Chapter 1
Since the time I was just a little kid, I was told that imaginary friends were not real. I was told that they were just a figment of my imagination. I’ve always had a vast fantasy. I couldn’t help but to zone out and daydream in my overactive mind. My grades started failing the day I started first grade. I would barely slip past each class with enough scores to pass to the next. I had always dreamed to be an astronaut. I would fantasize about cutting through the clouds in my shuttle going faster than anything man has ever made, making my way to the sparkling sky ahead. My grades caught up with me. I was unable to get a good enough GPA through high school to be an astronaut. I was crushed, and my imagination was crushed as well.
I sat on the couch staring deep into the dark unlit corner of the room where my moving boxes were. I had just started staying at my deceased grandmother’s house. The house felt weird without my grandmother there. I would call her name only to realize I was alone. I finally snapped out of my trance and looked to the Sunday paper on the coffee table. I promised myself I would look through it to find a job. I flipped through the pages and saw that the grocery store was hiring a bag boy. I pondered whether I wanted to bag groceries for the rest of my life. I folded the newspaper and went right back to staring at the corner.
After a couple of minutes of looking, the phone rang. I let it ring a few times before picking it up. “Hello?” I asked lightly. “Hey Nick!” It was my mother, “How‘s the new house treating you?” she asked. I was silent for a few seconds. “It’s alright, I guess.” I responded. “Is everything okay?” She could tell something was wrong. “Yeah, everything is fine.” I tried to mask my sadness with a joyful tone. “Alright, just tell me if you need anything.” She still sounded as if she thought I was upset. “Alright mom.” There was a silence. My ears rang from the sudden change in volume. “I love you sweetie.” She said sweetly. “I love you too mom.”
As soon as I hung up I heard a noise in the kitchen. My heart sank. “H-hello?” I said hesitantly as I quickly got on my feet. I grabbed the nearest thing to me, which happened to be a table lamp. “Whose there?” I began to slowly walk towards the kitchen. My heart was racing. I quickly opened the door only to realize there was nothing there. I lowered my weapon in relief. To my surprise there was nothing out of place. I looked at the door and saw that it was locked.
I haven’t been able to sleep lately. I got approximately 6 hours of sleep from the past 3 days. I would just lay in bed thinking or I would watch My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I would hear voices in the hallway. I linked the voices to the sleep deprivation I had been suffering, so I wasn’t too worried about it. I felt as if something in my life was missing but I just couldn’t put my finger on it.
I turned on my bedside lamp and ran my hands through my hair. I looked at the alarm clock. 1:00am. “Shit” I mumbled. I sat up and put my feet on the cold hardwood floor. I sat there for a quick minute before I sat up and stumbled to the bathroom. I turned on the sink and cupped my hand to harness some tap water. I bent down and slowly sipped from my hand. When my thirst was quenched I stood up and looked in the mirror. “Hello” spoke a soft, feminine voice. My eyes widened before I decided to look. I quickly turned around and looked at eye level. There was nothing, but in the peripheral of my eye I some something a little lower.
It was a small white mare with a beautiful red and black mane. Her huge red eyes gave me a friendly look as I stared into them. I stumbled back and hit my spine on the hard porcelain sink. “W-what’s going on?” I yelled. Her smile grew as she giggled at my reaction. “What? Never seen a pony before?” I was stumped as to what was happening. Was there any scientific theory to explain what was happening? “I have but not in real life.” She smiled and raised her hoof to me “I’m Star Shine” I bent down to meet her hand with mine. “I’m Nick.”