Mist

Chapters

Prologue: Foreshadowing
Day 1: Fog
Day 1: Condense
Day 2: Envelop
Day 2: Disperse
Day 3: Particles
Void: Distance
Day 4: Affection
Day 5: Descent
Day 6: Realization

Prologue: Foreshadowing

MIST

By 3arlGrey

I felt something firm and smooth tap my head. A voice then spoke out. It seemed to be calling to

me. I couldn't move. My head stung with pain.. where am I? Who's talking? Is this a dream? I find my bearings and open my eyes, returning to consciousness, my vision blurry and clouded. I see a purple.. thing in front of my face, her expression filled with worry. No, I know what exactly I'm looking at - my brain just isn't letting it process. Finally, I come to realize; I am staring at Twilight Sparkle the unicorn. I take a look around. I'm no longer on Earth - the colors around me were not where I resided. How did this happen? I didn't know of any extra terrestrial, practical, or realistic way I could be here, in this place.

My head hurt.

There was no mistake; this was not a dream.

===

I dislike people who think they can change everything. Overly ambitious figures who believe themselves to be powerful enough to influence the world with their words and actions. Some people dream of having that power, while other's already seem to have it. Power leads to ambition, ambition leads to lust, lust leads to want, want leads to greed, and greed directs you to multiple directions, all of them worse than the other. Back when I was in primary school, for inspiration, our teacher brought in a bucket full of water. She dropped in a small toy, and explained to us how the water moved and shifted with the force of the mass entering the liquid. Everyone seemed to be inspired by it, but I remained doubtful.

Every person's life is just a drop in that bucket - the water level will increase, but no one particular drop will have particular significance. It just piles on to the rising liquid. Enough of my senseless rambling though. You're probably wondering who I am.

My name is Alan Walker. I'm a student at A. Verge Boarding School. My parent's and remaining family are deceased. Cliche, huh? A few years before my enrollment at A. Verge, my family suffered from an accident with a derailed subway train, which eventually lead to a collapsed building that crushed many. The last thing I saw were their faces, terrified and stricken with pain and confusion. Then a shower of blood. I was, and sort of am still in trauma, but coping. I was lucky enough to escape with few physical injuries, but I was trapped for a while, and I almost suffocated under the debris before a search dog dug me up.

People have fallen into permanent despair because of things like that, but it's not going to get me. My family wouldn't have wanted me to hold on to them forever, like I did when I was in primary school. So I try not to do just that. I struggle keep up with my studies, but I'm alive, I'm pretty well, and a healthy teen. My foster parents travel a lot due to their new job, the reason I was entered at A. Verge boarding school. They thought it might even be better for me to hang out with somebody my age. Big surprise, I didn't even get a roommate.

I suppose it's only natural to assume I'm mentally ill in some way. After all, I still wake up in cold sweat, reliving the memories of the subway accident. Some people are afraid of me, others pity me for a condition I don't even have, and others are disgusted. I'm a good runner, but I was not even accepted into the track team. So I usually just run a few laps after their meetings. I'm generally avoided during classes, and sometimes I'm even bullied, but I don't take it to heart. Like I said earlier, their lives are just drops in a bucket. They might not hold as much moisture or mass, but despite that, they'll be consumed by the massive whole someday.

Eventually, I guess I will too.

It's been a few months since I've been here, and nothing much exciting has happened. It is now winter break, and although the option is given to stay, a lot of students left to spend time with their families. I don't mind - the volume has significantly decreased upon entering the lunchroom and walking across grounds. About 3 days before vacation would end, I took a walk across the grounds. It was a bit chilly, but it got amazingly warm in the afternoons, so I didn't bring anything heavy. I stopped by a nearby bench, checking to see if there was anything damp on it. I sat, opening up a 50 installment series called "Cairo the Arabian Prince." I was currently on the 8th novel. It was very exciting. I breached the end of the chapter and closed the book, leaning back and glancing at the sky. The sun was nonexistent - it actually looked like rain was coming. The moment I realized it, the drops began to fall. I rushed to my dorm, out of breath and sopping wet.

Walking, playing video games and studying have become a huge part of my vacation schedule. I realize that through all that, I still have a massive amount of time left before me. I would go to sleep, but I'm not feeling very tired. I set my schoolbooks aside and wheeled my chair around, staring blankly at the window that lead outside. I already took a walk this morning, and don't really have the effort to get out again.

So I did something I had not done in a while - I opened up my laptop and browsed the internet. One of the first sites I went to was a My Little Pony fan site. Yes yes, you have probably thought me to be some kind of queer, or an actual retard like the dorm mates across the hall think I am. You're referring to just My Little Pony. I am referring to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, the 4th generation television show.

To be truthful, I don't think it's as great or mentally affecting as many of the fans say it is. I mean, sure, it's a decent show, unencumbered by many obstacles good franchises come across, and a pleasant past time. But sometimes, I don't get the fan base, nor the implications. I watched a few episodes, and before I knew it, night fell outside. Right before I removed my headphones and shut down the laptop, I was checking my email when I found a peculiar spam mail.

"My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the greatest show ever! Spread the love by sending this mail to 10 people, or something unexpected will happen to you tomorrow."

..Weird. I deleted the message. My index finger clicked the power button. I stood up and stretched pretty pointlessly, as a second later I slid into bed. Also pretty pointlessly, I ended up waking up around 4 hours later. It was still raining. I ironed my forehead in exasperation. Another one of those stupid nightmares.. Well, I can't fall asleep now. I don't wet the bed anymore, but I woke up in cold sweat, worked up by the fear of my terrifying dreams. I got out of bed and got dressed. Although it was still vacation, I was required to wear the average attire at A. Verge boarding school - jeans and a short, white dress shirt. A tie was optional.

I looked out the window and sighed to myself.

"What am I doing..?"

I sat back down on the bed, my elbows resting on my knees as my hair fell over my eyes. They're one of the only things I like about myself - my hair. For some reason, it's grey. The doctors told me it was from mental shock - was that even possible? However, it was flat and smooth and kind of like a comfort object that I combed with my fingers when I was stressed.

I asked myself what I should do. Playing games didn't really seem appealing to me at the moment, nor did opening up my laptop again or studying. I couldn't fall back asleep either, so as quietly as possible, I pulled out an umbrella and slipped out of my dormitory. I piled a few books and my laptop, unsure of wether I would use it or not, into my handbag for miscellaneous uses. Despite the noise, the rain was not very heavy, and was little of an encumbrance to me. I perched myself near a lamp post and read some more of Cairo the Arabian Prince. Before I knew it, the rain lifted, and my umbrella no longer had usage. I folded it up and looked away from my book, surprised at what I saw. Besides the lamp post and the bench I was sitting on, everything seemed to be engulfed in fog. Even the building behind me seemed miles away.

That was strange. The rain wasn't that humid nor damp, so why was I unable to see more than 3 feet in front of me? I placed on reading glasses, hoping it would help. They misted up up quickly, so I stashed them away, and stood, stretching my leg muscles - stiff from being stationary for so long. How much time had passed since I started reading? Either way, I had to make my way back to the dorm. I took my first few steps down what I thought was the stairs descending to the courtyard when as soon as I took my 4th pace, I lost balance and fell. Everything was a blur of light grey and white as I fell through, as it seemed, nothing. My head hit against something hard, and I was conscious no more.

Sidenotes:

This is the generic "introduction" or "prologue" section of the tale. Exciting stuff will come soon.

Notice anything about the name of the boarding school Alan goes to?

[size=1]Average, A verage, A verge[/size]

Day 1: Fog

Day: 1

Fourth Hour

So this is where I currently stand, staring into the eyes of a cartoon many believed to be a fairly tale behind a computer screen. I appeared to have fallen on my back, for my spine felt strained and I was in a sitting up position, gazing at the purple mare, who now looked affronted. A million questions were ringing in my mind. Why did I fall off the steps to the courtyard? How did I fall here, of all places? Why weren't I dead? I could have been dead for all I knew - but if this was heaven, it was a pretty dark one. Dark green and blotches of grey filled the scene around me. It took my eyes off the violet pony to examine my surroundings. It looked like a forest - but much more.. cartoonish, in a manner of speaking. Some outlines were too bold, some colors didn't mix in together. It altogether told me that I was no longer in the world I once resided. It was then that I realized that I was in an extremely awkward pose - Twilight seemed to have mounted me in an attempt to get nearer to my face.

Suddenly, I sneezed. She yelped and jumped back. I didn't get any spit on her, but the initial noise must have shocked her. I was now given the option to stand, which I did, brushing off twigs, leaves, and dust. I heard more voices, and small pitter-pattering sounds that told me feet - or as I deducted - hooves, were approaching.

"Twilight? Is everything alright?" spoke a refined voice with a slight slur.

"Did you find anything?" rang out another in a more assertive, but concerned tone.

More of them?! I wasn't ready for this..

Twilight herself then spoke up, "I-It's a.. he's a.. uh.."

Suddenly, my vision was clouded by a swirl of colors. This was a bit harsh on my eyes, as I had only been seing dark green and grey moments before - I think I was still half asleep too. "Alright you monster! Tell me what you did to Twilight!" spoke the voice from earlier. I felt a migraine coming on too, now that I thought about it. Because I was hearing it up close, I recognized it as the brave 'n' bold Rainbow Dash. However, with both my arms behind my back, my body twisted into yet another awkward position, causing a few bones to crack - but only from being stretched - I wasn't really appreciating her company much. Briefly, I felt like I was being arrested.

It took a few moments for me to find my voice, "Wh-what did I do?!"

I managed to look up at the pony holding me captive. Her face was contorted with haughty doubt and questioning. Why didn't they understand?! Hadn't they ever heard of human's before? Twilight spoke again,

"No, wait sto-!"

"I'm comin' sugahcube!"

Great. Another one. I recognized the orange coat of Applejack the hard worker, charging towards me. Rainbow Dash held me down tighter. What was happening? I looked up, and saw her nod at Applejack. I suddenly realized what was going to happen, and I was not really into it.

"Let me go!"

I tried my best to break free of her grasp. Being a pony and all, I was guessing she would't manage to get a good grip on my clothing - probably because of the hooves. However, she kept me pinned like a tack on the wall. In this case, a tack on the ground. Applejack came to a screeching halt, flipped, turning her flank towards me, and bucked.

I was out. Again.

Day 1:

Fourteenth hour

I sighed. How many times have I fallen unconscious today? This can't be good for me.. well technically, it could be more than 24 hours, as Equestria had a full day's time difference from where I lived.

..Did I just think Equestria? That fictional place in that cartoon targeted towards girls? What's wrong with me? I'm safe in my bed.. the air is damp, indicating that it has rained recently. My head now feels normal. It must have all just been a bad dream. That was it. I opened my eyes, expecting the blank, white walls of the A. Verge boarding school dormitory. Instead, I find a dimly lit, wooden ceiling. I turn my head to the side. A small lamp, seemingly low on fuel, flickers slightly on a small table next to me. A lot of bookcases are near too. Finally, I feel healthy – not suffering from some head disease like migraine and such, and I seemed to have recovered somewhat from that bucking from Applejack. I lift myself into a sitting position on the bed and inspect my surroundings more concisely. This scenery.. there was no mistake. I was in Twilight's Library Treehouse. I send a blank look at a mirror in the corner. As usual, I look pretty bored-looking and lame as usual. I realized that I was shirtless. It turns out my uniform and jeans were on a chair, neatly folded, and my messengers bag hung on the side. Was I stripped? I felt like going back to sleep. Suddenly, my eye caught a familiar book cover. I pushed myself out of the warm bed sheet and walked over to the bookcase and pulled out Cairo the Arabian Prince, return to the Sahara. I stared at the cover and sighed, returning to the bed and turning to the first page. Before I knew it, it was morning. I was still on the 3rd chapter. This series was partly famous for it's notorious length. I folded the page at the end of the chapter and put on my clothes. They felt pretty dry – I'm guessing they were cleaned while I was out. I was in the middle of buttoning up my shirt when a I heard it:

“Are you awake?”

