//------------------------------// // Door to a New World // Story: Wings for Him // by Laughing Jack //------------------------------// Wings for Him By Laughing Jack Chapter 1: Door to a New World As he walked along the dark and foreboding street, Isaac looked around with mild apprehension. 'I hate having to go out on nights like this,' he thought nervously. 'It makes me think all those creepy online stories have a grain of truth.' He had just come from his friend David's house after giving him a bit of romantic advice. What caused him to leave, however, was that the person he was advising about showed up at David's house, saying something about needing his help checking her college essay over. Prudently deciding to give his friend some privacy (only after suggestively elbowing him in his ribs), he left the two alone for the night, opting to walk home rather than borrow his friend's bicycle. Looking up from the recent memory, he saw someone else walking toward him. As the stranger passed under a streetlamp, Isaac saw that the stranger was an old man. Even though the stranger was just a bit shorter than his own six-foot height, he felt as though the old man were dominating him in some way he couldn't see. All this he took in with a slight shiver: this practically had cheesy ghost story written all over it. As they got within a few feet of each other, Isaac chuckled to himself. It would have been really cheesy -- not to mention creepy -- if the stranger were going to- "It's going to happen soon. Best be ready." Isaac stopped, his blood freezing throughout his body as he heard those words whispered into his ear by the passing stranger. Gathering his nerve, he turned to ask just what would happen, but the stranger had disappeared. 'Okay, not creepy at all. All the same, it might be better for my sanity to get the fuck outta here,' he thought as he started walking quicker, eager to return to the safety of his home. It didn't take long with his near-frantic pace. Still moving quickly he opened the door and, after slamming it shut and locking the deadbolt, raced to get to his room. Rushing into his room, he slammed and locked that door shut and, reaching underneath his mattress, pulled out a small cloth bundle, which proved to be an assortment of knives. Grabbing the smaller knives he hooked them into his belt and around his body. Thus equipped, he went to his closet and grabbed his cane. Aside from being a good emergency bludgeon, he could pull on the knob at the top to reveal a slim sword, more resembling a rapier for its lack of a sharp edge. All the same, it served well to reassure the young man. Finally, he grabbed a decorative scroll tube off his nightstand. Originally a display item, he had gotten a friend to alter it to hold two daggers in it, the hilts protruding on either side. The hilts had also been altered to fit the rest of the tube better, the design of their grips now matching the once-purely decorative scroll tube. Thus arming himself, Isaac situated himself on his bed with his back against the wall, his cane leaning on his shoulder and his scroll tube in his lap, and began his vigil. 'I'm not letting some creepy old man get the best of me,' he thought. 'Mentally, physically, or super-creepy-naturally.' He was, however, still puzzled over what the man had said. '"It's going to happen soon," huh? Did he think I was in some kinda secret society with him?' The thought brought a chuckle to his lips. 'If I am, I guess it's the best kept secret.' Despite his nerves, Isaac found his eyes closing of their own violation. With his thoughts drifting as his day of work caught up with him, he succumbed to sleep. "... -there? Hello? Are you in there?" Isaac groaned as he recognized the voice of his house-mate Brandon. "Hey, I know you're awake in there. Let me in, I've got to ask you something." Moving from his spot against the wall, he got up and stiffly opened the door for his friend. At about five-foot-two, people sometimes had trouble taking the young man seriously, if only because it was easy to make Brandon laugh. "What is it Frodo?" Isaac asked, using the nickname he knew Brandon disliked, readily showing his displeasure at the rude awakening. Unfazed, Brandon pushed into the room. " 'The hell happened last night?" he asked. "I don't have a problem with you staying out late, but I'd hope you would at least have the decency to be quiet when you get back." Isaac covered his mouth to stifle a yawn, stretching his stiff shoulders as he did so. "Sorry 'bout that," he apologized sleepily. "Something weird happened on my way back." Brandon rolled his eyes. "Yeah, just like that one time the other night-" "Hey, I know what I saw that night, and it wasn't 'just another stray dog,'" Isaac protested, cutting him off. "This," he shuddered, "felt too real." Under his house-mate's questioning gaze, Isaac explained what happened from a bit before he made a tactical retreat out of his recently-lucky friend's house, up to just before he had gotten home. Thinking for a minute, Brandon quietly asked him, "You know what I think?" Isaac shook his head, so he continued. "I think... that