Dallas, Texas, September 10, 2010
Landon Johnson was the typical teenage boy. He hardly ever got in trouble at school and when he did, it was only minor things like swearing and possibly fighting with other students. He hardly ever got a failing grade, except for in the Pre-AP English class he took his freshman year.
As of now, he was a sophomore, ending his freshman year with a solid 3.0 grade point average. Though he didn't look like the kind of guy that'd be considered a "nerd". He had the athletic build of a basketball player, but his height was that of a 12 year old. But hardly anyone made rude remarks about his height. What they did make rude remarks about, however, was his eyes. He had these strange yet beautiful rose colored eyes that nobody ever had, and it often drew unwanted attention to him.
Landon went to a local public school in Dallas. He grew up in one of the worst parts of the city, so gangs, criminals, robbers, and even more filled the streets. Today, he had a life threatening experience with one of the more dangerous and notorious gangs known as The Headshots. This group of thugs was a dangerous, crime fueled gang that wanted nothing more than to rob people and, if they felt particularly devious, kill them. They often wore ski masks and would always wear red t shirts and jeans to distinguish themselves from the multiple other gangs as nobody who wasn’t one of The Headshots wore red t-shirts and jeans.
One day after school, Landon arrived home only to be greeted with the usual, “welcome” response of his brother, Paul.
"Hello, there shit stain.", Paul said as he always did.
"Fuck you.", Landon said.
"Nah man. I ain't gay like you."
"Whatever, asshole", Landon said, walking to his room so he could do his homework in peace. Ever since Landon was seven, Paul always messed with him. Paul was tall yet quite heavy, he sported a stubbly mustache and beard combination on his face. He was 19 years old, an age you'd think would make him mature, but you’d be wrong.
In fact, Paul slowly got worse with his actions toward his brother over the years. Now it's nearing the point of abuse.
As Landon did his homework, his mother came up to his room to check on him.
"Hello, sweetie. Are you doing all right?", his mom said in her typical, caring voice.
"Yeah, mom. I'm doing fine."
"OK. Just let me know if you need help with something." She walked out, leaving her son alone to work on his homework.
Landon's mom, Shelly, was a very kind person. Sometimes, a little, too, kind. She also wasn't bad looking. She had beautiful hazel eyes and beautiful long brown hair. However, she of course, wasn't perfect. She was often too nice, especially after her husband's death, a victim of a bullet to the head courtesy of one of the dangerous gangs that he happened to run into. One that nobody, except for Landon, Paul, and Shelly remembered. This caused Shelly to be too kind to them both, often not believing Landon’s claims when he told her about Paul messing with him. Of course Landon knew that she loved him, she just didn’t want to understand that one of her sons tormented the other.
She had a job, though it only paid her about $700 a week. Because of this, they always barely scraped by with enough money for food, especially with all the bills for the crappy apartment they lived in. At least they had a home though, right?
Still, even finding in the more expensive, yet safer areas of Dallas, would have been preferable to the utterly dangerous and cheap part of Dallas they lived in now. But they couldn’t afford it, and had to accept that they were stuck in an area even the most hardened criminals would go out of their way to avoid.
Regardless, Landon tried to not let it bother him too much, focusing on things like homework and television to take his mind off of his surroundings, defined by the nightly sound of police sirens wailing in the streets just outside his window.
He usually was able to avoid getting involved with the gangs that inhabited the city, but sometimes he wasn’t so lucky. The following day after school, around 4:20, he was on his way home. It was the ninth anniversary of September 11th so a majority of the day was spent talking about the attacks, and what each student remembered of them. Where they were, what they were doing, etc.
Landon was walking home as he usually did. But just as he was about to reach the street near his house, he was stopped by the sudden appearance of a gun pointed directly at his head. There, standing directly in front of him, was none other than the leader of The Headshots, his face hidden behind a ski mask. Accompanying him were about three thugs, all wearing the trademark red t-shirt and jeans.
The masked leader smiled, "Yo. What's in your pockets?"
"Why is that any of your business, Howard?", Landon questioned definitely.
The gang leader froze in shock. Sure his real name was Howard, but you’d either have to be extremely brave, or extremely stupid to call him that.
"The name's Sniper, you fucking dumbass." Howard, or Sniper, as he preferred, growled.
"Whatever, Howard."
The way Landon mockingly said "Howard" began to anger the gang leader to no end, his blood pressure rising and his hands clenched into fists. He pointed threateningly at Landon, a wild look in his eyes.
