The Tale of Josh the Upright Elongated Gorilla

by Electro-Static

Rating: teen
Tags: Original Character, Comedy, Fluttershy, Random, Adventure, Slice of Life, Human, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 13205

Josh is normal college student, then he dies twice and meets Fluttershy.

Fluttershy is about to find perhaps one of the strangest creatures ever set foot in the Ever Free Forest and Twilight Sparkle can barely contain her curiosity about it .
Meanwhile on earth, Josh is just your average college student, on a day like any other he finds himself eating an oatmeal cookie one moment, and falling down a dark chasm the next. He awakens to find himself in a strange world filled with strange creatures, naturally he does what any other sane person would do in the same situation; he tells himself that it is all just a dream. Needless to say Josh may be in for one hell of a rude awakening.

This is my First fanfic, I would appreciate constructive criticism on it as I am a first time writer. The story in Equestria doesn't really get started until the second chapter.

Published 2012-10-23 22:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-11-26 07:20:02 UTC

Trapped in a Morphine dream, It's name is Josh

Josh awoke half naked and in pain on what felt like a small couch, the air smelled like a hamster cage and he could feel dull muscle pains all over his body and a sharp pain on his left shoulder blade like a great big cat had scratched him with gargantuan claws. He could feel covers over his body, despite this he was still cold and he could hear what sounded like two young women arguing.

“But Twilight, it needs it's rest it just got attacked by a manticore and is likely in pain!”

“Fluttershy I don't think you understand the magnitude of discovering this creature, not only is it wearing clothes, which means that more than likely it is intelligent, but the workmanship is incredible! Which means that there could possibly be an entire civilization of them living in the Everfree forest! This is monumental!, I've never read about any type of creature resembling this one much less seen one. This is the discovery of an entirely new race of intelligent creatures with possibly a highly advanced civilization that could have been living under our noses the whole time!”

“but Twilight it's sleeping..”

“Did I mention what was in it's pockets?, I've never seen anything like it! A tiny magic device that is like a projector, and a music player But Tiny! And you can move the things inside it with your hoof! Even the best minds in Canterlot could never dream of such a device! Plus you mentioned that it had a saddle bag that you left in Everfree, there is so much we could possible learn about it from the contents of it's bag! And it is virtually hairless! Virtually Hairless! How does it survive without fur in the winter, can it use magic to keep it warm? Does it wear cloths all the time to cover for it's lack of fur?”

“T..Twilight it was just almost killed by a manticore...”
“And it's face Fluttershy IT's Face is strangely pony like, it looks able to form expressions, are it's facial expressions the same as ours or does a smile mean something different? So many questions for it Fluttershy!”

At this point in time Josh speculated that this whole odd morning was in fact a dream, the transitions were too dramatic to take place during a nap and the tangential nature of the different things that he had seen suggested that the entire morning was in fact just a dream and he was still asleep in his bed.

The voices continued;

“The text on this device is legible, “Slide to unlock”! that means that more than likely we share a common language with it! Can you believe it??! Civilizations isolated from each other sharing a common language! Unless of course they just looks like our words and mean entirely different things, an infinitely more amazing possibility!!?I've got to write a letter to princess Celestia this is just too inexplicable!”

Josh decided that the best course of action was to keep his eyes shut and to continue to pretend to be asleep so he could gather as much information passively as possible. In his mind Josh started to assess his present situation.

An earthquake, squaring off with a wild beast and now, from what I can make out two women are talking about me like I am some type of alien life form. I'm more than likely not dead, it is likely that I am dreaming, but I am not ruling out the possibility of a morphine coma

The two young ladies continued to banter;

“Twilight, I brought you here because you might know what it is and how to help it, can't you talk to it when it wakes up?”

“I've got to start writing up questions and intelligence tests for it! I'm going to have to ask spike to re-arrange my to-do lists! I've got to clear out this entire week, do you think it knows about the magic of friendship!?”

Now things were getting weird, he was naked and now the giddy one was suggesting treating him like a lab rat he did not like where the conversation was going, if it was a dream his first death was relatively painless, his second still seemed to hurt, and the with way this was going..He wanted to get up and proclaim:

“I'm not a science experiment, as for questions I have a few for you ladies!”

But Josh knew that anyone on the verge of what they feel is a great discovery rarely considers their specimen's feelings on the matter, memories of how Europeans treated new cultures that they came across flashed across his mind. The best option seemed to remain on the couch until he woke up from this freaky dream.

-clop-clop-clop- he could hear footsteps approach, whatever they belonged to had 4 legs. He would have no part of this dream and was doing his best to try and ignore them until suddenly the "something" tried to pull his blanket away from him.
“Go Away I want this godawful dream to be over!!” he blurted out,
ES

As Twilight Sparkle tried to remove the blanket covering the creature on Fluttershy's couch, it clung harder to it then blurted out

“Go Away! I want this godawful dream to be over”
Thoughts exploded across Twilight's already frenzied mind

Sweet Celestia! It can talk and it speaks the same language we do!, How is this possible? I mean scientifically how would it be possible for a creature unknown to ponykind to have a language in common? Where did it come from, did it's kind diverge from our civilization? Or are they watching us?!

As Twilight speculated mentally the creature opened it's eyes and then looked at her in shock. Upon seeing the creature's appearance Twilight was equally shocked, it had a dark main covering it's head was thin and lanky with no fur to speak of and it had long stubby claws that looked perfectly suited to doing the detailed work that unicorns could normally only do with their horns. What shocked her even more was the fact that despite going hoof to hoof with a manticore the creature appeared to be afraid of her, it's pupils dilated and it drew away from her as if she were some alien life form, it's body was shaking and it let out some words.

“What are you?” it stammered

“Where am I, Why am I naked??”

Twilight was taken aback, this just until recently unknown creature was addressing her directly just as a pony would. It had the same facial expressions, same voice inflections, and even the accent was the same as a pony would have. Zecora's accent was more exotic sounding for crying out loud.

The huge amount of characteristics that this unknown life-form was showing to have in common with pony kind was uncanny. She composed herself to answer the curious creature's questions despite the fact that nervousness was eating away at her insides. After all she was only making first contact with an intelligent creature from a possibly advanced civilization that was previously unknown to all of Equestria until just this morning, no pressure, right?

“M-my name is Twilight Sparkle” she managed to get out sounding almost as nervous as the creature had.

The creature looked perplexed.

“You are in the Town on Ponyville in the Land of Equestria... O-on behalf of Ponykind I welcome you..”

the creature replied “Now I know I am definitely dreaming”

“You aren't!” she interjected

the creature continued “This can't be real, you are colored like a cartoon character, and ponies can't talk much less build houses like this. First falling down a chasm, then I'm attacked by a monster, and now this I wonder when I'm finally going to wake up it's been a weird night!”

The creature evidently found her is be as equally logically absurd as she found it to be, and now it was either telling jokes or was being very rude.

“You're Not dreaming! This is real, you are the thing that is unbelievable! How do you speak equestrian, and why do you find US to be so strange? You look like a ponythromorphic primate with skin resembling a pig's!” Twilight responded to the creature's rude remarks rather heatedly.

The creature stopped to think for a bit upon hearing this, it furrowed it's brow to take in the situation. Twilight was relieved, the creature didn't appear to be as hostile and it gave her time to think about the situation and to revise her assumptions.

