//------------------------------// // Life at the Beginning // Story: Between Worlds // by stellarheart //------------------------------// Reed Ethans was an ordinary person who lived an ordinary life, but he had a condition. A condition that would forever follow him for the rest of his life. It was an ordinary morning. It was time to get up, do something, and make life proud. The sun was glaring. The streets were crowded with chattering and noisy people, the highways were roaring and the air was still bearable and clean to breath in. This was the world he lived in, and it is the only home he had. He was a hard-working employee in a company that made advertisements. His job was to make ideas, arrange the paperwork, and make presentations, that was all he did. He watched a cartoon called 'My Little Pony'. The characters of show were adorable to look at which was therapeutic for him, and story was full of interesting life lessons and morals, but he didn't tell any of his friend that he watched a little girl's cartoon. They would just laugh and mock at him for watching something that was completely normal. Day by day, he struggled. He ate, worked and slept. Just like a normal human would do. But there was something that had been bothering him throughout his entire life. He had this problem that he could not bear to live with. And that problem was, the interaction with the people he encountered everyday, with the exception for his friends. He sometimes thought and asked himself why this was a problem in his life. It was because the people he spoke with, was really not the problem, but himself. He didn't know why this happened to him or why did it appear into his life. He wasn't able to speak a complete sentence without him, getting nervous and thinking negatively about the person speaking to him. The only thing he did was nod, utter a single word or make small gestures. His personality was like Fluttershy's. A pony who was shy around other ponies and couldn't speak a single word in front of many crowds. Unfortunately, there was no cure for his problem. One day, he was on his home working on a project, until his mind popped a question Will this problem be a part of my life forever? he thought to himself. He carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. The weight that he cannot drop, for it will shatter him to pieces and fall into despair. It kept coming back like a rain with heavy thunderstorms. His brain had its own mindset. He couldn't control it as he was too weak to realize that it was just his imagination. He went to his bed and slept through the afternoon, exhausted and stressed. Why am I like this? he thought to himself again. One morning, while he was arranging his papers in his office. His boss requested him to make a presentation about a social campaign on how to improve one's self, and how to interact with other people to help a person cope with anxiety. And he imagined himself speaking in public, which scared him to the point his heart raced like a speeding train. How can I remove a person's problem when I can't find my solution to my own problem? he thought to himself again and again. He was going to speak in public, in front of many crowds explaining how to cope with anxiety. His mind blurted out negative thoughts that he couldn't stop thinking about. What if I said the words incorrectly? What if I get panic attacks during the presentation? His brain was flooded with series of stressful thoughts, like when Twilight was anxious about her studies and she needed to find a friendship problem before it was sun down. For others, it was just an ordinary task but unforunately, for him, it meant the end of the world. He had no idea what to do. He couldn't think of anything that could help his presentation. He asked his friends for some ideas and advices, but they couldn't think of anything too. He was trapped in a cage, full of suffering and negativity, but he still kept a positive side of him. He went outside to gather ideas and inspire himself without talking to other people. He spent a few hours of strolling on the streets, but he still couldn't create any sort of ideas. The internet wasn't much of a help to him either. He was unable inspire himself with this kind of situation. He avoided several groups of people on the street that were raising awareness about social anixety, but he just smiled and nodded when they spoke to him. Earth was definitely a very hard place to fit and live in for person like him. His heart was pumping so fast. His brain was flooded with thoughts. There was no escaping this. He needed to make the presentation on time. If he didn't, it might cost him his job. He couldn't quit his current job as it was the only job without an interview. A few days passed, he showed an example of the presentation, and just as he expected, his boss was disappointed and there was a faint anger in his voice as if he was trying to control it. Ethans' body froze as his boss chided him. His eyes were glued on the floor. His mouth was trembling in fear. His debilitating anxiety made him very weak. The boss started to calm down and sat on the desk chair, where he collected his thoughts. "Fortunately, the campaign is postponed due to financial issues but it will get sorted out soon. Members of the campaign will take the postponement as a break and get the things done. I hope this will give you the time to finish the presentation for the campaign. I'm sorry if I got angry at you. People with anxiety and the company is depending on you. I know you can do it. Try asking people for opinions about anxiety, surely they can help you out. You can go home now." he said, in calm and composed tone. When his boss was finished talking, Ethans was about to tell him his anxiety, but unfortunately, he left the office quickly and just went home. His presentation was really bad, let alone the idea. He saw his home across the street. He felt like he was all alone again, his worries vanished, and there were no more negative thoughts. His body was filled with stress and sweat. It was nerve-wrecking. He laid on the bed, and he could feel his body relax and stretch as his brain and heart rest. But he still had work do to. He wondered if living in Equestria was much better than Earth. He assumed that no one in Equestria will ever judge him on how he looked like, and he interacted with them. But to his despair, he faced the truth that Equestria doesn't exist. This was reality he was living in. It would take a huge miracle or some sort of magic in order for that to happen. He believed that out there. Out there in the universe where he currently lives in. Equestria existed, where ponies lived together in harmony. He believed that there are also someone out there, who are just like him, that Equestria existed for them. He wished he could live in Equestria forever, and live a carefree life. Ethans had a habit of imagining strange things when stressed. But, as the clock of fate turned, the hands of the clock struck and pointed at his direction. As he was in his bedroom, something bizarre happened that he didn't expected to see with his own eyes.