Crossing Love

Written by Trilandpk

Edited/Proofread JustYourNotRegularBrony

Chapter 1

What happens when you are completely down on your luck? When the person you thought loved you, denies your advances?

Well for me, I like to walk when things become too much. Just the feeling of my feet hitting either hard or soft ground, the sound of either shoes clicking against cement or crunching underneath snow during winter, this seems to help sooth my languid soul. The crisp summer air that was neither to hot, or too cold, but just enough to warrant a thin jacket in order to keep away the uncommon breezes. Or it could be like tonight, with the cold winter breeze blowing against my skin, chilling me to the bone, if not for the heavy jacket I wore. Underneath all this winter clothing was a shell of a man, depression was something that he found himself lost in; like it was an ocean and he was drowning. Underneath his pulled up hood was a sandy blonde haired twenty-five year old, he had a nice body; nothing to brag about but he took care of himself. But he took care of his body because of the reason he is depressed at the moment. His eyes were a deep blue, like a clear sky on a sunny day; sometimes people thought his eyes were just like the sky, clouding up at moments and then completely clear the next; they shone in the moonlight like diamonds.

My winter boots crunched against the snow, as I carried my depressed body through the forest located just beyond the city limits. My tears were slightly staining my cheeks as another resonating echo of my boot pierced the cold air, “Damnit, why does this happen to me?” I sobbed softly while passing a tree, but not before slapping my hand across it; receiving a few lingering wood chips on my palm. “This is the final time." I growled to myself, my sadness turning to depression. “I guess that I’m not worth anything to anyone anymore.” I began as my limbs started to lose the will to continue onwards. My steps began to shorten as I came into a small circular clearing.

The reason I was so upset was probably due to how my girlfriend of seven months had dumped me this morning, she claimed it was because I’d changed compared to what I once was; when I’d changed small things because she’d asked me too. 'Oh, what’s that? You like playing video games on the weekend? Well, I’d prefer if you came over every weekend and stayed with me.' I will admit that wasn’t too bad, I actually enjoyed hanging out with her.

Although the next thing wasn’t exactly what I liked. “I don’t like you hanging out with your friend, James because he’s says rude things to me.” This, albeit slightly true, was the first of many straws. James was my best friend and we’d been friends since kindergarten, it was hard to tell him that I couldn’t hang out; from then on we slowly drifted apart. Next was the obvious change to hairstyles and clothing, since apparently I didn’t wear the right clothing to be around her. I always liked wearing jeans and a hoodie when I went out, mostly because it was comfortable and was what I liked. So whenever I was around her next, I always had to wear extremely smart clothing, like a dress suit or blazer with nice jeans instead of my casual jeans.

I tore myself away from the memories of how much she had changed me and started to recall when it started to go downhill.

Stephanie decided she would go and get a new job which would tear her away from me due to it being a night job, and her having to work on weekends. That was three months ago, and we barely saw each other after that. I mean, we did see each other on occasion, but not as much as we each liked. I started to think around that time, I wouldn’t need to wear or dress how I was back when we saw each other almost every day, so over the months my hair started to grow back out to its normal length; where it was just visible in my eyes. I also started to dress in my casual slob clothing whenever I knew she was working, which was quite a lot. Then today came by and I already knew what was coming when she called me; during my and her break shift at work.

“Hey darling!” I spoke while answering the phone.

“Heyyyyyyy...” was the reply I got, causing my stomach to flip.

“What is it?” I asked, hoping she was alright.

“Weeeellll..." She seemed to be avoiding what she was trying to say.

“Stephanie, are you alright?”

“Listen Jackson..." She began, “We really need to talk.”

I felt time slow down, “What… do you mean?”

“This just isn’t working anymore." She spoke the words I hoped she would never utter.

“What do you mean by that?” I finished my previous question and swallowed hard.

“Jackson. I’m breaking up with you.” She ripped the band aide off but it still hurt like a bitch for both of us, me more so. “This just hasn’t been working for a while.”