The new information simultaneously made more and less sense of the situation. For instance despite speaking common equestrian it had no knowledge of ponykind, or rather it's knowledge was different. She got the impression that to this creature ponies were completely different than her, Fluttershy, or the rest of the ponies in Equestira for that matter, the addition of this new information opened up many more fascinating questions and provided a few answers as well

For starters it wasn't from the Everfree Forest as it insisted upon the manticore attack being a dream. As well as the fact that it more than likely had no idea how it ended up in the Forest or Equestria for that matter. She could assume that wherever this creature was from it despite language and cultural similarities it was drastically different from Equestria and the cherry on top was that she could ask the creature about it in simple plain Equestrian.

“Well that would explain why my back hurts so much still, normally injuries don't carry over from one dream to the other. I am still not ruling out being in a morphine coma though, perhaps I'm like that guy from the show Life on Mars. Which is more likely than me being in an actual world full of colorful cartoon ponies,” it explained trying not to look freaked out.

“What happened to my clothes? You've yet to explain why I'm naked.” it continued.
The creature appeared to have calmed down a bit, so despite of her voracious curiosity she tried to answer it's question.

“Fluttershy removed them when she took you here to treat your wounds, it's miracle that the manticore's stinger hit the metal plate on your jacket and didn't kill you. Why are you asking about your clothes, is it normal for your kind to wear them on occasions that aren't just formal occasions?” Her curiosity yet again got the best of her.

“What's a Fluttershy?” It asked with a confused look in it's eyes
“and yes we wear cloths all the time, now doesn't seem like the right time to tell you when we don't wear them. Can we change the subject?” it continued looking a little embarrassed.

“Fluttershy is over there” Twilight said as she gestured to the pink haired Pegasus that had been hiding around the corner since the creature woke up.

“That thing saved my life?” it asked with a genuinely confused look on it's face.

“Her NAME is Fluttershy, she is a very kind Pegasus pony, not a thing” Twilight interjected feeling that her friend had been somehow insulted.

“More importantly.” She continued

“Speaking of names, What is yours? Furthermore what exactly are you?”

ES

Fluttershy hid nervously around the corner as Twilight talked to the creature. Both the creature and Twilight sounded equal parts upset and confused. Fluttershy was happy that they could talk to it, but the fact that it's communication was so pony-like made her nervous.

She wasn't nervous around animals because they weren't ponylike, animals didn't judge her, or mock her for being a slow flier, or try and treat her like a doormat. This creature being ponylike and a stranger no less meant that it naturally made her very nervous.

She worried that it would be mad that she left it's things in the Everfree forest. She retreated to to other room in the cottage the take her mind off the fact that there was a strange creature in her home that talked and seemed to behave just like a pony.

“Fluttershy!” Twilight called to her

“It's name is Josh Galliano, and it is called a human! It would like to meet you!” she continued.

“I'm getting ready to make breakfast” Fluttershy squeaked trying to avoid meeting with the creature. She was really bad with meeting new ponies and this creature seemed to be more intimidating than a pony.

“Fluttershy!” called Twilight again this time sounding slightly more irritated.

“I told it what happened and that you saved it's life!! It wants to thank you in person!” she continued.

“It's ok.. I'm fine here....No,No need to thank me I'I'm just doing my job taking care of injured creatures....” Fluttershy explained nervously tying to avoid meeting the now awake “human”.

Twilight would have none of it, she used her magic to drag Fluttershy in front of the creature that was now awake on her couch, It looked at her nervously and said.

“Hello.. Er I'm Josh.. Thank you.. For saving me from.. That thing... And for treating my wounds.. Um Nice to meet you. Uh sorry if I startled you.. Er this is all very stra.. New to me”

The creature appeared to be nervous, or perhaps her nervousness made it nervous. It looked really confused when it saw her. At least it was kind of shy too, it didn't seem like as scary of a creature as it was when it was fighting with the manticore. She felt kind of sorry for it but was still very much frightened of it.

“I'm fluttershy” She said softly out softly

“You're what?” The creature asked perplexed as it was unable to hear her voice.

“I'mFluttershy!” She squeaked louder.

ES

Now Josh was positive he was in a morphine coma, Upon opening his eyes he found to an anthropomorphic purple creature loosely resembling a unicorn with a human-like face Staring at him with a shocked expression. It's hair/main was deep blue with a stripe of purple and pink. And from what he could gather he was just as odd to it, as it was to him.

A barrage of questions ensued until the subject how he got to on the couch in the living room of what could be described as a small strange miniature wooden cottage with a stone hearth stove, and what looked like pet staircases winding around everything was broached.

He had then learned that supposedly the owner of this peculiar dwelling had evidently dragged him out of the forest, stripped his clothes and bandaged his wounds. This is pretty unbelievable, as he remembered just being pounced on by some crazy mutated super-beast.
The purple creature called for his supposed savior.

“Fluttershy! It's name is Josh Galliano and it is called a human! It would like to meet you!” The purple one called out

“I'm getting ready to make breakfast” he heard the voice that had been arguing with the purple one earlier reply meekly.

Was this really the thing that could have saved me? He thought to himself.

He was kind of hungry, and the thought of eating breakfast kind of appealed to him He wondered if these creatures even ate anything that he would consider edible, though he also wondered how the creature was preparing breakfast when it's range was in it's living room.

“Fluttershy! I told it what happened and that you saved it's life!! It wants to thank you in person!” the purple one called out sounding slightly irritated.

“It's ok.. I'm fine here....No,No need to thank me I'I'm just doing my job taking care of injured creatures....” The meek voice replied

Whatever this fluttershy thing was, it's behavior so far definitely did it's name justice.

The purple creature's horn glowed purple and a purple glow dragged a creature that resembled the purple one but had a light yellow body, a pink mane and tail, blue eyes, and wings on it's body instead of a horn on it's head.

.The purple creature has telekinesis, great one more freaky way to die Josh thought to himself as the yellow “fluttershy” was dragged to face him by the purple glow.

“Hello.. Er I'm Josh.. Thank you.. For saving me from.. That thing... And for treating my wounds.. Um Nice to meet you. Uh sorry if I startled you.. Er this is all very stra.. New to me”

He said trying not to startle the frightened looking creature.

“I'm Fluttershy” it mumbled almost inaudibly

“You're what?” Josh replied trying to get the creature to speak audibly.

“I'mFluttershy!” It squeaked all in one word.

The awkwardness in the room was so thick that Josh could cut it with a knife, he knew he would have to break the ice in order to find out more about this fever dream.

“So Fluttershy, um I'm really hungry.. Er.. You said that you were making breakfast.. so uh er what do you have planned, er I'm starved!”

The yellow creature perked up while still avoiding eye contact it asked him.
“Wwhat do er... Humans eat for breakfast er, Mr Josh?”

at least he had piqued it's interest, Josh though for a bit and looked around the cottage, the “futtershy” was obviously an animal lover so bacon was out, Josh thought about his snack earlier this morning and said.

“Er how about some oatmeal, and um orange juice I'm pretty cold so maybe I'd like something hot?”

As Josh leaned forward to get a better look at the shy equine he felt the lacerations on his back explode in pain. He winced at the feeling and looked to the bandage on his left should which suddenly was becoming red. Josh's expression changed to one of panic when he realized what was happening.

Suddenly the shy equine's expression changed.

“I told you not to wake him up Twilight, it's wound still hasn't closed up yet and I can't do stitches with my hooves!” the yellow “Fluttershy” snapped at the purple “Twilight”.

