A Stress Free Environment

Chapters

Ch.1 An Unforgettable Day
Ch.2 A Stroll in the Woods
Ch.3 Horse on a Leash
Ch.4 Planning Ahaed
Ch.5 Not Planning Ahaed
Ch.6 A Thorn In Your Side
Ch.7 Out of the Frying Pan
Ch.8 And Into the Fire
Ch.9 Horse Books and Hallways
Ch.10 Hide and Seek
Ch.12 The Kite and the Flight
Ch.11 A Breeze through Ponyville

Ch.1 An Unforgettable Day

It had been a difficult and stressful week for Joshua, mostly from the midterm exams. From what he had seen, not everyone had passed, as about half of his class had dropped out. There were plenty of students who didn't even try to study. They had their sorry excuses, but school was no place for academic mercy. Even with all the studying in the world, it wouldn’t guarantee him success, and Josh needed to do his best on those beasts that his college called “tests” so he could graduate in one piece. At this rate, he was going to burn out quickly. So he desperately wanted—no—needed a break, and what better way than to go camping for the weekend? So, that’s what he did.

The campsite was about a mile from where he parked his truck, in a clearing in the woods where one could get a good view of the sunset and stars when they came out. The walk was not that bad, as there was already a path that led to the campsite. Beside his camping spot, there was a little creek that trickled down a small slope. This calm little area was ideal for melting Joshua's stress away, where he could get away from it all.

'It sure is nice and calm out,’ he thought to himself.

Josh loved to camp. The only thing he wished he could have on camping trips like this was for someone to share it with. When he went on a camping trip, he would sometimes ask some of his friends if they wanted to join him, but they were usually busy during the weekends. It did get kind of lonely for him when he was just sitting there enjoying nature by himself.

"At least I brought some books." There was no one to hear his comment, but talking out loud helped him calm down and relax.

It started to get cold as the day drew to a closing. Since it was winter, the days only lasted until about six in the afternoon and were usually quite cold. This particular winter, however, had been quite warm, much to Josh’s disappointment. Winter was his favorite season. He didn't have to mow the lawn, there were no bugs to pester him when he was outside, and best of all, there was usually snow. Lots of it. Even though it hadn't snowed yet this year, he would at least have more time to look up at the stars before sleep took control of his body. Stargazing, after all, was another one of Josh's favorite activities. A couple of years back, his dad got him a telescope for Christmas that was as big as him.

Crimson, as far as the eye could see, at least in the direction of the setting sun. The sky was but a pastille of colors. Josh laid down to observe the beauty the world around him had provided.

The sun had now set and the stars had started to creep out of their hiding places like a group of children playing hide and seek. The sunset had nothing on the night sky, though. It was absolutely stunning that evening. There wasn't a cloud in the sky to disrupt the ocean of twinkling fireflies dancing across the sky. It was glorious, and Josh couldn't be more excited to take it all in. He stayed up for what felt like hours, just reveling at what beauty the world had to offer.

‘Too bad I don't have my telescope with me right now. I don't get views like this back at home,’ Josh thought to himself. It was going to be the most perfect and stress-free weekend ever. At least, that's what Josh had been planning on.

That night, Josh had stayed up as long as his eyelids could take. The sky was just too beautiful to let the opportunity of observing such perfection slip away, but sleep was inevitable.

Sleep had been almost as peaceful as watching the stars, almost. He did notice one thing when he got up though; his campsite looked a bit different than what he had remembered from yesterday. At first, he thought his mind was just playing tricks on him, but he became alarmed when he got a good look around.

Before there were a few oak trees on the outskirts of his little clearing, but now it looked like a large cluster of trees had grown there over night. The small creek had turned into a shallow river. Josh thought of some explanations for this little predicament he was in.

‘Maybe I accidentally ate a wild mushroom and I’m currently experiencing its side effects, that's got to be the reason,’ Josh reasoned with himself because he needed to be levelheaded and sane if he wanted to get out of this situation. Either way, his surroundings had changed and he had to figure out what he was going to do.

First and foremost, he needed to get his thoughts together, but that was easier said than done in these kinds of situations. He thought for a minute, before an idea hit him like a wrecking ball. Why didn't he just look where the path was that he took to get there? Surely it hadn't changed and would lead him to the safety of his truck where he could stabilize himself. The path, however, was nowhere in sight. He began to look high and low for his free ticket out of this chilling predicament, but there was no such luck.

“Crap, just crap.” That was about the most intellectual comment Josh could muster up at the time. He had no idea what to do now. A smile eerily crept across his figure. His salvation was right in his pocket, and he had completely forgotten about it earlier, his cell phone.

He whipped it out like he was in a gun duel with the most wanted outlaw in the west. All he had to do was to look at his GPS and call for help, it was brilliant.

Grief, the only emotion Josh could feel at the moment. He had no words; there was no signal on the phone. An all too familiar feeling of panic seeped into Joshua's form. He had not anticipated the phone's lack of signal. He really should have seen that coming though, given what had already transpired on this day of terrible surprises.

He was really beat at this point. The only way out of this situation was to get his gear and go on a trek looking for civilization, or to find a person out here, which there was almost no chan—”Is that all you’ve got!?”

A yell, not the most friendly yell Josh had ever heard, but a yell at that. There was another person around here, and they didn't sound too far away. Even though the voice didn't sound very friendly, Josh overlooked that detail. All he could think about right now was being saved, or at least having a general direction of where civilization might be located. The only issue with this plan, was that the direction of sound was difficult to track in the forest.

There was another shout, which caused Josh to spring up and run toward the sound. He heard it once more. Now he knew he was headed in the right direction, because the sounds were definitely getting louder. Josh was not sure how long he ran for, but it was most likely under an hour. He also made sure to remember where he came from. It wouldn't be very smart to run out into an unknown forest without keeping track of where you have been and where you go.

As he drew closer to the noises, he could make out what sounded like a fight. He was a bit worried as to why people would be fighting in the middle of the woods, but decided that someone fighting in the woods was better than no one in the woods at all. The noises were only about twenty feet in front of him in a small clearing.
He couldn't quite make out what the people looked like because there were trees keeping their figures hidden. He could tell there was a large figure and a smaller figure. The latter of the two appeared to be on all fours, which was very peculiar to Josh.

‘I hope that these people are not drug dealers or something,’ Josh thought as he cautiously snuck up to get a better view of the pair. The second he looked into the clearing — Snap! — Josh froze, and so did the figures in front of him. He had stepped on a stick and broke it; so much for being sneaky. Josh could now see what the figures looked like. There was a big creature standing there and it looked like it jumped straight out of Greek mythology. There was also a horse-like animal with bat wings.

“I am definitely hallucinating because I accidentally ate a wild mushroom, or this is a really, and I mean really, vivid dream,” Josh said, mostly to himself, but the other creatures could obviously hear him. The lion creature high-tailed it and accidentally smacked the horse-looking animal in the head with its scorpion tail as it ran away. The bat winged horse didn't see the blow coming and was struck right in the face, which apparently had enough force to knock out the unsuspecting creature.

Once again this day, Josh was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Lucky for him, not literally. First it was waking up in a new environment, then it was the absence of signal on his phone, and now there were strange creatures. Icing on the cake.

‘You know what? I don't even care anymore. Trying to think logically about these events is giving me a headache.’ And so, Josh the brave and adventures decided to just play out these hallucinations and see where they took him.

‘Maybe I could have some fun with this craziness, and besides, I'm trying not to be trite here, but what's the worst that could happen?

Little did Josh know, he was in the Everfree Forest, one of the most dangerous and wild places in all of Equestria.

Author's Note

Oh boy.
If you have any feedback I would appreciate it. I am trying to improve my writing skills as best as I can. Thanks for reading! I'll have another chapter out by next week, but it depends on How busy I will be.
Edit: I've fixed most (if not all)
of the tense issues and some other issues with the chapter thanks to the courtesy of MV.

Ch.2 A Stroll in the Woods

Josh had a few choices at hand. He could go back to his camping sight and forget this little incident had ever happened and totally abandon being brave and adventurous. For no reason other than instinct, he could follow the big scary lion-thing, or he could take the horse creature back to his camp.

Obviously there were hundreds of other options, but these were the ones that stood out the most to him. The first choice seemed alright, but his curiosity was getting the better of him. The second option was solid if he had a death wish. The buff lion-thing was scared when it first saw Josh, but that was probably only because it had never seen a human before.

‘What exactly is that creature anyway? It has the body of a lion, wings of a bat, and the tail of a scorpion. From what I can remember from my mythology class, all of its body parts point to it resembling that of a manticore. This place, wherever it is, has some interesting creatures populating it.’

The next time the manticore saw Josh, the result would probably not be a pleasant experience, since it would have likely figured out that Josh was harmless to a big predator such as itself. So it was final, Josh was going to go back to camp, but bring the small horse along with him. That was, if it was still alive. That manticore had hit it pretty hard in the head.

With slight caution and a bit of nervousness, Josh walked over to the location where the small horse had taken a hit. Now he could get a good look at it and see some details he had yet to pick up on until now. The animal had this tattoo of what appeared to be the Andromeda galaxy on its flank.

‘Who would be cruel enough to tattoo a helpless horse? Also, that is quite a peculiar tattoo for an animal to have. To be fair, it was just fighting a manticore.’

It was an interesting question that Josh was soon distracted from, on the account of noticing more noteworthy details. The colors of the equine were very out of place for an animal such as this, despite its incredible uniqueness.

“What are you?” Josh received no reply, but he hadin’t really expected one though. It’s not like the animal could talk and answer back. He laughed at the thought.

‘If only that was possible…’ Moments passed until Josh picked up the equine and hoisted it over his shoulders. He could feel the slow but steady rise and fall of its chest, which obviously meant that the creature was still alive.

It wasn't as heavy as he had originally thought, but that didn't mean it was weightless. Good thing he was used to carrying large backpacks on camping trips.

“I better check you for any cuts or bruises. You took quite a whack to the noggin,” Josh said to the equine on his shoulders. He wasn't sure why he was talking to this unconscious winged horse like a children's doctor, but it's not like that was the weirdest thing that had happened this day.

After checking the bat-winged horse for any injuries, Josh concluded that it would probably be fine as long as it got some rest. He was no doctor, but it looked relatively unharmed besides a few scratches and the fact that it had been hit in the head by an animal with a giant scorpion tail. It was hard to see any bruises underneath all of that fur, but it's not like he could do anything if he discovered any bruises anyway. All he had to cover up the small cuts was his bandana, and he only had one at the moment. His first aid kit was back at camp in his tent.

‘I should probably go ahead and get back to camp. No point in standing around.’ After one good around the area for anything that he might have missed earlier, Josh was off. With a strange creature on his back nonetheless.

While walking back, Josh was surprised at how much the forest now looked like the Amazon Jungle. It seemed as if the trees had grown and the brush had gotten thicker overnight, of course likely from this being a dream…

‘Surprising I didn't think of that at first. You would think that that would be the first thing I would have thought of, but then again, dreams tend to not want you to know that you are dreaming for some reason. Wait; so since I am dreaming, doesn't that mean I can control anything I want?’

Josh had stopped walking, a childish smile spread across his features. He couldn't remember the last time he had a lucid dream, but he knew they were the best type of dreams, since whoever was having the dream could control it.

‘I wonder if I could give myself wings and fly back to camp. Let's give it a shot.’ Josh had always enjoyed the exhilarating feeling of flying in an airplane, but he had wanted to feel what it was like to be truly one with the sky. Airplanes were nice, but they had their limits.

It would be awesome to be in control of a pair of wings. Josh knew it was a strange thought, but it didn't matter as long as the feeling of flying was as amazing as he had hoped.

Josh closed his eyes and imagined himself having a pair of wings.

‘Aanndd nothing, well that was a bit of a letdown. I was almost certain that would work.’ Josh was hoping that he could get his little wish granted, but apparently that wasn't going to happen.

‘Just when I was getting my hopes up too. Maybe I will be able to control my dreams in the future, not now though.’ Since there was no wing power bestowed upon him, he decided to just shrug it off and continue traveling back to his camp. The animal he was carrying needed bandaging and a good place to rest.

Josh had just now thought of a minor detail that he failed to notice earlier, what was he going to do with this creature in his possession? He needed an answer for this question when he got back to camp.

‘I could just tie it to a log after I tend to the few scratches it received in the confrontation with that manticore. After it has woken up and calmed down, I could let it go back into the forest. The “tying to a log” part might seem cruel, but think about it for a second; this equine was taking on a manticore that was much bigger than it.

I wouldn't want to be at the receiving end of this animal’s attacks, whatever they may be.’ Josh argued with himself. As if on cue, the equine yawned in his arms, which gave Josh a front row seat to see what kind of teeth this creature possessed. He sure didn't expect what he saw.

‘Yikes! This thing has vampire fangs! To be fair, why would I have expected anything other than the most outlandish possibility out here? It also has bat wings, so that kind of makes sense.’

This new discovery did, however, make Josh a little more nervous about this vampire-like creature. If watching old, scary, monster movies had taught him anything, it's that this thing would be dangerous and that he needed to get away from it as fast as he could. He opted to get back to camp as fast as he could, for now.

He needed to treat the vampire horse, and get it tied up so that it wouldn’t bite him and drink all of his blood. If it drank blood that is. It was certainly a discouraging thought for Josh.

To get his mind off of things, Josh decided to observe his surroundings while walking back to camp. The trees looked like they had been stolen from the Amazon rainforest, and so did all of the thick forest canopy that enveloped the trees’ roots. Not too far away from where Josh was walking, was a stream. Not a very deep one from the looks of it; however, it was moving quite rapidly for such a small stream. It was probably a part of the river back at his camp.

‘I wonder what caused my brain to have this jungle-themed dream. Probably just having this sort of dream because I am camping,’ as Josh was finishing up his thoughts and observing the wilderness around him, he noticed that he was walking up to his campsite. Relief filled Josh, and he soon felt his inner tension dissipate. It was almost as if these crazy things hadn’t even happened, but they did happen, and there was a creature in need of some help.

‘At least I will have plenty of time to read after I look at what little wounds the equine has.’

Josh took a deep breath, something he hadn’t done for a while. This experience had been both exciting and crazy, but now it was time to sit beside the fire and read a good book, while at the same time keeping an eye on the equine that he had tied up and brought to his camp not too long ago. The sun was in the middle of the sky, so it was probably around noon. That would leave plenty of time to read.

‘Finally, some time to relax. Though, I wonder if I will remember any of this when I wake up. It would be a funny story if I told my friends about all these crazy things that happened in my head.’

After Josh picked up a book and started to read it, he noticed that it was full and every page had comprehensible words in it.

‘How did I remember all these words? I haven't even finished reading this book, unless… unless this isn't a dream…but there is no way that is possible,’ Josh quickly shrugged the unwanted thought off of himself and went back to his reading.

To Josh, the chance that he was in a dream was around ninety nine percent, that one percent being the off chance that this was real. It wasn’t very often something happened even though the odds were almost completely negligible, but sometimes the world would say…”Screw you probability!” and it happened anyway. This may have been one of those times.

Author's Note

If you have any constructive criticism
feel free to put it into the comments
below. Thank's for reading!

Ch.3 Horse on a Leash

Josh spent a good while relaxing and reading. So much so, that night had befallen. It was getting chilly out, so Josh decided to make a fire to keep warm. It was winter after all.

The fire that Josh had constructed was sparkling with joy as he laid a few more logs onto it. The sun had started to set as the day drew to a close. There was a slight breeze that blew through the camp every once in awhile that would appear to give the surrounding shrubbery temporary life as it danced in the cool air.

