‘Beyond Reality’
Prologue.
Today, well, it was a normal day, and I followed my normal routine. I woke up, went to school, listened to some brony artists, and then I walked home. While I was walking home, a song came on. ‘Love Me Cheerilee’ was the song’s name. Of course, the day before, I had read Cheerilee’s Garden, and reading that fan fiction twisted my thoughts for Cheerilee. However, the song, it sounded sinister. It didn’t sound the same as it did before I read that fan fiction. Am I going insane? It couldn’t possibly be the case. I can’t seem to figure out what was happening to me. I tried to tell myself that it is only my imagination, and that I should just change the song.
I started to feel dizzy. In my heart, I wanted to take my phone out of my pocket and change the song, but my mind wouldn’t let me. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t move my arms towards my phone. My arms just remained still as I walked. I kept on twitching; it must have been about 10, 20 minutes? The song was still playing... what was happening to me? And why out here, where everyone is careless? If anything happened on this road, people would just walk past. No one would even think about what happened. They’d just live life as they usually do – as selfish bastards who think the world circulates around money and fame.
“Christ, I must be tired...” I muttered to myself. I wasn’t afraid of anyone hearing me, as the road was busy, as usual. I started to stumble, and that allowed me to confirm that something wasn’t right, so I decided to look for a bus stop. The nearest stop was approximately 300 yards away from me, so I checked every pocket but the pocket my phone was in for money. It cost £1.05 for a single ticket, which used to be 80p, but then changed to 90p at a later date. I managed to find £1.10 in my trouser pocket. As soon as I finished counting, I saw the bus speed right past. Was it going over the speed limit; with people on it?
“Crap!” I shouted, yet again to myself, as the bus zoomed past me. Soon after, I saw it tip over and crash into a building. I picked up my speed, and sprinted towards the burning bus. As I ran, the world around me seemed to slow down. In fact, the world was spinning in reverse; but I continued running at a normal speed, in a normal direction – towards the bus. Suddenly, I had a memory flash.
“H- Hello?”
“Are... are you awake?”
“Wait... please! No!”
“Don’t... don’t do that! Please!”
“PLEASE! N- NO! I DIDN’T MEAN IT! I DIDN’T MEAN IT! P-PLEASE DON’T HURT ME!”
Screams echoed around me. I was consumed by darkness, and the song was playing louder than my phone’s volume could go. As I opened my eyes, I discovered that the bus had disappeared. It was no longer there, and there didn’t seem to be any evidence of its existence either. That was when it happened. I blacked out.
I continued to hear the screams. I started to see images – horrifically gruesome images. Blood – everywhere... and then I saw a figure... it was in the shape of... a pony? I saw its pitch white eyes, before I woke up again. I found myself in the middle of the road, with the bus I saw earlier charging at me. I only had two options – to stay still, and let the bus hit me as I try to figure out what happened, or to dive out of the way, and hope to survive. Only one of the two options was ideal, so I quickly dived out of the way and screamed.
I tried to break my fall by landing on my arms first, but I still smashed my head against the pavement. I slowly stood up, and I put the palm of my hand where my head hit the pavement, trying to stop the bleeding. I watched the bus tip over and crash into the same building – again, except this time, it was real.
“What... the fuck?” I said to myself. Usually, I avoid strong cursing, but it was the only word I could get out of my mouth in this situation. I found myself in a frozen world, again. This time, I had a chance to get closer to the bus. Everything remained silent. People’s facial expressions remained unchanged. What could possibly be happening to me? Was I... dead? I was unaware of the fact that something was following me. All that currently mattered is that I was having issues with my mental health, according to recent events.
“You.”, said a distorted voice, “You’re the one.”
I was unsure of who was speaking, but it sounded familiar. Deep in my heart, I knew who it was, but my mind was refusing to allow me to believe it. I looked behind me, to see a huge pit that continued onwards to the core of the Earth. Everything that existed behind me was wiped from existence. Time and space was visible in the pit, although you probably don’t believe anything I am saying. But I can assure you that this is all true. I looked away from the pit, and I saw the pony again. The silhouette was staring right at me, and then it spoke.
“You – whom is before me, does not belong here. Come.”
