Enter: The Dreamer

It was summer in the bustling city of New York. In fact, it was one of hottest summers within the last thirty years, with a scorching 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Out of all the towering structures in the city, one particularly small apartment building was home to a young man named William.

He was white, with a bit of a tan, and had dark brown hair. At 5’11, he’d have been considered more or less average height, and he had a skinny build. As he laid in bed, his brown eyes skimmed over the pages of a book he had borrowed from a public library.

Being an avid reader, he always had his nose in a book. His job as a librarian’s assistant had its perks. One of them being that he could check out any book for as long as he wanted. Books were all he needed. Who needed friends when you could explore an entire world from the safety of your own home? One minute he’d be at home and then the next he would be in France, or on a deserted island. He was content with his life.

“Ha! Poor sucker,” he commented. He had just reached a part in the book where the main character was tricked by a con artist who claimed to have magic. William never believed in magic himself. In fact, he was skeptical of all paranormal phenomena. Whether it was Bigfoot or a ghost, he’d want evidence before he could believe in it. Even miracles were nothing but random coincidence. Everything in his life could be explained by science. He would even scoff at people who were religious.

He read his book all day, only stopping to either get a drink or to use the restroom. He wanted to finish the book as quickly as possible so that he could return the book for another the next day. Sure, con artists and swordsmen were interesting, but now he wanted to get into something more modern, like Sherlock Holmes. His eyes soon read along the last page and then he snapped the book closed.

"That’s done,” he said to himself. Looking out the window, he noticed night had fallen upon the city. He then looked at his clock on the wall, which read 10:37 PM. “Well, shit,” he mumbled as he placed the book upon the nightstand. “Goodnight,” he said to no one in particular… Who needed friends?

William tossed and turned later that night, his body aching all over. It felt like there was tremendous pressure all over his body, like something was on top of him, trying to crush him. He opened his eyes to see nothing but darkness all around him. Everything was pitch black, and it was freezing cold. He tried to speak, but no words came out of his mouth. It was like all sound was muted.

Then, a small spark in the distance, a small light that he could barely make out. Desperate, he tried to swim through the darkness. The light seemed to get closer and closer as he swam. He was so close. He could feel its warmth, its promise of freedom from the darkness. Eventually, after swimming for what seemed like forever, he finally reached his goal. The light enveloped him, and he awoke.

William opened his eyes to see a clear blue sky. His back ached, and his bed seemed to be firmer than he remembered… wait… Why was his bed outside? Why was HE outside? He scrambled about, standing up on his two legs before falling down. That was odd… He stood back up, only to fall back down again. Why couldn’t he stand up? He scratched his head with his hoof before… wait… Hoof?!

William stared at what used to be his hands. “What the hell is this?!” he cried out, trying to stand up again. He fell flat on his face and began to scramble about. Eventually he regained his balance on all four… legs??? He looked all around himself to see nothing but overgrown forest in every direction, the only source of light coming from up above. He saw a small pond nearby and galloped over to it, looking in and seeing his reflection.

He was…. A pony! But it was nothing like he’d ever see before! His brown eyes were too big for his head, and his hair had change from dark brown to blond! His fur color was unnaturally blue, and upon his head was a horn! “HOLY FLAMING SHIT ON A SHINGLE!” he screamed, touching the tip of his horn. “What the fuck did they drug me with?! Ok! Gotta… gotta calm down! I’m obviously dreaming! It’s just a dream! Just a dream… just a—“

His frantic mumbling was cut off by a breaking twig. He slowly turned around as best he could with his new legs to witness two yellow glowing eyes staring at him from within the dark brush. It slowly walked out from the brush to reveal its form. It appeared to be just a bunch of branches and leaves fused together into some terrifying lupine creature.

“Oh my God…” He began stumbling to move as best he could and his body seemed to take over, galloping as fast as he could from the tree beast. Soon he was dashing through the forest aimlessly, unable to tell where he was going. He could hear the monster closing in on him from behind, causing him to run even faster.

“GO AWAY PLEASE!” He cried, his legs on autopilot as he looked back. The wolf was lagging behind, causing William to laugh. “HA! YOUR MOTHER WAS A TWIG!” His laughter was cut short though by a branch he failed to see in front of him. He was then conked on the head, causing him to fall backwards. Dazed, he got up, seeing stars. “Did anyone get the license plate number on that twelve foot tall dwarf?” he asked, confused.

Behind William, the wolf was ready to pounce when out of the sky came a blue and yellow blur. The creature tried to bite onto the flying daredevils, only to grab air. The yellow blur grabbed a loose branch on the ground and flew at the monster at top speed, smashing the branch into it and shattering the beast to pieces. William, finally coming to, saw the shattered remains. “And uhh… That’s why you don’t m-mess with me! Yeah!”

He was about ready to walk away when he was shoved up against a tree by a yellow pony with sunglasses. “Who are you, and why were you wandering around here?!” she asked with authority.

It was going to be a long day…