“But… why?” I asked in complete shock.

“Because you’ve changed over the last three months, and I found someone else.” She almost whispered the last part; as if she was ashamed of herself before restating it, "I found someone who is what I want in a man." then she hung up.

I felt my legs freeze in the spot they were and turn into jelly, collapsing onto my knees, fresh tears erupting from my eyes, not because of being dumped, but because I allowed myself to believe it was my fault. I just realized how horrible Stephanie had actually been to me, I’d always done whatever she wanted without question, leaving friends behind, sacrificing my weekends and losing my close connection to my parents.

Slowly, a small smile spread across my lips when I realized even through my broken heart, that somehow I had actually been set free because of this. Although it hurt considerably, I felt this was for the best and someway or somehow my life would become better than before because of this. As I was processing these thoughts, a loud bang filled the air and I was blown back from my kneeling stance, flying through the air for a split second, colliding with a tree and passing out from the sheer force.

---->>> 2 Days Earlier <<<----

A pink coated alicorn pony was standing in her room, examining herself in the mirror, checking how she looked in her newest dress. She wanted to impress a certain stallion, her fiancé to be more precise, they were to be wed in the next two weeks and she was positively ecstatic about it. The dress she wore hugged her body tightly, showing off her curves almost perfectly, but what could she expect when it came from one of the best designers in Canterlot? It was a bright red dress that fell down to her knees, once it reached her waist however it stopped hugging so tightly and allowed more room for walking and movement. Her warm coloured mane was pulled back into a ponytail, aptly named because it resembled how her tail was in fact styled. She really wanted to see her fiancé, and couldn’t wait until she met up with him.

She’d been in love with Shining Armour for around as long as she had been foal sitting Twilight, which was quite a long time, around twelve years in fact. Then, finally, last year he responded to her feelings, saying that he too felt the same way, although he was a bit more subtle with showing he was interested, and it wasn’t until he had almost killed himself with cologne one night that he had approached her and admitted his feelings.

The Alicorn staring into the mirror had obviously accepted and returned the feelings, with enthusiasm that could only be matched by a certain party pony that lived in Ponyville. Stepping away from the mirror, she heard her voice being called by none other than her beloved. "Cadence, you there?” The familiar, masculine voice of the royal guard called to her.

“Yes, darling!” Was Cadence’s only reply as she dashed over to the door, her wings rustling uncomfortably behind her in anticipation as she prepared to open the door.

Cadence, however, didn’t get the chance to open the door as it flung open just as she was reaching her hand out. A loud gasp breached her lips when she saw Shining Armour standing there with a green glow filling his eyes, beside him was a mirror image of Cadence herself. “What's happening?” Cadence asked and was mirrored by the other Cadence.

Immediately all three walked into the room seemingly on their own volition, although Cadence 1 was trying to call out someone’s name, only to be stopped by a hand clamping down on her mouth.

“Can’t have you calling for the other princesses, can we?" The second Cadence spoke, her eyes flashing green as her form began to change from Cadence’s into a much larger humanoid with holes covering her body and a jagged horn, insect like wings were resting behind her. “That wouldn’t work well in my favour.” She crooned, while running her other hand along Shining’s face, causing Cadence’s face to erupt with rage as she tried to scream.

Countless thoughts were rushing through Cadence’s mind as she watched the alicorn with holes all over her body stroke Cadence’s fiancé; in fact, most of the thoughts involved killing said alicorn in horrible ways. She opened her mouth quickly and bit down on the hand that had been covering her mouth, causing the alicorn to scream in pain.

“Leave Shining alone, or I swear to Celestia-” Cadence shouted before being silenced yet again by another hand, this one much firmer than the previous one and shocked Cadence. The hand that was now gripping her muzzle was none other than her beloved; Shining Armour just stared at Cadence with no life in his eyes.

