Sunshine

A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction

By Gen

DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit fanbased work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro, and the reinvention of Lauren Faust. No copyright infringement is intended, please support the official release

Everything was so quiet. It was almost like the entire world was at peace for just this moment in time. Birds tweeted and whistled their well mannered songs that welcomed the rising sun as it came to hang itself in the early morning sky that had already casted shadows on the earth in an almost generous manner. The soft breeze wafting across the grass, and tree tops made the plant-life dance individually in their own unique way. Even the sounds of a roaring river called out to nature peacefully on a morning such as this.

The warm heat of the sun felt extravagant as I laid asleep underneath this grand oak tree. The tickling that the grass gave the back of my neck caused my expressionless face to twitch and twist in minor disturbance, all the while brushing itself against the remainder of my unclothed body. Ignorant to my surroundings, it was difficult for a sleeping person to question his current location. Even so, how I wound up here was a complete mystery.

Opening my eyes just enough to make them appear to be slits, the blurred image of vibrantly green leaves wafted and waved on their branches for my entertainment. My briain had yet to function beyond a simply re-boot, but there was still the capacity for me to wonder as to where I was. Easily remembering falling asleep in my recliner back home, it was a quick assumption to be made that all of this was a dream. Sure, living in a two room apartment wasn't glamorous, but it was better than a dorm. No bills to pay after graduating from classes, no awkward interaction with other people. Just going to class, work, and then coming home. It was my kind of living, and the one that I would soon awaken to.

Sitting up and stretching out my back, I could feel my spine popping a couple of times before my chest plate followed suit. Giving out a small grunt, I lifted my arms up to the sky before they lazily lowered themselves. This was nothing much to pay mind to, just something that I tended to do when waking up sometimes.

Taking note of my newest surroundings, I groggily took in the sights of my dream environment. "What is this place?" The half-asleep craggy words were spoken upon hushed lips. I paused before pulling a smirk. "A dream?" I rubbed a balled fist against one of my eyes before pulling both knees to my chest. The emptiness in my eyes clearly stated how my mind had yet to catch up with my own consciousness. How early was it, anyways? -And for that matter, did time even matter in a dream?

Any yawns that tried to vex me back into a steady slumber had now gone ignored, but this did not mean that I still did not have the desire to do so. Continuously fighting the urge, I did my best to make it to my feet before falling back upon my bed of lush green grass. If I was in a dream, there might as well been reason for me to enjoy it for reasons other than sleeping. to be frank though, this looked to be a pretty vivid dream by how much of a mess my clothes appeared to be.

Honestly, I was a mess. Sure grass stains and dirt never hurt anyone, but that doesn't mean that they look nice on a pair of blue jeans and t-shirt. At first, I made an effort to straighten myself up by running a hand through my hair a couple of times. The thick black hair on the top of my head fell down to the top of my shoulders. I could still hear my grandpa threatening me to cut it before shaving it off himself with an old razor. However, this was quickly dismissed when adjusting the wire-frame glasses that sat on the bridge of my nose. Pulling out any evident wrinkles in my shirt was the easiest part. There weren't many, but there was no helping the grass stains stuck on my pants. There was even the occasional dirt stain. Odd... Dreams weren't usually this lucid.

"Kind of detailed, for a dream..."

The couple of dirt patches on my pants brought the need to pat down the denim slacks. It did not do much help, but it was hard to realize that smashing dirt even further into your clothes was a bad idea when you had my current mind-set. Placing a hand on my chin for a short ponder shortly afterward, I let my eyes begin scanning the scenery in front of them. Obviously, this area was a forest. The plant life was filled with certain things that I didn't believe that I had ever seen before. There were odd, spiny vines that seemed to twist their way through the bushes. Trees that either drooped or stood tall. There were also some mushrooms of different varieties scattered around the area from what I could see; not that I could probably eat them, that would just be stupid. There was no way of telling just what my brain had cooked up for me in this dream, but I wasn't feeling up to exploring. Not until I got everything straightened out in my head.

"Really detailed."

There was some unease when taking the time to think about all of this. The warmth that I felt, the harmonic song sung by birds, and just the level of description of this forest. It just felt so real. Of course, I still knew that this was a dream.

'What if it isn't though?' The thought trailed across my train of thought.

A laughable assumption, I know; still would it not be interesting if it were true? Now that you think about it, I never really was the kind of person that was able to have lucid dreams. It would only be fair to take that thought into consideration, right? It would probably be recommended to do so, but how could I possibly do so? How could one really be able to tell the difference between a dream and reality? Just assuming this was real would throw most logic out the window. Such unlikely assumptions were easy to disregard however, and I stifled a breath just to smirk at my foolishness.

My right hand lightly tapped on my forehead, playfully. "Come-on Jacob, what are you thinking? What could this be other than a dream? You remember going to bed last night. You sat in your' recliner and fell asleep while listening to the news. That's always a sure-fire way to get knocked out cold. The only possible explanation if this wasn't a dream would be that you sleep walked, and that just doesn't seem possible since this place seems to be nowhere near the city. I would have had to of walk for miles on end to get here."

Thinking about this logically did help me rationalize things. It was interesting to consider that I could have just droned out here in a slumbering stupor. Even with that being stated, there was still one sure-fire way for me to put any doubt in my mind to rest about where I was. So with my confidence flaring, I was more than ready to show myself that I was right. Not like there was ever an argument, but humor me here. "Still, maybe it would be best to put this all to the test." Tightening my right hand into a fist, it balled itself up tighter and tighter while finishing up the last details on what kind of stupid plans that I could have possibly been planning. The fist raised itself in front of my face. "I'll just punch myself. Since this is a dream I shouldn't feel any real pain and if a pinch could wake up a normal person, then a blow to the schnoz will definitely do the trick!" I showed absolutely no hesitation when following through with my plans, and quickly slapped the hand across my face.

Waking world, here I come.

'WHAM!'

I stood there silent for only a moment as my fist still pressed itself into my face. The blunt sound of bare knuckles coming in contact with flesh bounced around in my head just long enough for my arm to slack downward slightly. There was a warm pain that eminated from the punches' impact site as a small trace amount of red left a single nostril. I placed a hand to my nose cautiously, and held the hand out in front of me to see the red on my fingers.

It was then that I came upon a disturbing possibility.

"I'm... Awake?"

Shock had already begun to take over my decision making skills as I hastily wiped the blood off my hand and on the blueness of the t-shirt that I was wearing.

I had to stay calm.

"That's impossible."

Well, this whole 'stay calm' thing was turning out horribly, wasn't it?

"This must be a dream!"

Fleeing away from my sudden shout, a small group of birds flew from the grand oak tree and vanished behind other trees in the area. Too distracted by my sudden starting melt-down, I grabbed my hair to give it a quick pull before slipping on a mushroom and falling back onto the grass behind me and back under the oak tree.

Of course I squirmed a little at first while I wondered such thoughts as, 'Where am I' and 'What's going on'. In fact, they seemed to be the only things occupying my mind at the moment. Both me and my brain screamed at the existence of this nonsense before I could return from my frustration and back into the real world... Or, where-ever I was at the moment. My limbs splayed out beside me, no longer clutching my hair as I laid in the tall grass like a rag-doll. After I managed to calm down just a tad, the last of the birds from the tree above me were seen flying from my shouts of frustration. Only then did I realize the fault of my booming tantrum. Actually, I felt bad for having to put the birds through such an experience. I mean, I wouldn't want some screaming weird-o around me. "Sorry, Birds. That one's my bad." Darn right, it was! I needed to keep my head in a situation like this, not go crazy!

