Final Chainby Dumakey93ChaptersAn AwakeningAnother Side of PainHold Her SteadyThe CalmingRed DropsDo You Mind?Walking DistanceAnother HandA CallingShatteredLovely AtmosphereAn AwakeningJohn drew a cigarette from his newly opened pack. "It's another beautiful day in...ah, who am I kidding! It's a horrible day! Why does it have to rain on New Year's Day? It sure is a 'great' start to a new year..." The rain pounded on John's apartment window, with no signs of slowing down. The radio man said his typical rants about the economy and government conspiracies. "Well, it seems that even radio has gone down the political drain. Not that I liked that station anyway." He flipped through more channels, and it was all the same routine, except for an interview about some phenomenon involving grown men and ponies. "Guess this is better than nothing." After the interview of the 'brony' was over, John kept thinking about why such a show became popular. The show must be good, if grown men like it. Then again, it is a kid's show. Better not think about it, or I'll become a 'brony' myself. He looked out into the gray sky and took a puff of his cigarette. "Just another day...like all the others." He stood up out of his chair and brushed his suit off with his hands. John adjusted his tie till it fit loosely, and he took in the smell of honey that came from a lit candle. He looked at the pale white walls and shook his head, remembering that he needed to get paint for the walls within the week. Why did she want a party here, of all places, when I clearly haven't finished furbishing my living space. I'll never understand her and the friends she has. They clearly do not understand the concept of an apartment sized room. Anyway, I need to get some paint cans from the store down the road. The local store was just a block away, within walking distance. I don't need my car, it's barely ten minutes from here. He headed down the five flights of stairs, his feet echoed on every step. Opening the door, he realized that he forgot his umbrella. John decided he didn't need it for such a short walk. He turned right out the doors of his apartment complex. There were no people on the sidewalk, which was strange. It's a Sunday and it's noontime, why isn't everyone out getting wasted? Oh, it's a holiday, I forgot. Wait, if it's a holiday, then stores would be closed...Might as well get my exercise today. John's cigarette dangled loosely from his lips, and the stench of tobacco grew more intense. He stopped at the intersection to cough, but was stopped by a loud boom. What the hell is that? I'd better go and investigate. John waited till the crossing sign went on, then he went towards where he heard the boom. He turned into an alleyway, and found the source of the sound. A bomb had gone off, but it mysteriously left no traces of debris or the bomb itself. But I thought...something's really off. I need to get out of this rain, don't want to catch a cold. John headed back towards his apartment, assuming that someone else reported the boom to the police. He crossed the intersection and went back inside into his room. John didn't want to think about what the bomb was or who set it off, he wanted to forget it. He unlocked his door and opened it, making a creaking sound. John closed the door behind him and turned towards the kitchen. He spotted a blue-haired woman messing with his stereo system. "What are you doing?" John asked her "Well, I'm upgrading your sound system of course! I noticed you have some really cool vintage speakers, and I wanted to check it out." "You must be the DJ for the party this week, right?" "What are you talking about? I was never scheduled for your party. Besides, I don't even think that your favorite type of music is anything regarding new age stuff." "I like 'new age' music, just if it has some vocals in it to settle the overpowering base." "With that suit, I expected you to like classical music, much like a friend of mine." With that, we discussed more about our musical tastes, and I asked her about where she came from. "Well, I came from a town called Po-" A voice came from outside the door, "You know Celestia told us to not tell him that!" The door opened and a black-haired woman walked into the room. "Hello there, you must be John, I've heard your conversation, and classical music is a better choice." John knew where this was going, and he wasn't going to have two women fight over music genres in his room. "Look, we can discuss this later, why don't you ladies settle down for awhile." The two looked at me and stared me in the face, saying in unison, "Sure, that wouldn't be any awkward for us." They obviously were being sarcastic, but they had nowhere else to stay, so they accepted the offer. It grew late at night, and John let them sleep in his room, while he stayed on the couch. Well, I guess being generous once in awhile can be fulfilling. He still wondered how those two women arrived suddenly in his apartment. He wondered if the boom sound from earlier had anything to do with it. I did see a rainbow in the middle of a thunderstorm, but that's normal, right? They can't be related, right? He pondered this for a few moments, then discarded it as a coincidence. With his mental peace restored, John closed his eyes and went to sleep. Another Side of Pain"Where am I?" The darkness was surrounding him and leaving no room for escape. "I'm sorry! I never meant to hurt you! I never..." A light appeared from the darkness that once embraced him. The light blinded John for several moments, making him blink rapidly. The light faded and surrounded him. It was in the figure of a woman he knew long ago. "What are you doing here? I thought you died!" The woman's figure slowly took a more physical shape, the shape of his lost lover. "Lisa...I'm sorry..." Lisa put her hand on John's face, and she burst into flames. Her hand left a burn mark on his face, which blistered and turned black. The light was gone, and John was now alone again. He grasped for anything to guide him, but he was suddenly being choked by a heavy smoke. His eyes watered and he started to sweat intensely. His eyes bulged outwards, and his feet could no longer support him. John lied there, helpless against the sudden inferno that was closing in on him. Through the blisters and suffocating heat, he crawled away from the flames, only to have a large burning support beam fall on him. It was too heavy to move, and the heat became overpowering. The structure crumbled, as John fell five stories down into the apartment lobby. John could only produce a small whimper, "Please...forgive me, I wish I had been there to save you...." He was suddenly in another world, where the clouds didn't move on their own, and ponies talked. At the moment he arrived in the world, John was starstruck by a majestic white figure with horns and beautiful white wings. She reminded him of Lisa, and her heartwarming smile that struck him into a wide smile. John made his way through the crowd of animals, and reached forward to touch the figure. The crowd gasped, and the guards pinned John down with brute force. The white pony had motioned for the guards to let him go. The crowd uttered things like, "What is that?", or "Such an ugly creature shouldn't be near the Princess...". The white pony now looked into John's eyes, and saw his sorrows. She had now raised her head to speak, and with a calm voice, she said, "You needn't be afraid, we ponies have had things like you appear. You seem different from them, you have no evil within your eyes. You seem sad, may we take you in to help you?" John was shocked at her voice, but he responded with a "No." The pony smiled, indicating that she understood, and sent him back home. John was back in his apartment, only it wasn't in an inferno anymore. He headed outside to clear his head. That was some weird dream, it even involved her. Why does she torture me with these dreams of an inferno? Is it a reminder of last year's fire? I wanted to visit family, and I left her alone, I'm such an idiot. Last year, John had spent the New Years with his family, leaving his lover, Lisa alone. He had called her at midnight, to wish her a happy New Year, but there was no response. John had sped through three intersections and construction zones to get to their apartment. He had smelled smoke when he got there, but nevertheless ran inside. He took the five flights on foot to their room. All the doors were opened, except for her's. John tried to unlock the door, but the key wouldn't fit right. He broke open the door with a powerful kick, and saw her lying on the floor. Lisa had a knife sticking out from her back, but she was still alive. "Lisa! We have to get you to a hospital!" There was no response. John picked her up over his shoulder, and carried her out into the hallway. The smoke from earlier burned John's lungs, to the point that he couldn't carry her anymore. He had collapsed on the floor, and he clutched her hand. She had no pulse, she was gone. John neither wanted or could move from the flames that beckoned him into eternity. A crash of glass from the other side of the hall way brought John to his senses. A firefighter had come to get John out. John struggled to tell the man that Lisa was a priority, and to take her out first. The firefighter looked into John's eyes and saw the desperation, so he took Lisa out first. John smiled, he was helping his lover out one last time. The flames won't touch you, as long as I'm here. See you on the other side...Lisa. The floor underneath him collapsed, as he fell into the inferno. His body was burning up, but he did not feel a thing. All he felt was the warm embrace of Lisa's arms. John heard an echo from the flames, "It is not your time, my love..." He knew now that he mustn't die here. He ran towards the nearest window, and leaped out into the street. John fell on a trampoline, and he was safe. John headed over to the ambulance. He saw the EMT try to revive Lisa, but nothing happened. He tried for five agonizing minutes, but there was nothing that he could do. The EMT and the firefighter from earlier gave John the news. "I'm sorry for your loss, your friend is gone..." The words sunk in, and John cursed at the sky. He cursed out the heavens, sun, the moon, himself, but in all of his agony, he never blamed her. Tears welled from his eyes, as he took a sigh and he laid down for awhile, as voices echoed in his head... "John! Are you alright?" "Does it look like he's okay to you? He's sweating all over the place, and shivering like a madman!" John woke up, and looked at the two women staying with him. "What was that all about?" John looked away from them and said, "I don't want to talk about it..." The two women sighed, and spoke to him, "It's about time that we tell you our names, since we heard you in your sleep." The blue-haired woman said her name was DJ Pon-3, "Or you can call me Vinyl Scratch, whatever suits you." The other woman said her name was Octavia. John only sighed, and asked for them to go back to bed, since it was midnight. "Alright, but please, you don't have to hide things alright? You can rely on us to help you with whatever you need. Goodnight John..." John bid them goodnight, and laid back down on the couch. He didn't sleep for the rest of the night, thinking about the fire one year ago... Hold Her SteadyJohn's eyes hardly closed thanks to the nightmare from last night. I have to make some coffee, to clear my head. He got up from the couch, and noticed a smell of burning bacon. He ran over to the kitchen, where Octavia and DJ Pon-3 were having an argument. Octavia held a spatula in her hand, "No, bacon is too salty, he won't like that! Especially after the night he just had!" Vinyl facepalmed, "I don't think he would care what he ate right now. He needs something in his system." Their bickering went on for several minutes, while John laughed once in a while. He decided to walk in, right when Octavia threw a large skillet at Vinyl. Oh no...this is going to hurt... The skillet hit him square in the face, breaking his large nose. His eyes watered a little, enough to let out a single tear. He quickly wiped it away, wanting to preserve his manliness. He had hot grease on him from the bacon, but surprisingly enough, that didn't bother or burn him. "Thank you ladies, for thinking about my well-being. I actually like bacon, but not on the floor. I prefer it on a plate, but it's fine...I was just coming in to make some brew, do you want anything?" Octavia and Vinyl just stood in moderate shock, not being able to answer him. Vinyl suddenly burst out laughing, "Ha! Nice one Octavia, you really messed up big time!" Octavia's face burst out in a bright red color, probably from embarrassment. "Well...at least I tried to cook, unlike someone I know!" Vinyl's face suddenly turned into a blank stare, as she was quick to anger. "Well, EXCUSE ME, PRINCESS!! I DIDN'T KNOW YOU NEEDED...to point someone's flaws out so rashly!" John decided to intervene, "Listen, ladies. I know that you two might have a butting feud with each other. How about we all go out tonight, and clear our heads. Does that sound good?" They sighed in unison, "Yes John, that seems acceptable." He smiled, "Good, I'm going off to work now, so try not to destroy my apartment space, or yourselves...and by the way, you owe me coffee." He grabbed his jacket, and headed down the flights of stairs. He saw something out of the corner of his eye, it was a piece of parchment. What is this doing here? I might as well leave