~~~James~~~<

God, please no. I go into shock as I realize I’m not the only living creature here. I try to feel for my phone, but I am unable to find it. I hear the snoring again, and my pupils dilate. My skin is covered in goosebumps, and my heart starts to beat in my throat.

I don’t want to to die like this! This is pathetic! Why me!? why, why, why-- My brain goes on a free fall of panic, and something rubbery in texture touches my hand. I grasp it, knowing it’s my phone. I bring it as quickly as I can to my chest. Fidgets my thumb around the sides of the device before I feel thumb run over a button.

Keeping the screen facing down on my chest, I press it. The device gives no light to the interior of the cave from its current position. I quickly twist my wrist to the left and the screen moves with it. For the split second that light covered my left side, I saw nothing. I flash it again, and same deal. Nothing.

With saliva gathering in my mouth, I let out an audible gulp. I compose myself, before adjusting my grip on the phone in my sweaty right hand. I flash my right side with the screen quickly, and I see nothing. One more spit of light that way, and nada.

Where was that snoring comin’ from? It’s not like I imagined it. At least I don’t think I did. Maybe I did. Maybe I’m just going insane. I sit up, letting the phone screen face away from me. I did infact see nothing. I see that I’m not deep enough in the cave to see what’s on the far right side. My phone light dies down at a certain point, about 4 meters out. I’d have to crawl down there myself.

I decide to get up onto my feet to check and see if I don’t have a hidden neighbor. Starts to walk down the cave, my bare feet softly landing against the cold cave floor. Stretches out my arm that’s holding the phone to its full extent, and keeps shining away the darkness around my cone of view. So far, nothing. Which is good. I hope it stays this way.

“Ghhhh!” I jump violently as a loud thunderstrike is head just outside the cave, and I turn the phone and my head to look behind me. Just rain pouring down to the dirt and grass on the ground outside the cave. I’m such a damn sissy. I scold myself as I return my gaze forw--

“HUHH!” I blurt out even louder than before as I see a hairy thing in the darkness. Not sure what it is, my body reacts before my mind does, and I give the creature a swift kick on its exposed body part. My foot hurt like hell after that, but the adrenaline that was injected into my system made me not care. I leap backwards and pick up my still wet clothing and backpack. Quickly slipping the backpack on and holding my apparel in arm, I sprint out of the cave, hoping I didn’t just seal my fate.

As I run, my feet stomp against the forest floor. I begin to get scratched up by twigs and branches grazing my bare skin. Continuing my running, I don’t know what direction I’m going. But there had to be an end to this place.The sooner I’m out of this forest, the better.

Eventually, my lungs burn too much to keep going. I come to a stop under a stout tree just over my height. The leaves of the vegetation protecting me from the 25 degree rain. I pant onto my shoulder as I have my right arm extended out to the bark of the tree to keep me balanced. After a short few seconds, I return to a normal breathing rate. I was pretty fit and strong, a lifetime of manual labor as a child and teen built me up quite well. And ROTC didn’t really have use for those who weren’t physically up to par, so that was another factor.

I feel something brush up on my back. It feels soft and small. I turn around quickly and see a chimp hanging off a branch, his arms hanging near my rear. I make a 180 to turn my body to the rather funky looking animal in front of me. It just stared at me.

Hehe, you look kinda cute. You’re a lot smaller than I remember you guys to be. I study the chimp. He starts to bounce up and down on the branch slightly, causing it to shake a little. It makes me chuckle. You are kinda cute. I rephrase myself.

Then the little guy ends up giving the most stupid smile I’ve ever seen. A smile only a chimp or a monkey could pull off, where their lips kinda bend up and down. I smirk at the critter, wondering what’s up with it. And then he reaches out and snags my freakin’ clothes. My grip isn’t too loose on it, so I manage to pull right back.

We start to play tug-of-war with my clothing, me inching towards the winner’s circle. I know that there’s nothing in my clothes, so even if I did lose, I wouldn’t actually lose too much. I was beating this little cheeky bastard at his own game, so I wasn’t worried.