some old man is gonna wake up this morning, laughing about the joke he played on some young punk last night," he snickered. Isaac groaned, playfully punching him in his shoulder. "Seriously though? Don't worry too much about it," Brandon said reassuringly. "Lighten your load a bit, starting with all that metal. Even I'm starting to get nervous, what with all those knives on you." Laughing humorlessly, Isaac motioned him out and, closing the door, removed said knives from his person. As he did, he caught a whiff of himself and grimaced. He definitely needed a shower. Looking at his alarm clock, he figured he had at least an hour before he had to leave for his part-time job. Forty-five minutes later found him finished with his shower and breakfast. Almost as an afterthought, he grabbed his pocket knife and, as what he felt a justified precaution, stuffed the scroll tube in his bag with the rest of the stuff he needed for work. Thus equipped, he walked out to the threshold of his shared house and put on his shoes, now ready, if not willing, to face the day. Backpack slung over his shoulder, he reached for the knob, feeling a growing sense of apprehension. Opening the door, Isaac was greeted by the sight of what appeared to be an animated sort of screen, covering the door from the outside, full of swirling blues, reds, and a few other colors Isaac couldn't name, all churning around an invisible point he couldn't see. Frowning, Isaac muttered, "Well, this definitely takes the cake on elaborate pranks of the year." Raising a hand to push the material aside, he was alarmed to find his hand sink into the screen. Jerking his hand back, he stumbled away, flexing his hand to make sure it was still there. 'What the hell kind of prank is this?' he thought, looking first to his hand, then back at the screen. Edging closer, he reached into his pocket for his folding knife that he always kept on him, exposing its blade. When he had edged just close enough to reach out and touch it, he cautiously pushed his knife into the screen, marveling when he didn't feel any resistance. Pushing the knife in until his entire hand was enveloped; Isaac was amazed by the lack of resistance, even as he waved his knife around in the seemly-empty space beyond the screen. All at once he felt a pressure surround his hand and, upon looking down at his wrist, gaped in wonder as a tendril much like the screen itself circled around his forearm and pulled him closer. Panicking, Isaac tried pulling his arm back. Whatever was gripping his hand seemed to struggle holding him. In a moment though, his strength failed him, and he was pulled into the screen. As he passed through, he had the momentary impression of moving through some kind of liquid, which seemed to caress his body gently before disappearing. Still moving forward he stumbled, barely catching his balance before falling onto a paved road. Puzzled by the sudden change of scenery, he looked around. 'Okay, this is officially the weirdest thing I've had happen to me,' Isaac thought to himself. 'It even tops that shadow-wolf/dog-thing I encountered a few weeks ago.' As he gazed at his new destination, he couldn't help but to compare it to the pictures of medieval towns he had seen. 'Damn, almost looks like a dragon might come at any moment.' Amused by this errant thought and still looking around, he didn't notice the old man from the previous night walk up beside him. "It's a nice little town, isn't it Isaac?" he said, looking thoughtfully at him. Isaac felt himself all but jump at the sudden breaking of the silence. "W-who's talking to- Hey!" Isaac exclaimed, turning to the man. "You're that guy from last night! What the hell did you do to me?" "Do? I didn't 'do' anything to you. Not yet at any rate," the man chuckled wryly. "Let's just say that you are part of an experiment. On that subject, you might want to keep that knife of yours in your pocket," he said, gesturing to Isaac's hand, still holding his knife. Puzzled, Isaac cocked his head, thumbing his knife closed and replacing it in his pocket and asked, "Experiment? Why choose me though?" Narrowing his gaze, he continued, paying no mind to lights turning on in windows all around him. "And just what kind of experiment justifies dragging a person from his home, against his will might I add, to some Camelot imitation of a town?!" "For starters, it's called Canterlot over here," the man quipped. "For that matter, you aren't there either; we're currently in the peaceful town of Ponyville." "That doesn't answer my question." "No," the man smiled, "I suppose it doesn't. I know you'll be able to find out on your own, given time." Turning around, he playfully added, "Try not to cause too much trouble while I'm gone." With those words, the man opened a door that - amazingly enough - looked like it was embedded directly in the trunk of a tree. Snapping out of his confusion, Isaac lunged after the older man as he walked into what he realized was a portal. Pursuing the man through the portal, he was surprised to find himself now facing a rickety old bridge, beyond which was an ominously dark forest. Turning around, I