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// Chapter 1:Portals and Problems 
// Story: The Lost Power 
// by helix412 
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	Today was an ordinary Saturday. I was home with Derrick and Joe, a couple of my frends, doing what we always do on the weekends: talk. Nothing fancy, just talk. But we all enjoyed it.  Conversations would typically revolve around what the week was like, then to things at home, and then we always go to the inevitable MLP topic. We once tried to go a week without talking about it. It just wasn’t possible.  Well, today was typical. Derrick was talking about the fan-fic he was writing, and then Joe went on about all the art, and I talked about the music and the PMV’s. Nothing much, just talking. But when the day was over, I could never escape the feeling that something was missing.

I was a smaller built person, and I did appear to be *slightly* ripped, but nothing too extreme. I was the tallest of our group, standing at 6’, and my hair was a darker red and cut short. Many people have told me that my eye color changes based on my mood, and that they’re normally green or brown. If anything was a prominent feature on me, it would have been my legs. If I full-on kicked something, it would most likely break due to the power behind it.  Unfortunately, I was quite a wimp when it came to upper body strength. I didn’t think much of it, since I rarely needed it, but I had enough to lift Joe if I needed to.  If I were to be seen in shorts, then I must have been running or biking. Otherwise, I’d always wear cargo pants, a T-shirt, a sweatshirt (even in the summer), and a pair of sunglasses.  I was normally the craziest of the bunch; granted, I was normally calm on the outside, but I have crazy ideas, and if there is one I’ll do it without question.

Derrick was almost as tall as me, and had longer black hair. It’s very uncommon to find him without a smile and a glint in his golden eyes. Derrick was a swimmer, so he’s way more chiseled than I am, but still nothing to the extreme. His legs, however, were still no match for mine.  Derrick could put many to shame with his smile; that’s Derrick: always happy. If he’s anything but that, then something drastic has happened and it needs to be fixed fast. Derrick is more down to Earth than I am, but he has had his share of crazy ideas. If both he and I get together, the fire department is most likely going to have a busy day.

Joe, on the other hand is probably my opposite, as looks go.  He has quite a bit more mass than both Derrick and I, and if he ever ran, it most likely meant it was the Apocalypse. Granted, he has quite the muscle mass behind him, but what Joe excels at is that he's significantly smarter than either Derrick or I. Now, neither of us are dumb, far from it, but Joe certainly excels at it.  We swear it’s the beard that Joe has become accustomed to having; he knows how to look his best with it. One can always tell when Joe has an idea by the way he strokes his beard, stares off into the distance, and a gets a glint in his brownish eyes.  Joe’s the one that keeps us grounded; if Derrick and I get an idea that’s just nuts, he’ll let us know.


All of us sat there, talking and thinking. Somehow, we began wondering about the scientific possibility that Equestria existed. After pondering for a few minutes, Joe said, “Well, assuming that type III parallel universes exist, it’s not just a possibility that it could be real. It’s in inevitability. We just need to get to the alternate in which it exists. Of course, unconfirmed theories and all that nice stuff.” Joe was always the more intellectual one of us. Don’t get me wrong, we were all smart. It just showed more in Joe. Besides, we all enjoyed thinking about the impossible happening.  
About an hour (and numerous topic changes) later, we heard a crash in my room. Thinking that my dog knocked something over, we wanted to see if he was tangled and we could get him out, not to mention pick up the mess. But when we got there, we saw that there was no mess. 

Just the closet door was blown off its hinges.

Once Derrick got there he said “It’s a good thing your parents aren’t here this week. Otherwise, they would be kind of mad”
Then Joe smirked “Yeah, they’d be… just a little ticked.” I say that all the time when something gets on my nerves, which is surprisingly often. So, it’s become a sort of inside joke.

“OK, funny guys. Could we just please get my door off the floor?” But when I went to pick it up, something caught my eye. There was something in my closet, and when I went to see what it was I was shocked to see something that resembled an Ender portal from Minecraft. “Hey guys, you might want to see this” 

When they saw the portal Derrick almost fell over and, if it was possible, Joe’s jaw dropped to the floor (despite him being oblivious to all things Minecraft).  I was a little nervous, and asked, “Where do you think it goes?” 

“Well, probably the Nether,” Derrick replied a little sarcastically.