Then, the thing trying take my clothes does the unthinkable. It uses one of its feet to slap me across the face, hanging onto the branch with its other foot. My grip slightly deters, and that decides the winner. The little shit pulls my stuff out of my grasp, and he smiles again. He flings himself up onto the other side of the branch, and runs across it to the top of the tree.

Crap! ... Agh… well, you’ve won it fair and square I suppose. I shake my head as the chimp leaves my line of sight. I still have my backpack on, so at least I’ve got that going for me. Start to walk again in the same direction as before, my eyes feeling a bit heavy.

After walking so much in the cold air, the numbness returns to my body parts. Although, I’m not quick to give up as I notice less and less trees are surrounding me. My feet and legs ache, and my face is stiff. But I kick into a jog nevertheless.

After what feels like forever, I can see moonlight. Actual moonlight! None of this green-hue-barely-visible crap. I jog faster and faster, the exit and I about to meet.

With a leap, I dolphin dive over a some tall hedges that were blocking the edge of the forest. It’s almost like they were planted there on purpose. Landing on my back, I roll forward onto my feet. Cool sand is felt between my toes. I look around slowly, taking in as much detail as possible. I see desert in front of me for miles.

LIfe just doesn’t want me around anymore, hmn? I think as my head hangs down in disappointment. Still looking around for something that might tell me otherwise, I find nothing. Actually, I lied. I did see something, way out in the distance. It looks like maybe a small town. It’s just… really, really far out. I’m in no condition run my ass all the way out there. My feet are screaming pain into my nervous system from overuse and I had not gotten sleep in about 16 hours. I was tired, irate, and in pain. Nothing really seemed to be going my way today.

My left foot goes forward, then my right foot. Then my left, then my right.

I had to actually talk to my legs to get them to move. My muscles protest against me every step I take, fatigue wrapping itself over me like a blanket.

I could go for a blanket. And a bed. And food... and my home…

I sigh through my nose, not really wanting to go on. But the human body isn’t as easy to give up as one might think.

Limping towards the town several miles out, I try to push on.

Hmnngnn… mmnh... wuh?

I open my eyes that I didn’t even know I closed and I see that I’m laying flat on the ground. The sand feels cool against my chest and cheek, and it’s strangely comfortable. I try and get my arms to lift me up, but they just tremble violently in failure.

A… nap… sure does sound good right now. Just… a few minutes… and I can keep going… sleep...

>~~~~~~<

She fidgets and groans quietly on the couch, sleep running away from her. She ends up tossing the blanket on the floor accidentally. Grumbling in annoyance, her hoof hangs off the couch so she can pick it up. Feeling around for it, it doesn’t come back to her. Reaching out a bit further, her arm fully stretched out, she still can’t seem to find the blanket.

“Eep!” Twilight’s eyes grow wide and she falls off the couch, landing on her side. She shakes her dizzy head and looks around. She spots the blanket, which had been tossed to the other side of the room. She sits up and climbs back up onto the couch, forgetting the blanket. She lays there, her eyes gazing at the ceiling of the library.

Why can’t I fall asleep? I’ve got a big day tomorrow and I’m acting up on me. She thinks, a small pout forming on her lips. Her mind is shooting thought after thought on what might be happening near Dodge. She was informed it might or might not have been the Badlands that she needed to worry about, but something definitely happened there. Something even Celestia couldn’t quite point out.

Dodge has always been a quiet place filled with honest ponies. She couldn’t imagine it being the actual town that was causing a problem.

Twilight fixes her gaze towards the window next to the couch in the living room. Luna’s moon peers down at her with great majesty. Twilight keeps staring at it, her mind easing down. She feels as if she were being cradled by an unknown presence, and sleep starts to take over.

You’re good at your job, Princess… Is the last thing Twilight’s mind puts out before drifting off.