"Listen here punk, either you give me whatever's in your pockets, or I beat the living shit out of you.” Howard demanded in a tone that would make anyone feel threatened.
Landon was scared,downright terrified even. But he masked it, not wanting to give Howard the benefit of the doubt by making it looks as though he frightened him, though that was the truth.
"Look who's calling who a punk. If you want to know what's in my pockets, fine, I'll show you."
Landon turned his pockets inside out, revealing that nothing was inside them. Even with the evidence, or maybe because of the rage he felt from it, Howard threw his clenched fist right into Landon’s face, knocking him to the ground. Howard pointed his gun straight at Landon’s head. Landon could feel blood running from his nose and mouth as he looked up, his eyes meeting the end of the gun-barrell.
"You have no money? Fine. Give me your fucking watch, then." Howard demanded.
"No.", Landon said, knowing it was stupid but too prideful to care.
"No?" Howard asked in disbelief.
"No."
Howard nodded, "Okay then, I guess I'll blow your brains out."
At this point, Landon made no attempt to hide his fear. He knew that he had to either give Howard his watch, or die. But Landon couldn't just give him the watch. After all, his father gave it to him right before he was murdered, ironically by getting shot in the head by a gang member. The watch was the only thing Landon had left to remember his father by, and now he had to choose between giving it up or being killed.
"Leave him alone!", Someone shouted a few yards away.
Howard looked up and saw a girl standing behind Landon. She wore a white t-shirt and jeans. Her hair was purple with streaks of lavender and pink running through it. She looked both nervous and angry, like she was fearful of her own safety, but unwilling to watch from the sidelines as Landon, a boy she didn’t even know, was killed in front of her.
Howard couldn’t help but smile.
“Oh, I see someone’s feeling brave.” Howard turned to his fellow gang members, "Grab her. We can't have anyone messing this up, especially some purple-haired bitch."
The other gang members nodded and followed his orders striding over and grabbing the mysterious girl, pointing their own guns at her head so that she wouldn’t try anything stupid, like saving Landon.
"Alright, scumbag, you can’t play the martyr anymore." Howard said angrily to Landon, "Either you give me the watch, or we kill her and then you.”
At this point, Landon had no chance but to give his watch away and reluctantly gave his watch to Howard. When Howard snatched from his hand, Landon cringed, feeling like a part of his soul was shattered into a million, tiny pieces.
Howard smiled tauntingly at Landon as he clipped the watch onto his wrist. "Thank you. But I'm not through with you yet. Insolence must be punished severely. So I hope you enjoy this gift."
After saying these words, he shot Landon right in the thigh before running off with. His lackeys followed him, leaving the mysterious girl with the wounded boy. As Landon screamed in agony from the gunshot wound, the mysterious girl got up and called for help on her phone. Landon turned to look at her as his vision started to blur, the loss of blood taking its toll on his consciousness. It didn’t take long before the world around him blurred into a blackness and he passed out.
2 years later
Landon sat in his room watching the latest episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. As the episode started, he smoked a bit of pot to relax himself. Landon was now 17 and, as one would probably guess, he was a brony. He had been a brony ever since that incident 2 years ago with Howard, the gun, and the mysterious girl that he still thought about to this day.
He remembered seeing her calling for an ambulance right before he passed out, the last time he saw her. He could hardly even remember what she looked like, all he did remember was her strong presence and how kind she was, standing up for him even though they never met before.
In the two years since the incident, crime rates and gangs have only increased. There are at least four murders every week. With all of the yellow tape and blood-stained streets, Landon could hardly make it to school, much to his mother's disapproval. His mother loved him a lot, he needed her love after what had happened to him. So she wanted the best for him. Which she saw as him getting an education. However, she had no idea how dangerous things were now. At least she does now and thinks it's better that he dropped out.
After watching the show, he decided to read some of the fanfiction stories that were available online. One fanficiton that he liked in particular was "Wilmont: The Human Elements of Harmony.", a story about six boys partnering up with the mane six to take down Discord and save a run down city from his reign.
He longed for something like what happened at the end to happen to him, to go to Equestria. The fanfiction also made him feel better about his attraction towards Twilight Sparkle, his favorite pony. The fanfiction gave him some hope of something like what happened with one of the main characters of the fanfiction to happen to him, meeting Twilight and having the opportunity to become her coltfriend.