I jumped at the voice. Twilight Sparkle rounded the corner where the bed I slept on was edged. For a moment, all we could do was stare at each other. She looked at my book, then suddenly brightened.

“Oh, you've read that too? It's such a good series isn't it? I'm still on the 32nd book, but it's a good read.”

Believe it or not, I actually spoke back, “Out of the first ten, which would do you think was the best?”

She settled down on the opposite side of the bed, apparently deep in thought. I didn't blame her. The first ten installments of Cairo the Arabian prince was a total of almost 50,000 pages. “The second – what was the title?”

Her horn glowed, and a book draped in violet, sparkling, fluid-like material floated towards the bed. I saw it plenty of times in the show, but it really blew my mind, magic. It was considered a fairy tale in my own world, yet, a unicorn just preformed it without a second thought. It was strange how these things worked.

“..and it really gives off the sense that you feel Cairo's feelings for her during chapter 21, which is something that most books usually wouldn't give off the effect for.” She finished. All I could do was nod in agreement, suddenly hit by the awkwardness of my situation. I was talking to a cartoon.. but it wasn't so bad. She really understood the series, almost as well as I did. I smiled briefly at the purple equine, and let out the first bright toned words I'd spoken in a while,

“You're pretty smart.”

Twilight simply stared at me for a few seconds, surprised, then looked down at the floor, her cheeks reddening. I briefly wondered wether she was suffering from some illness.

“A-are you hungry?” she stuttered. She leapt off the bed, avoiding eye contact with me. “L-let's go downstairs – we can get breakfast in the kitchen.”

I finished buttoning my shirt and made sure I looked sophisticated. I was viewed upon as a monster the other night, and I preferred it if I didn't have to wake up looking like one.

I walked down the stairs, surprised by what I saw. In what looked like the living room of the house, all the ponies I had seen the other night were all there, sleeping in various locations. Pinkie Pie was snoring loudly on an armchair, Rainbow Dash had stretched herself out on a sofa, Fluttershy curled up in front of the fireplace, Rarity dozing in a refined position on the edge of another chair, while Applejack simply slept on the ground, looking slightly out of place in the midst of all the equines. The majority of the ponies I didn't really get to see the other night. Twilight addressed me,

“I'll go wake them up. They insisted on staying after last night.”

Uh.. I wouldn't..

My spine tingled just looking at Rainbow Dash. On the other hand, my face felt weird whenever I looked at Applejack. Is this what they call physical memory? Twilight started with Pinkie Pie. She nudged her slightly with her horn, lightly telling her to wake up. Immediately, the pink pony jumped in the air, looking like she had been active for hours. It was supernatural, her energy.

"Yay, it's morning, it's morning!" she cried. Twilight was pretty smart. As soon as Pinkie woke up, the rest of the ponies yawned, rubbed their eyes with a fore hoof and started to rise as well. Rainbow Dash stretched, flapping her wings a few times. Fluttershy yawned inaudibly.

"Where'd that thing go?" asked Applejack, flattening her hair with a hoof.

They were unable to see me. I was hiding behind one of the many bookshelves in the library treehouse. They seemed less docile when they were waking - in fact, they were actually kind of cute, but I wouldn't put it past somepony to give me another good bucking if they saw me a gain. Twilight burst my bubble-

"You can come out."

Very hesitantly, ready to throw myself backwards in case one of them started towards me.

Despite the attack on me last night, they all seemed pretty afraid of me. I decided to settle this. I flattened my hair with a free hand, my other in my coat pocket. I started my mini speech with a tired sigh.

"So a few things have been out of synch since we first met. That's alright - I understand that you were all surprised. I'm not an animal or some freak of nature. I'm sentient like you all, okay?" I refrained from adding, "more sentient than you all anyways."

"So uh.. I'm Alan. Alan Walker."

For a moment everything was still. Many of the mares looked around the room, feeling very awkward. Rainbow Dash looked extremely uncomfortable, and Applejack covered the majority of her face, passing it off as a face rubbing motion. Finally, it was Fluttershy who spoke. It came as a surprise to me, because form what I gathered, she was the most timid out of the whole of the group.

"..I'm Fluttershy."

The others started to speak as well.

"My name is Rarity."

"..I'm Applejack.."

"I'm Twilight Sparkle."

"..and I'm-"

I scratched my head and intercepted the last pony, "I already know. Rainbow Dash, right?"

She looked up. Not from anxiousness or awkwardness or anything of the sort. It was now confusion, and had a bit of untrusting taste to her expression. No doubt, it would be weird if some random creature knew what your name was.

I sat down on a random stool near the bookcase.

"Uh.. Ponies have.. stories, right? Fairy tales and stuff like that?" I notioned to the bookcases. The majority of them nodded. "Well.. that's kind of how it works where I come from. You're all supposed to be.. fiction." From there on, I proceeded to tell them about their adventures and turmoils through season 1 and 2.

"How on earth did YOU know about all that?!" Rarity asked incredulously after my fairly long-winded explanation.

"Like I said, well, it isn't supposed to be real. It's- it was just a story."

Silence.

"Oh my gosh! It's almost breakfast time!" Twilight said, suddenly distracted. She glanced at the clock, and looked at everypony, including me. "..did we hold any of you up?" A lot of the mares were free that day. The ones that did, like Fluttershy and Applejack, would simply explain the situation when they returned. In the end, we had lunch at Twilight's house. We were seated around a rather small table, but the ponies didn't take up a lot of space, so I had suitable room to settle. Twilight was preparing seven daffodil sandwiches and some water when I adressed her,

"Um.. sorry for the holdup, but human's don't eat flowers."

Twilight looked at me curiously. I scratched my head. Didn't she know that different species ate different things?

"What would you like then?"

To be truthful, I could've gone for some bacon, but I modestly spoke,

"Just some toast, please."

We all settled. Once we started eating, the awkward silence returned. I didn't understand how I'd solve this problem. I already explained that I wasn't a threat, so what was the big deal? Although I asked the question to myself, I already knew the answer. They just didn't get me. My guess was that they had never seen a human before in their lives.

--Sidenotes

I'm kind of just making a pace here. Don't expect all chapters to be as short as this one.

I have kind of a problem with indenting and lots of quotes. Blech.

Day 1: Condense

Day 1:

Fifteenth hour

Bread tasted kind of different here. Sweeter. Was there something in my toast that was providing some form of sugar? We were in the middle of wrapping up lunch. In an attempt to break the silence, I tried to ask a question in a happier tone,

"So, where's spike?"

Twilight responded, "He's out shopping."

More silence. Even the ecstatic Pinkie Pie was at a loss of words, her attention focused on gobbling her sandwich.

"So, what are humans like?" asked the purple mare.

This was an extremely awkward question. Should I relay her everything I've learned in biology? Being Twilight, I was guessing she already had plenty of books on how the organs and mechanisms of an average life from works. Deep down, I knew the answer. Humans, by default, are lustful and foolish creatures. I'm only a fraction of the, as I used to and always will say, the "bucket".

"..They're nothing like you guys." I responded, setting down my half eaten toast. Now the ponies were looking at me curiously rather than awkwardly. It was true then- they knew nothing. But to be honest, I'm glad. These innocent creatures don't have to be exposed to the knowledge of my earthly politics, war, poverty, and everything else.

"Hey.." I looked up. Rainbow Dash stopped eating and looked at me. "I'm, uh, sorry about what happened last night."

For a moment, I was taken back. She actually apoligized.

"I am too." said Applejack.

I smiled. It was literally the first sincere one in a long time. It kind of hurt. People have always told me that the only time I don't look gloomy or boring is when I grin - so I found it ironic how I didn't smile much these days. "Let's just put that behind us, okay?"

Finally lunch was put away. Nobody was really doing anything that afternoon, so we sort of just reassembled in Twilight's library. The owner herself started,

"Okay Alan, we can trust you, but there are a few things I think a few of us would like to know."

I sat down on the stool I was using earlier. "I have nothing to hide."

"Let's start with why you're here."

I scratched my head. That was one of my biggest questions. "I don't know," I replied truthfully, "as far as I know, I'm from a completely different universe from Equestria - a place called Earth. All I can remember was falling through thick fog.. and landing here."

Twilight studied me for a moment. I wonder if she believed me. She then took out a notebook and pencil, along with a pair of glasses. "I have a few more questions for you."

Joy.

"Firstly, are you a young human, or older?"

I thought about it for a moment. "I'm 17, which is normally young for most humans, but I'm on the taller end."

Twilight was furiously creating notes about humans, and the whole time I was watching her levitate the quill.

"How does that work?" I motioned to the floating quill.

Twilight looked bewildered. "You mean you humans don't know how to write?"

I rolled my eyes. "That's not what I meant. I was wondering how you got the quill to float. It's magic right?"

Twilight motioned to her horn. "All unicorns and alicorns can use magic due to their horn in combination with another internal organ. It requires a great deal of focus and concentration."

"The reason I ask is that we actually don't have magic where I come from."

Twilight was even more amazed. "What? How do you move the stars around then?"

"That's just it, we don't have magic, so we can't use it to move the stars. The stars do move though, that's not a problem."

Twilight looked as if her head was going to explode from questions. "No magic but you can still move the stars? How in the world do-" I cut in before she could get started. "Look, it's not really important at the moment, and when I get the time I'll try to explain it to you. Just for now, can we focus on the problem at hand?"

She sighed and put the notebook and pencil away. "Okay.."

I stood. "If that's all.."

Rainbow Dash raised a hoof. "There's something I need to ask too."

I sat down again and sighed. "Shoot."

"You told us that you knew about us from stories you guys have. What do these stories exactly say about us? I mean, is it good, bad, or something completely different? Like, am I as AWESOME as I am here?"

Twilight and Rarity both rolled their eyes in unison.

I gazed blankly at Rainbow Dash. "The original stories explain how you all became the best of friends, and all of the lessons that you learn about friendship."

I figured I would skip most of the fanfiction stories/ideas, as those weren't exactly canon material.

"Although…" I smiled at Rainbow Dash. "In some of the fan-made stories, people pair you and Scootaloo up as sisters."

"WHAT?" Rainbow Dash almost jumped right out of her chair, and everyone else had a good laugh.

Twilight stood. "We're all schedule at the salon this afternoon. You can come with us if you'd like, Alan."

I shrugged. What choice did I have? I didn't really want to stay in the library all day, so I followed them outside the door. The minute I stepped outside, I knew, truly, that I was in Equestria. The whole thing was too colorful to be my own dark and gloomy world, a manufactured, flat, uninteresting mess of grey and black. Every pace I took in Ponyville made me feel more and more like I was walking through a four dimensional painting. I tried to make myself seem as small as possible, but it just didn't work. All of the citizens were way too scared of me - either that or disgusted or confused. I sympathized with them, but I didn't dare approach in case someone called the cops or whatever the police force was here in Equestria. The show didn't really reveal a lot of evil doers, and when they did, there was no great big rebellion against it, so I assumed there wasn't any.

Our friendly exchange continued at the salon. Rarity asked some questions about human fashion. To save myself the long-winded explanation, I simply showed her a picture of my mom and dad on their wedding day, and a few other pictures of me as a child.