>~~~James~~~<

I smack my dry lips and I rub my eyes. It was still dark out it seems. No light was harassing my closed eyelids, making my vision pitch black instead. I stretch a bit, and my toe hits something hard.

“Gyt!” I flinch in pain and sit up. I end up not sitting up as my head bangs on something hard, sending me back down to a laying position.

“Mmrrrhhh!” I hold my forehead in pain and irritation. I open my eyes slowly.

What in the hell… I see a dark grey ceiling above me. Looking down, I see that the ceiling above me is being supported by metal bars that look approximately 3 feet tall. The ground was cold and hard as well.

This is gotta be a bad dream. Or some sorta sick joke.

I can’t see outside of the cage as it’s covered with a heavy navy blue colored blanket. I kind of do feel warm come to think of it, plus I did sleep rather well. I hear something gently humming. Sounds… kinda like a fridge. Or some sort of electrical appliance.

The bars are too close together for me to put my hands through, so taking off the blanket so I can see my surroundings was a no-go. I shuffle a little in the cage trying to get comfortable. This cage is 4 sizes too small, so I believe.

My thoughts are cut off by the sound of something ruffling around. And then creaking. Like a bed protesting under its owner's weight. I hear a moan, followed by more shuffling around. The voice… it sounded feminine. And the creaking did sound like a bed. A bed with a very old mattress. Just then, I realize that I am still clothless. Maybe indecent exposure caused them to cell me. I couldn’t be too sure.

Why don’t they cram that dumb monkey that jacked my clothes into this thing? I’d be perfect for the little asshole.

I hear some more shuffling and something hits the ground. Not too hard, but it sounded like someone planted their feet onto a wooden surface. With slippers or something on. It was an audible impact, but it seemed muffled by something. Judging by a bed being by, at least I thought it was a bed, I take a wild guess and say whoever was sleeping on it was up and about. I would knock on the cage, but I don’t know what’s on the other side. Maybe a pet dog. Or a pet tarantula. Or another chimp to steal the rest of my-- ...

My backpack. They took my stuff. Great.

“Hmn. You awake there, fella?” I hear a country-twanged voiced gently murmur. It sounded kind, but a kind person wouldn’t put another being in a cage half his size. I hear muffled steps come closer to the cage. I calm myself, trying to look calm and relaxed so I don’t intimidate the person on the other side of my confinement.

The blanket slightly lifts up in front of me, and dim yellow light floods the cage. From the small opening, I see a pair of blue bunny slippers looking inside at me. One looked occupied from the visible bulge, and the other just sitting there next to the other, empty. Then a huge turquoise colored eye appears on the small opening. That right there, was the scariest thing I had ever seen. It caused me to stagger back in the cage. I hear a gasp from the other side, and the blanket falls back down. My back presses against the bars behind me.

WHAT. THE. HELL. WAS. THAT.

My heart beat rises at the creepy vision in my head of the eye. It was huge, it was really huge, and the skin color next to the eye that I was a creamy yellow. It looked almost sickly. Maybe they had jaundice. Although I got but a glimpse of the person on the other side, so it might have been the lighting.

“Shoot. I didn’t mean to scare ya’.” The woman says tenderly. She said that like I would talk to my turtle when I’d bust into my room from school, causing him to shove his head into his shell.

I hear one of the most feminine giggles of all time before she audibly clears her throat.

“Why don’t we try this again? I’mma lift up this here sheet, and I don’t want you freak out on me. Ready? Here we go...” The voice says just above a whisper. I see the blanket lift up very slowly. Closing my eyes so I don’t get blinded the coming light, I hear my heartbeat in my ears.

“There we are. Boy howdy… you sure are pretty big. Shoulda gotten a different cage for ya’, pal.” She says in a slight tease. The light goes through my eyelids, causing them to sting a little. A few seconds of adjusting, I open them to see the world around me.

What the…

I rub my eyes to remove the hallucination in front of me.

It… it’s still there.

Facing me. Looking at me. Smiling at me.

