Advent of Victory

A few beads of sweat rolled down the plastic mask that was covering most of my face, and fell to the blue tarp beneath me. The back of my gloved hand wiped my brow clean for a moment before returning to the bottle of spray paint and giving it a vigorous shaking. The mask was both uncomfortable and made the air smell of plastic, but suffering momentary discomfort was a lot better than the brain damage I was liable to get if I chose not to wear it. The space around me was filled with tiny particles of paint that were already slowly turning my old clothes various shades of the rainbow.

The masking tape hissed as I pulled it from the poster board; leaving a clear white border for the painting that I had just finished creating. I slipped off my thoroughly soaked latex gloves and tossed them in the trash pile I had next to me. The skin of my hands immediately expanded and began to drink in the cool air around them before sighing in relief.

I gently grabbed both edges of the poster board, and held it before me, as my knees remained rooted on the harsh concrete. I studied my creation, and felt a small bit of pride well up inside me before it was crushed by my noticing an error. The picture of a planet far out in space surrounded by a meteor shower was marred by the unnatural looking rocks of the landscape surrounding the scene. Failing once again to inscribe a realistic portrayal of a barren wasteland, I sighed and set aside the painting next to two others that I had finished today.

The compulsion to mark my work never failed strike me, so I picked up a pen that lay near me and scribbled my initials into the still drying paint. The pen clacked as it once again found itself on the tarp, and I reached over to another piece of poster board and began to tape it down. Another pair of gloves were soon restricting blood flow to my phalanges as I let my mind wander for a moment.

My parents had strictly forbid me to do any of my painting in the house because the fumes would get trapped in the air, and could lead to possible death or start a fire. I was wise enough at this age to trust my dad on the matter so every time I wanted to create something with my own two hands I would have to carry all of my supplies through the house to the back porch where I would then need to set it up.

I pulled my Ipod out of my pocket to search for a song that might bring me inspiration. A short time later I had eventually settled on listening to some Evanescence; Amy Lee could inspire me any day. With the perfect song found I looked around the yard to begin gathering my thoughts. The simple sight of suburbia stared back at me as my eyes traced over the decent sized lot of a yard we owned. The piano entrance began to play, and I began to softly sing as the opening verse started.

I've been looking in the mirror for so long.

That I've come to believe my soul's on the other side.

All the little pieces falling, shatter.

Shards of me,

Too sharp to put back together.

Too small to matter,

But big enough to cut me into so many little pieces.

The yard would have been completely uniform like all the others were it not for the steep slope that began halfway out. Something about the limestone beneath the ground that caused the unique depression that none of our neighbors had to put up with. My knee popped as I leaned on a hand to remove some of the pressure they had to put up with. I feared that if I didn't find a better way to sit while I was outside painting I would end up with arthritis by forty, not that I was anywhere close to being that old.

If I try to touch her,

And I bleed,

I bleed,

And I breathe,

I breathe no more.

The ball in the can of red paint I was holding smacked against the aluminum casing several times before I lowered the can, and sprayed a massive red circle on it. After filling up almost the entirety of the canvas I began to cover the red circle with yellow before setting aside that color also. Lastly, I took a very dark purple and placed a couple of patches over the yellow.

Take a breath and I try to draw from my spirits well.

Yet again you refuse to drink like a stubborn child.

Lie to me,

Convince me that I've been sick forever.

And all of this,

Will make sense when I get better.

Satisfied that I had the layout of the new planet I was trying to make, I set the paint back down and picked up a few pieces of newspaper I would be using next. The papers crunched in my hands as I compacted them before pulling them straight once more to study the various lines that they now had. I set them on the board, and allowed them to soak up small amounts of the still wet paint. Once every space of the unborn planet had a paper on it they were peeled away to reveal the surface that would become my new red planet.

But I know the difference,

Between myself and my reflection.

I just can't help but to wonder,

Which of us do you love.

It had worked just like I had planed, and I now stood down at the crude shape of a sulfuric planet with vast oceans of lava, and small settlements of purple colonies. Smiling behind my mask, I grabbed my largest circular pan that I had set aside, and covered as much of the paint spot I could. I started to fill in every piece of white that stilled existed on the board with a deep black paint.

So I bleed,

I bleed,

And I breathe,

I breathe no...

Once finished I put aside the black, and picked up the blue, and with my trusty clipboard created a star which would cast its illumination on my red planet. After exchanging the blue for white the middle finger of my right hand was soon coated in quickly drying white paint,and daintily, I began to flick the paint onto the black canvas to imitate the stars, which would stand out in deep space. The process was repeated a few more times before the white was set aside, and the pan was lifted from the poster board.

Bleed,

I bleed,

And I breathe,

I breathe,

I breathe-

I breathe no more.

It had taken a while, but over the months I had nearly perfected a technique for placing down and lifting the pan, which created the planet’s outline, without leaving any smudges in the wet paint. Before me sat a magnificent red planet, which matched the small amount of pride I allowed myself. Over the months of me carrying out this newfound passion, the heavenly body that I had just made was probably my best.