"Aww, you look adorable!" Fluttershy squeaked. I think it was one of the first words I actually heard her adress to me.

By the time they were done, it was about five in the afternoon. We walked in the door of the library, and I gave Spike quite the scare.

"Hey Twili-WHOAH WHAT IS THAT?"

I shoved my hands into my pockets and observed the small dragon. "I'm Alan Walker. You must be Spike."

Spike had the usual questions I had been asked all day, so after answering things like "What are you?", "How did you know my name?", and "What are you doing here?" we got down to figuring out where I was going to spend the night.

"Look, I can sleep almost anywhere. I've slept on wood floors, concrete pads…it really won't matter all that much to me. As long as I have a pillow I'll be fine, but even then I don't really need one," I said, ironing my hair, uncomfortable with the big deal about my lodgings.

Rarity was the first to offer. "I can get you a pillow and a blanket for wherever it is that you'll be staying. I have dresses strewn all over the floor for this evening, but you can stay at the Boutique tomorrow night if you would like."

"Um, well, I guess you can stay at my house for tonight…" Fluttershy offered.

I felt bad imposing on them, but staying outside when the temperature dropped to near freezing levels wasn't an option.

After we had chocolate cupcakes and apple juice (supplied by Pinkie Pie and Applejack respectively), we all split up for the evening.

As Fluttershy and I walked back to her house, I asked her about some of the locations that the TV show mentioned. (I never actually told any of them about the TV shows, I just said that they were stories we had.)

"So Fluttershy…where exactly am I? I understand that I'm in Ponyville, but where are some local landmarks around here?"

"Um, well, from Ponyville, you can go west if you want to go to the Everfree Forest, you head southwest if you want to see the hills of Sweet Apple Acres, and my house is in between the forest and Sweet Apple Acres.

"Where is Canterlot from here?"

"Oh, it's a ways that way." She pointed up and to the northeast, but I didn't see anything except for clouds, mountains, and fog. She went on to explain that Canterlot is above the clouds on one of the highest mountains; high enough to overlook all of Equestria but close enough so that the journey wasn't too long to make.

When we were inside, she explained that some of the animals had already left to head south for the winter. While she was busy feeding some of the animals upstairs, I was busy taking mental notes. Fluttershy's house was well furnished, with a fireplace in the middle of the room. There was a winding staircase that went around the chimney, and the all of the colors were an earthen tone; greens and browns were the dominant colors.

I started a fire and sat down in front of it, pondering what had happened that day. I had fallen onto Equestria, met the mane six, but still had no idea how to get back home. I tried to recall anything in my memory that could help give me any leads as to why I was here.. then I remembered. The spam. "Something unexpected will happen to you tommorow".. Dammnit, did that email decide this fate for me? I heard Fluttershy walk back downstairs after a while and she watched me for the longest time. I could tell something was on her mind, but she wasn't quite ready to say it.

Eventually she stepped forward and curled up near the fire. "Josh, what is it like where you come from?"

"It is much different than Equestria, I'll tell you that. Where I come from, about 70% of the planet is covered with water and oceans, and there are about seven billion humans on the planet's surface."

The number stunned her. "Se…Seven billion? Are there any ponies in your land?" she said inquisitively.

"Yes, but not like the ones here. They don't speak our language, and what they do speak, we humans can't understand. It's not the same, and although earth ponies exist, pegasi, unicorns, and alicorns don't exist." I went on to explain the deep green and densely clouded regions of the northwest United States, the vast expanses of plains on the deserts of Africa, and the spectacular mountains of Europe.

"That sounds amazing…"

She stared into the fire. The burning embers reflected off of her almost cyan eyes. My hand rested on one cheek as I studied her. Fluttershy really did look different up close, and yet, so similar to the television show. It hurt me as a human being in my teens to admit it, but she looked really nice.

"Hey," I spoke up, Fluttershy perking up and turning her head towards me.

"Do you think I'm strange or.. unnatural?" I spoke, phrasing my words carefully. I didn't want to seem too affrontive or anything. Fluttershy studied me with gentle eyes, then smiled.

"I don't. I think you're pretty cool for, well what you are." Her cheeks started to redden too. "I-I also think your very handsome as well.."

This was a surprise. A pony had taken a fancy to me? I didn't have anything negative to say about it.

"Th-thanks, I guess," I stammered. Why was I getting nervous? It was just a cartoon.. some work of fiction.

But even as I thought those thoughts, I knew I was lying to myself. Me being here, in Ponyville, in Equestria, in this bizarre land, nothing about these ponies could be rocket science.

Some bedsheets and pillows were propped up against a couch next to the fireplace. They were incredibly soft - Rarity did a very fine job on these. I felt sort of guilty for making her work harder just to ensure my well being. Fluttershy bid me farewell as she went upstairs to her room. I stripped down to my undershirt and slipped into bed. I almost immediately fell asleep. My confused thoughts swirled around in my brain as my vision faded to black. Then, I felt nothing.

= =

Fluttershy peeked around the corner, staring at Alan from the door frame. She wondered if he'd mind at all.. then she realized he was asleep. As quiet as possible, she tip-toed over to the couch.

"..Alan..?"

Thunder roared once more outside. Fluttershy jumped and squeaked slightly at the loud noise. Equestria got some occasional rain.. but this thunderstorm was especially scary. Gulping, she lifted the bedsheets and settled down next to Alan. His scent was comforting, and the steady rise and fall of his chest was relaxing. Fluttershy fell asleep, propped next to the grey-haired human.

= =

End of the First Day

--Sidenotes

*HAHAH! I had so much fun writing this. Fluttershy is my absolute favorite pony /)^3^(*

Yes, the part with the sleeping at the end was sorta suspicious, but I've got no mature stuff up my sleeve.

Unless..

Anyways, Merry Christmas, everypony!

Day 2: Envelop

Day 2:

Sixth hour

That's strange. I.. I didn't have any nightmares. It was common for me, since the incident, to experience trauma crop up in my dreams sometimes and yet.. I didn't. I slept like a normal person. It never felt this refreshing to me before. I normally woke up at 2 or 3 in the morning, but today, I got to see the sun rise beyond the windows. Suddenly, I was aware that something was moving next to me. I looked down to find a sleeping Fluttershy, curled up next to me. It initially took me by surprise- but then I smiled. She had much vigor when it came to dealing with animals, but she was just like any other fragile girl. Well, I couldn't exactly move without disturbing her, but my messenger bag hung over the side of the cough within my reach. I pulled out a book, placed reading glasses on the bridge of my nose and read.

Day 2:

Ninth hour

I checked my watch. Was it that time already? As soon as I thought of it, the vanilla coated pony next to me began to stir. She yawned inaudibly and rubbed her eyes with a forehoof. She gazed up at me with almost frighteningly deep and colorful eyes. I had forgotten to take off my reading glasses. Suddenly, she jumped and squealed.

"I'm so sorry!" she spoke, a look of deep apology and embarrassment on her face.

I smiled. "Don't worry about it. If there's anything troubling you, you can always come to my side, okay?"

Fluttershy stood still for a moment, then smiled as well. "Thank you."

A little later, Fluttershy went to tend to the animals, and I got dressed. I briefly wondered how I could wash myself when I got an idea. In my messenger bag, there was a secret, extra pocket sewed into the leather. I removed what looked like a small medical kit. There was a toothbrush and some other toiletries within. I sighed. How convenient.

She provided a small breakfast for us both - out of all the sweets, I just took a few apples. I pulled out a fruit knife when I was given a sudden idea. Fluttershy stopped eating for a moment to watch me. For a moment, it looked like I was mutilting my apples, but I got the results I wanted.

Fluttershy suddenly brightened. "Oh my gosh! How did you do that?"

I grinned and scratched my head modestly. My foster mother was a talented cook, so she showed me the ropes a few months before I came to A. Verge. I took one of the checkered ones and bit into it. After we were done, I slipped into my black coat, slung my messenger bag over my shoulder, and went out the door. Fluttershy had to stay behind for a few more hours to tend to the animals, but said she'd meet me at Sugarcube corner later that evening, apparently, where the Pinkie Pie had arranged a surprise welcome party for me. It wasn't a surprise, and a whole day had passed since I came to Equestria, but I made plans on coming.

As I walked through the woods, I realized that I really didn't have anything to do for the rest of the day until then. I mean, it's not like I predicted my coming to Equestria, so how could I possibly arrange a schedule? I decided to check how Applejack was doing, as she was the nearest to the exit of Fluttershy's woods.

I walked up the gravel road until I saw red at the top of the hill that indicated her barn. From the angle, it looked pretty similar to the show. I took the last steps up the white-painted wooden stairs. I placed my hands on my hips and looked around. Strange. Was nobody here? I know it's rude, but I decided to poke around a bit. I'm sure she wouldn't have mind. I walked around the other side of the barn, observing the many hay beds that contained livestock and the latter. I was observing a particularly dark cell when a squeaky voice with a southern accent yelled,

"GET 'IM!"

Suddenly, out of the shadows, jumped out 3 small foals leapt at me. I had no time to recognize who they were, or what they were trying to do. Before I knew it, I was rolling backwards, my limbs failing to latch on to something firm to stop my descent down a rocky hill. At the bottom, I was unable to see anything or a moment before I saw a yellow pony with a red mane mounted on my chest, giving me a distrusting look.

"Tell me what your doin' 'round these parts, ya big.. uh.."

She lifted her head away from my face and looked at her other two companions. Suddenly I realized, these were the Cutie Mark Crusaders - Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo.

"What do you think he is?"

"I have no idea."

"Nevermin' that. This thing-"

"Applebloom! What the hay are you doing to Alan?!" suddenly yelled a voice that sounded similar to Apple Blooms, only older. I looked behind me to find Applejack running towards the group. The foals quickly got off.

"But sis, he was tresspassin' over the farm proper-"

"His name is Alan, sugahcube. What would have happened if you'd tackled a customer, eh?"

Apple Bloom sighed. "Alright.."

"Now listen here, y'all, Alan is a friendly guy, so don't give him trouble, you hear?"

After a minute of scolding them, the cutie mark crusaders left the farm grounds, shooting strange looks at me. I felt like apologizing to them. I expressed this concern with Applejack.

"Don't mind 'em," she said, "soon, they'll forget all 'bout this on another adventure of theirs. That's a good thing an' a bad thing." She laughed.

I volunteered to stay and help out with work. Applejack led me through the process, but I got stuck on step one. Bucking the trees. Perhaps, due to having more strength in their hind legs - my face suddenly shivered - they could hit things with much more force, but I couldn't really put so much as a dent in it with a kick.

"Wait here," she said, and with that, she loped off and came back with a sturdy, wooden baseball bat. I took a swing, and to my surprise, it actually knocked some apples out. I spent the morning whacking trees. That'll look neat on my resume. After that, I helped organize apples into crates and finished work. While doing so, I met Big Macintosh and Granny Smith. Like the show implied, Big Mac was a colt of few words, and Granny was as, well, proactive as she could be. A portion of my work included wheeling her away from dangerous areas, like the fireplace or an oven.

Day 2:

The Thirteenth hour

At the end of the afternoon, they offered me lunch.

"Say, you want to have some dinner? We have some salad, fruit, and apple pie if you want some," asked Applejack.

While the Apple family was inside, I chose to eat outside in the cool breeze. I thought my situation over in my head. Living in Equestria was a decent change of pace, but soon, winter vacation would be over, and A. Verge would be wondering where I was. My foster family would be wondering where I was. Plus, I already knew the downsides to living here - my walk in Ponyville told everything. I was human. Nobody would get me. The mane six did, but only with much conversation and, unfortunately for me, multiple concussions.

