Jacob stirred as his mind slowly regained consciousness. What the hell happened? Jacob thinks. As he slowly regains his senses, he makes a vain effort to get up, only to be met with a throbbing in his head. He eventually guves up and settles down, waiting for the pain to cease. Did the terrorists capture me? Jacob wonders. His vision started returning to him, and he could make out the sky. The sky somehow seemed a little more colerful than normal. As his throbbing subsides, he sits upright and scans his surroundings. He was still in the desert, but there was no sign of the outpost, or any terrorists. Did the terrorists leave me stranded in the desert? But why would they do that? Jacob wondered. First things first, better call for help. Jacob turns on his comlink, noting that the teerorists did noy strip him of his equipment.

"HQ, this is Jacob Maller, I have been captured by the terrorists and left stranded. Do you copy?" Jacob asks. The only response he gets is the sound of static. Jacob tries again. "HQ, this is Jacob Maller. I need rescue ASAP." He says again. No response. He tries different frequencies, but with no sucess. Why can't I contact HQ? The UN has satellites across the globe! Jacob feels a sense of hopelessness creep into heart. He was stranded, with no idea where he was, and no way to contact anyone. I can't give up yet. I just need to find a town, find out where I am, and then find a way to contact HQ. I'll need to hurry though, I don't think I can last very long in this desert. Jacob looks around for any trace of civilization, but with no luck. I'm getting thirsty. I need to find a cactus. Jacob thinks. He easily finds one, and pulls out his knife. He cuts off a piece, it's watery insides getting his hands wet. Jacob eats the cactus piece, careful not to tiuch the spikes. Feeling much more refreshed, he decides that he should get going. Better start moving. thinks Jacob and walks off in a random direction. He walks for hours, despite his building fatigue. I'll need to find shelter soon. Jason noted. He knew how dangerous it could get in the wild at night. His line of thought was interrupted by a distant rumbling sound. Jason looks for the source of the sound, and near the horizon, sees a pack of buffaloes heading straight towards him. "Aw shit." is all Jason says before he starts running. Jason was fast, thanks to his military training, but he was no mach for the buffaloes. They quickly caught up, and beagan running in circles around him. When they stopped, Jason found himself surrounded by buffaloes on all sides.

"What the fuck...?" Jason says as some of the buffaloes make way for a larger buffaloe. The larger bison walks up to Jason.

"You tresspass on our land, human." says the buffalo.

"What?" Jason could not believe it. The buffalo had just talked! In English!

"You walk on the land that our ancestors claimed." The buffalo repeats.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't know. I'll leave immediatly." Jacob quickly replies. He didn't understand what was going on, but he could tell it wouldn't be a smart move to make the buffaloes angry.

"Your trespassing, we forgive. What we cannot forgive is your kind's treacherous acts." the leader says.

"What acts?" Jacob asks. He had a bad feeling.

The leader stomps his hoof. "Do not play dumb with me, human! Your kind mercilessly slaughtered our once numerous brethren."

"Let us avenge our brothers by killing this human!" One of the buffaloes shout.

Angry shouts of agreement rise from the herd.

"Then it is settled." The leading buffalo walks forward. Jason tries, to step back, but finds himself surrounded.

I guess this is it. Jacob thinks in despair. He had never expected to die by the hands of talking buffaloes.

A shot rings out. The leader collapsed in a pool of blood.

A ringing shout echoed from the edge of the sky. Jacob and the buffaloes turn towards the sound in unision. A borde of figures could be seen charging. As Jacob focused, he realised what they were. They were humans. The humans started firing their weapons. Buffalo after buffalo fell. The herd of buffaloes fell into terror. With their leader dead, the herd immediately fell into hysteria. As buffaloes ran in random directions, Jacob stood there, stunned. As the remaining buffaloes escaped, the humans slowed their charge. Jason saw that there was only fifteen people in total.

"You all right, partner?" One of them asks.

"Yeah, thank you." Jason says to him.

"What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere? You're lucky we were out hunting for those nasty things." The man says. "The name's Jim, by the way."

"My name is..." James pauses. Would it be wise to tell them his real name? "...Joseph." He lies.

"Joseph? You don't look like a Jew to me." The man jokes.