saw that I was now standing before a set of doors which - presumably - led into what once must have been a magnificent castle. Hearing movement above him, Isaac spied the old man sitting on the stonework surrounding the door. "Ah, that's right!" the man exclaimed. "I almost forgot the most important part of the experiment!" Giving him a wrinkled smile, the man snapped his fingers. At once Isaac felt a stabbing pain shoot through him just below his stomach. Doubled over in pain, he could just make out the figure of the man wave before then falling backwards out of sight. Just as quickly as the pain arrived, it disappeared, leaving a slight throbbing in its wake. Left shivering in the wake of the pain, Isaac slowly straightened. Looking around, he re-examined his surroundings, his face betraying his puzzlement. 'Something isn't right. Everything feels... different,' he thought. Looking over to where the man had been, he gave a determined growl. 'Like hell I'll let him get away. He got me here, so he's definitely got a way to get back.' He made his way to the door, stumbling a bit before he gripped the handle and pushed the door open, its hinges shrieking in protest. Isaac winced, gritting his teeth at the noise. 'Damn my ears for being so sensitive,' he thought. Pushing the pain aside, he peered around the door, looking for the old man. He was gone. Twilight’s house: a few minutes ago Inside the treebrary, Twilight was seated on a cushion at her desk, staring sleepily at the half-finished report sitting before her. She had been trying to finish her paper regarding the myths surrounding the beings known as gods. Shown in the light of a candle was an open book. Twilight glared at the book, silently ordering it to give her the answers she was looking for. ‘Maybe it would be better to finish in the morning,’ she glumly thought, slumping in weary defeat. Getting up, she levitated the quill back into the inkwell and, setting them both aside, checked that the ink on the paper was dry before setting that aside as well. Looking aside at her nocturnal assistant, she asked him, "Owliscious, would you please finish cleaning up? Something tells me tomorrow is going to be a bit hectic, and I really need my sleep if I'm going to finish that report before anything happens." Hooting an affirmative, Owliscious flew over from his perch to land on the desk. Carefully biting down on the spine of the book, he flew it down to the library, setting it neatly on the shelf where it was before. That done, he set about returning the pile of books that had accrued around Twilight's desk. Twilight watched him for a moment before making her way to her bed, pulling back the sheets before slumping into the mattress. Moments before falling asleep, she heard the front door open and slam shut. Rousing herself back to conscience, she looked over at the basket that served as Spike’s bed. A flash of panic washed away her sleepiness when she saw that Spike had not been the one at the door. Cautiously sliding out of bed, her wings ruffled as she crept down the stairs to see just who - or what - had gone through the door. Upon reaching the library proper, Twilight was puzzled not to see anypony in the library. Her ears turned, straining to catch the slightest sound. After a bit, she finally heard something. ‘That’s odd,’ she thought. ‘I only heard the door once, so why is the sound coming from outside?’ Igniting her horn, she channelled her magic into the likeness of her mentor’s cutie mark on the ceiling, causing light to flood the room. Momentarily blinded, she moved one of her wings to shade her eyes as the front door opened, revealing the source of the sounds. Two figures stood outside the door, but they weren’t anything Twilight had ever seen. Both looked like some hairless relative of apes; what set them apart though was their apparent age. While the one approaching the open door had a grey mane on his head and a face full of wrinkles gained from years of laughter, the other was noticeably taller, with a mane that shone like darkened gold. Both also were wearing clothes, which seemed odd. 'But what are they doing... WHAT?!' Twilight was alarmed to see the older ape disappear just as it passed through her doorway. The other ape was already running after its elder, it too disappearing as it passed her threshold. Seconds later, the door creaked shut, shutting with a finality that snapped Twilight from her thoughts. Almost immediately she ran forward, opening the door to look outside for any evidence of what had just transpired. Finding none, she stomped her hoof in frustration. "Ponyfeathers! WHY DO THESE THINGS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME?!” she shouted in exasperation. Twilight slammed her door shut, ignoring the other ponies looking out their windows to stare at her. Frustrated by the night's events, she made her way back to her room, extinguishing the light as she went. Climbing into bed, Twilight felt all of the excitement of the last few minutes leave her. As exhaustion took her, she made a silent vow to check and double-check her library for any references on the strange apes.