I slowly drifted back into consciousness. My senses began returning as I tried to make sense of my situation. My first thought was about how cold the floor was. It felt like stone. Then I smelled dust, after a minute, my eyes began to work and I saw light. I opened my eyes and focused on what was right in front of me. It was a very close view of a granite floor. I blinked, slowly sat up, and carefully looked around. Nothing was familiar and I found myself in an abandoned throne room.

A scraping caught my attention and I turned to see what had made it. I found myself looking at a bald man of average height. He wore khaki pants and a white shirt. My eyes fell to a leather hunting knife at his waist. He stepped forward and squinted his right eye. He looked around for something to say. The scar across that eye twisted with the movement. He walked back and forth in thought, then squatted down to my eye level and began fidgeting with the hunting knife.

"I guess you're wondering where you are?"

As he spoke my brows raised in surprise. I knew this man from TV. It was the fictional John Locke from the TV show LOST.

"Your John Locke?"

He gave a small smile, "Looks that way, doesn't it." casually holding the blade he gestured around the room with the handle. "All this," he said squinting at me, "Is a holding room." He stood, "For the recently dead."

My eyes widened, "So you're not Locke then."

Another smile. "No."

"If I'm dead, would that make you death?

Locke cocked his head, casually tapping the knife handle on his palm. "Depends on how you look at it."

Locke stood with a puff of effort, "Well, I'm sorry to be the one to tell you, but you aren't going to the afterlife. Let's just say that I have other plans for you. I would like to send you to a parallel world. The people there could use a hand." He scratched an itch on his face with the knife. "The natives they're need the help."

There has to be a catch. "Me, running through some strange island, protecting natives from the dharma initiative? No, I think I'll pass."

John smiled and sheathed his knife. "That island was a TV show, but I do get your point. No, Adam, I'm offering you a brand new chance at life someplace much different. What do you say?"

I frowned. "Let me see if I got this. You want to send an average guy to somehow protect people?"

John nodded. "That's about right."

"You realize I'm average right? I'm a regular guy. I have no scientific training, no fighting skills. I couldn't hang a picture without instructions. I don't see how you expect me to be helpful."

Lock Scratched his ear. "I trust you, Adam. You'll figure it out given enough time." He breaks into his devious grin. "So, are you in, or not?"

I sigh, "Live or Die? Where do I sign?"

Locke claps his hands together. "Good, now we're getting somewhere! On to my next question. What powers would you like?"

"What do you mean, What powers would I like?" I ask in surprise.

"It's a simple enough question."

"OK, I want the power of Cthulhu."

"Be serious. The place you're going to is full of myths and monsters. You need an edge! So within reason … what powers would you like to have?"

This surprised me, my brows rose to the occasion. "You mean like D&D, sword in the stone, hobbits sort of thing?"

He simply nods and after some thought, I smiled. Walking up to my savior I whisper in his ear.

He looks at me in surprise, "Why not the red one?"

"I don't like the red one. Red ones a weenie."

"You know he is a villain right?" He says in a deadpan.

A throw my arms out to my sides. "Power is power, it's just a tool. Good or evil is in how you use it"

Locks eyes glint with mischief, a glint I missed. "Are you sure about that? Certain powers aren't inherently evil? "

"Yes. A tool is just a tool."

He shakes his head mumbling, "Hero's." and snaps his fingers "Granted!"

Everything goes black.

My hooves plowed through the underbrush. My keen eyes sweeping the ground for rotting logs. My large earth pony frame made getting through these tight confines a simple matter as I tanked my way through the forest. Here I was, hero of Equestria … hunting for mushrooms with my wicker basket. I huffed as I thought about just how unheroic my life had been since I got here.

I arrived over six years ago in a crash of thunder. Dropping from the sky during one of the worst storms in years. My heroically unconscious and waterlogged form was fished out of the mud. I was found by two local sisters and brought to their farm for treatment. I was told much later that I was out cold for seven days, and I remained weak as a kitten two weeks later.