It was a horse-thing. A… yeah… a horse thing. It was… I couldn’t… it looked... Okay, first of all, its eyes were too big for its skull, its snout was abnormally small. Its colors were yellow and blue. A yellow coat, blue hair and tail. Worse of all, it was clothed. Well, a scarf and a green shirt was all it had on, but it was still clothing. I wasn’t clothed. A horse has clothes and I don’t.

I guess that monkey wanted to put on some jeans twice his size, hmn?

I don’t even know what it was, but it looked like a horse. It was… about 3-4 feet tall. I couldn’t exactly tell from being forced to sit on my ass from the height of this cage.

Actually, wanna know what the worst part was?

… It talked. I wasn’t able to. It was talking to me in Texan English, and all I have been able to do since yesterday was groan and yell.

Yeah, this is a dream alright. That, or this is some sorta next level prank.

“You look… weird.” IT tells me. Says the damn talking horse thing.

“Like… s’more stranger than the usual straggler we’d find getting lost in the Junction forest. Com’n to think of it… you’re kinda handsome in way. Yer features are strange. You have a tad bit less hair than others I’ve seen.” The animal continues to speak, analyzing me.

I don’t even know what it’s saying. I am just too occupied by the fact that there’s a talking horse in front of me. I don’t do drugs…

But LSD is a helluva thing.

Convinced I’ve lost it, I just look at it. It’s still talking about who-knows-what. I don’t notice my jaw is open wide until I feel a drop of saliva slither down my chin. I must of looked mentally ill.

Oh boy, it’s time to pee. My brain signals to my body, and I being to manually hold it in. I haven’t urinated or taken a dump in a whole day, so it’s biting back on me now. I put my thighs together and I squirm, trying to keep it in me. I notice the facial expression on the horse change.

“Oh? … What’cha doin’, pal? Need to pee?”

I instinctively nod. Immediately after, I hear a gasp from the animal in front of me and it scampers back a few steps. Her sudden change from friendly and approachable to scared and shocked almost caused me to leak it all out on her wooden floor.

“W-- What was that?” She asks barely above a whisper. I give her a confused look, wondering what I did. I didn’t secrete or anything. Right?

“D-D-Did you just answer me?” Her eyes are the size of pinpricks. Whatever this horse thing is, it is very animated and full of expression. I simply nod again, not knowing what the big deal is.

She faints... Shit.

I sigh in annoyance, my only ticket out of this cage is now unconscious. I start to devise a rather tedious plan to escape my confinement. I’m prepared to spend hours on end to escape into freedo--

Hey, there’s a key right there. I spot a small key on a stout cabinet to my left. The bars of the cage, just as said before, are still too small for my fingers. But an idea strikes me.

I fidget around the cage until I'm on my back. Once in said position, I press my back onto the top of the cage, and I make a little forced hop inside it. The cage moves towards the cabinet by a few inches. I repeat this process a few times before I’m right next to the cabinet. It’s a decent size bigger than cage I’m in, so reaching the key won’t be too hard.

I gather up all my strength for one big push, and I slam my back onto the cage top. It goes up high up enough to slightly surpass the cabinet’s top, and the corner of the cage catches the edge of the cabinet’s top. As the cage descends with my weight, it causes the cabinet to tip over to its side, falling down with the cage. The key falls down, landing on top of the cage on its side. In other words, it gets stuck on the top of the cage instead of slipping through the bars.

... I wish that happened with my old phone that I dropped on a stormdrain... I groan.

I don’t give up yet. I haven’t cut my nails in a week, so they’re about a quarter of an inch long. My pinky nail is long and pretty thin, so I’ve got my tool.

Note to self: Need hygene time after this.

I stick my pinky between the bars, and poke at the key with my nail. It slips through successfully, and falls into my palm.

Nice.

