Another World Like Ours: Prologue
My story starts with me just going about my everyday routine and meeting the usual people, doing the usual things. But a few days later, my life changed. The 17 year old, brown-haired, blue-eyed, stocky, six foot kid from New River, Arizona had his life changed forever.
I am Ethan Mays and these are the events that messed up my life.
Walking down the dark hallways of my school, I had just realized what I had come here to get. “Oh, I had to get Eileen’s camera from her locker.” I said to myself, “Let’s go and find this, 410. Where’s that?” Eileen was my fourteen year old sister, although her temperament made her seem like she was a toddler sometimes. Running down the halls hoping I didn’t get seen on the security cameras, I reached her locker and unlocked it with the code she had given me, promising she would change it later. “Camera, camera, camera. Oh here it is.” I said grabbing her camera and looking at some of the photos and decorations that scattered her locker. Closing her locker, I jogged to the door that I propped open and ran out closing the door behind me. November in Arizona was not really my favorite month, it being the beginning of the monsoon season. When it wasn’t raining it was over a hundred degrees. The nice thing about running around during the night time was seventy degrees and dropping quickly, but I enjoyed the cold more than the hot times of the day. I tied my rain jacket around my waist and began to jog down the road, the camera slapping against my back all the while. A few college students stumbled out of a bar across the street and began to cross the road towards me.
“Hey kid where ya goin?” I heard one of them say while watching me run, “Whatcha in a hurry for?”
Paying them no mind I jogged into my neighborhood, I slowed to a walk as I approached my home. I balked at calling it ‘home’. It hadn’t been like that after my parents had split three years ago, every year after I began to stay out later and hang out with friends until I had to go home. I really just wanted to get away from it all, after all my eighteenth birthday was coming up. Turning down the road to my house, I broke into a dead sprint. The feeling of air rushing through my brown hair and stinging my bright blue eyes was one of my favorite feelings in the world. It was the only time I ever felt free. Reaching my house after a few long seconds of sprinting, I opened the door and walked inside.
“Hey Ethan!” My mom said from the kitchen, “I made orange chicken, your favorite!” I walked in the kitchen and tried to steal some from the pan she was making it in, rewarding me with a paddle to the back of my hand, “No no, you have to wait like the rest of us.” She smiled and took a piece out and ate it herself.
“Hey no fair!” I said laughing, “Well I’m going to do my homework, just knock when dinner’s ready.” I walked up the stairs and into Eileen’s room, throwing her camera onto her bed.
“Careful with that you imbecile!” She yelled at me as I walked out, “You could’ve broken it!”
“Whatever, just don’t make me get your crap next time.” I said, walking into my room, closing the door and turning on my computer. “Ugh I’ve gotta get out of here. It’s gonna drive me crazy one way or another. It was only about four in the afternoon and it already felt late but I had to get over to my friends house the next day for his birthday. Not that that was a problem, I had a gift and normal stuff you bring to a sleepover but, I just feel like since I moved to New River, things became distant between us. I only saw him when I went to my dad’s house in Surprise. Yes, that’s a city, it’s off the I-17 and a little west of Phoenix. Nice little town, though the populace is a bit old for my taste. A slight knock on my door answered a question that my stomach revealed to me.
“Hey Eth,” My mom said, poking her head into my room, “Dinner’s ready, be down soon or it’ll be cold.”
I laughed, the last time I had missed dinner was when I was writing a story for my english literature class. The entire class had loved it and wanted me to write more, so I had a few sleepless nights to try and get it on Pentawork for them to read. Pentawork, if you didn’t know, is a website for publishing stories and poems and stuff. “Alright, I said it wouldn’t happen again didn’t I?” I yelled down to my mom, still laughing. Jumping down the flights of stairs, I sat down at the already set table. Comically picking up my knife and fork, as if waiting to be fed.
“Don’t pull that with me young man.” My mom joked, “Eileen! Dinner's ready!” She yelled up to her, adding some volume because Eileen’s door was usually closed.
