How did I get here?!by Skytak193ChaptersPrologueChapter 1: RealizationChapter 2: TransformationChapter 3: DiscoveriesChapter 4: ReturnChapter 5: ChangesPrologueProlouge: It's a cold and wet night. You had just gone through a terrible day of work. As you walk down the road the torrential rain stings your eyes and causes your vision to blur. After an hour of walking the familiar road you come up to your house. It's an average sized house but you are content with it. You have been calling it home since you were two and knew everything you needed to know about. You've lived in the house since you were two. The house loomed in the distance. It wasn't very large, but it was home. It was old and had some damage that needed to be tended to. As you walk up the driveway the rain begins to stop. You sigh, knowing the house was empty. You got used to coming home alone since your parents moved to Minneapolis and left the house to you. You open the door and walk inside, taking note of the sparse amount of furnishings. When your parents left they took everything you didn't own with them. You had a simple, old recliner in the middle of the room. The book you were currently reading was sitting on the floor next to it. You have minimal furnishings in the house, the only other furniture being your bed. You never had a need for things like a couch, TV, or microwave so you never got them. The room was simple, like your college dorm room. You have few things that are electric, just your computer and usual things like lights and a heater. You move to your laptop to do one thing, the only thing you do with that laptop. You watch some My Little Pony. You had been a closet brony for a while now, coming up on a year. You were first introduced to the show by your lifelong friend, who died a month ago. Since then your only escape from the drama of life was My Little Pony. You wished many times that you could enter the world of Equestria with your friends. The appeal of the peaceful and friendly environment can be overwhelming. After you watch an episode of My Little Pony you peer out through the curtains and notice the rain has stopped. The sun is peeking out through the clouds. You decide that it is a good time to walk into the forest bordering three sides of your house. You often walk when you have nothing to do, or if you feel down. You put on a coat and some boots as you walk out the door. You look up and see the clouds parting even more. The sun is shining down even more now. You walk around your house to the path that leads into the forest. You hear your boots squelch as you trod along the muddy pathway. As you walk on, your day seems to disappear from your mind as peace takes over. For another hour you walk in peaceful bliss, taking in every detail of the nature around you, the birds and the trees, it’s like everything is still good in the world and you have no troubles. With nothing to worry about after about an hour you decide that it’s starting to get too dark out and head home. On your way home, you become fixated in the clouds; the sun is making them change into all sorts of beautiful colors. You just stare up at the sky and keep walking. You have no idea how long you have been staring into the clouds. Has it been a few minutes? Hours? Days? You just can't take your eyes off those wonderful fluffs of mist. Wishing you could fly with them, maybe even in them. As you walk, your foot catches some tall weeds on the side of the pathway and you stumble, just catching the side of a tree to keep yourself from falling. As you look down to see what was holding you up, you notice that this part of the forest is not familiar! You look around and you don't recognize the trees. You look down onto the muddy ground and see tracks, they aren't yours. They were oval in shape and looked as if they were walking away, you look behind you and see that the oval tracks have been going on for a long time. You look at your treads then the strange track. "What could have made these tracks?" you ask yourself, "Well, there is only one way to find out". You decide to follow the strange tracks, after hours of walking. You begin to see that the forest is beginning to clear. You see well-trimmed grass in the distance, you break out in a full run to see more. Soon you are out of the forest in in a meadow. Not far away you see apple trees. A lot of apple trees, more than you could possibly count. You sprint across the meadow and jog through the apple trees. Out of breath, you collapse next to an apple tree and begin snacking on an apple. You let your body relax and take in the energy from the apple. After a few minutes you begin to hear voices, they seem to have come close and are walking away. You walk over to see who's doing the talking, soon you notice that you are on a hill and look down the side of it. "Uh-oh, have I gone mad? Is there a talking orange horse? And another one next to it saying only the occasional word? An orange talking horse having a conversation with a red one?" You feel dizzy, you fall over and the world goes black. You feel hazy in your dark mind of unconsciousness. You see bursts of color in the darkness, and you begin dreaming about what you just saw. "Am I dreaming? Will I wake up at home or in a hospital bed? I really hope what I just saw isn't true. I can't be going insane! It's not true! It's just a television show, not real life!" You keep thinking as you lay unconscious The colors start to fade. You feel a small pain in your head. You open your eyes to three sets of eyes staring back at you. You hear one that you didn't see before speak first. "Hey! I think it's awake!" "Hol' up there Pinkie, let’s bring it to Twilight to find out *what* it is first." The orange pony said, holding back a pink pony. Chapter 1: Realization"I'm in a dream, I'm in a dream" you try to assure yourself. You seem to have fallen unconscious again, for a while you become mesmerized by the colors dancing around in your head. You decide you like the cyan colored cloud off to your left, but suddenly it disappears. Then a rude, loud ringing invades your mind. You roll over and swing your arm, expecting to hit your alarm clock, but a sudden jolt of pain hits your hand instead of the clock's snooze button. Eyes shooting open you quickly examine the room. A library? Remembering the injury you lift your hand to your face. There is a puncture mark in the middle of the palm and blood is streaming down your arm. You hear a groan next to you and you jerk your head to see what it was. Sitting on the floor next to you is a purple unicorn with a book in front of her titled "Strange Mythical Creatures". A sudden pang of realization hits you like a speeding truck. "Twilight?" you asked the confused pony. "Ooouch" is the only reply you get from her. Glancing at her horn you see blood streaming down it as well. You quickly look from her horn to your hand. You remember that your hand is bleeding and is in pain. "Is everything alright up there hon?" you hear from below you. "Applejack?" you ask yourself. Another groan from a dazed twilight brings you back to attention. "What in Equestria happened up here!?" Asked Applejack, sounding concerned. Your mind was spinning. You’re bleeding hand, the dazed twilight, and a concerned Applejack. "Are you two bleeding!?" asked Applejack. "It was an accident" you managed to choke out through your tears of pain. "I'm fine Applejack" Twilight finally manages to say. You stand up, holding your hand close to you. "Is there a doctor I can