I look at the lock on the cage, and it’s facing my direction. The lock was put on wrong, so I was fortunate that it wasn’t correctly placed. If that were the case, the key wasn’t going to do me any good as I couldn’t slip in through the bars to unlock it. I slide the key between the bars and give it a slight turn. As soon as the key gets stuck on the bar and unable to turn anymore, I hear a clicking sound from the lock and it hangs loosely, still attached to the key.

I lift the key up, having it still connected with the lock. The lock goes up with the key, and it’s off.

Hehe, years of JCLC paying off.

I give a push to the gate with my hand, and the cage opens. Crawling out like a cockroach suddenly exposed to light, I fall on my chest. Ignoring the fall, I get up and stretch.

Aaaahhhh… Beautiful freedom. I sigh contently, popping a few bones on my back and neck in a twist.

I look over to see the blanked out animal on the floor to my side. Now that I can get a closer look at the thing, it’s a little smaller than I thought it to be.

Kinda looks more like a pony than a horse. I contemplate. Even though this was probably a weird dream or something, I still take sympathy on anything that looks in need of assistance. I slowly inch my way towards the passed out equine and lean down. I pick it up gently, and carry it in my arms towards the one-person sized bed I assume she was sleeping in. Laying her down on it, I pull the covers over her.

IT’S TIME TO PEE! My mind yells, and my bladder is getting ready to obey.

I look around, holding my crotch so’s to keep my liquids inside for a little longer. I see a door on the right side of my cage, and dash to it. I knock it open, and I am greeted with a thin hallway with two doors, one on either way. Down the hall I see another door that has sunlight peering from under the door frame. I quickly open the door to my left, and it’s a storage room full of small boxes. I close that door and open the other.

Jackpot!

I step into the bathroom before shutting the door behind me. Goes up to the abnormally small toilet, and aims my weapon.

Mmmmmnnn… My golden waterfall collides with the water from the toilet underneath me.

I keep peeing, and it starts to get weird. Geez, how much was in my bladder? I’m peeing like a horse… no pun intended.

Finally, my bladder empties, and I reach for my jean's zipper.

Right, no jeans. No anything as a matter of fact. I flush the toilet and look over to the sink. There was no soap or anything anywhere, so I decide to skip washing my hands. I exit the restroom, and think about leaving back out into the wild. Or where ever I happen to be,

My backpack! Need’a find it. I realize. I walk back to the room of my waking, and open the door. Now that I look at the room, it looks cozy. One small window right above the bed. A desk with some books and quill in the corner of the room in front of the door, a small bed on the right side of the room, some cupboards, a cabinet that I knocked over, and a dresser.

Then there’s the cage I was in. The grey steel box looked out of place in this warm looking room. I spot my backpack next to the bed the pony is sleeping on, and I make my way to it.

“Mmnnhh, ghnnn… daddy?” I hear a voice quietly call out. I pickup my backpack, and when I stand back up, I a pair of big familiar turquoise eyes gazing up to mine, causing me to stop like a deer in headlights. Drops my backpack to the ground and I blush a little. She looks like she’s about to pass out again.

“W- … W-What are you!?” She asks with large amounts of fear in her tone. I am not sure if I should be worried or not, but if something were to happen, I would be able to fight this thing.

“What? C-Can’t answer me all of a sudden? How did you break out of your cage!?” I can't answer... An idea pops into my head as I reach into my backpack and take out a notebook along with a pencil. I open it up to a new page that isn't filled with calculus and I scribble something out. I note her eyeing me in fear and interest, so I write as quick as possible, hopefully keeping this pony from exploding.

I flip the notebook and show her what I wrote.

*Um, hello?* It reads. I see her big pupils scan the words and she looks up to me in what seems like disbelief.

“W-What… are you?” She asks, her eyes never leaving mine. I being to write out another message.

*I am a human. My name is James Day. I would like to politely ask: What the hell are you?*

“M-Me? I-I’m a pony! Just like everypony else here! And… and you can’t be human! There’s no way a human can write and understand what I’m sayin’! There’s just no way!”

My eyebrows arc at her words. I jot something quickly before displaying it to her.

