Your Human and You: Lone Ascendant

Chapters

Chapter 1: A short drop, and a sudden stop
Chapter 2: Lock, Stock, and Barreling around Nowhere
Chapter 3: King of the Hilltop

Chapter 1: A short drop, and a sudden stop

Daniel sighed as he blinked his bleary eyes.

"I hate waking so early...need caffeine" he groused to himself.

He had been on the road since early that morning going from his home to the city of Homer. For those who don’t live in Alaska, Daniel lived in a city called Palmer, which was situated in the Matanuska Valley.

It was one of the few places in Alaska with land fertile enough to grow crops, and to raise cattle for their milk and meat. What made it important was that it was situated pretty much in the middle of the Mat-Su borough, or county for those down south. Thus it was a bit of a hub for travelers.

Homer was also a city, but it was situated on the farthest, southern end of the Alaska road system. It’s economy relied primarily on fishing, tourism, and logging, and it was Daniel’s starting point of his Photo-Trip.

The main problem for Daniel however was that he had to wake up early in order to get to Homer at a decent hour. The city was only two hundred and sixty or so miles away, but it would take him a little over five hours to get there.

Daniel yawned as he blankly stared down the road. It was five in the morning, and the Seward Highway was packed with people going to Anchorage. Fortunately he was going the other way from the morning craziness. Not that wasn't glancing to the left now and then. Last thing he needed was some moron trying to pass by going on his side of the road.

“I should have done this later...arriving in the evening would have been far better.”

He would rather be in bed at the moment, but time waits for no one, and bills don’t pay themselves. Being late summer, much of the wildlife will be out and about trying to find the last bit of food they can before winter comes. It will also mark a change in the landscape, where trees start to turn yellow, appearing as if they were cast in gold during the setting sun.

Plus it was going to be a full moon tonight, so the waters of Kachemak Bay will be cast in silver. While the trees appear as ghosts in the night.

The thought brought a small grin to Daniel’s lips.

“It will be worth it. The day and night will create a good contrast for my portfolio.”

His positive thoughts were interrupted by the sound of water hitting his truck’s windshield.

He blinked and looked up at what appeared to be a clear blue morning sky. Cloudless and slowly getting brighter.

“...That's weird.” he stated before a second drop of water hit the windshield. Then another, and another. Soon it built into a torrent of rain, and Daniel had to slow down and turn on his windshield wipers. Seeing a still clear blue sky above him, Daniel slowed down further in trepidation.

“Okaaaay…..this is kind of freaky now.”

He observed that the drivers on the other side of the road were reacting the same way he had, slowing down and looking around in confusion. Rain usually needed clouds...so where was this rain coming from?

As Daniel passed the fleet of cars, he found his answer suddenly and abruptly. The sky, without any warning whatsoever, erupted in small lightning bursts, that slowly became large lightning bursts. This was followed soon after by clouds forming out of nowhere with frightening speed.

Daniel slammed on his brakes in shock from the freak storm’s sudden appearance. The shock gave way to terror as lightning stuck at the dirt and road around him and the clouds form on top of him. The cars that were ahead had come to a sudden stop and caused a few accidents from sheer panic.

The cars behind him had also stopped a bit further back and the drivers could only watch as the storm assaulted the ground around Daniel’s truck. Daniel himself was close to panic as the bolts of lightning continued to strike the ground around him. Then as sudden as the whole thing started, the lightning stopped and the storm just thundered.

A few drivers ahead of him that had gotten out of their cars to watch began waving to Daniel frantically to get moving.

“Oh yeah! Fuck this!” and he pressed the gas pedal to the floor. The truck roared loudly as the wheels screeched and burned rubber. It went from zero to sixty in about four seconds and Daniel was almost home free...until the lightning started up again and struck all around his vehicle.

“OH SHIT!” Daniel cried as he instinctively moved to press the brake again. It didn't matter however, as the moment his foot shifted...reality decided to take a dump in front of him.

Like the fabric of a theater curtain, a hole in the world opened before Daniel’s eyes. A rift in existence itself for all to see. At the speed he was moving, Daniel barely had time to even contemplate what it was he was looking at before he and his truck passed right through the rip...and sailed through the air.

Gravity chose to leave Daniel for the moment, and the sensation was not entirely lost on him. Before he realized it, he slammed into the ground hard and felt his truck bounce almost onto the side. With some experience in off road driving, Daniel turned the wheel so his truck would balance itself.

The truck was riding on both right wheels, and with a bit of patience, Daniel let gravity finish its job and brought the other two wheels to earth. Braking hard, Daniel came to a complete stop and breathed hard.

Adrenaline now freely flowing through him, he quickly assessed his situation. He was uninjured, his truck was probably damaged but still drivable, and most importantly...he was alive.

A glance to the mirror showed the rift in the air a small distance behind him. It was floating wildly in the air, about 20 feet off the ground. Daniel blinked several times before noticing that the rift was now closing. Its width becoming smaller and smaller.

His eyes went wide as he jerked towards the door and pushed it open. Undoing his belt, he leaped out of the truck and stared at the now tiny rift.

He tried to speak, but he began to cough hard as his throat burned and he gasped.

'What happened to my throat!? he asked himself as he gazed back to the rift.

The rift quietly, and serenely, formed into a wavy line of light and energy...before fading into nothing.

Daniel blinked, jaw open in shock as confusion and horror slowly began to set in. He fell to his knees, kicking up dust on the dust and barren ground. His mind was a jumble of thoughts and emotion. Everything seemed to fly at him all at once, with no order or logic. There was only one thought in his mind as he stared into the distance.

'....WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED!?'

==Canterlot==

The royal gardens looked especially vibrant today, for every flower was in bloom, the leaves had a certain lively aura about them, even the animals were more active and showing their colors an plumage to match.

