Chapter 1: Pain In Plenty
Author's Note
Note: These chapters will be going through heavy editing as I realize they don't shine very bright among the grander stories this site holds.
Chapter 1: Pain In Plenty
The sun was low in the sky now and the cold was settling in. The man walked along the old gravel road as he gazed up at the setting sun. He knew it was going to be a cold night, he'd been through enough to be certain of that much. The man had no location in mind to head to. He was just walking, always walking, never stopping unless it came to eating what little he had, or resting with what time required it. But mostly, he just traveled the world as it was.
Today was an unusually chilling day, especially for the Fall just creeping around the corner in this side of Nebraska. But it wasn't just the cold, the world appeared empty of life that day, and the towns the man walked through were slick with the damp air. The man however just shook it, and the constant feeling of loneliness off and kept pressing on. He was a lone traveler after all, he did have a reputation to answer to. But time and time again there would be the same old question that would ring out everyday through each town he went through. Why does the world seem to get so cold? The man would probably never find the answer, but in life there is an answer for everything. Whether he will seek it out to its fullest extent, only time could tell.
The man knelt down on the ground before pulling his backpack off, he opened the pack and inside was a small jacket, folded into ways unconceivable to those who prefer their clothes "unwrinkled". The man took out and wrapped the old coat around himself. Tonight was indeed going to be a cold one...
The man stood back up and began walking once more, a smile grew on his face as he watched the golden glow of the setting sun. The light from the great star shown on the trees above the man and made the leaves look as I they had a tint of gold in them. But while the man was looking at the trees he failed to notice the danger of the road he was on and before he knew it, the man's foot struck a rock and he collapsed to the floor of the road in one fell, hard swoop. The last thing the man saw was a particularly large rock his face was about to impact and then his world went black...
"What is it? I can't recognize it from any of our books!" voices spoke out as the mans world began to come into place once again. The voices sounded odd to the man, almost as if they were stuffed from allergies or a deep fog layed between their speech. He thought then that someone had found him for the worse, but when he opened his eyes he was greeted by a very, very, bright light and was forced to close his eyes once more as a splitting pain went through his temple. He groaned in response to the pain and began to rub his eyes. How long was he out? who were these people and were they here to help? And if so, why weren't they helping? these thoughts and more were going though the mans mind but he knew the answers he seeked remained hidden under the bright light of the sun.
"Look, its waking up!" one of the people said. "Get back, it might be dangerous!" Another one said.
But in response to all this, the man simply retorted, "What on Earth are you talking about?." He said this with a particularly loud groan at the end of his sentence. He rose to his knees, and put his hands over his eyes to diminish the pain he would receive when he would inevitably open his eyes.
"Who are you?" The man asked as he managed to push past the blinding light to open his eyes. What the fellow saw and felt next was as if the very sun were inside of him, burning him from within and he began to scream in pain and close his eyes once more, for all he could see was a bright light, a bright, horrifying light. The burning he felt stopped suddenly, almost like a wave that could drown him but stopped just short. He breathed heavily and groaned uncomfortably, his hands clutched tightly around his core as if to provide a bandage. However, nothing now remained of that loathsome fire and the mane slowly began to pull away from himself, this time rising to his full height as his eyes awakened.
And so at long last, the man stood up and awoke to a world of a different kind. The world in which he awoke was not too different from the one he was accompanied by not too long ago. Besides it being moderately warmer, it was very reminiscent of home. But there was a very shocking turn of events The man was staring into the eyes on two colored creatures with strange marks on their flanks and two small horns protruding from their heads. But none of this mattered to the man as he could only stare at the frightful looks that the two unicorns gave him. The last thing the man saw was a bright glow on one of the unicorns head and he fell to the ground once more; unconscious.
The next thing the man knew was a foggy mind as he began to wake once more to the strange world. He had no idea what was going on, and truth be told, he really didn't want to find out. All he wanted to do was wake back up and continue on his lonely walk through the world. But he would later find out that that particular endeavor would be quite difficult to complete.
The man opened his eyes again, and was thankfully greeted by the soft light of the sunset instead of the blinding light of midday. The man sat up and shook his head, a strong headache was forming in his temple and he took his backpack off. Within his backpack the man pulled out a small medical container. The man then proceeded to pull out had a small bottle full of pills, the man opened the bottle and took a couple of the pills out and then proceeded to swallow. He grabbed his canteen that he had laying on his side and proceeded to drink to aid the pills in their trip down his esophagus.
