Unto Thy New World

Falling.

My first sensation was just pure falling.

Space and time seemed to slide past, each offering conflicting emotions to my befuddled mind.

"Nocturne! Get up! We need you!" A distant voice was screaming, getting closer and closer. Suddenly everything rips into focus.

I looked around. Sun, stars and the moon seemed to whirl in a dancing inferno of beauty. I became aware of two entities in front of me.

One emanated sadness, emptiness and death. The other was seemingly as empty, but seemed slightly better.

"Please Nocturne, I need you!" The darker one flared and reached out, as if to burn me. Instead of the light of the fire I expected, a deep black overcame my being...

I wake up screaming.

Just another bloody dream. Wiping the cold sweat from my face, I sat up. Back in the same shithole apartment, back into my miserable life. I spent most days at home, sitting at my desk and typing away at the keys, scheduling job interviews or writing up job applications. Nights were either spent doing the same thing I did during the day, or out wasting the night away at a pub. I'm twenty-two, and the bartender is a long-time friend of my father's, and he knew what I was going through, and thus chose not to step in, and also was one of my only friends. Pathetic, aren't I? But apparently, I am a genius. I have a major in human psychology and medicine, and a minor in chemical engineering. Shouldn't be too hard for me to find a job, right?

Not quite. In this quaint little town, there wasn't really a need for psychologists, psychoanalysts, or biochemical engineers. And apparently two doctors are enough to handle the small clinic two blocks down from the small apartment I live in. My parents are long gone. My mother took her own life six years ago and my dad succumbed to lung cancer two years back after smoking a pack a day for close to a decade. I don't miss him. He used to beat her, and ultimately drove her to taking her own life. All those nights that I overheard shouting, all those bruises and cuts that marred my mother's perfect but scarred skin, each and every time he abused her, she inched closer to making the ultimate decision, one that no one should have to. And when she finally snapped, he blamed it on me. Even so, upon his death, I had him buried next to my mother. She would have wanted that, even after all that happened. She always was very kind and forgiving. Every weekend, I would drive down to their grave, under the old tree we always had picnics under, or at least when the times were still good.

Stepping out of the shower, I looked around this dark, dank dump that I call home. Books and magazines piled up in a corner, clothes unfolded and stuffed in the closet, the whole place in a mess. The second I move to a city, I would be able to find a well-paying job and have the easy life, but I decided against it, seeing as to how I would not be able to keep up with taxes, considering that the starting pay is somewhere around two thousand. Two thousand dollars per month, and I have to pay rent, taxes, food and transportation. I'd never survive for long. Also, there were the issues of crime, noise and pollution, which did not really bother me that much.

But lastly, I would not be able to look up into the night sky and gaze upon the stars and the moon with the same amount of clarity. Stargazing always was one of my favorite pastimes. As a child, I spent most nights lying out in the fields outside the family-owned farm, staring up at the diamonds in the sky, wondering if there was anything more out there than life on earth. I always preferred night to day, mainly because of the mystery that it concealed, and the beauty it emanates.

Then, something caught my eye. A roll of brown parchment sat on my desk. Upon closer inspection, I realized that the paper was far thicker than normal paper, and felt as though it was traditionally made, or even from the Middle Ages itself. 'Wow. This really is weird.' Oddly enough, at the center of the roll of paper, there was a small cloth bag, and upon inverting it over the table, a small blue crystal fell out. It was approximately one inch long, and half an inch across. The shades of blue grew darker as it neared the center, and in the core, a small light shone, not unlike a star in the night sky.

"Dear Raphael,

You are probably surprised to find this, but let me explain. My name is Princess Luna, and I live in a kingdom called Equestria. You certainly are a unique individual. Your intelligence, your hardships, and somehow, you are still able to maintain that calm and stoic façade. I have noticed your hardships, and seen what you have been through. I have seen the way you make yourself out to be less than you really are, and I want to show you a world where kindness, happiness and trust rule over the principles of yours. I have chosen you to be my personal royal subject. A friend, if you will. You have been through far more than you should, and I offer solace.

You might think that this is nonsense, but I can assure you, 'tis not. Enclosed is an artifact, one of similar type to the one I used to send you this letter. The second it makes contact with your skin, you will be transported into this realm, unto thy new world. This world, you will find familiar, but with a twist. One that is so different from yours, but yet so alike in other ways. Hopefully, I will be seeing you soon.

Yours truly,

Princess Luna"

PS: You can take anything you want with you as long as you keep it close"

'SHE MUST BE INSANE!' I shouted internally. The only logical conclusion is one, I have a stalker, or two, this 'Luna' is just some deranged madman/woman. But in the back of my mind, there was a small voice nagging, screaming the small possibility of escaping this dreary life I lead, and that this Luna person is actually real. Thinking the last option to be naught more than a fantasy, and the voice a longing for escape, I ignored it for the time being and continued on my daily routine.

Hours Later…

"No new offers…" I mumbled under my breath. Not surprising. I've practically applied for every available job in town. Slowly climbing out of my seat, I put on my favorite suit. It was a gift from a close friend, though he isn't much of a friend now, considering his last words to me were "You're doomed to fail". He got me this suit a couple of years ago, when he still thought I showed a great potential. I always was thin and tall for my age, standing at about approximately six-foot-two, but weighing a measly 140 pounds (63.5kg). Hypothyroidism had plagued me for almost my whole life, meaning that no matter how much I ate, I would gain little to no weight at all.

Slipping on the blue undershirt, tucked it into the black dress pants and pulled on the black jacket that completed the set. Considering the fact that it's autumn, I also slipped on a pair of black leather gloves. 'It's about time I make a trip to their graves. Maybe it will help clear my mind…' I lightly brushed my silver hair back, and stepped out of the small apartment. Settling into my car, I sighed and started to consider the legitimacy of the outrageous letter. 'Maybe the blue crystal really would mean salvation?' 'Nonsense. I thought you were smart, Raphael. Never thought you'd be so stupid and gullible to put stock into such folly!' Cringing slightly at the cruelty of my conscience's words, I drove off, to the old oak tree near the farm, about eight miles down the road.

I pulled over, and stepped out of the second-hand Chevy I bought with my parents inheritance and insurance money. I stepped up to their graves, and dropped to my knees, saying a short prayer and following the routine. What do I have to lose? I might as well try it, maybe she is actually telling the truth… The autumn wind blew around me, causing the red-orange leaves of the oak to fall and envelop me as though it were a conscious being that tried to surround me. Standing up, I promptly climbed back into the car and drove home.

I'm gonna do it. I had nothing left to lose. Quickly gathering my things, which included a second set of clothing, my cello that I had kept since I took it up at the age of seventeen, and the locket that my mother had given me a year before she took her own life. I took the small blue crystal out of my pocket with a gloved hand. Well, this is it. I thought to myself, removing the glove from my other hand. Brushing the crystal lightly with my bare hand, I couldn't believe my own eyes. I surrounded by bright light, and it formed a cocoon around me, and then there was nothing but a blinding darkness.