It was peaceful, and all was calm. At least until the equine started to stir from its prolonged nap. Josh had almost forgotten about the equine he had helped and tied up earlier that day.

As the equine started to stretch and open its eyes, Josh reacted how anyone else in his situation would. Very reasonably; that is, if running and jumping behind the nearest tree to be a reasonable reaction. Josh was not sure how exactly he would react when the equine awoke, but he was not expecting this. It didn't really matter now anyway, because it got a glimpse of him and was looking wide-eyed in his direction.

‘It seems to have a look of panic and urgency on its face, which is weird because I've never seen an animal with such readable expressions. Come to think of it, I've never seen an animal like that either,’ Josh observed from behind the tree. The equine began to squirm and try to get out of its restraints. Josh needed to calm it down, so it wouldn't hurt itself.

“It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you. You don't need to be afraid.” Even though Josh knew the equine couldn't understand what he was saying, he thought his kind and soothing tone could help calm it down. After hearing the message, the equine looked a bit confused.

“You're just saying that to give me a false sense of security.” The equine’s voice sounded like it came from someone who was scared, but who wanted to seem tough at the same time. To her, she was about to be eaten by a big scary bipedal creature from the Everfree Forest.

“This dream just keeps getting weirder and weirder.” He had a quizzical look plastered onto his face as the words slipped out of his mouth. Josh hadn't meant to say that out loud, but by now he really didn't care anymore. To Josh, this was his dream, so it didn't matter what happened. Though he didn't notice the expression on the equine’s face after he said that.

“What do you mean, ‘Just a dream’?” The equine had responded. She also now had a new look of confusion upon her face. The slight fear was still held on her expression filled face, but now with a hint of uncertainty.

“You look a bit confused, let me explain my predicament here. To start it out with, I went to the woods to have a nice and relaxing weekend of napping and reading books. Everything was normal until I woke up the day after I had arrived there. I was here, in this strange place, wherever here is. So I just figured this was all a weird dream I am having right now while asleep in my tent.”

Josh felt like he needed to get his ducks in a row and to get a sense of orientation. So why not clear things up with a tied-up equine that is the figment of imagination? Especially one that is capable of taking on a manticore.

“If this is just a dream, then why don't we let the nice thestral go, and cut her from the tree she is currently tied to, hum?” The thestral stated in a half-mock, half-babying tone.

“What? Do you think I am crazy or something?” Josh was many things, but crazy? Nah.

“Ok, that's nice, but I would really appreciate if you would be so kind as to cut this rope and let me free.” Apparently this equine had places to go and people—ponies in this case— to see.

“Before I release you, I need to know two things,” Josh strategically stated.

“Shoot.” The thestral seemed like she really wanted to get untied quickly, though, who wouldn't?

“One, what is your name and species? And two, how on Earth were you taking on a manticore?” Josh asked.

“Well, first off, I don't trust you, and second, I still don't trust you.” The equine answered, she was a bit cautious of strangers it would seem.

“I guess that response is fair enough, considering your circumstances.” Josh had manners, and he didn't want people thinking he was a rude barbarian, even if it was just a dream with a manticore and a thestral.

“Well that's fine and dandy, but don't you think it would be polite to untie the nice mare from the tree,” the equine said in a high-class voice, as if she was worth a million bucks.

“Oh, right! Sorry about that. I just wanted to, ya know, make sure you weren't dangerous or sarcastic before I let you out and… oh… oh dear. Well I guess you were being sarcastic, which means no freedom for you.” ‘Two can play that game, sunny.’ Josh was going to tame this wild mustang, because it might be interesting and funny. He also didn't want to have a boring dream that he would forget.

A single “Huff” escaped the equine’s falling features as she shot her head in another direction and held her head high.

“I guess I really don't have a choice now, do I?” There wasn't much the equine could do at this moment. She was tied up to a log and didn't have anything to cut herself free with.

“Nope,” Josh’s answer was quite smug, more so than he had intended.

“So, what do you want, now that you have my attention?” There wasn't much else that she could think of saying that wouldn't upset the human’s feelings.

“Good to hear. Let's try this again. I would like to know your name, and how you were holding your own in a fight with that manticore.” Josh was sure he covered everything he was wondering about, and was content with his questions.

It took the equine a few seconds of blank staring until she finally answered, most likely to think through what she was going to say.

“My name is Andromeda, and I am a thestral, and I was able to take on that manticore because I know how to kick some serious flank, any more questions?” Andromeda attempted to be intimidating, sadly for her, it had the opposite effect.

Josh bursted out laughing at the last part of Andromeda’s response. The only thing he was having trouble with at the moment was deciding which part was the funniest, the part where Andromeda said she can kick serious flank, or just the fact that this cute little thestral had said that.

In the end, it mattered little, for Josh had received a full dosage of natural medicine; laughter, and lots of it. Too bad the feeling wasn't mutual. Andromeda, however, couldn't respond to such an act from sheer embarrassment, so she just turned her head away with her ears folded down like a child refusing to eat their least favorite dish.

After a little while of full-hearted laughter, Josh had about as much as he could take. By now, he was just lightly chuckling while reminiscing on the previous discussion between him and Andromeda.

That little break did give his mind some time to think about what else Andromeda had said, and to get his thoughts in order. This mulling over led Josh to a conclusion of sorts. If there was one, than there were more.

“Say Andromeda, you did ask me if I had anymore questions, right?” Josh asked sincerely.

“Ugh yeah, why?” Andromeda was a little surprised to see how quickly Josh became serious. Her mood had been slightly lightened though from all of the laughter she had heard earlier from Josh.

“I was just wondering, do you happen to live in a village with other thestrals out in this forest? Are you a loner? Or is there some other living condition you are in that I haven't listed? If you don't mind me asking, that is.” Josh was genuinely curious about this topic and wanted to know.

“Well, you were close. I live in a town not too far from here, but I'm still not sure how much I can trust you. No offence, but it isn't everyday a human just magically shows up in the Everfree Forest wanting to know where civilization is.” Even though Andromeda was starting to warm up to Josh a little, she still didn't completely trust him. As Andromeda said before, a Human in this place is basically unheard of.

“Well, just how long do you think it will be until you do? I only have a few days worth of food and water with me, so I can't stay out in these woods forever.” Josh knew if this was a dream that he wouldn't need any of that, but he did want to see that town before his “dream” ended.

‘Now that I think about it, I am kind of hungry. I have never been hungry in a dream before, but I guess there is a first for everything.’ Josh was not surprised by being hungry, there weren't many things that could top the weirdness-scale of this dream.

Author's Note

If you have anything to say feel free to leave a comment.Thanks for reading!

Ch.4 Planning Ahaed

“Hey. I already told you I am not sure if I trust you one hundred percent yet. You should understand where I am coming from, since you kind of tied me up because you don't trust me,” Andromeda countered.

“Well I...um… guess you have a fairly valid point there Andromeda. I’m not sure why I thought you would just let me waltz on through your home before making sure I'm clean. And by clean I mean harmless.” Josh needed to be on Andromeda’s good side if he ever wanted to visit this town she lived in. He mainly wanted to go because of the endless possibilities of what the town could be like. It had been a long day and Josh was getting tired. His judgment would usually becoming progressively worse as time without sleep went by. Today was no exception. It didn't help that it was about to be bedtime, and Josh usually got grumpy if he was awake past his bedtime. Most people would be.

‘It's weird how even in dreams you feel tired when it is night time, even though you are already asleep. That just makes it even harder to distinguish the real world and the fake one rendered by my mind than it already is.’ Josh was contemplating before speaking again.

“Listen Andromeda, I'll let you loose from that log and untie that rope if you promise to take me to your village tomorrow, also, I promise that I will be on my best behavior. You don't have to worry about me being a bad guy or something like that. I have you tied up right now and I am about to let you go. If I was bad I would have already forced you to tell me where your village is, but I didn't.” Josh stated.

“I guess that is true...” Andromeda needed a minute to think about this.

After a few minutes of contemplation Andromeda had conceived an answer.
“Ok, fine. I'll take you there, but no funny business. The first sign of you being a bad guy and I'll give you a box full of nails. Not only that, but I will personally kick you out of Ponyville and Equestria. For good.” Andromeda answered with an evil eye and a grave expression plastered onto her face.

“Sounds good enough for me, and as I said before, I am a good guy. I completely understand why you are being cautious though. I respect that.” Josh answered truthfully while attempting to hold back a grin. He couldn't help himself, Andromeda was trying too hard to be tough. On the other hand though, Josh made a note in his brain to not tick off Andromeda. Little and adorable or not, she could probably pack a punch.

“Umm...could you maybe untie me now please?” Andromeda was eager to not be in a captive’s position.

“What? Oh, oh yeah. Right. Sorry. I tend to zone out when my mind gets going.” The same was true when Josh was in school. ‘There are more interesting things to think about than a boring lecture every once and awhile.’ At least that is what Josh thought.

--A few moments of rope cutting later--

“So, when are we leaving for Ponyville? Oh, and by the way, Ponyville is only about an hour and a half of walking away.” Andromeda wanted to know because she had a sleep schedule and wanted to be prepaid when it was time to get up.

“I guess we could get up whenever we feel like it so we would be well rested for the walk tomorrow.” Josh knew he would most likely stay asleep for as long as he could, that is if he was still in this place when he woke up. ‘Sleep is good no matter where.’ And to Josh, that also included dreams.

“I see no reason why we can't sleep in for a little while if we want to, considering Ponyville is such a short distance away. That would give us more time so we don't have to rush to get up. We do, however need to be completely out of the forest before the sun starts setting. We are in the Everfree forest after all.” Andromeda added on to what Josh was saying and inserted her input.

After thinking on what Andromeda had to say, Josh was not sure whether to cringe or laugh at a place named after its inhabitant species. Ponyville. The word kept repeating in his head. It was stuck. Like a piece of gum on a shoe kind of stuck. This led to some internal discussion on the matter.

‘Oh boy, that's priceless. What if there were places on Earth named like that. Humanville.’ That was the last thought in Josh's head before he started to hysterically laugh again. He was laughing at the town’s name and all of the events that have occurred so far. Things were just too crazy for there to be no laughing involved.

‘What is with this guy. One second he is serious and responsive, and the next he is acting completely crazy. I'm going to have to keep a close eye on him. He could be dangerous if he is this unpredictable.’ Andromeda just didn't get Josh. At all.

--A few minutes after Josh calmed down--

By now it was later in the night and both Josh and Andromeda were ready to go to sleep. This didn't stop Josh from wondering about where Andromeda would sleep.

“Hey, Andromeda.” Josh's voice was smooth, almost to a point of being melodic.

“”Yeah, what is it Josh. I'm pretty tired, so if you could be quick that would be nice.” Andromeda was definitely getting groggy.

“Where are you going to sleep? I mean you could sleep in my tent if you want. I'll be fine sleeping outside if you do.” Josh was a caring person and didn't want to see anyone have to sleep outside while he was comfortable inside a tent. Human or not.

“That's ok I think I've got it covered.” Andromeda seemed to have an air of confidence around her as the words escaped her mouth.

“If you say so. You can wake me up if you change your mind or need anything. Also, good night.” Josh didn't mean to say that last bit, but it was such a habit that he didn't catch it before speaking.

“Well that is kind of you Josh, but I'll be fine. And goodnight to you too.” With that Andromeda turned around and started to study a few of the nearby trees. Se hadn't expected Josh to be so kind. Se also wasn't expecting herself to also say goodnight. That is something she had not been able to say in a long time.

The two were past being ready to go to bed and were ready to just lay down and go to sleep where they stood, but they wanted a better place to sleep than the ground. As Josh went into his yellow tent for the night, he ate an apple that was previously stored in his backpack while mulling over the day’s past events. Andromeda walked to a nearby tree and flew onto it to use one of the branches as her bed to sleep in. As Andromeda laid down like a baby in a crib, she looked into the sky and observed the same wonders that Josh was previously admiring the night before.

‘Luna does a magnificent job with the night sky, it's a shame she doesn't get as much recognition as she deserves. Anyone who's experienced Luna's night sky should consider themselves lucky to be able to see such wonderful works.’ Andromeda thought to herself. She stayed that way quite some time, looking at the stars that is, before eventually closing her eyes and letting the dark, but comforting embrace of sleep to embrace her.

--The next day--

The sun was shining bright and early. The birds were up and chirping. It was cool outside, but the warmth from the sun kept the temperature from going down too low. It was a perfect day in the whimsical and – mostly – peaceful land of Equestria.

Josh yawned and stretched as he was preparing to start his day. The thought of him possibly not being in a dream drifted through his mind.

‘I think I’m just going to pretend that I am in real life until I want to get up. This dream I’m in is just about to get a little bit more interesting considering this town Andromeda is going to escort me to.’ Even though he had decided this in his forethought, there were still questions he wanted answers to, like ‘Am I in a coma?’ or ‘Will I remember any of this when I wake up if this is a dream?’ For now though those thoughts were going into the vault deep inside the back of Josh’s head. There were bigger fish to fry at the moment.

‘That was some of the best sleep I have ever experienced in my life, and that is saying something because I was in a sleeping bag. I probably only slept so good because this is a dream and I am already asleep. Oh well, it doesn't matter either way because it was so relaxing.’ Josh had a content grin on his face because of the restful sleep he had the during the night.

‘I guess it's time to pack up and head on out. I'll wake up Andromeda after I get all of my things in my tent packed up.’ Josh decided.

After Josh packed all of his belongings up into a backpack while inside his tent, he expected the scenario where he would step outside to wake up Andromeda and pack up his tent. What he didn't expect is a running Andromeda looking behind her headed straight for him.

“Oof!” Josh and Andromeda huffed out as they collided and hit the ground.

“Ouch. What was that for?” Josh wasn't very happy because the tranquility he was previously experiencing moments before had now completely dissipated from the atmosphere around him. This also hindered his ability to soak in all of the beautiful nature around him that morning.

“No time to explain. Get up and run!” Josh was about to respond but was cut off by a howl that sounded eerily similar to a wolf. Before Josh’s brain could even register what was going on, his instincts took over and he got up and started running. Andromeda was right beside of him. Josh could hear the agile steps of a canine quadruped behind him. He knew it was a quadruped and a feline because he turned around for a quick second to see what he was running from. There was also one minor detail not previously mentioned. It was made of wood.

Author's Note

I'll be keeping to my weekly schedule until further notice.
If you have any constructive criticism feel free to comment.
I hope you enjoyed it!

Ch.5 Not Planning Ahaed

“What is that thing?” Josh sporadically stated.

“It's a timberwolf and it’s mad at me,” Andromeda answered nonchalantly while running beside Josh.

“What did you do to make it so mad?” Josh said a bit scared, but couldn't think of anything else to say.

As Josh looked back at the timberwolf again, he noticed it kept tripping over tree roots sticking out of the ground. Either it was bad at running through the forest, or Andromeda hit it in the head and made it loopy. Either way this gave Josh and Andromeda more ground and precious time to get away from it.

“Actually, yeah I kind of did, but there's a little more to it than that. I'll tell you when we get away from this timberwolf,” Andromeda answered.

“And how exactly are we going to do that? That thing doesn't look like it is going to slow down anytime soon.” ‘At least if you don't count the tripping’.

Josh was running as fast as he could to get away from this dangerous surprise. He was running so fast that the forest was now nothing but a green blur. Josh was lucky his adrenalin had kicked in.