“Why didn't you say so? I could have just done them with my magic!” The purple one retorted

“That is why I got you, but I didn't know what type of creature it was and stitches are really painful! I don't know how it would respond” he heard the yellow one say with a bit of panic in it's voice.

Things were quickly taking a turn for the nightmarish, the subdued atmosphere from moments earlier had been replaced with one of panic that felt like an operating room drama...

What happened next was both surreal and horrifying for the already panicked and clueless Josh, it was at this point that he realized that there were cuts on his left shoulder that had just opened up. A look of panic filled his eyes, if this wasn't a dream he definitely needed to go to a hospital for these.

“What the hell?!” he yelled out, as he stood up to leave the couch in panic.

The yellow “Fluttershy” creature floated in the air eye level with Josh, it looked him right in the eyes with a gentle calming stare.

“Mr. Josh, I am going to need you to calm down while my friend and we replace your bandages. You got a really nasty scratch from that big old mantcore and if you move around it will make it worse.”

Josh felt compelled so sit down on the sofa while the purple glow from the “twilight” creature's horn removed his bandages, the yellow creature flew back into the other room and brought out a bowl with warm water, a sponge, and what looked like fresh bandages.

The purple glow enveloped the sponge and dipped it in the water, the sponge flew to his left shoulder and wiped blood off of the now visible gashes across his shoulder-blade, it hurt like hell. Josh tried to protest but he found himself unable to move the, purple glow had surrounded him immobilizing his body. The glow that now enveloped him lifted him off his feet and set him lying face down on the rug in the middle of the floor.

He wailed in panic.

The Purple “twilight” creature called to the yellow “fluttershy” creature.

“Fluttershy! I don't see the cuts severing any muscles! Get me some anesthetic herbs I'm going to attempt stitches!”

“Sorry, this is going to hurt.” He heard the purple one say.

Josh felt something being drawn forwards and backwards on the cuts in his wounded shoulder, the pain dulled a bit and then he felt a needle and thread being drawn through the cuts in his back, he cried out in pain while the purple glow pinned him down.

The yellow creature lowered it's face eye level to Josh's and looked into his panicked eyes with her gentle gaze

“Don't worry everything is going to be just fine, this will hurt for a bit but I promise that you will feel better afterwards Mr Josh.” it said entrancing Josh with it's blue eyes.

Josh couldn't make sense of it, if this was a morphine dream it was definitely a very painful one, perhaps he was being rushed out of an ambulance and the EMT was doing something to his back, or they used too little painkiller, Josh wondered why he didn't just wake up.

“All done” Called the purple one.

He felt the purple glow shift him into a sitting position where he was hunched over, the sponge ran over his injured shoulder again and the pain faded and dulled, as this happened bandages floated around him wrapping his injured shoulder.

“I think we should immobilize it's arm!” The purple one called,

A piece of fabric being floated over to him, it was then tied into a makeshift sling while airborne and settled onto his left arm by the purple glow. Josh closed his eyes trying not to think about the painful and confusing events that had transpired in the last few minutes, all of it was just too unreal.

The yellow “Fluttershy” creature brought him what smelled like a hot mug of some herbal medicinal mixture, she looked him in the eyes with her gentle entrancing gaze, and asked him with a voice that sounded like honey:

“OK Mr Josh, the worst is over we just had to make sure that your arm was alright, I need you to drink this tea, it's really good and I promise you will feel better afterwards.”

Josh felt compelled to drink the concoction. He used his uninjured right arm to take the mug from the yellow creature and drain it's contents. It tasted like honey, flowers, and something else, he wondered what it was as a heavy lightness consumed his body and he drifted once more into unconsciousness.

Well that makes three for three.. He thought to himself as he was overcome by the effect of the strange liquid.

ES

In her fright of the creature being Ponylike Fluttershy had forgotten that it still was an injured creature, it's shoulder's injuries had opened up when it tried to sit forward, then it panicked and tried to stand making it's injuries worse. It took her and Twilight working together to subdue it and to treat it's injuries.

Fluttershy was relieved that it was asleep from the herb tea that she had given it, but it did not seem happy to be operated on by her and Twilight, then again any pony would be upset if suddenly two mares did the same thing to them.

It is for it's own good. Fluttershy thought to herself trying to swallow the guilt.

Meanwhile Twilight seemed both excited and kind of troubled.

“Fluttershy, I can't believe that pony medicine works on it!” She stammered, trying to suppress some type of emotion.

“I mean if it didn't we would be in be in pretty bad shape” she continued giving a nervous laugh.

“I mean, if it didn't the sleeping tea could have poisoned it, or the anesthetic could have made it's pain worse, or....” She trailed off trying to hide her nervousness. This talk was not helping Fluttershy's guilt about forcing painful medical attention onto the poor confused creature.

“Fluttershy I've got an idea” Twilight called to her friend in a tone that expressed concern.

“It said that it wanted something to eat, why don't we make breakfast I'm a bit hungry too..”

Fluttershy and Twilight got to work preparing a meal, they made oatmeal and orange juice just like the creature had asked for, Fluttershy took the liberty of preparing some hot vegetable soup as well because the creature had asked for something hot. This however did not help Fluttershy's mood in the slightest as she still felt guilty after seeing the look of pain in it's eyes as Twilight had stitched up the cuts in it's back. It's eyes had looked as frightened and confused as bullied filly that couldn't understand her classmates' cruel taunting.

Her and Twilight settled for a portion of the oatmeal and some fresh salad, however She couldn't eat much she wasn't in a hungry mood.

Her friend noticed her discomfort and made a suggestion

“Fluttershy” Twilight said with a compassionate tone

“You said that you saw where it was attacked right?”

“yes” Fluttershy replied meekly

“You said that it had a saddlebag that you left there because you couldn't carry it and the creature right?”

“Yes, that's right” Fluttershy responded dolefully with even more guilt eating at her.

“Well, um now that the creature is ok, why don't you go and grab it's saddle bag? I'm sure it will be happy to have it's stuff back when it wakes up!” Twilight suggested trying to cheer her friend up.

Fluttershy perked up a bit, she didn't like the idea of going into the Everfree Forest alone, but perhaps the creature would be in a better mood if she did get it's stuff. Plus getting it's things would give her a chance to get her mind off of the present situation. Unfortunately there was also a problem with Twilight's plan.

“But Twilight, who will look after the creature if it wakes up? I don't want it to run off and get injured again, or worse..”

Twilight looked more than content to address Fluttershy's concerns

“Don't worry Fluttershy! I'll look after it, if it tries to run off I'll just grab it with my magic, It seemed as reasonable as anypony so I'm sure it won't be mad when I properly explain the situation to it. Plus I'm sure it will be overjoyed to have it's saddlebag back.”

“But Twilight you have the library to look after...”

“I asked spike to close the library down before I came here. So I've got all day to look after it!”

Fluttershy couldn't help but be comforted by the look on her friend's face, she didn't want to be a bother to the ever busy Twilight Sparkle, but her friend looked so enthused that she didn't feel bad leaving the creature in Twilight's care. Twilight was a smart pony so if anypony could explain this situation well to the creature it was her.

Fluttershy put on her saddlebags and made off for the clearing in the Everfree Forest where she had found the creature, hoping that nothing had damaged or taken the from creature's saddlebag.

Navigating the forest was much easier by daylight, although finding the same clearing proved to be challenging. She managed to make her way there avoiding any dangerous beasts along the way.