it alone, whoever dropped it might come for it later. He walked onward and out the apartment complex towards his workplace. John made it, he was at his work, a culmination of his degree and training brought him here. A lone department store run by a strict man by the name of Mr. Yorks. He was a man not to be messed with. Having served in the Vietnam War, he was easily the meanest person John knew. That was John's boss at work, to keep up a hardened reputation for no-nonsense. After work, Yorks was a quiet man who was as cold as in the workplace. Until one day John saw him play with his supposed grand-kids after work. Yorks had said, "John, you better not mention this to anyone, got it? Or you might as well quit now." John knew that Yorks wouldn't fire him, because he heard of the incident the year before. It was a mutual understanding between the two men. John clocked in at eight in the morning, exactly when he was supposed to at work. "Hey Johnny boy! You need to man the cash register while I'm gone. Don't you even THINK about taking and cash for a 'bonus', got it?" "Yeah boss, I understand." "Anyway, I'm off!" Yorks left, leaving John the task of keeping up with the store. A few hours went by, and not a single customer stopped by. John was tempted to light a cigarette, but it was against store policies. Stupid tobacco law...if only...nevermind. It's a good thing that it's restricted now, or I'd have died of lung cancer by now. The bells rang above the store door, "Hello! How can I hel...oh...you guys. I thought I told you to stay there." "We wanted to see where you worked, because we're curious." Vinyl said. "Vinyl forced me to come here. I knew that you set up rule for us, but SHE wouldn't listen." Octavia explained. "That's not true, and you know it! We both were curious and wanted to see your lovely face!" John blushed slightly, "Well, aren't we the aggressive one today! While you're here, buy something, anything. Business has been really slow..." Octavia and Vinyl asked, "Well, why is business slow?" "It's around the holiday season, and people are staying home with their..." John paused to produce a heavy sigh, "families." "What happened to your family, John?" "I...don't want to talk about it. You know what? I'll tell you tonight." Just then, Yorks returned from his outting, "DO I PAY YOU TO SIT AND CHAT UP WOMEN?" John quickly regained his composure, "No sir!" "THEN WHY DO I SEE TWO WOMEN NOT BUYING ANYTHING??!!" "Business is slow sir, and they have no money." Yorks became silent. After a long pause, he started shouting again, "WELL, TELL THEM TO GET OUT!!" Octavia grew tired of the old man's yelling, "JOHN RETRIEVED US FROM HOMELESSNESS!! HE IS A MAN WITH A KIND HEART, NOT THAT YOU'D CARE ABOUT THAT, OLD MAN!" Yorks grew increasingly angry, "I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I SERVED IN A WAR! I SAW MY FRIENDS DIE BEFORE MY VERY EYES!! I CAN STILL HEAR THEIR SCREAMS AND CRIES OF AGONY EVERY NIGHT!! I CAN NO LONGER HAVE A HEART AFTER THE PAIN I'VE LIVED THROUGH!! NOW, GET OUT!!" Octavia and Vinyl shut their mouths, and stared at the ground. "We're sorry sir...we just..." They walked away and out the store. Yorks looked at John, "Listen, they have kind hearts, cherish them well. Take the advice from a man like me, who only killed because his country told him to. After this incident today, I'm giving you the rest of the day off. John, hold them as tight as Her, alright?" John's eyes welled up, and he cracked a smile, "Thanks sir!" Yorks smiled, "Now please go John, before I catch your joy too..." John walked out the door with higher expectations than that morning. Looking at the clock, he saw that there was still some time left to get ready for the night's dinner. I'd best hurry to Octavia and Vinyl and calm them down. Then, we'll need to get ready for tonight... The CalmingJohn hurried back the apartment and up his usual route to his room. He heard loud voices and stood outside the door to listen. "That old man is one of the meanest people I've ever met! I mean, John works for him? How does he tolerate all that yelling? I just don't get it." "Maybe Yorks had good reasons to yell at us. He is a war veteran after all, he must have seen unimaginable things. It's no wonder he yells like that. I sure hope that he calms down though, if he can. You see, Octavia, even John's boss has a heart within his icy exterior..." "I guess I let my emotions get the better of me sometimes, I sure hope I didn't get John fired." John chose that moment to walk in, "He wouldn't fire me after that incident. Believe it or not, we are buddies outside of work. It's just we have reputations to keep." Octavia and Vinyl listened to his words, and calmed down. They now understood that Yorks was just playing a role, nothing more. "Now that we have that taken care of that, I have plans for us tonight. We are going to a local bar to see my surprise I told you guys about earlier. Unfortunately, I don't have any dresses on hand, so you might have to wear some of my clothes." Octavia suddenly whipped out a chest full of random outfits. Vinyl shook her head, "Did you really have to bring those?" "Well, yeah!" Octavia responded, "Rarity hoof-stitched all of these! I could never refuse any outfit from her! Besides, she even took human measurements for me so I'd be prepared for now!" John raised an eyebrow, "Hoof-stitched? Human measurements? Are you sure you're not from another world, like Equestria perhaps?" Both Vinyl and Octavia were agape with shock. How could he know their mission? John burst with laughter, "Ha! Like that could ever happen! Cartoons taking human form and coming to Earth? Sounds like a ridiculous idea for a novel! From a children's TV show no less! Ha! Anyway, it seems like Octavia has come prepared. Vinyl, don't you have a dress to wear? Or maybe a polo shirt? Really, the place we're going doesn't really have much of a dress code. Wear what you like, I'll be outside the lobby if you guys need me." John forgot to take his employee uniform off, but remembered as he was exiting the room. "Darn! I guess I'll just change quickly and try to look at the floor, to prevent awkwardness." He walked into his room, and grabbed a dark green shirt, khaki pants, belt, and his pack of cigarettes. He headed towards his section of the apartment and shut the door to his own room. John began to undress and shave off the goatee that he had. Why did I grow this thing anyway? It's not like anyone finds it attractive nowadays. He got into the shower. He turned shower lever to cold, then to a boiling hot. John felt his skin heating up over the few passing minutes. He quickly turned it to a freezing cold, and shut the shower off. He grabbed for a towel, and slipped on the tile floor. John quickly grabbed for an object for leverage, but found none. A loud crack echoed as his head hit the floor. He thought that he saw stars above his head, as he sat still to calm down. Good. Nothing seems to have broken or shattered. Just as John was once again reaching for a towel, the bathroom door opened. Oh no...haven't they heard of knocking? In any case, I have to hid Mr. Happy. John barely managed to cover himself up with the towel as Octavia and Vinyl barged in. "Hey! We heard a large boom, are you alr-argh!!!" Octavia blushed a deep red and started sobbing uncontrollably. Vinyl drug her friend away from the bathroom, apologizing as she went. John sighed, he had this happen to him once before in swim class, another period in life he'd rather forget. He dried himself off, and quickly dressed himself. He put on a modest amount of cologne, and walked out of the bathroom. He briskly walked past sobbing Octavia and Vinyl, who was actually starting to blush as well. John knew he had to get out as fast as possible, or things could get even more awkward. "Hey, you guys need to be down in the lobby within the hour, alright?" The two did not answer him, so John walked out the door and loitered outside the apartment complex. Man, that was really awkward, even when I knew they were coming. I gotta fix that lock on that door, I don't want to run into one of them. John lit a cigarette, and fiddled with his lighter, flicking it on and off. I'm surprised that I only smoke one pack a day. It's all because of that fire. Actually, it seems ironic that I started smoking after that.... Thirty minutes had passed, and John heard the ding as the lobby elevator doors opened. Octavia was dressed in a dark red dress, she applied no make-up on, but she looked very mystical to him. The dress flowed to and fro, much like the waves out at sea. Vinyl, however, was dressed in retro wear. She had a black beret on, to highlight her blue hair. She had taken off her glasses, which she wore constantly, showing her red eyes. She had on black jeans and a Daft Punk t-shirt with headphones around her neck. John thought that the styles clashed, but he chuckled, seeing that the dress reflected the personality. John smiled, "Are the two of you ready?" The two responded, "Yeah!" "Good, now let's have some fun, shall we?" The three walked towards the bar, which was only five blocks away, awaiting to see what the night held for them. Red DropsThe crowd stood still, while the song ended. John did not shed any tears, but felt goosebumps on his body. "Thank you all for listening to that. It's an original song, it has no name though. Thank you..." He walked off the stage, while everyone stood and stared at the man. His guitar strapped to his back, he called to Octavia and Vinyl, "C'mon, let's go home." The two stood still, amazed at his song, and his abrupt exit. Nevertheless, they followed him to his apartment, never once questioning him about his song. They walked up the stairs in silence, only their feet were heard that night. The moon was full, and John still wanted to play one more tune before the night ended. He cleared his throat and played a song many know, but few feel....Tears in Heaven. He grabbed a cigarette, and headed outside. John looked into the night sky, and shed one tear. He flicked the lighter on, and smoke emitted from his cigarette. It seems we meet again, under the moonlight. Never mind that, I have to go somewhere first... He walked a block and stared once again into the night sky, fascinated by it. He snapped out of his trance and kept on walking. The night air was cold and unforgiving, but he didn't feel any colder. Suddenly an explosion rocked the street, snapping a street light pole. Somehow it missed John, but debris from the blast became lodged in his chest. He started to cough up blood, as his vision slowly faded. No...Lisa...Octavia...Vinyl...three that I'll never return to...death sucks... A white light surrounded him, as he continued to puff his cigarette. "What happened to me? Did I die? Figures, right when I start to connect with people...." He flicked it away, and saw that the light was dimming. "HEY! WAIT! Don't go without...me..." John fell to his knees, the light having faded, he was now in complete darkness. He felt icy cold, then another sudden explosion rocked his eardrums. "What the-" He sensed that he was falling, but where? And how fast? In any case, he was reaching the ground at maximum velocity. What, now I get to die a second time? Huh...this is just great. The falling sensation suddenly stopped, as John now was flying forward. He reached around him and saw his hoof clutching a rainbow mane? What is this? I must be dreaming... He finally realized what he was flying on, a rainbow pegasus. The creature said not a word, and finally landed on her four hooves. "HEY! What are you doing buddy?" John was disoriented, and didn't hear her question. "Hey, I don't let random stallions use me as a personal pet! Tell me who you are!" "Stallion...what are you talking about? I'm a human just..." "What's your name?" "My name? It's John, John Kramer." "I've never heard of a creature with a simple name like that! Where are you from anyway?" "I...um...I'm from Philadelphia, PA." Suddenly, a voice cried out, "Rainbow Dash! What are you doing? And who is that?" A purple mare walked up to John, her eyes scanning him. "Who are you?" Rainbow Dash responded, "He says his name is John Kramer, pretty funny name if you ask me..." "Hmm...are you new here? I'm asking because I haven't seen you before." John sighed, "No, I'm not from here, in fact, it seems as though I am in a completely different world. The one I was in earlier seemed a bit more detailed. Not only that, but I am on four hooves, instead of being a human with fingers. This is all too creepy, I think I heard of a show about this once...." Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Really? A human huh? Well, it seems you're a stallion now, more specifically and Earth Pony." "Really? Well that's just fantastic! First I'm rejected by a white light, then I'm sent to this cartoon world! On top of that, Octavia and Vinyl are nowhere to be found and probably alone on Earth! Now you tell me that I am a four legged creature that eats hay and sh**s rainbows!! This is unbelievable!" John went on ranting, till Twilight knocked him out using a random spell. "What did you do that for Twilight?" "Simple, we need to as him once he's calmed down enough to think rationally." "Well, you didn't have to use such drastic measures!" "The point is Rainbow Dash, I need to notify Celestia of this right away. I have a feeling he may stay with us for awhile, we need to know as much about him as we can. SPIKE!!" The dragon was nowhere to be found. "Ugh! He's probably eating jewels or something. Fine, in that case, I'll write the letter myself." Twilight took out the scroll and quill and wrote: Dear Princess Celestia, We have just found a random stallion who's name is John Kramer. We don't know if he is from this world or not. He calls himself a 'human', I don't know what a 'human' is, so I want you to personally look him over. After all, you do know best. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. She sent the letter to Canterlot and awaited a response. A small poof was heard, as Celestia quickly wrote back, Dear Twilight, At your soonest convenience, bring John to me as discreetly as possible. I will send four guards to your aid. Remember to be as sneaky as possible, we don't want John to wake up in a hostile place like the Everfree Forest. Thank you for sending me a letter notifying me of this issue. Good Luck... Princess Celestia. Four guards soon arrived, and carried John on their backs. They walked all the way up to Celestia's throne, and dropped him there. Do You Mind?FP: John I never knew that the wind could blow back so fiercely...this air is damp and cold. This is not the land I am looking for. These many years alone, without company, without much more than a subtle whisper. The things I had then are blown away into the darkness, never to be found. The memories are fading and the light dims, as I wonder if this can be real... I awoke to find myself on a stone throne room. Various tapestries and cloths lined the walls and pillars. I faced two guards who looked awfully burly. I was subdued via magic, with my hands tied behind my back. A warm glow formed around the room, as I looked around me. I could not see what caused such a temperature fluctuation in the air, but it was then I saw her. A white alicorn floated down into her throne. Her mane was comprised of light colors, bringing forth a calming aura. Her eyes looked into mine, and I saw...nothing. I squinted closer and saw it, a sun lighting up the skies. It blinded me, yet I never turned away for an instant, the sight was too beautiful to miss. We stared at each other for what seemed like hours, when she finally spoke. "Welcome to Equestria. I sincerely apologize for the blow to the head earlier. It's just that we need to keep certain things under wraps, until everypony knows you're not dangerous. According to your memory, we've had few incidents like this before. Many of which have not ended well, it seems. Many of them involve my pupil or her friends doing some vile deeds nopony should speak of." I listened to her chatter, and decided to interrupt her. "Look, Princess..." "Celestia." "Yeah, I'd rather you not read my mind when it comes to those things in particular. Many involve massacres, rape, death, strange sexual developments, and so on. If you are that interested in the concept, we have plenty of things to talk about later. What's important right now, is that I identify myself, right?" "Right, sorry, I got carried away..." "By the way Trollest...er...Celestia, could you always read minds?" "No, it's just that with you, your thoughts just float by, making it easy for me to read your mind." "Like a headache that sends out thoughts instead of inflicting pain? Cool..." "There's really no need to identify yourself now, since I can read your thoughts." "I guess so. You know about the basic stuff, where I'm from and who I am, right?" "Yes, that's about as far as I can go." "Can we go someplace more...private? Like for instance, the room where you keep the Elements of Harmony?" Celestia was took aback by this, but regained her composure and put a hoof to her chin. "John, how did you know about that?" "Well, I guess it's just the Brony within me..." Wow...did I just say what I think I said? Maybe I need to see if this is a dream or not... I began pinching myself, and it hurt. Yep, this is all real, fantastic... "Why did you..." "CHOCOLATE MILK!! Err...let's just go..." Light shined through the stained glass windows, making precise patterns every which way. With that nonsense out of the way, we went down a hallway, where the "door" was. I began laughing hysterically, and Celestia rolled her eyes. "Really? Are you that immature that you..." I stopped laughing, and whispered under my breath, "DoorXCelestia shipping....LOL!!" The door swung open, with the Elements of Harmony in a chest. I didn't bother to look at it, and the door swung closed behind us. The air felt a tad musty, nothing I couldn't handle. The room filled with light as Celestia opened the chest. "Celestia, why are you opening the chest? Isn't that only for defending Equestria from evil-doers?" "This chest can also be a truth device, showing one's true desires, wants, dreams, fears, and past lives." "Much like a crystal ball, right?" "Your getting to be a bit of a bother, so please refrain from talking right now." Celestia's horn glowed with an intense white light, as we went into my memories. Walking Distance It was like any other night, as I went down to the local bar during the most useless holiday of all, "Valentine's Day". Like all the other nights, the bar was filled with lonely people who were drinking their sorrows away. I opened the door, and was met with the warm smell of a fireplace. I sat down at a vacant bar stool, and the bartender walked over to me. "I'll have the usual." She reached for a club soda from under the bar. While she did so, she somehow knocked over a glass. This caused a chain reaction of over twenty glasses shattering and making a mess. It appeared that she was a bit buzzed, her face was a bright red. I went behind the bar to help her clean up the mess, after all, it was partly my fault. I got a broom and swept the mess and put it in a trash can. She was just staring over the bar at who appeared to be her boss. He was a very burly man, and his face looked like a mountain face. His stony eyes froze her in place, as he walked over to the bar. "WHAT THE HELL!! I DON'T PAY YOU TO DROP GLASSES AND WASTE MONEY!!" He bellowed, I saw her cower in his presence, as she tried to speak up, "But...sir...I....-" "NO EXCUSES!! YOU'VE BEEN RIDING ON MY COATTAILS FOR LONG ENOUGH! YOUR DONE!!" He raised his hand high, appearing to hit the poor woman. I saw him slowly grab her by the collar, and lift her a foot in the air. I couldn't hold back any longer, "Leave her alone, old man!" Until that point, he didn't realize that I was there, watching him abuse his employee. "Stay out of this, boy! This is a business matter!" I brought my fist down on a nearby chair, breaking it in several pieces. My hand hurt like hell, but it got the man's attention. He dropped the bartender, and slowly advanced towards me. I took a fighting stance, and prepared for the assault. The man looked old, but he kicked like a mule. His fists swung at my head, missing every time. I dove under and side-stepped from his attacks, until I backed into a wall. He had me pinned in a small corner, he grinned, as he went for a hay-maker. I blocked his strike with an open hand, but I heard a popping sound, as my hand became unusable. I dove under him, and twisted his arms backwards. With a small twist, his arms were broken. He collapsed on the ground, wincing in pain. He jumped up and struck my head with a whiskey bottle. All I heard was a ping sound, as I passed out... Celestia raised an eyebrow, "When was this?" I smiled, "A few years ago, she was a local bartender. Her boss was a jerk, and that night in particular, he tried to assault her. That was my first time in a real fight. I was knocked out cold, but an off-duty cop came and sorted the man out. This was the first time I really had met her. Every other time seemed like she was just another person." Celestia pondered this, as the Elements of Harmony closed into the chest. "You're done for today." "Why are we done so soon?" "We have to take simple steps to see what to do with you. When we go over the traumatic memories, we have to tread carefully. This will help us to help you." She led me out the door, as it shut behind us. We walked down corridors in relative silence. As we were about to exit the castle, Celestia pulled me aside. "I am going to send a letter to Applejack about you staying over for the night." "Wait, who is this Applejack character? Is she some kind of creature that picks apples or something?" Celestia smiled, "Why, yes! She does pick apples, it's a family business after all! Do you mind going over there to introduce yourself personally?" "No I don't mind, how far is it anyway?" She pointed a hoof to a large farmhouse in the distance, which had to be a mile or so away. My jaw dropped, "Wha...you want me to go all the way over there?" "It's good to get some fresh air, you may make some friends along the way too! Good luck!" I didn't object to her, because I didn't want to see her bad side. I walked off the castle grounds and began to sigh, knowing that I would receive many stares from almost everypony... Another HandI had hardly taken five steps from the castle, when Prince Blueblood cut me off my path. "What in Equestria are you? Why were you in the castle, when it's clearly for royalty such as I. Whatever you are, you have no sense of class." I wasn't deterred by his crude talk, as I was looking past him. He tried to cut me off again, but I blocked his attempt. I sighed, as I pushed him away from me. Blueblood was somewhat horrified at a 'lowly' creature touching him. He called over a few guards to deal with me. "Do you know who I am? I am the all-fabulous Prince Blueblood! You are a mere peasant compared to me!" I scoffed at him, "Oh? I am filth? Well, it's no wonder Celestia's the ruler and not you, she actually has class. That, and she's fair to anypony, she doesn't judge much. Now, Prince, lemme tell you a little secret..." I grabbed him by his mane and whispered into his ear, "The strong are held up by the weak, so we 'peasants' are more powerful than you. You are merely a figurehead, and a poor one at that. Fare thee well, little filly of a prince!" I let him go, as he was in shock and wide-eyed. He probably wasn't expecting anypony to mess with him, he was a tool. I smiled as I walked down the main street leading out of Canterlot. Although everypony gawked at me, I was proud of telling Blueblood off. I took a break once I reached a bridge, and looked into the water. I had on light clothing, and had a random baseball hat on. I took my jacket off and tied it around my waist. I haven't ran in quite a while, might as well get there faster. I snapped my neck to the right side, and stretched out my legs. I stretched out a few limbs, ready to make an all out sprint to Applejack's farm. I dug my legs into the ground, and took a breath. Exhaling, I made a quick burst of speed and blazed through Ponyville, leaving a small trail of fire behind me. The scenery zoomed by, as I felt the wind rushing past my ears. Applejack's farm was within sight, but I noticed a small green mare out in the middle of the orchard. I stopped my run, and went toward her direction. I got closer, and saw that this pony had a horn on its head, with a minty green and white mane. I hid behind some trees, and saw her turn two of her hooves into hands. Wait, is she trying to turn herself into a human? I thought my appearance was the first sighting of a human in Equestria. In deep thought, I knocked down an apple from the tree I was under. It fell with a audible thud, loud enough for the unicorn to look in my direction. She saw me, and her eyes widened. I knew this wasn't going to end well, as I slowly walked toward her. The unicorn stared at me in awe, refusing to move from where she stood. "I take it that you are fascinated by me? It's no surprise, for I am the first human to come to Equestria. My name is John, what's yours?" She broke out of her daze, and put her hand out. Really? She expects a handshake? Well, I guess I might as well do it... We shook hands, as she spoke, "My name is Heartstrings, but my friends call me Lyra. I've been studying your kind in books, I admire you. You use your brains to make things we ponies do with magic. Like motorized carriages and airplanes." "Ah, so you know about humans? That's very interesting, I know quite a bit about you as well. You have studied magic for years, and live with your 'friend' Bon-Bon. You enjoy actually touching the instrument with your hands, rather than using magic. I could go on, but this is just relying on information from certain stories I read about you." "Stories?" "Well, we can cover that another time, right now I have to meet up with Applejack." "Wait! We haven't even covered-" "I think that you need to clear your head, after all, I am the first human you've met. So go home tonight and write in your journal about me or something. I need to be going, bye!" I sprinted away from Lyra as fast as possible, wanting to avoid talking about humans for several hours. I jumped over the gate, and walked up to the Sweet Apple Acres. The place was relatively quiet, aside from the light breeze in the air. The scent of apple flavored foods filled the air. I could get used to this... I waited at the gate for a few minutes while I looked at the acres of apple trees. No wonder they are busy all year. An orange pony walked up to the farm, carrying several baskets of apples with her. The load seemed extremely heavy, as she was sweating profusely. I walked over to her, and took two baskets to lighten her load. The mare spoke, "Well, thank ya for helpin' me with carrying those apples." She dropped the baskets down. "I