Wherever I was, it seemed like I was going to be here until I could find a way out. The best that I could really do right now was to try and figure out just where I was at the moment. Yes, that's just what I needed to do. "I'm curious though... Could it be that I really sleep-walked all the way to wherever I am now?" Crossing my legs and arms as I sat-up, I tilted my head to try and decode this puzzle in whatever way I possibly could. "How is that even possible?" Finally focusing on the problem at hand, I fell quiet to think. It was good to have finally reclaimed some of my calm attitude. It wouldn't last though, as while I did a shock of realization hit me.

"Wait, a sec. I forgot about something!"

So much for reclaiming some calm.

Rummaging through my pants pockets, I pulled out a small cellular phone. It wasn't the latest model, but it worked well. Turning it on, I was given some relief to see the phone screen light up. As it did, I could see a small cluster of individual icons on the screen. When noticing that there wasn't any connection, I bit my tongue before I could start shouting once more. "No connection..." As disappointed as I was, it was to be expected for places like this. By the way the foliage on the treetops looked, there was only a small ring around this oak tree where there had been an absence of any trees to block out the sun. All of the trees must have been disrupting any signals, so having decent reception was out of the question until I could leave this place.

Now, I needed to think of a plan. I needed to know just what had to be done about all of this. There had to be a way back since I got here, and since this wasn't a work or school day for me it could work out in my favor. Standing up once more, I slowly began the tedious effort of walking in circles around the grand oak with my phone in-hand. The phone said that it was around half-past ten; so the morning wasn't over just yet. Even if it was only the time, knowing something was better than nothing. "Maybe..." I came a slow stop before leaning a shoulder on the oak. I was far too distracted with my current problems to really care about much else at the time, so I made quite the effort to try and solve my current predicament as my fingers swiped across my phones' touch screen.

"Maybe I can use the Maps application to try and find where I am. If I waited long enough, it had to be certain that something would come up.

At first, this all seemed like a good plan on my part. Ideal, even. Heck, I even found myself laughing mentally with a smirk as I could remember my father telling me that phones were absolutely useless at a young age. "Looks like I've proved you wrong, Dad. Phones are useful." The thought of this did comfort me, and it was greatly needed to at least help keep my head firmly planted on my neck. "Now all I have to do is wait for my phone to load the map. It should be no problem since I have a decent amount of battery power left." Little did I know that my plan wouldn't go as I would have hoped.

Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes into hours as I waited for my phone to finally load. Now leaning back against the oak, I earnestly watched my phone time and time again as I tried to get it to work in an intensifying frustration. There was with no luck in getting the screen to load though. Pretty soon, a little bit more than a hour had passed by with me mindlessly staring into my phone, and to be honest I was losing hope of it ever obtaining any sort of connection.

That is until I finally lost enough patience to come up with a brand new plan.

While one could say that this was in no way a praise-worthy plan, it still gave me confidence in finding a way out of this situation I somehow landed in. It sort of gave me comfort. So snapping my fingers as a imaginary light went off in my brain, I continued speaking to nothing. "Hey, hold-on. Why don't I just try and call someone? I'm sure that if I keep trying, I can find a spot where I can get a decent signal. Heck, if I can do that I bet that I could at least get a hold of one person from my contacts, or I could even just call my phone company. I can ask them to send the the location of where my phone is, and I'll know right where I am." Oddly enough, this plan actually sounded reasonably suited for my current situation.

So clearly not ready to call it quits, I left the maps application before pressing down on the contacts button. It felt like this could be the idea that gets me home. I was certain that I could find a way out now! I just knew it!

Running through my contacts, I pressed on the number for my current phone company. The peace of mind I felt was invigorating, and the ringing... Wait...

My phone wasn't ringing.

The grim realization I had was more than distressing. After taking the phone away from my ear, I felt a coldness rush through me.

The battery had just died.

Merely staring at the screen of the phone go black left me dazed and confused. I wasn't sure just what to do now. I had no idea where I was, how I had gotten here, and now I was left without any way of getting home. At first, I wasn't even sure how to react, but that all became very known to me very soon. Frustration, and annoyance turned into anger. My emotions already getting the better of me, I threw the phone as hard as I possibly could above the trees and as far into the forest that I possibly could.

"You're just as good as a rock now!"

My temper had caused me to temporarily become a little staggered in my posture. Throwing away my phone felt alleviating. Like I was able to blame everything that happened to me on the device. So after catching my breath and straightening my back, I scoffed in the direction of the tossed phone before trying my best to keep a positive point of view. Feeling awfully disgruntled however, I moaned to describe just how I felt at the time. "Well, some help that was. I guess that I have to find some place to ask where I am." Sticking as best as I could to any optimism, I only now began to walk away from the grand oak tree with a plan in my mind already on how I was going to get out of all of this trouble. Sure, I may not have been the greatest of optimists, but I did like to keep things from becoming too out of hand.

"Now, it shouldn't be too difficult to get all of this out of the way. I couldn't have gone too far from the city. All that I need to do is find a house somewhere, and ask if they have a phone, or any means to use my phone. Then if i can at least find a charger I can... I can..." Trailing my words off silently, I stopped myself before shouting up to the sky in anger.

"AW, CRUD!"

I only just realized the consequences of my actions. Without my phone, I may be without a single way to actually contact anyone. Being as forgetful as I was, I wasn't exactly the best at remembering the numbers that my contacts actually had in them. It was usually just a simple point, drag, and click for me to call someone. It seemed that this was my eventual downfall when it came to phones.

In my halt I just stood still with a sort of unamused look toward my own careless actions. Growing ever more annoyed with every passing second, I had to force back another yell with everything that I had just to keep my composure. Instead, I slammed a hand into my forehead over and over again in my own disbelief.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"

Seeing no other way around this, I looked back in the direction that I had thrown my own phone to. The area beyond the large gap of missing branches that surrounded the oak I stood under appeared to dark enough that it was difficult to know what could have lied beyond its' border of thorn bushes. It wasn't a fun sight to behold, and I hoped to believe that I couldn't have thrown it too far. I was probably just a couple trees away... if the impact of the ground didn't destroy the device entirely.

Going into the darkness of the forest and away from the sunlight didn't seem like a good idea. I could get seriously hurt, or even attacked by an animal. I couldn't just wuss out though; it was far too late for that. I had to go get my phone if there was even a smidgen of a possibility that it may still be working. Still, just looking further out into the wooded area gave me the creeps. Looking upon such an area made me despise myself even more for throwing away my phone in such an hour of need.

"I'm gonna hate myself for doing this..." I spoke under my breath as I took my first step out from under the great oak and toward the darkness of the forest.

The first step was always the hardest, but in this case it didn't help knowing I was going to have to walk further past it. The moment I came out of the sunlight, I could feel the warmth of the suns' rays being sapped away from me in order to venture into the cold, damp areas of this evergreen filled forest.