Finding the creature's saddlebag in the clearing had proved more difficult than Fluttershy had expected. The bag itself was a mud brown that allowed it to blend into the soaked earth. With some difficulty she managed to find the bag and to pull it out of the mud that had been formed by the rain earlier. The creature's saddlebag was still intact, however with one caveat, it was absolutely covered in mud, Fluttershy worried that the contents might be soaked as the pack had taken some rain on top of it since she had left it there earlier that morning.

She could see several zippered pockets on the bag, as well as two straps that would fit around her front legs with loose tolerances. It also had two plastic buckles one big one on a belt towards the bottom of the pack, and one small one attached to the straps. The bag was kind of heavy, and while she was trying to get it on her back like a saddle she noticed something gleaming in the mud.

It was the shiny tool with an open knife blade from earlier, it was more covered in mud this time and looked like it might be swallowed up by the wet earth. Fluttershy wanted to retrieve it, but she was afraid that it would cut her mouth if she tried to pick it up that way. She used her hoof to move it on top of a rock so that it would not be taken by the mud, but she didn't put it in her saddlebag because she did not know how to close it.

The blade scared her as it was extremely pointy and looked sharper than any creature's claw. The soap bar shaped handle had the words “LEATHERMAN Charge” inscribed the side and the handle was split down the middle. Although the workmanship was indeed exceptional, the design was cold and mechanical and somehow felt “Wrong” for anything equestrian.

Furthermore the tool was heavy for an object it's size, the metal was unnaturally shiny and felt funny in her hoof as well. with difficulty she managed to get it onto a rock without it slipping out of her hoof. Why the creature was carrying such a strange tool made her nervous.

When Fluttershy tried to fly back to the cottage she was encumbered by the awkward fit of the creature's saddlebag, with no other choice she walked hoofed it from the clearing all the way to her cottage, when she got back a strange sight awaited her in her den.

ES

Josh awoke yet again, this time to the smell of oatmeal and some type of vegetable soup. His left shoulder was numb, and he had bandages covering his chest and shoulder. As he sat up he could feel that his left arm was in some type of sling.

Hey perhaps I've finally woken up in a hospital! he thought to himself

All that stuff really was just a morphine dream he assured himself before opening his eyes to confirm this assumed situation.

A completely different sight greeted him upon opening his eyes than the interior of a hospital. He was still in the same damned cottage as he was during his previous dream, except for this time a there was a blue table in front of him with a bowl of oatmeal, a pitcher and glass of orange juice, as well as a warm bowl of what looked like a tomato and carrot based soup and a bowl of salad.

“Ah Fuckit” He said to himself

He was tired of playing it cautiously during this dream, it hadn't helped him with the monster, and it hadn't helped him for the earlier part of the dream in this cottage, so he would just enjoy this meal and wait for the next part of the dream to come about. Plus the talkative purple “twilight” thing was nowhere in sight.

The meal before him looked amazing and he was hungry. He moved his right hand and grabbed the spoon to start on the oatmeal, it was delicious it tasted like it had been cooked over an open fire of some kind and the oats tasted fresh, without much time to waste he downed the orange juice.

It was amazing, it didn't have the “flavor pack” flavor or processed orange juice, instead it tasted invigoratingly tart just like what his parents would make when they had too many oranges on their orange tree, he savored the chunks of pulp and pieces of seeds as they floated delightfully across his tongue.

At this moment Josh didn't care that he was dreaming, this was the best break during the entire dream, he couldn't wait to get started on the soup it smelled great and looked even better.

The carrots in the soup had been cooked until they were soft and mushy like sweet potatoes, and the tomato-celery-carrot broth had been seasoned perfectly with fresh herbs. Not only that but the soup tasted like it had been cooked over an open wooden flame and had a smoky flavor reminded him of camping.

Even if this was a dream it definitely was one of the best meals that Josh had had in quite a long time. He ignored to bowl of salad and got up to get more soup and oatmeal from the open hearth that sat against the wall near the center of room.

His blanket fell off and he could see that despite being bandaged up he was still in fact quite naked. He looked around the room to see if anyone was looking, then using his right hand tied the small blanket across his chest like a toga.

After this he crouched down slightly, though Josh was not a tall man his head barely cleared the rafters of the cottage. he made his way to the stone range in the front of the room, set his bowl down on the range and used his right hand to ladle more soup into it, as he turned around to return to the couch to eat his meal he saw a pair of purple eyes staring at him from a room perpendicular to the range.

“OH Shit! It's the purple glowy one!” he blurted out loud.

He hurried back to the couch with his bowl of soup hoping that he could finish it before the talkative “twilight” thing did something painful to him again.

“She's like the freaking Slenderman” he thought to himself while trying to finish his bowl of delicious soup before she did anything to ruin this part of the dream.

“um excuse me” he heard it call out

“mr Josh was it?” it's voice continued

He tried to ignore it as he redoubled his efforts to finish the amazing soup.

“Um I'd just like to, er apologize for what myself and Fluttershy did to you earlier”

Josh didn't care the soup was really good and he would enjoy it for as long as he could before the purple thing did more things to him.

“We just, um were trying to help, there were some open cuts on your back, and they were bleeding and then you panicked”

Josh didn't listen delicious soup was delicious.

“We are really sorry, we just wanted to be able to sew them up at the first chance we got before you could injure yourself further by moving around”

Her apology fell on deaf ears, Josh poured himself another glass of orange juice from the pitcher, and proceeded to gulp down the delicious liquid before something else could ruin this part of the dream for him.

“You seemed upset and panicked, we didn't know what you would do and we panicked..” the voice continued

Josh was half done with his glass of orange juice, he put it down and started on the salad.

“I'm really sorry for using my magic on you Mr Josh. I should have asked you for permission first..”

The radishes in the salad were crisp and refreshing

“Fluttershy is sorry too for using her stare and knocking you out with sleeping tea.” the voice continued apologetically.

So that is what that strange drink was, note to self don't look the yellow one in the eyes... he thought to himself.

This might explain how the yellow “fluttershy” thing could stop a raging beast, it had crazy eye hypnosis powers. he continued on in his head while enjoying the crispy delicious salad.

“You said that you were hungry before, well you know... So we made you this breakfast it has orange juice and oatmeal and something hot just like you asked...”

Josh Spit out the salad in shock, if these things made it it might do something crazy to him.

“You...You guys made this” He stammered at the purple creature's voice

“what did you Do to it??!! WHAT DID YOU DO TO IT” he yelled in frustration

Josh could feel the frustration building inside of him, first a failed midterm, then an earthquake, then a beast attack, then these weird creatures using strange powers to bind him and knock him out, and now this, this sick joke?

It was too much for Josh, he broke down started to sob uncontrollably from frustration and fear..

“What does this world want from me... “ He cried out

“I just wanted to enjoy my damn oatmeal cookie in peace...” he continued .

“And then all THIS crazy stuff happens, I fall down a chasm, I get attacked by a ferocious beast, and then I wake up naked and you two hold me down and preform surgery on me. And just when I thought it was safe to enjoy a delicous meal, it turns out that YOU TWO, more than likely did something to ittttt.” his sobbing trailed off

“It was a really good meal too” He continued to sob

“It was the best damn thing I've eaten in monthsss...” he cried pathetically

“Actually it's just me here.” retorted the purple thing's voice.

“So whaaat you still are gonna do bad things to meeee” Josh cried out sounding more and more like a child.

“No Honestly, this is just a normal breakfast, we won't do anymore things to you I promise!” The voice continued “Fluttershy even went into the Everfree Forest to retrieve your saddlebag from where she found you”

“You mean my bag is here?” he sniffed pathetically

“Yes, Futtershy had to leave it in the forest to bring you here but now she is retrieving it for you!”