don't know what you are, but I don't care for long-winded hullabaloo." I put down the two baskets and turned around to face her, "I don't care for it either, my name's John. What's yours?" She took off her hat and shook my hand with vigor, "Name's Applejack, I heard somepony new was going to stay with us, but I never expected a thing like you." "I thank you for not staring at me like a complete meanie face, unlike someponies in Canterlot." "I try not to judge people, but to be honest, I was a bit freaked out when I saw you." "Well, at least you're honest about it. Anything else that I can do to help you?" "Nope. You can relax right now, since you are the guest of honor. I have to get the Apple family together to welcome you. Just relax for a bit." I sighed with relief, having walked over three miles in the middle of summer. I watched Applejack walk off, and I looked at the sun in the distance. Man, this would make for a great picture, too bad I don't have a camera. Staring off into the distance, I could have sworn that I saw Lyra watching me from the orchard. I disregarded this as a hallucination, as I fell asleep against the gate of Sweet Apple Acres. A CallingI woke up around sundown, and there was no sign of the Apple family anywhere. I assumed that they didn't want to disturb my sleep, and postponed the party. I stood up and stretched awhile, as I was feeling very cramped. Still feeling tired, I went to take a jog. My legs refused to move, and my breath was cut off, if by some mechanical device. I blinked several times, as I strained to move any part of my body.... They call it fate, they call it destiny, but all I see is a plain circle. Swirling in it are our lives, all destined to cycle downwards into oblivion. Must I go on? It seems that my words have but little meaning to people like you. Let me state clearly to you, you cannot stop me. You cannot win against the crimson tides of evil. You are a mere mortal, sent out to cause suffering to others... My mind shut off completely, and I stood silent for what seemed like an eternity. But like all things in time, the eternal wait didn't last, as I awoke to the sounds of sirens and screaming people... "Is he alright?" "No, I doubt that he'll survive." It was darkness that welcomed me, but I could hear people chatter around me. I heard them as loud echoes, but I singled two of the voices out... "John, you're going to be alright! You can pull through! Do it for us! For your past!" "Don't let go, alright! You are a fighter!" The voices of Vinyl and Octavia, ones I haven't heard in a long while. I tried to speak, but my jaw wouldn't move, nor would my eyes search around me. I have somehow survived the fatal accident from before, but just barely. I swam in and out of consciousness. Everything was cold, damp, and black, yet I still had hope. I could not talk, I couldn't communicate with anyone whatsoever. The sounds of the sirens soon died away, as my body was rushed to the hospital. It felt like a bumpy ride, but I could barely feel anything below my shoulders. The numb feeling spread throughout my body, as I tried my hardest to stay awake. I tried to see again, but all I got was a few blurred faces in blue shirts, holding me down and injecting something into my arm. I was soon overtaken by the amount of sedatives they gave me, as I fell asleep. Gasping for breath, I awoke in a cold sweat in a hospital. I tried moving my limbs, but I soon noticed that they were wrapped in delicate precision. The moment I moved, a burning pain shot up my legs, causing me to grimace. What the...why am I in a hospital!! I was fine a few moments ago...I gotta get outta here! I crawled out of my bed, landing on my hands, which also were severely damaged. I muffled my pain by chewing on the shirt the hospital nurses gave me. I managed to climb to my feet, despite having all my limbs severely injured. A single tear fell from my eye, as I reached for the door. Just before I turned the knob, I saw movement from the other patient in the room. She had very short hair, and she was talking to herself, which was very awkward. She started to speak, "I'm no egghead, there's no way I'd read a book. Twilight is nuts!" Apparently Twilight was her friend, a name I've heard before, but at the moment, couldn't recall. I stood in place, listening to her reading a book about some pony named "Daring Do". It was getting very tense, as Daring Do's adventures sounded like another adventurer I knew, "Indiana Jones". In any case, I ignored the obvious rip-off characterization, and began to imagine myself as Daring Do. The imagery was astounding, as I could just smell the fauna and the tropical smell that Daring Do once did. I was spacing out, as I didn't notice the door was opening. I had no time to get back in the bed, so I staggered over and hid behind some curtains. I saw five ponies walk in, with two of them having horns and one having a set of wings. I had a feeling that I knew these ponies, but I stuck still behind the curtain anyway, not wanting to attract any attention. After the ponies left, I wondered why those ponies could talk. Then it hit me, I was still in Equestria, they are supposed to talk! With this in mind, I calmed down, and stepped away from the curtains. As I appeared from behind the curtains, the door opened yet again, the doctor came in. He noticed that I wasn't in my bed, and scolded me telling me that I would recover faster if I was in bed. I sighed, and slipped back into the bed. I noticed the pain was gone in my limbs, it seems that they completely healed for whatever reason. Later... It was around midnight, as I woke up from the sound of a pony screaming something about a slipper thief. I was almost fully healed, and I was a few hours away from being released. I decided to investigate what the ruckus was all about. I put on my sweatpants and tanktop, just in case I had to run. I heard a small siren outside my door, as I opened the door. A few of the hospital staff were chasing a pony who had a black jumpsuit on. She was very fast, but her wings were unable to function very well, which slowed her down. Dashing through the halls, she dropped a book, which she scrambled around to find it. Seeing the search was fruitless, she ran out the hospital door, with the staff and I following. We ran all through Ponyville, waking up the ponies from the hospital visit earlier. The mare who originally started this mess was cornered by one of her friends. She seemed embarrassed at the fact that she caused chaos over a simple book that her friend had. They soon had a little laugh, as I saw all was alright again. The laughter became contagious, as I began laughing too. I then headed to the hospital, where it was already past curfew. The mare from earlier soon returned to the hospital again to finish her rehabilitation. I got out of the hospital the same day as she did, and I was feeling great. I gathered up my clothes, and headed for the exit. As I stepped out the door, I thought that I heard voices calling me, I turned to see the mare waving at me. I walked towards her and I wondered what she wanted. She spoke, "Hey, I think I've seen you somewhere, what's your name?" "My name...is John, I think..." "What do you mean you think? Whatever, I know that I've seen you somewhere..." "I think both of us had a case of amnesia, at least that's what I think happened to us." "That's a good theory....wait, what am I saying? These questions are better for Twilight to answer, because she's the egghead." "Actually, I think you are a bit of an egghead, because you read that book!" "I'll pretend I didn't hear that, we have to get to Twilight's house to figure things out." "Alright, let's go." ShatteredWe both walked out the door towards Twilight's house. The sky looked very cloudy, as thunder boomed in the distance. My head was pounding for some reason, as my steps suddenly slowed. I didn't understand the cause of my headache, but I knew that something was wrong with me. My eyes began to water, and my throat narrowed, as I ended up gasping for air. Rainbow Dash turned around to check on me, her eyes bulged. She flew quickly to my side, "Hey, are you alright?" I tried to respond, but the words were caught in my throat, as my conditioned grew from bad to worse. I was falling at every footfall, and I could barely see straight. It was this, and the incoming storm that awoke me from my condition. I suddenly snapped upright, as my symptoms stopped cold. I patted my body and checked my pulse, to see if there was anything else that was wrong with me. I started to get hot flashes and saw figures out in the distance. They seemed familiar, like I had known them for longer than an eternity. The air I took in seemed to suck the life out of me, as I collapsed on the dusty road, leaving Rainbow Dash to panic. Waking up I smelled a strong scent of morphine, or blood, whichever I smelled, it made me sick. I tried to move my arms, but they felt like lead weights. I couldn’t even make a fist with my hands, I felt helpless. My eyes scanned the white room for any indication of where I was. I hated hospitals, much less ones meant for ponies, until my eyes were greeted with a grisly sight. Turning my head to the door, I saw my x-rays. My bones looked like some jumbled puzzle that were thrown in a fire for some kid’s sick amusement. A doctor came in, as his face looked quite grim, but he smiled at me. As it turned out, the x-rays were from some unfortunate soul who had a traffic accident. I turned out fine, or at least my bones did. Only then did it occur to me, that I was in my own world. Somehow, I was transported from Equestria to my world. It all seemed so odd, as I never was one for space-time travel, especially since I seemed to get seriously injured every time. It was egging at me, why I was being used in some sort of cosmic game, where I was a pawn and the world simply toyed with my mind. I was deep in thought, apart from an unusual twitch in my temple that quickly became annoying. The door flew open, as two women rushed in and hugged me. My head pounded as I tried to remember their names, for I knew that they cared for me. Why couldn’t I remember? Is it the sudden transfer that made me forget? All of my thoughts were interrupted, as one of the women began talking to me. I could see that she was eager to see me, as tears welled up in her red eyes. Looking over to the left side of me, I saw her companion sobbing with her hands over her face. The one at my right looked at me with great concern, as I tried to mouth words to comfort her. I raised my head off the plain white pillow, as I uttered weakly, “Do.....I....know you?” The red-eyed woman stopped her gaze, as her eyes widened in surprise. She spoke in a soft tone, “What’s wrong? Why don’t you remember me, or Octavia?” I suddenly received a huge jolt of energy, as I jumped out of the hospital bed. My body felt white hot, as I tried to focus on the girls. I began to hold my hands to my ribcage, as I felt a stabbing pain creeping up my body. My mind shut off, as all I saw then on, was blackness. “GET A DOCTOR IN HERE! JOHN COLLAPSED!” “Hey, what’s wrong? John? Answer me, please!” I could vaguely hear footsteps, as my senses began to dull, and I passed out on the cold floor. My eyes opened as I found myself floating above the world. A figure approached me, and it stretched out its hand to me. I ran away from the figure, for I feared it would take me away from the people I loved, from everyone and everything... Lovely AtmosphereThe three reached their destination. The place had a rowdy feel of a bar, but the setup of a jazz club. (In other words, it's like the setup of the Grand Galloping Gala, only with a bigger stage and more alcohol.)He suddenly realized his promise to explain his past, so he came up with an idea. "Hey, how about we go upstairs and get to the bar area?" "Why do you want to do that?" "To reveal a surprise...for you two." "Alright, where do we go?" John pointed towards a set of stairs, "Just one flight of stairs, not that far of a walk." All three of them walked up the stairs, and opened the doors to the bar area. The place had a fair crowd, with two bartenders and about ten people sitting at wooden tables. John walked up to the stage, and scrounged around for some equipment. It took only about five minutes to set up the mic and curtains. The venue was perfect, and the lighting was nice and dim. His heart pounded in his chest. His blood was pumping up, ready to go. His brain was going slightly fuzzy, because he was nervous. This is the first time I've played this song live. This was meant for Her, but now, I'll sing for Them. John snapped his fingers, and the curtains on the stage drew back. The man who lost everything, could start anew, because of Them. He smiled, as his hands flowed to and fro from his guitar. It was a depressing chord, one that he knew well. He closed his eyes, and sung from his heart, And that night, he sang: "In every hour she laughed and smiled Frowns and tears fell into the unknown abyss What has she done to deserve Such a terrible fate Each day she struggles through the fire Each night she runs toward home Knowing that it isn't there Knowing she has no chance She runs... She runs...away... She runs... She runs...away... She never knew that hand helping her climb She just walked on by, never once Saying the words she wanted Loving the one she held dear Engulfed in the nothingness Surrounded by loneliness She stood tall and smiled But inside she still runs Runs... Runs...away..."