So why did Celestia feel at unease? Her flowing, rainbow like hair shared her unease by billowing a slight more lively against her alabaster coat then usual, and her wings twitched slightly every other minute, but otherwise she gave no indication something was bothering her.

It was feeling that had started sometime near midday, she had just called for a recess of the morning court so she could have a few hours to herself and have lunch. Sitting upon a couch overlooking the southern face of the garden, which gave a view of Canterlot and in the distance a view of Ponyville and the surrounding region, Celestia was taking her tea when a sense of...wrongness, filtered into the back of her mind.

At first she tried to dismiss it, but it shortly began to gnaw at her. As she tried to sip her cup of tea, it suddenly got worse.

Celestia gave a small frown as she finally gave in and looked into what this feeling was, and realized that it wasn't within her, but from an external source.

"Oh no." she spoke in dread as reached out her senses. The last time something external happened that gave her a bad feeling, Discord had broken free from his prison and wreaked havoc across Equestria with his brand of chaos and his game.

Her senses focused on the statue of the Spirit of Disharmony. It had been returned to the gardens, taking its place once more, but with a few extra spells to prevent anything from freeing Discord again. Nothing aside from a willful action could possibly allow the villain be free again. So it was to her relief that Discord was still in his place and nothing more than a statue still.

"Oh thank goodness, I didn't wish to deal with that again." Celestia spoke after a sigh.

So what was causing this sense of unease?...and why was it getting stronger.

Celestia stood up and reached out with her feelings, before turning to the southeast. There was something coming from there.

She tilted her head in concern and curiosity as she gazed to the distance.

"What is out there?" she wondered out loud.

After a few moments she lit up with remembrance.

"Oh yes!" She exclaimed. The guards near the doorway to he balcony twitched their ears, but stayed where they were despite their monarch speaking so loud. They were starting to get curious though, not that they would show or say it.

"The Badlands are in that direction. As are a few settlements..." her senses reached out further, past the points of magic her little ponies usually gave off. this gave her some relief knowing they were not near the source of this disturbance.

She finally managed to pinpoint the area where the feeling came from and she felt herself lean back physically. It felt as if she walked into a room covered in mud, or smelled of a foul odor. Nothing 'bad' was making it per se, but it was very out of place. It gave a sense of wrongness, mostly from being out of place with the world in general. Like a beam of sunlight shining upon a tree in the dead of night. Nothing bad...just wrong.

She focused and found the center of the phenomenon. It was very quickly disappearing from the world, but the spirit realm was still very affected by it. She could actually see it in her mind's eye, and it was both ugly and beautiful at the same time. Time and Space itself had ruptured, tearing itself into the physical world, and warping the universe to its whim. It was a type of power that lay within only a few items in existence, such as the mirrors, but she had never seen it in the natural world before.

The power required to make this happen was immense, god like even. At the very least, making this event happen without such power required something that allowed great focus for such energies. She sensed no such objects near that would allow this however. So she concluded this was a natural phenomenon.

She relaxed and laid back down upon her royal pillow as she finished her sensing and started to pull back....but then stopped.

Celestia blinked and frowned again before 'looking down' onto the Badlands. There was...something else. Much smaller, but it was there...and it wasn't a few moments ago. It also moved...and was alive.

"What have we here?" she asked and focused on the new thing of interest.

It soon became apparent, that it was a creature of some sort...wait...it was a Human. What would a human be doing in the middle of the Badlands? That place was very inhospitable for most creatures. Even the hardy Minotaur's were hard pressed to stay in a place like that when they did their 'wasteland expedition' once upon a time. The human just sat there, staring at what was left of the event, which soon disappeared entirely from this world.

She felt a tinge of envy for the human for being there to witness it, even though the human wouldn't know what it was looking at to begin with. She looked back upon the human, sensing it...and it was...startling to her.

All creatures in Equestria had in them a sort of energy. An energy unique to that species. Her little Ponies had a sense of peace and harmony about them, while the Griffins had a wild and fleeting energy that constantly wanted to move. Dragons had a deep well of energy that was hot and cloud-like in appearance if one could see it. Humans in general had an energy that one could call...aggressive. It lashed about here and there, and like the Griffins, had a wildness to it.

This human however...it did not have that same energy.

It's core was...calm, and solid like a gem. It had structure, and the energy that flowed within went to and fro very quickly. Logically.

It was unique.

She watched as the human slowly stood up and began to walk towards something when she was brought back to the real world.

"Your highness? It's time for the meeting highness."

Celestia blinked and gazed over to the pony that had brought her out of her vision.

It was a mare dressed in the uniform of of her office, that of a suit stallions wore, but fitted for her frame, and colored in greens and blues. Her mane and tail comprised of a platinum yellow, with streaks of golden brown acting as contrast. Her coat was of a darker yellow, like that of a dandelion, which offset her emerald green eyes.

"Chancellor Gold Spire. It's that time already?" Celestia asked before taking on a cheeky grin "Come to fetch me personally?"

Gold Spire blinked before nodding with a crooked grin "It is highness. When the servants couldn't rouse you, I decided I needed to see to it myself to fetch you."

Gold Spire gave a mock glare to her monarch "That's not in my job description by the way."

Celestia just laughed as she stood and worked out the kinks in her legs "Oh Goldie, if you didn't do these things, this kingdom would fall apart in days."

Gold Spire snorted "Don't I know it." she replied as she moved aside to allow the princess room to leave.

As the two left the balcony, leaving the butlers to handle the food left behind, Gold Spire began to fill out the afternoon schedule and itinerary to Celestia.

Celestia took note of it all, but her mind was elsewhere. That human was still on her mind. It had been so unusual in its energy, and the fact it had not been there when she reached the phenomena...but it was there after.