Something went off in Josh's head, a possible way to confirm if this whole thing was a dream or in fact was actually happening to him! Since the human mind cannot often track specifics consistantly during dreams, if his failed midterm and school stuff from this morning were in his bag, then more than likely this was all really happening.

The assumption that he was dreaming had allowed him to stay calm and to address this situation in a controlled fashion, it allowed him to have a conversation with the purple thing earlier, this assumption being challenged did not bode well for Josh.

If this was real everyone that he knows and loves is more than likely is worried about him, or has assumed him to be dead. All of his classes would have him with a failing mark because he would not be able to complete the semester being assumed missing or dead, and his work would fire him because he would not be able clock in ever....

But if he was in a morphine coma the possibilities could be even more terrifying. He would wake up in a hospital with a huge medical bill, and he would be let go from work because of his injuries, and then he would loose his apartment from being unable to pay rent due to huge medical bills and having no job. He could also forget about college because his medical debt would be so big he would never ever be able to afford school.

Both situations were equally horrifying when he really thought about them.

“Of all of the worst possible things to happen this is THE WORST POSSIBLE THING!!!” he cried out.

Actually the more insane possibility sounded better at least then he wouldn't have huge medical bills to pay, and even if everything else went to shit he could write a book about what he had seen and make money as a starving sci-fi fantasy author, or even bring back something really valuable and sell it.

The worst possibility however what that this was real and that he was trapped in this alien place forever, doomed to die forever alone as the only one of his kind.

All of this was too much to take and Josh's sobbing got even worse as he buried his face in his good hand, he was definitely having a mental breakdown.

ES

Twilight had stepped out of the cottage to take in the creature's drying clothes, it looked like it was going to start to rain and she didn't want them to take any longer to dry than they had to. She went into the room adjacent to Fluttershy's den to set them down. From what the creature said it wouldn't go anywhere without wearing cloths and she wanted to get it back to the library as soon as possible. As she was about to re-enter the den of Fluttershy's cottage she was surprised and delighted by what she saw:

The Creature was not only awake and docile, but it was eating the breakfast they had prepared for it. She watched how it manipulated the silverware using it's long stubby claws. It was able to handle a spoon naturally which suggested that it was familiar with the utensil.

It ate the soup with gusto, and when it was done it stood up, looked down at itself, seemed embarrassed then holding the blanket with it's left claw and tying it with it's right, it slung the blanket over itself like a robe to cover it's nude body. It then walked over to Fluttershy's range and proceeded to serve itself seconds from the pot of soup. As it turned around to return to the couch it saw Twilight:

“OH Shit It's the purple glowy one!” it exclaimed with fear.

It hobbled over the the sofa as quickly as it could and started frantically eating soup, This behavior made no sense to Twilight, most creatures run in fear, but this one was eating frantically. Perhaps it's psychology was really different than a pony's.

Twilight tried apologizing to it but it ignored her. Finally she told it that Fluttershy and her had made it the breakfast, it spit out the salad, got really mad then proceeded to cry and have a mental breakdown.

Twilight Sparkle was at a loss for words, she tried comforting it but it was no use, the creature seemed convinced that the world was out to get it. While trying to convince the creature that Fluttershy and her were in fact not out to torment it she mentioned that Fluttershy was out getting it's bag.

It's tears dried up for a few moments, it seemed to be lost in thought for about 30 seconds and then it proceeded to cry even harder.

I thought it might be a logical creature, but it's actions right now make no sense at all! she thought to herself.

With a loud wale it let out a familiar phrase:

“OF all the worst possible things to happen this is THE WORST POSSIBLE THING!”

Twilight had to try hard not to giggle a little bit, it would have made the situation even worse and would further feed the creature's persecution complex.

The creature then proceeded to sob even more uncontrollably, and bury it's face in it's good hand.

Twilight was at a loss, it seemed that the more she tried to comfort it the more distressed it became, she tried to bring it more soup but it was too busy crying and insisted that she had probably done something to the soup. Twilight went into the other room to think about how to reach the distraught creature, it was acting like a little clot.

She went looking for the things in it's pockets to see if she could find our more about the crying creature from them. In addition to the magic device there was also a cloth thing that was folded over and in on itself and it looked like it had things inside of it. She opened it to see what was inside in order to learn more about the creature.

She found several things, a tattered picture of another biped wearing green and tan cloths and a beret, as well as several different plastic cards including one with raised numbers across it that was called a “platinum debit card”. Three cards had pictures of the creature's face on them. One had just it's name and face on it plus some numbers, in the picture the biped was smiling and wearing a dark gray polo shirt, it had a number on the right hand side and a black stripe on the back. The next was more interesting it had not only a picture of the creature in different cloths but also had the creature's name, some type of address, what looked like a birthday, and a listing of it's eye color, weight and gender.

The last card in fabric sheath hit Twilight's conscious like a train, it was just another identification card that had the creature's picture on it. But under the creature's name it said in all capital letters “STUDENT” and on the right hand corner it said “State university ID Card”

Oh great Celestia! he is a student too The inquisitive pony suddenly felt much much more guilty.

She went over the day's events in her head and tried to put herself in it's shoes. It had described quite an ordeal to hear after she told it that her and Fluttershy had made the breakfast. Something about falling into a dark chasm and then getting attacked by a monster, and then her and Fluttershy had forcibly given it medical treatment. Even a reasonable pony would be mad if two ponies suddenly held it down and operated on it without permission.

Furthermore, for it to be insisting that what was happening to it was in fact a dream suggested that wherever it was from was likely so different from Equestria that it's first reaction to Fluttershy and her was denial.

Twilight felt even more guilty when she realized what she had done, up until a few minutes ago she had thought of the creature as an interesting specimen, as a new exciting research subject that that she could learn about, as an injured animal that needed to be treated.

In reality thought It wasn't just those things at all, it had thoughts, and emotions just the same as anypony, and on top of that it was a student too, perhaps just like her. It was alone here in Equestria, more than likely it had friends and family where it came from and was crying because it missed them just as a pony would do in the same situation.

Twilight finally understood why Fluttershy felt so guilty. Fluttershy had as much compassion for animals as she did for ponies so of course she knew how the creature felt much sooner than Twilight did..

Twilight thought of what she could do to make things right, the creature, no not the creature that was not the right way to address it, it had told her it's name. Josh seemed not very comfortable being nude, so Twilight went to get his clothes.

Josh couldn't wear shirts in his present state, so she dried what looked like a pair of short thin cotton shorts, the pair of blue trousers with her magic. Then she brought the dry cloths and the contents of his pockets with her into Fluttershy's den to try and comfort the distraught Josh.

He was still gently sobbing to himself when Twilight entered the room, he continued to ignore her as she placed his trousers and shorts besides him.

“I'm really sorry Josh, I just realized what you must be going through... “ She apologized with genuine remorse in her voice.

Josh was unresponsive

She set his clothes besides him with her mouth, not her magic so that she would not startle him.

“You said that you always wear clothes, Fluttershy had washed them and they just finished drying you can wear them now if you want.”

The unresponsive Josh looked the clothes meekly and quietly replied with a quivering voice:
“Purple thin..er Miss Twilight would you mind leaving the room? I... I'd like to get changed...”

Twilight left the room, she was at glad that at least Josh stopped crying for the time being and had addressed her directly.