The trees that stood around me now were so terribly different from the oak only meters behind me. They stood crooked, and strangely shaped. Bent, and twisting in ways that I knew normal trees were never supposed to. Still, this wasn't exactly the thing that I found the most strange. After only entering the chilled darkness of this forest, I looked down to see something truly peculiar in the mud beside my own feet. Kneeling down to get a closer look, I gazed upon an odd-looking print in the wet dirt below me. Dragging my thumb through the arch of the print, I raised a brow in my own clueless stupor.

"A hoof-print... Looks like it's fresh."

Now, I'm no professional, but it actually seemed like this print was a little fresher than I first suspected. Pointed edges, and a well defined imprint in the mud. Even small traces of water were left in the small shape it left in the earth. It seemed that I had an animal audience as I had been waking up. I wouldn't be surprised if I could have been around some sort of farm. If anything, finding that farm may be my best bet for me to get back home.

Recovering my standing posture, I dusted a couple of wrinkles out of my shirt before letting my eyes trail along the hoof prints that seemed to have been leading in the same direction as I was going before blending in with the shadows further into the forest. It's true that the prints were unusual, but it was not something to be alarmed about. I was just getting my phone, and maybe even finding a farm somewhere out here. All that I needed to do was avoid any animals that may try to pose a threat against me, and I didn't think that most animals would try to kill me if I just walked by it. So dismissing any worries, I fixed my glasses and tried to adjust to the lack of light in such a place.

Slightly hesitant to keep moving forward, I had to take a quick look-around due to the foreboding feeling that something bad would happen if I were to continue. Maybe it was simply paranoia, but it felt as though I was being watched. Running a hand through my hair, I struggled to find logical reason behind continuing to venture around this forest. "I must be crazy to head out in a place like this..." My loss in confidence was soon to be replaced by just enough of a boost of positive reinforcement to make me press onward once more half-heartedly. No matter how much mental reinforcement I received though, the stone-heavy fear in my gut didn't pass as I looked down to the hoof-print I now came to walk beside. "No worries Jacob, just find your phone and get out. Simple as that." As easy as I made this sound, a cold chill went down my spine when hearing the discomforting noises of what sounded like the howl of a wolf.

"Just keep moving, and don't die." I spoke to myself while pocking up the pace.

I couldn't help but be curious about the animal tracks in the mud beside me at the moment. It was really the only thing that I could focus on right now and still feel calm about. Everything else about today was beginning to become much too unsettling, so this made me feel at least somewhat safe as I cautiously went deeper into this forest while it grew darker and darker with every passing step I took. If anything, it let me feel a bit more comfort... Well, up until the tracks disappeared without a trace.

This had most certainly caught my interest. The ground didn't change in any way in front of these prints; the ground was still very much malleable and wet. There being no real tracks that spoke otherwise, It just looked like whatever had been there had simply vanished without a trace. Hastily jotting this down as nothing, I swallowed hard when letting my imagination explain what kind of misfortune could have befallen such a animal to cause it to disappear so suddenly. Not wishing to stay on the subject I continued forward inside of the ever-growing darkness of the forest.

The darkness of the forest had become overwhelming. The twisted and mangled bodies of the trees that hung over my form seemed to peer down at my insignificant existence. Their deformed shapes loomed above my head with the darkness seeming to give them lives of their own as I passed each tree to see a new, unique, and terrifying face staring down at me. With the occasional vine drooping across my body when I would walk into one unintentionally, I would jump from the thought of being attacked by these horrifying plants above me. The occasional creaking noises from them didn't help either.

Going even deeper into the forest, it wasn't long until I had picked up quite the repulsive smell. The stale and sour air was enough to make me gag as I had already come to have a bit of a difficult time letting my eyes adjust to the growing darkness in front of me. How long had I been walking now? I had absolutely no idea, but my phone couldn't possibly be this far. Still, I trudged on through the bushes and vines with displeasure as my positive outlook was quickly diminishing as I cupped a hand over my lower face to block what it could of the disgusting odor around me.

With the putrid air and the way everything looked at the moment, it felt like I was stuck in some sort of horror movie. I could even picture what part of the movie that I was in:

'The clueless bystander steered himself aimlessly in the woods with no hope of escape. He would then be eventually hunted down and have his life ended before he knew it.'

I was lucky to have snapped myself from my thoughts or I may have completely ignored the sight in front of me.

Almost not believing my own eyes, I could not comprehend just what I was looking at.

Nothing.

In front of me, I couldn't see anything. It was just a bunch of inky blackness. Of course thinking that I had gone blind, I looked around to see that it wasn't so. It was faint because of the shadows, but I could easily see a tree not too far away on my right side. Even behind me was a growing light that seemed to become even more powerful the further away it was from me. It surprised me to turn around and see the darkness in front of me once more. It was terrifying.

"It's so dark... I must be near the heart of the place."

There was nothing in front of me from what I could see. Even a tree that seemed to be caught in the darkness seemed to almost disappear from my own sight and out of existence. With a shake of my head, I stepped back from the darkness as my heart had now been almost beating out of my chest. "This is where I draw the line. Finding my phone is one thing, but... It just isn't normal for it to get this dark. I don't even know if it's still day time." Feeling some fear build up inside of me, I made no intention of adverting my gaze from the darkness if not only because of the uneasy feelings that this darkness gave me. Taking a few more steps back from the darkness before me, I quickly turned my body around to get as far away from this pitch blackness as I possibly could. Call me a chicken if you want, but there's no way that I was going into a place like that.

However, a low growl that had silently risen itself from the darkness caused my body to lock-up.

Coming from behind me, I could feel the hostility within the growl as it sounded from the darkness of this strange forest. Just the feeling that the sound had created in the atmosphere almost drove me to panic. I didn't want to turn around, and I argued with myself mentally about just why I should just run for my life right now. Something in my brain had convinced me otherwise though as I slowly turned around to the noise. Blood running cold, I could feel my face becoming pale the moment my eyes met with a pair of veiny green orbs locked onto my position. In their center were two black slits, both focusing in on me. My heart was racing as I finally finished turning around. My mind screamed at me to run, but my body wasn't listening. Nearly frozen in terror, I was barely able to take the slow step backward that I had to try and move out of the way of whatever was behind those green eyes.

Before I could even make my second step, a heavy thudding sounded from beyond the dark making me flinch every time I could hear the alarming noise. Following the sound, a huge paw stepped out from the darkness. It looked like a lions' paw, but the front paw alone was bigger than anything that I could have imagined a lion having. The second thundering paw coming next, I could begin to make out just what was stepping from the darkness. The head looked almost exactly like a lions, but much bigger. The bottom jaw protruded outwards as it had two fangs spiked upwards. It's long ears stood pointed on end like daggers. Even the mane was gigantically terrifying. I prayed that I was imagining all this, but I knew this wasn't my mind playing tricks on me.

Approaching me, I could see something else emerging from the shadows on the lion. A huge set of wings were folded up at the beasts sides as a giant scorpions' tail swished back and forth behind it. This thing wasn't a lion. What was I looking at right now; some sort of circus attraction? Astonished, I lifted my shivering hands to my face and rubbed my eyes to confirm just what I was looking at. Nothing changed when I lowered them. Without a single idea on what to do, I was left to backing away from this creature. It didn't matter how hard that I tried though, my mind wasn't wanting to work no matter how much I wanted it to.

"What the hell is this thing?"