When I woke, I was confronted by two beautiful sisters. Both farm ponies of the Earth variety. I hate to admit it, but it was one shock after another. In those early days, I had to come to terms with my new body and the new culture that I found myself in. I was what they called an earth pony. A large one, with a white coat and a black mane. I often caught the two sisters eyeing me when I wasn't looking.

The culture here was odd as well. It was a matriarchy. It was a rule by women and for women. Men here had almost no say in anything other than household matters. It was a culture shock for me, but I had a good excuse for any odd behavior. I feigned amnesia, which wasn't hard to do, considering I was no farmer and I had no idea about medieval life. When asked about my life or my past, I just kept things vague, or I fell back on the amnesia excuse. It worked surprisingly well.

Time went by and I made a life for myself as the two sisters' live-in maid. I heroically cooked and cleaned, and did laundry. I was defeating dust bunnies and slaying bread crusts that dared appear on their toast. Yeah, this wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be.

After a while, the sisters became more and more interested in me. Casual conversations became suggestive. What little clothing the ponies did wear, became more suggestive, and it wasn't long until they started getting grabby with me. It wasn't too long after that when they cornered me in the barn. Just like in the old farmer's daughters' jokes, I became their stallion.

I smiled as I thought back on those times, and having filled my basket I headed back to the homestead. I hummed a happy tune, trotting forward, my dangerous mushroom prisoners in toe.

As I strode out of the forest, the valley came into view. It was a valley full of meadows and wildflowers and from here I could see our farm. It was a little place, nestled in the valley and isolated from the village. The sisters liked their privacy and felt that the valley was the perfect location. It was close enough to the Earth pony settlement of Brown Briar, without being so close that the other families became a bother.

I smiled as I thought of my little family and headed down into our fields. I passed by both of my wives and made sure to be close enough for a playful swat if they wanted to. My mares were hoovsey and liked grabbing me whenever they could. I always pretended to be offended, but we all knew I loved it. I caught their scent in the air. A mix of sweat and musk. I bit my lower lip as I sauntered by.

"I love the look of a hard-working mare," I said as I swatted them with my tail as I passed. I looked over my shoulder and with a sultry look said, "If only I had some big strong mares to take me under hoof and teach me the ways of the world." I finished with a seductive lick of my teeth and a flick of my tail. I always loved watching their eyes widen as they get that split-second look at my stallion bits. It's comical. Even after eight years, I can still make them stammer like teenagers.

I giggle and head into the home. I'll be honest. When I first arrived, the fact that I was treated like a helpless woman irritated me to no end. My two mares sat me down and treated me like a wild pony. Which they honestly thought I was. Word got out in the nearby settlement that they found a wild boy raised by timberwolves. I didn't know how to use my body and so had to be taught how to eat, how to use the out-house, and how to sit like a stallion. Sitting with my jewels showing wasn't acceptable. Of course, being the mare equivalent of two lone teenage boys, they didn't correct a lot of those bad habits till much later. Letting me sit all exposed and sneaking as many peeks as possible.

I have to say that in time, I got used to it. I began enjoying the game of being the hot tease in the room. It was even more fun to me because as a human man, I could relate to how they felt. Don't forget that living on an isolated farm in medieval times didn't give a pony many options against boredom. As that first year passed, touching, turned to kissing, and kissing turned to groping. Before too long we were wed. Not so long after that our two daughters were born. Silver Holly and Milk Thistle. My daughters and the lights of my new life.

As I stood at our sink priming the water pump, I got knocked over by my two adorable fillies. I endured the giggles and hugs as I got back to my hooves and set them down at the table.

"What did I tell you two about running in the house?"

“Both moms said we could!”

I gave a mock scowl, "And I see two young mares itching for a switching.”

Milk thistles eyes went wide and I pretended not to notice her kick her sister.

"Poppa, I just remembered they said, not to run in the house."

I grinned, "That's right. So what has you running all around here?"

Mom said for me to tell you to have dinner ready early as they're going to be ahead of things today.

I huffed in mock indignation. "You tell your mothers that dinners don't make themselves and it will be ready when it's ready." I huff and turn around stifling a grin. "Now get."