Alas, he knew it was only a hopeless romantic’s dream that could never come true, no matter how often he wished it did. After returning from his fantasy back to the real world, Landon shut down his computer down, deciding that it was time to get some sleep, hoping that his dreams would take him to Equestria.
Landon's House - April 20, 2012 - 4:30 PM, Friday
Landon sat in his room doing what he did every day, smoking weed and watching MLP.
Living the American Dream.
My Little Pony was something that he held close to him, almost as if it were sacred.
He didn't just love the show, he near worshiped it, it was his Holy Book, his sacred scripture that he watched on the television every week, wishing that our world, the world he lost faith in, could be more like Equestria.
A world of peace, a world without war and gruesome deaths. Obviously he assumed that death existed in Equestria, but he didn’t believe that the kind that happens in our world almost everyday. A death brought upon by man, instead of by nature. An unnatural, early death that should have been prevented, a murder. Landon knew that murder in this world was inevitable. There was no stopping it because there would always be those sickos running loose to cause mayhem, chaos and violence.
Landon was thinking this before he snapped back. He wanted to smoke some more. He looked down at the ziplock bag that was usually full of the green herb only to see that he was out.
Landon sighed. He knew he wanted, no, he needed some weed to revive him from the mental rut he found himself in at the moment. It was too late to go out to a dealer and buy some, the afternoon and night was when gangs roamed the streets, looking for easy prey. So he turned to the next best source of joyful feelings in his possession. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
He went to his computer and went to Youtube and started up Friendship is Magic, part 1, the very first episode of the series. This was his favorite episode, mainly because it focused on Twilight, his favorite character. He also enjoyed it for the simple fact that it was the first episode of the whole series, the one that first got him into the show.
As he watched the show, his attention was drawn to Twilight. He stared at her like she were the most important character in the show, which he knew was false. He knew all of the mane six were equally important. But there was something about Twilight that always caused him to slip into brief "lover boy" moments where her eyes seemed to hypnotize him, moments he quickly snapped himself out of.
But that didn’t mean he disliked the other ponies, on the contrary. He loved seeing Fluttershy's adorable face and cute shyness, Rainbow Dash's tomboy self, and Applejack's southern charm, Rarity’s elegance and Pinkie Pie’s randomness.
Still, he couldn’t help but remain focused on Twilight. The high he got from smoking weed, could not compare to how good the show made him feel.
Weed was only his alternative, the show was his true drug.
Once the episode ended, a snicker came from behind Landon. Slowly, he turned around to see his brother in the doorway. Landon could see the smug grin on his brother's face, and knew right then he had been caught watching the show.
By the one person he never wanted to be caught by.
"Oh fuck", Landon thought, watching his brother stand in the door frame with that smug grin on his face and his arms folded across his chest like some kind of elitist bully.
"What's up, pony boy.", Paul said teasingly.
At 21 years old, you'd think Paul would have stopped fucking with his brother by now, that he would have matured past such childish behavior. Sadly that wasn't the case. In fact, he had actually gotten worse as he “matured”, transitioning from being the typical teenage bully to downright abuse, both physical and mental.
Paul was unstable and unpredictable. Landon had no idea what would happen if he pushed his brother too far. He imagined himself being hospitalized, like that fateful day two years ago, or even end up on the verge of death, clinging for his life.
Paul was that much of an asshole.
Actually, asshole would be an understatement, like calling Charlie Sheen an occasional party animal. No, Paul was sick and twisted, Landon even would go so far as to say evil. It was still a mystery to him how Paul wasn’t a member of a gang.
"Your big fat head is what's up, Mr. Fat Fuck.", Landon retaliated.
"Real original," Paul said sarcastically, "Why not just get it over with admit you’re gay? After all, I have the proof right there." Paul pointed at the computer screen which showed the credits on pause. He, like a lot of anti-bronies, believed that Landon was gay simply because he watched the show. Then again, Paul usually assumed everyone but him was gay, which often made Landon wonder.
"Fuck off," Landon barked, "How's about you go fuck your fat ass girlfriend. Oh wait, I forgot, you don't have one. Not even a fat ass prostitute would want to date you, let alone get you to fuck them."
"Well then, why don't you go fuck your boyfriend, faggot." Paul said, grinning like the punk-ass he was.
"Fuck you, Paul" Landon hissed.
"Sorry. I ain't gay like you." Paul said. “And even if I was, I could do a lot better than you.”
"Get out of my room before I kick your ass."
