Bing!
"Hrmmnngh.." I whined uselessly as I searched around for my iPhone with my hands. Eventually, my right hand found the culprit that awoke me from a rather pleasant dream, I wished that I woke up a little later. Groaning, I lifted the phone to the front of my face, noting to keep my eyes closed as the screen flipped on to adjust my eyes to the brightness.
After a moment, I cracked open my left eye. I immediately shot upright on the couch I was sleeping on and reread the message on the screen a second time.
"Hey Zale, remember to set up the for the siege tonight, It's your turn to shot-call today. - GM"
I flicked my eyes up to look at the time on the screen. It was already 4 PM. "Damn, did I really sleep for that long?" I asked aloud. If I can recall, I fell asleep around 11 PM last night. "Guess I better get up and get right on that after breakfast." I looked at the screen again and cringed inwardly. "..Well, I guess the right term would be dinner." And with that, I got up, folded the blankets and started the day, or what was left of it.
Now, I didn't really care about the way I looked since I rarely went outside anyway, mostly out of laziness, my common excuse being efficiency. Unless I went to the shop to pick up some things, or just wanted to simply take a midnight stroll, I generally stayed inside and locked away from the world. So I threw on anything I could find comfortable. Since I didn't have my own room or a secure place to keep most of my things save for a couple of drawers in a room that I didn't reside in, My choice of clothing was fairly limited, not that I minded.
I entered my cousin's room to get my things. It was what you could expect from a girls'/anime fan girl styled rooms, posters of various characters, collectibles and toys, and a manga library to boot. My cousin was currently away on vacation with her mom, so the room was vacant for the time being.
Must be nice... I thought, as I made my way to the drawer that contained most of my clothes.
The bunk bed was nestled on the side of the room, it taking up most of the space anyway. From one of the drawers conjoined with my cousin's bunk bed, I took out a gray hoodie, white T-Shirt, blue shorts and a fresh pair of striped boxers. Going back into the hallway, I picked up a pair of sneakers; blue, gray and purple.
"Isaiah!? Is that you out there!?" My other aunt called after me from inside her bedroom. She sounded irritated about something.
I didn't live with my mom or dad like most kids do. At least, I assume most normal kids did. I lived with my two aunts, my uncle, my cousin, and my grandparents. My mom and dad weren't dead or anything, they just didn't have room for me to live with them, or so they claimed. My two sisters and 3 younger brothers lived with them, so I could at least understand. So right now I'm stuck here, sleeping on the couch with the privacy of a computer screen.
"Yeah Trisha, It's me! What's- Ah screw this," I cut off mid sentence, not having the energy to yell first thing in the morni- er.. in my first few minutes being awake. I went right up to the door and cracked it open a bit so I could speak more reservedly. "What's up?"
"It's 4:27 PM. And you're just now waking up?" She asked accusingly, like I committed a grave sin. "What have you been doing that you need THAT much sleep?" She began to rant on a bit, and I begrudgingly listened on. "All you do is sit at that laptop of yours all day, talking to your friends and playing games. You rarely go outside, and you definitely don't have a job that requires you to go anywhere, you half-ass everything you do too." She went silent for a moment, I took that as my cue to answer her initial question.
"To be honest, I don't know why I slept as long as I did. I went to sleep around 11 last night, and I usually wake up around 10, if not an hour or two later. Sorry." I hoped that would be a satisfactory answer for the time being, I did want to get dressed after all.
Trisha was silent for another moment before sighing, and simply nodding in understanding. "So it's just one of those days, hm?" She said in a much softer tone.
"Yeah," I said, scratching the back of my neck. "It's one of those days. I'm going to get dressed and make something to eat, and I'll be busy for the next 2-3 hours. If you need anything though, holler." She took the hint and waved me off, and with my clothes still in hand, I went into the bathroom next door and closed the door behind me.
~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~
Not bad, I thought as I looked myself over in the mirror. I changed into the clothes I was holding, and looked on in the mirror at my handiwork. I had to lean down a bit to get a good view, as I was 6'6 in height, and stood well over the mirror. I took a long look at my face after a bit. My skin complexion was a fair dark caramel, and was pretty smooth save for a few bumps of acne that had formed. I ran a hand along a little scruffy beard that covered some of the bottom half of my face. It connected with my sideburns, and ran down my neck about halfway. My Afro was, a bit unkempt, I'll admit. Frizzing out in some places, I gingerly padded it down to more or less resemble the appearance of the generic Afro.