The pony turned around, and slowly walked away. I followed it, due to the fact that I had no other direction available for me to walk in. The world around me started to crumble. All human life I once saw was erased from my vision. Suddenly, everything turned pitch white. The song had stopped playing. In fact, every sound I could once hear and recognise had stopped. Unable to process what was happening, I began to feel numb. I could no longer see the pony, but I knew where it was going. It didn’t turn, but it walked directly forward, without looking back. I did the same.
“You shall be known as Flare Flash – a male Pegasus whose wings light up brightly in the night sky as you fly. You shall start a new life – away from the horrors that you encountered in your world. Welcome – to Equestria.”
And that – is how my life began – how I came to where I am today.
The new guy.
It was a bright, sunny day in Ponyville. A brony’s only dream was now true. Everything feels different, compared to having my computer screen in between my hand and the vibrant colours of Equestria. It felt unusual to be walking on all fours, and it felt especially unusual to have wings. I’ve always dreamed of living in Ponyville, and now that dream is a reality – beyond reality, if you ask me. It’s just too good to be true. Out of the dull city, and into the bright world. Ponyville seemed bigger than in the series, and I quickly realised how much of Ponyville was never shown. I even saw many OC’s, such as TheLivingTombstone, even Lauren Faust’s OC. Everypony appeared to be happy, so I started to walk into the town square. I was quickly greeted by Pinkie Pie, the same way she greeted Twilight Sparkle, in Season 1, Episode 1.
“Cupcakes, cupcakes, cupca-“, she gasped as she spotted me. She started to hop towards me, so she could examine me.
“Good day!” I said as Pinkie Pie looked at me with pure excitement. She started to rant on about how she reacted, and I failed to keep up with what she was saying, due to her energetic nature.
“Are you new here?” she finally asked, after her long story of the short moment. I nodded, and she gasped again, “I knew it! I know everypony in Ponyville, so when I saw that you were new here I wanted to come greet you as soon as possi-“.
I quickly interrupted with a laugh.
“Yeah, I saw your reaction.” I muttered. We both laughed for a couple of minutes. I think I’m going to love this place.
“Want me to show you around?” Pinkie asked. I smiled, and nodded.
“Lead the way!” I replied, cheerfully. I can’t believe it. I can finally live a happy life. Back on the other world, I was never happy. I never had friends. Most people spent their time playing Call of Duty, but now, they’re a distant memory to me, and I never existed to them. From time to time, I think about my family, as they were the only ones that truly loved me, well, when I existed in their minds. But I must move on. I must forget about the past, for the past has forgotten about me.
Pinkie Pie cheerfully showed me around Ponyville, and we got to know each other more. She even introduced me to Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and of course, Spike. By time it was getting dark, everypony knew who I was, although I avoided mentioning my previous life. I wanted to keep that a secret, just in case. After all, it IS something I wish to forget. Talking about it won’t help me forget about it at all.
We celebrated all night, and I learnt to fly! Boy, my wings really were bright in the night sky. The next morning, Princess Celestia visited Ponyville, and she commented on the light show. It was relatively embarrassing, but I pushed through our first conversation confidently. She knew who I was, and she knew where I came from, and I can allow her to know that, because after all, she is the pony who brought me here. Pinkie Pie was still ecstatic, so she threw another party. Everypony came, and even Princess Celestia and Princess Luna joined in. It was really comforting. I’ve never had a party dedicated to me before. It made me want to cry the tears of joy, but I tried my best to avoid that. I dislike crying in public.
Rainbow Dash walked up to me, and I nodded. I tend to nod instead of speaking.
“I challenge you to a race – even though I will definitely win!” Rainbow boasted.
I smiled and replied, “With pleasure.”
“It is sorted, then! Meet me outside after this party. We’re going to race from Ponyville to Canterlot!”
“Challenge accepted.” as the meme goes.
We both shook hoofs.
Rainbow Dash returned to the party, and I followed her shortly after. We were both excited for this race, and Rainbow was sure that she would win. I just remained silent, and smiled.
“EVERYPONY! RAINBOW DASH AND FLARE FLASH ARE GOING TO HAVE A RACE!” screamed the cheerful Pinkie Pie. She must have overheard our conversation. The attention from everypony started to put pressure on me. Even I knew that Rainbow Dash was the fastest flyer in Equestria, and being new to this body, I was unsure of my capabilities. I just hoped that my wings wouldn’t fail me. Out of all the worst things that could happen, being a laughing stock would be the worst. Not that I wasn’t a laughing stock in the other world, this is different. It could be written down in history, although I highly doubt that. I tried to relax and enjoy the party, and it seemed to have eased my nerves.