What happened there? More importantly...where did the human come from?

This thought was placed in the back of her mind as she continued to walk through the halls to her next appointment.

She would check on the human later, duty called.

Chapter 2: Lock, Stock, and Barreling around Nowhere

It had been an hour since the rift had closed on Daniel, leaving him to an unknown fate in a strange land. During he first twenty minutes he had raged, then stewed, before finally calming down and set to figure out his predicament.

He learned many things very quickly about his situation. The first thing was he was nowhere near a cell tower, so his I-Phone had no signal whatsoever. He couldn't call for help, or text in this case. Which led to the second thing he learned, which was that his voice for some reason decided to take a vacation and stop working. Whenever he tried to speak, or even form words with simple grunts, his throat would clench and he would cough and wheeze like he had taken water into his lungs. He realized that with his grunting, that his vocal cords were at the least still working, so he tried to at least whisper words. That for some reason didn't work either.

It didn't make sense, because even a person unable to talk, who possessed working vocal cords, could still whisper. He couldn't even do that! So he finally decided to simply try and mouth the words while breathing. It worked. The words did come out and he had at least a measure of speaking, but he was still silent unless he breathed a ton of air through his mouth as he 'spoke'. It was something at least, but hardly the same as talking.

The third, and most obvious thing he learned was he wasn't in Alaska anymore. The Rift had decided to deposit him in the middle of a goddamned desert. The sun was high and beaming its unkind rays upon him, and the ground absorbed it like a sponge. The ground was hot to the touch, which in turn heated the air up to nearly unbearable temperatures. Daniel was used to the heat though. His family had a home in Florida, inherited from his grandparents after they had died, and as a teenager he spent many winters, and summers, in the humid heat. This heat was up there with Florida heat, but lacked the humidity that made would have made it miserable otherwise.

The last thing learned was two fold. What time it actually was, and which way north and south were. Daniel didn't know where on earth he had been deposited, but if it's a desert, then there were only so many places he could have been. North America, Africa, The Middle East, parts of Asia, and Australia were it. They were the only places that he could think of that had deserts. Daniel really hoped he wasn't in the middle east. The last thing he needed to deal with was all the conflict and warfare taking place there, and worse things.

Daniel found out both the time and directions of North/South with the use of his survival knife. He had bought this particular one at a knife sale in Wasilla years ago, and it was one of the best knives he had ever seen. normally knives like this were crap, but this one was well made. Metal polish all over, solid grip and a tight blade that didn't wobble. The blade itself was only eight inches long, but that was enough for most things, and it had holes cut into the blade so you can stab something and pull it out without due difficulty. What got Daniel interested in it aside from looking good, was it was a function survival weapon. the handle was hollowed out, but thin compared to most knives of the same type. He had 12 strike anywhere matches, 12 toothpicks for various things, including as a fire starter, and a sealed plastic bag with fishing line, a few hooks and sinkers, and a needle and white thread.

It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. what was important to him regarding that knife however was the magnetic compass built into the pommel. He knew which was was which thanks to it. He figured out the time of day from that point.

Daniel didn't have to worry about that however, since he had a working vehicle and everything he was taking with him on his photo-trip.

He had re-checked his inventory to make sure of what he had since he was technically in a survival situation until further notice.

Looking over the whole of the truck, he had his documentation and maintenance manual for the truck, two LED flashlights, a box of sprays, wire, filters, gloves, and and oil for the truck, a sleeping bag, a foam mat to lay on, four pillows, a cooler full of ice with food and drink inside that will last two days if he ate like everything was normal, two rolls of paper towels, a bag with his toothbrush and toothpaste, a comb and hairspray, and some moisturizer to handle his dry skin, and some Old Spice antiperspirant and deodorant.

He also had a spanner wrench, a small jack, a spare tire, a small pouch of tools with screwdrivers and crescent wrenches, and other sorted tools, a small rubber hose that was five feet long, his laptop and the equipment meant to plug it into the truck, along with the wire and a power jack to recharge his phone, and finally his photography equipment. He also had a blow torch with a propane bottle, a small butane torch for small things, an a propane stove to cook with, and four propane bottles to go with it.

He also had a hatchet for wood cutting and other things that might need being done. Since he was prepped for hunting as well, he has a filet knife, three boxes of bags, one for sandwiches or other things, quart bags and gallon bags. He also had a small coil of nylon rope for birds and the like. On top of that, he had a single pot, a single small pan, a few metal spits, some eating and cooking utensils and scissors made of metal, a cooking thermometer, and a carving knife.

So overall he had the tools necessary to make his stay here comfortable at the least.

He looked upon his photo equipment that consisted of his Nikon D3300 digital camera, an 18-55mm lens, the 55-200mm lens, and his 800mm zoom lens. He also had his tripod, and camera bag, which he used more to carry his GameBoy 3DS and games then the camera these days.

Speaking of bags, he had his large backpack which also carried his sketch books, a few "How to" art books on various styles of drawing, and all of pens and pencils to draw with.

The last part he checked were his weapons that he carried with him. His rifle, shotgun, and revolver.

His rifle was an Springfield Armory M6 Scout Survival Rifle. It was a simple weapon, mainly used to hunt small to medium game. A barrel on top to fire a .22 long rifle round, and a barrel on the bottom that fired .410 shotgun shells. It could fire .45 caliber as well, but Daniel didn't need that since he had his revolver. the stock stored four shells and twelve rounds, but he also had two more boxes of shells and two boxes of bullets, giving him forty shells and one hundred rounds to work with.