Already, I could see that this thing was standing at least two feet taller than I was as it showed no signs of stopping its' approach. There wasn't a part of me that dared to think how tall it was on it's back legs. I simply watched this creature almost hypnotically sway its tail from left to right behind itself until the appendage hung above the body of the beast.

I knew what it was doing. It was getting ready to strike. I knew that this thing was going to attack me with its' tail, but I still couldn't find the power to move! All I could really even do was just back up in fear while trying to force myself to move out of the way.

My mind still blanking out on me, I was completely oblivious to how I had just backed myself up against a tree until the last possible moment. Feeling the thick bark against my back caused me to nearly jump out of my skin. After the shock of backing up into the tree, I gave a quick jolt and looked to it for a split second before going back to the beast. My jaw hung open in disbelief at what I had been looking at. Both of my eyes now just scanning over the pieces of its body once more, I was at least able to recognize what this was... Even if I couldn't believe it in the slightest.

"Lions' body, wings, and a scorpions' tail... There's no possible way for any of this to be real."

I watched as the beasts' tail as it began pointing that ominous stinger right at me, and my body tightened up out of my own fear as the beast got even closer. There was no mistaking just what this was. This was the creature known most commonly as the legendary Persian creature, Man-Eater. "... The Manticore..." The two words left my mouth as I could feel the beasts' breath on my skin.

It was only a few inches away from me now, I could feel its' warm, rancid breath hit my skin. The smell from the manticores' breath was all but different from the sour smell in the air. I don't know how, but I must have stumbled into its' home somehow. This wasn't good. First, I wake-up not knowing where I am, and now I'm pinned up against a tree with a man-eater eyeing me like its' next meal. Was today destined to be mine to die?

I didn't want to take my eyes off this monsters' face in fear of it just eating me right here. The sounds of droll splashing against the ground touched upon my ears, making the beasts intentions only that more clear. I had to force myself to look up when I could notice its' tail aiming downward for me. I had to move. I had to move or I was going to die. My eyes stared on intensely watching the stinger as it plotted to skewer me in one fell swoop. The manticore had already been pulling its' tail back for a strike. I was about to die if I didn't get moving, but I still couldn't bring myself to move my own legs. How could I even expect myself to survive something like this if I couldn't even move? I had to try and move. I had to try and survive, even if the chances were slim. I had to move!

To this day I don't know if it was from the shock of the moment or just dumb-luck, but as soon as the manticore brought its' tail forward to end my life I was somehow able to jump out of the way. The jump wasn't graceful in the slightest, but I was alive. The belly-flop of a landing that I made almost knocked the breath out of me, but there were worse ways to be injured. Muddy, wet, cold, but alive. I slipped on the damp ground a couple of times before I could make it to my feet. Doing so, I looked to the beast surprised to see its'current situation.

It did not come as any news to me that this creature had the power to tear through a tree, but by how the tail had completely lodged itself within the wood let me unnerved with the thoughts of 'what could have been'. The beast had almost attached itself to the tree like a dog to a post. In a brutal attempt to free itself, the monster pulled and clawed at the tree in an enraged state. Watching as a stunned on-looker, I knew that this was just going to be something momentarily distracting the beast. Not even thinking about running at the moment, I just stared wide-eyed at what unfolded before me. In front of me was a mythical monster known as the Man-Eater, and I couldn't believe how I had so narrowly evaded such a gruesome death at its' claws. Needless to say, I was stupefied by what the had just happened. I stayed momentarily still until every bit of fear came rushing back to me; and when it did, so did my desire to live.

Finally turning around, I broke into a full-on sprint. Screw my phone. Screw the manticore. I'm out of here! I could feel my shoes slipping in the mud underneath them as I made a hasty retreat towards the light of the forest. I was not going to waste this golden opportunity to get as far away from that monster as possible. Just knowing that I had come that close to death had given me the energy to run faster than I ever had before.

Jumping over tree stumps and evading all sorts of roots and vines, I sprinted the hardest that I had ever done in my life. Even when I could hear the inevitable splitting of wood behind me, I knew that if I wanted there to be any chance for my survival that I couldn't let up for even a moment. I had to keep running, or die. That was the only choice that I had right now as I wished for the comfort of my apartment once more. The only comfort that I was getting though was the forest beginning to brighten up every few feet during my escape to tell me that I had to be getting closer to the exit of this god-forsaken place; at least, I prayed that's what it meant.

It had been at least a good ten minutes of sprinting before I even began to feel remotely safe about slowing down. How far I had ran, I'm not sure. By how much time had passed though, I was sure that I was at least in some sort of safe-zone now. The shadows of the forest now seemed to cool down the area as they gave their surroundings the look that you would normally expect to see for the shade underneath a tree. These trees didn't even look too intimidating either. They just looked like regular, old trees. Sure, they still blocked out the sun somewhat, but these were better than the trees with evil faces. This comforted me like you wouldn't believe. Knowing that I could get near these things without feeling like the trees were going to kill me did wonders for my composure.

Trying to brush off some of the mud that covered my body, I moved over to the largest tree that I could find to catch my breath. I supposed that it would make decent cover just in case I hadn't lost that creature just yet. When you think about it, this was miracle that I had run as far as I had without being caught. From the darkest areas of this blasted forest, to an area with normal shade covering the ground. Sure, the shade was abundant due to the tree tops blocking out most of the sun-light but it was nice to feel the shade cooling me off as I leaned my back up against the tree. I looked up to the leaves above me while my worries seemed to rise up once more. "The dangers of this forest are more than evident. I need to be careful from here on out." The stillness that I felt told me that I was right to do so. Lowering my head now, I scanned the area cautiously.

"Wherever here is."

It was then that the familiar sound of heavy footsteps then snapped me from my mumbling as I pressed my back against the tree even harder than I already was. Pressing a hand over my mouth to silence my heavy breathing, my heart began to thrash and panic within its' chest. I could hear the growls of the manticore sounding behind the tree as it moved around the area. The heavy thumping of each passing step would soon be followed by the occasional crack of a fallen branch or a stick snapping underneath this beasts' powerful paws. Just the feeling of dread that the creature brought with it was enough to convince me to stay silent. Even my heavy breathing somehow came to a slow-halt. With curiosity getting the better of me now, I needed to know just how far away the monster was from me. So ignoring the feeling in my gut, I swallowed hard before working up enough courage to look on the other side of the tree.

It was sniffing around. I knew that it was looking for me. One little slip-up now, and I was doomed to perish here. Once again my breathing fastened as I brought my head back behind the tree, knowing full-well what was going to happen once I was caught. I could feel my heartbeat once more as I tried to think of a way out of this one, but nothing came to mind.

The feeling of dying in a place such as this was not comforting to say the least. Nervous beads of sweat dripped down my face as I tried to comprehend just what I could do. Only beginning to mumble to myself once more, I tried to figure out a way to live through this.

"Alright Jacob, you're stuck in the middle of a dark forest, with no way of contacting the outside world, low chance of survival, and being hunted by-"

A low growl cut me off as a chill ran up and down my spine.

"-That."