“I think there is a big crevasse up ahead. I spotted it while flying. At least I think it is a crevice. If it is, then we could probably grab a vine hanging down one of the trees on the edge and swing across to the other side, given there are vines hanging down and that crevice is there. Hopefully, if it is there that it is wide enough for us to get across and loose that timberwolf.”

Andromeda had it all planned out. She had a nick for coming up with last minute plans.

“And what will happen if those vines are not there? What are we going to do then? Also, why are you not flying, I mean you could just fly up to see if those key items from your plan are actually there.” Josh said frantically as he tried to think up a contingency plan just in case he and Andromeda were unlucky.

“Basically, I hit my wing on a tree branch as I was trying to land on the one under it. I was trying to get some fruit to eat because I was hungry. It just so happens that there was a timberwolf right under me when I fell. Thankfully it acted as a cushion. As for the plan, we'll figure that out in a minute,” Andromeda said with a look of dissatisfaction on her face. Not because Josh was worried about her plan, but because she managed to hurt her own wing and get chased by a timberwolf all in one bad move. It's like killing two birds with one stone, but the other way around.

“It's going to be bad if things don't go according to plan. At least we had a good run.”

After Josh thought about his sentence for a minute, he started snickering.

“What's so funny? We are literally running for our lives from a wolf made of timber. I honestly don't understand, because just a second ago you were super spooked from the fact your life could be over any moment now if you trip or fall behind for some reason. Not that I'm concerned, but you had an attitude change real fast,” said Andromeda, a bit confused as the human wasn't making much sense anymore, at least not to her.

“I just think it's funny. What I said about having a good run that is. It's an unintended pun,” Josh replied simply.

“How is that funny? That's just— stupid. Let's just get away from this danger for now instead of getting distracted.”

Andromeda just wanted the timberwolf to stop chasing her. It was getting kind of annoying to talk back and forth with Josh while running and trying to look out for roots to dodge.

Josh was feeling the same way.

--A few minutes of running later--

“Ok, I think I see the crevasse up ahead through some trees. You ready to jump Josh?”

Andromeda wanted to make sure Josh was prepared to jump and grab on a vine so he wouldn't fall down or get mauled by a timberwolf.

Josh didn't have much of a choice at this point. “Yeah I'm ready.”

As the sight of a scar in the ground and large vines swaying gently in the breeze on the branches of the trees grew ever close, Josh and Andromeda became more tense. As Andromeda suspected, there was a large crevasse. The only issue was that the crevasse was a lot deeper and a bit wider than she had anticipated. This unfortunate discovery made her wince. All hope was not lost though. There were vines hanging off of trees that were on the cliff edge, which gave them a chance of getting away.

“We’re about to jump. Get ready, we'll jump together. Be sure you have a vine singled out so you can grab it before you fall to the bottom of the crevasse up ahead. And make sure you grab a sturdy one,” Andromeda commanded.

“K.”

Josh was getting out of breath and talking took time out of breathing in air. He needed all the air he could get because his body was definitely not designed for running. He was built better for swimming or wrestling. They may sound like they were similar, but in reality, they were very diffident. Especially when it came to what muscles were being used and how they got used.

Josh and Andromeda jumped and grabbed onto the vine they chose as soon as they got to the edge. The timberwolf stopped just in time to not fall off the edge of the crevasse. Unfortunately for Josh and Andromeda, they grabbed the same vine. This little interaction sparked up a conversation with the two in mid-swing.

“Out of all the vines back there, you had to grab this one?” Andromeda said, annoyed at this occurrence.

“I'm sorry, I had no idea that you would grab the same vine as me.” Josh was truly sorry and wished he could go back in time to change their current predicament, but he couldn't.

“Of course you didn't,” Andromeda spat out.

As the vine reached its apoapsis and swung ever closer to the other side, it snapped in two, which sent Josh and Andromeda flying into the air. Time felt as if it was slowing down for Josh. He looked to his side and saw a determined Andromeda looking in the direction of the side of the crevasse gravity and inertia were tossing them to. He then looked in the same direction and wondered if he would make it to the other side.

‘If I die here, does that mean I wake up in the real world? Is this some kind of nightmare on Elm street scenario where if I die in the dream world I die in the real world too?’ Josh couldn't help but wonder about such things at a time like this. It was in his nature. He then proceeded to close his eyes and hope for the best. He was a little scared of what he might see if he kept them open. After what felt like hours of darkness, his eyes shot open as he let out a yelp of shock due to a sudden pain in his back. At this moment all Josh could could think was ‘I am going to die?’

Author's Note

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. From now on I am going to upload every other week instead of every week so I can have more time to edit and make the story better.

Ch.6 A Thorn In Your Side

Of all the places to land, Josh had landed squarely on top of a rose bush, his back taking most of the impact. He could feel the sharp thorns pierce his shirt and skin. He managed to sit up, but in doing so caused all of the thorns to break off from the bush.. A single tear was shed by Josh at this moment. Not because he was a cry baby about how much that hurt, but because one or more of the thorns had struck a nerve, which forced his eyes to water up.

Andromeda was a bit luckier. She had landed in a pile of white flowers; quite elegantly at that. She was satisfied by her situation, minus a hurt wing, and was also glad that Josh didn't get the two of them killed. They were fortunate the vine, both of them had grabbed onto, held together as long as it did. After assessing her situation, Andromeda looked over at the other side of the crevasse she and Josh had just swung over. The timberwolf that had been chasing the two of them stared directly at her, its green eyes blazing with rage as she returned the stare. After a few seconds of testing wills, the timberwolf decided to give up the chase and return into the dense forest from which it came. Andromeda let out a heavy sigh.

“That definitely went a lot smoother than it could have gone. Not the best escape, but at least we are in one piece,” she said with a smile. When Josh didn't respond, Andromeda looked in his direction. “What happened to you?”

Before he answered he scooted away from the rose bush and sat there tolerating the pain for a minute. It was a bit hard for Josh to speak as he had felt as if the breath had been knocked completely out of him. “I landed on that rose bush and now I have thorns in my back. It hurts. A lot.” Josh was starting to become anxious because he would either have to pick the thorns out of his own back, or he and Andromeda would have to walk to a place where someone would do it for him. He didn't like either option.

“Just look at the bright side. We got away from that nasty timberwolf. We’re also quite a bit closer to Ponyville. You just have to hang in there for a bit more walking and we can get you to a doctor to get all patched up,” Andromeda said, trying to cheer up Josh, though it seemed she wasn't doing a very good job at it. Josh was staring back at her with a flat look.

“I beg to differ. You aren't the one with thorns in your back, but if you're right about how much closer we are to Ponyville, then let's get moving.” Josh slowly stood up and started walking past Andromeda.

“Josh, you know Ponyville is that way, right?” Andromeda pointed to her left after she turned around to look at him.

“Yeah, totally,” Josh answered weakly. He didn't feel like talking any more than he had to.

“Wait a second Josh. Stop walking,” Andromeda said, after noticing something about the thorns in Josh’s back.

“What is it Andromeda?” Josh stopped and was awaiting for a response.

Andromeda squinted at the thorns in his back to get a better look at them. It was a few seconds until Andromeda spoke up, but before she did her eyes grew wide.

This sudden expression from Andromeda made Josh’s heart skip a beat because of the shock apparent in Andromeda’s eyes.

‘If she is acting this way, then there must be a serious problem here.’ Josh started to grow anxious.

“Don't freak out, but there is a chance you have either Acri vexume or Acri venume thorns in your back. Acri vexume is very annoying but not too harmful, but Acri venume is very poisons and can cause - well...death. It's almost impossible to tell the difference between the two. Both are green where they meet the stem of the plant and are also both blue on the pointy end of the thorn,” Andromeda concluded hesitantly.

“Well That's just great. Can we get them out so I like, maybe don't die?” Josh was growing more concerned by the moment.

“There is a certain way of removing the thorns. It is a tricky process because they are shaped like a fishing hook and if you remove the thorns wrong, then the thorn will break and all of the poison inside the thorn will seep into the skin it was broken in, which means game over,” Andromeda solemnly continued. “Were going to have to get to a hospital to get them removed, and be sure not to lay down or hit your back on anything.”

Josh nodded his head slowly in response and wasn't going to say anything, but he had a question he wanted an answer to, injured or not. “How do you know all of this information about this dangerous forest?”

“I own a few copies of books on the Everfree forest and the dangers inhabiting it, I do after all have to travel in and out fairly often.” Andromeda answered.

‘That answers my question, but raises another. Why does Andromeda need to go out into such a dangerous and foreboding forest often?’ Josh couldn't help but think to himself.

Andromeda decided they had been standing around and needed to get moving to the hospital. “We've talked long enough, let's get you to that hospital before anything else bad happens.”

At andromeda speaking up, Josh decided to hold his second question for later and that moving to the hospital was the best plan of action.

As Andromeda and Josh started to walk, Andromeda noticed that Josh was walking rather stiffly.

‘Having all those thorns in his back must really hurt. Boy am I glad I didn't land on any thorn bushes,’ Andromeda felt bad for Josh even though she was still skeptical of him. She didn't have anything else of importance to say to Josh, so she kept her mouth shut and walked beside him while traveling to the little town of Ponyville.

--An hour of walking later--

“Are you sure we are going in the right direction Andromeda? We've been walking for at least an hour and I've seen no sign of civilization since we started. I remember what you said earlier about how long it would take to get there, but I was just wondering if you have any idea where we are,” Josh was very eager to get to Ponyville because he was growing tired and weary of the pain the thorns in his back were causing.

“The forest around us is getting more and more familiar as we walk,” Andromeda gave Josh reassurance on their status at the time.

“I don't intend to be rude, but how do you know that?” Josh didn't want to be wasting time when he could be getting possibly life threatening thorns out of his back that weren't supposed to be there.

“I've been flying over the Everfree for a couple of weeks now, and after taking the same route for a few times, you start to memorize what the path you are taking looks like,” Andromeda explained.

“Not that I have any doubt, but I sure do hope that you are right,” Josh was getting anxious because he wasn't sure how much more time he would have if the thorns turned out to be the poisonous Acri venume thorns Andromeda had informed him of earlier.

--Around 15 minutes later--

Through the woods Josh and Andromeda spotted the side of a house. Josh felt relieved that he could get all those thorns out of his back and that he had a chance.

As they were approaching Andromeda started speaking. “I told you I knew the way back. You need to have a little more faith in me Josh,” Andromeda was just teasing at this point.

“Alright, I guess I'll give you that one. Thanks for getting us out of there. Before we do anything else, could you take me to this town's hospital.” The pain Josh was experiencing had grown from all the walking.

“I know this is a bit last minute, but won't the inhabitants of Ponyville be a bit freaked out that some bipedal creature is walking out of the Everfree Forest?” Josh had grown concerned. This, after all could mean that he wouldn't be able to get medical attention for his back.

“You would be surprised how many crazy things these ponies have seen. From what I have heard, this is Equestria’s epicenter of strange events. For example, Twilight's castle. So no, I don't think they will freak out about you Josh. As long as you are nice.” Andromeda explained.

“If you say so Andromeda. I mean, you haven’t been wrong yet. Wait, what is so special about this ‘Twilight's Castle’? Is there some crazy scientist that keeps themselves locked up in there doing science experiments like Victor Frankenstein?” Josh was now curious and interested. He had always wanted to meet a crazy scientist.

“Victor who?” Andromeda was wearing a face of confusion. She had never in her life heard of a name like that.

“Nevermind. Forget about that part of the question,” Josh was quite disappointed at the response Andromeda had given to him.

“Well anyways, I'll explain. Twilight Sparkle is an alicorn, bearer of the element of magic, and the princess of friendship. She however, is not a crazy scientist. Her castle appeared after this weird box floated through the sky and went into the ground. It also has something to do with defeating this giant power sucking centaur named Tirek. I don't know the full story so you will have to ask Twilight if you want all the details.” Andromeda was starting to get a little tired of all the explanations Josh needed. Even if he had never even heard of Equestria, someone asking lots of questions annoyed Andromeda.

“I um- that's quite complicated,” Josh was not expecting that avalanche of information. He decided to keep quiet until they got into Ponyville. His back was hurting him anyway.

Josh and Andromeda walked past the first house they spotted while in the forest. On closer inspection it appeared to be a cottage that belonged to a pony that really enjoyed the outdoors and the animals that inhabited these said outdoors. The cottage was covered with bird houses and had a chicken coup in the back. In the front yard, there was a small stream that steadily trickled which appeared to have a small bridge over it.

“I am pretty sure this is one of the element bearer’s houses. I think her name is Shy Flutter, or something like that,” Andromeda was telling Josh so he wouldn't ask anymore questions while they walked to the hospital.

“Where is the hospital? These thorns are starting to dig in and it hurts; big time. Like worse than a paper cut, and that's saying something,” Josh was lucky he could tolerate pain well. He wouldn't be able to walk at a good pace if he couldn't.

Andromeda exhaled a heavy sigh. “It's on the other side of town. We will get there in a couple of minutes, don't worry.” ‘I better get my wing checked while we are there,’ Andromeda’s wing was hurting her, which slightly concerned her. If her wing was hurt too bad, she would be grounded. Being grounded wasn't going to be a fun experience for the bat pony. Flying was her main mode of transportation, and without her ability of flight, that had the potential to develop problems later on.

Through the town of Ponyville there were smiles and greetings. Everything was going just as the last day had gone, maybe even better. The air was fresh and the sky was clear. A breeze blew ever so gently through the streets where ponies walked and fillies played. All of this was a reality, at least until a strange bipedal creature walking beside a thestral showed up.

As everypony around was looking at Josh and Andromeda, something unexpected happened. Josh collapsed onto the ground and went limp. There was a loud gasp through the onlookers, but none were as concerned as Andromeda. She knew something they didn't. There was a 50/50 chance Josh was dying from poisonous thorns that were lodged inside of his back.

Andromeda was caught aback by the sudden collapsing of Josh. "No no no no no, you can't die on me. We just met! Somepony get me a doctor!”

Author's Note

Sorry I didn't get my chapter up yeasterday if you were looking for it. I dont want to upload unedited chapters, and it wasn't edited yeasterday, so I waited. Also, if anyone knows any good editors that wouldn't mind editing my story, just pm me because I need one.

Edit: I got an editor. Yay!

Ch.7 Out of the Frying Pan

The door to the hospital swung open when Andromeda kicked the door to the side to make way for the the pony with Josh on his back. Most of the doctors and nurses stood still with wide eyes at the sight they had been presented. To Andromeda’s relief, they only stared for a few moments before going back to work. A few doctors ran up to Josh and started to examine him. One of the doctors spoke up to Andromeda in a rather expedient voice. “What happened?”

Andromeda explained everything, which had the doctors a little flustered. After the doctors got all the information they needed, they moved Josh to an operation room. The room was a stale white with white and blue tile floor. A typical operation room in the land of ponies. The oddity of the room was what it contained. Something quite foreign to the average Equestrian pony. After all the doctors got dressed into their proper gowns and gathered around an unconscious abnormity, a surgeon analyst spoke up to inform the surgeons in the room getting ready to operate. Tensions were high in the room. Even though what was going to be operated on was foreign, the surgeons knew that it's life was just as important as an average ponies life. They pushed the fact it was different to the back of their heads and concentrated on the fact it needed their help.

“I'm not going to lie, this is going to be one of the most challenging operations any of us have ever performed, not because it will be complicated, but because it has to be extremely precise. One wrong move, one flinch even, and bam. It's over for our patent, because if more than two of those thorns in his back breaks open, than the poison being contained by these acre venume thorns will clot up his blood and kill him. One has already broken and leaked some of the poison, which caused him to lose consciousness earlier. Good luck to everypony.” The analyst stayed to watch the surgery through, but moved out of the way to give the surgeon more room.