His shotgun was for trouble, not hunting, which Daniel felt he was soon gonna need if things turned pear shaped. Something most people don't know is that the most feared weapon during the Vietnam war was not the M-16, the Flamethrower, or even the bombs and missiles fired from planes. It was the shotgun. Shotguns don't discriminate or really need to be aimed to kill people, and Daniel carried one of the best ones he could buy.

The shotgun was a twelve gauge Mossberg 500 tactical. This thing was meant to kill, as it served Daniel no other purpose then self defense. It had a capacity for eight shells, plus one in the barrel to bring the heat. In addition to that, Daniel had a flashlight installed under the barrel for night use, and a tactical grip for better handling. Daniel had brought with him only three boxes of shells, giving him only sixty shells to work with. He wished he had brought more.

The last weapon was his revolver. It was a gift from his father to him when he was fourteen, and he's had it forever. It was a .357 magnum "Trooper Special". there was nothing really 'special' about it aside that it was the model used primarily by the U.S. border Patrol once upon a time. It was simply a .357 magnum model 27-2. Polished Stainless Steel, with wooden grip, and a four inch barrel. This puppy had a hair trigger, and loud bark with an even meaner bite. It was loaded with six rounds, and Daniel had two boxes of ammunition for it, giving him one hundred rounds.

The truck itself didn't need an oil change for another two thousand miles, it had a thirty gallon gas tank, and he still had three quarters of that tank left to use, and he had a spare five gallon tank of gas for emergencies up front.

Overall, Daniel was as ready for whatever he would face as he could ever be. He just wished he could voice it.

'Well....there's nothing to be gained by staying here. Time to get going.'

Taking the weapons up front, and stowing away everything else, Daniel started the truck up and turned north east to where he could see in the distance a dozen small desert mountains. He could only hope that there was a town or something to be found near there. If nothing else, where there's a mountain, there's a chance for shelter of some sort.

'I just hope I can make it...' Daniel thought with dread as he drove off into the barrens.

As he drove on, Daniel took note of the desolate beauty the place actually had. He wasn't one to usually see deserts as a good place to visit, but since he was here...the photographer in him insisted on seeing what one could consider beautiful.

It did have it, but it was hard to appreciate it unless one really looked. The endlessness was actually serene in a way. Silent, and containing a sort of mystery about it. History untold. It wasn't exactly breath taking though as it was just flat land as far as the eye can see.

He lost that line of thought as he began to get closer to the mountains. They were still around thirty or so miles away from his guesstimate, and on flat land, with a straight shot, that would take him about twenty to thirty minutes to reach if he went only sixty. He began to enter a rather rocky region of the desert however, and it seemed to go all the way across in all directions. Like a wave that just stopped. Daniel didn't know why that was, though if he were a geologist then he could probably guess.

As it was, he had to slow down and go around boulders, rocks and ledges with care. He traveled around only thirty miles per hour safely, so it would take him about an hour to reach the mountains. His drive was uneventful for the the first ten minutes, and his thoughts of figuring a path out came to a halt when a screech filled the air from behind him.

quickly looking to the rear view mirrors, his eyes widened in shock at the fact he was being chased by what appeared to be the biggest wild boar ever!

A quick judgement told him the animal was around ten feet high and probably around double that in length, and possibly weighed around one or two tons. He didn't know about that last estimate, but judging by the craters it was leaving behind with its arms, it was a good...wait.

ARMS?!

Thoroughly distracted, he almost hit a large boulder as he noticed for the first time that the boar was by no means normal...in fact...normal seemed to be taking a vacation. this thing not only had arms, but they were arms that belonged to what he could only see being on a Gorilla. The thing defied nature even further by having a beaver tail.

'What. the. Hell!?' Daniel screamed internally.

The creature roared and lumbered after him quickly, and made for a grab. Daniel felt adrenaline fill him as his reflexes seem to get sharper, and his perception become wider. He pressed the gas down as much as he could without losing control, and went out of reach of the thing. He dodged around boulders and rocks at higher speeds then the thing could run, and gained a bit of distance. That didn't last however as the field of rocks became thicker and he had to slow down again. Giving the beast time to catch up, and unlike Daniel, it wasn't limited to going around boulders. It leaped over most of the obstacles with its powerful arms, and using its tail as a sort of springboard by slamming it into the ground.

It caught up quickly and tried to make for a grab again, and this time it succeeded. It gave what, to Daniel's disbelief, a grin of triumph while growling loudly and drooling, ready to take a bite. Unfortunately, the creature underestimated the power of a truck, especially one that had not only four wheel drive, but four wheel low.

Daniel shifted and pressed the gas to the floor. the effect was immediate as the truck started to drag the creature with it. It's eyes went wide in surprise and tried its best to pull back, only creating a path of dirt from its hind legs which were normal boar legs. Daniel grinned as he steered towards some sharp looking boulders.

'Let's see how long you will hold on piggy!'

The boar scrapped against the rock with a loud cry of pain, its side ripped an bleeding, but it held on, now angry. Daniel ignored that and went by another sharp rock, this one a boulder, and again scraped the side of the creature.

It got the point that what it was doing wasn't working and would only get it hurt even more. Thus it let go. Daniel grinned in triumph before shifting to four wheel high and moved to get the hell away. The gorilla boar had other ideas however, as grabbing it didn't work, it would instead see how well slamming into the truck worked.

It slammed head first into the left rear of the truck. Its tusks dug through the metal and lifted the truck off the ground before it pulled back. the truck landed with a bounce and the left side was now totally exposed.

Daniel saw the boar charge again, this time to skewer the middle of the left side. He pressed the gas down, and managed to dodge out of the way in time. He however now had a boulder in front of him and no way to go in reverse without hitting the boar.

