Harp-Struck

Harpstruck

By Winged Sheath

Chapter One: Jump!

A cold, gloomy day in England is where my story begins.

I trudged through the grey rainy streets of my hometown on my way back to my house from school, a myriad of things plaguing my beating mind as I walked along the wet pavement. Most of them I was in a hurry to forget. My bag was weighing me down with a collection of dreary papers and coursework I carried to and from the place. Every weekday was the same old routine: get up, get dressed in my suits, pack my bag, go to school, learn, talk ponies with my fellow Brony friend and fan-artist, wander home, watch My Little Pony and go to bed. Weekends were the same, just no school and more ponies.

The only item or items of interest in my bag were a collection of fan arts my aforementioned friend had drawn for me. The anticipation and curiosity to see what kind of pony artwork he had whipped up this time spurred me to walk faster, eagerness driving me forward. Finally, after what seemed like a millennia of absent-minded walking I arrived at the plain white door of my house. I fumbled in my jacket pocket for my keys, accidently putting my hand through my waistcoat in the process. Nngh, come on. After wriggling my hand out, I took my keys from my pocket and placed them in the lock, hearing the same old click of the locking mechanism lifting from the latch before I pulled the handle down and walked inside. But before I closed the door, I turned to look for a moment at the pale rainy sky. A small ray of sunlight was peeking through a gap in the clouds.

“Heh, they’ll be a rainbow in the sky today,” I remarked cheerily, before I shut the door. As soon as the cold air was shut out the pain on my collar bone from my cumbersome bag strap returned. Now it was no longer an obligation for this mundane item to be causing me any more pain, I lifted it off and let it fall to the floor, my shoulder cracking as the burden was removed from it. My legs had grown weak from the cold and I let myself collapse on the couch with a muffled thud, my mother and father were working late and wouldn’t be back for another three hours. I undid my red tie and unbuttoned my collar, the top of my silver waistcoat pressing into my chest. “Ahh, it’s time.” I switched on the television and searched through my recordings, I typed in the keywords and began watching ‘A Canterlot Wedding’ and had a look at some of the artwork my friend had drawn up for me. For the record I didn’t watch that episode for the story, or because it featured Chrysalis like my friend’s reason, but because it was the only episode that gave my favourite pony Miss Lyra Heartstrings a speaking role – albeit only two words and an ‘I’.

I had been a Brony since June 21st and unlike most people who stumble across this amazing phenomenon, I had absolutely no intention of actually becoming one. It was just because my friend, who was the only original Brony in our friendship group, a fact that I was quite surprised to learn this since he was in his words ‘The Harbinger of Darkness’, had made a bet with me that if I watched the show I’d like it. Sufficed to say I lost. I loved the show the moment I started watching the first three episodes. But it was one of the more positive losses I had suffered, it was either this loss or having my brains dashed out while playing football, rugby or some other sport I loathed.

That fateful day was when it all began, now five months on I was sat down watching the very show that had been the foundation of me finally being able to express my individuality, without fear of somebody judging me. Since I became a Brony, a bit after the first month or so I felt a growing desire to do something within this fandom rather than just watch the show. That’s when I discovered the great, powerful and sometimes strange art of writing fan-fictions. I began writing them first on paper just to test the waters and then when I actually discovered Fimfiction, I published my work on there. However, the more fics I read, the more I fell under the spell of wishing that Equestria were real, much like any other writer in this fandom.

Come on, we’ve all savoured the thought at some point.

I just wanted to get away from all the wrongs in the world, don’t get me wrong, school was fun and so was being around all my friends, but although we tried to blind ourselves to it, society had its flaws. On a personal note, my family didn’t take my new found individuality well. Since the day I called ‘The finding’ they would grow uncomfortable around me, or walk out of the room if I was watching the show or wearing my pony t-shirts around the house. I particularly enjoyed wearing them in public, smiling as I welcomed the judgemental looks of awe, surprise and even disgust from passers-by. ‘See if I give a buck!’ was my motto.

But I digress let’s continue with the TV. The episode had finished and I retrieved my bag from the floor, quietly singing the theme tune to myself in giggly bliss, hopelessly wishing I could be in that world.

Well, that day would forever go down in history to be my luckiest day of all days.

I switched off the TV and bounded up the stairs, trying to refrain from making a clip-clop noise as I trotted across the landing and into my fic writing domain. Namely, my bedroom. My fan-fiction notebook was sitting on my bed along with the rest of my work, I couldn’t use a desk or anything that required me to sit, if I did I would immediately become stricken with writers block which stemmed my flow of ideas like a crows beak tool staunching a bleeding artery. The only location that would do was my bed. Maybe it was the fact that I got a cramp in my right shoulder when my elbow pressed into the mattress as I penned my work. Like they say ‘No pain, no gain’.

I greeted my Lyra figurine – which I had bought on my recent visit to MCM Expo – as I walked past it. She stood proudly on my bookshelf, keeping a watchful eye on my work as I flopped onto the bed and stretched the aching muscles around my neck. I rested my head on my arms and sank into my bed, slipping into what I called a ‘writer’s nexus’ to think of ideas for new stories and dreaming of a world I thought fictional. Sadly I didn’t have much time to daydream however as I was awoken from my nexus by the ringing of my phone. The call came from an unknown number, which I thought was strange, adverts or call centres usually had a number. Steeling myself for an obscene phone call, I pressed the answer key and brought the phone to my ear. “H-hello, who is this?” I asked, with a slight tone of uneasiness in my voice.

