Equilibrium, Book 2: The Second Nexus.

4/25/2020.

12:06 P.M.

John got himself prepared for another day stuck inside. Looking over his food supply he let out a deep breath of annoyance.

"Great. Have to go out, again." He sighed as he scraped up his car keys and poked his head into his parent's room.

"Hey you two just going to go out and grab some more food." His only gave him a look of worry.

"Are you sure?" His mother asked trying to hide the anxiety creeping into her voice. John just smiled.

"Yes, I'll be fine. It's not like I'm going to try and hit a telephone pole again." He flippantly remarked under his breath. Neither of his parents took that lightly but neither of them wanted to argue either.

"Just be careful outside ok?" His mother chided him.

"Don't forget to take a mask and hand sanitizer." She commanded. John gave her a wave as he slipped his mask on and rubbed his hands down with sanitizer. He yelled his goodbyes as he grabbed his keys and headed out.

"Ok so have to go to Wal-Mart to get more food, might as well grab some more hand sanitizer while I can." Securing his mask and hitting his unlock button for his car, John climbed into his rather small Nissan and headed out into the city.

Several hours later...

John awoke to complete darkness. Looking around he was worried at first, then his fear turned to confusion, until it finally settled on angry.

"What the hell is going on here?" He shouted into the void. staring into the darkness began to make his eyes hurt. So john did the only thing he could, he sat down, closed his eyes, and waited to wake up from this nightmare. Suddenly his vision was engulfed in a bright pulsing yellow light.

"What in the hell?" He screamed as he tried to shield his eyes from the light. He stopped however as he heard a voice.

"John?" The voice called again. John himself gasped as he took his hands away from his face and looked out into the once great void.

"How?" He asked as he looked around at the unmistakable form of the Canterlot Castles throne room. There standing before him was everyone he had thought lost. Something however felt off. As he looked around he saw the world begin to flicker in and out of existence, as if it was no more than static on a TV.

"NO!" he shouted reaching a hand out to his friends and family who all did the same. A pulse of light washed over everything and everyone freezing them in place. John once more looked upon the face of his loved ones as they were once again frozen in fear, anger, and sadness.

"NO!" He screamed as he was sent tumbling through the void back to his body.

3:17 P.M.

"Oh Shit!" John shouted as he fell out of his bed and onto the floor. He groaned as he picked himself up off of the carpet and looked out into the overcast sky. Shaking his head with a sigh he tore his gaze from the dreary world outside and instead looked in shock at the object clenched tightly in his fist. There in his cold, clammy hands was a sky blue feather that pulsed with a faint electric power as sparks danced across it's form.

Equestria,
3:17 P.M.

"JOHN!" Dash shouted as she sprang up from her seat. Looking around she tried to remember where she was.

"Dash?" Fluttershy asked as she looked up from her book. Dash just stared for a second, reading the books title.

"The Intracities of Time And Space." That brought her back to the present and more importantly to the task they had set out to do. She sighed as she set her head back down on the table. She jumped however as she felt a wing rub her side.

"Rainbow?" Fluttershy asked again now beside her friend. No matter how long the two had been friends for this Fluttershies sudden appearance at her side always got her. She smiled, bitterly at first but as she thought about her dream just now,

"It felt so... real," She shook as tears made there way down her face. Fluttershy just held her friend close wrapping her in her magics dark embrace. Dash began to quiver as she remembered his soft touch.

"John, I remember his name now, at least." Her smile born of sorrow and mirth. Her wings began to twitch as she felt something off about them. Sensing her friends discomfort Fluttershy retracted her wing and magic in one fluid motion as Dash inspected her right wingtips. Sure enough one of her primary's was missing, the spot it once took up marked by a small patch of blood that.

"What?" She asked herself as she struggled to remember her dream. It was fustraitingly hazy now. The harder she tried to remember it the fuzzier it became.

"Gah" she pounded her hooves into the crystal table before them in anger.

"Why can't I hold onto these memories!?" She shouted to the air. Several other partakers of the libraries facilities looked up but once they saw Fluttershy grinning sheepishly at them they all soon went back to their own studies. Fluttershy began to pat her friend.

"Don't worry Dash, if you're having trouble with a dream we can always call on Princess Luna for help." Dash calmed down upon remembering her lunar diarch. She gave a nod at that slim hope. Letting out a deep breath she gave her friend a hug.

"Your right Flutters. I'm sorry for being a grump as of late." Fluttershy just giggled.

"It's ok Rainbow, we've both been rather grumpy lately." Looking around for a clock she spotted the time and smiled.

"How about we take a break and go get something to eat hm? She asked. Just as Dash was about to protest her stomach rebelled. Growing rather loudly enough to get the attention of the librarian who promptly shushed the two, Dash meanwhile looked sheepishly at her own stomach.

"Traitor," she mumbled as she looked from her own pile of books back to Fluttershy. Shaking her head she gave into her friends sensible demands.

"Ok fine," she raised a hoof as Fluttershy smiled. "But as soon as we are done we come straight back here and continue." Fluttershy gave a nod.

"Sure thing Dash." She said as the two took there stacks of books and dropped them off with the librarian, and gave her strict instructions to not let anyone near them. Seeing as the king's sister was the one giving the command, the librarian didn't refuse. As the two trotted out of the library Dash looked up into the heavens above.

"We will find a way to get you home John. I swear we will."

Earth, 3:43 P.M.

John sat there starring at the feather in his hand. He had been like this for the past 20 minutes.

"How?" The word kept on playing in his head over and over again like a broken record. He had no ideas as for how this could be possible.

"Quantum mechanics allows for this to some degree but not to this exstent." He spoke to himself trying to find some reasonable explanation but always stopping short do to the proof to the contrary right in front of him. Not wanting to let go of the only evidence as to the validity of his claims, John carefully took the feather and put it inside of a specialty designed bag and vacuum sealed it. Forgetting about the sparks it periodically put out, he was momentarily surprised when the bag melted and the feather fell out.

"Son of a-" He was interupted mid curse by a knock on his door. Quickly grabbing the feather from the floor before it left anymore burn mark on his carpet he gingerly grasped it, his hand feeling tingly as the aeitherial electricity coursed through it and into his body. Another knock rinded him of his unexpected guest.

"Just a sec!" He shouted as he scrambled over to his coffee table. Grabbing his gun from off said table and holstering it to his thigh he looked through his peep hole to see that it wasn't his parents at the door but a shady guy in a suit. The man simply looked at his watch and then back to the door.

"No need to rush on my account." He said as John thought about it for a split second and tucked the feather into his jeans pocket. Making sure to grab his mask he looked through the peephole once more. Taking a deep breath, one hand on his waist near his gun he opened the door.

"Hello sir, how may I help you?" He asked as the man looked up and smiled.

"Finally I've found you." He said pulling out a gun. John didn't hesitate, pulling out his revolver and cocking the hammer in one smooth motion.

"We need to talk Mr Allison." John just snared.

"What about Mr?" He asked not letting his gun wavor off its target. The man smirked.

"About your dear friends Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy." John's breath hitched in his throat.

"How do you-?" He stopped as the man slowly put his own gun away.

"I know more than you may think on your case." He said gestering to the living room.

"Now may I come in?" John slowly lowered his gun, decocking the hammer and setting it back at rest. John was so very conflicted. On the one hand he figured be was alone in the world, then this guy comes out of literal nowhere and just so happens to know something. His instincts screamed at him to shoot the man and run for it but his curiosity got the better of him.

"Sure." He said letting the man inside. Mr Suit gave a nod of thanks and entered john's home.