The boar stopped with a snort and glared at the read of said truck with a snarl. It slammed into he back doors and shattered the windows completely, showering glass all over the sleeping bag and pillows that was his bed. Daniel grunted loudly at the crash, causing the thing to look through the window and see him. Its eyes widened seeing a human and it paused. That was enough time for Daniel to take aim and fire.

It didn't realize what Daniel was doing, and paid for it with a bullet through the eye. The next thing Daniel knew, it slumped down and then landed on its side. After a few moments, Daniel realized he killed it. He slumped down in his seat, shivering, adrenaline still coursing through him, but now he was coming down, and in shock.

for the next five minutes he sat there...before finally deciding to get out and look at the damned thing.

He crept out of the truck and slowly made his way around and finally got a good look at it.

'It was as large as I thought...' Daniel noted.

Looking at the head where blood and brain matter seemed to be leaking from, he saw the large hole where the frontal lobe of the brain used to be, as well as a good portion the right side of said brain, now splattered across the ground and rocks.

'I guess you could say he didn't "see" it coming...ha!'. Daniel snorted at the bad pun...but hey, whatever worked to make him less jittery.

The arms of the creature were massive, well muscled, the bicep and triceps together were thicker then his own torso. The tail...was a beaver tail. Nuff said. It was otherwise just a normal super sized boar.

Daniel blinked as a smile came across his face.

'Looks like I'll be having pork tonight!' he mentally cheered

===Canterlot - Evening===

Princess Celestia sighed as she reached her bed and laid down on her body pillow. Another long day done. It always seemed this way these days. then again, Discord did cause major disruption, so its to be expected. she just wished the nobility didn't add on their problems on top of what actually needed done.

She left the night to Luna now, so she can deal with the nobles and whatever else there was to deal with now.

She was about to close her eyes and drift off when she remembered. The human.

"Hmm....I suppose it wouldn't hurt to check."

She closed her eyes and focused her energies, and her mind and vision went to the badlands again. When she reached the point where the human and phenomenon were found...she noted it wasn't there anymore.

"I guess it wandered off. Poor thing. wandering the desert in circles until...hello?"

She noticed at that moment a pair of tracks, in a long line that went north east. With a mental blink, she followed them. could somepony or a caravan traveled through and picked the human up? doubtful...but worth looking.

she had expected to quickly find the source of the trail...only to see the trail go further and further, more than 30 miles before it went into a rocky landscape where the trail goes through and around the best path. Eventually, she reached a grizzly sight. A Barren Swine, and a rather large one as well. She had seen these a few times over one hundred years ago, but not too often to be common to her. This was the largest she had ever seen though. A real monster. One that was very, very dead.

she looked it over and saw it was...sliced up by a knife and then partially skinned. what was unusual was the head wound. something...punched its way out of its head. what in Equestria could have done such a thing? She looked upon it for only a few minutes more before finding the trail...and realizing that whatever made the trail...fought the Swine. It was trapped...and it died when the beast cornered it. What grabbed her attention however was the glass spread all across the ground. Sparkling like stars in the moonlight.

"What had happened here?" she asked herself.

Looking upon the trail again, she saw it lead away and to the north east again. She followed it, determined to find it now.

After a minute she finally saw the mountains of the desert, and a single campfire near the base. She saw the trail end there. That was her caravan. She floated down mentally and looked upon...the strangest sight she had ever seen.

It was not a caravan...but some sort of metal carriage? without a pony to pull it or any means to do so. It was also damaged...the source now became clear to her. The Barren Swine attacked this vehicle. The windows were cracked at the sides near the rear, and the portholes that made the read mounted doors were bare of glass. So that's where the glass came from.

She floated around the carriage, looking it over curiously when she heard a hiss of something cooking. she looked over to the fire...and there he was. The Human...and he was...carving the pig with a knife.

Celestia was speechless. This was...did this human kill the...

she shook her head "No. That's impossible. It would take more then this creature to-" her words were interrupted by a grunt from the human who stood up and reached over to a flat panel. To her surprise it unfolded, revealing what appeared to be...a keyboard. Like a typewriter.

She looked on in incredulity, watching the human touch buttons on it, until her eyes widened in shock as the panel lit up with pictures.

She was...at a loss now. Something was very, very wrong here. this was not...normal. this was a mere human...that used a knife instead of just his hands...that cooked meat instead of eating it raw....that made a fire to cook in the first place....that killed a Barren Swine...in a metal carriage....okay. Her suspension of disbelief was just shattered.

She floated next to the human, looking at it with new eyes. Was this human more then it seemed. her attention was drawn away when the human did something to make the panel create a white box. He then began to type!

Her eyes were wide as she realized the human could write! Her eyes looked upon the words he was typing with great interest.

"Personal Journal

Note: The purpose of this journal is to record events as they happen. It will serve no other purpose.

Entry One / 9-10-14

My name is Daniel. I am 31 years old, a professional photographer, and artist, and I have been sent to another planet!

I know that seems strange and unbelievable, but it is the truth. I don't know what I did to piss of f the universe, but I am sorry for whatever it was I did.

To start, I was driving my Truck, a Chevy Suburban, down to the city of Homer, and from there I would venture on a photographic road trip, taking pictures of Alaska during the transition of Summer to Fall. It was meant to be a means to make profit and get away from the daily grind of life.

When I said 'I needed to get out and about' before starting this trip, I didn't mean it in the such a way that I would be barreling through what I can only call a dimensional rift in time and space and into a desert! Oh yeah, and for some reason, I can't talk! I was able to but now every time I try to speak, my throat burns! I'm drinking some tea now and taking cough medicine to see if I can heal it up a bit. I might get my voice back in a few days.

The rift closed on me...and at the time I had "assumed" that it just took me to a different part of the world...or rather I hoped it did. I played Role Playing Games in High School, I know how that shit usually ends. It was only in the last four hours that I realized I am now living the very "taken to another universe" scenario's those high school games had us do.