“Doorstep, two minutes, you’ll know.” The voice sounded strangely familiar, David Tennant maybe?

“What, who is this? Hello, hello?” Whoever had rung me had hung up. I’ll use the redial. I clicked the redial key and listened intently, but the phone just beeped repeatedly. “What? No connection point? That can’t be, h-how?”  My pulse began to elevate in light in of this new, yet puzzling information. I switched off my phone and threw it aside, trying to put it out of my mind, in order to distract myself further I pulled over my notebook, put myself in my painful writing position and continued with my stories.

DING-DONG, DING-DONG

My heart nearly crashed through my ribcage and threatened to break my skin as the sound reached my ears, to which my leg muscles responded too by springing me off my bed and onto the carpet, my face taking the blow. “AH, damn it!” I swore as I got up from the floor.

I threw my notebook aside and made my way down the stairs, power walking through the kitchen to the front door. I placed my hand on the door, gulped once, and opened it. I stood there completely bewildered, as instead of a person at the door there was only a small leather box on the doorstep, with a grey and green envelope attached to the lid. Perplexed, I picked up the box and retreated back inside, sitting down on the couch with the box on my lap, taking a moment to admire its design. I hoped that whatever was inside was worthy of being kept in such a well-made box, it felt slightly heavy, but not enough to be cumbersome in any way. Like unwrapping a present, I decided to open the envelope first. I took it to the kitchen drawer and retrieved a letter knife, an item that was rarely made use of in my house. I put the knife in the gap and sliced the top open, parting the paper. Inside was a folded letter written in strong black ink.

The letter simply read. 'You know where to go my friend, be sure to pack.' The first note ended there; signed with the initials ‘DW’. Puzzled further still, I directed my eyes to the second note, which was in slightly more emboldened writing.

'Make sure you’re not inside when you use it for the first time.You’ll be fine once you’re in Equestria. From DH.' I sat there dumbfounded and set the notes on my lap. For a moment, I contemplated whom those two initials could belong to; completely missing the ‘Equestria’ part. But then my mind registered it and responded with a sudden jolt of my heart and slightly mental euphoria splashing around my body, then using that context I immediately worked out the two initials

.

“I-it can’t be… Doctor Whooves?” I looked at the other note. “And Derpy too?” Unable to handle the suspense a second longer, I unclicked the latch on the box and opened it. Inside was a small wrist bracer about the length of my lower arm with leather like buckles at each end, I opened the metal cover on the top to find a QWERTY keypad and screen. “I… I know this, this is a dimension jump device that I saw on… how the buck did he know that? Ah no matter, like he said, ‘Time to pack!’”

I bounded up the stairs into my room and flung open the wardrobe, throwing my small suitcase onto the bed as took out my best suits and placed them as neatly as I could inside it. I donned my previous blue suit and tied my tie. “If I’m going to Equestria I may as well look my best.” I packed the case with a few other necessities before zipping it up. I then filed my fan-fiction notes in my school bag that I had emptied of its previous contents. I retrieved my laptop with saved fictions on it from my drawer and put it in a special shock resistant bag which I had bought at an army surplus shop, let’s just say I was a bit worried about breaking my more fragile belongings. I clasped the device on my arm and turned to leave my room, but before I could walk back out onto the landing, my eyes caught my jet-black Voltaire-tuned guitar, which was propped against my bookshelf. I picked it up and looked at it in thought. “Even though I can only play basic, I guess I could play better than any pony since I have my hands, plus Lyra’s a musical mare. Heh, this will be very useful.” I smiled and strapped my guitar on my shoulder.

Suited, booted and ready to go, I scrambled down the stairs with my ‘luggage’ of sorts in tow, before I opened the front door I took one last look around the room. “Goodbye everyone,” I said, my words fading into the empty house.

I sighed, almost remorsefully, before I walked out the door, locking it for the last time.

I must have been mad to think that this device could actually take me to Equestria, but I had to try, if there was any hope of escaping this prison called ‘Earth’. I knew full well where I was heading, I was on my way to a set of fields behind my house, I was confident the open space would give me enough room, but I couldn’t be too careful. As I reached the end of the alleyway and into the early reaches of the field, small feelings of remorse and regret began to plague my excited mind. If this worked, I would be leaving my family and my friends behind, I’d never be seen again, there would just be a missing person poster on every lamppost around my hometown. But I had had a dream since becoming a Brony, a unique dream, dreamt only by me. Now with the help of the device I could finally live that dream.

And as I sit here tapping away at my laptop; writing the account of all that has transpired. That dream, was worth all the regret I may have felt at that particular point in time.

After a few minutes of walking, I made it to an open space that I was satisfied with. I brought the device within my line of sight and turned it on, eliciting a small beep from it as the screen whirred into life to reveal a map of Equestria. I decided to start in a place that I was the most familiar with and keyed in ‘Ponyville’. It was like a little 3D map, everything was recognisable, Sugar Cube Corner, the Golden Oaks Library, Carousel Boutique. They were all there. I pressed the green confirm key and a digital timer appeared, counting down from ten.

Ten

Nine

Eight “I can’t believe it!”

Seven

Six “Finally!”

Five

Four

Three

Two “Goodbye Earth! Hello Ponies!”

One

The device bleeped and the screen went black.

My heart sank. “Oh for buck’s sa-AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!” A white flash met my eyes and then all was dark.