see?" you ask. "Quick! Let's take it to Fluttershy's house." Applejack said with a concerned voice. Applejack began to lead you down the stairs and to the door while twilight washed her horn. You have to crouch to get out the door because you are a couple feet taller than all the ponies in Equestria. You estimate that they are about 3 feet tall and you tower over them being 6'3". After a few minutes of speed walking you begin to see Fluttershy's tree house. By the time you get there, your shirt is drenched in blood and you turn pale and start feeling faint. Cantering up to the door, Applejack began pounding on the door to get Fluttershy's attention. The door slowly cracks open "um... hello?" "We need your help sugar cube" Applejack says a little loudly, further alarming Fluttershy. Applejack steps aside to let Fluttershy see you. You two lock eyes. "EEEEEEEP!" and Fluttershy disappears into her house. "It's alright sugar cube, it won't bite. It just needs your help." "What is it?" Fluttershy asks, peeking from behind her sofa. "Please, I need your help!" you tell the frightened pony a little crossly. She peeks out from behind the sofa once more, this time noticing your bloody hand. "Oh my! Here, come with me." Fluttershy leads you to a table she pulls out gauze and some surgical tape. "It's really deep, what did you do?" Fluttershy asks while unrolling the gauze. "Well" you begin "It started yesterday". Meanwhile, Ponyville was buzzing with the news of your appearance in Equestria. "Where did it come from" "What is its name?" "What IS it?" The Town is filled with ponies trying to get the latest news of your arrival. Through the chaos of the gossiping ponies, Rarity quietly and calmly trots to Twilight's house to get the news, rather than get it third hoof. Rarity is almost to her door when Twilight walks out. "Twilight dear! I've heard that something BIG has happened and I was wondering if you anything about it?" "Really? You haven't heard about it already?" Twilight says, noticing all the ponies bustling about looking for answers as well. "Well, Spike told me that something big had happened and that you had a part in it. So, what happened?" As Twilight told Rarity about your arrival, you are getting to know Fluttershy and Applejack in real life. More than you could ever wish for, but it's under some pretty bad circumstances. "OUCH!!" You yell out in pain as Fluttershy puts some ointment on the puncture in your hand. "Don't worry. This is going to take the pain away." She tells you as she dabs a little bit more on. "So, what’s your name?" Applejack asks from the corner of the room. She is looking away because your blood is making her squeamish. "Ross. What is yours?" (You already know her name, but you don't want to make her even more unsettled by knowing almost everything about her already.) "Applejack, I work at Sweet Apple Acres, the place where we found you passed out." You think about the first time you saw them. "Those apples looked really tasty." You tell her, trying to cheer her up. Applejack's ears perked up. "Darn right they are! Best apples in Equestria are grown right here in Ponyville" You give the perky pony a smile and turn back to your hand. Fluttershy was almost finished wrapping your hand. It itches a lot. You look even closer at your hand to see what was making it itch. Little purple slivers are sticking out of your hand. You realize they are part of Twilight's horn. "Fluttershy?" "Y-yes?" Her voice cracks when she replies to you. "Do you have any tweezers?" She sets your hand down and pulls a small pair from the table then resumes her work. As you begin pulling out pieces of Twilight's horn from your hand, you try to comfort her. "I'm sorry for being short with you earlier. Can you forgive me?" She finishes wrapping your hand and says, "It’s okay, I forgive you." She looks up and it is getting dark outside. "You can stay here for tonight." She tells you. "Thanks" you tell her, smiling. "My dreams have come true!" You think to yourself as Fluttershy walks you over to her couch. "If only James could be here." You think as you start to fall asleep. "But you had to go to war and get yourself killed." Chapter 2: TransformationYou toss and turn all night. Whenever you fall asleep, a nightmare comes and wakes you up again. You open your eyes and peer into the darkness. "I've read some of the stories, why aren't I a pony yet?" You close your eyes and manage to fall asleep again. You see your home. Nothing else, just your home. Then suddenly, it starts to get pulled apart. Inch by inch, piece by piece. Disappearing into the darkness. You scream, but you can't hear anything. Then you feel a heavy thumping on your chest. It's your heart trying to beat out of your chest and leave you. Like your house did. You look around you. Important things of your life are being broken. Somebody lighting your work on fire. A car bomb blowing up while a bus full of kids as it passes by. Your best friend, being shot in the head by a masked man in a military uniform. "Oh make it stop. MAKE IT STOP!" You scream at the top of your lungs, but nothing comes out. The thumping gets harder. Harder. Harder. Your chest is about to burst! Your eyes fling open. The death and the destruction. It's all gone! You look down at your chest and find Angel. Looking very annoyed. There is a red mark on your chest where it looks like Angel has been thumping on it to wake you up. Angel has his paws over his ears as he's glaring at you. "I'm sorry little guy." You tell him in an effort to calm him down. It seems to soften him up a bit. With one last dirty look, he hops off your chest and starts for the stairs. You watch him amble his way up, and your eye catches something yellow at the top of the stairs. "Fluttershy?" You ask. You hear a small whimper from the top of the stairs and you realize what's going on. You scared her. "Fluttershy? I am sorry for scaring you. It's okay now. You can come out." You hear more whimpering and the occasional sob. "Y-you talk in your sleep. You were t-talking about death. You were screaming for somepony not to be killed. A friend?" She begins to cry without holding back. "Y-you talk about things that were terrible. Things that haunt you. Is that where you come from? A-a world of death and destruction?" You get up and walk over to Fluttershy. You sit next to her and tell her "There are many terrible things in my world. But there are many good things in my world too." You give her a small hug. She gives you a big, blanketing hug in return. She sniffs and says "Maybe you can stay here instead of going back to that world. P-please don't go back to those horrors. No pony should be haunted by those!" "I will stay." You tell her. That seems to help her feel better. "I think it’s time to go back to bed now." She tells you as she gets up and walks down the hall. You give her a nod and a smile and head back down to the couch. You wake up and the first thing you notice is the sun. It's bathing the entire room and you assume you've slept late. You get up and stretch. Your hand doesn't seem to hurt much anymore. You think about taking the gauze off, but you decide to ask Fluttershy first. You look around for your shirt. You took it off before going to bed because you really didn't want to sleep in a bloody shirt. You look everywhere, even under the couch. But you can't seem to find it! You take a quick look out the window and see your shirt soaking by a pond. "Fluttershy thinks of everything" you tell yourself as