Satisfied, I walked out the bathroom, threw my old clothes into a hamper, and made my way back downstairs. My laptop was in the kitchen, which had a glass table in the corner of the room, with a few wooden chairs. The device in question was on the opposite end of the table, facing the wall. It hummed silently in sleep mode, patiently awaiting my return to the internet. Before that however, I went to the freezer to grab a microwavable breakfast sandwich, bacon and eggs on a croissant. I threw it in the microwave nearby, and got started on some coffee while that went on. I loved coffee. I could drink it any time of the day, no matter the occasion. Of course I always drank it with plenty of cream and sugar, I only drank straight black a few times to stay awake on an overnight project on something, even then the bitterness didn't bother me much.
The Beep, Beep, Beep! Of the microwave responsible for cooking my meal, told me my wait was over. I sat the mug of caramel coffee over near my end of the table, And went to retrieve my sandwich. Grabbing the meal in my hands, I quickly moved it from the microwave, to a nearby paper plate, and went back to my chair, meal in tow.
"Welp," I sat down, and pressed space on the keyboard, prompting the computer out of sleep mode. "Time to log in and build the base before time is up." When the screen flashed to life, the background image on the lock screen briefly caught my attention. I smiled a bit, a nostalgic feeling washing over me. The image, was of a pristine, white colored pony from one of my favorite series, My little pony: Friendship is Magic. I used to watch it all the time, listened to fan songs and arts created by other bronies, I even have figurines of the Main 6.. somewhere around here. Since I didn't have a place to keep them, they are probably upstairs in my cousin's room somewhere.
I looked at the time on the lock screen. It read 5:17 PM. I wanted some time to grind before I built the base, but I guess I didn't have the right to complain about time right now. I typed in my password, opened Steam, and started up my main MMORPG, Black Desert Online. As I was logging into the game however..
Ping!
My Discord on my laptop sounded with a notification. That's odd, I thought as I waited for the app to load up. I thought I was on DND on my laptop? Surely enough, I was. Yet I still got the notification sound out of my laptop, and not my phone which was in my hoodie pocket. The app finished loading, and at the top of the window, I received a friend request from someone named "Drac", I knew this name however, as he was in our guild's server as a member that joined recently.
Curious, I accepted the request and messaged him.
At least, I began to, but before I could even start typing, he beat me to it.
"Ah, hello there! You sure didn't keep me waiting long at all~" He typed, and I skeptically raised an eyebrow at the way he typed his messages. Nonetheless, I replied.
"Yeah, I accepted your request because you are in the guild and well, I was curious as to what you wanted. So..? I kept my message simple and honest, awaiting a reply. Wasn't long before I got one, but his response caught me completely off-guard.
"I have a question for you. Are you happy with the way your life is right now? And remember, honesty is the best policy~" My eyes widened a bit at the random, more personal question. I sat there for a moment, unsure how to answer his question, or if I should answer at all, considering he was a complete stranger as far as I was concerned.
I began to type my response, albeit a bit reluctantly.
"Why do you want to know?"
"Ack!-The fuck!?" My eyes became blinded as the screen boomed with a bright white light and rang my ears, rendering my senses useless for a few moments. I felt my stomach sink into my gut, as if I was falling while sitting on my chair. In my dazed state, I noticed that the air became colder and wind was causing the hood on my hoodie to continuously flap against my head. As the ringing in my ears became less and less prominent, I tried opening my eyes to see just what the hell had happened. Had my laptop exploded?
When my vision came to, my jaw dropped to the floor as I looked down. I was.. I didn't know where I was. The entire area below me was pitch black, and whipped my head to see where I was all around while still sitting in my chair, my hands tightly clamping to the seat as I descended into the abyss. Everywhere around me was darkness, the only light coming from what I assumed to be the horizon of.. wherever this was. It was a dim pale white light, in a thin line across from my position.
"What the hell!?" I shouted, only.. no sound came out. I shouted again, and I was met with the same result. Had I died from the explosion? Was there even an explosion to begin with? Why am I endlessly falling!? All these questions implanted themselves in my mind in a panic, and I abruptly stopped falling, almost as soon as it started. Still terrified and utterly confused. After a moment of nothing but pure silence, a whirring could be heard in front of me in the void.
"Because," The voice bellowed, making me jump slightly as it came out of nowhere, I looked around quickly to see where it had originated from. There was no one. "I have a proposal, and I think you might be more than a little interested."