We all gathered around the table and began to eat the food that my mom had made for us. We ate in relative silence as the food was good and everybody was stuffing their mouths with orange chicken deliciousness. It was one of the rare meals that my mom made that she took a few days to make because it had a complex recipe. I always liked this time of the week even though it signaled that I was going back to my dad’s house the next day. I never knew what my sister was thinking, she was always on her phone or ignoring everyone in the family because something went wrong with her day and she wanted to load everyone else down with her problems. But this time was about them and just them, not about the impending absence of him that would probably drive his mom to tears. Somehow, the judge thought it was wise to give full custody of Eileen to my mom and shared custody of me to them. Sometimes life just isn’t fair.
“So Eileen,” My mom said, approaching the subject of school carefully, as to not start an argument, “How was school today?”
Eileen looked up from her phone and set it on the table, “For once it wasn’t entirely crappy all day.” She said, which amazed me because everyday in school was like hell for her, “I’m amazed that none of my teachers yelled at me. Otherwise it was good.”
I facepalmed, “Well at least it wasn’t so bad that you complained the entire day.” I said laughing, earning a glare from my mom. “I mean, I am glad your day was good.”
My sister acknowledged my outburst and looked at me, “How was your day, Ethan?” She said, the venom easily recognizable in her voice. “I know you enjoyed running back to school and grabbing my stuff.” Her smirk was the bane of my existence.
“Ah it was fine.” I said neutrally, trying not to take the bait that was right in front of my face. “I saw a few friends coming back from school so it wasn’t so much of a waste of my time.” I saw her smirk fade and she went back to eating her food. ‘Hey mom, what about that sleepover I asked if you if I could have?”
My mom looked at me, “Did you ask your dad?” I nodded and she went back to eating. “Then it should be fine, I’ll drive you tomorrow.”
“I’m done mom, can I be excused?” Eileen said, getting up from the table. My mom nodded, “Alright, I’m gonna go do my homework.”
I got up from the table and began to walk up to my room, my mom looked over to me and nodded. I went back to walking up to my room, walked in and closed the door. I sat down in my chair, just wondering what I could do. I then realized that I had another chapter to write for my friends at school. I opened my computer, went to my document and began to type. I wrote of a fantastically perfect universe that never had any problems or strife that would corrupt how it functioned. Inhabited by humanoid-creatures, it was a land full of valleys and sweeping hills that covered most of the landscape. The oceans shone a elegant turquoise with small wooden boats that moved across its canals which divided the edges of the landmasses. All the while I was listening to the music I use when I am trying to relax. I should have been listening to less high energy music because I couldn’t hear my mom telling me to go to bed. I felt a tap on my shoulder and I took my headphones off and looked at her. “Yeah?”
My mom just looked at me, “Ethan it’s one in the morning, I want you to get a good night’s sleep so you can be awake by nine to do your chores.” I groaned but she silenced me, “Yes you have to do them before you leave, even if your room is somewhat clean already.” My mom gave me a kiss and closed my door behind her.
I sighed and flipped the right earphone off my ear and leaned back against my chair. “Well it’s only like one ten so I’ll go to bed in like a few minutes.” I put my hands back on the keyboard so that I could write more before I went to bed, but I couldn’t think of anything else to write. I guess I had writers block for now, so I saved my document and turned off my computer. I untucked the covers from the side of my bed and hopped into it. I closed my eyes, but to my surprise sleep did not come easily. It had been pretty easy for me to go to sleep, but for some reason it was hard ever since I had to go to my dad’s place every other weekend. As I kept thinking my eyelids slowly grew ever heavier and heavier, and eventually I fell into a deep sleep. Not anticipating what would happen tomorrow.
-------------------------------------------------- The Next Morning -------------------------------------------------
“Ethan!” My mom shouted to me, making me jolt and fall off of my bed. “Get up! It’s almost nine! You have to get started or you won’t be able to be there by twelve!”