How do I know this? For one, there are now such things as Boars the size of trucks, let alone ones with gorilla arms and beaver tails. On the other, which I just discovered, the sun and moon do not rise and set within a minute. On Earth, it takes hours for that to happen. Here...yeah. That was both...kinda cool, and scary in a way. I am not used to seeing the moon just fly into the evening sky in a few seconds.

Anyways. Yeah...I'm on another world now. If I were less open to the possibility, I would say "I'm dreaming" or "I'm hallucinating" or some other crap like that. Considering how close to getting eating by monster pig I came today? Not likely

So here I am, in some desert, sitting next to a mountain, eating some of the Gorilla Boar I killed, and writing this down on my laptop computer.

At least I am well prepared. I have food, water, fuel, power, weapons and ammo for them, and a lot more because of the trip I planned on. I came to these mountains to see if I could find a ton or something nearby, but now that I am in another world, or something, the idea of doing that is much less appealing. For all I know I could be on Barsoom, or Tatooine, or Gunsmoke from Trigun. I kinda hope it;s the latter two if I am actually in another universe, because Light-sabers and space ships are awesome, and the latter? Well...at least I could live there and irrigate or something.

Tommorow I'm gonna climb this peak and have a look around, see what I can see. If I can see a town or something nearby, I'll head on over. Otherwise...I'll look and see if I can find an end to this desert. Hopefully the flying creatures are not as freaky and huge as the boar.

end of entry.

As the human began to do something else with his "laptop computer", Celestia had gone from shock to amazement, to horror, and then back to shock.

Throughout history, there had been inklings of humans living in the wilds that were 'intelligent'. more so then humans were generally believed to be. That they had a culture, dwellings, and the like, just as ponies thousands of years ago had done. when rumors of such things as "human villages" reared their head, pony human hunters of all sorts trotted out of the woodwork in search of these places.

They have never been confirmed, nor have they ever been seen...until now.

And it was a human from another world.

It was...astonishing. Mind blowing! She knew that the phenomenon was a tear in space and time, but had no idea it lead anywhere else! Let alone a whole other world!

In a way...it made sense...in fact...looking back on the "history" of humanity...it made too much sense.

Humans over one thousand years ago had appeared out of nowhere. Seemingly found in a remote location, and then suddenly, over time, they could be found anywhere in the world. there was always a question by human studies, and various Hum-aniacs, as to where the humans came from to begin with. Before that time, there were no humans in the world at all. Never any sign of their existence until they were discovered underground. Nowadays, nopony even wonders about it because they take the human's very existence for granted.

This human...Daniel...he presents an answer to that question that...if learned...would change the very foundation of human understanding as they knew it!

Humans are not indigenous to this world! They are ALIENS!

Celestia felt her heart beat harder and faster, her breathing quicken. It made sense. It all made sense!

If this is the case however....then how did the humans get here in the first place? Was it a rift just like it was with Daniel? Were they summoned here by some wizard for their enslavement? The question of the human origins seemingly answered...now hundreds of more questions appeared.

Not only questions on the humans of this world...but now questions about his world. what is his world like? what were the humans like? How did they use magic? How did they make these 'trucks' move? What kind of weapons does he have to kill a Barren Swine so easily? He was 31!? how long did the humans of his world live!? They can speak?!

There were so many questions, so much to learn!

...Oh dear. Celestia giggled at how much like Twilight she sounded just now. She was just so...excited!

She gazed upon the human as he set the computer aside and began to cut upon the meat with a sharp looking knife. She wished so much to be here personally.

Alas...she was too far away. Sure she could teleport there, but only if she used almost all her energy, and she wouldn't be able to teleport back until her strength returned. To top it off...Daniel handled the Swine in the desert...so he could see her as a threat as well. She would be at his mercy in the middle of the badlands with no support what so ever.

As much as it pained her...she can do nothing but watch. Until he comes within the borders of Equestria...she had no choice but to observe from afar with remote vision as she is doing now.

Still...it's not all bad. She knows of Daniel now, and he is valuable beyond compare, so much so that she was tempted to teleport and to tataurus with the consequences. Her duties to her little ponies however were far greater then the existence of one male...so she will keep an eye on him. She can learn from him! There's so many things to see from him! Just watching would give her an idea on how to approach the situation too. It will answer many questions. Yes! She feels better now! She will...oh.

She was distracted from her thoughts as the human puts the meat into...clear bags? What are those things? She giggled giddily at a new thing to see. Even if it was just a bag. The male put the meat into the bags and then into some..large white box full of ice. Oh! A cooler. She has seen those before, but they were new...huh. So the humans have those? interesting.

Daniel closes the cooler and crawls into the back of the carriage and closes the double doors. He then places...something over the windows. Oh. netting. Keeping insects out. She nodded approvingly.

The male placed the panel on the metal floor and pushed a button. The penal went dark and he closed it. Looks like he's turning in for the night. So should she.

She came back to her room, and looked around.

For a minute she didn't give any reaction before a grin grew on her face.

She was very much looking forward to tomorrow.

Chapter 3: King of the Hilltop

"What the hell are you looking at!?" Shouted Lee Marvin as his pants hung around his ankles, his German uniform splayed and ripped open as he held his shotgun in one hand, and a bottle of whiskey in the other.

Daniel sat in an overflowing metal bathtub, naked as the day he was born, holding a turkey with a spicket coming out of its beak.

"The sunset! Is it shifting?" Daniel replied to the inebriated man.

"Of course! It's the power of the fairies that let the moon have a baby after all!"

Lee Marvin took a long drink while leaning back, then fell down into a manhole.