"You think your tough?", Paul said evilly. Landon swallowed. Paul would only use a tone this dark when a sinister thought popped up in his head, "How about I push you outside, lock the door, and see how long you survive in downtown Dallas at night."
Landon's eyes widened in fear and shock. Even if his brother was terrible, he couldn't believe he would say something like that. Just opening the door is dangerous enough. Hell, unlocking the door would be one of the dumbest things anyone could do..
But going outside at night with the gangs roaming the streets would be suicide.
"You wouldn't.", Landon said, his voice quivering a bit. He started to panic, any bravery he had left him two years ago. His “bravery” sent him to the hospital for five days with a gunshot wound in his leg and terror burnt into his memory.
"Try me.", Paul said, grabbing his brother by the shirt. Landon tried to resist, pulling back against his brother’s iron-like grip. But all struggling did was make Paul more angry, his pulling strength increasing, bringing his younger brother to the door.
As this brotherly struggle went on, two girls stood outside of the house, peering through the window at the two boys fighting each other.
One girl was the same one that stood up for Landon two years ago, her hair still purple with a streak of pink running through it.
The other girl had braided, blonde hair and a pair of brilliant green eyes. The two girls watched Landon get dragged towards the door by his brother in shock and horror.
The blonde haired girl turned to the other girl.
"We gotta do somethin', Twilight." she said in a southern drawl, voice filled with concern.
"I know Applejack, I'm trying to think.", the purple-haired girl said, her hand to her chin, trying to think up a plan.
Back in the house, Landon struggled to get Paul to release his grip, but to no avail. Paul dragged Landon to front door, preparing to throw him outside into the dangerous, city streets. Landon couldn't believe Paul would actually do something like this. Sure Paul was a prick, sometimes even psychotic, but this was taking it to another level.
"You ready, shit stain?", Paul sneered.
"Uh, no?" Landon said.
"Too bad.", Paul said as he opened the door and threw his brother onto the lawn.
Twilight and Applejack looked at Landon, who had gotten up and was now freaking out, looking to see if anyone was around to help him.
"Over here!", Twilight called out to him from a bush that was outside his window. Landon looked over as he heard this familiar voice that he couldn't quite remember where he heard it from, but he knew he heard it from somewhere. At this point, Landon was too freaked out to question it or the reason why they are outside his window. All he did was run over to the bush to hide out there.
"We should be safe here.", Twilight said.
"Do I know you from somewhere?” Landon asked, "I mean, your voice sounds so familiar. I know I’ve heard it before, but I can't figure out from where."
"I'll explain later," Twilight said, "Right now we need to hide here until it's safe."
"Well I hate to break it to you, but that'll be a while.” Landon said, looking at his watch, “It's only five o' clock and the gangs won't be away until at least 7 o' clock tomorrow morning."
"Hm. Do you think you can get your window open from here?"
"Maybe. But I don't think it's real safe to try and get up and try to open it.”
“Even for a second?” Applejack asked, “Jeez, how dangerous is this here place where y’all can’t even poke yer head out of a bush for a second?
“You’re not from around here, are you?” Landon asked.
“No.” Twilight answered.
“Figures.” Landon sighed, “Besides, my brother probably already locked the window. He always thinks ten steps ahead. Prick."
"Why does yer brother treat ya like this", asked Applejack. Landon suddenly realized he’d heard her voice, too. But unlike Twilight, he remembered where he heard this girl’s voice from. It sounded exactly like the voice of Applejack, a character from his favorite cartoon show, but he knew that it wasn't possible so he just let it go right now.
"I don't really know," Landon said, "I guess it's because he's a jerk. Actually, calling him a jerk is like saying Hitler was a little mean."
"Sarah," Twilight said to Applejack, using ‘Sarah’ as an alias for her, "We can worry about that later. All that matters now is that we get inside."
"Well, we'll just have to wait until morning. Sorry.", Landon explained.
"It's fine, sugarcube," Applejack, or Sarah, as she was going by now, said, "Jane, we really should wait. After all, he knows much more 'bout this here neighborhood than we do."
Landon couldn’t stop picturing Sarah as Applejack, after all her voice and hairstyle and eye color were all the same. But then the logical portion of his brain stepped up, reminding him that drawing such comparisons was nonsense. He was sure there were plenty of green-eyed, blonde-haired southern girls in Dallas. Hell, he knew a good deal of them.
Still, he couldn’t help but equate this girl to the country pony.
"Ok," Twilight told Landon, "If you think it's best that we wait, we'll wait."