Now that I wasn't panicking nearly as much as when I was falling, I froze in place, shocked at the voice I heard. It sounded familiar.. almost like..
Another flash of light later, my eyes widened at the sight before me.
"No way.." I breathed, awestruck and bewildered at the bipedal creature that sat across from me, in his throne of pure chaos. Before me, was Discord, lord of chaos itself. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, I was sure that I was still asleep or, something! But sure enough, there he was, and here I was, right in front of him.
Discord laughed in amusement at my stupor. "I can assure you, I'm as real as pigs flying." He snapped his talons and a pig seemingly came out of nowhere, with angel wings flying right up to me, snorting in my face. The pig disappeared in another flash, and he continued.
"As I said, I asked you because I have a proposal, a deal that will change your life for the better." He leaned back in his throne, a smirk still on his face. "But before I tell you what the deal is," He said, as if he knew that I was going to ask about it, "I need you to answer my question honestly. Now then.. spill!" A notepad and pencil appeared, and it started writing something as if it was an interview of some sort.
"Uh..," I began, trying to calm down and collect my thoughts for a well rounded response. As I thought about it however, the more depressed I felt and the more I realized just how crappy my life was right now. I wasn't on the streets or starving or anything, but I was socially and emotionally suffering. I didn't have any friends that weren't online, I've only been in a relationship once and it lasted a few months in elementary school, and the entirety of high school I was a lone wolf. I didn't have a real place to call my own, it felt like I was more of a house pet than a family member. All they did was keep me fed and made sure I didn't get into trouble, which wasn't an issue since all I did was sit at my laptop.
I felt jealous of my younger siblings, as they had their own rooms, they made plenty of friends, and they even have fulfilling futures ahead of them. I, on the other hand, had nothing to value or cherish, nothing to look forward to other than gaming and watching MLP, back when I used to actively watch the show anyway. I felt happy and giddy every time the show came on, like a kid in a candy shop. But the show ended, I've finished the comics, and I kind of drifted away from it. Nothing else really piqued my interests.
I looked up again, and saw Discord's brow furrow slightly, clearly indicating his impatience. Or was it concern? Either way, I spoke up.
"Sorry about that, I was lost in thought is all." I apologized, sheepishly rubbing my left arm with my hand. "To answer your question though.. No. I'm not happy at all.."
"Go on then." He said, leaning in a little closer. I hummed in thought, thinking about how and where I should begin.
“Well..” I began.
“Back when I attended middle school, I’ve always felt.. different. Alone, like I never belonged there. I’ve made attempts to try and fit in, get to know other kids and maybe, even make some friends.”
“Did you?” He asked, tilting his head to the side.
“Not really,” I replied. “I would say the closest I’ve ever gotten with a classmate there is an acquaintance at best. You know, we sat near each other, sometimes we’d ask each other for a pencil or paper if we forgot any, worked on group projects. That sort of thing.” I clarified, sighing. “Didn’t really get.. personal or friendly”
Discord nodded in understanding, the pencil scratching on paper above him.
“So, I’ve kinda been bad at making friends, no one really seemed to be interested. In fact, they seemed to be afraid of me. Been that way all the way through 6th-12th grade.”
“And because of that, you were afraid of scaring people away and became self conscious. So you eventually stopped trying all together.” My eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“Y-Yeah, that’s one way to put it..” I admitted, rubbing the back of my neck.
“And then?” He asked, prompting me to continue.
“Well, there was this situation involving my identity. You see, I had to get an ID at some point if I wanted to do anything with my life, get a job, make a living, being an american citizen and all.”
“What kind of situation?” Discord asked, smiling. “Did your identity get replaced by that of a pug? Or perhaps you had multiple identities that had you in absolute dismay?” He asked gleefully.
I shook my head, frowning. “No, nothing like that. You see.. I had no identity. When I went to get my ID card and social, I was rejected because my damn middle name was spelled wrong.” I huffed the last part out, frustration visible on my face.
“So you couldn’t just get it fixed?”
“It’s not that simple because for some reason America likes to be complicated.” I said flatly. “I would have to go to court and either get my name changed, or stick with my old name and go through the entire process all over again.” Discord raised an eyebrow, confused.
“Why didn’t you just do that then?”
