It started with a Sneeze

As the sun sets on another long day, Braden finds himself dragging himself back to his room kicking off his shoes and getting ready for bed. He scratches his head as he thinks of what has become of his life. He thought for sure after getting his degree life would become much easier. how wrong he was all the free time he once had has been evaporated to trying to make ends meet. But in his spare time, he was still able to watch one of his favorite shows, as he fantasized about how wonderful life would be in Equestria.

He thinks back to the latest episode released about two days ago. The one about how the Queen of the Changelings failed her master plan and got away. He thinks about how will everypony's going to deal with these New Reformed Changelings. Do they still need to eat love like they used to or not as much anymore? Do they even need to feast on love or something else entirely? And why didn’t Discord use his magic to stop the Queen in her tracks before she got two feet away from them?

Only time will tell what will happen to his precious little ponies. But all in all, he can live with how things are going right now. Furthermore, he can live with the fact that he is able to see his favorite Pony get more screen time now. He'll have to admit, when he first started watching the show he had a thing for Twilight. I mean why not? She is the main character. She is cute and adorable despite her flaws. She has come a long way from the closed shut-in nerd from episode 1.

But that all changed when a new mare showed up and stole the spotlight, a mare known as Starlight Glimmer. He couldn't help but be drawn to her. Such a powerful Pony Villain turned friend who could stand toe the toe with some of the strongest Heroes ever known. She was able to learn the Power of Friendship and with the help of her new friends, was able to defeat one of the Greatest Villains the show has ever seen, Queen Chrysalis.

That said, he cannot understand why the show seems to be pushing for a ship between her and Sunburst. He knows it's probably just because of a childhood relationship that they justify the ship. However, that doesn't mean he has to agree with it. A picture of the stallion filled with holes and darts hanging on his wall symbolizes his hatred of the stallion. After all, a mare of her caliber could do so much better than somepony who abandons their friend without saying goodbye. But unfortunately, these are nothing more than fleeting thoughts and hopeful thinking.

He gets into his bed before pulling close a body pillow of Starlight into a side. It's nothing fancy just a picture of a pony wanting to give a hug, he got it from the last Bronycon he went to. He stares at the image of the mare silently wishing she could be real even if it were just for one day. Memories of dreams flash before his mind as he recalls such wonderful adventures of spending the rest of his days with such a pony. He slides his hand against the image where her cheek would be, sighing.

“If only you were real,” He says quietly before pulling her into a hug, “I would be happy,” He slowly falls into a deep slumber and softly rubs his cheek against hers,

However, as dreams of a future never to happen were just within reach, he could have sworn he heard a sound comparable to that of an animal sneezing. He ignored it, thinking it was just one of the Alley Cats that likes to roam near his windows. He hugs the body pillow tighter trying to go back to sleep nuzzling his face into the soft fur across his face. If he was just a little bit more alert, he would have started noticing two things. One his body pillow does not have any heating functions, and two it does not move on its own.

Every time the pillow would move away from him, he would hug harder not realizing that something was amiss. It wasn't until an ear-piercing scream that awoken him from his slumber. Braden puts his hands over his ears in pain as he is suddenly brought back into the world of living. Before he could ask who broke into his room, he was sent flying across the room by an unknown Force, knocking the wind out of him as he smashed into the wall, all the while the screaming continues.

Braden lays flat against the wall helpless as he tries to understand what is happening, but that was the least of his worries. As he looks at the source of the screaming person, which he can now safely identify as being female, he can only stare dumbstruck as he knows this woman. To be more precise, he knows this mare.

For some unknown reason his body pillow has come to life, and there where once lay a five-foot-long cotton pillow. Stands a Bona fide in the flesh, Starlight Glimmer holds a blanket over the front of her body as she screams her lungs out. The room is lit up in a teal hull as her horn shines brightly, which answers his question as to how he was sent flying into the wall and held there.

Braden could not understand what was going on here. Was magic real and had he accidentally wished Upon a Star to bring Starlight to life? Or did he somehow go to Equestria? So many questions but he won't be able to get any answers with Starlight screaming bloody murder. He needs to calm her down before her screaming attracts unwanted attention.

However before he could say anything to her, Starlight finally started saying words, much to his horror, “HELP! PPPEEERRRVVVEEERRRTTT!!!”

Not wanting to have his first interaction with his favorite Pony being a misunderstanding, he tried to call out to her when the room door opened, revealing another familiar face. There stood Princess Twilight Sparkles, her horn alive with magic looking around for the Intruder before her eyes locked onto the stallion against the wall. Brayden could only look between the mares as he tried to give them a reassuring smile that he was harmless and maybe they could talk this out. However, the death glare that Twilight was giving him was starting to make him doubt his chances of survival.

“AH, I can explain,”