*Well, from where I come from ponies don’t really talk ether. I almost had a heart attack when I first saw you. Now that I think of it, where am I?*

She takes a little bit of time to process my words, trying to wrap her head around the subject.

“R-Really? … They don’t talk?” She asks with a bit of uncertainty. I shake my head. “Well… you’re in Dodge Junction. E-Equestria.” She timidly replies to my question.

Well, shit that don’t sound like ‘Murca to me.

“S-So… w-where’re you from, … James?” She asks just above a whisper. I write down something quickly.

*I’m from Lubbock, Texas. United States of America.*

“... I have no clue where that is...” She says, stupefied. I’m not surprised for some reason. “Um… w-well, this is… weird. Y-You see, humans don’t really talk in Equestria. Or think. Or do anything except make good display pets or act as working animals when trained.” My eyes widen at her words.

A perfectly perfect parallel universe? What the hell is this, practice?

Well, for an alien creature being right infront of her, she's handling me quite well.

I start to write some more words onto the paper before showing it to her. *I see. Well, likewise could be said from where I’m from. Ponies are mainly exotic pets. This is really strange for me, and after what I’ve been through, I’m surprised I didn’t just give up on living right then and there when I saw you. Nothing right now can really get under my skin for some reason. Maybe I'm just tired.*

She nods in understanding. “... Umm… well. Why aren’t you talkin’? I thought you said you could.” She tilts her head slightly. That… looked kind of adorable.

I write down a message and present it to her. *Well, ever since I’ve arrived at this strange land through… I can’t remember how I got here actually. Anyways, I haven’t been able to talk since I got here. I don’t know why, but everytime I do, it feels like something is preventing my vocal cords from vibrating.* Her eyes scan the paper. She leans back into the bed, a puzzled expression on her face.

“Can’t say I know what’s wrong there, pal.” I see her smile sheepishly and she clears her throat. “W-Why don’t we start over? Meeting somepony in a cage isn’t really the best way to meet anypony at all.” She chuckles.

I nod before writing a quick message. *Before we “start over,” I’d like to ask: why was I in a cage?*

“Uhh...” She blushes a little. Again, that was actually kind of adorable… W-What am I thinking? “H-Humans are known to be violent when not disciplined right. I couldn’t really take a chance on you tearin’ me a new one while I was asleep... s-sorry about the size of the cage too.” She states. Seems reasonable, I guess. I nod in understanding.

“Welp… let’s start over. I’m Fiddle Faddle. Or just Fiddle. Pleasure to meet you, Mister James.” She extends a hoof. I smile and reach out for her hoof. I see her retract slightly when I smile, and I immediately stop.

“S-Sorry… I’ve… just never seen a human smile before. T-They don't actually... have facial expressions. They... just kinda look at you. Y'know? A-And your teeth are very sharp… i-it scared me. Sorry.” Her cheeks pinken again before composing herself. I reach for her hoof, and give it a gentle shake. The texture of her hoof was silky and soft because of her coat, but since it was still a hoof, it was hard. What was weird was that her coat ran all around her hoof. Unlike a normal horse where you can visually see the horse’s coat stop before the hoof. I start to wonder how ponies "handshake" if they don't have hands.

We break grip. I see she retracts her hoof to her face and looks at it strangely. I pick up the pencil from the notebook in hand and write something out.

*Something the matter?* She looks up from her hoof to see what I wrote.

“... That felt… odd. What do you call those?” She points at my hands with her hoof. I think she meant my fingers as that was only part that got to shake her hand. Or hoof. Whatever.

Jots my question down and displays it to her.

*These?* I wiggle my fingers. She nods twice with curious eyes. Now that I’m clearly staring at them, her eyes are kind of pretty. A bright shade of blue, and her eyes look like they’re shining. Like someone who is about to cry, but without the redness. Her eyes were certainly something to admire.

What the hell am I talking about? It’s a pony. Their eyes are small... and rectangle...