you walk out the door. You walk over to the pond to pick up your shirt. All the stains are gone! "I didn't know they had bleach in Equestria" You tell yourself as you slip it on. With a quick look around, you decide that nobody's home and start walking down the path to, from all the bronyness in you that you know by heart, to be sugar cube corner. While you’re walking up the pathway to sugar cube corner, Pinkie is planning a surprise for you. “I’ve never thrown a party for a new creature in Equestria before! This will be massive party! Bigger than all the other ones put together! Everypony will be invited!" "Now hold on there sugar cube, I know you throw a party for every new thing in Ponyville, but, we don't exactly want to overwhelm him right away now do we?" Applejack overhears Pinkie and cuts in. "I guess not." Pinkie says, a little bummed because somepony didn't like the idea of her welcoming party. "I agree. We should ask him before we do anything rash." Says Rarity as she walks up to Pinkie. As you walk up the dirt path, you start to notice strange and subtle things in the landscape. First, the clouds aren't moving, but you already knew why. Second, the grass everywhere is neatly tended to. Even all the way out there. As you examine the tracks on the road, you don't notice a Pegasus is circling overhead. You find some entertainment by kicking a round rock as you walk up the road. Then, totally by surprise, you get tackled from behind and lifted into the air. Your unknown assailant has grabbed you under the arms and is lifting you. Higher, higher. You hang on for dear life as the Pegasus lifts you into the clouds. Chapter 3: DiscoveriesYou held on for dear life as your unknown assailant hauled you through the air. You rise above the clouds, the only sounds you hear is the wind hissing in your ears and grunting from your kidnapper. As suddenly as you were picked up, you were dropped. Your assailants hooves dip downward and you slide off. Flailing your arms wildly you try to grab the pony. No use, you’re about to scream. Then all your breath is knocked out of you. You have landed on something hard, but you can’t see what it is. You feel around, seems solid. You cough hard as you inhale deeply. You notice the cloud moving around you. They begin to spin. Faster and faster. As the clouds begin to spin faster you notice a rainbow streak, which look to be spinning the clouds. A clearing starts to open up. A cone is forming, with you in the center. Soon there are a couple feet of clearing and you stand up. The wind is blowing your hair around and you cover eyes to keep it out. Then, suddenly, the wind stopped. The rainbow streak has disappeared. You start walking to the edge of the clearing. About to enter it, a voice chimes out from behind you. "And just where do you think YOU'RE going?" You spin around to see Rainbow Dash's head poking out of the cloud behind you. "What was all that about?!" You say in a raised tone. "Relax; I just wanted to meet you for myself. To see if you’re as strange as ponies are saying." "What's wrong with just walking up to me and asking?" You ask, putting your hands on your hips. You yank your hand from you hip. It's still painful to the touch. "You were getting near town. I just didn't want to be interrupted." She replies smugly. "So, where are you from?" You ponder the question for a moment. What should you tell her? There is no point of reference to tell her because you’re from a different world. So you just decide to tell her outright. "I am from a whole different world." "Duh! I knew that!" She says with a laugh. "I just meant what’s the town your from called." "East Grand Forks. It's a small town in a state called Minnesota." "Cool! So how did you get here?" "To be honest, I don't really know. I just went walking and all of a sudden I was at Sweet Apple Acres." "Can you show me where you came through? I mean, if it doesn't bother you." "Sure!" Your mind starts whirring. "What if I can get back home?" you ask yourself. "But, it would take a while to get there. It's a long walk." "That's no problem! I can just carry you!" You eye the enthusiastic pony with caution. "Don't you think I am a little heavy to be hauled around like that? You may hurt yourself." You warn her. "Sure I can do it!" Then without warning, she flies at you and picks you up. Your heels drag the ground for a moment before she gets you fully off the ground. You exit the cloud going really fast. You can see the road a good distance away. "Wow! She flies insanely fast!" you tell yourself. You begin to recall the incident from earlier. She couldn't have carried you more than a minute before she dropped you in that cloud. "I gotta tell you, I was a little surprised that you can walk on clouds. I didn't think you could because you don't have wings." Rainbow Dash tells you over the whistling of the wind. Your brain does a double take of her words. "I was on a cloud!?" "Yup! We will be at Sweet Apple Acres in a minute, hold on!" Dash says as she flies ever faster. You can barely hold on against the sheer speed. Chapter 4: Return*SNAP* *CRUNCH* "OUCH!!" "Crazy driver!!! Err... flier!!" "This would be easier if you didn't weigh so darn much!!" "It's not my fault you hit a tree!!" You’re hanging upside-down in an apple tree on the edge of Sweet Apple Acres. You look over to your left and see Rainbow Dash struggling to get out of the tree, only to keep getting herself even more tangled. *Riiiiiiip!* "whoa-umfff!!" Your shirt tears down the back and you plummet to the ground below. Landing with a hard *thump*. You push yourself onto your back. "ouuuch... You’re only getting yourself more tangled ya know. Need any help?" "I am fine, I can get thiiisss." With one final tug from her front hooves, Rainbow Dash is catapulted from the tree, straight onto your stomach. You fell as if you are about to puke. You hold it in with all you’re might so you don’t puke on Dashie. She is lying spread-eagle on top of you, with her head on your stomach. She looks up with an awkward glance and quickly jumps off of you and helps you to your feet. You two look at each other for a moment. You swear you can see the skin of her cheeks under her fur turning bright red. And yours are doing the exact same thing. You clear your throat. "Well, this is the place where I came in I think." You say as you examine the surrounding area. It looks familiar. You spy a small path a few feet from your right and walk to it. You take one last look around the place as you begin your walk. After a minute of walking, you notice that Rainbow Dash is still following you. "Do you need something?" You say, turning your head to look at her. "Well I can't just let you walk into the forest alone! I'm your guard." Rainbow Dash says as she sticks her nose into the air. She looks like you’re not going to get rid of her. So you just let her tag along. You’re not too optimistic about going back the way you came to get home. You give her a smile to let her know it’s okay with you. Walking, walking, walking. This seems to go on for hours and still, stuck in Equestria. Rainbow Dash tries to make a little bit of small talk to make things go faster. "So why do you want to go back to your home so much?" She asks. "I just don't belong here. Everything is too different and I want to go home. Don’t get me wrong, this is a wonderful world, but I have responsibilities at home I need to tend to." You look over your shoulder to see her response. "What kind of responsibilities do you