"Haha very funny. Now could you please tell me where I am?" Jacob asks.

"You're in the middle of nowhere, buddy. But if you're askin' what the nearest town is, then it's Appleloosa." Answers the man. "We got our kill boys, let's tale 'em home." He hollers. The group start walking back, and Jacob follows.

"Appleloosa? What kind of a name is that?" Asks Jacob.

"I ain't the one that chose the name. If you have a complaint, say it to the original settlers." Jim replies.

"You mean the buffaloes?" Asks Jacob.

"No, I mean the original settlers." Answers Jim.

The group walks in silence.

"Where did you come from, Joseph?" Asks Jim.

"What?" Jacob responds, startled by the unexpected question.

"I asked where you came from. I'm pretty sure you didn't just appear outta nowhere." Jim says. "You get separated feom your towns huntin' party?" He asks.

"Yeah... something like that." Jacob lies.

"Well here we are! Back to the hellhole we call hime!" Jim says.

Jacob looks ahead, and sees a sign with the name of the town printed on it. The town had a western appearance to it, with old buildings lined along a single dusty road. Men walked about the place, and, Jacob noted, what appeared to be unnaturally colored ponies. Each one had a mark on their flank, although each one was different. For some reason all the ponies seemed sad.

"You know how to get back home, partner?" Jim asks Jacob as they entered the town.

"Umm... well no." Jacob replies. At least that was true. He had no idea what had happened, but he was sure he didn't know how to get back home.

Have I gone back in time? Jacob wonders. Of course not, stupid. Still, I should try to keep my identity a secret. Jacob decides.

"I guess you could stay with us... what do you think, Mile?" Jim asks one of the men.

A man with a cowboy hat walks up to Jacob, examines him, and turns to Jim.

"I reckon he could earn his living by working for us. He seems like a sturdy fella." He replies.

"I guess you're right. What do ya say, Joseph? You work for us, we'll give ya a roof, some food, and
If ya work hard enough, we'll give ya two bits a day. Waddya say?" Jim extends his hand.

"It's a deal." Jacob says, then shakes hands with him.

I'm guessing that bit is the currency around here. Jacob thinks.

"It's a little tooate to be workin' today, so you'll be stayin' fer free tonight. Our house is a old red barn. You can see it's roof from here." Jim says as he points to a roof poking out above the budings in the distance. "We need ta go clean these here buffaloes, so you go ahead an' settle right in."

"Thanks. I guess I'll see you later." Jacob says.

As the group disperses, Jacob heads toward the barn. Again he notices the strange coloured ponies.

Why do I get the feeling that something's off about them? And why do they look so sad? Jacob wonders. They're just animals. They probably can't talk like those buffaloes. Jacob decides.

Just then Jacob notices that a few of the ponies had horns.

Oh hell no. I am not seeing things. thinks Jacob. But no matter how hard he focused, he saw the horns on the ponies. He even saw that other ponies had wings. Of course! This is all just a dream! No wonder there's talking buffaloes and unicorns and pegasus. Jacob laughs out loud, attracting a few looks from a passerby or two. I'll just go to the barn, fall asleep, and I'll wake up in the medbay! He concludes. That or in a terrorist prison. He grimly remembers.

Soon he arrives at the barn. He enters through the large doors on the front of the buildings. The inside of the building is mostly bare. Only bare necessities were placed, such as beds, tables, and chairs. Jacob finds a chair, and sits down. Tired, he decides to sleep until Jim and Mike arrive. Drifting off to sleep, he wondered when he would wake up from his dream.

Author's Note

I didn't bother posting notes for the last couple chapters because I posted the story after I finished this chapter. That being said, please hold off the harsh comments and ratings, as they severely demoralize me. I am still in the process of becoming a better writer, and I personally believe I performed very well. Any questions about the prolougue will be answered soon enough, but definitely not in the next chapter. The mane six will appear, as described in the main characters section, but that will be some time later. The main reason I chose Appleloosa as the town he would end up in is because my last story was critisized as an overused plot. I do like the appearance of the buffaloes, though, because I know that was a 100% original idea. Their speaking might be a little different from the TV show, but please understand that I have never heard them before. Sorry for the long note, and rest assired that I am working at my best for the next chapter.