But her pupils were strangely, and perfectly, round. Maybe arguably oval, but nevertheless.

I write down my note and display it to her. *They’re called fingers, Miss Faddle.*

“Fine-gurs?” She tries to pronounce it. I wonder how she doesn’t know what they’re called. Humans appear to be in this land, and monkeys have them. Maybe they just don't have a word for it or something. I shake my head at her honest attempt and write something down.

*Feen-gers* She reads it and says it, properly this time. I chuckle. She jumps slightly at that.

Serious? I roll my eyes at her reaction. Is everything I do scary to her?

“... Sorry. Again. But… you just don’t know how weird it is to see a human expressing emotion for the first time after a whole life of humans doing the same thing.” She exclaims. I guess I see where she's coming from.

I quickly write my retort and show it to her. *Likewise could be said about you.* I see her take my words into consideration, and I see her eyes look around at everything but me.

“I… guess you’re right. Sorry for bein’ so weird. I’m just trying to take this all in without passing out again.” She lets out a shy chuckle. I nod at her and smile, not showing teeth. She sees me do so, and she smile back.

Well, that’s new. Pony doesn’t flip her shit when I breath.

“Well, I should welcome you to my home since I kind of dragged you here. Do you have a home?” She asks. I take the pencil into my hand and flip the page, opening a new one.

*I had one. I don’t know where it is. I just kind of woke up near a forest and passed out in the desert. I don’t know where my family is, and I don’t know how I got here. I really don’t have anything.*

… I don’t have anything… heh, too familiar. Too familiar. Memories from my past come back.

I shake my head and try to toss them out of my thoughts.

I see empathy grow in the mare’s eyes. “Oh. Well, that’s kinda sad… I know how it feels to have nothin'. The only reason why I have this house is that I built it with the help of my dad… but he’s not with us anymore. I can pay for the water bill because of that over there.” I see her point at a black case that is in the shape of a violin. I jot something down.

*I’m so sorry for your loss… and is that really your way of income?* She reads the message silently, and she nods.

“All I have is this house ‘n’ that violin over there. My family… they live in different parts of Equestria. And the closest familiy member I have is a very successful cousin over at Ponyville, but she isn’t able to help me out because she too busy to go through all the paper work to send bits… and I don’t have enough money to get a train ticket from here to Ponyville. If I save up to get one, that means no water for two months...”

Wow… sounds like this girl is having it worse than did. I at least had a family when I was living in the dirt… she doesn’t have anyone…

I scribble something down quickly. *So… you’re all alone?* She reads my note and nods, looking down at the sheets of her bed. I write something else down.

*And you don’t have a lot of money?* She shakes her head. I feel my heart beat in sorrow for the pony in front of me. She really did have it worse than I did, and I thought I had it bad. I look behind me and see the door to exit her house down the hall, and towards freedom. My gut tells me to do the right thing. I look back to the pony, and then to the door that leads to the exit of her house.

Should I do it?

I look back at the pony laying in bed. Her eyes are shimmering and shaky. I glance back the front door again.

It’s now or never.

…

*... Have you ever considered getting a pet human? One that... might be right infront of you for that matter?* I begin to write down that message. I wonder if I should present it to her. I'm not sure what she'll think, and I feel weird just writing this... I show her. Her eyes grow comically big, and they start to glister even more than before.

Not knowing what hit me, I stagger back a step as a yellow dart shoots across the room and tackles me with the tightest hug I’ve ever felt. Even though it hurt like hell, I felt good. It always feels good to make someone happy. Just as I have always done back at home.

I feel something wet on my chest as I look down at the source. The little yellow mare had began tearing up while she was hugging me. I feel her grip become firmer.

I lift up my hand, and wrap it around her soft back.

Author's Note

Welp, change of plans. Instead of two authors on this story, now there's one.

ayy lmao

So, all of what you guys read is done by me. If you feel like leaving a commet to tell me how I did or what I should do, it'd be much obliged.