Daniel leaned over the tub and looked into the hole "...You falling?!" he shouted after the man.

Without warning the man rose out of the water from between Daniels legs, all wet and looking rather annoyed "The sewer system needs a bit of work you dummy." he growled before giving Daniel a hard slap.

====

Daniel jerked out of his sleep and started coughing and hacking.

'What the hell kind of dream was that!?

Daniel pulled the covers off himself and shifted before falling back onto the bed of the truck disoriented. He blinked as he was suddenly overcome with a dizziness he could only have associated with being drunk. He felt light headed.

'Okay....maybe it was that pig ape thing I ate. The meat must have...something in it...maybe...I dunno...I need to pee.'

He rose with a bit of difficulty and opened the door to the sun blazed rocks and desert. The air was dry and hot, and he realized he was sweating and slightly read skinned. The inside of the truck was also a bit hot as well.

'Okay. Next time I look for a cave. I'm in the desert, not the woods, and I now have an idea of what caused this dizzy spell....doesn't explain the dream though....whatever.'

Daniel slowly stepped out, shoes still on from last night and he did his business.

===Canterlot===

Celestia stared down upon the morning court with heavy lidded eyes. The herald and her various courtiers had noticed how tired she was, despite outward appearances. How could they not, considering they had come over the years to learn her habits and ticks when attending to the issues of the nobility and matters of state?

Celestia wouldn't blame them if they had openly questioned her in front of every single pony as to why she was 'off key' this day.

The truth is, she didn't sleep very well the last night. In fact, she hadn't slept at all. Her mind was too active with what she had discovered out in the badlands.

At first she trembled with a giddy excitement at something that was not only in the most literal sense 'not of this world', but also could answer many of the questions that had plagued scholars and philosophers in so many areas for so many centuries.

That's when doubt and fear started to settle in. The realization that not only were the various species of this world no longer 'alone' in the universe, but that one of them hailed from another world entirely had blown away many fears, and created all new ones. The questions about how, where, why, and who came up over the human species as a whole as well.

How did they get here? It seems the 'Rift' that 'Daniel' mentioned in his journal yesterday provided that answer. It would also answer the 'why'. It didn't answer the 'where' and 'who'. As far as 'who' is concerned, there likely is no real culprit, as it very well could have been a natural freak phenomenon that brought a portion of the human species to this world. If there was to be a who however, it would have to be Discord. He's the only one powerful enough to cause such radical warps in the fabric of reality. To what purpose however? They would be the 'why'. Again, knowing him, likely to cause some form of...change.

Celestia resisted the urge to shake her head at that thought. It couldn't be for anything but trouble if he was responsible for it in the first place. So...she can only guess that he was not responsible, otherwise he would have made mention or done something the last time he had been freed.

So...that leaves 'where'. Where did the humans enter this world from? According to records, it was right here in Equestria, a little bit before even her time with her sister Luna as rulers. It was after the founding of Equestria though. Therefore it was after the classical era, but before the modern one.

It didn't take long after that for humans to spread everywhere. They seem to breed like rabbits really, though without litters.

That thought almost brought a small blush to her face.

Regardless. More questions have now arisen from the arrival of Daniel.

What kept her up was not just the questions about her own world, but also that of Daniel's. What was it like? What kind of race did humans develop into? Were they peaceful, or were they warlike? Did they have powerful magic, or were they like the humans here in that regard? Just questions of wonder, and discovery.

She was too excited to rest...and she was paying for it. She hadn't stayed up all night for a long time, and now she was into her thirtieth hour of being awake. She wanted to rest so much right now.

A bell tolled, and her thoughts were brought back to the now as she realized it was time for lunch. Finally some respite.

She stood and slowly walked out of the throne room and to her quarters, fully intent on getting an hour long nap...though maybe she could check on the human before she drifted off to sleep.

The room was what any normal everyday pony would call simple. Celestia had found in her time that keeping things simple, made life simple. So while it was beyond her personal ability to simply simplify her life due to her royal responsibilities, she could have some measure of control where she was able to be but herself.

Near the windowed doors that led out to the balcony, was a pile of soft clouds that Celestia used as her land of pillows. They were semi-permanent pillows compared to normal clouds, and they remained stationary unless she or one of her Pegasus maids moved them. She laid down upon the luxuriously soft clouds that for her felt like the smoothest silk. She sighed contently as she sunk into the cloud and sniffed in the magically enchanted smell of fresh rain and wind breezed air.

Her eyes opened lazily to the distant mountains and she remembered what it was she was thinking about.

"I almost forgot about him. Maybe I should just wait until..." She paused as the thought of Daniel once again filled her mind, and reminded her that she could miss something. She groaned. "No...I should check, even if only for a minute. At least to see if he was still there or on the move."

She nodded to herself as she closed her eyes and focused her power. In a moment her power and the scrying spell once again flashed her mind and spirit across vast reaches of Equestria, into the frontier, and to the badlands. She appeared facing away from the mountain towards the Suburban. She glanced to around looking for the human when she heard a sound behind her.

Had she taken a moment, she would have recognized the sound. Instead, in her tired state, she merely turned without thinking and was given an eyeful of male. She blinked as she froze and jerked back from the sight, her face flush from the sight as she backed off and the human finished his...business.

Daniel zipped up and nodded to himself as he turned and looked towards the mountain, looking left to right, taking measure of what he was about to plan out and do.

Celestia sat on her rear, frozen in place, and her tired mind catching up to what she just saw. She shook herself. It wasn't the first time she had seen male genitals, of human or pony, but...wow. It wasn't as if she really 'looked' before, nor was she into 'that' sort of thing as some nobles were. It was just a shock to have the feature suddenly appear before her eyes so closely that she was so shocked...that's all.