I finished my salad.

I looked up at the sky. The few clouds were illuminated by the gaping space that filled the blue sky, the sun. It reminded me of Princess Celestia. Wait- that was it! Princess Celestia! If anypony would know a method to sending me back home, it would definitely be the alicorn ruler of Equestria. But how would I talk to her? She was royalty after all.. I decided. I would ask Twilight later, at the party.

--Sidenotes

Always wanted something that had to do with trees, baseball bats, and something that's not a pony ^3^

Anyways, exciting stuff coming soon. Buckle your seatbelts!

[size=7]mm, apples[/size]

Day 2: Disperse

Day 2:

Seventeenth hour

I arrived at Sugarcube corner. I could already hear joyful music pouring out of the cracks in the windows and the front entrance. It was different from the usual nightclubs - it had the spirit and velocity of a real party, like who it's described in something like a dictionary. Not some cheap room with a disco ball and a floor that lights up with a bar in the corner.

I wanted to arrive in something fancy, but I hadn't the time to talk to Rarity nor ask Applejack for a tuxedo. Why would she even have one that fit me? So in the end, I dug out a red, floppy tie among my other things in my messengers bag. Whilst rustling about, my hand touched the surface of my laptop. I paused. Could I get connection here? I decided I would try later. Anyway, I looked half decent with a tie on. With the vigor of a man about to jump off of a 53 story tall building, I turned the knob of the door and entered.

Immediately, I was blurred by a world of color and sound. However, the initial shock passed, and I found myself in a fairly large lobby, set up with balloons, food, and room for socializing and dancing. I sighed, and set down my messenger bag by a nearby couch.

"Alan!" Twilight said, breaking off from her conversation with Rarity. "You made it!"

I shrugged. "It's not like I was busy or anything." I suddenly realized I had to talk to her about the important thing, but that could wait for later.

"I heard you helped out Applejack at the farm. That was pretty nice of you," she said, beaming at me.

I scratched my head modestly and let out a half-hearted laugh.

Pinkie Pie suddenly jumped in front of my face. "Yaaay, you're here! How's the party? Do you like it? Here, have some cupcakes!"

Before I could politely decline, or answer her previous two questions, I got pastry stuffed in my mouth. Gagged by the frosting, I let out a muffled yell before I toppled over backwards. Everybody laughed, and after I crammed down the cupcakes, I did too. Living here was so.. different. More happy. More enjoyable. Why couldn't Earth be like this? Why did politics and war have to exist when there were simple pleasures like these?

"So, how was it at Fluttershy's house?"

"It was average I guess. I had a good night's sleep."

Fluttershy made herself as small as possible and gave me an apologetic grin.

After a few games, she told everyone about the apples I had cut made earlier that morning. At first I declined, but at everyone's request (more specifically Rarity's antics) I made them again. Applejack supplied the apples.

Rainbow Dash was the first to see them at the party. "Woah, that's amazing!"

"These are simply divine!" Rarity chimed in.

Finally, it was over. Everypony filed out the door except for me. I told Fluttershy I'd follow her back to the cottage later. Pinkie Pie gave me an inquisitive look. "Aren't you gonna head out?"

I grabbed a broom in the corner and shot her a grin. "Not when there's cleaning to do."

For the next half hour, I swept away crushed wrappers, wiped up small juice spills, removed marks made by hooves, and eventually wrapped up the party decorations. It was actually sort of difficult for Pinkie Pie, as she confessed while she was working. Being an earth pony, she couldn't just do the whole process in a few seconds with magic, and not being a pegasus prevented her from reaching high places. One memorable example of this was when she was attempting to reach the top of a shelf to get some confetti.

I walked up behind her and reached. I lost balance, tripped, and fell. Pinkie Pie went with me. We both laughed for a good while. Never before had I experienced this much fun. Pinkie really lived up to her element - laughter.

= = =

Pinkie Pie heaved a hearty guffaw. After they were done cleaning, Alan told some jokes, and even preformed some magic tricks for her. He really has a knack for this thing, she thought. The grey-haired human was in the middle of telling a funny story about a man named Tom Ridgewall. Pinkie Pie gazed at him in an observing manner. He stopped as soon as he realized this.

"Is something the matter, Pinkie?"

"Ah, no!" she said, surprised for being caught off guard. "It's just that.. I've never met another colt- person before that has had as much fun as you!"

She grinned and poked my nose with a forehoof.

"When I hold my next party, you'd better come, because you sure did make sure everyone had a good time tonight!"

Alan smiled softly. "When will that be?"

Pinkie Pie broke into heaps of laughter again. "I don't know!

= = =

End of the Second Day

--Sidenotes

Ho man, this was a lot of fun to write too. People have never really gone into Pinkie Pie's psychological frame very much, and when they have.. well.. *points to Cupcakes*

Anyways, I wanted to give her a bit of in depth description, which can be hard when your trying to write about a pony as random as her. This one was kind of short, but I did my best.

Day 3: Particles

Day 3:

Fifth Hour

I left a note for Fluttershy on the table. It was a bit difficult to sneak outside without waking her up. She had taken the liberty to sleep next to me again. I didn't mind. Having her close to me was comforting, but sometimes woke me up with a sore arm from her resting her hooves on it.

Dear Fluttershy,

I apologize, for I will be out this morning. I have a discussion of importance to speak about with Twilight.

If possible, we can meet again tonight? I heard you all have plans.

Again, sorry for the unwarned absence.

Best wishes,

Alan

The forest was as pleasant as ever. It was nothing like the dark, everfree forest. Come to think of it, why, of all places, did I fall there? On the day I fell, there was a lot of fog as well.. Could it be possible that the same fog bridged my world and Equestria together? It still didn't explain the gaping hole in the courtyard that I walked through, but that would wait.

After a few more minutes, I arrived at Twilight's Library. The sun was now steadily rising over the lump hills that made Ponyville's exterior. I crossed my arms and gazed at the front door quizzically. Would she be awake, I wondered? I knocked on the door. Faintly, I heard the "who" of an owl. Suddenly, the door edged open, and a curiously small, brown owl was perched on the door handle, his head cocked as if trying to discern me for anything dangerous. Then I remembered, this was the night assistant, Owliscous. I inclined my head.

"How do you do? I'm here to see Twilight. Is she home?"

After some settling down, Twilight and I sat across from each other on couches in front of the library. She offered tea, which I graciously took her offer up upon.

"So? What did you want to talk about?" spoke the purple unicorn.

I set down my teacup and sighed, crossing my arms and shutting my eyes.

"Listen, I know this'll sound bad but.. I can't stay here forever. I used to live somewhere, and although my time in Ponyville has taught me that Equestria is a far better place than Earth, that's where my home resides - where all my memories reside."

I opened my eyes and took a glance at Twilight. She looked crestfallen. It hurt me to see her so, but, I continued.

"Because of this, I need to find a way out. I need to find a way to talk to Princess Celestia."

She looked deep in thought. "I could send her a letter but.. this week is celebration for Hearth Warming, and she'll be awfully busy.."

Spike came back with a plate of warm muffins. They were a lot like cornbread, but a little sweeter than what I was used to having.

"Spike, I need you to get a quill and paper." Twilight began.

"What for?"

"I need to send a letter to Princess Celestia."

"Twilight? Last I checked, the next time you're supposed to send a friendship report is a couple days from now."

"It's not going to be a friendship report; I'm going to see if Alan can visit her for a while."

Spike, under the direction of Twilight, wrote a couple sentences to the princess, keeping it short and to the point.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Recently, we have welcomed an unexpected guest from a different world. He seeks audience with you in hopes that you will provide guidance for his journey back. Feedback would be appreciated.

Your Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle

In a cloud of green flames Spike launched the letter into the air. It evaporated into smoke and flew out the window.

"We'll see what she says." Twilight said.

I gazed at her inquisitively. "How long will it take?"

She checked her calendar and read a few notes. "You'll have around till the end of the week, probably sooner. We have no definite scheduling for celebrations and parties at this time of year."

Day 3:

Twelfth hour

The letter was sent. My deadline was the end of the week - probably sooner. Right at the end of christmas vacation - or rather, Hearts Warming break. Whatever they called it. My feet crunched against a thin layer of snow as I walked along the streets of Ponyville. I almost went unnoticed in the crowd of ponies walking about. It felt depressing to feel so disconnected for such a large bunch. I wanted to be a resident here. I wanted to permanently stay in this world and never have to think of Earth again. But that wasn't possible. I was a human - a wretched human, born from the emotions of others before me. If I stayed here, I would only bring suffering and darkness from my previous world. Equestria didn't deserve that.

I realized I was feeling very cold. I was wearing the same dress shirt, jeans, and coat from yesterday. I had to get into something warmer. Suddenly, the wind picked up, and snow started falling more heavily. The nearest building was Rarity's boutique, so I took cover there. Rarity saw me at the door.

"Oh my, please come in!" she said with the air of a mother welcoming her child back.

I looked pretty miserable - my grey hair was matted and fazed by the wind, and I was covered in snow, which I quickly cleared.

"Alan, please be a dear and wait here."

I was confused. Was she expecting me? A little later, she came back, with a stack of clothing that actually fit me. I was shocked.

"How did you..?"

She giggled awkwardly. "Well, you see, I had some extra material leftover, and I wanted to try out a new style. Apparently it works well."

I put on a black sweatshirt. It was soft and it was very loose. "It's perfect! How did you make these?"

"Er.. well, you'll understand I needed reference and that, well, uh.."

I looked Rarity over. "What's the problem?"

Suddenly feeling very meek, she handed over what looked like pictures. They were all of me.

I was suddenly feeling very hot. "Wha-?!"

"Well, like I said, I was trying to do something new and I couldn't really do it from scratch.."

I pushed the pictures back to her and leaned back, sighing. She didn't look reassured, so I shot her a smile and said, "Don't get the wrong idea. You're the greatest designer I've met."

Rarity hesitated for a moment, then smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Alan."

Later, me and Rarity walked to the spa, where the rest of the gang were due that evening. They were all surprised to see me in new, better looking clothing.

"Man, you look awesome! We should hang out more often!" spoke Rainbow Dash enthusiastically.

Applejack beamed in approval. "I knew Rarity could do it."

Twilight caught a fainting Fluttershy.

Then came the actual spa. I felt extremely weird because, well, I was the only male among the group. I promptly declined any offers to get in with them. Finally, Twilight reasoned with me.

"You've spent a lot of time here busy, and you still have a way to go. I think it would be good for you."

I couldn't really argue with that, but I wore a towel as I got in. I eventually settled down in an adjacent pool. I had to draw the line at the cucumbers and the warm towels on my head; that just wasn't happening. A few other ponies shared my pool, but I tried to keep up a conversation with the Mane 6. A lot of inhabitants looked at me strangely, but a few actually came over and spoke to me.

The first to talk was a grey pony with jet black hair. "I don't believe we've met before."

She held out a hoof. "My name is Octavia. I'm a cellist for a quite notable quartet and co-host on the radio station K-Colt."

It took a moment for me to process, then suddenly I rushed and shook hands - hoofs. "Nice to meet you. I'm Alan Walker."

"Alan? Walker? Not something like Diamond Crown or Morning Rise or.. Coca Cola?" spoke another voice. I didn't recognize it to be Octavia's, as she wasn't actually moving her lips - snout. Were ponies names really that much a variety here? Come to think of it, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle kind of sounded like flavors of ice cream.

"Vinyl, don't be rude!" she scolded the speaker. It was a pony with one of the most out of place manestyles I'd ever seen before, besides Pinkie Pie's. "You know he's not a.. well.. regular colt."