“Shining, why?" Cadence mumbled out, but it came out more like “shming whay” due to the hand not allowing her mouth to move an inch, Celestia he was strong.

“If you are asking why,” The alicorn began with a smile, showing off her pointed teeth in a malicious grin. “Well, it’s simply because my people and I are starving, and your Shining here is the key to a feast unlike we’ve ever had before, and I cannot have you interfering with my plans.”

Shining opened his mouth and spoke in a slurred voice. “That is why we need to send you away.”

Upon hearing her special somepony say this caused Cadence’s heart to break a little, she stopped squirming and stood there, staring into Shining’s eyes as a tear rolled down his and her’s. She was about to say goodbye when she felt an extreme shock envelope her body, extracting a scream from her now unblocked mouth, she felt her body start to disappear and soon found herself travelling through darkness; forced along by an unknown force. She screamed out as she was being pushed at breakneck speeds. “Shining Armour!" as if his name would allow her to travel back, she prayed to all that was mighty she could reunite with her one true love, although no one answered her call and she continued flying through blackness.

Cadence couldn’t remember how long she had been travelling through the blackness, but she did know she had fallen asleep a few times at least she thinks she fell asleep; it was hard to tell in all the darkness. Something she did experience though was the feelings of an unknown creature, it was hard to describe but Cadence felt strange emotions flood her mind out of nowhere at times. These emotions ranged as time drew onwards, but they seemed to be going from extreme happiness to sorrow and loneliness, but now they were drawing to an extreme sorrow and she could’ve sworn she could hear crying. Cadence found this unnerving at best and continued to feel what this creature was feeling, that was until she felt his emotions change from sorrow to happiness, a loud white filling the area around Cadence while an explosion barraged her ears.

Caught off surprise Cadence screamed in shock, both of the explosion and the sudden emotional change.

Then she felt a cold breeze ruffling her mane and snaking its way through her coat, sending shivers down her body. Cadence instinctively hugged herself and went into a fetal position, her teeth starting to chatter, while her body tried to recover from its disuse and the sudden change of surrounding.

After several long freezing minutes Cadence was able to open her eyes without recoiling at the light, regardless of how dim it was, the cold was also a factor which caused her to shift around every few seconds in hope of finding something warm. She however didn’t find anything of the sort and continued this set of movement, until the several minutes passed and she was able to move around without collapsing, open her eyes without being blinded and stand the cold a little better than before.

Looking around her surroundings Cadence noticed a lot of snow and not much else, Trees littered the edge of the small clearing she had awoken inside, the moons shone down upon her but when she looked at it she realized it wasn’t the same moon she was used to seeing. It was then that Cadence noticed the crumpled figure in front of a tree, trying to stand up but failing every time, a black liquid dripped from its body every few seconds.

“Hello,” Cadence called out, “Are you okay?” she continued to ask, receiving no response except for a loud groan of pain.

---->>> Jackson <<<----

I opened my eyes and felt an burst of pain force itself through my now frozen body, snow littered all through my jacket and hair, causing me to shiver, my head felt wet and a warm liquid covered my vision every few seconds; until I wiped it off. I lifted myself up with my arms but they went limp at the small exertion, I only managed to push myself over and away from the tree. I continued trying to force myself off of the freezing ground but each time I failed miserably, I was halfway through my fifth try when I thought I heard a voice call to me, ignoring the voice I tried again, the same liquid flowing from my head and onto the snow allowing me to see a deep red circle form wherever the liquid touched the snow, I was bleeding.

Is it bad? I thought with a loud groan answering my question, as I placed a hand on my head.

Probably a concussion at least I continued to think before falling into the snow face first again, what was that anyway? I thought to myself while the cold of the snow overtook the warm fuzzy feeling I had in my head.

“Hey, are you okay?”

There’s, that voice again I thought while my body desperately tried to turn itself over, in hopes of escaping the cold.

