"Coming!" Sunburst called as the doorbell continued to buzz. "Stop ringing for a second, will you? Coming!" He adjusted his bathrobe as he came to his front door and, after a deep breath, he opened it, expecting to find Starlight there; she had called earlier that day to say she was coming. But those hopes were dashed to pieces by who was there instead.
Against the dark night sky stood a man, tall and lurching. His black robes draped across his dark, rich leather surcoat. His gaunt, violet face was enveloped in shadow from the house light above him. He was cold and loomed over the frightened Sunburst.
"C-can I help you?" the college student asked, slightly shutting the door.
The figure moved into more clear light, and his face could now be fully seen. His eyes were a startling blue, and his black hair hung in curtains down the side of his violet face. "Sunburst!" he gasped.
"Crystal Hue?!" Sunburst exclaimed. He quickly embraced him and laughed in joy. "I thought I'd never see you again! How are you?"
"Things've been better," Crystal admitted. "And they were worse without you, I suppose."
"Come on in! Come, come," Sunburst urged. Crystal stepped in and shut the door, leaving him to gaze all around Sunburst's drab dorm. "I've been cleaning the house all day. You see, I was, ah, expecting someone. When you rang I thought it was her, so-"
"It's a her?" Crystal teased, staring at the evidence of Sunburst's busy college life. Piles of books were in almost every corner, along with the sheets of paper, sharpeners, calculators, pencils, rulers, protractors, and eraser rubbings to go with them.
"I'll have you know that it was Starlight Glimmer. She just said she'd be dropping by. No big reason. Uh, please. Have a seat."
Crystal did. "So when I show up, looking like this, it threw you off? Yeah, that happens."
"Speaking of which," Sunburst reminded him. "What's up with your new look? And… why?"
"Why what?" Crystal gave a short laugh. "I've been asking that question a lot recently on my… journey."
"What do you mean?" Sunburst curiously asked, sinking into the couch opposite him.
Crystal Hue rubbed his black-gloved hands together. "Well, first off, the look. I just think it's terribly comfortable. I think everyone will be wearing them in the future. Remember, always dress like you're about to die, because if you do die, that's your ghost outfit for all of eternity."
Sunburst looked down at his bathrobe. "I'm good, then."
Both of them laughed.
Crystal sighed at the end of his laugh and leaned forward. "Those questions. Why? How? I've been plagued by them more often than not."
"You work for a high-level internship at a gemstone refinery, of course you ask those kinds of questions."
"I wouldn't say of course," Crystal sighed. He settled his chin in his hand. "I mean, I've asked… why? Did I have to get separated from you, I mean."
"It was the best offer available at the moment!" Sunburst reassured him, toying with his short red goatee with his fingertips. "How do you like the job?"
" 'S fine, it's fine," Crystal said. Then he put his hands on his knees and leaned forward. "It was during that time that I found something."
"R-really? What was it?"
Crystal Hue's violet face had a look of giddy excitement cross his previously-hardened one. His deep blue eyes held a powerful glint in them. He held out a black-gloved hand and curled his fingers. "Watch and learn."
He twitched them. Red energy sparked to life in his hand and coiled around his fingers like a multitude of thin snakes.
Sunburst's mouth was in an "O" of wonder. After a few noises came from him, he managed to croak, "What? You… how did you-?"
"How?" he bemusedly repeated. Crystal Hue shut off his magic. "I'll tell you. It's… well, to be honest, it was you I wanted to tell this to most of all. I was looking for you. You might be the best person to ask."
He crossed a leg over the other. "Not last month, but the month before, I… had a vision."
Sunburst blinked. "Vision?"
"How else should I describe it? It was so vivid and alive, Sunburst. Gosh, I want you to see it for yourself. There's no way for me to accurately describe it for it to make enough of an impact on you as it did for me."
"Do your best. I'm listening."
