The Dimensions of Polyn

The Dimensions of Polyn

A Work of Fan Fiction

Based on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Created by Hasbro.

Written By

Fogeldash

In Memory of Ed Portmann

(1943-2013)

Authors Note: This story is meant to take place between seasons 3 and 4 of MLP: FIM

Chapter 1: Rude Awakening

A deep authoritative voice is heard.

“Wake up now, you’re going to be late!”

A shadow extends across the dimly lit room.

“How dare you stay out past curfew!”

Polyn stirs in bed trying to ignore the shouting.

“I know you can hear me. Get up now!”

She pulls the covers over her head. The window is forced open, filling the room with morning light. The strong, oversized hoof of her father kicks her out of bed and onto the floor. The bedsheets spiral around her like a tornado as she crashes. Polyn's eyes are forced open by the shock as she struggles to adjust to the flood of morning light. The floor is cold and it's texture rough. There is a sharp pain in her back and legs. She tries to get up but is forced back down again by her father who is already right in her face. There is still alcohol on his breath from the night before. It could have been consumed earlier this morning.

“How dare you come in late last night!” His shouting echos in the teenage mare's ear to almost inaudible levels. His voice softens as he leans in further. “You may not respect your future,” He grits his teeth, “but you will respect me and my rules.”

Polyn, who is finally awake enough to mount an offensive, glares at her father.

“As if you were worthy of respect,” she says in a raspy voice.

Her father's face tightens up and he stomps his hoof right next to her head. She cowers but only barely because of the shock. She knows that her father is a creature of little self-control. This combined with drunkenness could lead to disaster. Fighting her internal desire to rebel she decides not to anger him further. She looks away from him and Slowly he backs off, his threat well received.

“Get ready for school,” he spouts.

“Respect my future, yeah right,” Polyn mutters to herself.

She unwraps her legs which are tangled in the mess of bed sheets and stumbles once as she slowly gets up.

“What Future?”

In a small adjacent room, there is a mirror in the corner and a small sink with brushes, some other cleaning devices and a towel draped over the faucet. She has quite the case of bed mane this morning. She takes a good look at herself in the mirror. Her mane is a little longer than she would like; brown and curly with a stripe of red that goes through the various strands. She brushes it to both sides of her head and around the backside of her horn except for small strands that go around her neck. Taking some shears, she evenly clips the hair above her eyes, making sure they don't get in her eyes. Her coat is a pale gray color and unfortunately there is no mark on her flank.

Very few ponies ever get their cutie marks in this place. It was the mark of a purpose fulfilled in a world where purpose was given to you. In this city, the government decided your fate. From birth you knew what you were going to do your entire life. Unless your purpose and the city's imposed fate were the same, you were just a blank slate for them to write on. For those few who had them, they were just a pretty decoration.

She goes over to her closet where her school supplies are. As a unicorn Polyn had been chosen to work in the magi-tech sector near one of the city reactors or in a lab. After her last year of school was finished she would be put to work. Like other technical and magically gifted unicorns, she was going to study at the local academy, as required. The fusion of magic and technology was something she excelled at and also enjoyed. It took her mind off the troubles of corruption and family drama that surrounded her.

The clock hovering over the bed ticks too loudly to be ignored. Time is running short and she needs to be on time or there would be city guards on her case. They always had a way of knowing where she was at all times. She quickly finds her small beige saddle bag lying on the floor that had fallen off due to the confrontation earlier and looks inside. There are some small ingredients for potion class, several pieces of paper and her class books inside.

“This should be enough,” She mumbles.

Shuffling down the old, wooden creaky stairs that connect to the kitchen, the young mare moves quickly around a small wooden table and stands in front of old metal sink and some cabinets. Only half of the cabinets still have doors on them.

Her parents’ house is small but larger than most of the residential homes provided by the city government for commoners, the working class. The downstairs is dark except for the sunlight cracking through the blinds. Even the majesty of the sun is barely able to penetrate the darkness of the house. Her father has already left for his job at the sky-way, making even the disheveled, darkened house feel all the more comforting with his absence. Quickly trying to assemble a reasonable lunch, she looks at all of the open cabinets.

Her mother is sitting in the adjacent living room staring at a crossword puzzle. The area around her is covered with dirty dinner plates, pieces of old clothes, and crumpled sections of newspaper. She hangs her rear hoof off the chair in a caste and constantly bumps it against the remnants of several empty bottles of beer that lay around the wood floor and stink up the place.

Polyn's dad got drunk often. The bottles were a constant reminder. 20 years of the same non fulfilling job everyday would make anyone want to escape. There was no escaping that job, since his father was the inventor of the sky-way. He had been groomed from birth to take over the family business. He had no choice, nowhere to go and a recognizable legacy to keep him perpetually trapped. It was his role, his fate. It haunted him. He covered up his frustration with drinks, making him more bitter and angry as the years went on.

Lifeless is the best way to describe her mother. Her face is pale and she looks barely alive. She is so distant and unresponsive it is like she is dead already. She wasn't always like this. She had a bright future ahead of her until her accident. Polyn got her talents for magic from her mother. When she was a filly she would watch her mother work on magical energy cores and all kinds of technological wonders in this very same house. She had a knack for magical cores and was always hired to work on reactor projects. She went down into the factory one day and selflessly volunteered to go fix a malfunctioning reactor component for a new employee. She was injured by an energy surge that everyone blamed her for. In the end, she lost her job and any future she could have had along with it. Was her act of kindness even worth it? Polyn tries to get her attention.

“Are you taking me to school, or do I have to hoof it.” Despite her clever pun, her mom struggles to respond.

“I’m really...busy today,” her mom says without even looking up. Her voice has almost no expression. “Just take the bus...there’s a pass on the table.”

The young unicorn rolls her eyes and searches though the clutter finding an expired bus pass. I guess she would have to walk. Magically levitating some fruit sitting in a basket inside the top shelf, she transfers it into a paper bag.

“See you later mom, don’t work too hard,” Polyn says sarcastically. There is no response.

It was hard living with a distant mother and a drunken, angry father but Polyn did it every day. She was happy to be going to school. Studying magic and spending some time in the library afterwords would be the only escape from this situation. Her father didn't know this but she had come home late because of a study session. He was so oblivious and trapped in his anger that he hadn't even noticed. There had to be a future for her away from the corruption of the city. Magic, technology, and books were the only escape she had, they might reveal a way out.

Outside, two guards greet her. They watch her as she leaves, and she knows that they watched her father do the same.

“Get a move on, Polyn Aphos, you don't want to get another citation.” The guards chuckle as she walks past them into the vast city.