It was a whole day later when Josh finally woke up. He felt as if he was in an unfamiliar place. He was laying on his stomach, which was slightly uncomfortable, but he wasn't going to move anytime soon because he didn't have the strength. “Ugh what happened? I must have fallen down and hit my back or something before I fell asleep last night. Why do I feel as if a sleep spell has been cast on my body? My eyelids feel like lead weights, no, scratch that, my whole body feels like a lead weight. Did I spend the night sleeping on nails or something?”

Across the room there was a response to Josh's question, even though he had not been expecting one. “Actually, you were running from a timberwolf and swung across a crevasse only to land back-first in a bush of poisonous briers, but who's keeping track, and no, you are in the Ponyville hospital.” The voice had a smart aleck tone to it.

Josh wasn't sure who answered the question, but the voice sounded familiar to him. If he was in better condition he would have just sat up and looked to see who the voice belonged to. All he could do at the time was respond verbally. “Who said that?”

Whoever it was, they let out an amused huff. “Oh no pony, just the mare that led you out of the Everfree Forest and saved your life with her planning and navigating skills.” This time the voice sounded snarky with a hint of amusement.

Josh felt a bit relieved at his recognition of the voice, but began to tense at the same time. ‘I'm glad Andromeda is here with me, but that regrettingly confirms that I am still trapped in ponyland.’ After this thought passed through Josh’s head, his demeanor went from one of intensity to one of disappointment. This change in demeanor didn't go unnoticed.

“Listen Josh, you almost died from those thorns. If the Doctors didn't get them out of you before another one broke, then you wouldn't be here anymore. You are very lucky to be alive. There aren't many ponies that could survive what happened to you, so lighten up a little.” Andromeda was also a patent at the hospital, and knew what was going on with Josh. Normally the doctors keep confidential information confidential, but seeing as the only pony in relations with the human was Andromeda, they kept her informed about how Josh was holding up through the procedure he went through.

“I guess so, but I'm still here. Here as in ponyland.” Josh was still hesitant to become less miserable.

Andromeda wasn't sure how to respond to Josh’s comment, so she didn't say anything, at least until she looked out of the hospital window. “Have you looked out the window yet?” She was trying to cheer Josh up. He was still alive after all.

“No. I didn't even notice a window in the room until you mentioned it.” The window was in the direction Josh’s head was in, but out of his peripheral vision. He had to move his head to a down-looking position to be able to look out of the hospital window. When his eyes reached their intended mark, a warm smile found itself on Josh’s lips. Through the window Josh could see beautiful little white flakes trickling down from the dark sky. Every so often a breeze would blow by and push the little flakes in a different direction. ‘At least the weather is normal in this place.’

Andromeda had noticed Josh’s body appearing to loosen up and hold less tension after he spotted and peered through the window she had previously mentioned, so she decided to make some conversation. “The weather ponies sure did a nice job on the snow. Don't you think? Those clouds out there appear as if they are in perfect relation with one another.”

“Yeah…” Josh began to trail off until he caught a peculiar point in Andromeda’s statement. “Wait, what do you mean by weather ponies?”

“I was referring to the pegasusi that move the clouds around and produce the weather, but now that you mention it, I guess I should have explained that earlier.” Andromeda shrugged as she started her next sentence. “Oh well, better late than never. There is a weather team in every town and city that control the weather. They produce all the rain, snow, storms, and anything else relating to the weather.” Andromeda informatively answered.

Josh could only close his eyes and shake his head weakly. “How could I have not seen that coming.”

Before any more conversation could be held between the two, the door to their room slowly opened. The noise the door made was like hearing an old rusty gate open to a farmhouse. The hinges direly needed lubricant.

“Good morning Mr. Josh and Ms. Andromeda. I hope you to are holding up well.” Josh presumed it was one of the hospital’s doctors. His voice was friendly, but also sounded tired. He was probably working overtime. “I am here to check up on you two and make sure everything is going right with your bodies.”

Josh decided to go ahead and answer the doctor because he was a little concerned about how he felt. “I'm feeling really drowsy. I can hardly keep my eyes open. Also, my back feels numb.” Josh tried to point to his back, but he was so weak he couldn't move his arm behind him and point.

The doctor thought for a minuet and observed Josh before answering. “You feeling drowsy is very normal, considering the operators cast a sleep spell on you while removing all of those Acri venume thorns out of your back. Your back feels numb because we put numbing medicine on it so that it wouldn't hurt when you woke up, and it appears that it worked, which is also a good sign. I do, however, need to take a look at your back before moving on to examine Ms. Andromeda.” The doctor waited a response from Josh before continuing.

“Go right ahead dock.” On that que, the doctor walked over to Josh and untied the back of the patents gown he was wearing.

Josh couldn't feel his back very well, but he could tell that fabric was moving apart on his back. The cool air of the room brushed over his exposed skin giving him a good idea of how cold it was in the room. There was no air condition.
“Wait, don't rip my shirt just to look at my back.” His reaction was one of confusion and slight annoyance.

The doctor let out a light chuckle. “I'm not ripping your shirt, I'm just untieing your medical gown so I can take a look at your back.” The doctor let out a light chuckle at Josh’s reaction.

Andromeda spoke up after the doctor finished his sentence.”That gown looks rather peculiar on you since it was made for a pony to wear. It's quite comical really.” Andromeda let out a handful of giggles at her revelation.

Josh only let out a sigh in response to Andromeda’s rude comment. ‘I hope I'm out of this hospital soon. I would much rather be outside enjoying the snow instead of being made fun of by a bat pony. A rude one at that.’

The doctor took a few more minutes examining Josh’s back with his hooves and magic before he spoke up again. “After thoroughly examining your back, I have come to the conclusion that you will most likely fully recover with no permanent damage other than some minor scarring where the thorns were lodged in you.”

Josh let out a held breath of air. “That's a relief. I was getting worried that I might have been permanently damaged. That's pretty cool I will be getting a few scars to show what happened to me though. I can't wait to show it off to someone.” The Doctor couldn't see, but Josh had a goofy grin on his face.

The doctor and Andromeda looked at each other, both with faces expressing concern. They both wondered if that medicine had anything to do with Josh’s behavior. But, he was a human after all.

Josh noticed the silence in the room so he decided to speak up and break it. Silence was quite concerning to Josh when there were others around. To Josh, it just wasn't right for a room with others to be silent. “I know you two may think I'm weird, but scars are great conversation starters. I love to tell stories using my scars, for example; A while back when I was a Scout, I had my knife out because I was about to start whittling with it. I was idly standing behind my tent and one of my friends that was standing in front of me started walking towards me to tell me something, but I wanted to be safe since I had my knife out, so I started to back up. Little did I know there was a tree stump behind me and I tripped. I swung my arm to try and balance myself out, but ended up slashing my leg with my knife instead. Ironic right? Sadly though, I ruined my favorite pair of shorts that day.” Josh slowly shook his head. “What a shame, oh well, not like they could fit anymore.” Josh shrugged at the loss of his favorite shorts before continuing. “I can show you the scar if I can manage to turn over.” Josh attempted to roll over, but his dreary body held him in place like an anchor. “Well, so much for that. I'll show you guys another time.” He was a little disappointed he couldn't show off his favorite scar, but he'd be sure to show it off later.

The doctor had to shake his head to break the trance which was placed on him by Josh’s little story. “Anyways, I need to also check up on Ms. Andromeda. I'll be back to check up on you later Mr. Josh, and be sure to keep yourself together until I come back.” The doctor couldn't think of anything else to say because of Josh’s little story. He even had to shake his head a few times in an attempt to get back on track.

Josh lost track of what the Doctor was saying after he had walked over to check up on Andromeda and her wing. His senses were clouding his thoughts, so he tuned out the world around him to enter one of his own, which was his mind. ‘What was I doing before I wanted to whittle on that day again? Humm- oh yeah! I wanted to charge my camera, so I placed my solar panel on my tent so that I could charge it. I remember doing that right before accidentally cutting my leg. Come to think of it, I brought that same solar panel with me on this camping trip to charge my phone. That also raises a few other questions, like where is my phone? I presume it is still in the pocket of my pants, but where are my pants? Oh how I hope my pants weren't washed with my phone in them, but it's got that waterproof case on it, so it doesn't really matter. I guess I'll just ask the doctor when he is done examining Andromeda’s wing. For now I'll just get my solar panel out of my trusty backpack I brought with me.” Josh looked at the cold and colorless floor of the hospital where he imagined his backpack should be. “Oh- wait. No, that can't be right. How could I have left it behind?!’ Josh was remembering the events which led him to the hospital he was currently in. ‘How could I have not yanked up my backpack while starting to run from that Timberwolf? To be fair though, I was probably more worried about a wolf made of wood trying to bite my face off than worry about making sure I had all of my things ready to go, but I need that backpack, it also has all my other stuff in it like my books. I need to think this over.’ Josh put his hand on his chin in his mind since he couldn't do it in reality.

After a few minutes of more mental debating, Josh had made a decision, and without realizing it, he stated that decision verbally. “I'm going back.” Josh hadn't taken notice, but the doctor had already left the room.

“What do you mean, back?” Andromeda wasn't sure what crazy nonsense Josh was ready to spit out.

“Back to the Everfree forest to get my stuff, duh. I was forced to leave all of my valuable gear in the Forest when you came back to camp with a big old wooden wolf after ya.” Josh wasn't completely sure what he was feeling inside of himself, but he was sure about one thing, he was going back into the Everfree Forest to retrieve the items previously left behind.

Andromeda couldn't put a hoof on what was up with Josh, but she was certain he was being rash. ‘That unicorn sleep spell or that numbing medicine must be affecting Josh’s judgement, because he’s acting pretty out of it right now.’ Andromeda decided to share some of her thoughts about Josh’s plan. “That's not a good idea Josh, I mean look at yourself, no offense, but neither of us are in any condition to go back into that forest at the moment. You'll have to wait until I can fly again, and that's if I will go with you.” Andromeda was hoping she could help steer Josh back to reality with reason. She was more so scared for Josh than herself. She had previous experience in the forest but Josh- not so much.

“No can do, I've got some very precious items in that bag I left behind. Items that can be broken by nature and the wild things that inhabit said nature. They can also be stolen. We were in a clearing, and I'm pretty sure that anything flying overhead would be able to see the grey backpack and orange tent set up in a clearing with no trees over either of the items. I need to get my stuff as soon as possible.” Josh had his sights set on a goal, and once that happened there was no going back.

“You can't even turn around and look at me, I mean seriously, how do you expect to take a journey through the forest we almost died in. The forest also has monsters and numerous other dangers, so there is almost a guarantee you will stumble into trouble sooner or later…”

“And since when are you the voice of reason?” Josh was not convinced to retract his plan.

“Since this crazy human I met wants to run back into the Everfree forest while wounded to get his stuff. This human also almost died the last time he went into the Everfree.” Andromeda was giving Josh a concerned expression even though he couldn't look at her.

“Yeah, but I didn't die or get permanently hurt.” Josh wasn't about to back down, he did of course, have a few treasured items in the backpack he left behind.

“Whatever, it's your life to lose, not mine.” Andromeda didn't want to deal with this stubborn and ungrateful human anymore. She had already saved his life from the dangers of the Everfree, but he wanted to return to where he was previously trying so desperately to escape.

“Listen Andromeda, I really need to go back into the Everfree and retrieve my backpack, even if the trip may be life threatening. I need you to go too, because if you don't, then I'm going to get lost. Then I'll really be in trouble. So what do you say?” Josh had his best puppy face on, but Andromeda couldn't see it, so it was pointless. It was like a gun pointed in the opposite direction of the bad guy.

Andromeda let a heavy sigh escape when she closed her eyes to think the offer over. ‘Why am I even considering going back with Josh just to get his stupid stuff? Actually, now that I think about it, this could be a multipurpose trip. I still need to collect poison from a manticore and obtain a few cockatrice scales to sell to that curio store in Canterlot. There is also that other thing on my list. It won't be easy, but with the help of Josh...’ Andromeda approached a conclusion. “Alright Josh, I'll help you, as long as you help me with a few tasks I need completing while in the forest. But before we go, I need a few days for my wing to heal and for you to recover, because we need to be on our A game before venturing back into the Everfree. I also need to purchase a few items for the trip. What do you say Josh?” Andromeda had been beat, and her expression showed it.

“I say that's fair enough. I'd shake hands with you to seal the deal, but I can't get up, and you don't have hands.”

Author's Note

Oh man it's been a long long time since I uploaded last. :rainbowderp: I am actually working on capter 12 (at the time of writing this) right now. All the other chapters in between just need to be edited. I'm actually a little excited because I have a lot planned for this story. I'll upload a chapter once I'm through editing it, but they will be at least a week apart. But still, I have quite a bit planned for the future of this story. :rainbowdetermined2:

Ch.8 And Into the Fire

It was morning in Ponyville. The sun was shining and the fallen snow was glistening in the sunlight. Fillies and even a handful of older ponies were playing in the white snow. Snowballs were flying through the air and snow ponies were being constructed. The Ponyville weather team had made the perfect snow that winter. Everyone was enjoying the snow. Josh would have also been enjoying the snow with them if he had his jacket.

“This is another reason I want, no, need my back pack. It has all of my weather gear inside of it, along with my books and-” Josh was loving the cool air, but getting in the snow would be too much, even for him to handle.

“I know Josh, you've told me a hundred times by now.” Andromeda rolled her eyes and had a look of amusement on her face. She was, after all in a happy mood since Josh and her were discharged from the hospital. They weren't fully healed, but they didn't need to be monitored by the staff anymore.

“Oh man it feels good to have all of my clothes on after being stuck in a gown made for ponies while being practically paralyzed for a few days. Good thing I slept through most of it.” Josh leaned back and stretched his body so his muscles would loosen up after being dormant for too long.

“It indeed does feel good to be able to get around and be free from the hospital. I don't mind the cold weather either.” Andromeda was on the same page as Josh.

“You and me both Andromeda.” Josh took a deep breath to take in the cool air around him and exhaled when his lungs were full of air. “So, what now?”

Andromeda had pre-planned while laying around in the hospital. “Now, we head to my place.” She had looked to Josh to see his reaction.

“Alright, sounds good to me.” At the end of his sentence, Josh looked over to Andromeda and let a smile form.

Andromeda was still looking at Josh and noticed the smile he had, she however, raised an eyebrow as a small smile of her own started forming. Smiles are, of course contagious. This was a little awkward, so Andromeda decided to start moving things along.

“We should get going.” She kept her focus on Josh as she said this.

“Alright then, show me the way.” Josh kept his smile all the while. He was still happy about getting out of the hospital and being able to walk around outside in the snow.

Andromeda started to walk, but shortly stopped and turned around to see if Josh was following her. He was still standing at the main entrance to the hospital, lost in the environment around him.

“You coming, or would you rather stand here dreamily all day?”

“What? Oh, right, sorry about that. Sometimes I just get lost in my surroundings.” Josh sheepishly stated before running up to Andromeda’s side.

Andromeda shook her head and a light chuckle escaped her when Josh ran up beside her.

The walk to Andromeda's house was rather quiet. Josh and Andromeda were looking around at the snow and the ponies playing in the snow as they were walking. Neither of the two had anything to say to the other, so they both kept to themselves until they were approaching Andromeda's house.

When Andromeda walked up to the front door of her house to unlock it, Josh stopped walking, then stepped a few feet back to get a better view of her house.