“I would’ve,” I began, crossing my arms with a sigh. “But my family never took me to do it. I had no way of getting to the courthouse or social security office without a car, and I didn’t have any money or a metro card either. I’ve tried time and time again, asked for help, asked for money, but they seemed to just always forget somehow! Show’s how much they care about me..” I finished under my breath.
“So.. you eventually gave up on that too, didn’t you?” Discord deduced. I nodded, looking downcast.
“Yeah. I did.” I replied simply. “The only sense of control I’ve ever had in my life, was in front of a computer screen. I didn’t have my own room in the house, so I never really had time to myself, and nowhere to put any of the things that I could call my own.” I put my hands on my lap now, curled up into fists. “I’ve never had control.. A say, in anything. I felt like more of a house pet, than a family member if I’m being completely honest.”
“And what about your siblings?” Discord asked, leaning back into his seat. “Do you love them? And your family?” I raised an eyebrow to ask how he knew I had siblings, but I just went on to explain.
“I’m.. grateful, for them.” I said carefully. “To say I love them though.. I do love certain members of my family, only to an extent though. As for my siblings..” I trailed off, looking away. “..I’m jealous of them.”
“..Why?”
“Because, they had everything that I wanted to be able to have.” I held up my hand, and counted out with the other what they were blessed with. “A room, friends, privacy, help; to name a few things. And I never got it. So, I just settled with being a house pet, with only a computer to use and meeting people online.” I sighed, leaning back and arms slumping.
Discord hummed in thought, tapping a talon on his chin. He was silent for a few moments, taking everything I’ve said into consideration.
“Ever since then, I’ve had this tendency to just give up on things. All I ever wanted was some help, and some encouragement, but I never received any. So, here I am, 2 years later still stuck in the same position.”
“..Is there anything that ever brought you happiness?” Discord asked after a moment. A nostalgic smile appeared on my face when he asked that.
“Yes, there is.” I said, looking back up. “It was you. Your world, the ponies, the community, everything related to My Little Pony, has brought me that happiness. I used to watch the show all the time, right until the very end.” I sighed, the smile vanishing. “Now that it’s over, and there’s nothing new that interests me, I’m just stuck, waiting till the day finally comes until something changes.”
Discord was writing everything else down that I have said about my life, and for a couple of minutes we sat in silence.
~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~
When he was done writing, the notepad and pencil disappeared in a flash, and he leaned in, his fingers intertwined and brought up to his chin.
"Well," He said after a moment, "Would you care to hear my proposal? If you decline then I'll just send you back to exactly where you were in your 'Oh so miserable' life." He stated with a hint of snark. I paused for a moment before answering.
"Shoot." I said simply.
Discord's grin widened. "Here's the deal," He snapped his talons again, and an image of the town of Ponyville displayed in front of me. "You could start a new life here, make some friends with your favorite ponies and dragon, and maybe even go on a grand and daring adventure! But.." Another snap of his talons, a different image replaced that of Ponyville, it was of me and my family at our previous thanksgiving, eating and talking together. "You would lose all your memories of your current life, including the knowledge of the show you know and love. You will even forget that you met me and the meeting will be like it never happened. A fresh start." He pondered for a moment. "You'd only remember your name. A life for a life, in a sense."
"Wait," I said, unsure if I understood that correctly. "So, If I lost memories of the show, it would be like I wouldn't recognize where I am, and the ponies I'd run into?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Precisely." He confirmed.
"Okay, and what about.." I fished in my pocket for a second to find my personal device. "This?"
"You keep it, but everything related to your own personal life and related to my universe will be erased. Meaning you'll still have knowledge of your world, but not of yourself, only your name and age." Discord flicked his finger in a direction, causing a spark to fly out of it. "On the plus side, I would give it infinite battery life, access to most sites, and you would keep most apps."
I was silent, rolling the deal in my head for a minute or two. On one hand, I was a million percent sure I would be happier in the world of Equestria, and getting the chance to make friends with everyone there sounded amazing. On the other hand though, I would forget my family, where I came from, and the show as a whole. Plus I had a guild to maintain as a responsibility of an officer, regardless.. I just couldn't find it in myself to turn him down.
"Alright.." I began reluctantly. "I'll.. I'll deal."
Discord smiled, but more genuinely this time. "Then it is done. I know you'll find happiness in Equestria, and I have a sneaking suspicion you know that too." He laughed, and I couldn't help but chuckle a bit at that. With a snap of his fingers, the world around me blinked out of existence.
I fell unconscious, and I knew no more.