I ironed my forehead with a wet palm. "You could say that," I spoke with a reasonable tone.

"Anyways, I'm Vinyl Scratch!" spoke the erratic looking - or erratic in general now that I was taking a better look at her. "I'm in the same group thing as Octy here, but I'm a DJ."

This confused me. Ponies had discos? Well, then again, they obviously could if there were such things as parties. IT took me a moment to think up of something to say when I saw Octavia pick up a bar of soap.

"Uh.. how does that work?"

She looked at me blankly. "How does what work?"

"You know.. holding things with your hooves. Aren't they rounded and practically flat?"

"It's really not a problem."

That didn't answer my question..

The night passed slowly. Eventually, the ponies and I got out of the pool. As we dried, I told Octavia about music in my world. Her and Vinyl interested, I let them borrow my mp3. Lucky for me, the first thing it shuffled to was dubstep. Vinyl liked it, but Octavia switched to the classical playlist later.

At the front entrance, we crossed paths, her and Vinyl heading off to their respective homes.

Twilight beamed at me. "I'm amazed, Alan. You managed to make more friends!"

I laughed and scratched my head. "I guess."

Before heading home, we assembled at Twilight's Library to offer us some drinks before going to bed. Feeling particularly cheery, I tried a sip of what seemed like berry punch. Everyone else took either hot chocolate or water. We all talked for a bit, and the subject my visit to Princess Celestia came up. Everyone grew a bit sober at that news. I only said we sent her a letter, but I'm pretty sure nopony thought it was a friendship report.

"..Will we ever be seein' you again?" spoke Applejack, much softer than her usual tone of vigor.

I set down the punch on the table. "I don't know. I got here by accident so.. maybe."

Later, we departed. Fluttershy hung back a bit, so I decided to wait for her. As she left, I heard Twilight saying, "Don't forget the plan!" and a complacent, "I won't."

I pushed off against the wall I was leaning on. "What was that about?"

"Oh, nothing."

I settled into bed. In the warmth of the fireplace and the softness of my bedsheets, I was quick to drift off to sleep.

= = =

Alan's body now lay on the couch in the library. It was late at night - even Spike was tucked away. However, the six ponies had congregated around him.

Rainbow Dash yawned. "This had better be important," she spoke with obvious fatigue.

Twilight clapped her hoofs together and adressed her audience. "I bring you all here today so we can study our subject, the human."

Applejack looked at her oddly. "I beg your pardon?"

"Well, we all know he's a gentlecolt, and is human, and that he's from this place called Earth, but not much else. That's why today, I'm going to cast a spell that will allow us to see his memories."

Fluttershy looked a bit scared at the prospect of such a thing. "Is it alright? Really?"

Pinkie Pie jumped at it. "I bet he's had tons of fun on earth!"

"Here goes nothing," Twilight said, her horn starting to glow. A bright light flashed, and they were all suddenly plunged into black.

= = =

--Sidenotes

Just wanted to get the clothes business out of the way =w=

Anyways, I always wanted to write side characters in context, and here they are. This might be a tad bit too small of a dose for many of you all, but worry not! Your main course is coming up after the next very special chapter, where we take a dip in Alan's mind.

Void: Distance

Caution--

I'm gonna keep the gore in this mild, but I'm still placing a slight warning on this. Read at your own extent.

Day ?:

? Hour

Suddenly, the black cleared. In a sudden gust of wind, the scenery changed, and the scene was switched to an urban neighborhood. It looked a lot more industrial and dull than Ponyville and Equestria in general. The roads were a boring grey, and the sky showed signs of rain. A few people outside were jogging, and the occasional car parked in their respective parking spaces. Suddenly out of one of the houses, a boy in a short sleeved dress shirt and jeans ran out the door with a soccer ball, accompanied by a figure that looked like his mother. However, the child yelled out,

"Over here, big sis!"

"Alright, I'm coming Alan."

The ponies looked at each other, than back at the scene. Twilight ensured that the spell worked well enough that they wouldn't be seen by anyone, but they could see freely. The sight of the child Alan shocked them. He looked incredibly bright with a grin on his face, and his hair was brown. The smile was the exact same.

Together, Alan and his apparent older sister played with the soccer ball, sometimes playing a serious game, other times, just trying to get the ball passed each other. They learned that her name was Elena. It was obvious that she had the upper hand - she looked very athletic and competitive, and shared some of Rainbow Dash's flair. She finished off a game with an amazing goal kick that involved an airborne maneuver. After they were done, they both sat on the grass, out of breath.

"That was fun!" Alan said, picking himself and following his sister back into the house. The last words heard were, "You have to teach me that technique sometime, okay?" The door shut.

For a moment they were all silent. Then they looked at each other. They're questions mirrored each other. Was that really Alan? Who was the girl with him? And..

Was the grey, industrial world really where he lived? Rain started to fall. The scene switched.

It switched to a school playground. The sun was out, and Alan was out in the field, playing the same game with many other people who looked his age. He was a bit older too, probably in middle school. His hair had grown longer, and his eyes had a sharper look to them.

"Over here!"

Many offensive players were closing in on the brown-haired child. Within in the blink of an eye, Alan sent the ball hair born, leapt, and kicked it sideways.The receiver then kicked it to the goal. After the game, many students gathered around Alan, the majority asking where he learned that technique. He laughed and scratched his head.

"Oh you know, from somewhere."

Many of the mane six couldn't hold back a smile. In this state, he was unbearably cute.

The bell rang, and the students filed out. Many of his admirers followed him into the classroom. The scene twisted.

Then, a subway station appeared. Of course, none of the ponies knew where this was, but many people, much taller and older-looking than Alan, were walking past each other. Some stopped to talk, many rushed to get to their respective destinations. Alan sat on the bench, looking a bit older than he did in the previous scene. He was just entering high school, but today, he was seeing Elena off to college after her break. His parents had come to see her as well.

The fog was intense that day.

Everyone was wearing coats or sweatshirts of some sort. Alan looked loosely dressed, but he had a snug scarf lifted around his shoulders.

"Thanks for this, Elly," said the boy, hugging his older sister. "It's really comfy."

The train bells started to ring. "That's for me," she said, giving her parents kisses. She stood up by the line that formed. Alan was sad to see her go, and it showed on his face, but Elena gave him a wink as the sound of wheels grinding against metal got nearer. He smiled sadly and waved.

Finally, it appeared. From first sight, something was off. The train looked off course and slightly tilted. The side hit against the passenger waiting line. The engines and lights combusted from the pressure, and an explosion of large proportions ensued. The train actually derailed and skidded. Alan's eye's widened as time suddenly slowed down.. the train was coming nearer and nearer..

At the last moment, someone pushed him out of the way. His father braved a hard look on his face as he turned his face to the incoming hunk of iron.

"..Dad?"

Suddenly, his world was red. Blood from not only his father, but other's who were suffering from the explosion splattered his coat.

The explosion caused the cracking and decaying walls of the station to start breaking up. Pieces of debris and cement started to fly in all directions, and smoke filled the area. A siren went off, but it was quickly drowned by the frantic screams of the many people in the station. Debris kept falling, but all Alan could think of was finding Elena. He hoped she was still alive - no, she had to still be alive. There's no way this could kill her..

Then he saw. Elena was running towards him as well, but they couldn't reach each other through the rushing crowd. They screamed each other's names. Alan parted space and reached out to her. He was so close. For a moment, he touched her smooth fingers. It was no use - he couldn't reach farther. Alan looked up at his sister's face. She was crying but smiling at the same time. The station had reached a critical point. The whole roof started to fall, entrapping many people within the stone. The last thing Alan saw was her face. She mouthed something. In case he couldn't hear, she made some cute impressions with her hands.

She pointed to herself.

love

She made a heart with her hands.

you.

Everything faded to black.

Alan woke. There was smoke everywhere, and his eyes hurt. Who was he? Where was he? Why did his head hurt so much? He looked down to find a steady red blotch growing on his coat. An intense pain struck, and he felt himself suffocating on the smoke. Someone cried out to him - he looked down. Elena was trapped within a boulder of cement, only her torso and right hand free. It took her every ounce of strength to reach out. Alan, unsure of what to do, grabbed her hand. Fire was spreading all around the damp floors of the station.

She grinned, then, her hand lost feeling.

"..Hello?" His voice grew frantic. "Are you sleeping?! Oh god, please don't be dead, please.."

His fingers slipped, and her hands fell to the ground with a finished thud. Alan's eyes widened. The effects of the amnesia wore off slightly. He spoke, "..Elena?"

Alan held her hands once more and tried to keep his voice level. "Are you alright? Please talk to me.."

Her hands were cold. The teen couldn't hold back tears. "Big sis, please talk to me!" He almost yelled the words while sobbing. "Come back! Please!"

He was forced on his knees. He felt himself losing consiousness, but focused on the face of his sister. Her hair was draped over her face, so he took the liberty to tuck some of it behind her ear. He couldn't hold on any longer - he lost consciousness. Alan blacked out in a field of bodies in a steadily crushing building. The scene switched over.

"..be alright, he's not physically hurt that much, but trauma will do terrible things to him."

"Like what?"

"Well for a first, his hair turned grey."

"From shock only?"

A man in a large, white coat nodded and stared down at a clipboard, scratching his head.

"From when we first found him, he's steadily been losing less and less blood in important organs. This has required multiple transplants, but we've avoided a full out operation."

"He'll be alright, won't he?"

"Of course he will. It's a miracle he survived."

Alan now looked much closer to his original age. He was in a bed, though, it was still light out. It had been a few years since the incident, but he still had to take frequent rests. Alan sometimes collapsed from fatigue if he failed to rest properly.

"Alan? Dinner's ready!"

"Coming, mom."

He walked down the stairs unsteadily, by gained his balance and took a seat at a table, where his elderly foster parents sat.

"Woah, this looks delicious," Alan said.

His mother lent him a hand, and her husband. "Let's say grace."

"For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful. Amen."

Alan dug in.

Now, the grey-haired youth was actually wearing the same uniform as he was when he first came into Equestria. He walked into a classroom and stood in front of a chalkboard. The teacher introduced him in a robotic voice. He turned and wrote his name on the chalkboard and gave the class his condolences. He could literally hear the whispers as he made his way down the aisle.

"His eyes look so dull!"

"Is he even human?"

"What's with his hair? Is he actually an old man or something?"

He took a seat and slammed is forehead against the desk.

At the same scene, only outside the classroom, the sound of clanging metal sounded as Alan was pushed up against a locker.

"Listen up you empty-headed freak," spoke a burly boy around his age holding his collar up, "speak any more and I'll knock your freakin' teeth out, you got that?"

Alan looked up at the ceiling. "If ignorance is bliss, you must be the happiest person alive."

"Huh?"

Alan pushed away the student and brushed himself off. "Exactly."

Although he had lost the strength to push him around again, he snarled at him. "Listen punk, I don't think you really know who I am."

Alan retrieved his messenger bag and proceeded to leave. "I'm busy now. Can I ignore you some other time?"

Before he could get grabbed again, he left the crowd. He distantly heard the words "Dull" and "Empty" shouted at him. Alan stopped in his tracks and glared at the ground, the many students passing by him or over him.

I never chose to be empty.

The mane six returned to the library, the one place that did not belong on Earth. They all looked at each other, then back at Alan. The steady rise and fall of his chest told them that he and his memories had not been disturbed. A lot of them were teared up.

"I'm so sorry, Alan."

--Sidenotes

Woo, two or three chapters in one day! I have no clue.