The fermenting worry that had been in my stomach for the longest of times wouldn't leave me as I attempted to comprehend the magnitude of everything that had conspired today. First waking up in the middle of nowhere, then ending up walking through the darkness of these blasted woods, and now I was being hunted. Definitely not one of my better days. Better yet, how could this thing even be hunting me down in the first place? I fought back every urge I had now to look around to the other side of the tree. Somehow, I knew that if I did so, it would be looking right back at me. "I just don't get it... Manticores aren't supposed to exist. They're just a fable." This didn't seem to be the case though since one was currently hunting me down. It seemed that for now, all reasoning was thrown completely out the window.

"I need to stay focused. If I lose focus, I'm as good as dead."

It was true. if I had any chance of survival, I would need to stay focused on the problem at hand. "Maybe I can find something to distract it with? A rock, maybe?" Looking at my feet for some sort of answer, I only could see the grass at my feet along with a couple of mushrooms. Nothing at all that I could use. What a let-down. I couldn't even get one measly rock? It was hard not to believe that fate wished for my demise today.

I was left with only one solution to my problem at the moment. Although it wasn't the most favored tactic of mine, I had no better ideas. "Damn... I guess that I'm gonna have to wait this one out. As long as it doesn't see me, I should be fine until it leaves." Still, even then how could I know that the manticore really left? It could just be waiting for me to emerge from my hiding place to finally pounce. I had to take that chance though. It was the only one I had at the time.

Once again, I was left with only the option of looking out from behind the tree and trying to spot the hunter. I only peeked out at first. Just enough to see that the manticore wasn't there. Taking it as a clear sign to move, I pulled back my head while giving a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, it's not there anymore." At first, I was more than happy to know that my pursuer had possibly given up. Of course, I knew that I was going to have to wait a while to move as a safety precaution. There was always the chance of it still being around.

Oddly enough now, I could feel something warm and wet hit my shoulder in a huge glob. Feeling the spot on my shoulder growing drenched in the substance, I turned my head to look at the shoulder in question. On it had been some sort of clear gooey substance that I soon drug a finger across. It was disgusting just looking at it, but feeling it was another story. "Ew, what is this stuff?" A single liquid strand pulled itself off with my finger as I gave my hand a good shake. Pretty soon, I was met with the unsettling answer to my question.

The same low growl that I had heard only minutes ago began slither through the air above me. The sound struck my ears roughly as I feared looking up in the tree that I stood beneath. Once again, I could feel my face go pale as I reluctantly let my eyes trail upward in the tree only to meet with the same beast that was chasing me.

Mouth dripping with saliva, the manticores teeth were fully bared at me as the beast dug its' claws into the body of the tree just so it could be right above my body. A paw raised, I could see the sharpened claws held up at me ready to strike. It had actually found me! Was this thing actually intelligent enough to know where I had been hiding?

"C-c-crap!"

Now, I'm going to be blunt here. I was never the fastest runner in my school. If anything, I was just as normal as you may expect when it came to this. This being said, when that manticore brought its paw down at me, it was like lightening in a bottle. Just the speed that I was running at had put my past sprinting to shame. My constant yelling also showing how my fear was the thing fueling my body right now. "Leave me alone! I want to go home!" The thunderous might of the manticores strike sounded like thunder when it bounded off of the tree in pursuit of my flesh.

I didn't care if I got cut or pricked by an occasional thorn bush, or a loose branch. A little bleeding was more than a better substitute than being killed. Who cares if my clothes got torn? As long as I made it out of this alive. That's all that matters. Occasionally, I would get caught on a vine for a second or trip over a tree root, but it never mattered since just as soon as I had tripped or gotten tangled, I recovered even quicker than I had fallen victim to these misfortune bringers of the forest. All I wanted to do was get out! I had to get out! I could hear the monster roaring not far behind me! I needed to find a way to lose this thing and fast!

'M-Maybe if i can find some water I can wash the scent off my body. At least then that thing couldn't sniff me out!"

My mission was clear. What was that mission, you ask? Find some freaking water, that's what! Still to search a forest completely unknown to me, finding water wouldn't be easy. It would probably be a stroke of pure luck if I could even get away from this Manticore monster. Thinking about all that had happened today, it was very clear that someone in those fluffy clouds in heaven wanted me dead. Still, that didn't mean that I would just lay down and die!

Miraculously, I had somehow come across a large opening in the forest that had a river stretching from one side of my vision to the other. I counted my blessings and my luck for this one. No trees being around the river for a few meters, I could feel the warmth of the sun touch my skin once more. I had no time to enjoy it though. The river stretched from one point of view to the next, so it was more than evident that I was going to have to cross. It would be a good, long-distance swim by how I could see the instant drop-off into deep crystal clear waters right at the edge. I could see fish swimming around the sun-lit floor of the river. It had to have been at least thirteen feet deep, but I didn't care about the depth at the moment. With the luck that I've been having today, I wouldn't be surprised if the river was infested with piranhas or if I was swept away by currents that came out of nowhere! Looking at my reflection in the moving water, I bit my lip as I knelt down and patted the water. You couldn't blame me for being suspicious of this place with all the weird stuff that had happened to me just today. "I-is it safe?" My hesitation had vanished without a trace though after hear a blasting roar that drained the blood from my face.

"You know what? Safety is suddenly a lot less important all of the sudden."

With a quick jump, I was already splashing through the river, struggling just to make it to the other side. My will to survive was almost admirable at this point as I gave it my all to get on the other side of the river. My survival wasn't the only thing keeping me going though. Over my gasps for air and splashing, I could hear the hungry roars coming from behind me. Every so often, I would look back at the side of the river that I had left to make sure that the manticore wasn't already there, but I showed no signs of letting up while doing so.

The mud had washed away from my clothing and body by the time that I had pulled myself onto the opposite edge of the river. I had no time to recover though, so I was quick to get to my feet. Gasping for air when picking myself up, I turned around quickly to see the manticore pacing from left to right on the other border of the river. The malice that it aimed toward me made me back up a couple of steps before I could notice something odd about this. Why didn't the manticore chase after me? It was just standing there.

Wait... Had I just beat the manticore?

At first, I just supposed that it was because I was putting up too much of a fight, but by how it was staring at the river and lunging back at the occasional splashes at the sides of it... things all became very clear.

The manticore was afraid of water.

Splashing the water with a paw, the manticore snarled at the river and then to me. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to think at first since such a being could be afraid of something as harmless as a swim. I guess that this manticore was more house-cat than red-lion. As hysterical as this looked, the only thing that I could do was crack a smile.

"The manticore is afraid of water? How cliche..."

I wasn't going to complain though. I was over here, and that beast was over there. A cocky grin was now on my face as I looked at the Manticore. It seemed that for now that I was on the safe side of all of this, and I was more than celebrating my victory. Standing up and laughing jollily, I held myself proudly over my triumphant escape. "I did it! I survived! I did it!" On the other side of the river, the manticore most definitely didn't seem to enjoy my celebration. If anything the roar showed me just how angry it was, and after recovering from the sudden spike in fear I made sure it went more than noticed. In a mocking tone, I spoke to the manticore. "What's wrong kitty, afraid of a little water?" Laughing a little, I watched the creature pace the river side a couple more times before spreading its' wings. Right about now, my laughter had died.

By how the manticore had reacted to me, it almost seemed like the thing could understand what I was saying. That couldn't be possible though... Could it? My mocking had now stricken a nerve with the manticore from what it seemed as it spread out its' gigantic wings like it was a bringer of death. Watching it back up from the river a few steps, it unsettled me to see it charge at the river. When the manticore reached the edge, it jumped off but never even touched the water. Instead, it had been gliding across the top and toward the other side of the river where I was. My feeling of safety had now more than diminished.