“You can come in now, I'm done” She heard a meek voice call.

As she came into the room she could see that he had put on the shorts under his pants, and was sitting on the couch hunched over.

Twilight brought over the folded cloth sheath and set it on the table with her mouth.

“I believe this is yours, if you'll forgive me I went through it and saw that you are a student, do you mind if I ask what exactly you study?”

Twilight was nervous she didn't know how the biped would respond to her question after what it had gone through, some of it at her hooves no less.

“Chemistry and math” he responded

“I got back a failed calculus midterm earlier today, if the paper is in my pack more than likely this is real...”

“Why do you say that?” Twilight asked

“Details rarely carry over consistently between different parts of dreams” he replied, It looked like Josh was trying hard to hold back tears.

“Dear god, everyone I love thinks I'm dead” he sobbed, tears once more falling from his eyes.

“I'm not a very good student, but I love my studies, and if I this is real, I can't finish them, if it isn't I still might not be able to finish them...”

Twilight couldn't imagine how horrible that must feel, she tried to interject but Josh just looked at her sorrowfully.

“That's er I'm so sorry.. I can't imagine what it must feel like...I am a student as well..” she said looking at the ground trying to avoid eye contact.

Josh's words had hit home hard, not only was he a student but he loved his studies as well, she could not imagine being taken away from her studies, She felt truly awful for him.

“He must feel like his entire world has quite literally been taken from him. ” she thought to herself silently.

“If you can't get home, we have universities here in Equestria. If you really want you can continue your education here...”

Josh laughed a little

“That would be nice...” he said softly.

Twilight felt the pangs on guilt eating away at her for treating him like an research subject earlier,

“I'm honestly really sorry that I treated you without your permission, We really were worried that you might hurt yourself or one of us. It was understandable, but it was wrong for us to treat you like that...” she said apologizing to him yet again.

“It's alright” he said in a melancholy tone

“If my arm really is injured you did the right thing, there is no way that I can believe that this is real, it's so different from my reality... I Er.. I really lost it earlier I'm sorry that I said all those mean things. If this is really real you and The yellow.. Er Fluttershy really saved my life that I should be very grateful, instead I just yelled at you guys and ate your food, when you had every right to leave me to die in that forest.”

Talking about his life seemed to have helped him come to his senses. But why Josh thought that anypony had the right to leave him to die in the forest on the other hand kind of troubled her.

Way to go Twilight! He's talking to you again now! she congratulated herself silently, however the subject was pretty heavy, she felt that she needed to lighten it up.

“If you are still hungry there is more soup, and oatmeal” she chipped in

“Yeah, I think I'll have some it was really good, before I freaked out..”

“What do you normally eat?”

“Nothing this fresh, I'm not sure that your friend would approve of my regular diet.. Needless to say this is the best breakfast that I have had served to me in quite a while”

“Why wouldn't Fluttershy approve?”

“I eat meat normally, not a lot of it lately mostly just fish and chicken. But since your friend likes animals, I'm not sure that she would approve..”

“Do you hunt them?”

“No I buy them already processed and ready to cook from the store, I never have to even see them when they are alive, I don't think I would eat meat if I had to kill it myself.”

“Are you a carnivore? Can you live without meat, it might be a problem if you couldn't.”

“Yes, I can provided that I eat the right type of plant foods, do you have tofu here?”

“I think so, we also have eggs and milk if you need protein in your diet.”

“Those will do, I just have to watch the amount of fat... Well I suppose it doesn't matter now anyway...”

“Do you like sweets?”

“I love them, but I can't afford any good ones where I am from”

“We have this really good place called “Sugarcube Corner” I have a friend who works there, they have the most amazing cupcakes and muffins I'm sure that you will love them.”

“I'd like that...”

“You know I live in a library, we have plenty of books if you still want to learn while you are here.”

“Sure why the hell not?”

Twilight and Josh talked back and forth late into the afternoon growing more comfortable in each others' presence until a knock came at the door. Looking outside Twilight could see a mud stained Fluttershy with what looked like a mud colored pack on her back like a saddle.

“What took you so long?” Twilight asked.

Josh's Diary First entry "Stating my Assumptions"

Entry #1 Stating my assumptions, Am I awake or dreaming?

I am making this journal in an attempt to stay sane, or at least to track continuity this peculiar situation. I do now know whether I am awake or dreaming but I will consider both as possibilities until I can find positive proof of one or the other.

The situation is as follows I have woken up a strange world find myself surrounded by colorful talking creatures that call themselves “ponies”, some of which have telekinetic powers, wings, and mind control abilities. (I know this because all of the above were used on me or in front of me while a couple of these creatures sewed up my shoulder with a needle and freaking thread against my will) While Normally I would write this off as a dream there is a level of consistency (and the level of pain) that I have not experienced while dreaming, namely the fact that aside from my leatherman I still have everything (even the fucking failed midterm) with me that I had before this "dream" started. (actually one of the creatures living here retrieved my backpack). Additionally I have sustained injuries(from a crazy monster no less) that continue to persist quite painfully.

I would like to start by stating my immediate observations under the assumption that this world is not a figment of my unconscious mind.

I can assume that the elements up until at least bismuth exist and share identical or highly highly similar nuclear and chemical properties to the ones on earth. The evidence of this is that I have not died horribly due to the properties of the atoms in my body changing chemical properties or disintegrating due to different laws governing atomic physics. The laws of physics must be the same or similar due to the previously stated facts, as well as the fact that my electronic devices are in working order (one small change in atomic physics and BAM! Microprocessors don't work anymore). That being said I don't know of any physical explanation for the “magic” that the “Twilight Sparkle” creature who is currently lodging me at her residence has used on me. From what I can gather it is an entirely separate type of force from anything on earth, or at least anything we can measure on earth. Whatever it is, it was used on me and can be controlled at will by the creatures living here.

Onto notes about this place.

This place is called “Equestria” and the colorful equine residents both speak and write in plain English, hell I've yet to hear a non American accent. The two “ponies” I have met so far since I've come to be here are:

“Twilight Sparkle” is the creature whom is currently lodging me in her library-tree-house residence (I'm not going to started on the impossible architecture here). From what I can gather she is either a scientist, or a scholar, or both. She has asked me many questions in the manner that an anthropologist would, and seemed to be able to pick up fairly quickly that I am not from around wherever this place is. Twilight Sparkle is the “pony” that pinned me down with “magic”and forcible operated on my injured shoulder. From what I can gather she is letting me stay here in order to study me, which given my status here is a lot more reasonable than anything that would be awaiting any of these “ponies” back home. Needless to say I hope that I am not eventually vivisected. If anything I hope that she can answer some of my questions about the nature of this place.If I need to I have bargaining chips with her, she can't seem to fathom how my ipod and laptop work so I can hold that knowledge over her head as a way of preserving my own life should these “ponies” prove to be as cruel in their curiosity as humans been in the past.

“Fluttershy” is a yellow “pony” with wings who allegedly saved my life from whatever the hell attacked me and gave me this nasty shoulder wound, she has a hypnotic stare that she used to pacify me when operating on my arm, and I assume that she used it on the thing that attacked me as well.(note to self don't look into her eyes) “Fluttershy” appears to be a shy creature and it was difficult to get her to say much to me but she supposedly saved my life, and seems to be a creature worth getting to know and thank in some way (not to mention that she seemed to stick up for letting me rest when the purple one(twilight) wanted to question me). My primary interest in her presently is that she knows the place where I supposedly arrived here. I would like her to take me there despite the danger it is the last memory in my mind that is presently and physically unaccounted for.