Crystal blew a sigh from his lips. "Let's see… in my dream… I saw a world much like our own. Beautiful, verdant trees and sparkling blue oceans and flowing rivers through the countryside. The clouds were always puffy and full. The skies were either blue or grey, but only grey when it was raining. I saw cities as grand as the ones on earth. Antique towns and modern towns alike, but a powerful fortress for its capitol city. I saw beauty all around me, but I found it most of all in its inhabitants. They all wore smiles and laughs, even in business. There was love among their families, for a change. Every race was equal and got along fairly. It was as if… there was life among us all. Not just dull, day-to-day life where we wake up to the same miserable routine and repeat ourselves until we collapse. I'm not talking about enduring life. I'm talking about living it."
"That sounds wonderful," Sunburst commented. But truth be told, he didn't know what else to say. He concentrated. There had to be something he had to ask about it. "What made you think it wasn't just our earth?"
"Ah. Now that is the clincher. The inhabitants of this land of beauty and wonder… aren't humans. It's instead populated by…" He gazed into Sunburst's eyes. "Ponies."
"Ponies?"
"And not just any ponies. Not the dumb, stupid animals you and I know, but intelligent, capable creatures that can talk."
"Talk?"
"Yes. They laugh and dance and work and fall in love the same way we do. They just do it easier than our versions do."
"Our versions?"
"You're repeating the last words of my sentences. It's a bad habit."
"What do you mean, our versions?"
"You see, Sunburst, in my vision, I didn't just see colorful talking ponies. I saw each of us as colorful talking ponies. A pony version of Starlight Glimmer, and a pony version of you. I'm telling you, I saw them. As clear as I'm seeing you now!"
"Okay! Okay." Sunburst ruffled his hair in exasperation. "I just… this is a little much to take in."
"I understand. Take your time."
"… Crystal, did you see yourself?"
"No. And that's the remarkable thing. She told me that I had no counterpart in Equestria--the land I'm talking about, by the way. Everyone in Equestria has a twin in this world, and everyone in this world has a twin in Equestria." He leaned forward. "Except me."
"Who told you? What lady?"
"The one that was leading me by the hand the entire time. She was Luna."
"As in, the vice principal of our old high school?" Sunburst asked with incredulity.
"It's strange to believe, I know."
Sunburst's eyes met Crystal's. His old friend, who used to sound so rational… there were only two reasons he would sound like this. He was either insane, or he was telling the truth. Right now, he didn't know which was which. It sounded so surreal, but the amount of detail and fervor he used couldn't be ignored either. Not to mention the strange and exciting magic he now wielded.
"You have to believe me, Sunburst," Crystal croaked. "No one else has."
"Wha...at do you mean?"
"I…" He groaned and leaned his head back. "I talked with my coworkers about the dream. It was the truth. I knew it was! And they would know it too, if only they heard. It was up to me to share the goodness, the sweet truth. But… apparently not." He picked his head up again, and within his deep blue eyes was anger and pain. "They called me a madman when I said it was a dream. Said I was delusional, that I took dreams too seriously. When I insisted it was a vision, then it grew worse. They questioned the reality of the vision itself, asking about exquisite and obscure details, and what that means is, if I couldn't prove the details were consistent, then obviously the vision was false and I'm a lying, cheating scumbag. I got dammed up trying to answer them all. How could I properly answer them all? I saw the vision once! I'm not the expert on Equestria! If they want the truth, they won't get it out of splitting hairs! Don't they know that? Sweet...mercy, I just wanted to run away and not deal with their crud."
"I… actually had a few questions about it as well," Sunburst spoke up.
Crystal stamped his foot as he leaned forward with an intensity that rivaled every other emotion he had thus far portrayed. "If the only reason you were listening was to find logical fallacies in my thinking, then you're a bigger idiot than I ever expected from you, Sunburst. It's such a stupid, wasteful, selfish way of study that it makes me sick to my stomach. Don't stoop to that level! You should be better than that!"
"I wasn't!" Sunburst insisted, scooting back on the couch. "I'm curious, Crystal! Your vision, it sounds…"
Sunburst cut off. He had such conflicting feelings about it. Maybe he was taking dreams too seriously. Maybe he wasn't. What to believe?!
"Yes?" Crystal asked, and his cold blue eyes burned like subzero ice. "What did it sound like, Sunburst?"
"...If you are telling the truth, then what should I do about it?"