An AwakeningJohn drew a cigarette from his newly opened pack. "It's another beautiful day in...ah, who am I kidding! It's a horrible day! Why does it have to rain on New Year's Day? It sure is a 'great' start to a new year..." The rain pounded on John's apartment window, with no signs of slowing down. The radio man said his typical rants about the economy and government conspiracies. "Well, it seems that even radio has gone down the political drain. Not that I liked that station anyway." He flipped through more channels, and it was all the same routine, except for an interview about some phenomenon involving grown men and ponies. "Guess this is better than nothing." After the interview of the 'brony' was over, John kept thinking about why such a show became popular. The show must be good, if grown men like it. Then again, it is a kid's show. Better not think about it, or I'll become a 'brony' myself. He looked out into the gray sky and took a puff of his cigarette. "Just another day...like all the others." He stood up out of his chair and brushed his suit off with his hands. John adjusted his tie till it fit loosely, and he took in the smell of honey that came from a lit candle. He looked at the pale white walls and shook his head, remembering that he needed to get paint for the walls within the week. Why did she want a party here, of all places, when I clearly haven't finished furbishing my living space. I'll never understand her and the friends she has. They clearly do not understand the concept of an apartment sized room. Anyway, I need to get some paint cans from the store down the road. The local store was just a block away, within walking distance. I don't need my car, it's barely ten minutes from here. He headed down the five flights of stairs, his feet echoed on every step. Opening the door, he realized that he forgot his umbrella. John decided he didn't need it for such a short walk. He turned right out the doors of his apartment complex. There were no people on the sidewalk, which was strange. It's a Sunday and it's noontime, why isn't everyone out getting wasted? Oh, it's a holiday, I forgot. Wait, if it's a holiday, then stores would be closed...Might as well get my exercise today. John's cigarette dangled loosely from his lips, and the stench of tobacco grew more intense. He stopped at the intersection to cough, but was stopped by a loud boom. What the hell is that? I'd better go and investigate. John waited till the crossing sign went on, then he went towards where he heard the boom. He turned into an alleyway, and found the source of the sound. A bomb had gone off, but it mysteriously left no traces of debris or the bomb itself. But I thought...something's really off. I need to get out of this rain, don't want to catch a cold. John headed back towards his apartment, assuming that someone else reported the boom to the police. He crossed the intersection and went back inside into his room. John didn't want to think about what the bomb was or who set it off, he wanted to forget it. He unlocked his door and opened it, making a creaking sound. John closed the door behind him and turned towards the kitchen. He spotted a blue-haired woman messing with his stereo system. "What are you doing?" John asked her "Well, I'm upgrading your sound system of course! I noticed you have some really cool vintage speakers, and I wanted to check it out." "You must be the DJ for the party this week, right?" "What are you talking about? I was never scheduled for your party. Besides, I don't even think that your favorite type of music is anything regarding new age stuff." "I like 'new age' music, just if it has some vocals in it to settle the overpowering base." "With that suit, I expected you to like classical music, much like a friend of mine." With that, we discussed more about our musical tastes, and I asked her about where she came from. "Well, I came from a town called Po-" A voice came from outside the door, "You know Celestia told us to not tell him that!" The door opened and a black-haired woman walked into the room. "Hello there, you must be John, I've heard your conversation, and classical music is a better choice." John knew where this was going, and he wasn't going to have two women fight over music genres in his room. "Look, we can discuss this later, why don't you ladies settle down for awhile." The two looked at me and stared me in the face, saying in unison, "Sure, that wouldn't be any awkward for us." They obviously were being sarcastic, but they had nowhere else to stay, so they accepted the offer. It grew late at night, and John let them sleep in his room, while he stayed on the couch. Well, I guess being generous once in awhile can be fulfilling. He still wondered how those two women arrived suddenly in his apartment. He wondered if the boom sound from earlier had anything to do with it. I did see a rainbow in the middle of a thunderstorm, but that's normal, right? They can't be related, right? He pondered this for a few moments, then discarded it as a coincidence. With his mental peace restored, John closed his eyes and went to sleep.
Another Side of Pain"Where am I?" The darkness was surrounding him and leaving no room for escape. "I'm sorry! I never meant to hurt you! I never..." A light appeared from the darkness that once embraced him. The light blinded John for several moments, making him blink rapidly. The light faded and surrounded him. It was in the figure of a woman he knew long ago. "What are you doing here? I thought you died!" The woman's figure slowly took a more physical shape, the shape of his lost lover. "Lisa...I'm sorry..." Lisa put her hand on John's face, and she burst into flames. Her hand left a burn mark on his face, which blistered and turned black. The light was gone, and John was now alone again. He grasped for anything to guide him, but he was suddenly being choked by a heavy smoke. His eyes watered and he started to sweat intensely. His eyes bulged outwards, and his feet could no longer support him. John lied there, helpless against the sudden inferno that was closing in on him. Through the blisters and suffocating heat, he crawled away from the flames, only to have a large burning support beam fall on him. It was too heavy to move, and the heat became overpowering. The structure crumbled, as John fell five stories down into the apartment lobby. John could only produce a small whimper, "Please...forgive me, I wish I had been there to save you...." He was suddenly in another world, where the clouds didn't move on their own, and ponies talked. At the moment he arrived in the world, John was starstruck by a majestic white figure with horns and beautiful white wings. She reminded him of Lisa, and her heartwarming smile that struck him into a wide smile. John made his way through the crowd of animals, and reached forward to touch the figure. The crowd gasped, and the guards pinned John down with brute force. The white pony had motioned for the guards to let him go. The crowd uttered things like, "What is that?", or "Such an ugly creature shouldn't be near the Princess...". The white pony now looked into John's eyes, and saw his sorrows. She had now raised her head to speak, and with a calm voice, she said, "You needn't be afraid, we ponies have had things like you appear. You seem different from them, you have no evil within your eyes. You seem sad, may we take you in to help you?" John was shocked at her voice, but he responded with a "No." The pony smiled, indicating that she understood, and sent him back home. John was back in his apartment, only it wasn't in an inferno anymore. He headed outside to clear his head. That was some weird dream, it even involved her. Why does she torture me with these dreams of an inferno? Is it a reminder of last year's fire? I wanted to visit family, and I left her alone, I'm such an idiot. Last year, John had spent the New Years with his family, leaving his lover, Lisa alone. He had called her at midnight, to wish her a happy New Year, but there was no response. John had sped through three intersections and construction zones to get to their apartment. He had smelled smoke when he got there, but nevertheless ran inside. He took the five flights on foot to their room. All the doors were opened, except for her's. John tried to unlock the door, but the key wouldn't fit right. He broke open the door with a powerful kick, and saw her lying on the floor. Lisa had a knife sticking out from her back, but she was still alive. "Lisa! We have to get you to a hospital!" There was no response. John picked her up over his shoulder, and carried her out into the hallway. The smoke from earlier burned John's lungs, to the point that he couldn't carry her anymore. He had collapsed on the floor, and he clutched her hand. She had no pulse, she was gone. John neither wanted or could move from the flames that beckoned him into eternity. A crash of glass from the other side of the hall way brought John to his senses. A firefighter had come to get John out. John struggled to tell the man that Lisa was a priority, and to take her out first. The firefighter looked into John's eyes and saw the desperation, so he took Lisa out first. John smiled, he was helping his lover out one last time. The flames won't touch you, as long as I'm here. See you on the other side...Lisa. The floor underneath him collapsed, as he fell into the inferno. His body was burning up, but he did not feel a thing. All he felt was the warm embrace of Lisa's arms. John heard an echo from the flames, "It is not your time, my love..." He knew now that he mustn't die here. He ran towards the nearest window, and leaped out into the street. John fell on a trampoline, and he was safe. John headed over to the ambulance. He saw the EMT try to revive Lisa, but nothing happened. He tried for five agonizing minutes, but there was nothing that he could do. The EMT and the firefighter from earlier gave John the news. "I'm sorry for your loss, your friend is gone..." The words sunk in, and John cursed at the sky. He cursed out the heavens, sun, the moon, himself, but in all of his agony, he never blamed her. Tears welled from his eyes, as he took a sigh and he laid down for awhile, as voices echoed in his head... "John! Are you alright?" "Does it look like he's okay to you? He's sweating all over the place, and shivering like a madman!" John woke up, and looked at the two women staying with him. "What was that all about?" John looked away from them and said, "I don't want to talk about it..." The two women sighed, and spoke to him, "It's about time that we tell you our names, since we heard you in your sleep." The blue-haired woman said her name was DJ Pon-3, "Or you can call me Vinyl Scratch, whatever suits you." The other woman said her name was Octavia. John only sighed, and asked for them to go back to bed, since it was midnight. "Alright, but please, you don't have to hide things alright? You can rely on us to help you with whatever you need. Goodnight John..." John bid them goodnight, and laid back down on the couch. He didn't sleep for the rest of the night, thinking about the fire one year ago...