I laughed as the fillies scatter out of the room. It wasn't long after setting the table that my wives walked in and moved to sit down.

I put on my best imperial face, "No dirty mares at the table. Wash up, then you can come back."

Summer Wine looked sheepish and turned to leave. River huffed and gave me a look before heading out. I grinned, grabbing the long kitchen towel and after giving it a tight twirl, I snapped her on their flank. She squeaked in surprise and shot out the door, followed by my mischievous laughter.

Our family gathered and we passed around our meal. River Shine leads the customary prayer to Faust, and dinner began. Dinner was the highlight of the day. A time when the whole family could unwind and bond together. It was something I didn't like at first, but It slowly grew on me.

Summer looked to River, "You went to town this morning, find any interesting news?" This caught our attention. Both the foals and I took an interest in her response. Being away from the town meant that news only reached us once a month.

"Kind of. One thing I heard. We still don't have a calendar system."

Summer Frowned, "It's been 5 years since unification, are you telling me the Tribunal is still arguing about it?"

I sigh, "Seems so. Just because the war is over, doesn't mean the past magically disappears. There is a lot of bad blood between the tribes."

River put down her cider, "And that's the problem. Tribunal's one member of each tribe. Even now, getting them to agree on anything is like pulling teeth." She paused for a drink and wiped her muzzle with the crook of her hoof. "One thing positive I heard was that the new capital will be done in just a few years. They are naming it after the forest it's in. It's going to be the Everwood Castle."

The foals perked up in excitement. "That sounds neat, can we move there? We can even get a chance to meet Princess Platinum or the Two knights," said Peach Tree looking hopeful.

Spring Rains grinned, "I heard the White Knight shines with light and Dark Knight commands the shadows. She makes them eat monsters!"

I smiled, thinking back to when I was that young. My smile fell a bit when I couldn't remember that age. In my 50 years of life, I began to forget my childhood. I looked at my two fillies, sad to break the news. "I'm sorry girls, Moving a farm isn't easy. This Everwood town they are building is going to be mainly Nobles. We don't want to be all alone surrounded by the unicorn. Even if we could move, it would be wiser to wait until there are more Earth Ponies there." I felt a little sad when the girls both slumped. Looking at my wives, I could tell they had the same feelings as I did. They didn't want to move either and felt bad for the foals.

After dinner, everypony helped me gather the dishes and we all got to our after-dinner tasks. I started washing the dishes, after River's customary smack on my flank. The fillies began sweeping the floors and cleaning the tables. Summer and River moved to the fireplace for their evening pipe and the new newspapers. River had brought home three. The general store kindly saves us the last three papers of the month.

Toward evening sounds from outside filtered into our small home. My two mares looked at each other and headed to the window. I snuck over to one as well. While I act the part of the traditional house stallion, I've always treated it as something like a game. I'm still a male at heart and like my mares, my protective instincts never left.

What we saw were six royal guards and an elaborately decorated black coach. As we watched, a thin unicorn mare wearing an expensive-looking banker's suit casually strolled out. I watched as she looked down her nose at our little farm, and her expression changed to annoyed as she looked at our cottage.

"Ah, filthy ... and these are the thieves?" She said looking at the closest guardsmare.

"Yes, your honor, that's what we got out of the general-store owner. This lot has been avoiding taxes for years."

With an, "I see." the noble headed to our door.

"Adam honey, stay in the house while we sort this out." I heard as both wives headed outside.

I quickly turned to the fillies and ordered them up into the loft with my sternest tone and watched as they hurried up the ladder. Now that they were safe, I headed out to back up my mares.

River, our lead mare took charge of the situation and performed a slight bow. "Welcome your honor. What brings you to our little homestead today?"

The unicorn noble pinched a set of eyeglasses onto her nose and glanced at a black ledger. "I'm here," she paused looking around in disgust, "over the matter of three years of unpaid taxes. Surely you expected us at some point."

Summer blanched and River scowled, "We paid our taxes every year we've lived here. We pay in full and on time."