Overall, the house was a decent size. It was about average if compared to to other houses in Ponyville, but maybe just a tad smaller. Definitely a cozy size for one person, or pony to be living in by themselves. The foundation ever so slightly stuck out of the ground where it could just be seen. It was fine stone that had, from what Josh could see, not a single crack in it. The walls were made of some sort of light brown wood that matched the thatched roof. A chimney protruded out of the front of the house to the right of the door, if observing from outside the house. There were medium sized tree trunks that were support beams. They weaved through the walls of the house to keep everything sturdy. The architecture was quite similar overall to that of older German houses back on Earth.

“Here’s what I call home. I bought it when I first arrived in Ponyville. The townsfolk were a bit skittish around me at first, but after a few weeks they got used to me.” Andromeda let out a chuckle after she finished.

‘I wonder how long Andromeda's been here, and where was she before she moved to Ponyville?’ Josh wanted to say what he was thinking, but he didn't want to interrupt Andromeda or be intrusive.

Andromeda was standing at the door waiting for Josh. She noticed he was thinking again, which made her raise her eyebrow. “You coming?”

Andromeda's words snapped Josh back to the world of the living. “Oh, uh, I'll be right there.” Josh hopped a few steps forward and walked into Andromeda’s house. She had been waiting outside the door and soon followed. After she walked inside, she closed the door behind her.

“You seem quite distracted Josh. Anything particular on your mind?” Andromeda was quite curious as to what thoughts were going through the human's head.

“I'm just taking in my surroundings.” Josh gave an honest answer, but he also felt like something was off, or displaced, but pushed those thoughts to the back of his head.

When Josh had walked inside, his attention was grasped upon a most extraordinary sight. There was a large canvas painted as the night sky. Some parts were unfinished, but he still couldn't help but comment on the work of art. “Wow, this is amazing. How long did this take you to paint?”

Andromeda looked at what Josh was referring to and a small smile formed on her face.

“Well, I work on it whenever I have plenty of spare time. Once I get started painting, it's difficult to stop.”

“It's very impressive and I hope you get to finish it. I really like the amount of detail, but what are you using as reference to paint?”

“I use a telescope that's put away right now to see the position of the stars. The telescope is a little week, but it works. There are also things I've added that I felt needed to be there. And thank you Josh. You are the first I've shown my work to. I don't exactly have many visitors around here.” Andromeda looked away and rubbed the back of her head.

“That's too bad, because I'm sure plenty of people, or ponies, would enjoy it.” An awkward silence filled the room. Both Josh and Andromeda were just looking at the painting while trying to avoid eye contact. Neither of them were prepaid for such a situation.

Andromeda was almost a different pony when talking about her art. Not the headstrong, stubborn bat pony Josh had come to know in the few days he had spent with her, which didn't go unnoticed by the human. ‘Andromeda must not have very many friends around here. She also seems a bit embarrassed about her work, even though it's really good. There are so many details to her work, like how a galaxy is in a cloud of stars and that one part that looks like...’ The more Josh stared, the more lost he became. His attention was caught on a particular galaxy, but he didn't have much time to dwell on it.

Andromeda was getting tired of standing in dead silence and decided to end it. “Anyway, since you'll be spending the night here I'll show you around my house.”

Before Andromeda could steal the attention of Josh, he once again became slightly distracted by the painting in front of him.

‘That painting is beautiful. I just wish there was a way for me to be able to look at it whenever I wanted- oh, wait.’ Josh felt stupid and facepalmed. The facepalm was a little harder than he anticipated and ended up hurting himself. He had to rub his reddened skin to get it to feel better. ‘Stupid me. I have my phone, I can just take a picture.’ Josh let out a slight chuckle when he brought out his phone and took a picture of the masterpiece.

Andromeda looked blankly at Josh. She wasn't sure what he was doing, and Josh picked up on this after he finished taking the picture. “Oh, I guess you've never seen anything like this before. This, is a phone. I can use it to contact other people with phones as long as I have signal, and take pictures. There's a whole lot of other things it can do too, but it would take me way too long to explain everything.

“You know Josh, I guess it was your turn to wow me. It's only fair I guess. Heh.” Andromeda stepped closer to Josh to get a better look at the flat rectangular object in his grasp. She was intrigued and her expression showed it.

Josh noticed Andromeda's was quite interested in his little piece of the human world and decided to leave that for later. “I'll explain it some more and show it to you better later, but for now I would love to have a tour of your home.

“Yeah, you are definitely going to have to show me what all that little thing can do later, but anyways, the room we are standing in right now is the living room. I mostly use this area and the couch to read. It's quite nice, especially when there is a fire in the chimney to warm things up.” Andromeda had a grin on her face as she gestured to the room around her.

Josh noticed quite a few more details when looking around than what Andromeda pointed out. The roof of the house was quite tall and on the inside, there was only the first floor, so Josh was able to see all the wood support under the roof. There was one large log that was a handful of feet above him that looked like it stretched through the entire middle of the house. Josh could only assume though, since the walls to the kitchen and other rooms went all the way up to the ceiling.

Andromeda let Josh finish up looking around the house and continued the tour when she figured he was done looking around. “To your left is the bathroom and shower, which you are allowed to use since you will be staying here. There are also fresh towels lying on the counter if you need one to dry off after a shower. To the back of the living room, directly in front of you when you walk in, is the entrance to the kitchen.” Andromeda gestured her hoof to the large opening in the back. Two strong looking trunks stood on either side of the doorway and were connected to the walls. A branch or two arched over the doorway with just enough height for a human to walk through. The trunks blended well with the walls they were attached to.

Andromeda walked inside of the kitchen to continue the tour. “Here is the kitchen, which I'm sure is quite obvious.” There were two main sets of cabinets. One set at ground level and the other was above the ground cabinets by roughly two and a half feet. The ones on the ground also had marble looking counter tops to place food on. There was also an oven, stove, sink, and a few windows to let in some light.

“After the kitchen here, we have the hallway.” The hallway was ninety degrees right after taking a few steps into the kitchen, which faced toward the main door to the house. “The first door on the left is my room,and the door at the end of the hallway is for storage. And that concludes the tour of the house.”

“Andromeda, I love the open architecture of your house. It feels similar to older buildings in my world in many areas, and I love it all. I wish I could find a place like this back home. Thank you so much for letting me to be able to stay here. It means a lot.” Josh was flaunting a genuine smile after his little tour and Andromeda gave a smile in return.

“You are quite welcome Josh. Oh, almost forgot, the are a few items I need to buy in town, so I'm going to go to the market. Do you want to come with me? Wait, no, actually, could just you stay here?” Andromeda looked a bit embarrassed at her slip up.

“I thought you said the town would be fine with me on our way here.” Josh’s feeling weren't hurt, but he was wondering if Andromeda had changed her mind how the locals would react to him.

“I did say that, and while mostly true, the vendors I am going to be buying from might close shop before we walk up to them. Even though the ponies around here are used to outlandish things, they are still quite skittish.”

“Alright, I'll stay here and wait for you. Is there anything I need to know before you leave though?”

“I shouldn't take more than two hours, but it depends on how busy the markets are. Be sure to not break anything, and I mean anything. Feel free to make yourself at home and read a book, but do not, under any circumstances, go in my room. We can talk more when I get back, but until then, just keep to what I said.” And with that, Andromeda grabbed her saddlebags, opened the door, and exited to go to the Ponyville market.

‘Alone now, I guess. Might as well read.’ Josh looked around the living room and spotted a small bookshelf positioned against the wall. ‘I'm surprised I didn't notice that earlier.’ He walked over to it and started to sift through the books in search of anything interesting. It took him a few minutes to choose what to read, but he eventually settled for a book labeled The History of Equestria.

‘This should be interesting.’ Josh let out a chuckle.

While reading, Josh had a feeling of displacement. Anxiety was building up in him like a balloon being filled with too much air. He couldn't figure out why he was feeling this way until a fact he couldn't ignore rose in his head.

“This history is interesting. In fact, this whole place is interesting and intricate as the real world- wait- I've slept, became hungry, gotten hurt, and read in full chapter books. This- this is real. I’m not in a coma, nor a dream, and I'm not on anything.” Josh couldn't pinpoint what exactly he was feeling at the moment of his overdue revelation, but he was sure he felt light headed. Time seemed to slow down. His whole world came crashing down on him. He had already known these things, but put them in the back of his head to deal with later. Later had come, and Josh wasn't ready.

‘So that's what I was missing earlier.’ Josh felt like passing out and wasn't quite sure how to react. The situation was too much for his brain to compute. He stood up for a while, mentally running over his predicament over and over again until the stress of the situation became too much for him to bear. In his time of thinking, he decided he needed to find a way back home as soon as possible. ‘Come on Josh, get a hold of yourself.’ Josh was still in control, but the stress of being thrown into an alien world and realizing it too late was taking its toll on him.

The door to Andromeda's house flew open as a misplaced human came dashing through it. Josh had never had a meltdown during his entire life up until that point. It was also the first time he had ever been stranded on an alien planet with no idea how to get Home; it was the idea of home that hit him the hardest. Was there any way of going back? What was happening without him? How much school had he missed? Where did people, including his family think he went? Books on space travel would be of some real use, but Josh had no idea where to find some. ‘There has to be a book that can help me find a way home. Magic is in this place, so there's that. Okay, the best thing for me to do now is ask someone for directions to the nearest library.’ Josh looked around and strode toward the nearest pony toward him. He figured they had to know where a library was.

“Do you know where I can find a library with books on teleportation?” Josh’s voice was frantic and shaky. He was attempting to keep his composure, but he was having a hard time at it.

Josh’s target was an azure unicorn mare with a wand and crescent moon as a cutie mark. She was noticeably surprised and answered almost immediately with a shaky voice. “Twilight's Castle.” She wanted for the scary bipedal creature to get away from her as soon as possible.

Josh didn't have time to notice the skittish blue unicorn’s reaction. He had to find answers. “Which way is it?” The answer was asked in a rushed assortment of words. Instantly after asking, Josh received a point of the azure unicorn’s hoof. And within the blink of an eye, he was gone to find the information he needed.

Wind was the only input Josh’s body was receiving when he ran in the direction the shaky azure hoof had pointed in. The thought of never seeing Earth, home, or his family again made him almost completely numb. A feeling, or lack thereof, he wanted to end.

Author's Note

Thank you all for reading my story. It makes my day to see some people enjoy what I make, and if you didn't like it, that's totally cool too. Were all made different, and that's what makes the world go round. :twilightsmile:

The next chapter should be out in the next week or so.

Also, for the most part, chapters are going to be a little longer from now on. (Like Ch.6 and Ch.7)

Ch.9 Horse Books and Hallways

It didn't take long for Josh to find Twilight's castle and run up to it. The castle was difficult to miss, especially since it was the only building that was made of crystals. ‘Okay, there is the door. Let's see if I can find any books that might aid me.’ There was a castle like door that was fitting with the rest of the crystal looking castle. It was the only entrance that Josh could see and so he decried to go inside that way. He placed his hand on the door and it slightly opened. He pushed it a bit harder and it opened the rest of the way. He walked

Since Josh was in a state of slight panic, his mind didn't register that he was breaking into someone’s house, or castle, in this case. That someone being a princess.

‘Now all I have to do is find the library.’ Too bad for Josh, because the castle he had just entered could be compared to that of a complex maze.

He ran around the castle halls searching every room he came across. To Josh, it felt like hours were passing by. Very important, very precious hours that he could have been using to research how to get back home. ‘It's got to be around here somewhere. So far I've seen a room with chairs around a large circular table, a bathroom, lots of closets, some empty rooms, and a kitchen. Where is the library? This place is a maze.’ Josh’s breathing became heavier.

While Josh was checking a room, he noticed there was a bed in it, which caught his attention. He decided that the room was worth checking out since it might have a few books in it. ‘Ah ha. Bingo.’ As soon as Josh had taken a closer in the room, he noticed a medium sized bookshelf. ‘I guess I could look around for some more books in this room before looking at the books in that book shelf.’

Josh took a good look around the room, and to his liking spotted a few more books. He also noticed a few more details that caught his eye. There was a few kites, a plant or two, and some pictures. One picture in particular grabbed Josh’s attention. ‘Is that an equal sign with a red line through it? It is. What does that mean? Whatever, it doesn't matter. I need to get back on track and look at those books.’

Josh grabbed all he could carry and sat them on the ground to go through the titles and the book, if he got lucky. He organized them into three categories; yes, no, and maybe. ‘Okay, let's see what we have here. Levitation magic, no, Haycards method, maybe…’

‘Alright, now that I've got them sorted, let's start with the most likely. Teleportation, exactly the kind of book I was looking for. Let's start with the intro, that should give me the basics of this book- wait. There is a bookmark that has writing on it. “Don't forget to give to Trixie.” Well, whoever they are must have forgotten to give this back. No matter, time to find some information.’

Josh skimmed around through the teleportation book for a good while before finding what he needed. ‘Here we go. “Teleportation is a useful magic technique that can be used by unicorns to instantly travel to any desired location the user so chooses. The spell can even be used to teleport others, though it is recommended that the user is advanced with the spell before teleporting anything living. The user must concentrate on what they are teleporting and have a clear and precise picture of where they are teleporting it, or themselves. The spell will not work if the image of either what is being teleported, or the image of the destination is not entirely clear.” So that's it. My stuff and me were brought here by a unicorn, or something with magic. Wait, how did they know what I looked like? What my stuff looked like? I need to find out more.’

Josh read for a while more and went through the rest of the books. The only one he found of any use was the Teleportation book, which he decided to keep with him. After going through all the books in the room, he left and began his search for the library once again.

Josh continued to search through the halls without success. ‘This castle must be bigger on the inside. It didn't look like it could fit all the rooms into it. Maybe magic is making the inside bigger. I wouldn't be surprised if it was. Man I'm getting tired.’ Josh took in a large breath of air for his oxygen deprived body and decided to look through the room on his left. ‘Well I'll be- it's the library! Finally, took long enough.”

Josh slammed the library door against the wall as he came inside, almost falling down in the process. “There are a ton of books to go through, I guess I'll start looking through the ones that are closest to me and go from there. At least there is a comfy looking chair and a desk to sit and read at, because this is going to take a while, a longwhile.’

Because of Josh’s panic and discovery of the library, he completely forgot what a particular bat pony told him.

Andromeda had a hard time at the local market. The supply trip took a lot longer than she had anticipated it would. Even though it was winter, everypony was still filling the market to buy gifts and supplies for Hearth's Warming Eve. This made the streets extra crowded, making it difficult for Andromeda to get to where she needed to be. Her hurt wing didn't help much either, especially when somepony bumped into her.

When Andromeda got out of the crowd, she happily went home. To Andromeda, anywhere was better than being in a large crowd of ponies. Her frustration with the crowd had mostly dissipated by the time she arrived home, and was ready to sit down for a while.

After she walked up to her door, she noticed it was open. This made her nervous, which caused questions to pour into her mind. Her ears lowered and she walked cautiously into her house. After entering, she laid her supplies down and called for Josh. “Josh! Josh, are you there?” She took a few more cautious steps into her home and scanned around the house until her eyes caught something out of place.

There was a few books laid out on a table and one of them was opened facing the ground. It was a book on Equestrian history. “Where did you go Josh, and why did you leave the door open?” Andromeda couldn't help but say to herself. She took another good look around the inside of her house to make sure nothing else was out of place before heading back outside.