I got up off of the floor and began to make my bed, grumbling about having to get up this early but I knew I had to get my chores done. “Ugh fine. I’m taking a shower then I’ll start. I need to properly wake up.”
Waking up was not something that I took lightly, it required a perfect and well planned process of events that needed to happen all in the same order or I wouldn’t be properly woken up. It first required that I take a shower, get dressed, take my ExTab then eat breakfast, eggs and toast with a side of bacon. After a bit of waiting for my sister to get out of the shower, I finally got the chance to hop in the shower. Getting to the correct temperature, I entered the hot and steamy waterfall and just let it wash out the superficial dirt. I then proceeded to take care of my faculties, which took a while because it must be done carefully. After a lengthy shower and a knock on the door, I hopped out and exited the bathroom, heading towards my room. I grabbed a red t-shirt and my favorite grey sweatpants and headed downstairs. When I arrived downstairs, I entered the kitchen and opened the cabinet above the stove and grabbed the bottled labeled ExTab. ‘Energy to last the whole day!’ It proudly read as I unscrewed the cap and grabbed a tablet from it and put it back, closing the cabinet.
“Hey Eth,” My mom said, seeing me go about my daily routines. “Scrambled or over-easy?” Indicating how I wanted my eggs cooked.
“Over-easy please. Would I have them any other way?” I said rolling my eyes jokingly. “I need my eggs the same way mom. It needs to coincide with my morning routine.”
My mom laughed and set the plate down on the counter just as the toaster shot out a nicely burned slice of toast. She handed it to me and I set it down on the side of the plate while opening the refrigerator so I could get the butter out. Buttering my toast, I took a seat at the table and began to eat. After I had eaten all of my breakfast, I went back upstairs to work on my chores that needed to be done.
Later…
I leaned against the wall gasping in exertion from cleaning the bathroom and the rooms. Putting the vacuum and other cleaning supplies away, I went to go pack a bag for my sleepover that was coming up. Suddenly feeling the urge to check my watch, I realized I wasn’t wearing it and glanced at my bedside dock. It read eleven twelve. And I managed to finish on time. That’s a relief. I thought to myself. My packed bag sat near the doorway, almost filled to the brim with comics and other paraphernalia to keep everyone entertained for the entire night. I also began to pack my laptop in my backpack along with my clothes, squeezing the backpack until it was almost too full to close. “Mom!” I shouted, “I’m ready whenever you are!”
“Almost done Ethan!” She shouted back, “Just hold your horses.” I sighed at the response and just sat near the door. “Eth you better not be waiting by the door.”
I threw up my hands in surrender, and wondered how she even knew that I was standing by the door. I went into the kitchen and opened the pantry and looked around. Grabbing a box of crackers, I opened them and began munching on a few of them to pass the time. “Ugh how long is this going to take,” I said chewing, “These crackers are really good.” Flipping the box over I looked for what flavor it was, “Garlic and sea salt? Hm, odd.” It was at that time that my mom decided to come downstairs.
“Ready?” She said, opening the door, “I’m already in the car. Better hurry or you will be late.”
Sighing, I grabbed my bags and walked out of the door and went to the car. “Well we don’t want to be late do we?” My phone buzzed and I checked it a message. Finding that it was from Jason, the friend whose house I am currently going over to, I opened the text and responded. “Mom, Jason texted me, he says they won’t be starting for a bit yet. So no need to speed.” I said as my mom pulled onto the main road and began to head down it toward my friends house. She didn’t even need directions because we had gone there so often.
Do you ever have the feeling that something bad is going to happen but you just don’t know what it is? I had that feeling the entire time when I was in the car, it just wouldn’t go away no matter what I did. Then it hit me, literally. We had just crossed into the intersection after the green light turned when a car, speeding past the red light, rammed into us from the side. It was so sudden I didn’t have any time to react, nor would many other people being in the same situation. I just saw the car lift from the left side and spin, I can’t even remember how many times it spun. When it did stop spinning, I couldn’t feel most of my body, not because I was paralyzed, but because of the pain. Almost dying from pain is sensory overload, so that’s pretty close.