Anyways, here's some boring biography for you all. I don't think I did a great job, but uh, fdsa

That caution was a little unneeded, but whatever, it makes it official.

Now we return to ponies.

Day 4: Affection

Day 4:

Eleventh hour

I felt so groggy.. my vision swam before me as I opened my eyes. Never before in my life have I felt so fatigued. What was happening to me? I rubbed my face and cleared my eyes. Finally, I could see clearly, but my head was still banging. I had another nightmare.. They returned, as vivid and as terrifying as ever. Did something trigger this? Maybe staying here was too much for me after all..

I gripped the edge of the sofa and stretched. The tension nearly made my fall back down. Was I losing it? I slapped myself lightly. I still had a long day to go. Finally, after a few more minutes, I felt back in shape. For a minute, I was worried that I would be crippled for life. I was eating some apples that Applejack offered me yesterday when I saw a note left from Fluttershy. Besides Twilight, she had the neatest writing I'd ever seen, though, it was fairly loopy and very elegant.

Dear Alan,

I understand that you must have been very tired this morning, so I didn't wake you up.

The rest of us are currently at the treehouse right now - there's no need to come. I'll come

back to get you around 12. Until then, feel free to tend to the animals until I return.

Love,

Fluttershy

That's strange. How did she know that I was feeling fatigued? I finished my apple and stretched. After I was done changing and washing, I did as Fluttershy suggested and checked out the animals. They were a lot more different than on Earth - they all seemed much more animated and proactive. I had the pleasure of meeting Angel, the bunny. Like the show suggested, he was rather distant and grumpy, but upon offering him a carrot, he instantly took a liking to me.

I suddenly remembered, from the night of the party, that I wanted to check out my laptop. I hadn't turned it on since my arrival, so there was a good chance that it still worked. I settled down on the couch and opened it up. The batteries nor the screen or interface was damaged. I sighed and powered it on. With a shock, I realized that internet connection worked. Google looked as friendly as ever, and the signal was crystal clear. I didn't bother to use it too much - there wasn't much to do. However, the link to my email caught my eye.

I went down into the trash bin section and pulled out the spam email. It hadn't changed. It was the same as ever. I wrote a reply.

Who are you?

I got a response instantaneously.

I am you. And you are me.

I glared at the screen. I typed again.

How did you do this?

Another response. It was like chatting, the response was immediate.

It was not my doing. You yourself chose to traverse into the fog. Do you regret your decision?

My eyes widened. My fingers were hovering over the keys, but I lacked words to write. I powered off my laptop and stashed it away. Just as I did so, the front door opened. Rainbow Dash flew in. There was something off about her presence. Her expression looked as if she carried a heavy burden. I wondered what was up.

"Whats up, Dash?"

"Fluttershy was busy, so I came to pick you up."

I slung my messenger bag over my shoulder. "That's cool and all, but whe-"

Suddenly, she disappeared. Where did she go? Suddenly, I felt hooves lift me up by my arms.

"Wha-?!"

"And since nobody's free today but me, I'll show you around Cloudsdale!" she said, with much enthusiasm. She carried me out into the forest, bumping my leg on the way out. I looked down. I wasn't scared of heights, but we were moving at an unimaginable speed. My hair was suddenly matted by wind as I struggled to keep my eyes ahead. There, I saw it - many thick clouds, and a shower of colors everywhere. She carried me to the nearest one. I was very careful, and very much expected to fall through the first cloud I stepped on. However, it was very plush to my surprise, and sustained my weight. Cloudsdale was a large city, with streams of water and rainbows flowing down to the ground. I walked over to the edge of the cloud. The buildings weren't visible; it was just a big blur.

"Whoah…that's cool. We don't have anything like this back at home…"

Rainbow Dash looked back at me. "You don't? Then where do rainbows and snowflakes come from? And most importantly, where do clouds come from?"

"We have a…different way of getting clouds and snow. The only thing is that we can't control it."

"The more you talk about your home, the crazier of a place it seems!" Rainbow Dash paused, suddenly looking very hesitant. Was something up? She gave me a sad glance, then shook her head and continued. "We control all of the weather, all of the time. There aren't very many instances when we have an unexpected turn of the weather."

I smiled mildly at that. "You don't know half of the crazy stuff that happens back where I come from.

Day 4:

Fourteenth hour

"Where are we headed next?"

Rainbow Dash thought it over. "The closest facility is where we make the clouds, so I guess I can show you that." She led me through a series of arches that resembled human Greek architecture.

When we got there, there was a central room with a catwalk that encompassed the production area. "This is where we make our clouds. Usually we can just reuse old ones, but if we need to make new ones, this is where they come from."

She pointed at one corner of the room. "Over there we have water that runs constantly. We use glass prisms to magnify the sunlight, and that in turn evaporates the water. We collect the gasses in giant chambers, and when we need a new cloud, we compress the gasses into a cloud, and viola! A new cloud is born."

I watched the workers focus a giant lens at the water source. After a minute or two, the water began to boil, and the water vapor flowed into a series of tubes down into a storage tank.

Next she took me over to a section of the city where snowflakes were designed. It was cold in the room, with the same water system flowing around the side.

"This is where we create the snowflakes for the wintertime. We hoofcraft every one of them, and we store them in giant containers at freezing temperature until we need to use them."

There were some example snowflakes hanging by threads attached to the ceiling, and there was a table of snowflakes for guests to look at. Most of them were tiny, like the ones back at home, but they also made larger ones, almost the size of my hand.

A sudden shadow passed over us. Rainbow Dash looked up into the sky. "Why is there a cloud around today? *Sigh* That should have been taken care of by my weather patrol team. I need to go take care of this, I'll be right back."

While Rainbow Dash was away taking care of the cloud problem, I watched the pegasi design the snowflakes under a magnifying glass. It was a delicate process of creating fine needles of ice, arranging them in a pattern, and then adding droplets of water to the places where they needed to be joined, and solidifying the joints.

Rainbow Dash soon returned. "Alright, that should be the last of the clouds. Do you want to go see the rainbow production?"

"That's what I've been looking forward to! I want to see this for myself."

We kept on walking until we reached the edge of the city. The whole time I was there I was getting some pretty funny looks from some of the workers, but I had to remind myself that they had never seen a human before. Finally we reached a massive outdoor terrace, where liquid rainbows were flowing from one container to another. The whole production area had to be at least the size of a football field.

"This is incredible! I've never seen anything like it!"

"Yeah, it's pretty awesome. Just be careful about getting rainbows on your clothes, it takes a bit of work to get them off."

"I'll remember that."

I walked in between the pools of color. They started a couple stories above us, each as individual colors of the rainbow. Through a series of channels and pools, they gradually flowed down and mixed together to form a swirling liquid of amazing hues.

I noticed some of the pegasi holding giant paddles and stirring the liquid. "What are they doing with those?"

"If we don't mix the pools of colors, then one color tends group together, making a giant color splotch where there shouldn't be. Then the final rainbow is practically all one color, and that doesn't look as good."

"I guess that makes sense." I looked down at the flow of colors. "Where does all of this stuff go?"

"Rainbows are used for a ton of different things; usually they're used in magic spells, but sometimes we put them in clouds to give the rain a more cheery appearance, and on some occasions people use it to make their food look more colorful. Anything we don't use or store immediately has to be dumped out, which is why there are rainbows constantly falling from Cloudsdale."

I rummaged around and pulled out a small vial I used in science. "Do you mind if I take a little of the rainbow with me?"

"I don't see why not…"

I squatted down and filled each one, carefully examining the wondrous concoction. The liquid itself gave off a beautiful glow that constantly changed colors. I put the vials in my sweatshirt pocket for later. By the time I had taken the full tour of Cloudsdale, the sun had disappeared from behind the hills, and the stars were beginning to show themselves.

Day 4:

Seventeenth hour

"Well, it looks like you're gonna have to stay at my place tonight," Rainbow Dash said. I was seated near one of the benches ( also made out of clouds ) when she had returned. Apparently she had to check up on Fluttershy with some animal control, so I was left on my own for a bit. I turned my head.

"Why?"

"Fluttershy had some trouble with the animals today, and chicken feathers got all over the place."

I sighed. Poor Fluttershy. Before my visit to Rainbow Dash' home, she offered me dinner at one of the restaurants. Like everything else, it was comprised of clouds, but the meals it served weren't very different from the earth pony's diet. A lot of fruits, pastries, and vegetables made our meal. I wasn't a big meat eater, so this vegetarian diet wasn't a big deal for me. Me and Rainbow Dash had chosen seats by a balcony-like area so we had a good view of Ponyville. It looked so small from up here. The stars were much closer, and the rainbow actually glowed as it made it's decent down to Equestria. I sighed and rested an elbow on a the balcony fence, chewing on a carrot. I wasn't directly looking at her, but I knew Rainbow Dash was giving me surveying looks again. What was wrong? Did I have something on my face? Did I look weird in general? I assumed the latter, seeing as they had never seen a human before, but I suspected they had gotten used to me by now.

"Hey.. Dashie?"

It was a bit relentless to keep calling her Rainbow, so I called her by Pinkie's surname. I hope she didn't mind, and she really didn't seem to has she looked up.

"Whats up?"

"Is there anything.. strange about me today?" I asked with careful words.

"Not in particular. Why?"

I sighed and looked back out to the stars again. "I'm just not familiar enough with you all, and I'm pretty sure that you all don't really know all that much about me. It makes me think about wether you all really like me or not, for who I am and where I come from."

Suddenly, Dashie looked crestfallen. Almost like she was about to cry.

"Wh-what's wrong?" I asked, bewildered by this sudden reaction.

"Nothing.." she replied, in what sounded like a dry sob. Tears were actually falling. I grabbed a napkin and, with her permission, dabbed at the clenched eyes. "Come now, don't cry..

..You can tell me. I already know about our differences." I said in a disheartened tone. I tossed the napkin in the nearest waste basket.

She sniffled. "..I like you a lot. We all like you, Alan. You're the coolest, well, human I've ever met."

I was mildly surprised. For a pony as tall and proud as Dash, she actually thought I was cool. "Oh please," I said jokingly, folding my arms in modest delight, "You'll make me blush."

Things went pretty much alright from then on. Her reactions piqued my interest though - she had almost a pitying look in her eyes on the conversation we held that night. Even though her words were uplifting, I still wondered if anything else was up that she was hiding from me.

Later, we went back to her place. It resembled a lot of other houses and residences in cloudsdale - her had a lot more rainbow pools and waterfalls. I entered to find it surprisingly like a regular house, with the exception that everything was made out of clouds. The floor was a lot softer here - somewhat like carpeting, I guessed. The cyan mare took me on a tour around her relatively small, but quaint home. There was a nice view of the sky and Ponyville in various windows and balconys, and it was very cozy. Rainbow Dash speculated as to how I would sleep. I told her the sofa would be fine, but she said the clouds used on those weren't very sleep material and were usually used for sitting or taking short naps on. Rainbow led me to her room and instead produced a cloud for me.

I had no idea that different types of clouds existed in Cloudsdale, but I guess there must have for me to actually be standing on one. I set down my bag by the door to the hallway - it almost bounced from all the plush in the ground. I neatly folded up a pile of clothes next to it, and settled in the cloud. I had gone to sleep with some shorts and my ordinary dress shirt, as I was sharing a room with her, and didn't want to strip too far. The temperature wasn't too hot or cold - it seemed perfect for rest. I wonder if this was the effect of the weather as well. Eventually, the lights were off, and I took a dip onto the floating cloud. The experience was almost heavenly - it was firm enough to hold my weight, but very plush - like a giant pillow. I sighed and placed my head on top of my folded hands, gazing bleakly at the white ceiling. I was very comfortable, but I wondered if the nightmares would return again. I really didn't want for Rainbow Dash to see me in that kind of state, so I made sure I went to sleep as soundly as I could. Everything went to black, and then I felt nothing.