have?" She asks you anxiously. "I have a job, house, family, that sort of stuff. Not much that is interesting really." You reply, going into thought about your world and how much you miss it. "Family? You have a wife?" Dashie asks, obviously curious about your personal life. "No, no. I visit my parents once in a while. Send them some money if needed. It can sometimes be a hassle, but I enjoy doing it anyways. I don't get to see them very often." Dashie seems to be a bit more relaxed when you finish. It seems you told her something she wanted to hear. "Why don't you see them often? Did something happen?" "No. I just moved out shortly after I turned eighteen. They have wanted me to move out for years before that. They were just-OOF!" Not paying attention, you have tripped on a root jutting out into the path. You just catch yourself before face planting the ground. You roll over on your back. "Today is just not my day." You tell yourself. "Ohmygosh! Are you okay?" Spits Dashie as she rushes over to help you up. "I'm fine, thanks." You take her hoof to help yourself up, almost toppling the cyan pony. "Sorry." You tell her, reminding yourself that you are much bigger than they are. As you get up, you notice faint tracks in the road. Shoes! You quickly get back down on your hands and knees to examine them. Your excitement wells up inside of you. They are your tracks!! You quickly look around for other landmarks. To your left you see a birch tree. You planted that tree yourself! You purposely planted it about thirty yards into the forest as a distance marker. "Follow me! We are almost there!" You yell as you jump up and start sprinting towards your house. "Almost where?" asks Dashie, easily catching up to you. "We are almost home!" Chapter 5: Changes"Whose home is it?" Asks Dashie as she rushes after you. "It’s my home!" You are almost to the edge of the tree line. You can see your yard and the back you your house. Catching Dashie by surprise, you begin to sprint a bit faster. You break into your yard just a moment before her. You stop sprinting and nonchalantly walk up to your house and up the stairs to your back porch. You open the door and walk in. Nothing has changed. You go over to your computer and check the date. You speak aloud. "I have been gone for an hour? I have been in Equestria for a day! How can I just be gone for an hour?" Dashie walks up behind you. "What is this thing?" She asks, nudging the monitor with her hoof. "It’s a computer; it provides a way of seeing things from all over my world. Here, take a look." You scoot the chair out of the way so she can be in front of it. You stand next to her and grab the mouse. "Wait a second, since when was my plastic mouse furry?" You ask yourself as you bring your hand to your face. Your fingertips have dark blue fuzz on them. You rush over to your kitchen sink and try to wash it off. (Hoping that you just touched something blue, furry, and stickey.) Sure enough. It wont come off. You pluck one and wince in pain. "Oh god, they are real!" "What is wrong?" Dashie asks. Not knowing that blue fuzz is abnormal in humans. The signs are there. Your in denial. It just can't be happening. It cant. You glance at Dashie with an expression of panic. "I - I am turning into a pony..." Dashie looks at you with an expression of confusion. "What?! How is that possible?" Says Dashie. Your state of panic beginning to rub off on her. You walk over to your recliner and sit down, staring at your hand. Its just blue hair. Innocent enough. But, no matter how you look at your current situation, you are terrified of the one thing you've wanted for a long time. As you stare at your hand, Dashie takes this as an opportunity to explore your house a bit. She weaves in and out of the rooms. You hear the sound of metal moving. But you don't care. Until she drops what she was messing with on your foot. "Ouch!" You yelp, quickly coming back to reality. It seems she found her way into a closet and brought you an object she wants you to name. You look down at the dull green metal box on your toes. "It's an ammunition box" you tell her. You haul the heavy box off of your foot. "Well, whats in it?" Dashie asks. You pop the canister open and lay out a box of .223 bullets in front of her. "What are these for?" She asks. "Protection." You tell her, putting the box back in the ammo case. "Protection from what? There doesn't seem to be anything evil around here." Dashie asks. She stops you from closing the case and tips it so she can see the rest of the things in there. "Animals. People. Anything I may need it for." You tell her, setting the rest of the small boxes out on the floor for her to see. "Can you show me how it works? I dont see how these little things can help protect you." She seems to want to see some technology of your world and doesn't want to take no for an answer. "Sure." You walk over to a cabinet in the corner of the room and pull out a drawer. From it you bring up a large, banana shaped clip. You walk over to beside your door and pick up a Mini 14 rifle and load the clip. "Cover your ears" You tell her. You cock it and open the door. You take aim at a pine tree in your yard. *CRACK* A shower of splinters flies up in the air. You hear the thud of a large chunk of tree falling near you. You smile; guns always put you in a good mood. You look back at Dashie. Dashie has her head to the floor and is shaking. You've scared her. You quickly take the clip out and clear the gun. You walk over to her and put your arm on her back. She is trembling. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again, I promise." She looks up at your concerned face. "Wha-what was that?!" She squeaks. She has telltale signs or terror in her eyes. You feel guilty for scaring her so bad. You didn’t mean to scare her. "Now look what you've done you big idiot." You think to yourself. You set the gun down and lightly stroke her mane much like you would on the back of a cat's neck. This seems to relax her a little. You begin to put the boxes of ammunition back in their box and the gun back in its corner. After you walk back from putting you look around your living room and Dashie is nowhere to be found. You franticly tear through your house to find her. You can’t find her on the first floor. You run down the stairs to the basement, hoping that she is down there. As you turn into the hallway from the stairs, out of the corner of your eye you see a small bit of rainbow tail in your reading room. In there you see a bookshelf, a couch with a quilted blanket on it, and a small cyan pony curled up in the blanket. Dashie is fast asleep and you wonder to yourself how she could sleep after being so scared. You shrug off the thought and walk over to her. You take the part of the blanket she isn't sleeping on and cover her with it. You walk up to your room and bring her back down another blanket. You chose the softest blanket you had. Stepping back from covering her with the second blanket, you realize just how cute she actually looks curled up. Like a tired kitten, she stretches and yawns and resumes sleeping. You smile to yourself. As you walk back up the stairs you sneak a look at your wall clock. 6:23 PM. Although it is only mid-afternoon, you feel tired enough to sleep. You walk to your room and lie down on your bed and cover up in yet another blanket. (The furnace never worked right and you needed lots of blankets to stay warm.) As you drift off into sleep, you begin to think of what you have to do next. You hear high pitched chatter just as you start dreaming. "Was that Pinkie?!? ZZZZZZ"