Jumping back in my own realization of all of this, I almost couldn't believe that I had forgotten this. I spun on my heels as quickly as I could before sprinting away. "Crap! I forgot this thing had wings!" Once again, I was left running for my life through the forest. It didn't matter to me that there had been much more light in this area, or even the fact that this could mean that I may be close to getting out. No, I was too busy running for my life! This time however, I had been yelling my lungs out. I could feel streams of tears leaving the corners of my eyes from the build-up of fear that I was subjected to. I began to think that all of my efforts were meaningless in a time such as this. How could I even manage to escape this forest, and even if I could leave how could I know that I would escape the monster chasing after me?

"Wait, what's that up ahead?"

My girl-ish screams only stopped when I could spot something in the distance. Not that far ahead of me, I could see a large patch of land of what seemed to be flowers. The variety of colors that I could see was more than enough to confirm it. Just the sight of all those colorful flowers had been comforting to me. "Flowers? Are those are snapdragons..." At first slowing down slightly from my distraction, the booming roar of the manticore behind me did more than snap me from my eased mind-set as I picked up my sprinting once more. "W-who the hell cares what they are! I'm going for it!" Though it was odd seeing such a flower out in such a forest like this one, I wasn't about to die because I found it strange that a flower was growing in the middle of a forest.

"At any rate, I can hide in them! It's a huge patch of flowers, so I bet that I could easily hide and escape in those!"

My plan was perfect! Hide in the flowers, and leave while the manticore was searching through the plants! It had to work! Just being as close that I had been was enough inspiration to finish and make it to the flowers. That is, until I tried to look back behind myself. Now completely using its' wings, the manticore was catching up and fast! It was already only a few feet behind me, and while I had to dodge trees in my path, the beast just tore through them like tissue paper! Just the thought of being caught by that thing scared me to no end, so I turned back around to the flowers as they drew even closer than before.

You know, I smiled a little when I saw how close I was to these flowers. I felt as if I really had a chance at survival. I was really going to make it. I was going to survive. It seemed that I wasn't allowed to feel like this however as I had soon caught my foot on a tree root when I was only a meter or two from the large group of flowers. The hopelessness I felt was horrifying, but mixed with the beautiful sight of all of those flowers... Maybe it was worth it. These flowers must have been like some sort of consolation prize. Who knows, maybe I could die like this. Maybe, I could die happy with this being the last thing that I would ever see.

Then I face-planted in the dirt.

I was expecting to have my face gnawed off by now, but it seemed that I still has some luck left in me. As it had turned out, the manticore had apparently flown right over me and over the huge assortment of colorful flowers.

Picking my head up with a throbbing migraine, I could see that I was only inches away from the group of flowers that I so desperately tried to hide in. Locking my gaze on a flower that was right in front of me, I found myself admiring the way it looked. I looked a bit in awe at first, but was soon brought back into reality as soon as the flower actually began to move a little. "Whoa, just what kind of flower is this?" In my own amazement, I was now reaching out to attempt to touch this plant. It was to my surprise though that when my hand got close enough to the flower that it actually began trying to bite at it! Needless to say that I pulled back my hand before it could succeed.

"W-whoa! These snapdragons really snap!"

My amazement soon came to an end though as I could then hear a bellowing roar coming from further into the cluster of flowers. I felt my heart skip a beat as I scooted back a little. "What the hell was that?" It sounded like the manticore, but... Something was different about it. It sounded much different now. Needing to see this, I slowly stood up before having to take a step back at what I now bore witness to.

Gripping themselves around the manticores' tail, I could see that quite a good number of these snapdragon flowers biting down on the monster while trying their best to pull it down into the group of flowers. The manticore in return was scrambling and struggling to break free as it frantically flapped its' wings. Amazed at the irony that was unfolding before me, I couldn't help but feel that this was something that I had just so narrowly avoided by tripping.

Watching the manticore being pulled further and further down from the air, it wasn't long until the flowers had soon began to bite down on the beasts bottom paws. The creature cried in pain as its' wings flinched momentarily causing the manticores' entire form to fall into the assortment of colored flowers below. I could hear the flowers attacking the manticore viciously as it cried out in pain. Having witnessed all of this, it was very clear that I had stayed far too long in this place for my own liking. I didn't wait for everything to end with this merciless onslaught. I was speeding off into the forest to do my best to try and find my way out!

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS PLACE!?!?"

My body was screaming at me to stop, but I still couldn't afford to take such a leisure. The forest had already brightened up to the point to where this place actually had come to have less and less trees around me. This didn't mean that I would stop moving though. Breath already too fast for me to really pay attention to, I struggled to keep myself in a slow and steady jog. The cuts and bruises on my body ached as clots of mud mashed up against them. My hair was a mess, my clothes were torn to shreds, and my body felt like it had been hit by a truck. Needless to say, I had almost given up on finding a way out.

As I moaned in my own aches and pains, I yearned for the world outside of this forest. I just wanted to go home and relax. Was that so wrong? I didn't even care how I had ended up in a freaky, life-threatening forest anymore. I just wanted to go home and forget all about this.

Feeling my legs beginning to give out on me, I clumsily stumbled over to a nearby tree to rest and catch my breath. The moment I made contact with the body of the large plant, I almost instantly felt my knees hit the ground. My chest burned, and it was agony to me. Just the feeling of torture that this place had given me was almost enough to drive me to the brink of madness, and exhaustion at the same time. Even when speaking, I had to space out my words through harsh breaths.

"The... The first... Thing that I do.... When I get out of here... Is that I'm... I'm going to burn this forest to the ground... And laugh... when it's nothing left but a smoldering pile of ash..."

My anger and frustration was very clearly filling my threat at this moment as I forced myself back up to my feet. My legs were begging me to stop, but I couldn't afford to listen to them. It still wasn't safe. I wasn't safe until I was out of this hell. I didn't go through all of this just to die in the end. No, I was going to live! "I just..." My voice cracked on itself as I tried to stand. "I just need to stand up so I can find a way out..." I did stumble around a couple of times, but my will to live was more than enough to overpower the pain of my body. The strain was nothing compared to that desire.

The moment I made it to my feet, I could feel myself beginning to tilt from one side to the other as I took steady steps from one tree to the next. I didn't dare look behind me for the fear that I could still be pursued by whatever-else this forest could throw at me. Minutes passed however, and I still wasn't able to look behind my own body. My eyes seemed almost traumatized from this ordeal. They focused on the ground as my vision blurred in and out of focus. I knew that I wasn't going to be awake much longer. I needed to get out before I could stop. This place couldn't be trusted.

Stumbling from one tree to the other, I never adverted my gaze from the comfort of the ground. Already expecting it of this place though, I was sure that it wouldn't be long before this forest took that comfort from me as well. "You're doing good so-far, Jacob..." I told myself as I forced myself to push onward. "I just need to... Need to..." Leaving my most current tree, I could feel my consciousness fading a little when I couldn't feel the next tree in front of me. This being the case, my body had no way of stabilizing itself before I eventually lost balance and belly-flopped onto the ground.