The man sighed and closed his eyes, he dropped the pill bottle and brought his hands to his eyes, rubbing then softly. The man, after he had rested for a few moments, then stood up and walked over to the other side of the dirt path he was currently on. The man sat down on the other side, leaning on a tree. All kinds of thoughts ran through the mans head as he gazed up at the setting sun. What had really happened to him after he had hit that rock? When that particular thought went through the mans mind, it brought something forth. He now noticed that he was in a completely different area then he was when he hit that rock.
The man stood up swiftly and his heart had begun to pick up its beat. He looked around, franticly trying to remember anything about him wondering off somewhere. But as soon as the man started to panic, he calmed himself. he took a few deep breaths and sat back down, he knew to well what happened when you panicked, and he sure didn't want to do it again. He also knew it was quite a bit warmer wherever he was, although he knew that it should be quite a bit colder. Though it was still cold enough to keep his jacket on, the man just cast the sudden change in heat off and blamed it on the area he was in.
The man grabbed his pack that he had placed on the ground and brought it to his lap. Already the Aspirin was doing its thing and the man opened his pack and brought out a bag of smoked fish. He opened the bag and began to lightly snack on the good tasting food. He then proceeded to rest his head against the tree and close his eyes. Everything was so quiet and peaceful, it was as if he was in a whole new world and all the man could do was suck in the peace. However, the mans head began to swim and he grew suddenly tired, the next thing he did was open his eyes and let out a sigh. He ate one more piece of fish and then began to put everything away into his backpack while also bringing out his sleeping bag that was wrapped around his back.
The man stood up and walked into the woods. He would get some sleep, for tomorrow would be a heavy day of traveling. He walked on for a few minutes until he found a small clearing. He then grabbed a stick and stabbed it into the ground in the direction of where the road was. He knew all he could really do was walk on the road until it may eventually lead to something. But as for now, the man laid his sleeping bag on the ground and slipped into it. Today was a very odd day and he hoped tonight and tomorrow would be much better.
However... As he would soon find out, his wish, would not come true...
"What should we do?" One of the ponies said, worry clear in their eyes. After her friend had cast that flame spell on that strange creature it had passed out and then they both flipped and galloped with all their might away from the creature. And now they found themselves in the small town of Saddleton. They knew of pretty much every creature that has been known to Equestria. But this, this thing was something different, something strange.
"I think we should get the guard." The other pony said. And in that time it seemed like fate had found them as a small batch of Royal Guards marched up the town road and were about to greet the two.
The two friends looked at each other before looking back at the guards and then they both bolted towards the guards, eager to get the message out that some dangerous creature was out there just waiting to snatch a pony up and kill it.
The two ponies galloped up to the guards and began to quickly blabber nonsense so fast that the guards were not able to keep track of it all. Then one of the guards shouted "Silence!" and everypony was quiet. "Now, tell us what happened, slowly so that we can understand."
The other two ponies looked at each other again and nodded to each other before looking back at the guards and beginning the tale of how they found the creature
"Well, it all started when we were walking down this road toward this town..."
What little did they know, oh how what little did they know. Fools carry fools errands I suppose and now we must watch what unfolds as this man will soon be hunted down and be brought forth to the whole of Equestria...
Chapter 3: Walking The Mile
The man stepped out of the woods, back onto the road. It had been quite some time, how long for sure, the man did not know. But that was not the least bit of his worries. He needed to understand, he needed to know what was going on. Where he was, what those armor clad beings were.
He needed to learn... And so he set off to understand. He was determined to reach some kind of civilization. Though, he moved slow on his way down the road. The armored creatures had left quite some time ago but he had to be on his guard, he could never know what might happen.
And so he moved at a crawl, his heart racing so fast that it was threatening to burst out of his chest. But after some time walking down the road, he would begin to relax and calm his nerves. He then began to take a rather ginger walk down the road, though, still on his guard, he couldn't really afford to panic. If these things were truly out to kill him then he would have to be prepared for anything. He would do, what he would have to do for his own life.
The man, while walking, slid his backpack off his shoulder and opened the bag. Inside were the apples that he had picked from the tree a while back. He took out one of the apples and took a rather large bite out of it. The man stopped his walking and he looked up towards the sky. His eyes were closed as he began to chew, the juice making his taste buds fly. It felt like an age since he last had some liquid in his system. But now that it was here, he relaxed to his fullest and swallowed the pat of the apple that was in his mouth.