PrologueProlouge: It's a cold and wet night. You had just gone through a terrible day of work. As you walk down the road the torrential rain stings your eyes and causes your vision to blur. After an hour of walking the familiar road you come up to your house. It's an average sized house but you are content with it. You have been calling it home since you were two and knew everything you needed to know about. You've lived in the house since you were two. The house loomed in the distance. It wasn't very large, but it was home. It was old and had some damage that needed to be tended to. As you walk up the driveway the rain begins to stop. You sigh, knowing the house was empty. You got used to coming home alone since your parents moved to Minneapolis and left the house to you. You open the door and walk inside, taking note of the sparse amount of furnishings. When your parents left they took everything you didn't own with them. You had a simple, old recliner in the middle of the room. The book you were currently reading was sitting on the floor next to it. You have minimal furnishings in the house, the only other furniture being your bed. You never had a need for things like a couch, TV, or microwave so you never got them. The room was simple, like your college dorm room. You have few things that are electric, just your computer and usual things like lights and a heater. You move to your laptop to do one thing, the only thing you do with that laptop. You watch some My Little Pony. You had been a closet brony for a while now, coming up on a year. You were first introduced to the show by your lifelong friend, who died a month ago. Since then your only escape from the drama of life was My Little Pony. You wished many times that you could enter the world of Equestria with your friends. The appeal of the peaceful and friendly environment can be overwhelming. After you watch an episode of My Little Pony you peer out through the curtains and notice the rain has stopped. The sun is peeking out through the clouds. You decide that it is a good time to walk into the forest bordering three sides of your house. You often walk when you have nothing to do, or if you feel down. You put on a coat and some boots as you walk out the door. You look up and see the clouds parting even more. The sun is shining down even more now. You walk around your house to the path that leads into the forest. You hear your boots squelch as you trod along the muddy pathway. As you walk on, your day seems to disappear from your mind as peace takes over. For another hour you walk in peaceful bliss, taking in every detail of the nature around you, the birds and the trees, it’s like everything is still good in the world and you have no troubles. With nothing to worry about after about an hour you decide that it’s starting to get too dark out and head home. On your way home, you become fixated in the clouds; the sun is making them change into all sorts of beautiful colors. You just stare up at the sky and keep walking. You have no idea how long you have been staring into the clouds. Has it been a few minutes? Hours? Days? You just can't take your eyes off those wonderful fluffs of mist. Wishing you could fly with them, maybe even in them. As you walk, your foot catches some tall weeds on the side of the pathway and you stumble, just catching the side of a tree to keep yourself from falling. As you look down to see what was holding you up, you notice that this part of the forest is not familiar! You look around and you don't recognize the trees. You look down onto the muddy ground and see tracks, they aren't yours. They were oval in shape and looked as if they were walking away, you look behind you and see that the oval tracks have been going on for a long time. You look at your treads then the strange track. "What could have made these tracks?" you ask yourself, "Well, there is only one way to find out". You decide to follow the strange tracks, after hours of walking. You begin to see that the forest is beginning to clear. You see well-trimmed grass in the distance, you break out in a full run to see more. Soon you are out of the forest in in a meadow. Not far away you see apple trees. A lot of apple trees, more than you could possibly count. You sprint across the meadow and jog through the apple trees. Out of breath, you collapse next to an apple tree and begin snacking on an apple. You let your body relax and take in the energy from the apple. After a few minutes you begin to hear voices, they seem to have come close and are walking away. You walk over to see who's doing the talking, soon you notice that you are on a hill and look down the side of it. "Uh-oh, have I gone mad? Is there a talking orange horse? And another one next to it saying only the occasional word? An orange talking horse having a conversation with a red one?" You feel dizzy, you fall over and the world goes black. You feel hazy in your dark mind of unconsciousness. You see bursts of color in the darkness, and you begin dreaming about what you just saw. "Am I dreaming? Will I wake up at home or in a hospital bed? I really hope what I just saw isn't true. I can't be going insane! It's not true! It's just a television show, not real life!" You keep thinking as you lay unconscious The colors start to fade. You feel a small pain in your head. You open your eyes to three sets of eyes staring back at you. You hear one that you didn't see before speak first. "Hey! I think it's awake!" "Hol' up there Pinkie, let’s bring it to Twilight to find out *what* it is first." The orange pony said, holding back a pink pony.
Chapter 1: Realization"I'm in a dream, I'm in a dream" you try to assure yourself. You seem to have fallen unconscious again, for a while you become mesmerized by the colors dancing around in your head. You decide you like the cyan colored cloud off to your left, but suddenly it disappears. Then a rude, loud ringing invades your mind. You roll over and swing your arm, expecting to hit your alarm clock, but a sudden jolt of pain hits your hand instead of the clock's snooze button. Eyes shooting open you quickly examine the room. A library? Remembering the injury you lift your hand to your face. There is a puncture mark in the middle of the palm and blood is streaming down your arm. You hear a groan next to you and you jerk your head to see what it was. Sitting on the floor next to you is a purple unicorn with a book in front of her titled "Strange Mythical Creatures". A sudden pang of realization hits you like a speeding truck. "Twilight?" you asked the confused pony. "Ooouch" is the only reply you get from her. Glancing at her horn you see blood streaming down it as well. You quickly look from her horn to your hand. You remember that your hand is bleeding and is in pain. "Is everything alright up there hon?" you hear from below you. "Applejack?" you ask yourself. Another groan from a dazed twilight brings you back to attention. "What in Equestria happened up here!?" Asked Applejack, sounding concerned. Your mind was spinning. You’re bleeding hand, the dazed twilight, and a concerned Applejack. "Are you two bleeding!?" asked Applejack. "It was an accident" you managed to choke out through your tears of pain. "I'm fine Applejack" Twilight finally manages to say. You stand up, holding your hand close to you. "Is there a doctor I can see?" you ask. "Quick! Let's take it to Fluttershy's house." Applejack said