On her way out, she closed her door and started to look around. ‘It would be really nice to be able to fly right now, but I am without that luxury. He has to be around here somewhere. There is no way he could have gone far.’ Andromeda looked around outside her house and noticed something that would aid her in her search tremendously.

There was still snow on the ground. All she needed to do was find the right tracks and follow them. The only issue with that is the fact ponies are walking all in the snow too, and they could mess up Josh’s tracks. Andromeda, however, was skilled enough to follow them, even if they were walked over by somepony. She had lots of experience tracking things down in the Everfree.

Andromeda squinted and lowered her head to the ground. ‘Let's see where you went Josh.’

It took Andromeda a good hour to find where Josh had gone. More ponies had walked on his tracks than she had hoped, but she did it. She found out where he went. Andromeda sat at the doorstep of Princess Twilight’s castle. Her pupils had shrunk, and her ears were once again folded down when she was looking up at the home of the princess of friendship. ‘Oh, this is not good. How am I going to get him out of there without getting noticed?’

Before Andromeda could think of anything, she heard the voice of none other than Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the element bearers. They were pretty loud and easy to hear, even though the were quite a distance away. Andromeda panicked and ducked behind the nearest bush to her so she wouldn't get spotted. After she ducked for cover she heard the conversation Twilight and her friends were having. “That was great trip, wasn't it girls? I think we all grew closer as friends. What do you think, Starlight?”

Andromeda wasn't sure she had heard of this Starlight before. It would make sense because Andromeda didn't keep up with the information on Equestria's saviors very well; she had other things to worry about. Before Andromeda could think anymore, Starlight spoke up. “I had a great time too, and I'm glad I went. The kites were my favorite part though.”

The pink flamboyant one then spoke up, “What was that Starlight?”

Starlight became slightly nervous, but quickly answered, “Oh, uh, nothing. Nothing at all.”

The group was getting closer to the castle, and Andromeda had to make a choice. She needed to find Josh, and if she waited too much longer, there would be nothing she could do to go in and get Josh out before being seen. Andromeda looked around for guidance and spotted an open window a few yards from her hiding spot. It was a now or never situation.

Andromeda looked back and forth at the window and at an approaching Twilight, faster and faster until squeezing her eyes shut for a second before letting out a large sigh. ‘Oh screw it.’ Andromeda hopped through the window and landed in the castle with a thud on her hurt wing. She bit her lip and tensed up for a moment from the pain. She waited for Twilight and her gang of friends to become alarmed outside, but they were oblivious. Once she heard them laughing with each other, she let out a breath of air, then stood up with a determined expression. ‘Time to find Josh and get him out of this mess.’

Author's Note

It’s been a long time since I posted and I’m sorry I took so long. Life happened but now I’m back and I’m ready for some uploading. :rainbowdetermined2:

Ch.10 Hide and Seek

‘It looks like I've got a few useful books that I can use, and it only took me however long I've been here. Wait, how long have I been here?’ Josh stopped reading and stood for a moment to think.
‘I should be able to tell what time it is based off of the sun’s position in the sky.’ Josh walked around in a circle before realizing there were windows in the room. He walked up to one of the stain glass windows and pushed it open to get a good view of the sky.

‘It looks like evening might not be too far away, considering how close the sun is to the horizon.’ Josh stood for a few more moments. He felt as if he was forgetting something. Something important. ‘What was it I was supposed to do this morning? Oh yeah, wait for Andromeda at her house and- oh no. I forgot all about her in my state of bliss. Forgetting is something I need to work on, especially when my mind is zoned in. I hope she isn't too mad at me. I better go to her house and apologize, because if I want to find out who brought me to Equestria and how to get back home, I'm going to need some help. Also because it would be rude of me to not to apologize. Oh man, it's going to take me a while to find the exit. This maze of a castle hasn't gotten any less complicated from the last time I was wondering around in it.’ Reading had helped Josh clear his state of mind and strengthen his thought process.

‘Why is this castle so darn complicated? It's going to take me ages to find Josh in here, and the fact that the Princess and her friends are here just means it's going to take even longer. It's a good thing they make a lot of noise when they're together, or else hiding would be impossible. My coat doesn't exactly blend in with the decor of this place. I just hope I can find Josh before they do, because if they did, then he might get banished or something for trespassing. I can't let that happen to my first friend, even though I'm not very happy about him getting us into this situation in the first place. It's funny though, all this sneaking around is really reminding me of when I was younger…’ Before Andromeda had any time to reflect on her past, the noise of a shattering vase echoed through the castle halls.

Andromeda cringed heavily at the sharp noise. She could tell the crash wasn't far from where she was currently sneaking around. ‘I bet that was Josh.’ Andromeda emitted a heavy sigh. She knew the element bearers would likely be on the position of the broken vase in no time.

Andromeda hadn't had much time to react before her worries became true. She could hear hoof steps getting closer, soon to stumble upon her any second. She decided to try and evade the oncoming pony and wait for them to pass before continuing her search for the lost human. She threw herself into a door beside her just before the investigating pony passed. ‘And so, the real game of hide and seek begins.’

‘Oh man, I did not mean to do that. That vase just came out of nowhere. One second I’m walking, minding my own business and thinking to myself, and the next second, a vase! Who puts a vase in a hallway anyway? It's not my fault, I was just a victim of the inevitable. Yep, just a victim. Oh, who am I kidding. I'm an idiot. How am I going to fix this?’ Josh’s thinking was cut short by the sound of hoof steps and a Pony talking. “I think the sound came from this way!” The sound of hoof steps became louder every second. ‘Ok, that's not good. There is only one logical and completely civilized conclusion to this situation. Run. Oh, and also hide. Without being caught of course.’ Josh started to run and decided to hide in the first room he came across.

It didn't take long for him to spot a doorway and throw himself into the room. As soon as he was in the room he turned around and locked the door. “Phew, that was close. Now I've got to get out of here before those ponies find me.” Josh turned around to get a good look in the room he was in and was surprised to see that he was in the room he first found books in. “What are the odds.” Josh was about to get another good look around, but before he could, a shadowy figure lunged at him from behind the door he had previously locked. Josh was taken aback and couldn't react before the figure stuffed their hoof in his mouth to keep him quiet. Josh was attempting to get the figure off of him, but before he could free himself, the figure spoke.

“Josh, it's me, Andromeda. I'm here to get you out of here before the both of us get caught.” Andromeda was speaking in a hushed tone and still had her hoof in Josh’s mouth.

Before speaking, Josh got Andromeda’s hoof out of his mouth and spat a few times to clean his mouth out. “Oh jeez, why did you have to put your dirty hoof in my mouth? It's not like I was going to yell or anything.”

Andromeda became slightly annoyed at Josh and rolled her eyes. “I wouldn't have had to do that if you didn't get yourself trapped here in the first place! Why are you even here?” Andromeda whispered sharply.

Josh’s demeanor became serious and his face reflected that. “I came here because the fact that this,” Josh gestured to Andromeda and the room they were in. “is all real. The fact that all this pony stuff is real scared the crap out of me when I was back at your place.” Andromeda listened carefully as she continued to stand over Josh. “I was reading one of your history books you have, and it hit me that this place was way too complicated, too real, to be a dream or an illusion. So, I freaked out and wanted to find a way to get back home. I left your house seeking answers. I just-” Josh sighed and leaned his head down. “I just have to find a way to get back home, to where my family is. I'm not sure you can understand that, but that’s the situation I'm in.”

Andromeda stood with an unreadable expression on her face over the lost human she met in the Everfree. “My dad died when I was younger and he was all the family I had, and I know what it's like to be out of place and to be an outsider to those around you, so there’s that.” Andromeda maintained a subtle tone.

Josh’s expression went to one of determination to one of soft sadness. “I guess we’re not too different then. I'm sorry about your dad Andromeda, I didn't know.”

“And I'm sorry you have been taken from your family. I'll help you get get back to them and your home, but only on one condition.” Andromeda narrowed her eyes.

Josh wasn't about to disagree. “Sounds fair enough. What’s the condition I have to meet?”

“The condition, is that neither of us can have any more pity parties about what's happened to us in our lives. Only mature and meaningful discussions with some slight humor on the side. Can you comply?” Andromeda had one eyebrow raised, waiting patiently for Josh’s response.

Josh took a second to think it all over, and he had made his decision. A slight smile formed on his face. “As I said before, sounds fair enough. Could you do me a small favor and move to the side enough for me to get up. My back is still healing up, and the extra weight is making it sore.”

Andromeda quickly side stepped over Josh to get out of his way. “Whoops, sorry about that, I got caught up in the moment.”

Josh lifted himself up off the ground and stretched. “Alright, time to get out of here. You think the coast is clear of those ponies?”

Andromeda looked at the door and then back at Josh. “There’s only one way to find out.”

Josh and Andromeda didn't have the chance to open the door before they heard someone coming. They looked at each other for a split second and shared expressions of fear and shock. Neither of them said anything. They ducked for cover right as the door opened and a mare walked through. Josh went for under the bed and Andromeda went for the open closet and shut the door without a peep.

“How did my door get locked? Oh well, I must've been practicing my lock and unlock spell earlier. I'm really getting the hang of it.” The unknown mare said as she walked through the doorway. “I can't wait to take out my new Stratos Five kite! I've been dying to fly it since I left for that Friendship trip. Now, where did I put it...oh yeah! It’s under the bed, right where I left it.” The mare started to move to her bed where Josh was hiding, which caused Josh to start sweating bullets. He looked around, and to his relief, he found a kite and moved it as close as he could in the mare’s direction. After she walked over to her bed she spotted it right away since Josh moved it to the edge, which surely saved his cover. “There you are!” The mare said when she picked up the Kite. She threw it onto her back and pranced out of the room closing the door behind her.

Josh and Andromeda waited a few seconds and then let out heavy breaths they had been holding back since ducking for cover. Josh was bold enough to speak out loud as he started to get out of hiding spot. “That was close.”

Andromeda also spoke up as she got out of hers. “I couldn't agree more.”

Josh and Andromeda stood there looking at each other and started to laugh. They laughed for a few minutes before calming down a little bit. Josh spoke up first. “I really thought I was done for when she headed for the bed.”

“I thought you were done for too.” Andromeda responded and let out a couple of laughs in the process. “Alright, we've had ourselves a good laugh. I think it's high time we head out.”

Josh nodded in response to Andromeda. The smiles they had shared ware still present when they were about to leave the room they were previously using as a hiding spot.

Josh was just about to open the door, but before his hand could even reach it, the door swung open and the same mare from earlier walked into her room. She casually walked passed Andromeda and Josh.

“I forgot to put on a scarf. It's winter and the sun is going down. Silly me.” She laughed to herself. The mare grabbed a scarf from her closet and put it on with her magic, and walked back out of her room while Josh and Andromeda stood frozen. The mare walked into the hallway in front of her room and then stopped dead in her tracks. Josh could see her rear legs instantly halt and slowly reverse back. The mare had an expression of pure shock as she once again faced her room.

Everything was frozen, and Josh, being Josh, decided it needed to be unfrozen. He decided to break the ice. “Hi, how are ya?”

Andromeda looked at Josh with a face that said, “What in Equestria was that Josh?” Josh just shrugged at Andromeda. It was the best he had.

The unicorn mare was about to yell for help, but Josh did something nopony would have ever expected. He grabbed the mares kite and held his finger to it. “If you yell, I'll put a hole in it.”

The mare put her hoof over her mouth and looked like she was shock ridden. Andromeda was flabbergasted. “What in Equestria Josh!?”

Josh ignored Andromeda for the moment. He had a plan. “Alright, I will give this kite back to you safe and sound, but only if you teleport me and my friend here out of this castle.”

The mare didn't say anything, but complied with Josh’s demands. One second, Josh and Andromeda were standing inside the walls of Twilight’s castle, and the next in Ponyville’s park. The mare’s eyes were narrow and she was holding out a hoof for Josh to put her beloved kite in. Josh did what the mare wanted and gently gave the kite back. The next second that passed, the magical mare was gone.

Andromeda was the first to speak. “Josh you idiot! Now we're probably considered criminals.”

Josh let out a sigh. “I really feel bad for doing that, but I got us out of there, and I got some books that might help me find out how to get back home.”

Andromeda was wearing a scowl and was also a little confused. “What books?”

“These books.” Josh untucked his shirt and loosened his pants which allowed a handful of books to get loose and fall from his clothing. He wore a proud smile while the books fell. “I'm not stealing, because I'm going to give these back when I'm through with them.”

Andromeda could only shake her head and facehoof. “Well, at least the trouble of the trip wasn't completely pointless, so long as we don't get in some serious trouble for those stunts we pulled in Twilight's castle.”

Josh smiled at Andromeda’s doubt. “Have a little faith baby. Have a little faith. You were the one that was telling me to be a little more optimistic, and now it's my turn.” Josh had a few good laughs while turning the tide on Andromeda.

“What did you Just call me? You know what? Fine, I'll “have a little faith” as you put it, but don't come crying to me when a bunch of royal guards are dragging you off into the sunset. I would also like to get some good sleep tonight, all this excitement is making me exhausted.”

“Fair enough, and I sincerely plan on apologizing to that mare for that whole heat of the moment hostage situation as soon as I get her name. I hope she can forgive me.”

“Well that's really sweet and all, but as I said, I'm going to bed. And you're coming with me. There is no way I'm letting you take a foot in this town without supervision ever again. So come on, I've got some serious sleep to be had. My wing isn't going to get better without it either.” Andromeda stood up and started to walk home at a quick pace. Quick enough to almost leave Josh behind. Almost.

Josh was right behind Andromeda as she unlocked her door and headed inside. The mare was on a mission to go to sleep. She didn't, however leave Josh to fend for himself without giving him a little guidance.

Andromeda’s pace didn't slow down even when she spoke to Josh. “You can sleep on the couch near the fireplace. It's warmest there. There are blankets and a pillow or two in the closet on the left. I have a few snacks in the top left cabinet in the kitchen, but don't eat all of them. Goodnight and sweet dreams.” Andromeda had managed to say all she needed in the time it took her to walk to her room and close her door.

After Andromeda closed her door, Josh heard her throw herself onto her bed, and let out a content sigh. Josh was impressed. He had never heard someone say all they needed to that quickly or execute it that well.

Josh took a look at the couch he would be sleeping on that night and let out a tired sigh. He too was ready for the warm and fuzzy feeling of sleep to overcome him, but not before getting some food. He was dreadfully hungry after all.

Author's Note

Who’s ready for Halloween? :derpytongue2:

Ch.12 The Kite and the Flight

Andromeda felt like she was snuggling up against the most soft and warm magically heated teddy bear of all time. The sheets of her bed had turned into comforting clouds gifted to her by the heavens above. The heavenly sheets swaddled her tightly, but not to a point of being a restraint. She was free to roll around and get in the most pleasant position possible. All was perfect in the land of sleep and comfort. Nothing could possibly ruin it, besides Josh.

Andromeda could hear a faint voice in the living room. It wasn't strong, but it was enough to get her awake, which abruptly pulled her from her far away realm of tranquility.

“Uh woke josh hum.” Andromeda was trying to ask Josh why he woke her up, but all that came out were scrambled words. She groggily moved her head around to look in the direction of the door to her room. It was still closed. She sighed at the fact she had to get up. The day had unwelcomingly started and proudly displayed its rays upon Andromeda's room through the square window above her bed. She attempted to get out of her bed, but stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a voice that didn't belong to Josh. The voice was too faint to make out what it was saying, but Andromeda was sure she had heard it before. Somewhere…

With Andromeda’s awakening, her senses began to become more clear, and the gears in her head started to turn and power the mechanism that was her brain.