“Helloooooo, can you answer me?” The voice called out, much closer now.

That’s starting to drive me insane. I joked to myself, before managing to push myself over, leaving a large red circle in the area my head used to be resting. “What do you want?” I called out, wondering if the voice was real or just my mind playing tricks of me.

“Are you okay?” the voice questioned me, it sounded feminine and warmed my battered heart.

“Are you here to claim my body?” I spoke with hesitation, mostly because I didn’t want to die and another because this voice was really starting to make me question myself.

“Claim your body? What?” The feminine voice asked. “Also where am I?” it continued to ask questions.

I groaned loudly at the voice, running my hands through my hair roughly, causing me to gasp in pain when I felt the large bump starting to form on the back of my head. “You are in Salt Lake City, Utah.” I answered the stupid question, who the hell didn’t know where this place was I thought with anger, “Land of the Mormons.” I finished with a little joke for an unknown reason.

“Where is Salt Lake City, Utah?” the voice asked, even closer now, I could hear the sound of footsteps crunching as the voice closed in, she might actually be real.

Turning my head I saw the legs of an unknown figure, “Thank god that you are actually real." I spoke with gratitude before trying yet again to stand up.

“Oh my!” she called in surprise, “You’re bleeding!” she gasped and leant down, lifting me into her arms, staring down at me with kind eyes.

“Yeah, this kind of happens when you get thrown into a tree by an explosion.” I joked with a ghost of a smile, damn this girl felt nice, is that fur or something I can feel, those eyes were really something.

“Oh, that’s shocking." She spoke softly and wondered if the explosion she felt was the same one this stallion was talking about, although he doesn’t have much fur and his face was a lot different compared to hers, he actually looked kind of cute; although Cadence would never admit it to herself. “Let me have a look at you." She spoke softly and I saw a small light fill the area around her face, she had much larger eyes than I had and a small snout like that of a horse, although it was much smaller and made her look more human than horse. I felt a warmth fill my body as the girl touched me with something on the top of her head, it looked a little like a unicorn horn but she moved so fast I could barely see it before it was touched to my head.

As the warmth flooded my body and I closed my eyes as I felt the bump on the back of my head begin to disappear, bruises and a fractured bone mended without any pain, the blood covering my body remained though, and so did the horse girl who had saved my life. As my mind became less hazy I opened my eyes, noticing that the girl I’d been talking with moments before was mere inches away from my face and staring straight at me, a red tinge warmed my cheeks and I looked away from the horse, which was hard to do since there was almost no room to look away. My nose brushed against hers and I felt her recoil in shock, the warmth left me just as soon as it had arrived, I was also tossed away from the girl in surprise as I rolled back into the snow.

Turning over I was now able to actually look at the girl in front of me, and I was sure that I’d died or the knock of my head had turned me insane. She was covered in a light pink coat that resembled a horse, her eyes were much larger than a human, she had a horn and a set of wings which were barely visible from the ground, her hair was a multitude of colours and she also had a tail.

I’m obviously insane I ran the thought through my head as she looked away from me with a small red hue covering her pink face. “How dare you!" She asked, in an accusing matter.

“Excuse me?” I asked in utter shock, lifting myself up from the snow and into a sitting position.

“You just rubbed your muzzle against mine!” she said in accusation.

I thought for a second before remembering when my nose brushed past her… muzzle, I guess it is. “Oh, that, no I’m sorry, I just wanted to avoid staring at your gorgeous eyes.” I coughed the last bit in embarrassment. Yeah, Definitely Dead.

Cadence however had heard it clear as day and looked further away, almost doing a complete 180 to avoid looking at me, I could now see her wings and was debating whether or not to touch them and see if they were real.

I decided to go for it and reached my hand out before touching her wings softly, they were as soft as they looked and I couldn’t help but smile, she also seemed to be moving into my hand for a second before turning around and slapping me, the sound echoing through the silent forest air.