The pan was set aside, and once again I had the black paint in hand so that I could finish. Carefully, I shaded in the plant on the side opposite the star to give the picture more depth. My frown was hidden behind my mask as I accidentally used too much paint in the shading and essentially destroyed all of my hard work. I sighed, and set aside my materials as I signed the poster board and pulled up the tape. I had been so close to finally not messing anything up.

The four paintings that had been put aside stared up at me approvingly as I began to pack everything into the old laundry basket that I used to hold it all. The over two dozen cans of paint and various utensils somehow fit into the basket, but only just barely. Once finished I took the basket off of the tarp which I also started to fold it up. Once the tarp was also resting atop the rest of my supplies I finally breathed a sigh of relief as my mask was tossed on top of the pile.

My breath slowly escaped me as I watched the clouds overhead drift quickly across the sky in the strong autumn breeze. I was unable to spot any dark cumuli overhead so there was little chance my materials would be rained on as I was inside taking a much needed shower. Although, you know what they say about the weather in Texas; if you don’t like it wait ten minutes. I fought the decision for a few seconds before tossing my latest set of latex gloves in the small trash can that had been brought outside.

I turned and climbed the few steps that led into the house. Two dogs were immediately at my heels as I opened the door, but with experience I had gained from years of handling the animals blocked them from running outside, and managed to squeeze the door shut behind me. They continued to jump around me as I kicked my shoes off and made my way to the upstairs bathroom.

I grabbed a towel from the closet and rushed into the bathroom, locking them outside in the process. Schnauzers were great pets to have, but sometimes they just needed to understand personal boundaries. First checking behind the curtain to make sure that there weren’t psychopaths that would leap out at me, I turned on the shower, and began to undress.

Showering was always an activity I did quickly since I didn’t really see the point in wasting time while bathing. Unlike most people the act of showering always left me drowsy, and after turning off the water and drying myself I thought it would be a good idea to take a well deserved nap. With a towel wrapped around my waist I left my clothes on the bathroom floor and groggily stumbled to my room.

The telltale sound of plastic bags meeting tile downstairs along with the yappy barks of my dogs told me that my parents had just returned from their outing as I had been showering. I could practically see my mother’s worried expression as she tried to keep them away from the fried chicken she had likely brought home. I quickly stepped into my room, and dressed in my usual loose nighttime attire. I wasn’t likely to be going anywhere for the rest of the day so it was fine for me to walk around the house in my pajamas.

I considered taking a moment to check FiMFiction.net to see if any of the stories I was tracking had updated today, but when I turned to look at my bed I could just hear its siren song beckoning me, so I decided to put it off until later. The pleasant whooshing sound of the air being let out of my mattress greeted me as I flopped onto my bed, causing one of my pillows to roll off onto the floor. I was a big guy, and I was glad that my bed at least was made for a man of my size. I wasn’t big in the way of being pudgy, but more in the way of a six-two guy that when you saw you stepped out of his way.

Thanks to the physique that I had inherited from my dad I was able to pull off my abrasive anti-social personality without becoming the target of the school punks. Once you head butt the leader of the group and knock him out with a swift knee to the face the rest tend to leave you alone. That was a glorious day indeed.

After reaching over the side of the bed, I quickly brought the pillow beneath my chin to rest my head. The memory foam cradled me perfectly and I quickly found myself drifting off. The weightless of sleep began to take hold, and I was soon in the sweet abyss of the subconscious.

The vast whiteness around me was stark, but had nothing to contrast too in the great empty expanse. I had the idea to train myself to become lucid while in my dreams after seeing the matrix for the first time, and place I now stood in greatly resembled the loading area that they used in the movie. I quickly found my focus locking onto a lone figure that was slowly making its way towards me.

As she got closer I was able to make her out in greater detail, and what I saw was amazing. She was a tall woman, and when I say tall I mean like seven feet tall. She was wearing several pieces of plate armor, which showed way too much skin between them. Her hair was long and black, which hung down over her shoulders and across her chest. In essence, she was my dream babe.

“Hello, sexy,” I said as I sat in the opulent throne that my mind had just conjured. Sometimes I loved my brain for giving me these small bits of happiness.

She finally stopped walking when she was about five feet away, and suddenly the world around me shifted from an endless white expanse to a dark castle. The change in scenery was confusing for a moment, but I quickly shrugged it off. Dreams, after all, were supposed to be strange.

“State your name,” she commanded in a stern voice that held just a small amount of passion. I liked my women to be in charge.

“Maximilian,” the stones of the room shuddered for a moment before coming back to rest, “but you can call me Big Poppa.” I often found it was best to vent any misogynistic feelings during REM sleep. They could get you into real trouble out in the real world.

“Maximilian, I have come here with a proposal.”

“Oh?” My eyebrow once again found itself in the upright and locked position.

“Yes, would you like to take a trip?” Even though I knew she was just a figment of my imagination she was surprisingly good at hiding her emotions, though I doubt she actually had any.

“Where to, my little black rose?” Thank god she wasn’t real.

She waved her hand and a hole in space opened before us. The deep blackness before me seemed to stretch on into infinity. I would probably need to actually create a world beyond the portal before anything would show up. “That is for me to know and you to find out.” she smirked.