After waking herself up a bit more, Andromeda moved to get herself out of her room. Once out of her room, she saw something she was not expecting. Trixie, the traveling magician, was sitting beside and conversing with Josh. Trixie was a character Andromeda had heard about while on the streets. She knew that Trixie had caused some serious trouble in the past, which concerned Andromeda. Upon closer inspection, the two were looking at a drawing they were working on.

Josh looked up and noticed Andromeda. A warm smile formed on his lips. “Good Morning Andromeda, how did you sleep?”

Andromeda ignored Josh’s question and asked her own with a questioning glare. “Josh, what are you doing?”

Josh looked over at Trixie with a hint of realization and embarrassment and then back to Andromeda. “Um, yeah, uh…” Josh stammered.

Andromeda raised an eyebrow with an unamused expression awaiting an actual explanation. Her groggy composure and slightly disheveled mane added to the fact she wanted a good answer. She almost started tapping her hoof.

Josh was hesitant, hesitant as a soldier in a minefield. If that soldier took another step, he might be blown to bits, but Josh would be the kind of soldier to take a step forward. “I wanted to make it up to that unicorn who’s kite I threatened yesterday. Remember her?”

Before Andromeda could answer, Trixie butted into the conversation. “Starlight is one of Trixie’s best friends, and-” Trixie was stopped by the death glare given to her by Andromeda and shut her mouth.

Andromeda sat down and rubbed her eyes with her hooves slowly. “Listen, that's sweet of you Josh, but you woke me up. I was sleeping like baby Pegasus getting the first nap on a cloud she has ever had. Since I’m up, though, I'm going to go and test out my wings to see if I can fly and try to get over the fact that the best sleep I've ever gotten was interrupted by you two. While I'm gone, don't touch anything and stay out of trouble. You hear me Josh?”

Josh quickly nodded in response to Andromeda’s question. The answer was acceptable to Andromeda, but she still squinted at Josh. He gave her a swift solute to show he was serious. Andromeda pranced out the door and closed it behind her without looking back. Josh and Trixie let out held breaths of air.

Trixie spoke up. “That was-” But was once again interrupted. This time by the door opening.

Andromeda hadn't lost her stride when she came back through the door. She paid neither Josh or Trixie any attention. Her gaze was set on the kitchen. Josh and Trixie were both looking at Andromeda with questioning expressions while she made her way to the kitchen’s treasures it held within its cabinets.

Andromeda dug around in the cabinets until she found what she was looking for. A muffin. Actually three muffins. Large ones at that. Josh’s expression turned from one of uncertainty to one of bewilderment. Not a word escaped Andromeda’s mouth as she headed back outside. Her expression of unamusement still plastered onto her features after closing the front door.

Josh coughed out loud to get Trixie’s attention. “So, you want to get back to working on the present?”

“Yeah…” Trixie gave the door Andromeda left through one more quizzical look before quickly turning back to Josh.

“So, it’s going to be that?” Trixie was uncertain about Josh’s design.

“It's the coolest kite I've ever seen, if I do say so myself. There is no way she isn't going to love it. I didn't see any kite like it in her room.” Josh was confident, until he realized something. “Where are we going to get the supplies to make it?”

Trixie put her hoof to her chin for a moment in thought. “Oh, I know! There is a craft shop in the middle of town. It isn't very big, but it should have what we need.”

“Another problem is where am I going to get the money to buy what I need. I don't even know what the currency is here for crying out loud.” Josh ran his hands through his hair in thought.

Trixie sighed. She was going to take one for the team. “I'll pay for what you need.” Josh opened his mouth and was about to object, but Trixie put her hoof up before he could say anything. “It's fine Josh, but you are going to have to make it up to me later.” Josh was about to ask what he had to do, but Trixie spoke before he could. “When I say make up, I ment being in one or a few of my shows. You are a one of a kind after all. That would attract a lot of attention. Attention that would bring Trixie business.”

Josh shrugged. “Sounds fair enough. Being in one of your shows can't be too bad, right?”

“Oh Josh, you have a lot to learn.” Trixie trailed off with a slight chuckle.

Andromeda stood in a field on the outskirts of Ponyville. Every few seconds a gentle breeze would blow by, ever so slightly causing her to sway in its direction. Her mane blew in the breezes and she could feel It mimicking the motions of the wind as it blew by. It reminded her of the waves of the ocean, flowing harmoniously. The atmosphere was calming. It also reminded her of the one who taught her how to fly. The conditions of the day were similar to that of the day she learned to fly. The day she became free.

“Alright, I can do this. Just like when he taught me all those years ago. Wings out, head and shoulders down, eyes firm and forward, and also be sure to get a good running start.” Andromeda got in the stance to take flight, but stopped. A pang of sadness stuck her heart. A few tears ran down her soft cheeks and her stance lost its rigidness. There was too much grief in her to keep going.

“I know you wouldn't want to see me like this, but I miss you. After you were gone, I- I was lost. Lost and without any guidance.” Andromeda looked to the cold, snowy, ground in thought. “Those things I did- were wrong, and there isn't any way to make up for it. I'm sorry.” Andromeda picked her head up and to look to the sky. Tears streamed down her rosy cheeks as she shuttered in the chill of a breezes and memory. Her vision was a little cloudy from the tears, but she was able to observe the flamboyant clouds above her.

“Remember when we would always make familiar shapes out of the clouds?” A small, but sad smile appeared on Andromeda’s lips when she closed her eyes to remember.

“What's that supposed to be?” A young, yet, familiar bat pony asked with a playful giggle.

“Why, it's supposed to be you of course! How could you not recognize yourself? Did I get the eyes wrong?” A hearty chuckle was let out by the accompanying Pegasus.

“You're not very good at this. Here, I'll make you instead, but don't look until I'm done.” A bright smile beamed from the features of the young bat pony as she constructed a pony made of clouds. The Pegasus shared a similar expression while he was turned around with his eyes closed.

“You done yet?” The Pegasus playfully asked when he pretended to peek at the bat ponie’s work.

“Hey! I said no peeking.” Even though the words were disguised as being harsh, the small bat pony smiled on. She was having too much fun to be serious.

“Almost… and… done! Alright, you can look now.” The bat pony stepped to the side of her creation. She puffed her chest out and beamed with pride. She eagerly awaited judgement that was sure to come.

“Hum…” The pegasus trailed off in contemplation. He circled his cloud duplicate in search of flaws. His actions made the onlooking bat pony nervous and filled her with anticipation for his approval. The Pegasus slowly walked to the front of the cloud statue and made sure he was taking as much time as he could. His expression was one of pure mock concentration. His lips were folded outwards and he would rub his chin every few seconds as if he were making a difficult decision. Every second that passed made the bat pony more and more nervous. Finally, right before the little bat pony was about to burst from anxiety, the pegasus looked her straight in the eyes with an expression that could read the soul. He then squinted his eyes and opened his mouth to talk, but before he said anything, an ear to ear smile formed on his face and he fell to the ground on his back in a heap of laughter. This extraordinary display startled the bat pony at first, but she soon followed in the pegasus’s hoof steps and joined him in fits of laughter.

It took a few solid minutes, but eventually the pair’s laughter stifled down. They sat for another few minutes just observing the fluffy clouds passing overhead in the distance, until the pegasus decided to speak up. “That is actually a pretty good cloud statue of me.” He let out another chuckle and looked over at the bat pony, who returned the gesture with great enthusiasm.

“I know, you are pretty easy to make. The hardest part was the beard though. That took the longest. The easiest was probably your cutie mark. I just had to indent a pick axe and a brush crossing over it into the cloud.” The young bat pony looked to her father’s cutie mark then to her own and sat down. She stared at it long enough to worry her father.

“Andromeda, are you ok?” His concern for her was growing every second she wore a worried expression on her face.

“Yeah, it's just- what is my cutie mark for? I don't remember getting it.” She sat with a slightly upset expression.

“You were- you were born with it, so I'm not sure what it's for. But whatever it is, it's definitely special.” Andromeda looked up to see her fathers determined smile. “And we'll figure out what you got it for together.”

Andromeda could feel the tears getting ready to form, but with much difficulty, she held them in. “Just like Josh told me the other day. I need to be positive. I need to get up and get moving. I need to keep going and not look back at my past!” Andromeda’s heart was filled with a raging fire that could not be quenched. A fire that burnt with the pure will of a bat pony that had lost someone. Someone that meant so much to her, she would crawl to Tartarus and back for him.

Andromeda assumed a flight stance once again. This time, however, she was unmoved by the passing wind. Unmoved by emotion. “You'll always be in my heart, dad.” One last tear rolled down her cheek. It slid slowly and painfully off of her from the oncoming wind. A cold sting took the warm tears place. Andromeda lowered herself and spread her wings out as far as she could. She took off into the air with a powerful leap and flapped her leathery wings harder than ever before. Grief was eating her down, but she managed to overcome her emotions with another powerful flap of her wings. Her wings were unpracticed and staying airborne became harder the longer she flew. “Come on, just a little longer...” A sharp pain shot through her body and her wing began to pulse with pain. Andromeda pushed on, but her wing could bear her weight no longer. It gave out and uselessly flapped in the wind. Andromeda closed her eyes and braced herself for impact. With a heavy grunt and a snap, Andromeda came crashing down.

She couldn't hold the tears back. She couldn't overcome her grief. It was a vain unending battle. Every time she would try to rise up and overcome her grief, she would get pushed back down twice as hard, like taking a step forward to just take two steps backwards. It was painful to see both the memory of her father and to see what she had become. A grieving, messy pile of sorrow. And who was she to blame? No one but herself of course.

Andromeda sat in her own misery for a few minutes before bringing herself back to reality. She was having a hard time breathing, even moving a muscle. Everything ached and every breath was a stab in the chest. She slowly opened her eyes expecting the worst, but was surprised at the outcome of her crash. She had hit a tree on her way to the ground and broke a few branches in the process, which no doubt cushioned her fall. She was lucky she didn't break her wing again. Or worse.

Andromeda slowly stood up. Her legs were wobbly at first, but she eventually started moving forward. Failure and grief were pain enough for the defeated bat pony, but all the physical pain just added to it. She felt heavy as she carried her loss and her damaged body back home. Her head was kept low and her ears were hugging her head. A real hug would have been medicine for the weary mare, but no one was there to give her one. Every once and awhile she would lose her footing and almost trip, but she kept on the perilous journey. To Andromeda, it was like carrying a saddlebag full of lead weights through a desert while on the walk of shame.

“So Josh, you think it will fly?” Trixie was doubtful of the kite's functionality.

“Definitely, but we should probably try it out before being certain. Know anywhere we can test it without too many ponies around Trixie?”

“I know just the place.” Trixie grew a smile.

“Dang Trixie, you were right. No one is here. Except for that dark blue pony walking slowly away- Andromeda?” Josh squinted his eyes to confirm his suspicion. “Here, hold the kite, I need to see what's up with Andromeda over there.”

“Ok, Trixie the saddlebag will just wait here for you.” Trixie sat down with a distasteful expression and kept her gaze on Josh while holding the kite in her grasp.

Josh ignored Trixie’s remark and ran over to Andromeda. He could tell something wasn't right. “Andromeda what's wrong? Are you hurt?”

There was no answer, but Andromeda stopped and turned around to face Josh. She kept her head low so he wouldn't be able to see what state she was in. She slowly walked a few steps closer to Josh, then grabbed him into a tight hug. Josh was surprised at first, but eventually started to hug back. Trixie mouthed a “What?” to Josh and had quite the confused face. Josh shrugged and to the best of his abilities, mouthed “I have no idea.” to Trixie.

Andromeda eventually let Josh go and exhaled a heavy sigh. She look like she had been through a lot. Her mane was disheveled, she had cuts and bruises everywhere and she had this utter look of defeat upon her. Josh could feel the sadness emitting from his blue-grey friend and it hurt him. He hated to see anyone so down, especially someone like Andromeda.

A small smile formed on Josh. He figured out something that might make his dreary friend a little less dreary. “So, Angie, you ready to head home?” Josh asked with an inquisitive tone.

“Yeah- wait, what did you just call me?” Andromeda asked with a hint of sass as she shot a half hearted glare at Josh. She tried to act angry and sad, but she couldn't hold back a small smile. Josh’s plan was coming together.

“Oh, it's just a little nickname I came up for you. It's so I don't have to say your long name every time I refer to you when speaking.” Josh had a smug expression.

“I don't have a long name.” Andromeda sat down, leaned back, and crossed her front hooves. Her fuzzy ears were also down and she stuck her lip out.

Josh thought she looked like a sad little puppy, which caused a few chuckles to emit from him. “Well, I guess I should do the right thing and take this sad, little lost puppy home.” Andromeda was about to comment, but was cut off by Josh picking her up. She wasn't a feather, but Josh had no trouble picking up or holding Andromeda. She was lighter than he had anticipated. After being picked up like a filly, her hooves were still crossed and she wore an expression that screamed, “I don't like this one bit,” but deep down, she knew she enjoyed not having to walk on her weary hooves. Even after all of Josh’s attempts to get Andromeda’s mind off of being sad, she still couldn't help but continue to think about her gone father. Josh did manage to uplift her spirits enough to make her smile a little, which was a victory for him.

Even though Josh was quite curious as to why Andromeda was so upset, he would not dare bring back the subject by asking what upset her.

Josh turned toward Trixie while holding an upset looking Andromeda and motioned for her to follow him. Trixie wasn't sure what all was going on, but listened to Josh. She levitated the kite beside her and headed off to follow the human.

The trip was silent and nothing notable happened on the way to Andromeda’s house, except for a few odd looks and stares from the town ponies. Andromeda was feeling better the longer Josh held her. His embrace was comforting to her. The last time she had any close physical contact, such as a hug, was with her father.

“Alright, here we are.” Josh was at Andromeda’s front door when he made his quiet announcement. He bent down and opened the door while continuing to carry Andromeda. He remembered the door was unlocked since he and Trixie were the last to leave, and neither of them had a key to lock the door with. Andromeda didn't seem to mink though.

Josh slowly walked inside and left the front door open for Trixie to enter. Josh walked to Andromeda’s room. He opened her room’s door and placed her gently on her bed. Andromeda was still silent and wouldn't make eye contact with Josh. She was just staring with droopy eyes at the wall opposite of Josh. Josh was a bit disappointed at Andromeda’s lack of response to him, but he decided that she needed her space. He turned around and walked through her door. When was in the middle of closing it behind him, he was stopped by the voice of Andromeda.

“Wait!” Andromeda quickly called out. Josh didn't move his body, but turned his head so Andromeda could see half of his face. Josh stood in the doorway waiting for a response. He didn't have to wait too long for Andromeda to speak, but she did hesitate for more than a few seconds.

“Th-Thank you Josh.” A small smile formed on Andromeda’s face and she held her head up to look Josh directly in the eyes. Josh met Andromeda’s eyes with his own and returned her friendly smile with one of his own. He lightly nodded in response to Andromeda's “thank you,” and gently closed the door. She needed some time to cope with whatever she was going through by herself, and Josh understood that.

Trixie was sitting in the living room studying the kite to make sure every detail was aligned. When josh walked in the room, Trixie stopped what she was doing and looked at Josh with a skeptically.

“So, what was all that about Josh?” Trixie rubbed a hoof on her chin and maintained the skeptical pony look.

“To be honest, I'm not sure, but It's none of our business anyway. What do you say we finish what we started and take out the kite for a test flight?” Josh didn't want to prod in anyone's business, especially not the one who he was the closest to in the strange and magical world he had been abruptly thrown into. On another note, Josh hadn't forgotten about Andromeda knowing what a human was, he just decided to bring it up later. He figured he would wait for the right moment to ask the groundbreaking question, since the repercussions were quite unknown. It would have been a terrible time to bring it up.