Regarding the biology of the creatures here, They are mammalian and are at least as intelligent as humans and eat a vegetarian diet that I can tell (as well as baked sweets evidently.) Which is a relief because it means that more than likely I will not end up as dinner. The vegetables that I have seen here so far seem analogous to the ones back home and that I know of are not toxic to eat, I will have to be careful thought lest anything edible to the natives of this strange land be toxic to humans. (note that this point as well as other similarities on this front are supporting evidence for this being a dream.) Creatures here cook their food which might be for flavor or for sanitary purposes (the cooked food that I have tasted so far was amazing) that being said, it might be a good idea to only eat cooked things as I could get poisoned by some strange type of microbe against which I have no immunity.

The oddest creature that I have met so far is a short reptile or “dragon” named spike who seems to derive sustenance from gemstones, in terms of thermodynamics and physical properties this is nearly impossible (I can't imagine anything in a living animal's stomach dissolving corundum) unless gemstones here are either chemically different from ones back home, or have some additional property that contains a form of energy.

Regarding “ponies” Twilight Sparkle told me on my way here that there are 4 different types of ponies
Twilight is a “Unicorn” pony which can use “magic” through her horn. Evidently they can study “magic” and learn to control it with practice, there are entire schools dedicated to this according to her. I don't understand how this works, but fortunately I currently residing in a library (for now) and if the books are in English I perhaps can investigate “magic” more.

“Fluttershy” is a “Pegasus” type of pony which can fly and evidently also control the weather in this place (I have no idea how this would be remotely possible, if anything this points to this place being a dream, as for the reason why I would dream of candy colored talking equines is beyond my understanding)

The third type of “pony” is called an “earth pony” From Twilight's descriptions they seem to most closely resemble ponies back home, and grow the food here because they have a special “connection” to the earth. If you as me it seems like they get the shaft end of the deal they can't fly or do “magic” which in any realistic situation might make them a social sub class, if not perhaps “pony” psychology is different from that of human beings.

The final type of “pony” are called Alocorns, they have both a unicorn's horn and a Pegasus's wings according to Twilight Sparkle, and hold a special status as gods/rulers of this place's society. Twilight Sparkle kept mentioning how she was going to have to write a letter to “Princess Celestia” the “Ruler Of all Equestria” about finding me, then she continued to ramble on about two other “princesses” at which point she lost me, leading me to the conclusion that she is either very well connected, crazy, or a figment of my imagination.

On the subject of society I suppose I could make some notes on what I have observed about the level of sophistication in technology for this place, at least the level that I have observed walking through the town at night to “Twilight Sparkle's" place of residence.
The creatures here are not primitive although the technology here is at least a century behind earth's. There are printed books in the library as well as some manufactured products in the kitchen. I will definitely be on the keep my eyes open to see exactly what level of technology is present here, I want to see if I can get an electricity source to charge my laptop and ipod.

Well it is getting cold out and I don't have a shirt or jacket that I can wear comfortably due to the wound in my shoulder and the wound in my shoulder and the effect on my cloths that getting it had.
(I don't ever remember having a dream this consistently uncomfortable or painful), I'm going to try and get a blanket, and then go to “sleep” my shoulder is hurting me and I am eager to see if I will wake up in a hospital bed tomorrow and have this strange experience over with. If not I have a lot of investigating to do tomorrow.

-Josh R. Galliano

Josh Dies twice, Fluttershy Meets an elongated Gorilla.

Josh Dies twice, Fluttershy Meets an elongated Gorilla.

Chapter 1 Josh Dies Twice, Fluttershy Meets an elongated gorilla.

Josh is a student like many students in the hard sciences: in over his head. It wasn't that he was not smart enough for the material, it was that he was constantly distracted, he had a part time job and bills to pay to thank for that. We join Josh trying to ignore the fact that he was taking public transportation as he did every moring, the bus people scared Josh, not their appearance or smell but the very idea of them scared him existentially.
These people were all young once like me once, I'm sure that they did not want to end up here at their age... he thought this anxiously to himself while trying not to look at a 40-something man who was poorly shaven and seemed presently to be hygienically challenged.

Josh knew that he wasn't a very good student, and he knew that he wasn't getting any younger either, the fact that less than half of college students graduate didn't comfort him either. He pulled a multi-tool out of his pocket and started fidgeting with it nervously, running his index finger and thumbs along it's titanium scales, opening and closing the heavy object that was made of titanium, iron, nickle, chrome.

It made him think of his job which was the reason he owned the object with which he was so nervously fidgeting. This very job he dreaded was bringing him ever closer to being that 40 something man who's existence terrified him so.

The bus stopped, more people got on, and the smells in the stagnant air changed, the bus was entering the city now despite closing his eyes not to look at the 40 something stranger, he could smell the city's scent lingering about poor souls who boarded the bus, at the best it smelled of shampoo, fast food, and car exhaust, at the very worst it smelled like a mixture
of hard liquor, cigarettes, caked sweat and other human body waste. But this let Josh know that his journey to campus was
almost over, as he looked out the poly-carbonate window of the bus he could see the city, the sky was a sullen gray color.

Oh great! it's gonna rain, I knew I should have brought an umbrella or raincoat instead of just my Motorcycle Jacket.. he thought to himself.

Outside the bus people walked too and fro on the wet sidewalk and worked their way between the tall buildings clad in glass, stone, concert and stainless steel. Cars whizzed about giving the air a sub-noticeable unfresh quality one associates with a freeway, a homeless group of people swapped meager possessions and a gaggle of school children laughed. When the bus came to a stop in front of campus Josh was more than happy to get off of it.

he pocketed his multitool and hurried towards his first class, it was all very ordinary this dreary morning which would be something that Josh would not be experiencing for a very long time.

-JS-

It was morning in Equestria, the Everfree Forest hummed, chirped, growled and rustled with activity. Fluttershy was on this particular morning searching for one of her chickens who had gone missing earlier that morning. It was no secret that the Everfree frightened her or really anypony for that matter, she had, run from a hydra, faced down a cockatrice, and had several other close calls.

It always seemed that the everfree had some new and strange creature lurking about it, she tried not to think about it as she tracked her wayward hen through the forest.

“Henretta?” she cooed, calling for her lost hen,

“Henretta?” She called again nervously trying not to alert any predators.

It always struck her as odd that her animals would sometimes wander into the Everfree, being as dangerous as it was it seemed like the last place any cute little creature would want to be.

-ES-

Josh's classes proceeded smoothly throughout the day, well as smoothly as can be expected on 4 hours of sleep receiving a failed midterm. Calculus was almost incomprehensible in his tired state, and he managed to break a few watch glasses in chem lab earning a dirty look from one oh his his labmates.

If there was any silver lining in the day it was his organic chemistry class and the oatmeal cookie he packed himself for lunch, he had studied ahead for the organic chemistry course and the oatmeal cookie was about the size of his hand, semi sweet and packed with raisins and butter.

Josh made his way to a grove of trees on the outskirts of campus in order to enjoy his oatmeal cookie. He liked to eat in this grove, it was quiet, and he could eat his meals undisturbed and nowhere else on campus could make the same claim. He was tired, and sat down on the ground preparing to eat his snack and doze off.