He turned his head away from the sky and looked again in his pack. He saw his water bottle within it and he took it out, unscrewing the top and gulping down quite a bit of the liquid. Once he was finished he put everything away and continued his walk. The man was tired and his eyes were heavy. He knew that if he didn't find anything in the next hour or two he would have to hit the sack and try to get some shut eye.
But all of that would be determined later, for he still had quite a bit of walking ahead of him.
I walked and walked but no end was in sight for the road. just the same old trees and wildlife that have been with me ever since I got here. It was as if I was walking in circles, never coming to an end. Truth be told though, I never really get tired of the wild. Its magnificent beauty and wonders are still music to my soul and I know I could never hate it.
But I wonder... Could my heart ever get that hard? Could I ever truly hate the wilderness. Of course I knew the answer was no, but the question still lingered on in my head. Like a loud voice in an empty hall, it echoed through my mind.
Could I ever? Could I ever get that hard...
but I suppose I never will. I know my love for nature is to strong to be brought down or destroyed.
But that raised another question. What kind of wilderness was I in? Where was I?
A tear dropped from my eye then, for my heart was sad. I was sad. Being ripped from the place you belong is not a good feeling when you let it sink in. Despair can easily take you over unless you be watchful. But I knew what would happen if I let despair take me over. And I wasn't about to let that happen again.
I stopped walking and just stood there. I blinked the tears away and shook my head. I looked back up the road, the tears now gone. But they were replaced now by a burning hate for the place I was in. I lost control of myself then and let the rage take me over. I looked up and screamed at the sky. I through my backpack on the ground and fell to my knees, I clutched my hands into a fist, my fingernails nearly piercing my skin.
I never really knew what took me over at times like these. Was it an emotion? Was it my bodies function when it was under stress? I never knew what it really was. All I knew was that it was a burning hate inside that could only get released when times like these came along.
Lord knows I may never truly know. maybe some day I could get the answers, but as of right now, I am just stuck with guessing.
I have had these attacks before. But it all started back with my dad... Back when he would train me...
The gray haired man lifted the boy off the ground and began to shout hatefully at him.
"Hit that bag again! You wont stop until I tell you to! Let those hands bleed! He would shout over and over again. And indeed those hands did bleed. They bruised, broke, snapped, and bled but still he had to keep punching, or else...
The boys tears would stain the carpet beneath him along with the blood and sweat. But the boys father knew what he was doing, He was one of the greatest boxers to date after all. He knew how to fight and he intended to show his knowledge to his son.
The boy knew his father loved him and he loved his father. And it was not the training that left the boy so alone and angry.
The date was 1986, it was July in the small town of Whiteford, Rhode Island and a rather large storm was going on outside. The boy and his father were inside having dinner together. It was just them since the boys mother and sister were out of town. The boys father was divorced to his mother, but they all lived in the same town. Even though there was a division in the family they were all still happy and came together as a family often.
Untill, that is..
his father died.
They were eating together, him and the boy when all of the sudden, the man started laughing. He was just laughing at a small joke that was told, when he began to cough and gag. His mouth was full of food and the man began to choke violently. The boy stood up quickly and tried his best to help his father, but it was all in vain.
The man fell out of his chair. He was no longer coughing or gagging, all he was doing was starring at the ground, food coming out of the corner of his mouth. He was dead...
The boy fell to his knees, tears flowing wildly from his eyes as he cried his heart out.
But he could do nothing.
He could do nothing...
The man still starred at the ground, remembering what had once happened to him and his family. He wished he could do something, anything to change the past. but he was stuck here, in a place unknown to him and quite frankly, frightening to him. He always feared the unknown, though that would never stop him from pressing on, he couldn't help but be scared of it.
But as the man was thinking about all that had happened to him, he failed to hear the faint hoof fall of a Pegasus as it landed from the sky. He failed to notice anything but his own reality he was stuck in.
And in that time span, the man failed to see the armored guards surround him.
He had walked the long and lonely mile, but it was time for him to rest.
His days of walking have come to an end. But his days of running...
Have only just begun...
Author's Note
As I said before, the man wont get captured for quite some time, hell, he might never get captured. I haven't really planned this story out to its fullest. But do note that this man is not OP in any way, he is just a regular man on his own personal journey. But that wont stop him from fighting his way to get to the end of his journey if he has to.
There is a lot that will happen in the future for this story, and I Hope you all enjoy it.
Cheers! 