The front door to Andromeda's house had once again been closed. The Human and the magician had left to test out the kite they made for Starlight. The only one still left was the bat pony. The owner of the house. The one who waited for the others to leave.

Andromeda heard the door close with a thud. Not a thud that one would hear from a door slamming, but one that is produced by a heavy door merely closing and making a loud bang when meeting with the door frame. The bigger the door, the louder the noise. Andromeda rolled to the side of her bed and slid off onto the floor. She crouched down to where her belly was touching the floor and gave her room a good look around. To the average pony and human eye, her room would be pitch black and unseeable, but for a bat pony, it was as clear as day. Andromeda’s pupils were made for the looming dark. The dark that haunted fillies dreams. The dark Andromeda would often use as a cloak. A cloak to hide under. A cloak that could be used to hide something that was not to be seen by the eyes of onlooking inquisitors. That is why Andromeda possessed no light besides the window in her room. She had total and complete privacy, and if, by some odd chance, a pony or human were to enter her home, she would be quite aware that she was no longer alone under her cloak. Her cloak of solitude and stealth. She used it for more than hiding herself. She used it to also hide secrets. Secrets she didn't want others to know or wonder about. They were safe under her cloak of darkness she placed them under, a cloak she could control. In order to make a cloak, a material is needed to weave together. A dress cannot be sown without the cloth or the needle. Both are needed to produce the desired object. The same could be said about Andromeda and the dark.

Satisfied with the lack of others anywhere near, Andromeda reached under her bed and removed a floor board to reveal a small indention in the floor that was in the inverse shape of a hoof. She placed her right hoof into the groove and twisted it left and right in a combination only she knew. After she twisted out the correct combination, a few more floorboards separated, which revealed a chest being kept under tight security. The chest was old and had an ancient vibe to it. Andromeda studied it close and her eyes quickly became ensnared by the rolled up note on the top of the chest. She had read it many a time before, but each time she did, she felt like something new was being revealed to her by the one who wrote it. The one she cared so deeply for. The one she lost. Andromeda took the chest out of the hole and held it close, as if squeezing it would give her what she wanted. She set the chest back down and took a deep breath before unraveling the rolled up letter and once again gazing upon the meanings it gave her.

“My dearest Andromeda. I have had more of a life with raising you than that of all the other ponies in Equestria combined.” Andromeda let a tear roll down her cheek. “If you are reading this, well, it means I'm gone, for good. This is a part of my will, of course. Your old man might not have been good at talking about sad subjects, but he was heck a good at planning ahead, henceforth this letter. I've left all of my possessions and money in your capable hooves. I know it's a lot to ask of you, but please do take care of yourself. For me. I've enjoyed every second I was able to spend with you, and my only regret in life, is that I didn't have one more. I'll always be with you my little nightingale, and there is one more item I need to address. The chest this letter is attached to. Don't, and I repeat, don't open the chest until your twentieth Hearth’s Warming Eve. Also, I know you aren't the social type, but please, for Celestia’s sake, make some friends. I love you, and I hope you live a wonderful life. Don't think about me or the past too much, just, keep going. You can do it and I believe in you.”

Andromeda let out a heavy sigh. She missed her father, but she was done with crying and getting all bent out of shape about it. Josh had cheered her up a bit, and she wasn't about to go back to the petty state she was in previously. She knew her father would have hated to see her that way.

‘It's a good thing Josh was there.’ A light chuckle escaped Andromeda and a small smile formed on her face.’You would’ve had a time meeting Josh. There's no telling what type of trouble you and him would've gotten into, like getting lost in the Everfree Forest…’ Andromeda trailed off in thought.

‘I guess that's actually where I'll go tomorrow with Josh. To the wild Everfree. I hope things go better than last time because, well, last time things didn't go so great with Josh there. Normally trips go smoothly and there isn't much trouble. I guess trouble just follows in that humans wake. Then again, I’m not so different. Overall things have been pretty good though.’

One of the hardest things for Andromeda over the years was holding herself back from opening the box before her twentieth Hearth’s Warming Eve. The anticipation had been killing her, but soon it would all be gone. ‘Thank Celestia and Luna this year is the year to open the box. I don't think I could have lasted another year without opening it.’ Andromeda had a content look. She was going to find out what her father had been waiting so long to reveal to her. It would only be a few short days until her twentieth Hearth's Warming Eve.

Author's Note

3 years ago today I uploaded the first chapter of this story. Time flies.

Ch.11 A Breeze through Ponyville

Josh's eyelids slowly parted while he regained control of his body from a deep slumber. He awoke expecting the blinding light of day to invade his eyes, but his eyes were met with darkness. Josh blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing right.

To his relief, he discovered a clock once his eyes adjusted to the darkness. “I guess I just woke early. I wonder if Andromeda is up.”

Josh got up and started to walk around. He noticed that the only sounds that could be heard was his footsteps and the occasional gust of wind pressing against the side of the house. Josh didn't take comfort in the eeriness of the howling wind. He always thought it was foreboding and unnatural. Josh stopped walking and stood in complete silence to think.

‘I almost forgot I had my phone. I hate it when I forget things.’ Josh reached into his deep pocket and was relieved when his hand brushed against the sturdy, plastic case that covered his phone.

Josh grabbed his phone and whipped it out his pocket as if it was a Texas six shooter and he was in a gun duel with the most wanted criminal in the West. ‘Let's turn on some tunes.’ Music helped Josh think and it gave him comfort. If there was a huge paper to write for school, any homework, or if he just wanted something to listen to, he would turn on some music. Homework; that was something Josh wasn't missing, but upon consideration, he shivered at the thot never doing homework again. Not because he liked homework, but because it was unnatural to not have any, almost as unnatural as being stuck on an alien planet populated by talking ponies.

Upon turning his phone on, Josh’s eyes were caught by the photo app. His heart skipped a beat. All thoughts of music completely abandoned him and were replaced with thoughts of home. He hovered a finger over the app to open it, but paused. He took a deep breath to compose himself, then pressed the tip of his finger to the screen and plopped back onto the couch. The screen instantly flickered and displayed a large group of small square photos that contained a precious memory in each square. One of the more recent photos showed a small group of close friends smiling for the camera. This image sparked a hope in the heart of Josh. A hope that his camera roll wouldn't become a museum of an untouchable place by finding his way home.

Josh scrolled down a little more to see some other pictures. One in particular etched a smile onto his face. There was a child, no older than seven, nervously riding a white and red bike. ‘I'm glad my cousin liked my old bike, even if he did crash right after I took this picture.’ Josh shook his head as a tear rolled down his cheek, all the while keeping his small but joyful smile. He kept scrolling and paused on a picture of him and his family at his birthday party. ‘I'll get back to all of you. Just you wait and see.’ The screen went black and Josh slipped his phone back into his pocket, the mood for music in him temporarily subsided. He sighed and got up from the couch again.

Josh took a good look around the house and didn't find anything interesting or out of the ordinary, but there was no Andromeda to be found. The only place he had left to look was her room. ‘I guess I better go see if she is still asleep.’

Josh walked up to Andromeda's room and stood in front of the door thinking. ‘I don't want to wake her up. That would be quite inconsiderate of me. I wonder though…’, Josh leaned up against the door and listened for a few seconds. He heard the rise and fall of Andromeda’s breath. ‘I guess that little incident really war her out yesterday.’ When Josh finished his thought he smelled something. It wasn't a horrible smell, but one you wouldn't want to linger around for too long. He looked around for the source, but detected nothing that could be the cause. ‘What is that?’ Josh leaned his head down and squatted to look on the floor for any trash, but there wasn’t any. The smell got stronger. ‘Wait a second.’ Josh lifted his arm up and took a good whiff. ‘Yep. That's what spending a few days in the same clothes without washing will do to ya. I need a shower.’ Josh shook his head. He was sure the rest of him was in need of some soap and water too. ‘I'm glad Andromeda has a shower, or else I'd be in trouble.’

He figured his clothes needed washing too and took a good look around for a washing machine, but ended up disappointed. ‘I knew it was a long shot, but you never know…’ He decided just to air his clothes out while he took a shower.

Josh took a good look at the bathroom. The walls were sky blue with a few cloud patterns spread out. They reminded him of a child's room. The floor was made up of small white tiles that were slightly rough to the touch. A medium sized mirror was hung on the wall above a sink. There were a few cabinets that Josh left alone and a towel rack to the left of the sink. There was a bathtub about a pony and a half in length, and about the width of a pony. Two bottles of soap were placed at the end of the tub. One for hair/main and one for body/coat. The size of the tub was all around decent for Josh, but he sighed when he spotted the shower nozzle. The nozzle was below his neck and he couldn't adjust its position, so it was stuck at one angle. He would have to squat to the bottom of the tub to wash his hair. He also noticed the shower didn't have a curtain, but a sliding door instead. The door was completely transparent. In the end of his investigation he just decided to suck it up. ‘I've seen worse.’

Thoughts ran through Josh’s mind like the water running down his chest. Both of which were flowing like a river. ‘This has been one heck of an adventure so far and I've only been here for a few days.’ Josh went over every detail of the events that had transpired through the duration of his little “get-away trip” and reminisced on a few certain details. ‘That was weird when I first met Andromeda. Heh, I think she was just as surprised as I was when we met. She did say that there were basically no humans in Equestria before me and- wait. If we just met, then how did she know what I was?’ Josh’s heart skipped a beat at the revelation. ‘Does that mean she knows something about humans? Well, I mean, gah. It's probably Pony mythology or something. I highly doubt she would keep anything from me. There's no way she would, right? Oh well, I'll just talk to her about that later.’

Josh went back to skimming over everything else that had happened until he thought about the events of the previous day surfaced. ‘Oh yeah, I need to apologize to that one unicorn who likes kites today, but first I need to find out who she is. I guess I'll ask around town, but since it's so early, there probably won't be many out. Oh well, I'm sure there is somebody I can ask.’

Josh put his slightly better smelling clothes on and headed outside after he finished his shower. He didn't want to leave Andromeda hanging like he did last time, so he found a piece of paper and a pencil and wrote a note describing what his plans were for the day and that he would try to not take too long.

It was still dark outside, but it wasn't as cold as one would expect. However, there were gusts of wind every half a minute or so that would go right through Josh’s clothes which give him a chill. He usually liked colder weather, but the wind chill was almost too much for him to handle.

‘Where to start.’ Josh wondered around Ponyville in search of someone, but most residence were still asleep since it was still dark outside. It was as if the night had snatched up every citizen of Ponyville.

Josh wasn't about to give up, so he kept searching around the motionless town. Time wasn't wasted because he was learning his way around at probably the best time. There was no hassle or anything distracting. Just Josh, Ponyville, and the snow on the ground.

The market in the town square reminded Josh of the medieval ages. Stands were positioned on the side of the street to attract business from the ponies that would be walking by. Most of the stands were empty, likely to not be filled until the sun rose and warmed things up a bit. Josh came to the conclusion that Ponyville was a nice little town. He hadn't had much time to interact with the residents, but he was sure they would be nice if he got to know them.

Josh was beginning to doubt there was even one soul besides himself was awake. All the sudden there were loud explosions and flashes of light that filled the sky, which were in the direction of Twilight’s castle. Josh almost lost his balance out of surprise. ‘That sounded like fireworks! Why the heck would someone be lighting the town up like it’s Fourth of July this early?’ Josh started walking to the source of the loud explosion. It wasn't much longer before there was another large flash of light followed by a loud bang. The explosion lit up the street Josh was walking on and the buildings around him. ‘Yep, those had to be fireworks.’ The fireworks left long trails of smoke, which made it easy for Josh to track where they came from.

The first few fireworks that were shot off were also the last, but that didn't stop Josh from finding the origin of the noisy explosives. He could see Twilight's castle from where he was standing. It wasn't close, but there was an obvious path that led to it. A little to the side of the path was a trailer which the trailing smoke was lingering around. When Josh got close to the wagon, he could make out a feminine voice coming from the other side of it.

“No no no. That was the wrong mixture. Never mix the red and the blue Trixie. You had one job. One. And what do you do? You mess everything up.” Josh thought there might be two ponies, but when he looked under the cart, he could make out a pair of hoofs laying on the ground belonging to a sitting pony. He guessed that there was another in the cart, or this one was talking to herself. ‘I hope it's the first possibility and not the second. I've dealt with enough craziness in these past few days to cover the rest of my life. I don't need anymore.’

Josh walked around the back of the wagon to get a good look at the pony on the other side and to see what she was doing setting off fireworks so early in the mourning.

The pony's back was turned toward Josh while she continued to work on firework mixtures. She hadn't noticed Josh was behind her. Josh decided to speak up and get the mares attention. “So, the fireworks aren't working out too well for ya today?”

To Josh’s surprise, she responded quite frankly. “Yeah, I guess I'm having a stroke of bad luck. First, I get attack by this thing in the middle of the street wanting to know how to get home or something, then Starlight, my best friend, is all upset about the same creature that hurt her, but she didn't specify how. Then one of my wagon axles cracked, and to top it off, I messed up a simple firework recipe that sent some of my firework supply flying away, which not to mention may have awoken some groggy ponies up that are probably not too happy about that and-” Trixie halted mid-sentence when she realized she was not alone. Her ears flattened against her head before slowly turning around to see who she was venting to.

Josh was feeling really bad about scaring this Pony and hurting her friend, Starlight, but at least he found out what he set out to do on the snowy morning. Mission success? Not quite. He still had to keep Trixie from freaking out again, which was already starting to happen.

“Please stay calm. I wasn't trying to attack you earlier, and I'm really sorry about that, and I'm sorry about hurting Starlight. That's actually part of the reason I'm out here talking to you right now. Just give me a chance to explain.” Josh put his hands up and stepped back a few feet in an effort to calm down the frantic unicorn.

She slowly closed her mouth, but kept her strong gaze cast on Josh. “You better explain fast or I will call the guard on you.” The mares eyes had fire in them.

“...and then I held something that was really important to Starlight hostage and made her teleport me outside. I know it sounds bad, because it is, and I want to make it up to her, and you. So, I'm sorry.” Josh held his head a bit lower than he had before. He was truly sincere about his apology and hoped it would be accepted.

Trixie was no longer scared, but perplexed. “Listen, Trixie usually turns a pony down if they needed help, but Starlight is Trixie’s friend, and you remind Trixie of- somepony else Trixie is close to; and since you want to make up for your mistakes, Trixie’s going to need your help with a few things later, but for right now, you should be focused on apologizing to Starlight.” Trixie finished and looked to Josh expectantly.

“That's what my goal for today was. To apologize to Starlight. I was going to start off by learning her name, which now I know, and try to figure out how to make it up to her.”

Trixie gained a confident look before responding to Josh. “You need to give her something that would mean a lot. Something that says, “I'm truly sorry for what I did.” It also needs to have a note so she knows who it's from. Either that, or you give it to her yourself, but I suggest apologizing in person because it would be more sincere.”

Josh knew what he needed to do now. Get Starlight an awesome kite. He just had no idea how he was going to do that.

“So, what are you, some kind of monkey?” Trixie looked quizzically to Josh.

“Uh, not quite.” ‘This is going to be interesting.’ Josh smiled nervously while he thought to himself.

Author's Note

It’s weird to think I have been writing this story for over 3 years now. Time flies.

I have the next two chapters written, but I need to finish editing them.