with a concerned voice. Applejack began to lead you down the stairs and to the door while twilight washed her horn. You have to crouch to get out the door because you are a couple feet taller than all the ponies in Equestria. You estimate that they are about 3 feet tall and you tower over them being 6'3". After a few minutes of speed walking you begin to see Fluttershy's tree house. By the time you get there, your shirt is drenched in blood and you turn pale and start feeling faint. Cantering up to the door, Applejack began pounding on the door to get Fluttershy's attention. The door slowly cracks open "um... hello?" "We need your help sugar cube" Applejack says a little loudly, further alarming Fluttershy. Applejack steps aside to let Fluttershy see you. You two lock eyes. "EEEEEEEP!" and Fluttershy disappears into her house. "It's alright sugar cube, it won't bite. It just needs your help." "What is it?" Fluttershy asks, peeking from behind her sofa. "Please, I need your help!" you tell the frightened pony a little crossly. She peeks out from behind the sofa once more, this time noticing your bloody hand. "Oh my! Here, come with me." Fluttershy leads you to a table she pulls out gauze and some surgical tape. "It's really deep, what did you do?" Fluttershy asks while unrolling the gauze. "Well" you begin "It started yesterday". Meanwhile, Ponyville was buzzing with the news of your appearance in Equestria. "Where did it come from" "What is its name?" "What IS it?" The Town is filled with ponies trying to get the latest news of your arrival. Through the chaos of the gossiping ponies, Rarity quietly and calmly trots to Twilight's house to get the news, rather than get it third hoof. Rarity is almost to her door when Twilight walks out. "Twilight dear! I've heard that something BIG has happened and I was wondering if you anything about it?" "Really? You haven't heard about it already?" Twilight says, noticing all the ponies bustling about looking for answers as well. "Well, Spike told me that something big had happened and that you had a part in it. So, what happened?" As Twilight told Rarity about your arrival, you are getting to know Fluttershy and Applejack in real life. More than you could ever wish for, but it's under some pretty bad circumstances. "OUCH!!" You yell out in pain as Fluttershy puts some ointment on the puncture in your hand. "Don't worry. This is going to take the pain away." She tells you as she dabs a little bit more on. "So, what’s your name?" Applejack asks from the corner of the room. She is looking away because your blood is making her squeamish. "Ross. What is yours?" (You already know her name, but you don't want to make her even more unsettled by knowing almost everything about her already.) "Applejack, I work at Sweet Apple Acres, the place where we found you passed out." You think about the first time you saw them. "Those apples looked really tasty." You tell her, trying to cheer her up. Applejack's ears perked up. "Darn right they are! Best apples in Equestria are grown right here in Ponyville" You give the perky pony a smile and turn back to your hand. Fluttershy was almost finished wrapping your hand. It itches a lot. You look even closer at your hand to see what was making it itch. Little purple slivers are sticking out of your hand. You realize they are part of Twilight's horn. "Fluttershy?" "Y-yes?" Her voice cracks when she replies to you. "Do you have any tweezers?" She sets your hand down and pulls a small pair from the table then resumes her work. As you begin pulling out pieces of Twilight's horn from your hand, you try to comfort her. "I'm sorry for being short with you earlier. Can you forgive me?" She finishes wrapping your hand and says, "It’s okay, I forgive you." She looks up and it is getting dark outside. "You can stay here for tonight." She tells you. "Thanks" you tell her, smiling. "My dreams have come true!" You think to yourself as Fluttershy walks you over to her couch. "If only James could be here." You think as you start to fall asleep. "But you had to go to war and get yourself killed."
Chapter 2: TransformationYou toss and turn all night. Whenever you fall asleep, a nightmare comes and wakes you up again. You open your eyes and peer into the darkness. "I've read some of the stories, why aren't I a pony yet?" You close your eyes and manage to fall asleep again. You see your home. Nothing else, just your home. Then suddenly, it starts to get pulled apart. Inch by inch, piece by piece. Disappearing into the darkness. You scream, but you can't hear anything. Then you feel a heavy thumping on your chest. It's your heart trying to beat out of your chest and leave you. Like your house did. You look around you. Important things of your life are being broken. Somebody lighting your work on fire. A car bomb blowing up while a bus full of kids as it passes by. Your best friend, being shot in the head by a masked man in a military uniform. "Oh make it stop. MAKE IT STOP!" You scream at the top of your lungs, but nothing comes out. The thumping gets harder. Harder. Harder. Your chest is about to burst! Your eyes fling open. The death and the destruction. It's all gone! You look down at your chest and find Angel. Looking very annoyed. There is a red mark on your chest where it looks like Angel has been thumping on it to wake you up. Angel has his paws over his ears as he's glaring at you. "I'm sorry little guy." You tell him in an effort to calm him down. It seems to soften him up a bit. With one last dirty look, he hops off your chest and starts for the stairs. You watch him amble his way up, and your eye catches something yellow at the top of the stairs. "Fluttershy?" You ask. You hear a small whimper from the top of the stairs and you realize what's going on. You scared her. "Fluttershy? I am sorry for scaring you. It's okay now. You can come out." You hear more whimpering and the occasional sob. "Y-you talk in your sleep. You were t-talking about death. You were screaming for somepony not to be killed. A friend?" She begins to cry without holding back. "Y-you talk about things that were terrible. Things that haunt you. Is that where you come from? A-a world of death and destruction?" You get up and walk over to Fluttershy. You sit next to her and tell her "There are many terrible things in my world. But there are many good things in my world too." You give her a small hug. She gives you a big, blanketing hug in return. She sniffs and says "Maybe you can stay here instead of going back to that world. P-please don't go back to those horrors. No pony should be haunted by those!" "I will stay." You tell her. That seems to help her feel better. "I think it’s time to go back to bed now." She tells you as she gets up and walks down the hall. You give her a nod and a smile and head back down to the couch. You wake up and the first thing you notice is the sun. It's bathing the entire room and you assume you've slept late. You get up and stretch. Your hand doesn't seem to hurt much anymore. You think about taking the gauze off, but you decide to ask Fluttershy first. You look around for your shirt. You took it off before going to bed because you really didn't want to sleep in a bloody shirt. You look everywhere, even under the couch. But you can't seem to find it! You take a quick look out the window and see your shirt soaking by a pond. "Fluttershy thinks of everything" you tell yourself as you walk out the door. You walk over to the pond to pick up your shirt. All