. Shutting my eyes for a moment, I thought back to how real it felt. I guess it's a bit cliché to say, but I was honestly convinced it had all actually happened.
I realized now, however, that a flying pony visiting me and giving me a ride through the night sky was ridiculous. Of course I didn't think so at the time; that's how dreams work. But it was fun, regardless of being a dream. And at least I didn't actually have a crapload of work to rush to finish...
And then I remembered: that work wasn't a dream. I really did have to finish all of that last night! And I must've fallen asleep before I could get to it!
"Shit!" I hastily tossed back the covers and jumped out of bed, glancing at my clock. 8:47. Good, I had ample time before English, which was a 10 o'clock class. Unfortunately, there would really be no time to cram if I wanted to eat and be appropriately dressed. I sighed, resigning to just turning everything in late. Though I figured I ought to bring my unfinished book to class anyway, and I hurried over to my desk.
What lay there stopped me in my tracks. Staring back at me were a completed paper, finished math problems, and what appeared to be a fully annotated novel, all stacked together neatly. But that's not even what caused my heart to jump; although this was unusual, there was always the possibility of my roommate finding me asleep and my work unfinished and deciding to do a good deed.
No, the real shock was resting on top of all that.
A blue horseshoe.
