Of New Worlds, High Times, and an Unexpected Journey

Chapter IIYay for inexplicable inter-dimensional travel!

Rain rolls down the windows of the car as it speeds through the dark, stormy, Friday night of summer. My dad is driving and my mom is fast asleep in the passenger seat, her head in a silly position on the window. There's no one on the road and the only sound I hear is the fast raindrops on the metal roof of our sedan and the soothing sound of the tires rolling on the wet pavement. My 16 year old sister sits beside me, playing a game on her phone. I sit on the other side, reminiscing on the past week. This was the week I was supposed to have attended a national band competition in New York. Sadly, the death of my grandfather had us packing for a trip to California for the funeral. My parents didn't seem to mind pulling me from my one chance at true success at what I was actually very good at: playing trumpet. They said they cared, and yet I was the one who had to spend my time and my money to buy everything from my horn (which is quite expensive, mind you) to lessons to supplies to, well, pretty much everything. They didn't even attend my first recital, something about a fancy dinner at some bullshit restaurant that I can't even pronounce the name of. I had saved up a lot of money to go to this competition but since I was so goddamn lucky and I wasn't eighteen yet, I had no choice but to be dragged to my grandfathers funeral whom I had never even met. From what I hear, he has had zero contact with the family for around twenty years. Yeah, I was pissed about having to go. Like I said, I had no say in the matter and was soon packing my bags along with the rest of the family.

Despite it all, I love my parents. They helped me when I was distraught and they healed me when I was hurt. They did what they could to help me stay on my feet but that was about the extent of their assistance. I still love them as I watch the rain pick up speed, drenching the windshield, forcing my dad to turn the wipers on full force.

Just then, I feel the loud rumble of the grooved pavement on the side of the road. My dad swerves back into the lane to avoid going off of the narrow two-lane street. All too quickly, a pair of headlights make themselves visible through the torrent of rain. Something's not right though...they're right in front of us, and they're speeding toward us at a blinding rate.

"SHIT!" My dad yells over the downpour, starting to dodge into the other lane. Before I could even blink, I felt a powerful force rip me forward into the already inflated airbag in front of me. The sickening crunch of metal fills the air accompanied by a shrill screech from my mom that is cut short by the *crack* of her neck.  My sister screams as the entire dashboard caves in about a foot and the airbags feebly try to protect the driver and passenger. Glass flies everywhere and I black out for a moment from the G-forces, waking up just moments later to my sister's distraught sobbing.

"MOOMMMAAA!! DAAADDD!! NOOO-O-O-O P-PL-PLEEAASSEE N-NOOO!!!!" She stutters her words between sobs as I regretfully glance toward the front seat where a sight of horror that will never leave me waits for my eyes. There, lifeless and mutilated, lay my father and mother, battered and bloody. Not a breath was taken by either of them. I have no words. I don't even scream. I just stare in shock, not believing the sight that is so plainly there. I don't even realize I'm crying until my vision blurs and I have to wipe a tear from my eye. When I move my arm however, a searing pain rips down to my fingers. I look down to see my right shoulder awkwardly bent forward, still held firmly by the seat belt. I figure my collarbone is broken and I wouldn't be surprised if a few other things broke as well. Over my shock and pain though, I can still hear the heart-wrenching screams of misery from my sister, whom is frantically trying to wake my father up. I painfully unbuckle my seatbelt and try to open the door, but do my dismay it is stuck.

I pull out my phone and quickly dial 9-1-1. The dispatcher answers, "9-1-1, what is your emergency?"

"I was just in a car wreck. I think the driver and passenger are dead. I think I'm on West Pratt Road in Michigan. The back door won't open."

"Okay I've got emergency response on the way. Is there anyone else in the car?"

"Yes, my sister is in the backseat with me. My mother and father are in the front seat. I doubt they survived. I broke my collarbone but other than that I think I'm okay."

"Okay, just stay on the line. Emergency response should be there very soon."

I let out a sigh of relief, although in these circumstances I'm not sure I would call it relief. My parents are probably dead, I missed the national band competition, and I'm stuck in the middle of goddamn nowhere after a wreck waiting for emergency response.