Joe was standing right in front of the portal “Well if it does, I suggest that we go to the other side, take a look around.” We liked the idea, but Derrick and I knew what was likely on the other side, and kept our distance. Joe started to approach it, for science I imagine.
Right as he was about to go through, Derrick yelled, “WAIT! If it really IS like the Nether we’re going to need some equipment. I suggest we go home, get supplies, and meet back here tomorrow morning.” We all agreed. Tomorrow morning, we’d see what this was about.

That night I just sat in front of the portal, wondering what could be on the other side. I was tired, but I don’t sleep much anymore. The nightmares I’ve been, which revolve around the binding, torturing, and murdering of me and my closest friends, having been getting worse. I couldn’t bear to see anyone else die in front of me.  It has been a few months since they started. At first they mortified me, and I woke up with major pain where I have been hit in my dream, in a cold sweat and pale.  At first it was just one person getting killed in front of me, but now it’s everyone that I have ever cared about. The way they were killed was the most gruesome thing that I have ever witnessed.  So now all I do is take small naps and draw, but I’ve paid heavily; I have little to no energy, even making walking a struggle on occasion.  Recently I’ve been crashing and end up sleeping for days, where I would wake up in agonizing pain from the monster of my dreams.  So, I went another night without sleeping, just sitting there drawing the portal and all of its wisps as it quietly hummed on.  When I finished I noticed that it was 4:00AM. “Well better get ready.” Ever since I started staying up, I have been talking to myself. Maybe just to keep myself company, but I didn’t mind. At least I knew that I was awake.

I looked at the clock, which said it was 6:12AM. “Well that didn’t take long, but at least I have everything ready.” Everything that I collected for the trip was now lying on my bed: a back pack with speaker system (the aptly named “Bass-Pack”), 25 protein bars, a multi tool, iPod, and my knife.  I had nothing else to do ‘till Derrick and Joe arrived, so I took a shower and got ready for our trip. I put on a pair of cargo pants and a T shirt but, there was something missing. “Where are my sun glasses?” Considering my nickname of “Shades,” it was kind of important that I have them. So, for the next hour I looked for my iconic sunglasses, but to no avail. I went to go scratch my head to find that they were on my head the whole time. Derp. “You’ve got to be kidding me! Oh well, at least I found them.” Now that I was done, all I could do until they arrived was sharpening my already razor-like knife. “Oh, that’s something I could pack. My sharpener ought to come in handy.” It wasn’t anything special, just a basic sharpening stone. But it worked for me, so I went to work till my knife cut paper with almost no effort.  When I was done and had everything packed up, there was a knock at the door. I glanced at the clock, which said 8:45AM, and opened the door.  Derrick and Joe were there, and looked ready to take on the world. Derrick brought some snacks a change of clothes and his Zelda-esque Master sword.

“MAN, was this dull. I couldn’t sleep, so I just sharpened it all night.” I then looked at Joe. All he had was his katana (which he calls “Azura”), and a small bag if clothes.  After we got something to eat, we went back to my room (more specifically my closet), but when we got there, there was a black and blue smog emanating from the portal. We thought nothing of it, thinking it was just part of the portal. 

After a few minutes of just standing there, I said “So who’s going first?” No one said anything, which prompted Derrick to step forward, clearly a little ticked, saying, “I’LL go, since you guys are just going to stand there.” Derrick stepped forward and entered the portal. When he did so, he shot forward and was gone.

All Joe and I did was stand there, not wanting to know what would happen. We eventually decided that we would go at the same time.  We were about to enter when I realized that I was missing something.

“Wait, I forgot some things.” I ran back into the room and grabbed my sunglasses and knife. When I got back Joe looked puzzled, but he said nothing.  When we were ready, again Joe decided that he would just walk in. But I wanted to jump in, so I asked him to go first so that I could enter when he had gone through. He took a deep breath and walked in. Just like Derrick, he was whisked away.  Seeing both of my friends go through the portal worried me. I began to wonder, “What if they didn’t make it? What if there is no other side?” Figuring that I need to know and that it was worth the risk, I got a running start and jumped into the portal yelling “Here we go!”

Entering the portal, there was a feeling of weightlessness. Then I was pulled forward extremely quickly; I didn’t dare breathe, because it felt like the air rushing in my lungs might cause them to explode.  It took only about 20 seconds to reach the other side, but it felt like an hour. When I finally reached the ground, I instantly fell to my knees and blacked out.  When I came to my senses I saw three things standing over me, but I couldn’t initially tell who it was. While my vision was clearing, I saw and accounted for my friends: Derrick, Joe and Twilight Sparkle.

Wait…WHAT?!