“You are a coy one aren’t you?” I wore a smirk of my own. “I would be delighted to take you to places unknown.” I stood from my seat and walked over to the swirling black vortex. I concentrated on it for a moment, and it became the town of Ponyville. So she wanted to take a trip with me to Equestria? Hadn't been the first time I had gone there during a dream.

“Oh I won't be going,” she deadpanned.

“Well then what was the point of this?” I turned back to look at the hole in front of me. The picture began to shift and started to rapidly change across a huge variety of landscapes. Suddenly the tear in space turned back to a simple picture of the abyss with a small light shining off far in the distance. If I squinted just right I could almost make it out.

Something push me from behind, and soon found myself falling through the blackness as I sailed headfirst into the hole in space-time. The sound of a girlish scream echoed around me as I fell into oblivion.

The angry red light continued to strike my unopen eyes prompting me to relent and see what exactly had happened. The blinding light of the sun burned into my retinas forcing me to shield them.  I felt around with my free arm, and soon came to realize that I was lying on my back in the dirt. My stomach meeting the dry landscape below me caused me to let out a groan. I could have sworn that I was on a boat as the barren landscape around me tilted one way and then the other, and I momentarily managed to stop myself from puking. I opened my eyes again, this time making sure that I was staring down at the ground before doing so.

The harsh red dirt stung my nostrils as I took a deep breath of air so I pulled away quickly before I could choke on it. I pushed myself onto all fours, and tried to shake the drowsiness off of me. A small prick of pain lanced through my lip, and I tried to investigate the cause of my newest pain.

As I raised my right arm to inspect my lip I came to the stark realization that I no longer had an arm. Held before me was a dark black paw, and further down the limb the fur changed to a very nice white color. A smile graced my lips as I waved the paw back in forth in front of my face.

This was certainly a strange dream. I have had dreams of being other people before, but never of being a different kind of animal before. Merely judging by what the paw that I held before me looked like I was willing to bet that I was some kind of fox. A quick look behind myself to my big bushy tail was enough to confirm this.

“Very interesting.” I gave words to the various thoughts that spun around in my head. The voice that came from my mouth was definitely not my own, it was far too feminine.

My eyes widened in surprise as I heard my words reached my ears, and I soon found myself looking down between my hind legs. Yep, I was definitely no longer male. Now this had officially become the strangest dream that I have ever had. The gender swap was quickly placed at the back of my mind since it could be reversed at any time, and I began to look over the rest of my body.

I couldn’t see myself from the third person view, which I usually watched my dreams from so I had to pull one of my long ears down to get a good look at it. I am not exactly sure how I was able to do this with my paw, but i somehow managed. I prodded my teeth a little and found that instead of the usual two canines I now had an entire mouth full. Running a paw along my smooth white fur felt really good. The hair was so smooth and straight that I almost couldn't believe I was dreaming this all up.

Deciding that I had wasted too much time just sitting out here in what appeared to be a barren desert, I closed my eyes and willed the scenery to change to that of a more suitable environment for what I could assume was a snow fox. While I had my eyes closed I also decided to change my sex back to that of a male.

My eyes opened once again to the familiar sight of a sun beaten desert. I sighed, and tried to will the world around me to change again, but was met by disappointment once more. A small pang of panic started to make itself known as I tried to change anything about the environment around me.

The wind blew by and kicked sand up into my face as it did so. I shielded my eyes against the buffet of rock particles with a paw, but accidentally hit myself in the eye as I did so. The pain wasn’t that great and rubbed away with the same offending appendage before the realization of what I had done came crashing down on me like a ton of bricks. I had hurt myself.

The small bit of panic that I had been able to keep in check rose like a sleeping giant and took hold. I was soon repeatedly slapping myself in the face as I tried to shake myself out of this dream turned nightmare, but I was met with failure and a bruised cheek. My strikes drifted too close to my mouth, and a yelp escaped me as I sliced open my forepaw on my apparently razor sharp teeth.

I held up the paw once again in front of my face to see a small trickle of blood roll down my two toned leg. Before I could stop it a fit of laughter escaped my mouth, and was soon followed by another. The laughter quickly became that of an insane man, or in my case, an insane woman.

I had woken up in the middle of nowhere as a weird fox thing. There was no way this could be real, but it was. How could I deny that it was when I was unable to actually wake up from this dream? When I was actually able to hurt myself in this dream.

I had to brace myself as I hurled the contents of my stomach on the ground before me. It looked like I hadn’t eaten in days since the only thing lying in the puddle beneath me was sickly green stomach acid. Though I was in the middle of what appeared to be a desert I could not stop myself from shivering.

My dizziness suddenly returned, and I fell to my side as I continued to retch but was unable to actually bring anything up. My manic fit of laughter turned to sobs as I lied in the dirt crying. How could this actually have happened to me?

Something breaking a few inches in front of my face caused my eyes to shoot open. A broken container laid before me with a few fumes still rising from it. I should have held my breath, but at the time it was impossible due to the sobs that were raking my body. As the fumed wafted towards me I once again started to fall back into an unavoidable sleep.