Sirens are becoming audible over the rain that is now soaking the interior of the car and I notify the dispatcher that I hear them arriving.

"Okay, you may hang up now."

"Thank you." I hang up the phone just as the fire truck pulls up beside the car. The firemen rush over with the Jaws of Life and pry my door open, allowing my sister and I to climb out of the pile of twisted metal that was once our car.

I take one look into the front seat where my mother lay lifeless and I can barely hold my lunch. Silent years run gently down my cheeks as the firemen pry the front doors open.

I glance over at the other car in time to see the driver climb out of the wreckage. Not a goddamn scratch. He's stumbling like he's drunk, and it dawns on me. A rush of anger seethes through my veins. "YOU!" He glances at me, kind of frightened. "You MOTHERFUCKER! YOU KILLED MY PARENTS! PIECE OF SHIT!" I lounge at him, ignoring the pain in my shoulder. The firefighters, realizing what is happening, grab me and hold me back.

They seize the drunken driver as well who is stumbling away in an attempt to flee.

Just then, the ambulance arrives and the paramedics put me on a stretcher, checking my shoulder and asking me a plethora of questions regarding how I physically feel. The police arrive just as the paramedics load my panicked sister and I into the ambulance.

Somewhere in the distance, a new voice becomes audible over the paramedics. A gentle, female voice calling out to me. "-rus!" What? "-yrus! Xyyrruuss!!" Where is that coming from? I feel a  rough shaking as the world around me seems to crumble. "Xyyrruuussss!!" The shaking becomes more prominent as I feel my body being jerked forward and backward very quickly. Slowly, a familiar low ceiling became visible past a pair of gentle, teal eyes. The figure became clearer as I can make out the face of a familiar yellow Pegasus. Fluttershy! "Xyrus! Oh thank Celestia you're okay!" She wrapped me in a gripping hug, allowing me to bury my tear soaked face in her soft coat. Her flowing pink mane draped around me, finally allowing some comfort from the dark grasp of my night terror.

A lovely word from Dashie the Great

I’m sure most of you noticed that weird jump in tenses. That was intentional. It was the transition from the dream world to the ‘real’ world. Just letting you guys know so you don’t get confused. Back to the story!

"Oh my goodness! Xyrus, you were crying and saying things and shaking! Oh, I was so worried! You wouldn't wake up and I thought you were in danger! Thank Celestia you're okay now!" She continued to gently rock me in her warm embrace, helping me calm down from the horrifying flashback.

"I'm fine now, I think. Thank you for waking me up."

"I'm glad I could. What happened to you?"

I was silent. Should I tell her about the wreck? She seems so innocent and gentle, I'm not sure how she would take something like that. Oh well, it wouldn't be right for me to hold back. I sighed. "A few years ago, I was riding in the backseat of my car with my sister next to me and my mom and dad in the front seat."

"Um, what's a car?"

"There aren't cars here?" Fluttershy shook her head. "Huh. Well, a car is a four-wheeled metal box designed for transportation. Kind of like a carriage. It's driven by a powerful motor-"

"What's a motor?" Wow, you ponies don't have much technology, do you?

"Okay, a motor is a powerful thingy that makes things spin fast." I didn't want to go into mechanics right now.

"Oh okay." Eesh.

"Anyways, it's driven by a powerful motor and it can move quite fast and carry a lot of weight. The downside is that they're quite dangerous, and they wreck all too often, whether it's an accident or not. It's usually an accident but there are some nutty people back in my world. But I digress, I was riding in the backseat and my father was driving. My mother was sitting next to my father in the front. It was raining hard that night and visibility was bad. Out of nowhere, another car came speeding towards ours and hit us full force." Fluttershy gasped quietly and put her hooves over her mouth.

"We have these things called seat belts that strap us down in case we're in an accident but my mom and dad were in the front so they were doomed. The dashboard, the thing in front of the driver and front passenger, caved in and killed my mother and father instantly. I blacked out for a few seconds but I survived along with my sister and a few broken bones."

"Oh my goodness you poor thing!" Fluttershy lunged forward and wrapped me in a sorrowful embrace. I choked up remembering the incident but I managed to hold my ground. After a few seconds, she pulled back and looked at me with her big, teal eyes.

