Part I ~ Welcome to Equestria?
~ April 8th, 2020 ~
Beep...
Beep...
Beep!
ahmph…
The 7am. alarm had come and gone, reaching its third snooze. Chase Waters was determined to win the battle against the alarm, but in the end was forced into wakefulness by the triumphant clock blaring its wake up call. Sighing in defeat Chase sat up preparing to start his day, which had become quite the boring routine as of late. With the recent events landing the world in a state of emergency, Chase was one of many students his age forced into online schooling. It wasn't exactly how he planned his senior year of college going, but being that he wasn't a social butterfly, Chase got by on his own.
For the last month, Chase had been stuck in a vicious cycle. Since he was quarantined in the state of Oregon due to the infectious virus labeled Covid-19, days went by with little to no indication what day it even was. Everything started blending together, making Chase feel like time itself had gotten bored of all the repetitiveness, and decided not to follow the traditional schedule.
Chase was in his final year of engineering at Oregon State University, and was only a few months from graduation when change blindsided his perfect schedule. So being the adaptable type, he began a new routine. Wake up, force his 5'9" frame out of bed (eventually), take a shower, run a comb through his mid-length brown hair, check emails, eat breakfast, brush his teeth, attend online meetings, grab lunch, go to more meetings, and take some personal time. His desire to control everything, and maintain high levels of organization was of the utmost importance. Days were meant to be scheduled to the minutes, yet he was stuck at home with way too much free time on his hands.
Chase didn't want to "go with the flow" as his parents put it, but he was forced into isolation that was even worse than his previously lacking social life. He grew up with a few friends here and there, hardly any strong bonds however. Being a mathematician and science nerd, he didn't even talk like others. His decisions, words, and actions all felt calculated like an equation. For the life of him he couldn't figure out why as hard as he tried he just didn't seem to fit in. Try as he might, the only friends he made were through his interest in the creative game of Minecraft. When he didn't play, Chase would watch the game on YouTube letting his imagination run wild. People marveled at what he was able to construct with his perfect angles, and grand arches.
The worst part of growing up however was watching his peers party and laugh, when he felt so distant from the foreign joy that appeared on others faces.
Regardless of his past, today was April 8th, probably just another day that would pass by forgotten for being dry and lonely. Chase lived alone in his apartment. He hadn't been living with anybody else since things went poorly with his freshman year roommate. Being an honors student, Chase was planning on using the day to conquer another few pages of his thesis. It was being written on the physics behind quantum theory in space, and how a zero G environment was impossible due to micro levels of gravity interacting between planetary objects. Even if incalculable by human standards, just because you can't feel the effects of gravity doesn't mean it doesn't exist on a minuscule level. After all, to get into space you have to use an object that has mass, which in itself creates a small gravitational hole in space time, allowing other objects to be affected by its presence. The trouble behind this research project was how theoretical and hard to test it was.
So after a bowl of cereal, and some morning coffee to kick start his senses, Chase was ready to begin writing. His computer doubled as his classroom and gaming station, so he would full screen his document to eliminate distractions. Chase's strong work ethic meant that his focus was unhindered for over 2 hours. He couldn't even remember the sound of his AC kicking on. The only thing that could pull him off his work was the prospect of lunch. 12:00 on the dot was lunch time, and today consisted of a BLT and homemade french fries. If you have bacon, he won't be far behind.
Cooking was a great pass time for Chase, especially since he could eat the fruits of his labor. Lunch right at noon and dinner at 6:00pm was the goal. Somehow, he was able to eat at exactly the same time every day, his stomach always seeming to remind him when it was ready. Might as well be a portable clock in his gut.
Following a satisfying meal, he went for a run. Yes, he may be one of those 'guys' who liked school and running, but he certainly knew how to stay healthy, so you can't argue with his methods. A 6 mile run around the apartment vicinity, and he was feeling good. Very few people were out and about, but a few individuals could be seen sitting on their porch. He gave everyone a wide berth, keeping his distance like quarantine regulations specified, but he wasn't too worried. He made sure to thank God for his health, and pray for continued protection. He was always looking for ways to strengthen his relationship with God, and continue to put his faith in God as his savior.
After settling down from a good workout, Chase went back to typing on his computer. His diligence would hopefully pay off by having his work completed ahead of schedule. However, he just couldn't seem to focus. Over by his night stand to his left, something kept flashing out of the corner of his eye. Chase tried to ignore it, but after a full minute of the continued distraction, Chase's eyes wandered from his screen. What he saw was something he never would have imagined. his alarm clock seemed to be emitting purple sparks. 'Wait can sparks even be purple' he thought?
"what's going on?!" he asked aloud to no one in particular.
Doing the only sensible thing that came to mind, Chase unplugged his clock only to find sparks were still flying. He picked up his clock and threw it... yeah probably not his smartest idea, but when it broke against the far wall, he figured the sparking would cease. With a smile he turned back around to get back to work only to find that a purple light was now glowing over his night stand brighter than the sparks were previously. In a last ditch effort to stop this insanity, Chase moved The whole thing out of the way, carefully avoiding touching the strange light.
He grabbed a blanket off of his bed and threw it over the top in an attempt to smother it, only for his blanket to completely disappear.
"What the actual heck is going on here! This is impossible!"
Just as he started to move towards his phone to try and call somebody (who he was going to call... he hadn't got that far yet) he felt the light pulsing and drawing him closer against his will. It was starting to function almost like a vacuum, yet the other objects in his room seem completely undisturbed! As a last-ditch effort, he closed his eyes, and imagined waking up from what must be a dream.
"This is just a nightmare."
"This is just a nightmare."
"I'm about to wake up any second..."
Suddenly a bright flash shone throughout his entire room, and the whole world went dark. In the seconds that passed, Chase wondered why he felt cognizant of darkness if he was dreaming. Did he pass out; did he hit his head on something? All he could think in that moment was... ‘the chances of permanent insanity have just increased by a significant rate’
In a matter of seconds, the surroundings went from loud winds and bright flashes of light to dead silence, and all the while Chase felt like he was falling into nothingness.
"Am I dead?"