“How indecent must you be!" She almost screamed this time, she looked like she had been crying, her fur looked wet and matted. I had no idea why I was talking in such a kind manner to a horse person, guess it was the concussion I probably had.

“Sorry...” I croaked out, “A-are you okay?” I continued on to ask.

“No, I’m not." she sobbed softly before sniffling, “My fiancé is in trouble and there is nothing I can do to stop it from here!” she cried out, before collapsing onto me and gripping me tightly.

I was surprised at this but didn’t stop her, I was completely unable to stop her from hugging and crying onto me, and so I just sat there as she latched onto me. “Hey, it’s alright, I’m sure there’s a way to get you back.” I tried to reassure her, “We can figure a way to get you back.”

I had no idea why I was so accepting of this strange creature that just appeared in my world, I’m sure if it wasn’t for the fact of me probably being crazy I would’ve denied her the moment I saw her. But right now all I want to do is help her, not because it’s the right thing to do, but because she has someone she loves and wants to be with; and who am I to deny that. I mean of course I was denied the very same thing, but she looks like she and her fiancé still have hope, plus they are engaged which is a good sign.

“We won’t be able to get back because I have no idea where I am!” Cadence sobbed loudly.

I was at a loss for words and instead just ran my hand through her ponytailed hair, it was soft and unlike anything I’d ever felt before. After a few seconds the girl pulled back and stared at me, “I promise I will return you to the one you love.” I assured her with a smile.

She looked confused for a moment before smiling just as wide as me, “Cadence.” she stated while tilting her head to the side cutely.

“Jackson." I responded holding out my hand for a while without her taking it, Damnit Jackson don’t find this horse creature’s antics cute she’s spoken for I thought before lowering my hand.

Cadence removed herself from my body and stood up with a small shiver, I also felt a tiny chill come on, it had been blocked out when we were close and hugging but now it had returned. I looked up at Cadence and found she was only wearing a very thin red dress, while I was wearing a large jacket and a thick shirt; my jeans were also very thick and good at keeping out the cold. I felt my masculine instincts kick in and removed my jacket, holding it out for Cadence to take “It’s cold out, you should wear this.” I spoke while looking away, hoping she didn’t take it as me flirting with her.

“Thanks Jackson." Cadence replied with so much emotion in her voice, it was the single most fulfilled thank you I'd ever heard. I heard the jacket rustle as she pulled it on but I never heard it zip up. “Jackson, the jacket it… doesn’t fit” she finished and upon looking back I noticed her wings were pushing the jacket away from her body, I shook my head with a smile. I realized the next option and decided to go with it.

“Sorry, Cadence." I spoke with a small smile before pulling my thick long sleeved shirt off and over my head, exposing my chest to the cool night air, causing me to shiver and Cadence to gasp. I held out the shirt. "Here, this should work, it’s a lot stretchier than the jacket." Looking away in embarrassment, I felt her take the shirt and give me back my jacket.

“Thanks Jackson.” she repeated again and this time as I was pulling my jumper on I noticed her pull the long sleeved shirt onto her body, it was a snug fit but it looked more comfortable to wear than the dress she was wearing underneath.

“Sorry I can’t do anything for your legs.” I voiced my apology and she just shook her head.

“No, it’s perfectly fine, I’m surprised you offered me your clothing to keep me warm.”

She really is nice and carefree I thought as she stared at me expectantly. Oh, right. “You can stay with me until we figure out how to get you back, so follow me." I spoke with a shrug and turned away from Cadence.

“Okay Jackson.” She spoke and just as I began to walk I felt her grip the back of my jacket, almost as if I would leave her behind otherwise. Bit attached.

---->>>-----------------------<<<----

Arriving at my small flat I fumbled around in my pocket for a second before pulling my keys out, we’d been lucky so far and hadn’t run into anyone who might question me walking around with a giant pink humanoid pony Alicorn. I unlocked the door and quickly ushered Cadence into the small flat, inside all the lights were off so she didn’t go inside without looking afraid as to what was inside the building.