Crystal Hue took a deep breath, and his frigid eyes melted into blue, warm water once more. "Hmm. I came to you for two reasons. First off, you're the most likely to listen to me. You've been my friend since the third grade! Second, your profession. You're taking advanced physics and calculus. I've never been smart enough to ace those classes, no matter how much I tried and saw everyone else succeeding when they put the same effort in as I did-" He stopped; his tone had been getting hard. He cleared his throat. "Anyway, you're the best at your classes, Sunburst. You should know better than anyone about the possibility of alternate realities. Tell me. If a dimension or reality where these ponies live exists, would it be possible to travel there, and how?"
Never did Sunburst expect to be asked that question. "Um…"
Crystal urged him on with his eyebrows.
"I… that's hard to answer, you see. Y-you've got to understand how this all sounds! I'm not sure if it's as real as you say it is! I'm not the one that had the vision!"
Crystal gave him a disapproving look. His right hand sparked to life with spiraling scarlet magic. "That is not a proper answer."
Sunburst rephrased his answer immediately. "L-look, theoretically, there are infinite universes, but the problem is, there's no way to get to them. Einstein-Rosen bridges are the closest things we've discovered to interdimensional travel, but not only have we never found one, there's a difference between dimensions and universes, and I don't know which one your pony land was in!"
Crystal shut off his magic, but he still looked unsatisfied. "Impossible. There has to be some way we can get there!"
"But we can't discover it in one night, Crystal!" Sunburst stood up. "I know how important this must be to you, but I'm not a certified genius on this!"
"This is vital," Crystal emphasized. "I need to get there!"
"But why? Why you? Are you the chosen one or something?" he irritably snapped.
His eyes grew hard as sapphires. "Yes. You obviously weren't listening earlier when I said I am the only person who doesn't have a pony counterpart in Equestria. It has to mean something. What else can it be?"
Crystal was getting harder to tolerate by the minute. Where had this come from?
"Is that the reason why you suddenly have magic?" Sunburst asked.
Incredibly, he nodded. "Yes. The magic only came along recently, though. For the months before then, I had to deal with people's doubts and their criticisms and all of their mocking questions that they never want the answer to. I had to deal with that alone. I felt abandoned and insane for believing in the truth. 'Oh, I'm wrong? No! The rest of the world has got to be wrong!' Do you know what that sounds like? It sounds like I'm the one with a closed mind! I… How long can one man fight against the entire world alone, Sunburst?"
"How did you get your magic?"
"Again, it came along in a dream. Luna appeared to me and soothed my beliefs, and cooed those reassuring words to me. Be grateful for these trials, she said, because no signs come until after the trial of your faith. And then I woke up, and all of a sudden I could levitate soda cans across the wall!"
"The magic sounds believable," Sunburst warily said. Mostly because it was quantifiable evidence to support his cause, right in front of his face.
"Yes," Crystal sarcastically replied. "Now you think I'm not insane, but only because I can do magic sparkly stuff and you can't deny it! Is there an Equestria?"
"Y-yes! Yes!" he rushed out.
"Then I need to get there!"
"Why do you want to go?"
Here Crystal paused. Then, ruffling his obsidian-sheened hair, he answered.
"Because I don't like you people," he freely admitted.
"What?" Sunburst sat back down and fixed him an incredulous stare past his glasses.
"You are all so hard in your hearts and so deep in your depression that when the signs of a more glorious option presents itself, you reject it on the mere basis that it's fantasy. They never listened to see if there was a possibility of Equestria, they just dismissed me and called me insane and misguided. Oh, I hope he sees the light sometime soon! I'm afraid that he's gone astray! Such a sad time for him! My thoughts and prayers are always with him! I'll pray for him and hope he sees the light! Poor Crystal Hue, always looking towards fantasy! I hope he wakes up to the grand truth about the world! That the world is a selfish, willfully ignorant place full of prideful people and insincerity? I don't think so. Is there any reason why I want to go to Equestria? I'll tell you. It's a paradise compared to this place."
"You would condemn your own species?" Sunburst whispered.
"That's a small price to pay," Crystal shot back. "Not everyone has the disposition to do evil, but you know that people are by nature close-minded. Any new idea comes to them and they reject it. It's too weird. Too alien for them to comprehend. But not me. It's a very simple conclusion, Sunburst: I can't straddle the line between camps and halt myself between two opinions. I need to choose. I choose the peaceful option."