Daniel pulled her mind away from that road of thought as he opened the back of his truck and pulled out a belt and began to put it on. Celestia noticed on the right side a strange...holster like device. She's seen them before in Dodge Junction with the sheriffs wearing them and carrying various things like spoons and even sling shots. What she saw in the holster was neither of those. It was some sort of wooden handle screwed onto a metal frame. She had no idea what that could be, even when the human pulled it out.

It shined of some kind of steel, very well polished, and strangely complicated in appearance. The human then pressed something that made the rounded portion pop out, but not fall. Celestia looked as the human made sure of something, nodded, and closed it back up. Daniel placed the device back into the holster before pulling out some other kind of thing. It too had a handle upon it, similar but much larger then the silvery one. It was all black, and looked to be made of some...strange material. The barrel of the device itself was some kind of black steel, but everything else was some rough, and equally black material.

Celestia cocked her head as the human checked that device by pulling back the handle that was attached to the front of the thing. It was only when the human held it against his shoulder, and looked down the length of the device, that she recognized it for what it was. It was a weapon. She glanced down at the smaller one in the holster and realized it was a weapon as well.

So not only an alien, but a well armed one. At least...she would guess he was. She had no idea of what these weapons could do. For all she knew they fired balloons. She snorted to herself at the thought. A certain pink...Her eyes widened as she realized now what sort of weapons these were. Though that particular device was used only for quick decorations, what if it were used...

"Oh my." Celestia sounded out as the implications filled her.

"No...no. Let's not jump to conclusions so soon Tia. We know nothing about these...weapons. He's likely just..."

She paused as she noticed Daniel wasn't in her sight anymore. She blinked and looked to and fro for the human. "Darn it!" she shouted.

She had been so preoccupied that she didn't notice him leave! Where did he-

The sounds of rocks falling to the ground grabbed her attention and she looked up and felt her eyes widen as she saw Daniel climbing up the steep hill that led up the mountain.

"Oh wait! Be careful!" She shouted, even though he wouldn't hear her. She floated up quickly as he gripped onto a few dead trees, and continued his climb up.

She stared up tot he summit and realized that he could in fact reach the top, but it would take him time to do so. If he was slow and careful, he could do it without too much difficulty.

Celestia looked on worried and wondered-

"Your highness."

She blinked and looked behind her as a voice filled her ears

"your highness."

That voice...she realized who it was. Celestia slumped as she realized that she spent alot of her time watching when she wanted to nap.

She sighed forlornly and released her focus.

Her eyes opened as she looked upon the window to the balcony. Her eyes swiveled as she gazed upon a maid who held a scroll.

"Your highness. It is time for the continuation."

Celestia groaned as she stood up "Indeed. Do me a favor and bring me some tea. Heavy on the caffeine. I'm going to need it."

'among other things' her mind let out.

"Yes your highness." the maid replied in a bow before backing out of the room.

Celestia sighed as she yawned and shuffled out of the room. It was gonna be a long day.

===Badlands===

Daniel grunted as he grabbed onto a rock ledge, steadying himself before lifting himself over.

"Raughra..." Daniel grunted out. Translated loosely as "Finally".

"Well...my throat is still fucked. At least I can make sounds now without hurting myself. Why I can't make much more noise then a grunt and growl when I can shape my lips....no fricken idea. I'll take what I can get though...such as it is."

If Daniel hadn't been paying more attention to the environment and what he was doing, this conundrum would have bothered him far more.

Daniel stood up and turned to look over the land around him.

He had to admit...it was rather pretty in its own way.

As far as the eye could see to the south, were flat barrens, with large stone fields here and there. The east and west were more mountains, large distant ranges that were a dark orange.

It was to the north that caught Daniel's attention though. He could see in the distance a split in the range...and was...that a trail?

Daniel grinned, he had a heading.

Now he just had to climb down without killing himself.

Fun.

As Daniel reached the edge where he could climb back down a shriek filled the air. It took a moment for Daniel to react, but that moment was all it took for whatever made the sound to crash into him and grab onto his shirt. He fell to the ground with a yell and got a look at what grabbed him. What he saw was the biggest bird he had ever seen. It's feathers were large and uneven in places, colored a variety of browns and yellows. The neck was covered in white yellow hackles that stood straight out from the neck and vibrated with a loud growl that came from the its throat. The face reminded him of a large owl, with large orange eyes staring him straight in the face. What made Daniel really take pause was the fact the bird had a wingspan of at least twenty feet, until it's sharp beak bit into the front of his shirt.

With a roar, Daniel lashed out with a solid punch to the eye of the giant avian, landing a solid hit on soft tissue. It jerked back with a screech before growling again and leaping forward with sharp claws. Daniel rolled to the left onto his knees, and under the right wing and near the body. He threw another punch out, landing a solid hit on the birds side, causing another cry and sending the bird about 4 feet away.

Most people never really realize just how much damage a properly thrown punch can actually do, especially when thrown at a weak point. Daniel however couldn't really know that he hit such a point since weak points of large birds were never covered in martial arts classes. The bird didn't seem to care as it whipped to face him and back off with a loud hiss like growl.

Daniel took the opportunity to pull out the pistol and aim to fire at the bird, but it jumped up to dive down at the last second as he fired.

The explosion of sound was loud and seemed to thunder for miles. It was enough to make the bird stagger, and realize that he wasn't the easy prey that it thought, and began to follow instinct to fly off from the obviously strong threat.

Daniel watched as it flew off with a cry and waited for half a minute when it was out of sight before setting to climb back down.

Author's Note

I deeply apologize for this entry to the story.

RL intruded on me in the way of having to go to Florida, dealing with family stuff, and my falling into a depression I am just starting to get over.

I'm gonna try and at least do a chapter a week for this story starting this week.