Hold Her SteadyJohn's eyes hardly closed thanks to the nightmare from last night. I have to make some coffee, to clear my head. He got up from the couch, and noticed a smell of burning bacon. He ran over to the kitchen, where Octavia and DJ Pon-3 were having an argument. Octavia held a spatula in her hand, "No, bacon is too salty, he won't like that! Especially after the night he just had!" Vinyl facepalmed, "I don't think he would care what he ate right now. He needs something in his system." Their bickering went on for several minutes, while John laughed once in a while. He decided to walk in, right when Octavia threw a large skillet at Vinyl. Oh no...this is going to hurt... The skillet hit him square in the face, breaking his large nose. His eyes watered a little, enough to let out a single tear. He quickly wiped it away, wanting to preserve his manliness. He had hot grease on him from the bacon, but surprisingly enough, that didn't bother or burn him. "Thank you ladies, for thinking about my well-being. I actually like bacon, but not on the floor. I prefer it on a plate, but it's fine...I was just coming in to make some brew, do you want anything?" Octavia and Vinyl just stood in moderate shock, not being able to answer him. Vinyl suddenly burst out laughing, "Ha! Nice one Octavia, you really messed up big time!" Octavia's face burst out in a bright red color, probably from embarrassment. "Well...at least I tried to cook, unlike someone I know!" Vinyl's face suddenly turned into a blank stare, as she was quick to anger. "Well, EXCUSE ME, PRINCESS!! I DIDN'T KNOW YOU NEEDED...to point someone's flaws out so rashly!" John decided to intervene, "Listen, ladies. I know that you two might have a butting feud with each other. How about we all go out tonight, and clear our heads. Does that sound good?" They sighed in unison, "Yes John, that seems acceptable." He smiled, "Good, I'm going off to work now, so try not to destroy my apartment space, or yourselves...and by the way, you owe me coffee." He grabbed his jacket, and headed down the flights of stairs. He saw something out of the corner of his eye, it was a piece of parchment. What is this doing here? I might as well leave it alone, whoever dropped it might come for it later. He walked onward and out the apartment complex towards his workplace. John made it, he was at his work, a culmination of his degree and training brought him here. A lone department store run by a strict man by the name of Mr. Yorks. He was a man not to be messed with. Having served in the Vietnam War, he was easily the meanest person John knew. That was John's boss at work, to keep up a hardened reputation for no-nonsense. After work, Yorks was a quiet man who was as cold as in the workplace. Until one day John saw him play with his supposed grand-kids after work. Yorks had said, "John, you better not mention this to anyone, got it? Or you might as well quit now." John knew that Yorks wouldn't fire him, because he heard of the incident the year before. It was a mutual understanding between the two men. John clocked in at eight in the morning, exactly when he was supposed to at work. "Hey Johnny boy! You need to man the cash register while I'm gone. Don't you even THINK about taking and cash for a 'bonus', got it?" "Yeah boss, I understand." "Anyway, I'm off!" Yorks left, leaving John the task of keeping up with the store. A few hours went by, and not a single customer stopped by. John was tempted to light a cigarette, but it was against store policies. Stupid tobacco law...if only...nevermind. It's a good thing that it's restricted now, or I'd have died of lung cancer by now. The bells rang above the store door, "Hello! How can I hel...oh...you guys. I thought I told you to stay there." "We wanted to see where you worked, because we're curious." Vinyl said. "Vinyl forced me to come here. I knew that you set up rule for us, but SHE wouldn't listen." Octavia explained. "That's not true, and you know it! We both were curious and wanted to see your lovely face!" John blushed slightly, "Well, aren't we the aggressive one today! While you're here, buy something, anything. Business has been really slow..." Octavia and Vinyl asked, "Well, why is business slow?" "It's around the holiday season, and people are staying home with their..." John paused to produce a heavy sigh, "families." "What happened to your family, John?" "I...don't want to talk about it. You know what? I'll tell you tonight." Just then, Yorks returned from his outting, "DO I PAY YOU TO SIT AND CHAT UP WOMEN?" John quickly regained his composure, "No sir!" "THEN WHY DO I SEE TWO WOMEN NOT BUYING ANYTHING??!!" "Business is slow sir, and they have no money." Yorks became silent. After a long pause, he started shouting again, "WELL, TELL THEM TO GET OUT!!" Octavia grew tired of the old man's yelling, "JOHN RETRIEVED US FROM HOMELESSNESS!! HE IS A MAN WITH A KIND HEART, NOT THAT YOU'D CARE ABOUT THAT, OLD MAN!" Yorks grew increasingly angry, "I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I SERVED IN A WAR! I SAW MY FRIENDS DIE BEFORE MY VERY EYES!! I CAN STILL HEAR THEIR SCREAMS AND CRIES OF AGONY EVERY NIGHT!! I CAN NO LONGER HAVE A HEART AFTER THE PAIN I'VE LIVED THROUGH!! NOW, GET OUT!!" Octavia and Vinyl shut their mouths, and stared at the ground. "We're sorry sir...we just..." They walked away and out the store. Yorks looked at John, "Listen, they have kind hearts, cherish them well. Take the advice from a man like me, who only killed because his country told him to. After this incident today, I'm giving you the rest of the day off. John, hold them as tight as Her, alright?" John's eyes welled up, and he cracked a smile, "Thanks sir!" Yorks smiled, "Now please go John, before I catch your joy too..." John walked out the door with higher expectations than that morning. Looking at the clock, he saw that there was still some time left to get ready for the night's dinner. I'd best hurry to Octavia and Vinyl and calm them down. Then, we'll need to get ready for tonight...
The CalmingJohn hurried back the apartment and up his usual route to his room. He heard loud voices and stood outside the door to listen. "That old man is one of the meanest people I've ever met! I mean, John works for him? How does he tolerate all that yelling? I just don't get it." "Maybe Yorks had good reasons to yell at us. He is a war veteran after all, he must have seen unimaginable things. It's no wonder he yells like that. I sure hope that he calms down though, if he can. You see, Octavia, even John's boss has a heart within his icy exterior..." "I guess I let my emotions get the better of me sometimes, I sure hope I didn't get John fired." John chose that moment to walk in, "He wouldn't fire me after that incident. Believe it or not, we are buddies outside of work. It's just we have reputations to keep." Octavia and Vinyl listened to his words, and calmed down. They now understood that Yorks was just playing a role, nothing more. "Now that we have that taken care of that, I have plans for us tonight. We are going to a local bar to see my surprise I told you guys about earlier. Unfortunately, I don't have any dresses on hand, so you might have to wear some of my clothes." Octavia suddenly whipped out a chest full of random outfits. Vinyl shook her head, "Did you really have to bring those?" "Well, yeah!" Octavia responded, "Rarity hoof-stitched all of these! I could never refuse any outfit from her! Besides, she even took human measurements for me so I'd be prepared for now!" John raised an eyebrow, "Hoof-stitched? Human measurements? Are you sure you're not from another world, like Equestria perhaps?" Both Vinyl and Octavia were agape with shock. How could he know their mission? John burst with laughter, "Ha! Like that could ever happen! Cartoons taking human form and coming to Earth? Sounds like a ridiculous idea for a novel! From a children's TV show no less! Ha! Anyway, it seems like Octavia has come prepared. Vinyl, don't you have a dress to wear? Or maybe a polo shirt? Really, the place we're going doesn't really have much of a dress code. Wear what you like, I'll be outside the lobby if you guys need me." John forgot to take his employee uniform off, but remembered as he was exiting the room. "Darn! I guess I'll just change quickly and try to look at the floor, to prevent awkwardness." He walked into his room, and grabbed a dark green shirt, khaki pants, belt, and his pack of cigarettes. He headed towards his section of the apartment and shut the door to his own room. John began to undress and shave off the goatee that he had. Why did I grow this thing anyway? It's not like anyone finds it attractive nowadays. He got into the shower. He turned shower lever to cold, then to a boiling hot. John felt his skin heating up over the few passing minutes. He quickly turned it to a freezing cold, and shut the shower off. He grabbed for a towel, and slipped on the tile floor. John quickly grabbed for an object for leverage, but found none. A loud crack echoed as his head hit the floor. He thought that he saw stars above his head, as he sat still to calm down. Good. Nothing seems to have broken or shattered. Just as John was once again reaching for a towel, the bathroom door opened. Oh no...haven't they heard of knocking? In any case, I have to hid Mr. Happy. John barely managed to cover himself up with the towel as Octavia and Vinyl barged in. "Hey! We heard a large boom, are you alr-argh!!!" Octavia blushed a deep red and started sobbing uncontrollably. Vinyl drug her friend away from the bathroom, apologizing as she went. John sighed, he had this happen to him once before in swim class, another period in life he'd rather forget. He dried himself off, and quickly dressed himself. He put on a modest amount of cologne, and walked out of the bathroom. He briskly walked past sobbing Octavia and Vinyl, who was actually starting to blush as well. John knew he had to get out as fast as possible, or things could get even more awkward. "Hey, you guys need to be down in the lobby within the hour, alright?" The two did not answer him, so John walked out the door and loitered outside the apartment complex. Man, that was really awkward, even when I knew they were coming. I gotta fix that lock on that door, I don't want to run into one of them. John lit a cigarette, and fiddled with his lighter, flicking it on and off. I'm surprised that I only smoke one pack a day. It's all because of that fire. Actually, it seems ironic that I started smoking after that.... Thirty minutes had passed, and John heard the ding as the lobby elevator doors opened. Octavia was dressed in a dark red dress, she applied no make-up on, but she looked very mystical to him. The dress flowed to and fro, much like the waves out at sea. Vinyl, however, was dressed in retro wear. She had a black beret on, to highlight her blue hair. She had taken off her glasses, which she wore constantly, showing her red eyes. She had on black jeans and a Daft Punk t-shirt with headphones around her neck. John thought that the styles clashed, but he chuckled, seeing that the dress reflected the personality. John smiled, "Are the two of you ready?" The two responded, "Yeah!" "Good, now let's have some fun, shall we?" The three walked towards the bar, which was only five blocks away, awaiting to see what the night held for them.
Red DropsThe crowd stood still, while the song ended. John did not shed any tears, but felt goosebumps on his body. "Thank you all for listening to that. It's an original song, it has no name though. Thank you..." He walked off the stage, while everyone stood and stared at the man. His guitar strapped to his back, he called to Octavia and Vinyl, "C'mon, let's go home." The two stood still, amazed at his song, and his abrupt exit. Nevertheless, they followed him to his apartment, never once questioning him about his song. They walked up the stairs in silence, only their feet were heard that night. The moon was full, and John still wanted to play one more tune before the night ended. He cleared his throat and played a song many know, but few feel....Tears in Heaven. He grabbed a cigarette, and headed outside. John looked into the night sky, and shed one tear. He flicked the lighter on, and smoke emitted from his cigarette. It seems we meet again, under the moonlight. Never mind that, I have to go somewhere first... He walked a block and stared once again into the night sky, fascinated by it. He snapped out of his trance and kept on walking. The night air was cold and unforgiving, but he didn't feel any colder. Suddenly an explosion rocked the street, snapping a street light pole. Somehow it missed John, but debris from the blast became lodged in his chest. He started to cough up blood, as his vision slowly faded. No...Lisa...Octavia...Vinyl...three that I'll never return to...death sucks... A white light surrounded him, as he continued to puff his cigarette. "What happened to me? Did I die? Figures, right when I start to connect with people...." He flicked it away, and saw that the light was dimming. "HEY! WAIT! Don't go without...me..." John fell to his knees, the light having faded, he was now in complete darkness. He felt icy cold, then another sudden explosion rocked his eardrums. "What the-" He sensed that he was falling, but where? And how fast? In any case, he was reaching the ground at maximum velocity. What, now I get to die a second time? Huh...this is just great. The falling sensation suddenly stopped, as John now was flying forward. He reached around him and saw his hoof clutching a rainbow mane? What is this? I must be dreaming... He finally realized what he was flying on, a rainbow pegasus. The creature said not a word, and finally landed on her four hooves. "HEY! What are you doing buddy?" John was disoriented, and didn't hear her question. "Hey, I don't let random stallions use me as a personal pet! Tell me who you are!" "Stallion...what are you talking about? I'm a human just..." "What's your name?" "My name? It's John, John Kramer." "I've never heard of a creature with a simple name like that! Where are you from anyway?" "I...um...I'm from Philadelphia, PA." Suddenly, a voice cried out, "Rainbow Dash! What are you doing? And who is that?" A purple mare walked up to John, her eyes scanning him. "Who are you?" Rainbow Dash responded, "He says his name is John Kramer, pretty funny name if you ask me..." "Hmm...are you new here? I'm asking because I haven't seen you before." John sighed, "No, I'm not from here, in fact, it seems as though I am in a completely different world. The one I was in earlier seemed a bit more detailed. Not only that, but I am on four hooves, instead of being a human with fingers. This is all too creepy, I think I heard of a show about this once...." Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Really? A human huh? Well, it seems you're a stallion now, more specifically and Earth Pony." "Really? Well that's just fantastic! First I'm rejected by a white light, then I'm sent to this cartoon world! On top of that, Octavia and Vinyl are nowhere to be found and probably alone on Earth! Now you tell me that I am a four legged creature that eats hay and sh**s rainbows!! This is unbelievable!" John went on ranting, till Twilight knocked him out using a random spell. "What did you do that for Twilight?" "Simple, we need to as him once he's calmed down enough to think rationally." "Well, you didn't have to use such drastic measures!" "The point is Rainbow Dash, I need to notify Celestia of this right away. I have a feeling he may stay with us for awhile, we need to know as much about him as we can. SPIKE!!" The dragon was nowhere to be found. "Ugh! He's probably eating jewels or something. Fine, in that case, I'll write the letter myself." Twilight took out the scroll and quill and wrote: Dear Princess Celestia, We have just found a random stallion who's name is John Kramer. We don't know if he is from this world or not. He calls himself a 'human', I don't know what a 'human' is, so I want you to personally look him over. After all, you do know best. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. She sent the letter to Canterlot and awaited a response. A small poof was heard, as Celestia quickly wrote back, Dear Twilight, At your soonest convenience, bring John to me as discreetly as possible. I will send four guards to your aid. Remember to be as sneaky as possible, we don't want John to wake up in a hostile place like the Everfree Forest. Thank you for sending me a letter notifying me of this issue. Good Luck... Princess Celestia. Four guards soon arrived, and carried John on their backs. They walked all the way up to Celestia's throne, and dropped him there.