The impact had been more than enough to keep me awake, if not knock the breath from my lungs. Already, my breathing had become more frantic as I did my best to reclaim my normal breathing rate. Doing so, I had begun a hasty effort to get back to my feet. Struggling to stand though, it was only then that I had begun to notice a major change in my surroundings.

Once more on my feet, I was left gawking at where I was now. The soft dirt underneath my shoes, I didn't know if I had been seeing things or if this was actually real. I don't know how I was able to find it, but I had actually been standing on top of a dirt road. The clearing that the road had been on was enough to make me question my own eyes, but the road made me question my sanity. To my left, the road led further back into the forest from what it seemed, and to the right... I could see the trees of the forest finally coming to an end.

My eyes widened the moment I saw the opening out of the forest. I had actually found the way out. Almost overjoyed about this, I wasted no time in moving to it. Taking my first step though, I was quick to find out that my legs had just about given it all they could before forcing myself to land on my knees. Just the realization of my legs giving out on me once more had left me doubled over on my hands and knees. The exit was in sight. It was right there! It couldn't have possibly been more than fifty feet away, and I was actually looking right at it!

Wincing now as I raised a hand on a knee, I strained my body while fighting against it just to stand up once more. My voice cracked and choked out angered noises as I forced myself onto my legs once more. "I don't care what it takes..." Still leaning over in my posture, I pushed my hands off of my knees so I could at least stand somewhat regularly. Wincing, I was quick to notice how I was only looking out of one eye at the time of my next step. "I've had enough of this forest..." Giving it my all just to walk forward, my body stumbled with every movement I made. Each time though, I had either caught myself before I could fall or pushed myself back on my feet with every last bit of energy that I had left. "I've woken-up stranded in these woods-," I could already taste copper in the back of my throat every time I had begun to cough. "'-Walked though the darkest parts of this hell-," I gritted my teeth every time I had to mentally scream at my legs to stay up with every step that I took. "-Lost my only contact with the world outside of this stupid forest-," At this point, I had lost any and all feeling in my legs as I completely collapsed onto the ground.

My body slammed into the ground with a thud and left me to try my best and recover. My legs screamed out in pain as I laid there on the ground for a moment. My body twitched and shook while I did my best to stay awake now as I could feel my thought process leaving me. After using a forearm to support my body, it had become difficult for me to even hold my head up so I could keep the forest exit even within my own eye-sight. My body was trying to make me quit. I knew this, but I wasn't going to have any of that. I didn't care if I died beyond those gates, but I wasn't going to die here.

Throwing a hand forward, I dug my fingers into the dirt in front of me on the road and began dragging myself to the exit. My desire to live must have hit an all time high as I pulled my body along the ground. "-Was hunted down by something that shouldn't even exist-," I could feel my fingers hurting for every time I pulled my body down the dirt road. At this point, the pain was the only thing that kept me awake. "-and almost eaten by god-damned flowers!" I really must have been on the edge of insanity if I was pushing myself this hard just to get out of a forest. At the time, I could even feel a spark that had soon begun burning inside of my own body. I could feel it scorching my insides as the anger I felt fueled me even more.

"I'm not staying another minute in this god-forsaken place!"

Dragging myself even closer to the exit, I could feel my arms aching just my legs were. There was no way that I would just stay in a place like this though. I had to get out, or die trying! I made it this far, so why not go all the way? I was closing in on the exit!

At least Ten feet away already, I could see the outside of the forest. I didn't care that I didn't know where I was. I was finally getting out of this forest, and that's all that mattered. I could even see a house not too far off. A nice cozy little cottage. Someone there would help me, I know it! All I had to do was get there. As of right now though, just exiting the forest was enough for me.

Do you know how it felt for me to finally be on the outside of this murderous forest? It was the greatest feeling that I had felt in my life. To have made it out of everything that had happened today so far, it was like I was spitting in the eye of destiny and telling it that you weren't going to abide by its' rules. Even if I was just lying there, this was by-far the greatest achievement of my life so far.

I was now laying outside the forest by quite a few feet now. A tired smile exhibited for all of the world to see of my triumph today. I had defeated that place, and I had no intention of re-challenging it anytime soon. Feeling my vision blurring once more, I did nothing to stop it. At last, all of my determination vanished as I simply laid on the ground motionless. Hearing the birds overhead, the only thing on my mind though was that things seemed just as peaceful as they were when I woke-up.

Something cold was on my forehead. A light weight from my neck-down made itself known as I laid down on something soft, and comfortable. I didn't know what it was exactly, but you never question anything when you would first wake up... Well, okay, maybe I could question it this one time, but that was all that I could promise. "Uhg... My head..." Oh yes... The pain that I had been in. Groggy as I was, there was no way that this physical distress would let itself go unnoticed. To be completely honest I almost forgot all about my past conditions, but I supposed that memories would usually come rushing back just as fast as pain usually does. Just as you may have suspected, the need to investigate my surroundings was inside my mind. The throbbing in my head had been more than enough to convince myself to stay lying down though. Not that I had much choice in the matter, but that was just the case.

Opening my eyes, it came to my attention that I had been laying in the middle of a large, darkened room. Not that it alerted me. It was just that I've been waking up in places that I don't remember passing out in all day today. The lights that I had been able to see cracking through the window shutters made sure to at least show me that I was in a house of some sort. From the way that the small streaks of light entered the home however, I was at least given some sort of clue on just where I had landed myself. Too bad that I couldn't move, or I may just have gotten up to explore the place.

Supposing that I could deal with lying down for a while, the only thing that I really wanted to do at the time was find out just what the heck was making my forehead so cold. As an unexpected turnabout to this, I soon discovered that I couldn't even move my arms or legs. Not because I couldn't in general, but because of the pain I felt every time I tried to move them. Too bad I had to figure this out the hard way because the moment I even tried to lift even my hand, I could feel how painful moving was at the time. Even the flinch I took hurt, and that was just a simple twitch! "Great Greens, that smarts..." I hissed while squinting my eyes to the point of them nearly shutting on themselves. Just the simplest of movements sent a surge of pain through my body, and that wasn't a comforting thing to think about. What was I supposed to do; lie here motionlessly? Just from how my body was acting right now, it seemed that all of my movements had been rendered to a simple turn of the head. This entire waking-up experience just wasn't for me, was it? All that I wanted was to enjoy a nice day-off, but so much for that idea. Straight out the window. At any rate, since I already had my eyes open I took this as a chance to take in the sights of what I could currently see of this strange home.

From what I could observe, I was lying on a large comforter while being covered with another in the middle of what I suspected to be a living room. The darkness of the room did make it hard to see, but I managed. Both these comforters and a pillow being the only thing keeping my body from sleeping on the top of a cold, wooden floor, I was grateful to whoever was kind enough to show me such hospitality. Other than this, I could see a wide assortment of wooden furniture. I had to admit, whoever lived here did know how to decorate. It all looked very nice for everything being made out of wood. Termites must have been a real problem for the person living here though. The only thing that didn't even seem remotely made out of wood was the stone fireplace right beside me. Seeing some pans hanging from the front of the fireplace, I could take notice that it had also been a sort of conventional stove. A nifty little added touch to it, if I do say so myself. There was even a small staircase connected to it. The owner must have a pet, or something. As I took in my surroundings, it seemed that my thoughts had become just too powerful to remain as such; even if they did come out as a delicate whisper.