I sighed, "I need a bowl. Care to join?"

She perked up a little at that, "Sure. I made us some breakfast to eat afterwards. I know for sure we'll be hungry."

"Yeah, you know it. Let me grab my vape." I reached over my bed to my bag as grabbed my vape, Phone, and iHome speakers. I merrily walked down the stairs, browsing my music library for some cool tunes to play. I settled on some of Queen's finest hits and met Fluttershy in the kitchen. "So, you ready to hear some awesome Earth music? I don't know if the lyrics will translate but at least you can appreciate the songs."

Fluttershy smiled, "I'd love to. And I think it will translate, we'll just have to see."

I pulled out my weed, grinder, and vape and set everything up. Once the vape was heating, I pulled out my phone and plugged it into the speakers.

"What are those things?" Fluttershy asked, motioning towards my phone and iHome speakers.

"They're my phone and speakers. Don't you have those?"

"Well we have speakers but they're powered by magic. I don't know what a 'phone' is though." Wow, I could make some serious dough here patenting things. I smiled internally at my masterfully made money-making (alliteration much?) idea.

"Well a phone is something humans use to instantly communicate. Nowadays it's also used for listening to music, taking pictures, watching movies-"

"Movies?" You guys don't have movies? Damn. Not very much technology at all...

"Fancy moving pictures with sounds. I'll explain it later. Anyways, I'm gonna play some music while we vape. You haven't heard music until you've heard it while you're high."

I glanced over to the vape just in time to see the indicator light for preheating turn on. I pick it up and take a long hit, savoring the sweet, fruity taste of the vapors. I held the vape out to Futters and she grasped it with her hooves and put it to her mouth, taking a decent pull before pulling back, holding for a moment, and coughing heavily. Wait, how did she hold it with her hooves? Whatever. I'm too high for this shit. I need music.

I started the playlist of Queen's greatest hits and sat back to relax. "It's translating. I know what he's saying. But why is he singing about that? Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's about having a busy or interesting week and just relaxing on Sunday before the next week comes. It's a feel-good song; one of my favorites."

"I like it. It's catchy."

After listening to music and eating a lovely omelette for breakfast, I decided to go chill in the park for a while. After averting some questioning glances from quite a few ponies, I reached a cozy spot under a big oak tree. Oak tree? But this kind of tree is on Earth too. How did it get here?

I dismissed the coincidence and remembered what a certain minty green pony told me at the party. There was that one pony. Lyra, I think it was? Yeah. She said to say 'Lyra Lyra' when I wanted to talk to her. Well I'm bored anyways so why not? Before I can even begin to say the magical phrase, the pony with the lyre on her ass flashes into existence in front of me.

"You called??" She spouts excitedly.

"Um yeah. I was about to, actually, but that's not important. I believe you wanted to talk some more?"

Lyra grinned so wide I was afraid her head would split. "Yes! I did! Mostly though, those beautiful hands of yours! Ooh the fingers are just lovely and everything about them-" she took on a sultry tone of voice "-is purely mesmerizing." She took them into her magical bond and gently caressed them, easing the toward her flank.

"Hey, now! I'm not sure I like where this is going..." I stuttered, pulling my hands away.

Lyra whimpered slightly and looked up at me with impossible puppy dog eyes.

"No. I'm not falling for your cuteness."

Her pupils got even bigger and seemed to sparkle even more, accenting the already adorable gaze.

"No. Not happening. I don't care if you're sentient. I'm not doing that with a pony. No way, no how."

Lyra 'humphed' dramatically and sat back on her rump. "Well the least you can do is tell me what it was you were doing with the Elements of Harmony yesterday."

"The what?"

"The six ponies you were with yesterday? You were doing something and apparently it was hilarious. I've never seen

Princess Celestia's laughing so out of control in my life!

"Oh I was letting them sample some of my finest weed."

"What's that?"

"It's the dried flowers of a certain plant. You can smoke it or bake it into foods and it makes you feel floaty and happy and you tend to forget everything. Also, it's hard to concentrate on things. Laughing uncontrollably is also a side-effect."