“H-h-help.” I croaked, weakly trying to unlatch my seatbelt and get out. “S-s-somebody please.” The seat belt was frayed from the amount of rubbing it had endured from my jacket and I was able to easily pull it apart. My body protested loudly as I tried to move my left arm to aid in my escape, leading me to believe that it was broken. “Agh, mother of….” I said falling to the ground after opening the door. “What is that? It’s like a door but what’s up with it’s coloring, it seems off.” I couldn’t move for a few seconds then a wave of pain floored me and knocked me unconcious.
Later…
I jolted awake hearing something moving towards me. What? Who’s there? I thought, cautiously looking around me. A rabbit hopped out of a bush, gave me one look, then hopped away. Cradling my arm, I managed to get up off the dirt that I was laying on and look around. A forest? I was in the middle of a road, not a frickin forest, what is going on? I saw a clearing ahead of me and began to walk towards it. Ahh you piece of… gah. I thought trying to keeping my language in check as a sharp pain lanced up my right leg. I crouched on my good leg looking for a stick or something to hold onto to support myself. This is not going to be a fun walk. I thought angrily picking up a decent sized stick and getting up. After a while, I made my way out of the clearing and looked around.
A small town lay a few hundred feet away from the edge of the clearing, literally sitting on the edge of a forest. Houses sat in clusters with decently large alleys between them. Shops adorned a decently large square in the center of town and it looked as though it was deserted. I wonder who managed to get this town approved. Like who knows what could come out of this forest. I thought, walking through the town looking for someone to help me with my now practically crippling injuries. My adrenaline had now worn off and they were hurting like a mother. What’s up with the huge tree castle? Maybe the town's ruler lives in it. That looks like a good place to start. Walking towards it, I noticed something off. It was literally made of all crystal. How the heck did this get built? I wondered, opening the door and walking inside. That I knew was an instant mistake, because when I started to walk down the main hall, six small horses turned a corner and saw me. OH CRAP.
“Hello?” The purple one said to me. The others screamed and ran except for the purple one and one with a cyan coat and a rainbow colored mane. They started walking towards me. I, unfortunately, took this as a threat and tried to hobble away from them. It was a pitiful sight. “Wait!” The purple one said, running towards me.
I’m good thanks! You stay over there! I thought, trying to get away from this thing. Suddenly a blue blur knocked me to the floor and I felt pain in my foot as it dragged me across the floor. Agh would you stop that. I thought, absentmindedly wondering why I wasn’t speaking yet. When I did try to open my mouth to speak, it came out like a strangled gurgle, I doubled over in pain, grasping my neck. There must be a reasonable explanation for this! I thought as I was dragged towards the purple horse, the blue one dragging me the entire time.
“What are you?” The purple one said, “Rainbow Dash, would you please put the poor thing down. I think it’s injured.”
The cyan one with the rainbow mane was Rainbow Dash, what an odd name. I felt a tingling sensation as I was lifted off the ground and brought through the halls, I heard whispers from the other four who had come out from hiding and began to stare at me with their big eyes. What am I some sort of attraction? Oh wait I am. I looked at my surroundings in awe. This place is fully made out of crystal! How is this possible? I thought, not wondering about where these small horses were taking me. What even are these things? There’s a pegasus that’s greek mythology, unicorns that’s also greek mythology. But what is the purple one? Wings and a horn? What? I thought, trying to gage what I was up against if I wanted to escape.
“Wow it looks like you had a bad time out there.” The purple one said, “I’m going to do a full body examination to try and help you.” Her horn glowed and I felt another tingling sensation as my body was scanned by her magic. “Well, you seem to be in good shape. Except for a few broken bones but that is foal's play. This will just take a second, if you feel uncomfortable just wave or something like that.” The purple one said.