Do You Mind?FP: John I never knew that the wind could blow back so fiercely...this air is damp and cold. This is not the land I am looking for. These many years alone, without company, without much more than a subtle whisper. The things I had then are blown away into the darkness, never to be found. The memories are fading and the light dims, as I wonder if this can be real... I awoke to find myself on a stone throne room. Various tapestries and cloths lined the walls and pillars. I faced two guards who looked awfully burly. I was subdued via magic, with my hands tied behind my back. A warm glow formed around the room, as I looked around me. I could not see what caused such a temperature fluctuation in the air, but it was then I saw her. A white alicorn floated down into her throne. Her mane was comprised of light colors, bringing forth a calming aura. Her eyes looked into mine, and I saw...nothing. I squinted closer and saw it, a sun lighting up the skies. It blinded me, yet I never turned away for an instant, the sight was too beautiful to miss. We stared at each other for what seemed like hours, when she finally spoke. "Welcome to Equestria. I sincerely apologize for the blow to the head earlier. It's just that we need to keep certain things under wraps, until everypony knows you're not dangerous. According to your memory, we've had few incidents like this before. Many of which have not ended well, it seems. Many of them involve my pupil or her friends doing some vile deeds nopony should speak of." I listened to her chatter, and decided to interrupt her. "Look, Princess..." "Celestia." "Yeah, I'd rather you not read my mind when it comes to those things in particular. Many involve massacres, rape, death, strange sexual developments, and so on. If you are that interested in the concept, we have plenty of things to talk about later. What's important right now, is that I identify myself, right?" "Right, sorry, I got carried away..." "By the way Trollest...er...Celestia, could you always read minds?" "No, it's just that with you, your thoughts just float by, making it easy for me to read your mind." "Like a headache that sends out thoughts instead of inflicting pain? Cool..." "There's really no need to identify yourself now, since I can read your thoughts." "I guess so. You know about the basic stuff, where I'm from and who I am, right?" "Yes, that's about as far as I can go." "Can we go someplace more...private? Like for instance, the room where you keep the Elements of Harmony?" Celestia was took aback by this, but regained her composure and put a hoof to her chin. "John, how did you know about that?" "Well, I guess it's just the Brony within me..." Wow...did I just say what I think I said? Maybe I need to see if this is a dream or not... I began pinching myself, and it hurt. Yep, this is all real, fantastic... "Why did you..." "CHOCOLATE MILK!! Err...let's just go..." Light shined through the stained glass windows, making precise patterns every which way. With that nonsense out of the way, we went down a hallway, where the "door" was. I began laughing hysterically, and Celestia rolled her eyes. "Really? Are you that immature that you..." I stopped laughing, and whispered under my breath, "DoorXCelestia shipping....LOL!!" The door swung open, with the Elements of Harmony in a chest. I didn't bother to look at it, and the door swung closed behind us. The air felt a tad musty, nothing I couldn't handle. The room filled with light as Celestia opened the chest. "Celestia, why are you opening the chest? Isn't that only for defending Equestria from evil-doers?" "This chest can also be a truth device, showing one's true desires, wants, dreams, fears, and past lives." "Much like a crystal ball, right?" "Your getting to be a bit of a bother, so please refrain from talking right now." Celestia's horn glowed with an intense white light, as we went into my memories.
Walking Distance It was like any other night, as I went down to the local bar during the most useless holiday of all, "Valentine's Day". Like all the other nights, the bar was filled with lonely people who were drinking their sorrows away. I opened the door, and was met with the warm smell of a fireplace. I sat down at a vacant bar stool, and the bartender walked over to me. "I'll have the usual." She reached for a club soda from under the bar. While she did so, she somehow knocked over a glass. This caused a chain reaction of over twenty glasses shattering and making a mess. It appeared that she was a bit buzzed, her face was a bright red. I went behind the bar to help her clean up the mess, after all, it was partly my fault. I got a broom and swept the mess and put it in a trash can. She was just staring over the bar at who appeared to be her boss. He was a very burly man, and his face looked like a mountain face. His stony eyes froze her in place, as he walked over to the bar. "WHAT THE HELL!! I DON'T PAY YOU TO DROP GLASSES AND WASTE MONEY!!" He bellowed, I saw her cower in his presence, as she tried to speak up, "But...sir...I....-" "NO EXCUSES!! YOU'VE BEEN RIDING ON MY COATTAILS FOR LONG ENOUGH! YOUR DONE!!" He raised his hand high, appearing to hit the poor woman. I saw him slowly grab her by the collar, and lift her a foot in the air. I couldn't hold back any longer, "Leave her alone, old man!" Until that point, he didn't realize that I was there, watching him abuse his employee. "Stay out of this, boy! This is a business matter!" I brought my fist down on a nearby chair, breaking it in several pieces. My hand hurt like hell, but it got the man's attention. He dropped the bartender, and slowly advanced towards me. I took a fighting stance, and prepared for the assault. The man looked old, but he kicked like a mule. His fists swung at my head, missing every time. I dove under and side-stepped from his attacks, until I backed into a wall. He had me pinned in a small corner, he grinned, as he went for a hay-maker. I blocked his strike with an open hand, but I heard a popping sound, as my hand became unusable. I dove under him, and twisted his arms backwards. With a small twist, his arms were broken. He collapsed on the ground, wincing in pain. He jumped up and struck my head with a whiskey bottle. All I heard was a ping sound, as I passed out... Celestia raised an eyebrow, "When was this?" I smiled, "A few years ago, she was a local bartender. Her boss was a jerk, and that night in particular, he tried to assault her. That was my first time in a real fight. I was knocked out cold, but an off-duty cop came and sorted the man out. This was the first time I really had met her. Every other time seemed like she was just another person." Celestia pondered this, as the Elements of Harmony closed into the chest. "You're done for today." "Why are we done so soon?" "We have to take simple steps to see what to do with you. When we go over the traumatic memories, we have to tread carefully. This will help us to help you." She led me out the door, as it shut behind us. We walked down corridors in relative silence. As we were about to exit the castle, Celestia pulled me aside. "I am going to send a letter to Applejack about you staying over for the night." "Wait, who is this Applejack character? Is she some kind of creature that picks apples or something?" Celestia smiled, "Why, yes! She does pick apples, it's a family business after all! Do you mind going over there to introduce yourself personally?" "No I don't mind, how far is it anyway?" She pointed a hoof to a large farmhouse in the distance, which had to be a mile or so away. My jaw dropped, "Wha...you want me to go all the way over there?" "It's good to get some fresh air, you may make some friends along the way too! Good luck!" I didn't object to her, because I didn't want to see her bad side. I walked off the castle grounds and began to sigh, knowing that I would receive many stares from almost everypony...
Another HandI had hardly taken five steps from the castle, when Prince Blueblood cut me off my path. "What in Equestria are you? Why were you in the castle, when it's clearly for royalty such as I. Whatever you are, you have no sense of class." I wasn't deterred by his crude talk, as I was looking past him. He tried to cut me off again, but I blocked his attempt. I sighed, as I pushed him away from me. Blueblood was somewhat horrified at a 'lowly' creature touching him. He called over a few guards to deal with me. "Do you know who I am? I am the all-fabulous Prince Blueblood! You are a mere peasant compared to me!" I scoffed at him, "Oh? I am filth? Well, it's no wonder Celestia's the ruler and not you, she actually has class. That, and she's fair to anypony, she doesn't judge much. Now, Prince, lemme tell you a little secret..." I grabbed him by his mane and whispered into his ear, "The strong are held up by the weak, so we 'peasants' are more powerful than you. You are merely a figurehead, and a poor one at that. Fare thee well, little filly of a prince!" I let him go, as he was in shock and wide-eyed. He probably wasn't expecting anypony to mess with him, he was a tool. I smiled as I walked down the main street leading out of Canterlot. Although everypony gawked at me, I was proud of telling Blueblood off. I took a break once I reached a bridge, and looked into the water. I had on light clothing, and had a random baseball hat on. I took my jacket off and tied it around my waist. I haven't ran in quite a while, might as well get there faster. I snapped my neck to the right side, and stretched out my legs. I stretched out a few limbs, ready to make an all out sprint to Applejack's farm. I dug my legs into the ground, and took a breath. Exhaling, I made a quick burst of speed and blazed through Ponyville, leaving a small trail of fire behind me. The scenery zoomed by, as I felt the wind rushing past my ears. Applejack's farm was within sight, but I noticed a small green mare out in the middle of the orchard. I stopped my run, and went toward her direction. I got closer, and saw that this pony had a horn on its head, with a minty green and white mane. I hid behind some trees, and saw her turn two of her hooves into hands. Wait, is she trying to turn herself into a human? I thought my appearance was the first sighting of a human in Equestria. In deep thought, I knocked down an apple from the tree I was under. It fell with a audible thud, loud enough for the unicorn to look in my direction. She saw me, and her eyes widened. I knew this wasn't going to end well, as I slowly walked toward her. The unicorn stared at me in awe, refusing to move from where she stood. "I take it that you are fascinated by me? It's no surprise, for I am the first human to come to Equestria. My name is John, what's yours?" She broke out of her daze, and put her hand out. Really? She expects a handshake? Well, I guess I might as well do it... We shook hands, as she spoke, "My name is Heartstrings, but my friends call me Lyra. I've been studying your kind in books, I admire you. You use your brains to make things we ponies do with magic. Like motorized carriages and airplanes." "Ah, so you know about humans? That's very interesting, I know quite a bit about you as well. You have studied magic for years, and live with your 'friend' Bon-Bon. You enjoy actually touching the instrument with your hands, rather than using magic. I could go on, but this is just relying on information from certain stories I read about you." "Stories?" "Well, we can cover that another time, right now I have to meet up with Applejack." "Wait! We haven't even covered-" "I think that you need to clear your head, after all, I am the first human you've met. So go home tonight and write in your journal about me or something. I need to be going, bye!" I sprinted away from Lyra as fast as possible, wanting to avoid talking about humans for several hours. I jumped over the gate, and walked up to the Sweet Apple Acres. The place was relatively quiet, aside from the light breeze in the air. The scent of apple flavored foods filled the air. I could get used to this... I waited at the gate for a few minutes while I looked at the acres of apple trees. No wonder they are busy all year. An orange pony walked up to the farm, carrying several baskets of apples with her. The load seemed extremely heavy, as she was sweating profusely. I walked over to her, and took two baskets to lighten her load. The mare spoke, "Well, thank ya for helpin' me with carrying those apples." She dropped the baskets down. "I don't know what you are, but I don't care for long-winded hullabaloo." I put down the two baskets and turned around to face her, "I don't care for it either, my name's John. What's yours?" She took off her hat and shook my hand with vigor, "Name's Applejack, I heard somepony new was going to stay with us, but I never expected a thing like you." "I thank you for not staring at me like a complete meanie face, unlike someponies in Canterlot." "I try not to judge people, but to be honest, I was a bit freaked out when I saw you." "Well, at least you're honest about it. Anything else that I can do to help you?" "Nope. You can relax right now, since you are the guest of honor. I have to get the Apple family together to welcome you. Just relax for a bit." I sighed with relief, having walked over three miles in the middle of summer. I watched Applejack walk off, and I looked at the sun in the distance. Man, this would make for a great picture, too bad I don't have a camera. Staring off into the distance, I could have sworn that I saw Lyra watching me from the orchard. I disregarded this as a hallucination, as I fell asleep against the gate of Sweet Apple Acres.