"Just where am I?"

Wherever I was, this was definitely a decent change from the dangerous setting of those woods earlier. I guess that there was no reason to think ill of the owner. If anything, I would have to thank whomever it was that had helped me when they did. Maybe they could even direct me back home? That would definitely be useful. It would also be nice if I could get a cup of tea, but only if they didn't mind. I wonder what kinds that they had. Maybe they have some chamomile? Green tea would be just as good. Preferably, I could go for some jasmine. Listen to me ramble on about such a thing as tea. I sounded like an old man. Wishing to have tome tea, I was then snapped from my day-dreaming from hearing the sound of the front door opening.

I'm not sure why this was the action that I chose, but as soon as the front door opened I instantly went into a still panic. Maybe I was a little bit paranoid from what all happened to me in the forest? At any rate, I had wasted no time to close my eyes to try and feign sleep. From what I could expect to be the noise of a light switch, the sound of a closing door came to my ears. What could happen next would be completely up to fate.

"Now, now, Angel-Bunny. Our newest arrival is a friend, I'm sure. Just because he looks a little odd does not mean that he's dangerous."

The voice that I was hearing was most definitely feminine, and the tone of it was the most delicate that I had ever heard. Had someone with a voice such as this really have been able to drag me to her home? A part of me kind of wanted to open my eyes and thank the girl for her kind deed, but by the time I had even opened my eyes a little she was nowhere around me. I figured that it would be better to just wait and shut my eyes.

I could hear whoever it was that had been moving around this living room with the most absolute care. Moving from one side of the room to the other before stopping. I wasn't certain why this person was moving around so mcuh, but I was able to hear at least two pairs of feet moving around the place. It must have been who she called 'Angel-Bunny' that was walking around the room with her. I actually feel sorry for the sap that's stuck with that nickname.

Now feeling something rough place itself on my forehead, I did my best not to flinch. Just what had been happening wasn't clear to me, but pretty soon the cold thing on my head had been lifted off and taken away. "Angel, could you be a good boy and get me a couple of ice-cubes? I can feel the ice-pack already melting from his fever." So that's what was on my head? Well, I suppose that it was kind of a no-brainer once you thought about it.

"Um... Excuse me. Are you awake?"

Looks like the jig was up. Hearing this, I scrunched my face already knowing that I had been found out. I could already feel my eyes opening to show that I was indeed awake. There was no point in hiding it now though. I had to face the music, and it seemed that the radio was playing my song.

"I'm sorry, but we need to disinfect your cuts before I can wrap your injuries. I had to go to the store and buy some antibiotics and ointments first since I had run out, so I hope you weren't left alone for too long."

Opening my eyes a little bit more, I could see a light yellow blur. It seemed that the lights being turned on did more to my eye-sight than I would have wanted by just how things seemed to blur in and out of focus for me. I felt as if I could trust this person though. Their voice sounded very light but concerned. I could tell that she meant me no harm. How could I really deny a voice like that? Only grunting as I begun adjusting to the light, I did my best not to move. I didn't really want to be in any more pain for now, but that wasn't exactly what the person helping me had in mind. If anything, she was actually causing me even more pain. How, you ask? Well, I could feel her lifting me up off of my back and into a sitting position. To say the least, the pain I felt did make me choke on air a little bit.

"I'm very sorry. I know it must hurt, but I need to disinfect the injuries on the both the front and back of your body. We wouldn't want any of them getting infected."

I suppose that she was right, but that didn't mean that I enjoyed this. Getting through the pain that shot through my body was difficult, but at least the girl apologized for it. To me, that meant a lot to apologize even if it was about the smallest of things. It told me a lot about this persons character. With my eyes still adjusting to the light little by little, I had already been looking back at the yellow blur to see that there had been a tuft of pink hair on whatever it was talking to me. A strange color, but not unheard of. She must have dyed it that color, but not like I was going to point it out and make fun of that. I didn't want to be rude to someone that probably just saved my life. Instead, I only tried to let my eyes adjust to the light by blinking them. "It's fine. Just tell me when you're about to begin." After speaking, there was a light squeak from the figure. An odd sound. "Oh my, you can speak Equestrian? I've never seen an animal that could talk before, but I've never really seen an animal like you before either." Brushing off the animal subject I tried to keep on one subject. She sounded somewhat happy that I was able to talk, but it sounded a little unusual to me. "Sorry to say, but I think just about everybody can talk; I suppose that I'm just not the most fluent." There was a slight pause as I could begin noticing my vision returning to normal. That's a relief, for a second there I thought I had lost my glasses... and had been staring into the sun for an hour. Oh well, at least that wasn't the case.

"Um... I think that you mean everypony. Not to be rude or anything."

Sure, I wasn't going to say anything, but just saying something as absurd as that was just... Well, absurd. I supposed that it must have been some sort of new fad, or something. I wasn't going to be apart of it, that's for sure. Shaking my head at the comment as I looked to the girl, I made sure to act polite. "I'm sorry but, no. Why would you think somethi-" My vision completely returned to normal, and I was now able to see the girl that had now been right beside me. Honestly, I wasn't sure just what I was looking at for a second there. Just staring at the person in front of me, my jaw dropped as soon as I could confirm just what I was looking at. That yellow blur wasn't even a person though... That girl was... well... I'm not exactly for certain what this strange thing was.

I was left a little lost about all of this. Okay, that was an understatement. I was really lost. Stranded on a deserted island, lost. Where was that girl that I had just been talking to? Was this creature speaking to me? A small horse-creature? No, that couldn't possibly be what this was. I mean, it certainly wasn't like any horse I've ever seen. It looked so alien to me that the only thing that the only similarities between this being and a horse was the singular fact that they both stood on four hooves. Even so, it had those bulbous eyes. That big, round head. Those simplistic anatomical features. Not to mention the short muzzle. What was I even looking at right now?

"Not to be rude, but it's only proper pronunciation, isn't it?" Her coy correction went partially ignored as I could feel my brain beginning to overload when trying to comprehend what this little creature was.

Taken quite a ways back, I sat back still and surprised as the being only half my height went ahead with applying the antibiotics to my injuries. "Okay then, let's go ahead and help prevent any infections. Just hold your breath; this might sting a little." That was a dirty lie. It did not 'sting a little'. It in fact stung a whole freaking lot! I could tell exactly when her hoof had come into contact with my back, and that was saying something since the pain was about the only thing that had snapped me from my long held pause.

Throwing my head back from the surge of pain, I had to clinch my teeth together to prevent myself from screaming my lungs out. My reaction was more than enough to draw the attention of the one beside me though. The poor girl actually seemed to feel bad for me, but why was she doing this in the first place? "Oh, I'm sorry. Are you alright? I didn't know that you had been hurt this badly. If you need, I'll try and be more careful." Trying to recover with some grace now, I had already begun to sweat. Panting breaths made themselves clear as I slowly began moving my form back in a slumped sitting posture.

"No... It's fine. The only thing wrong with me right now is that I think that I've lost my mind."

Maybe it had perked her own curiosity, but pretty soon the little creature had a question for me. Making sure not to touch me with the antibiotics just yet, she tilted her head. "Why is that? Are you seeing things?" I had to think before replying.

"I hope so..."

Author's Note

Alright, here we go. I'm taking over Sunshine. Thank you Gen for trusting me with this!