the stains are gone! "I didn't know they had bleach in Equestria" You tell yourself as you slip it on. With a quick look around, you decide that nobody's home and start walking down the path to, from all the bronyness in you that you know by heart, to be sugar cube corner. While you’re walking up the pathway to sugar cube corner, Pinkie is planning a surprise for you. “I’ve never thrown a party for a new creature in Equestria before! This will be massive party! Bigger than all the other ones put together! Everypony will be invited!" "Now hold on there sugar cube, I know you throw a party for every new thing in Ponyville, but, we don't exactly want to overwhelm him right away now do we?" Applejack overhears Pinkie and cuts in. "I guess not." Pinkie says, a little bummed because somepony didn't like the idea of her welcoming party. "I agree. We should ask him before we do anything rash." Says Rarity as she walks up to Pinkie. As you walk up the dirt path, you start to notice strange and subtle things in the landscape. First, the clouds aren't moving, but you already knew why. Second, the grass everywhere is neatly tended to. Even all the way out there. As you examine the tracks on the road, you don't notice a Pegasus is circling overhead. You find some entertainment by kicking a round rock as you walk up the road. Then, totally by surprise, you get tackled from behind and lifted into the air. Your unknown assailant has grabbed you under the arms and is lifting you. Higher, higher. You hang on for dear life as the Pegasus lifts you into the clouds.
Chapter 3: DiscoveriesYou held on for dear life as your unknown assailant hauled you through the air. You rise above the clouds, the only sounds you hear is the wind hissing in your ears and grunting from your kidnapper. As suddenly as you were picked up, you were dropped. Your assailants hooves dip downward and you slide off. Flailing your arms wildly you try to grab the pony. No use, you’re about to scream. Then all your breath is knocked out of you. You have landed on something hard, but you can’t see what it is. You feel around, seems solid. You cough hard as you inhale deeply. You notice the cloud moving around you. They begin to spin. Faster and faster. As the clouds begin to spin faster you notice a rainbow streak, which look to be spinning the clouds. A clearing starts to open up. A cone is forming, with you in the center. Soon there are a couple feet of clearing and you stand up. The wind is blowing your hair around and you cover eyes to keep it out. Then, suddenly, the wind stopped. The rainbow streak has disappeared. You start walking to the edge of the clearing. About to enter it, a voice chimes out from behind you. "And just where do you think YOU'RE going?" You spin around to see Rainbow Dash's head poking out of the cloud behind you. "What was all that about?!" You say in a raised tone. "Relax; I just wanted to meet you for myself. To see if you’re as strange as ponies are saying." "What's wrong with just walking up to me and asking?" You ask, putting your hands on your hips. You yank your hand from you hip. It's still painful to the touch. "You were getting near town. I just didn't want to be interrupted." She replies smugly. "So, where are you from?" You ponder the question for a moment. What should you tell her? There is no point of reference to tell her because you’re from a different world. So you just decide to tell her outright. "I am from a whole different world." "Duh! I knew that!" She says with a laugh. "I just meant what’s the town your from called." "East Grand Forks. It's a small town in a state called Minnesota." "Cool! So how did you get here?" "To be honest, I don't really know. I just went walking and all of a sudden I was at Sweet Apple Acres." "Can you show me where you came through? I mean, if it doesn't bother you." "Sure!" Your mind starts whirring. "What if I can get back home?" you ask yourself. "But, it would take a while to get there. It's a long walk." "That's no problem! I can just carry you!" You eye the enthusiastic pony with caution. "Don't you think I am a little heavy to be hauled around like that? You may hurt yourself." You warn her. "Sure I can do it!" Then without warning, she flies at you and picks you up. Your heels drag the ground for a moment before she gets you fully off the ground. You exit the cloud going really fast. You can see the road a good distance away. "Wow! She flies insanely fast!" you tell yourself. You begin to recall the incident from earlier. She couldn't have carried you more than a minute before she dropped you in that cloud. "I gotta tell you, I was a little surprised that you can walk on clouds. I didn't think you could because you don't have wings." Rainbow Dash tells you over the whistling of the wind. Your brain does a double take of her words. "I was on a cloud!?" "Yup! We will be at Sweet Apple Acres in a minute, hold on!" Dash says as she flies ever faster. You can barely hold on against the sheer speed.
Chapter 4: Return*SNAP* *CRUNCH* "OUCH!!" "Crazy driver!!! Err... flier!!" "This would be easier if you didn't weigh so darn much!!" "It's not my fault you hit a tree!!" You’re hanging upside-down in an apple tree on the edge of Sweet Apple Acres. You look over to your left and see Rainbow Dash struggling to get out of the tree, only to keep getting herself even more tangled. *Riiiiiiip!* "whoa-umfff!!" Your shirt tears down the back and you plummet to the ground below. Landing with a hard *thump*. You push yourself onto your back. "ouuuch... You’re only getting yourself more tangled ya know. Need any help?" "I am fine, I can get thiiisss." With one final tug from her front hooves, Rainbow Dash is catapulted from the tree, straight onto your stomach. You fell as if you are about to puke. You hold it in with all you’re might so you don’t puke on Dashie. She is lying spread-eagle on top of you, with her head on your stomach. She looks up with an awkward glance and quickly jumps off of you and helps you to your feet. You two look at each other for a moment. You swear you can see the skin of her cheeks under her fur turning bright red. And yours are doing the exact same thing. You clear your throat. "Well, this is the place where I came in I think." You say as you examine the surrounding area. It looks familiar. You spy a small path a few feet from your right and walk to it. You take one last look around the place as you begin your walk. After a minute of walking, you notice that Rainbow Dash is still following you. "Do you need something?" You say, turning your head to look at her. "Well I can't just let you walk into the forest alone! I'm your guard." Rainbow Dash says as she sticks her nose into the air. She looks like you’re not going to get rid of her. So you just let her tag along. You’re not too optimistic about going back the way you came to get home. You give her a smile to let her know it’s okay with you. Walking, walking, walking. This seems to go on for hours and still, stuck in Equestria. Rainbow Dash tries to make a little bit of small talk to make things go faster. "So why do you want to go back to your home so much?" She asks. "I just don't belong here. Everything is too different and I want to go home. Don’t get me wrong, this is a wonderful world, but I have responsibilities at home I need to tend to." You look over your shoulder to see her response. "What kind of responsibilities do you have?" She asks you anxiously. "I have a job, house, family, that sort of stuff. Not