The Tax collector sneered, "Unfortunately for you, that is not what it says right here." She offered the ledger to River, eyes gleaming in malice. I was starting to get a very bad feeling about all this. I knew full well that no one in our home could read unicorn script. Peasants in the tribes were barely able to find someone to teach their own script and finding someone to teach you a foreign script was impossible. I couldn't read anything either. Because I was a stallion, stallions weren't allowed to read.

River stared at the ledger in worry as Summer moved over to read it as well. Neither could read it.

"This is unicorn script, You know we can't read it!"

The taxmare gave a grin that I did not like. My bad feeling grew. "I hope you weren't expecting the crown to write in the ridiculous language of you mud ponies."

Summer huffed and the nobles expression went cold. "Where is your coin?"

"We don't have any money. Just what I have here in my coin purse. We paid our taxes already." Rain said in desperation.

"Then where is your receipt!"

Rain was looking worried, "It's in the home. I can show you where to find it."

The taxmare sniffed, "Likely story. Country filth are always stealing, hiding things from your betters. Thieving from your princess!"

"It will just take a second." Rain said as she began to trot to our home.

"Hold Her!" Was the command that the Pegasus guard was waiting for. They took to the air and tackled Rain to the dirt. After a quick struggle, she was dragged back in front of the mare.

The Mare stepped forward and grabbed Rains face with magic, dragging the mare forward till their eyes met. "You were not permitted to leave."

Now I was extremely worried and I moved forward into the confrontation. "This is getting out of hand. It's a simple misunderstanding, we can all go into the house and discuss this calmly over some tea." I never saw the hit coming. One moment I was standing next to Rain, trying to calm things down, and the next moment I was on the ground. My muzzle was bleeding and I was dazed. I have been in a fight or two and I was no stranger to getting hit, but nothing like this. I have never been hit that hard in my life. I was picked up by the guard and held to the nobles eye level.

The taxmare looked completely deranged. "Savage mud pony stallion! KNOW YOUR PLACE!"

I saw the hit coming and opened my mouth to scream, "SH-" but all I could do was gag as she hit me full force right in the throat. I lay there twitching on the ground convinced that she shattered my windpipe. I squeezed my throat and tried with everything I had to scream, but the trauma prevented anything more than a garbled wheeze.

I heard, "Get away from him!" and looked up to see Summer Wine, my wife being stabbed through the barrel by one of the pegasus guards. She had been running toward us. I looked to River Shine and saw a look of horror on her face as she struggled against the two guards holding her.

The tax mare spoke and with a casual flip of her hoof said. "Burn the farm, leave nothing."

I took the deepest breath I could and focused on what I wanted to do. I had to stop them, I had to help. I tried again to make a sound, and could finally feel my throat begin loosening. I lunged forward, only to have the wind knocked out of me for my trouble.

For me, time seemed to slow down. I watched as three of the pegasus guards torched our home. The roof thatch burning like tinder. I watched as River Shine broke free and bolted straight toward the taxmare. I saw the flash of steel and heard the scream as something drew blood.

The noble screamed. "She cut my face! She cut my face! Kill Her!" then watched helplessly as my River was cut down.

Then I heard it, the screaming. My fillies screaming! They were still in the house! I tried to rise, I tried to scream, but all I could manage was gagging sounds. The guards saw my movement and began kicking me back down. I could hear them laughing.

I was crying like a foal. I asked for this. I so asked for this. This is what happened to his family. I caused this! I caused this by my choice! I killed them! In my stupidity I killed them! Why didn't I think!

The guards held me up and grabbing my mane, they forced me to watch our home burn. I couldn't believe it. We were so happy. I lost everything. Lost everything in a single day.

"Bring … him… here." The maniac purred. She actually purred. The guards dragged me to the mare, still laughing and joking among themselves.

I hated them, I hated them all.

"Oh, he looks upset … tisk, tisk, tisk."

"Any last words before I give you to my mares?"

I glared at her and with blood covering my teeth I scowled. "Jus ... jus one," I slurred out after finally regaining my speech. I filled my lungs.

"And what would you like to say?"

"SHAZAM!"

Author's Note

I thought I would try something that's been bouncing around in my head.

Thank you to Connorcooper and Terras for giving me feedback