Once she was inside I followed suit, hitting the lights on the way in, lighting up the small living room and scaring Cadence half to death in the process. “What was that?” she asked almost as if she suspected my motives to be ambiguous, turning around and staring at me with fear in her large purple eyes, I felt a smile tug at my lips due to her fear although I could understand it; even if only slightly.

“That was just me turning on the lights,” I pointed out while motioning towards the light switch, turning it off and on a few more times; causing Cadence to squeal at least once during this time. Once I was finished with the demonstration Cadence let out a small yawn, God she really is cute I thought before slapping myself softly, causing Cadence to raise her brow once she had finished her yawn.

“Tired?” I asked while moving past her and towards my bedroom, or as this predicament would say, ‘Her Bedroom.’

“Quite a bit actually” she spoke with a small shrug, allowing me to move past and following after me.

“Well you can sleep in my bed if you want,” I turned the lights on in my room, eliminating the darkness and allowing Cadence to see my mess of a room.

I blushed bright red when I noticed all the dirty clothes that lay strewn about the place, whenever Stephanie and I were together it was always at her place, so I stopped taking care of my bedroom and instead took care of hers Guess I never cleaned this place up.

“Sorry about the mess." I moved around the room picking up as many discarded shirts and pairs of pants I could fit in my arms, once the area around the bed was clear of clothing I looked up to see Cadence trying to stifle a laugh. "What?” I asked stupidly.

“You remind me of my fiancé. she spoke with a small giggle, obviously unable to hold back her laughter, “When he first invited me over he forgot to clean his room and did almost the exact thing you are doing now.”

I let a smile pull itself onto my lips as well mostly because of her own smile, it was contagious and I’m not sure I’d ever felt this type of smile before, it was one of pure enjoyment; something that was foreign to me and felt a little nostalgic. “Well Milady, your bed awaits.” I spoke in a debonair tone, causing Cadence to laugh yet again, walking past Cadence I dumped my clothing in the laundry.

“I’ll be in the Living Room if you need me” I called from the laundry room while pulling out a set of clothing from the dryer, she might find these comfortable I thought to myself before pulling out another pair of clothes that I would wear the next morning.

I passed by the bedroom and found Cadence examining the bedside table lamps with curiosity, I tossed the clothing into the room and it landed on the bed, Cadence looked up at me wondering what they were for.

“I don’t have any clothing for girls so…” I stopped speaking when she picked up the shirt.

“Thanks, Jackson."

There it is again, she always says it in such a nice manner I thought while continuing towards the living room and sitting down on the couch; which would be my bed for tonight and the nights to come. Strange enough while I sat there I eyed up my phone and debated whether I should call the authorities about Cadence, I mean they would have a way better chance of getting her home than me; although they might just get scared of her and do something horrible.

Pushing the thought of calling someone to the back of my head I fell back on the couch and began to worm my way around, trying to find a comfy point where I could fall asleep, I soon found that nook and sleep enveloped my being.

Cadence however was sitting in the bed, tears dropping from her face and onto the covers she had wrapped around her, she was sad about Shining and what had happened when she was forced into this world.

“Shining... I will come back to you.” She vowed through small sniffles.

Meanwhile Jackson was having quite a different last thought, “Wow this has been a very interesting dream, I wonder if I really am crazy or even dead, even so I don’t think I’d mind either of those possibilities at the moment” he almost laughed.

Author's Note

New story is bad???
No seriously if you are reading this and enjoyed it or didn't enjoy it (faust forbid) please leave a comment telling me what you enjoyed mostly about it because I'd love to know what i'm doing right and more imprtantly what i'm doing completely wrong.

If you didn't read the top then i'll write it again.
Edited/Proofread by my bestest buddy: JustYourNotRegularBrony (this guy is the best)

J.Y.N.R.B approves!