= = =

Rainbow Dash double checked to make sure Alan was asleep. He didn't snore, which she both appreciated and found unhelpful in her method of confirming wether he was unconscious. Sure enough, after a few minutes, a small inhaling and exhaling escaped Alan's lips. She sighed, then flew from her bed of white fluff and surveyed him once more with a sturdy eye. He had a thin face and a slim structure, and he smelled kind of nice, though, it wasn't the perfume and scents that Rarity often used. It was more of a masculine scent that she couldn't place. Rainbow Dash still couldn't believe it. This human actually lost his family less than a few years ago.. she couldn't understand why he wasn't already broken apart. Rainbow Dash herself didn't believe that she could deal with losing Twilight, or Pinkie Pie, or Applejack or anypony!

Suddenly, she found tears welling in her eyes again, and before she could stop them, a few drops made their way down to the grey-haired youth. The spots quickly dried up on the white dress shirt, but he didn't seem to feel them. He turned his head slightly, which shocked Rainbow Dash, but he didn't show any other sign of response. She wiped them away hurriedly and sighed. She felt so sorry for him - he even was concerned that he wasn't liked anymore just because of her own thoughts. Rainbow Dash shut her eyes and leaned in and pecked him on the cheek.

"Good night, Alan."

= = =

End of the Fourth Day

--Sidenotes

A whole day of not releasing chapters? UNACCEPTABLE!

But that's okay. Here, have this giant column of text!

Anyways, I've always wanted for Alan to go up to Cloudsdale and spend some time with Rainbow Dash, my second most favorite pony. Even though this particular day wasn't spread into 2 segments, this is completely planned. Uh, I got this, yeah.

But stay tuned for some action with the Cutie Mark Crusaders on the next exciting episode of this mary sue's tale!

No sexual pun or innuendo implied. Gosh, you guys. @_@

Day 5: Descent

Day 5:

Sixth hour

I was up early, as always. No nightmares. For the first time since my arrival at Equestria, I had a bit of trouble waking up. Not because of a health hazard, but I kind of didn't want to get off the warm ball of fluff. It was amazingly comfortable, and the sleeping conditions were almost perfect. However, I pushed myself off of the giant pillow and walked out into the balcony. Rainbow Dash was still asleep. I admit, the sight of her sleeping made me smile. She looked really comfortable, and pretty cute as she rolled over and and sighed into her pillow.

I contemplated the scenery outside. The wind was refreshing after my sleep, and the site of the sun rising over the horizon, slightly outlining Canterlot, was breathtaking. My hair was fazed by the breeze, but I didn't mind. Sometimes, it looked better messy. I heard a yawn behind me, and turned my head to find a sleepy Rainbow Dash fly out of bed.

"You're an early riser, huh?" she said, rubbing her eyes with a forehoof. I smiled. "I have my share of bad nights."

A few minutes later, I was all set to go. Rarity's clothes were especially neat - I couldn't possibly thank her enough for them. Today I had slipped into a pair of jeans and a black sweater. Me and Dash had a small breakfast of fruit. She was a very straightforward pony to talk to, and I appreciated that. Hanging out with Fluttershy or Twilight just really wasn't the same - she didn't have as many questions about my world, and was more focused on making sure I felt at home, which I appreciated the most.

Later, we made our descent to Ponyville. Upon my careful request, she didn't go as fast as we did on our ascent to Cloudsdale

Day 5:

Tenth hour

My landing was marked by a gentle thud as my shoes hit the dirt ground of Ponyville. I followed Rainbow Dash to Rarity's boutique. Apparently, everyone was meeting there briefly before they went their different ways. I turned the knob and entered. Rarity seemed to really zone in on being a sophisticated pony - the building looked appealing with exquisite and elaborate, and made to look as proper as possible - contrast some of Ponyville's irregular, quaint shapes.

"Good morning!" spoke Twilight Sparkle. Something was a little off though - her smile looked a bit forced. I wondered briefly if she had gotten enough sleep the previous night. The rest of the ponies looked slightly docile, and a bit awkward. I guessed the event at Fluttershy's house must have put them off somewhat.

"How was it in Cloudsdale, Alan?" asked Fluttershy. I settled on a small couch lodged against the wall and sighed, "It was alright."

I tried not to remind myself of the rather teary conversation with Rainbow Dash the other night. I didn't really know what was up, but at least I managed to cheer her up somewhat. As I looked around the room, I started to notice more and more that the ponies that had gathered seemed to be avoiding my gaze. I looked down at my feet, troubled. I didn't know what was going on.. but I didn't have the heart to ask them directly. It's pretty unnerving, being troubled by a situation you can't even grasp. So as we conversed in small talk, the talk of Applejack's construction work on the farm cropped up. Apparently, they were reinstalling fences and getting rid of the roof of the barn. Everyone thought it was pretty cool.

"Except' Applbloom and the gang.." she sighed, "I'm darn worried they might be hurt with all the tools 'round and whatnot."

Unfortunately, nopony could help out, as they were all plenty busy that day. Twilight Sparkle looked especially guilty. I raised my right hand,

"I can help out."

Applejack gazed at me quizzically. "Ya sure? They're a real busy bunch, those three."

"Sure. After all," I said, adjusting my collar, "helping each other out is part of being friends, isn't it?"

Suddenly, I felt a guilty pang in my heart with a sudden thought. It was horrible of me, but I felt like every pony was sort of.. avoiding me. Rainbow Dash toured me around Cloudsdale the whole day, which I didn't have any complaints about. No, snap out of it, Alan. You're not best friends, but they've done their best to help you out. You can help to by not antagonizing them. As I left with Applejack though, looking behind me, I caught a few ponies looking at my back with the same gaze as Rainbow Dash held the day before. I could see it in their eyes.

Their gaze was no different from those doctors and teachers.. they're eyes were filled with pity.

Day 5:

Thirteenth hour

I, once again, made my way back up to the hill where Sweet Apple Acres and the barn stood. Despite it's, most likely, many years of use, the Apple family always secured it's best condition. Applejack left the Crusaders with a few words before heading off to the construction site. I stayed with them inside the house.

"Now you three listen to what Alan says, alright? Don't you be giving him any trouble now. ESPECIALLY you Apple Bloom."

The yellow foal rolled her eyes in exasperation as she replied boringly, "Okay, okay.."

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were eyeing me suspiciously. I stuck my hands in my pockets and tried not to look particularly menacing, which was a pretty difficult feat when you tower a few good feet above the ponies your trying to adress.

"So, what's up?"

Applebloom glared at me, "Now listen here, just 'cause Applebloom said so don't mean you boss us 'round, okay?"

For the next half hour, they did some homework. Math wasn't much different from arithmetic I knew from my world, and from what I could gather, the ponies knew english. Pretty obvious, I'd imagine. They were a bit reluctant at first to accept my help, but eventually, they all got stuck on one thing or another, Sweetie Belle getting the farthest. Eventually, they warmed up to me. Children are unknowing and, for the most part, clueless, but they were innocent and untarnished. I didn't suppose that was exception here. As soon as they were finished, the three foals made a mad dash to the door. I just barely closed it in time.

"Where are you three going now?" I asked, out of breath from straining my muscles so suddenly.

The trio looked at each other, unsure. "Should we tell him?" asked Scootaloo.

"To our secret clubhouse!" Sweetie Belle said enthusiastically, "You wanna come with us?"

I crossed my arms sighed. I didn't have much of a choice, huh? I opened the door. "Lead the way."

We made a short walk a little bit away across the grounds until we reached a small patch of trees that made of the woods. Their clubhouse wasn't that secret to be honest, and I could see the paint applied to it from about half a mile away. The trio seemed pretty excited about it though. They talked with me the whole way, and I occasionally nodded and "yup"d in agreement, but I lost them after their 32'nd crusading journey. I think I caught the words "cheese" and "toilet bowls" somewhere in their long-winded explanations. We started ascending the ladder to the front door when I was paused.

"Waaaaaiiiit a second." Scootaloo said. "He's not part of our club. Should we really let him in?"

I rolled my eyes. I could tell this was going to take a while.

Applebloom pondered the thought for a while. "I'm not sure. I think we should make him go through the official Cutie Mark Crusader course before he can come up here."

I looked at Applebloom. "What exactly does this Crusader course involve?"

Sweetie Bell was the first to answer. "It's a process we created to test new members. You have to go to the Everfree forest and-"

"Wait a minute." The Everfree forest? I'd only heard stories about that place, but I'd never actually been there. If was as dangerous as the ponies said..

"Are you sure that's a safe idea? The Everfree forest isn't exactly the safest place in the world.."

"It's totally fine." Scootaloo replied with a hint of pride. "We built an obstacle course inside. If you can make it through, then you'll be an official Cutie Mark Crusader."

I shouldn't have agreed. And I knew it. But I did. They were still kids - but I let that get to me a little too much. With shouts of joy they bolted off into the forest.

"You guys! Wait up!"

But it was too late. They were already gone.

Day 5:

Nineteenth hour

I managed to follow their sounds for quite a ways, making sure I left a trail to get back. The steadily decreasing amount of light told me that I was slowly making my way deeper into the crevice of After a while I came to a chasm with a rope bridge across it. I inched my way across, trying desperately not to lose my balance. The fall seemed endless.. Nothing lay below but an eternal black. Suddenly, a wooden plank I stepped on broke upon stepping on it. I fell forward and almost slipped through the empty space where the plank once was. My head was in a daze from the sudden scare, and my heart was racing. I climbed back up and finally felt the relief of solid ground.

A while later I caught up to the trio. When I first saw them, I thought they were attacking me again. When my vision cleared, however, it turns out that they were all teary eyed, and actually clinging to me. In blind confusion, I pet them, trying to make them feel a bit better. They were still kids, pony or human.

"It's okay, don't cry," I said, trying to sound reassuring.

"We got lost.. we couldn't find it." Sweetie Belle said, her voice cracking slightly from the strain of keeping back tears.

My voice sounded a bit pressured too, though, probably because I couldn't move. "It's okay, let's just keep looking."

I myself must have realized how dull my face looked when I said it. So I put on a smile as I spoke.

"Let's make it an adventure, okay?"

A little later, the three foals settled down. We started up again, this time, they stuck right too me. A little too much - I found myself accidentally bumping into them a little too often. We were on a plateau that rose up off of the ground by a couple hundred feet. By the looks of it, no one had been there in ages.

Scootaloo ran over to a round column. "Look at this! It's got markings on it…"

I recalled seeing something like it in the TV shows, but I couldn't place it. Thirty or so feet ahead, we came to the entrance of a stone building. Finally it clicked.

"I know what this place is..." I thought it over for a while. "This is where Twilight Sparkle and the others defeated Nightmare Moon."

The trio walked around inside the ruins in awe. I sat down and told them the story in full detail, and they hung on every word. Each one wanted to know what their sister (in Scootaloo's case, Rainbow Dash, even though she wasn't her sister) did in stopping Nightmare Moon. I described the Elements of Harmony, and the scene that unfolded after they defeated Nightmare Moon. I also stressed that Luna was completely different than Nightmare Moon, and that she had a full change of heart. I'm not sure if they believed me, but I had to back Luna's reputation up. By the time I had finished the story it was beginning to get dark out, so we began our hunt for home. We wandered in different directions for around an hour or two until I came across the trail that I had left before. I sighed in relief.