It was a great party, but surprisingly, it was only noon by time the party had finished. When I stepped outside, I saw everypony waiting around the starting line that was rapidly set up.
The race.
We got ready at the starting line. The idea was to gallop for the first 100 meters, and then take off at full speed. As we waited at the line, I looked at my cutie mark, wondering what it could mean. It was a bright, green tinted lightning bolt that appeared to dissolve at the top. It looked similar to what I saw when the other world was crumbling from around me – everything slowly dissolved, block by block. Maybe it was related to my wings shining brightly when I fly in the night sky? I am not sure. The only way to find out was to fly in the race, and that is what I intended to do. I took a quick glance at Rainbow Dash, and I smiled. She smiled back, and we both looked away at the same time.
The bell rang, and it could be heard from all over Ponyville. We both started galloping. As soon as we hit the 100 meter mark, we took off. Rainbow Dash was flying very fast, but I eventually caught up. It was very intense. We both attempted to distract one another as we flew. The scenery was nice, but neither of us had time to slow down to admire it. We started to fly above the clouds.Rainbow Dash launched many clouds at me, and I dodged them with ease and span their trajectory back to Rainbow Dash, one of them hitting her in the face and knocking her out of control. She was still determined to win, so she started to fly up higher as soon as she regained control.
Suddenly, she launched herself towards the ground. I knew what she was going to do. She was going to perform a Sonic Rainboom in order to gain a massive increase in speed. I was starting to doubt myself now, but I still followed her. I was starting to see the mach cone form around her, and in a split second, the sky was filled with the awesome rainboom. I saw her zoom off, and then it happened.
‘The Sonic Flashboom’
As I descended at rapid speeds, I started to hear distorted sounds around me, and a very bright mach cone. It sounded like a large screech, and then it happened. Everypony was blinded and deafened for approximately 5 seconds by a spark that consumed most of Equestria in a blindingly bright light, and a sound of an extremely high frequency. When Rainbow Dash was able to see and hear again, she saw me zoom right past her. I must have reached Canterlot around 30 minutes later, Rainbow Dash reaching the city walls 10 minutes after I did. Everypony was puzzled as they wondered what happened. Rainbow Dash was at a loss for words, and so was I. What the hell did I just do? Is everypony alright?
“What... what was that?!” yelled Rainbow Dash.
“I... I wish I knew...” I whispered nervously.
Whatever happened, it caught Princess Celestia’s attention. She found me, and asked me if I knew anything about what just happened.
“Well... Rainbow Dash and I were having a race... and I think I might have broken the sound barrier, and performed something similar to the Sonic Rainboom... I don’t know what it was that I did... though...” I looked around with obvious shock heard in my tone of voice.
“I see.”
“I-I hope no pony was hurt – or anything damaged... I’m awfully sorry...” I whispered, with sorrow in my eyes. I didn’t expect to do such a thing. I didn’t even it was even possible for me to perform first place.
“No need to be upset, for I understand. No pony was hurt, and nothing was damaged. ” Princess Celestia smiled at me, “You appear to have your own special talent, like Rainbow Dash. It is something you should be proud of, for it takes much effort to perform such a talent.”
“Thank you, Princess. I guess you are correct.” I laughed.
Somepony had already named it for me. The Sonic Flashboom was the name it adopted. I guess it fits the description, so I’ll play along with it. We flew back to Ponyville, and everypony cheered. Rainbow Dash, well, she was being Rainbow Dash as usual. She sulked due to the fact that she lost, and there isn’t much we can do about her personality. I didn’t boast about the outcome of the race, because that would be horrible. I just kept it as a thing of the past.
Memories.
It has been 5 years since I was brought to Equestria. 5 years of nothing but happiness and friendships. Sure, there were minor arguments, but nothing groundbreaking happened. Not once did anypony cause a lot of trouble. Right now, I am sitting on my bed, reflecting on my past. I know I want to forget about it, but I just can’t stop myself from thinking about my family. How was my Nan doing? Was she still alive? When I was taken, she was 71 years old, yet she was still somehow coping by herself, as if she was still in her 20s. My parents, they would be 51 now. Were they still married? It has been so long since I’ve last seen them, it makes me curious. How was my sister doing? She is probably in high school now. I could probably ask Princess Celestia to tell me how they are all doing, as she seems to know a lot about both worlds. Surprisingly, I was taken on the day Season 3 of My Little Pony had first aired. I was excited to see that season, but I guess I no longer need to, as have the show, constantly in reach of my hooves. I am 18 years old now. How was the show doing? I have so many questions, but there is one that struck me the most. What happened to my only friend – Josh?