A CallingI woke up around sundown, and there was no sign of the Apple family anywhere. I assumed that they didn't want to disturb my sleep, and postponed the party. I stood up and stretched awhile, as I was feeling very cramped. Still feeling tired, I went to take a jog. My legs refused to move, and my breath was cut off, if by some mechanical device. I blinked several times, as I strained to move any part of my body.... They call it fate, they call it destiny, but all I see is a plain circle. Swirling in it are our lives, all destined to cycle downwards into oblivion. Must I go on? It seems that my words have but little meaning to people like you. Let me state clearly to you, you cannot stop me. You cannot win against the crimson tides of evil. You are a mere mortal, sent out to cause suffering to others... My mind shut off completely, and I stood silent for what seemed like an eternity. But like all things in time, the eternal wait didn't last, as I awoke to the sounds of sirens and screaming people... "Is he alright?" "No, I doubt that he'll survive." It was darkness that welcomed me, but I could hear people chatter around me. I heard them as loud echoes, but I singled two of the voices out... "John, you're going to be alright! You can pull through! Do it for us! For your past!" "Don't let go, alright! You are a fighter!" The voices of Vinyl and Octavia, ones I haven't heard in a long while. I tried to speak, but my jaw wouldn't move, nor would my eyes search around me. I have somehow survived the fatal accident from before, but just barely. I swam in and out of consciousness. Everything was cold, damp, and black, yet I still had hope. I could not talk, I couldn't communicate with anyone whatsoever. The sounds of the sirens soon died away, as my body was rushed to the hospital. It felt like a bumpy ride, but I could barely feel anything below my shoulders. The numb feeling spread throughout my body, as I tried my hardest to stay awake. I tried to see again, but all I got was a few blurred faces in blue shirts, holding me down and injecting something into my arm. I was soon overtaken by the amount of sedatives they gave me, as I fell asleep. Gasping for breath, I awoke in a cold sweat in a hospital. I tried moving my limbs, but I soon noticed that they were wrapped in delicate precision. The moment I moved, a burning pain shot up my legs, causing me to grimace. What the...why am I in a hospital!! I was fine a few moments ago...I gotta get outta here! I crawled out of my bed, landing on my hands, which also were severely damaged. I muffled my pain by chewing on the shirt the hospital nurses gave me. I managed to climb to my feet, despite having all my limbs severely injured. A single tear fell from my eye, as I reached for the door. Just before I turned the knob, I saw movement from the other patient in the room. She had very short hair, and she was talking to herself, which was very awkward. She started to speak, "I'm no egghead, there's no way I'd read a book. Twilight is nuts!" Apparently Twilight was her friend, a name I've heard before, but at the moment, couldn't recall. I stood in place, listening to her reading a book about some pony named "Daring Do". It was getting very tense, as Daring Do's adventures sounded like another adventurer I knew, "Indiana Jones". In any case, I ignored the obvious rip-off characterization, and began to imagine myself as Daring Do. The imagery was astounding, as I could just smell the fauna and the tropical smell that Daring Do once did. I was spacing out, as I didn't notice the door was opening. I had no time to get back in the bed, so I staggered over and hid behind some curtains. I saw five ponies walk in, with two of them having horns and one having a set of wings. I had a feeling that I knew these ponies, but I stuck still behind the curtain anyway, not wanting to attract any attention. After the ponies left, I wondered why those ponies could talk. Then it hit me, I was still in Equestria, they are supposed to talk! With this in mind, I calmed down, and stepped away from the curtains. As I appeared from behind the curtains, the door opened yet again, the doctor came in. He noticed that I wasn't in my bed, and scolded me telling me that I would recover faster if I was in bed. I sighed, and slipped back into the bed. I noticed the pain was gone in my limbs, it seems that they completely healed for whatever reason. Later... It was around midnight, as I woke up from the sound of a pony screaming something about a slipper thief. I was almost fully healed, and I was a few hours away from being released. I decided to investigate what the ruckus was all about. I put on my sweatpants and tanktop, just in case I had to run. I heard a small siren outside my door, as I opened the door. A few of the hospital staff were chasing a pony who had a black jumpsuit on. She was very fast, but her wings were unable to function very well, which slowed her down. Dashing through the halls, she dropped a book, which she scrambled around to find it. Seeing the search was fruitless, she ran out the hospital door, with the staff and I following. We ran all through Ponyville, waking up the ponies from the hospital visit earlier. The mare who originally started this mess was cornered by one of her friends. She seemed embarrassed at the fact that she caused chaos over a simple book that her friend had. They soon had a little laugh, as I saw all was alright again. The laughter became contagious, as I began laughing too. I then headed to the hospital, where it was already past curfew. The mare from earlier soon returned to the hospital again to finish her rehabilitation. I got out of the hospital the same day as she did, and I was feeling great. I gathered up my clothes, and headed for the exit. As I stepped out the door, I thought that I heard voices calling me, I turned to see the mare waving at me. I walked towards her and I wondered what she wanted. She spoke, "Hey, I think I've seen you somewhere, what's your name?" "My name...is John, I think..." "What do you mean you think? Whatever, I know that I've seen you somewhere..." "I think both of us had a case of amnesia, at least that's what I think happened to us." "That's a good theory....wait, what am I saying? These questions are better for Twilight to answer, because she's the egghead." "Actually, I think you are a bit of an egghead, because you read that book!" "I'll pretend I didn't hear that, we have to get to Twilight's house to figure things out." "Alright, let's go."
ShatteredWe both walked out the door towards Twilight's house. The sky looked very cloudy, as thunder boomed in the distance. My head was pounding for some reason, as my steps suddenly slowed. I didn't understand the cause of my headache, but I knew that something was wrong with me. My eyes began to water, and my throat narrowed, as I ended up gasping for air. Rainbow Dash turned around to check on me, her eyes bulged. She flew quickly to my side, "Hey, are you alright?" I tried to respond, but the words were caught in my throat, as my conditioned grew from bad to worse. I was falling at every footfall, and I could barely see straight. It was this, and the incoming storm that awoke me from my condition. I suddenly snapped upright, as my symptoms stopped cold. I patted my body and checked my pulse, to see if there was anything else that was wrong with me. I started to get hot flashes and saw figures out in the distance. They seemed familiar, like I had known them for longer than an eternity. The air I took in seemed to suck the life out of me, as I collapsed on the dusty road, leaving Rainbow Dash to panic. Waking up I smelled a strong scent of morphine, or blood, whichever I smelled, it made me sick. I tried to move my arms, but they felt like lead weights. I couldn’t even make a fist with my hands, I felt helpless. My eyes scanned the white room for any indication of where I was. I hated hospitals, much less ones meant for ponies, until my eyes were greeted with a grisly sight. Turning my head to the door, I saw my x-rays. My bones looked like some jumbled puzzle that were thrown in a fire for some kid’s sick amusement. A doctor came in, as his face looked quite grim, but he smiled at me. As it turned out, the x-rays were from some unfortunate soul who had a traffic accident. I turned out fine, or at least my bones did. Only then did it occur to me, that I was in my own world. Somehow, I was transported from Equestria to my world. It all seemed so odd, as I never was one for space-time travel, especially since I seemed to get seriously injured every time. It was egging at me, why I was being used in some sort of cosmic game, where I was a pawn and the world simply toyed with my mind. I was deep in thought, apart from an unusual twitch in my temple that quickly became annoying. The door flew open, as two women rushed in and hugged me. My head pounded as I tried to remember their names, for I knew that they cared for me. Why couldn’t I remember? Is it the sudden transfer that made me forget? All of my thoughts were interrupted, as one of the women began talking to me. I could see that she was eager to see me, as tears welled up in her red eyes. Looking over to the left side of me, I saw her companion sobbing with her hands over her face. The one at my right looked at me with great concern, as I tried to mouth words to comfort her. I raised my head off the plain white pillow, as I uttered weakly, “Do.....I....know you?” The red-eyed woman stopped her gaze, as her eyes widened in surprise. She spoke in a soft tone, “What’s wrong? Why don’t you remember me, or Octavia?” I suddenly received a huge jolt of energy, as I jumped out of the hospital bed. My body felt white hot, as I tried to focus on the girls. I began to hold my hands to my ribcage, as I felt a stabbing pain creeping up my body. My mind shut off, as all I saw then on, was blackness. “GET A DOCTOR IN HERE! JOHN COLLAPSED!” “Hey, what’s wrong? John? Answer me, please!” I could vaguely hear footsteps, as my senses began to dull, and I passed out on the cold floor. My eyes opened as I found myself floating above the world. A figure approached me, and it stretched out its hand to me. I ran away from the figure, for I feared it would take me away from the people I loved, from everyone and everything...
Lovely AtmosphereThe three reached their destination. The place had a rowdy feel of a bar, but the setup of a jazz club. (In other words, it's like the setup of the Grand Galloping Gala, only with a bigger stage and more alcohol.)He suddenly realized his promise to explain his past, so he came up with an idea. "Hey, how about we go upstairs and get to the bar area?" "Why do you want to do that?" "To reveal a surprise...for you two." "Alright, where do we go?" John pointed towards a set of stairs, "Just one flight of stairs, not that far of a walk." All three of them walked up the stairs, and opened the doors to the bar area. The place had a fair crowd, with two bartenders and about ten people sitting at wooden tables. John walked up to the stage, and scrounged around for some equipment. It took only about five minutes to set up the mic and curtains. The venue was perfect, and the lighting was nice and dim. His heart pounded in his chest. His blood was pumping up, ready to go. His brain was going slightly fuzzy, because he was nervous. This is the first time I've played this song live. This was meant for Her, but now, I'll sing for Them. John snapped his fingers, and the curtains on the stage drew back. The man who lost everything, could start anew, because of Them. He smiled, as his hands flowed to and fro from his guitar. It was a depressing chord, one that he knew well. He closed his eyes, and sung from his heart, And that night, he sang: "In every hour she laughed and smiled Frowns and tears fell into the unknown abyss What has she done to deserve Such a terrible fate Each day she struggles through the fire Each night she runs toward home Knowing that it isn't there Knowing she has no chance She runs... She runs...away... She runs... She runs...away... She never knew that hand helping her climb She just walked on by, never once Saying the words she wanted Loving the one she held dear Engulfed in the nothingness Surrounded by loneliness She stood tall and smiled But inside she still runs Runs... Runs...away..."