An uncomfortable feeling of my flesh and bones being moved around and put back together really gave me shivers. Well at least they aren’t going to hurt me. I thought as the feeling went away. It sat me down on the table that I had been hovering above as it healed me. I sat up flexing my arm and leg, making sure that I could move them again. Wow, that’s cool. I thought, gaping at my limbs being able to move again. Breaking my train of thought, I made a writing motion. Maybe they will get this, I hope.
“Oooh, I love charades!” The pink horse off to the side said, “Is it pencil?!” I nodded, and flattened my hand and began writing on it with the ‘pencil’. “Ohohohoh! PAPER!?” I nodded vigorously. Yes thank goodness. I gave a thumbs up to the pink pony. “Twilight will you get that stuff? I’ll watch the thing.”
The purple one, named Twilight, walked into another hall to get the pencil and paper and came back a few minutes later. “Alright, I got a quill and parchment, as well as an ink well. What do you want to write?” She asked me.
I held up a finger. Wait. I began to write something on the paper. ~Where Am I?~ I showed them the paper.
“Where are you?” Twilight said, “You’re in Equestria. Why?”
I began to write again, shaking my head. ~How do I get back to Earth?~
“Earth?” Twilight said, crinkling her nose, “What’s an Earth? Like Earth Pony? You want to go back to Applejack’s farm?”
I shook my head and began to write again. ~No, Earth as in the planet. Like third planet from the sun?~
“Wait, let’s get this right. You are not from Equestria.” I nodded, “You obviously don’t look like a pony.” I nodded again. “I don’t know of any ‘planet’ known as Earth.” I looked at her quizzically. “Okay, well I might need to contact the princesses about this. Because this is far beyond my knowledge. They might have something about this in the archives.”
I laid down on the table in defeat. So I really am far away from home. In a different dimension probably. I wrote something else on the parchment. ~So who and what are you?~
“Oh silly me.” Twilight said, “Here I am and I haven’t introduced myself. I am Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. This is Applejack,” She said motioning to an orange pony with a hat on, she waved to me. “This is Rainbow Dash,” A cyan pegasus with the rainbow mane and tail. “This is Pinkie Pie,” She motioned to a pink pony with cotton candy like hair. “This is Rarity,” A white unicorn with a violet mane and tail. “And this is Fluttershy.” She was a small yellow pegasus with a pink mane and tail. She looked kind of shy, as her name bluntly mentioned. “Well now that I’ve introduced my friends, why don’t you introduce yourself?”
I sighed and began writing on the parchment. ~I’m Ethan Mays and I’m from Earth. I guess I’ll be staying here for a while~
A chorus of hello’s greeted me. As the time was getting late, Twilight and everyone else went off to their own place to sleep. Twilight gave me a room of my own to sleep in, it was nice enough but at least I had my backpack from after the accident. I opened my computer and looked at some of the pictures of my family, wondering if I would ever see them again.
I love you mom. I hope you are okay. I thought, one tear sliding down my face as I closed my computer and turned it off to save its battery. As I wouldn’t have any way to charge it in the foreseeable future. I tiredly slid under the covers, and began to go to sleep. As my body was tired from it’s previous exertion, sleep overtook me very carefully.
“So that’s it?” Twilight said, “That’s all that happened yesterday? At one time you were on Earth and then you were here?”
~As far as I know. Unless I have some faulty memories but that doesn’t happen often~ I sighed and sat back, my hand really hurt from writing all of the events that occurred yesterday.
“Well go do something around town Ethan.” Twilight smiled at me, “You deserve it for enduring that torture.”
~It wasn’t torture, just long. And my hand hurt-~ My hand seized up and the quill dropped. Damn I need some relaxation time.
“Seriously Ethan. Go relax. That’s an order.” Twilight said as I walked out of the castle.