much that is interesting really." You reply, going into thought about your world and how much you miss it. "Family? You have a wife?" Dashie asks, obviously curious about your personal life. "No, no. I visit my parents once in a while. Send them some money if needed. It can sometimes be a hassle, but I enjoy doing it anyways. I don't get to see them very often." Dashie seems to be a bit more relaxed when you finish. It seems you told her something she wanted to hear. "Why don't you see them often? Did something happen?" "No. I just moved out shortly after I turned eighteen. They have wanted me to move out for years before that. They were just-OOF!" Not paying attention, you have tripped on a root jutting out into the path. You just catch yourself before face planting the ground. You roll over on your back. "Today is just not my day." You tell yourself. "Ohmygosh! Are you okay?" Spits Dashie as she rushes over to help you up. "I'm fine, thanks." You take her hoof to help yourself up, almost toppling the cyan pony. "Sorry." You tell her, reminding yourself that you are much bigger than they are. As you get up, you notice faint tracks in the road. Shoes! You quickly get back down on your hands and knees to examine them. Your excitement wells up inside of you. They are your tracks!! You quickly look around for other landmarks. To your left you see a birch tree. You planted that tree yourself! You purposely planted it about thirty yards into the forest as a distance marker. "Follow me! We are almost there!" You yell as you jump up and start sprinting towards your house. "Almost where?" asks Dashie, easily catching up to you. "We are almost home!"
Chapter 5: Changes"Whose home is it?" Asks Dashie as she rushes after you. "It’s my home!" You are almost to the edge of the tree line. You can see your yard and the back you your house. Catching Dashie by surprise, you begin to sprint a bit faster. You break into your yard just a moment before her. You stop sprinting and nonchalantly walk up to your house and up the stairs to your back porch. You open the door and walk in. Nothing has changed. You go over to your computer and check the date. You speak aloud. "I have been gone for an hour? I have been in Equestria for a day! How can I just be gone for an hour?" Dashie walks up behind you. "What is this thing?" She asks, nudging the monitor with her hoof. "It’s a computer; it provides a way of seeing things from all over my world. Here, take a look." You scoot the chair out of the way so she can be in front of it. You stand next to her and grab the mouse. "Wait a second, since when was my plastic mouse furry?" You ask yourself as you bring your hand to your face. Your fingertips have dark blue fuzz on them. You rush over to your kitchen sink and try to wash it off. (Hoping that you just touched something blue, furry, and stickey.) Sure enough. It wont come off. You pluck one and wince in pain. "Oh god, they are real!" "What is wrong?" Dashie asks. Not knowing that blue fuzz is abnormal in humans. The signs are there. Your in denial. It just can't be happening. It cant. You glance at Dashie with an expression of panic. "I - I am turning into a pony..." Dashie looks at you with an expression of confusion. "What?! How is that possible?" Says Dashie. Your state of panic beginning to rub off on her. You walk over to your recliner and sit down, staring at your hand. Its just blue hair. Innocent enough. But, no matter how you look at your current situation, you are terrified of the one thing you've wanted for a long time. As you stare at your hand, Dashie takes this as an opportunity to explore your house a bit. She weaves in and out of the rooms. You hear the sound of metal moving. But you don't care. Until she drops what she was messing with on your foot. "Ouch!" You yelp, quickly coming back to reality. It seems she found her way into a closet and brought you an object she wants you to name. You look down at the dull green metal box on your toes. "It's an ammunition box" you tell her. You haul the heavy box off of your foot. "Well, whats in it?" Dashie asks. You pop the canister open and lay out a box of .223 bullets in front of her. "What are these for?" She asks. "Protection." You tell her, putting the box back in the ammo case. "Protection from what? There doesn't seem to be anything evil around here." Dashie asks. She stops you from closing the case and tips it so she can see the rest of the things in there. "Animals. People. Anything I may need it for." You tell her, setting the rest of the small boxes out on the floor for her to see. "Can you show me how it works? I dont see how these little things can help protect you." She seems to want to see some technology of your world and doesn't want to take no for an answer. "Sure." You walk over to a cabinet in the corner of the room and pull out a drawer. From it you bring up a large, banana shaped clip. You walk over to beside your door and pick up a Mini 14 rifle and load the clip. "Cover your ears" You tell her. You cock it and open the door. You take aim at a pine tree in your yard. *CRACK* A shower of splinters flies up in the air. You hear the thud of a large chunk of tree falling near you. You smile; guns always put you in a good mood. You look back at Dashie. Dashie has her head to the floor and is shaking. You've scared her. You quickly take the clip out and clear the gun. You walk over to her and put your arm on her back. She is trembling. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again, I promise." She looks up at your concerned face. "Wha-what was that?!" She squeaks. She has telltale signs or terror in her eyes. You feel guilty for scaring her so bad. You didn’t mean to scare her. "Now look what you've done you big idiot." You think to yourself. You set the gun down and lightly stroke her mane much like you would on the back of a cat's neck. This seems to relax her a little. You begin to put the boxes of ammunition back in their box and the gun back in its corner. After you walk back from putting you look around your living room and Dashie is nowhere to be found. You franticly tear through your house to find her. You can’t find her on the first floor. You run down the stairs to the basement, hoping that she is down there. As you turn into the hallway from the stairs, out of the corner of your eye you see a small bit of rainbow tail in your reading room. In there you see a bookshelf, a couch with a quilted blanket on it, and a small cyan pony curled up in the blanket. Dashie is fast asleep and you wonder to yourself how she could sleep after being so scared. You shrug off the thought and walk over to her. You take the part of the blanket she isn't sleeping on and cover her with it. You walk up to your room and bring her back down another blanket. You chose the softest blanket you had. Stepping back from covering her with the second blanket, you realize just how cute she actually looks curled up. Like a tired kitten, she stretches and yawns and resumes sleeping. You smile to yourself. As you walk back up the stairs you sneak a look at your wall clock. 6:23 PM. Although it is only mid-afternoon, you feel tired enough to sleep. You walk to your room and lie down on your bed and cover up in yet another blanket. (The furnace never worked right and you needed lots of blankets to stay warm.) As you drift off into sleep, you begin to think of what you have to do next. You hear high pitched chatter just as you start dreaming. "Was that Pinkie?!? ZZZZZZ"