Suddenly the ground shook beneath him,“Oh shit it's an earthquake!!!” he yelled as he dropped his cookie and grabbed his backpack, without warning the ground buckled, cracked, and opened beneath him and his world was enveloped by black. He screamed and clung to his backpack as he plummeted, his life flashed before his eyes, from the time he was a bright young kid, to his awkward high-school years,and finally his first year in college, “Fuck Dammit!! I don't want it to end this way!!!” he screamed as a flash of light consumed him.

ES

Fluttershy suddenly heard a boom and than a scream about a mile off into the forest, she scrambled for cover in a group of bushes as the loud noises rattled her ears.

It sounded like to her like somepony was either in trouble or was about to be, the predators of the Everfree zeroed in on ponies making loud noises, which meant that whoever made the scream would not last long unless they knew their way around the forest, which if the screaming was any indicator they more than likely didn't.

Oh dear fluttershy thought to herself, I should try and find them before they any of the scary creatures in the forest do

But then her fear spoke to her
oh they will be ok, if they made it that deep they probably know what they are doing...I'll just leave the forest and get help, it's not like they will run into a hydra or a cockatrice, or perhaps a manticore...,

But then a realization flashed in her mind as she hid frozen with fright nestled and nestled in the bushes:
A cockatrice, hydra, or a manticore could find them!!, and if I get help it could be too late!

The fear in her gut was replaced with steely determination, she jumped out of the bushes and took off towards the direction of the loud noise, somepony could be in dire trouble, and not many ponies knew the dangers of the Everfree as well as she. She readied her stare as she dashed through the underbrush towards the location of the loud noise.

ES

When Josh came to he woke up screaming. He wasn't falling anymore, hell he could even smell open air, it didn't make any damn sense. He felt something like wet spongy earth beneath him, he could feel grass between his fingers and smell the wet nature all around him.

Had he dozed off in the grove and dreamed up the whole catastrophicearthquakeswallowinghimwhole thing?

well that was one hell of a nap, how long was I out? he thought to himself.

When he opened his eyes he could not believe what he saw, he expected to see the normal grove around him, or at the very least to be at the bottom of some godawful hole.“Great I'm either dead, dreaming, or in a morphine coma” he mumbled to himself as he took in his surroundings.

He was in a forest clearing, not unlike the grove on campus, but different as it was much wilder, the trees were twisted in unnatural shapes, moss hung from everything and there were strange animal noises coming from every direction, many of which did not sound friendly.

He found his backpack besides him and pulled the mud soaked pack onto his back,

“And they say you can't take it with you.” he quipped to himself sarcastally.

As he prepared to find his way out of wherever the hell he was lost in he heard a loud roar, adrenaline pumped, his heart thumped loudly against his chest and sweat ran down the side of his face, even if this was a dream he didn't want to take his chances.

He slowly dropped his pack and then drew his multi-tool and flipped the knife out, it wasn't much longer than his index finger but it was better than nothing. He assumed a defensive stance and prepared for his would be attacker,

Suddenly from behind he heard the crunching of brush, he swiveled around to face his foe when suddenly something huge jumped out of the brush and lunged at him. He ducked and dodged out of the way just in time not to be tackled by his advisory.

The huge mass that sailed over him was behind him, Josh raised his elbows to protect his neck and to bring his knife into a striking position but in his low position he could not swivel around fast enough to face the beast. It turned around and tackled him tossing the tool from his hand, he could feel it running it's claws across and through the leather of his motorcycle jacket, and it was getting ready to tear apart his neck.

Without a second thought Josh grabbed the earth beneath his hand and flung it backwards at the creature's eyes. The beast recoiled in pain giving him just enough time to wiggle free and face the beast.

It was an unearthly creature standing about two meters high, it seemed to be a lion with the wings of a bat and the tail of a scorpion. Josh didn't care about this though, he was just focused on how to survive it, whatever it was.

The creature turned to face him with renewed anger in it's eyes, it wasn't just hunting now, it was getting even. As the creature and Josh were locked eye to eye Josh felt a huge impact on the back of his jacket, something had struck his jacket's spine plate really hard, Josh doubled forward and the world faded to black, as he fell only one thought went through Josh's mind;

I must be dreaming I'm dying for the second time today, and I swear I can hear some woman yelling...

ES

Fluttershy was closing in quickly on the noise's location, as she came to a clearing she could hear a manticore's roar. There in the clearing she could see a creature that looked like a elongated upright gorilla dodge a pouncing manticore.

The top of the bipedal creature was black and had what looked like a giant scale with a metal plate on it's back, the creature's legs were blue with black hooves, and it had a head with a blackish brown mane, and it's claws and neck appeared to be pink. In all her years on minding animals fluttershy had never seen one like it, and right now it appeared to be fighting for it's life.

The elongated gorilla was not fast enough and the manticore tackeled it. Fluttershy flew strait towards the fight, as the manticore went in for the kill the elongated gorilla threw dirt in it's eyes, and wiggled free.

Just as the gorrila moved to face the manticore eye-to-eye the manticore struck it in the back with its poison tail, and the strange creature doubled over and fell forward.

“STOPPPP YOUU BIGGGG MEANIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!” Fluttershy screamed at the top of her lungs as she landed between the manticore and it's prey.

The Manticore gave out a roar, sputtering saliva all over her face, but she stood firm and glared directly into it's eyes.

“You will NOT be EATING this Creature TODAY!” she yelled keeping her stare level with the beast's, the hypnotic effect
of her stare taking hold.

The manticore moved back slightly, “You Will go HOME and THINK About what YOU have DONE YOU GOT THAT??!!!” she ordered, with a yelp the maiticore retreated back into the brush.

After the Manticore had retreated Fluttershy got a better look at the creature. She cautiously moved closer to the creature to assess it's physical condition, she was anxious because she knew that it had been stung by the manticore's poison tail, and she was cautious because it had fought with a manticore however briefly.

What if it is also a dangerouspredator” she thought to herself Surely manticores don't just attack strange creatures out of the blue...

As she inspected the biped she and could see where the stinger had landed, it had hit squarely on the scale with a metal plate on the back of creature's coat, and that was not all, she could also see where the manticore's claws had cut through the strange animal's coat and drawn blood.

oh no... she told herself as she assessed the puncture on the scale further.

It looked really bad for the biped, the puncture wound on the creature's back was not only square on the it's spine, but shards of the stinger were lodged in the puncture ensuring that poison would be continuously seeping into the wound.

As bad as it looked, curiously there was no blood in the wound. Additionally the creature was still breathing, clearly it had some type of resistance to the poison as a wound such a wound would have killed a pony in seconds.

She touched the creature's coat, then it's neck to take it's pulse and found that it's coat was cold but it's neck was warm. After taking this in she had a flash of realization...

The creature wasn't poisoned at all!

The biped was in fact wearing clothes! It did not have a coat of blue and black, what she thought were hooves were in fact boots, and the creature's black top half was in fact a jacket with a metal plate, and its legs were covered by some type of blue trousers.

Upon surveying the site of the brief conflict she could see what looked like a singular saddlebag with two straps, and then a shiny tool with an open knife blade.

The creature looked worse for wear, it was covered in mud and she still had to take it home to treat it's wounds. This was defiantly something to call Twilight about, she was a smart pony perhaps she knew what this creature was, and how to best care for it.

This creature is more than likely as intelligent as a pony she thought to herself.
The thought made her intensely nervous but at the same time she knew if left untreated the strange biped would die in the Everfree.

Henretta will have to wait for now. Fluttershy told herself as she trudged on through the forest. She dragged the biped back to her cottage leaving it's belongings in the Everfree.

ES