Anyway, I’d better hit the hay, for I have personal plans for tomorrow.
Minny Ette.
Everypony stared as the unicorn walked through the town. Pinkie Pie was tempted to cheerfully greet her, but somepony kept her back, for everypony felt a strange presence as the unicorn walked. No pony could describe the feeling, but they all knew that something wasn’t right about her. Her cutie mark was a clock. Ponies started to whisper to one another, wondering what her cutie mark could mean. Regardless of the attention she acquired, she continued to ignore all that surrounded her. As I stepped outside, I saw the crowd, and it made me question whatever was happening. I managed to take a peek past the crowd, allowing me to see the unicorn. Immediately, her presence struck me. I knew this pony... I’ve seen her before.
I saw Applejack among the crowd, and I asked her about what she knew.
“Hey Applejack, do you know who that unicorn is?” I whispered to her.
“Ah wish ah knew.” Applejack replied with her distinct accent.
Suddenly, I quickly realized that I knew who she was, but my mind rejects the belief. Was she... Josh? What was he/she doing as a female unicorn? And why was he/she here? I don’t even know which gender to address him/her as! Christ! So many questions flooded my mind. The only fact I could safely confirm that it was Josh’s OC, just like I’m the OC I created 5 years ago.
“Argh... what was his OC’s name... Minny Ette! That’s it!”
I must have spoken my thought aloud, which I also absolutely hate doing, and she turned to look at me. As she realized who I was, a huge smile formed on her face. I guess I should address Josh as a girl now, as we are both ponies now.
Minny Ette cheerfully trotted over to me, and the crowd isolated. They could see that it was a reunion of two friends, so they decided to let us talk in peace. I brought her to Sugarcube Corner so we could have a bite to eat. It appears that she remembered who I was when she saw me. Does that mean that if I return to Earth, people would only remember me if they saw me? Or did that only apply to Equestria. I let the thought pass, though. It wasn’t important. We discussed the events that happened on Earth for a couple of minutes, and then I asked her about how long ago she was sent here, and why.
“Before I was sent here, I had a dream – a silhouette of a pony was asking me if I would like to join a dear friend who experienced the horrors of reality before he was brought to Equestria. I couldn’t figure out who the pony was talking about, as I didn’t seem to know that you existed.”
That explains why. But the fact that it took 5 years, it still beats me. But that didn’t matter. I am just glad to know that she made it through, and that she recognises me. Isn’t that all that matters? Don’t even think that I am in love, because she used to be a male human. The fact that she is now a female unicorn still creeps me out. Damn it all, I really hope Pinkie Pie doesn’t look at this and think of it as a relationship, because that would be horrifying. Plus, I have my eye on some other pony... but that will remain concealed at this point of time.
I ordered us some cupcakes with the bits I earned from working in Cloudsdale, although I spend most of my free time in Ponyville. Back on Earth, she made music. I asked her about how that went, and apparently she became very successful. I guess she did actually accomplish her dream on Earth, although I was unable to accomplish mine – except for being a pony. But that is a dream I thought wasn’t even scientifically possible. Now that I think about it, I wonder what science has discovered. A lot can happen in 5 years. Did Valve release Half Life 3? Like always, my mind is flooded with questions. We had finished eating the cupcakes just as Pinkie Pie hopped past. I froze, nervously, as Pinkie Pie quickly turned her head and gasped.
“We’re just friends. Don’t get the wrong idea.” Minny Ette calmly spoke.
“Oh...” Pinkie Pie frowned. As much as I hated seeing Pinkie Pie upset, but this time I was actually kind of relieved. I laughed, trying to make Pinkie Pie smile again.
“We are just old friends - very old friends.” I added.
“Okie-dokie!” Pinkie Pie cheerfully hopped around again. It was better than seeing her cotton candy hair collapse, “I’d best be on my way, then!”
Pinkie Pie started to sing as she hopped away. Although it only seemed like a couple of minutes, we’ve been sat here for hours. It was actually starting to get dark, so I asked if she had some place to stay in for the night. I didn’t want to invite her to stay with me, because yet again, it gave me a creepy feeling just thinking about it.