Sunburst clearly understood Crystal Hue at that moment. But he still couldn't follow him. It was too fantastical for him to imagine. If only he could see, and he could know for himself! But until then…
"Crystal?"
The black-attired purple man nodded.
"You… deserve the best. But I don't know… if I can give it to you."
"You mean you won't help me?" he asked.
"I can't!" he emphasized. "And… look, how can I? All this talk of talking ponies and alternate dimensions and versions of ourselves and Luna as a dream goddess? If it weren't for your magic, I would have no drive to believe you!"
Crystal's eyes widened. "You…" He turned around so he wasn't facing his friend any more. "I'm so close, Sunburst. I can do this! All I need is your help!"
"If I could see the vision, or Equestria itself, I'll help you get there, but if all I have to go on is your word and some sparkly fingers… I'm sorry, but that's not conclusive enough for me! Maybe for you, though, because you always wanted more than you were given, so you believe in fantasy and magic! And now here you come, thrusting this upon me, and expect me to have the same reaction you did! I still hope you get the result you want, Crystal, but you can't get it by-"
Crystal's fingers snapped together.
Sunburst was instantly paralyzed. Teetering over and thudding onto the floor, still as a statue, Sunburst felt a thrill of fear shoot through him.
Crystal Hue rotated around. His sapphire eyes had turned hard again, and his gaze was as sharp as the edges of the stone.
"Sunburst," he whispered. "Don't you dare speak another word."
He couldn't, but that was beside the point.
"With or without your confirmation, I did see that vision. Equestria is real. And I will go there if it takes me a lifetime. They're wrong. You're wrong. You all are wrong! Everyone will see that soon enough. I am the only one who dared to know the truth, and they'll be ashamed for calling me a madman. Then, and only then, they'll get their evidence that Equestria and magic exists… when I leave this rotting world behind to die when it rips itself apart!"
He balled his fist, and the young man rose up like a marionette. "You were the one that decided to abandon me. Don't forget that, Sunburst." He sighed. "Here you go. I'll let you talk."
Suddenly Sunburst could move his mouth. "Listen, you need-"
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP, SUNBURST! CAN'T YOU SEE THAT NO ONE CARES ABOUT WHAT YOU THINK? I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY, IT'S OBVIOUSLY WRONG, BECAUSE IT'LL STRETCH MY MIND!"
Sunburst fell silent instantly, heart pounding in fear. Where had this come from? Why was he acting like that?
"How does it feel, Sunburst? How does that feel? I hope you realize that I was the one that felt like that for months! I was never shown leniency! But they had all the leniency they wanted to say I was stupid, or misguided, or seeking attention." He grimaced. "Gosh, I hate that in people. I hope to cut it out of them."
He swirled his fingers and a long, curved black dagger appeared in his hand. After idly admiring it, he sheathed it at his waist.
"This isn't the person I know," Sunburst managed to say.
"You were the one that rejected me," he pointed out, his voice as dark and smooth as oil. "I'm not the only one that's changed."
Sunburst wiggled around in the devilish grip of his captor. "Please," he said. "Let me go!"
Crystal instead gave him a simpering look. "How about… No."
He kicked Sunburst in the chest so hard he smashed into the wall and broke the drywall. The dazed Sunburst fell to the ground, weak beyond compare.
"Oh, my gosh, you have no idea how well that felt!" he exulted, stepping closer. Dark red energy radiated off of him like heat, shrouding his malicious features. "Keeping myself from lashing out was the hardest thing during all of this. Putting up with so many sarcastic jerks and snide comments… doesn't it make you want to explode? To destroy all in your path?"
Sunburst knelt weakly. He had to look up into his condescending eyes. "What happened to you? You…" He put a finger to his temple and it came away scarlet. Momentarily stunned, he gulped. "You made me bleed!"
Crystal Hue's red hand clenched once again, and all around him, the walls themselves melted like warm chocolate bars. His vibrant blue eyes held eternity within them. And eternity was doomed.
"Oh, Sunburst. I will make your world bleed."