"That sounds fun! Can I try?"

"I don't know... It's really fun... Are you sure you're up to it?"

"Yes, yes, I am!"

"Are you suurree?"

"YES! For Celestia's sake just gimme!"

"We'll if you're going to be rude about it I won't give you any at all," I said, folding my arms and holding my head high. I opened one eye to see a very sad looking Lyra looking up at me with the best puppy-face she had. "Nahh, I'm just joshin' you. You can have some; one sec."

I pulled out my vape and turned it on. "Ooh what's that? Is it a cool human contraption?" Lyra asked, eyes wide and fixated on my small, black vaporizer.

"Yes, it is a 'human contraption'. A very handy one at that. It vaporizes the chemicals that give you the 'high', which is how weed makes you feel, and prevents you from having to inhale smoke."

"Oohh, sounds cool. How does it work?"

"It gets hot."

Lyra gave me a deadpan look.

"What?" I ask, putting my hands in a placating gesture, "I'm not lying."

She just shakes her head. I glance down at the vape to see that the green light is on.  "Alright Lyra, ready to get high?"

Lyra grins enthusiastically, "Yes!"

I smile as I pick the vape up, "Now, when I put this to your lips, inhale until your lungs begin to feel dry or you need to cough. If you need to cough, do so. It will hurt worse if you don't."

"Okay, inhale until lungs dry, cough, yada yada, got it."

I chuckle as I put the vape to her lips. She begins to inhale the sweet vapors. A few seconds later, she nods for me to pull it away and she holds it in for a moment before letting it out. At this point she's just staring into the distance. I waved my hand in front of her face to get her attention and she quickly snaps back into reality. "Wha who what??"

I laughed at her spacey mindset. "What's so funny?" She asks.

"Oh nothing, you were just staring off into space. By the way, how did you know I was a human?"

"Huh?"

"When I first met you, you finished my sentence and knew I was a human before I even said it."

"Ohh, well I love humans! Everypony says I'm obsessed but I don't think I am."

"Okay okay I know that. I mean how do you know what a human is?"

"Well-" her answer was cut short by a sharp blow to the top of my head. Everything blurred as I collapsed into the ground. The last thing I saw was Lyra rushing to my side.

I woke up on a dry forest ground, but something seemed familiar... A quick glance behind me confirmed my suspicions. I was right where I was when I knocked myself out against that tree. I was back on Earth. I could see the Party Playhouse in the background. It had yellow tape surrounding the perimeter and there were police cars everywhere. From where I was, I could see detectives walking around the building. Wow, there must’ve been some serious shit going on here... I decided it would be wise to go the other direction even though I didn’t know my way back to the city from here without going towards the mansion. I walked aimlessly through the woods. My phone had no service so I couldn’t pull up GPS or call for help. I was stuck in the middle of the woods and I had no idea how to get back.

“Well, fuck....” I said to myself, grasping the situation I was in. “How the fuck did I get back anyways?”

While the answer to that question would be waiting for me soon, I didn’t know at that point so I decided to just turn back and try to sneak around the mansion. When it was in sight, I veered off to the side in an attempt to stay hidden from the eyes of the law surrounding the massive house. Unfortunately, a yell from an officer busted my cover. I looked over just in time to see three officers walking quickly towards me.

“Hey, you! Stay where you are! Hands on your head!”

Fuck this. I ran. I fucking ran like hell. They began to shout louder but I wasn’t listening. After a few minutes of chase, I glanced behind me, only to see them still hot on my tail. The only difference was that there was now five of them. In the distance, I could hear a dog barking. Oh, fuck no. They did not set a dog on me.

I saw roads becoming visible through the trees. When I reached the street, I bolted across to the sidewalk and into the city. The cops were still right behind me, following me around blocks and weaving through dodging pedestrians. I saw cars stopped at an intersection up ahead with the light about to turn green. Here’s my chance! I sprinted across the street just in time for the light to turn green, starting the flow of cars. The cops were stopped at the other side and I was able to weave in with the crowd, Assassin’s Creed style. I made my way to my friend’s apartment, hoping he didn’t get arrested that night. I walked up to the porch, knocked on the door, and waited.