"I think I found my trail that I left behind. We should be able to follow this home."

There were shouts of joy from the trio, who were at this point tired of being lost in the woods. And then I heard it.

It was distant and low. I froze in place. "Girls, don't move."

"What is it-" I cut Applebloom off mid sentence.

"Don't talk."

The low beat was getting closer. I scanned the landscape, and then saw movement a couple hundred feet off to our right. I turned toward the Crusaders, who were standing a good twenty or thirty feet away from me.

"Follow the trail I made and head back to Ponyville as fast as you can."

"What're you-?"

"Just go!" I said with an initial sense of urgency. That's when I heard it again. A steady roar, now louder. I had no idea what was making it, but it wasn't anything good. Suddenly, the bush behind me rustled. And out came none other than a manticore. The trio took the hint and made a fast track back down the trail.

I was lucky - I barely managed to avoid being scratched by the terrible creature. But this was too troubling. I'd never actually fought before. Maybe I'd done something like martial arts when I was a kid, but it's not like I could remember that now. And even more, it's a fictional creature! There's no way I'd be able to put a dent in the thing with my bare hands or feet. The manticore growled and snarled at me, baring it's sharp fangs. It looked a lot more hostile up close.. Suddenly, the thought struck me. I didn't have to win. I just had to not lose.

So I ran. I leapt up bushes and sprinted through vines and leaves. Despite my effort, I could still feel the manticore behind me. I was at my limit - I couldn't take much more. The manticore took advantage of my brief moment of slowing down to jump at me. This time, it connected, and it sent us both rolling down a hill. My world was spinning. Suddenly, I could see the bottom of where we would be landing. There was a deep chasm, where a rushing river was streaming. We rolled to the bottom. In the short moment that the manticore was on top of me, I kicked to the side. The large monster was knocked over the cliff and down to the rushing water below. Out of breath, I looked over the edge. The manticore looked alright, though, pretty irritated, trying to get out of the rushing water. It disappeared from sight in a matter of seconds. I decided it would probably reach a river, and go back to land from there.

I stood, brushing myself off. Applejack and Rarity were at the edge of the woods looking for me, and Rainbow Dash was scanning from the sky when I burst through the trees. I was thoroughly exhausted, bruised, and scratched up, but all in all I was fine. I sat down on the grass and took a moment to catch my breath.

Rainbow Dash was the first to notice me. "Alan! We were looking all over for you! Sweetie Bell and the others told us all about what happened, are you all right?"

I was breathing pretty heavily still. "I've had worse happen to me." I said. "But I've never had a dragon chase me before; that was a first."

Rarity let me ride on her until we got back to the Boutique. The farm was still unfit for inhabitance in it's current condition.

"Josh!" the trio ran up and practically tackled me right off of the white unicorn. It was a flood of questions, one right after another. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but my shirt was torn a little." I turned to Rarity. "Sorry about that."

Rarity smiled. "No problem, I can always make more."

Applejack looked at the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who's heads were hanging pretty low. "You need to apologize to Alan fer' getting him into such a dangerous situation!"

"We're sorry…"

I laughed. "Are you kidding? I had a great time! I'd do that again someday!"

They're heads perked up. "You would?"

"Of course!"

We all ate dinner at The Boutique. She had nice touch in cooking.

"Where are you going?" Rarity asked.

"I promised the crusaders that I'd read them a story before they headed to bed." I said with a touch of maturity I never thought I had before. I walked inside the clubhouse where they were all resting, and read them a story that they had chosen from the library, aptly named "The Dragon's Tail" (supposedly a play on the word tale). When I finished, as I turned the knob, I heard a voice speak behind me.

"..Alan?"

I turned. "Hm?"

"I just wanted to let you know that you're now 'fficially part of the club," said Applebloom.

"Yeah, you're amazing!" Sweetie Belle said.

"You're 20% cooler!" Scootaloo said with much enthusiasm.

I smiled, but I didn't reply as I switched the lights off and closed the door.

End of the 5th Day

--Sidenotes

Sorry for the late update everyone! Things have gotten busier since vacation is over, and now that school is reinstating itself as part of my schedule, I won't have as much time to write as I thought. Updates from now on might be a little less frequent or may lack length. Hopefully that's okay with some of you, if not all of you.

Hope you liked this chapter. See what I did at the end there? No..? Okay..

Day 6: Realization

Day 6:

Fifteenth hour

"We all know.."

I paused, my eyes widening in fear.

"Know what? What do you know?!"

The ponies all looked hesitant and afraid. Even the bold Rainbow Dash looked meek and tiny when I met her gaze.

"..The accident," Twilight finally spoke up. Everyone including me looked at her, the ponies almost pleading her with their eyes not to speak anymore, but I wanted to know the truth. The reason why everypony was avoiding me, the reason why they could no longer look at me with straight eyes. The accident? What accident? Did I do something wrong?

"I don't understand what you're talking about." I said, trying to keep my voice level.

Suddenly, something sparked in the back of my mind. "Accident".. No, they couldn't have known. But I already knew, looking into her eyes and the others. It all made sense now.

"You saw it.. you saw it all?" I said in a slow voice.

Nobody moved for a full minute. My muscles were tensed with anxiety. Twilight finally nodded, fully and slowly.

I was trying as hard as I could to not fall to my knees. I felt incredibly weak and exposed - and above all, betrayed. I took a few steps back, shaking my head. I didn't want to believe it.

"How.." I almost whispered the words. My voice was shaking badly.

"HOW COULD YOU?!"

Suddenly, all the blood vessels in my body popped, my muscles sprang like a fixated spring. I burst out the front entrance and ran. I didn't know where I was going, nor what would happen when I did. I just wanted to get lost in that thick, consuming fog, and never have to look at those poor ponies ever again. I was too weak, and they took advantage of that.

My breath was shallow, but I kept running. It was amazing that I hadn't run into anything yet. My feet just kept going, one after the other, the chilly breeze cutting into my exposed skin. I had left only with a short sleeved dress shirt on and the same pair of ragged old jeans I was introduced to this world in. I didn't care anymore. Maybe, somehow, the fog would swallow me up and send me back to Earth. I felt broken. I never wanted to think about those memories again. The faces of the ponies tore me apart - I never wanted to see them again.

I didn't hate them.

I just never wanted to see them again.

Day 5:

Eighteenth hour

After putting the trio of foals to bed, I walked back downstairs, careful not to hit my head on the dangerously low wall. Like Fluttershy's cottage, Rarity's boutique had somewhat of a living room area. I settled down on a couch next to a small, lit fireplace. A small lamp flickered on a coffee table to the side - shadow's danced around the room, the fire and the lamp being the only sources of light. The reflection of the flames and the various furniture in the room flickered off the walls, the ceiling, and the ground. I just sat there, staring into the ethereal, burning embers. I just had a near-death experience.. and yet, being with people to share it with lessened the pain. There was nobody for me after the incident but a bunch of lawyers and doctors. They didn't sympathize with me - or at least, they didn't do so with sincerity. But that was okay, I didn't expect them to.

Rarity was taking a bath upstairs. After the terrible encounter with that manticore, I had already taken a dip in the shower. Most of my bruises were still visible, and a scar had formed on my left cheek. Fluttershy thought it looked awful, but I thought it looked pretty neat, passing over the fact that it seared with pain every time I took the bandage off of it. I didn't know how much time passed until the snow white unicorn trotted downstairs. After greeting me, she settled down by the opposite couch and we proceeded in idle chit chat.

"Alan, dear, would you mind doing me a favor?" Rarity said at one point. I nodded.

"Could you please comb my mane? I'm afraid it's not quite neat, and I can't magic it properly without a mirror."

With some difficulty at first, I managed to somewhat begin to straighten out some of the matted strands of hair in the violet mane.

"I must say, I cannot thank you enough for taking care of Sweetie Belle and her friends," the unicorn spoke after a moment, "It means very much to me that you would sacrifice your own well being for foals you don't even know!"

"Well, it was a trial after all." I replied jokingly. To my surprise, Rarity jerked her head towards me with a slightly stern look on her face.

"But what if you hurt even more than you are now? To put you in so much danger is-!"

She stopped mid sentence, looking at me now not furiously, but with an odd expression on her face, as if she was contemplating me. I took this opportunity to gently set her head back into a position where I could comb properly.

"Please hold still, madame, I will have difficulty if my customer does not feel relaxed." I said in a slightly mock elegant voice. She giggled and shushed me.

After I was done, I set the comb down and sat back down.

"Well, I'm do-" I spoke, but suddenly realized that the pony I was talking to was fast asleep. I smiled - I suddenly found it a lot easier to do so often, despite the injury on my cheek. I laid down on the opposite couch and relaxed, staring at the flickering ceiling. I had only spent 6 days here.. and yet, they felt like the most significant 6 days of my life. Of course, this all could be just a dream or something. But even so, these emotions I felt, the words from the ponies, they lifted my spirits in so many more ways that I had imagined. I drifted off to bed with another, half-hearted grin.

= =

Even as she laughed, Rarity couldn't help but feel the tears from days before creep up in her eyes. She almost couldn't bear to look at this bright, smiling face. How did he do it? The white unicorn went over that thought in her mind over and over again. She wouldn't be able to bear losing Sweetie Belle or any of her friends.. and this odd-looking stallion lost everything as a child.

In the dead of the night, the fire had gone out. Rarity looked over to the side, where a dozing, grey-haired youth lay, breathing softly through his lips. She sighed, and stared at the ceiling. What kind of world did he come from, truly..?

= =

End of the Fifth Day

Day 6:

Twelfth hour

The rest of the ponies had arranged to meet at Twilight's home again that morning. Apparently, they all had something important to tell me..

Day 6:

??? hour

How far had I run? How long had I run? How much longer would I run? I had no clue. My footsteps reverberated against the ground. Gravel crackled, grass shifted through my feet, stone echoed against the soles of my shoes. They all blended together into one giant sound for me. Vengeance nor hate was bottled in my soul. Nothing but emptiness. I felt as terrible as the day of the accident - I didn't lose any of the ponies physically, but I did know that I could never go back.

Not after this.

My surroundings slowly started to get darker. As they did so, more and more trees appeared on the path, roots and vines covered the grass I trekked through. My breathing was hollow with fatigue, but I didn't stop. I wouldn't stop until I was home again.

But what was "home"? Home wasn't that orphanage, nor was it that blank, white dorm. Home was where you felt welcomed, where you felt accepted, where you felt whole. I let out a bloodcurling scream as I put on an extra burst of speed. Eventually, my progress was stopped by an out-sticking root. I tripped and fell on moss. I didn't get up. My heart was racing, going so fast that I feared it would pound out of my chest. My legs felt like they were on fire. All my bruises acted up again, and I had various cuts from branches and shrubs. My hair was a matted mess, and I was covered in grass stains, leaves, and twigs. I couldn't see anything but black and the darkest of green.

I found the strength and rolled on my side, staring up at the moon. It was slightly clouded by the trees and leaves above, but I could still see it, the bright and full ethereal orb of white. I sighed. I felt exhausted, like there was nothing in me anymore. I could almost feel the small candle in my heart being blown out by harsh winds.

My vision faded, my eyes closed, and I started to feel nothing.

A voice with a heavily african placed accent spoke from a distance,

"What is this?"

--Sidenotes

Aaagh, sorry guys. Schools been keeping me busy.

Hope this chapter didn't confuse anypony. I had a few cluttered time spans, but I tried to create some profound dramatic effect. I didn't think it worked too well, but OH WELLLLL

In other news, Zebras.