The Dark and Light Within

by mdonnelly

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Human, Sad, Applejack, Original Character, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Rarity, Winona, Tragedy, Gore, Slice of Life
Length: 7773

A human awakens in Ponyville and reveals dark mysteries of murder, crime and death.

This story is about a young man, Jason Stanford, who wakes up to find himself in a magical new world; seemingly full of cheer and happiness, He dosen't know how he got there and must find out. His life is full of great hardships and can barely overcome them. He grew up following the same path as his father; law enforcement. His experience comes from the teachings of his father; a great man, great officer and an even greater father. All that keeps him going is his will to change the world and make it a Utopia. Even Utopia can seem too good to be true...

Please leave comments and thoughts. I look forward to your feedback.

Published 2012-02-04 21:46:06 UTC
Last updated 2012-03-05 06:05:27 UTC

Food For Thought

Jason woke up the next morning in a daze.  He noticed he was in the same room where he saw the talking pony.  He took the bandages off his head.

“Ok…So that definitely wasn’t a dream.” Jason said getting up and wandering to the door.

The hallway was empty.  At one end there is a window and at the other there is a flight of stairs.  The window had no light shining through it.  Jason walking to the stairs and sees they reach down to a room.  Walking down the stairs he hears arguing.

“Applejack, we don’t even know what that is!”

“No, but it needed our help Big Mac!” shouted Applejack “I ain’t gonna ignore somethin that needs my help!"

Jason is at the base of the stairs at this point.  The two arguing ponies turn to notice him.  The two ponies took a step back at the sight of his eyes.

“Hey, am I disrupting something?”

“No, its nothin.  Right Big Mac?” Applejack answered unsurely glancing at her brother.

“Eyeup.” Big Mac responded walking up the stairs.

“So…sleep well?” Applejack asking Jason “How’s ya head?”

“It’s fine. Anyway do you mind if I go out?”

“Why do you want to go out?” Applejack nervously questioned him.

“Just for a walk and some fresh air.”  Jason answered to the question, trying not to alarm her.

“Ok then, just stay near the farm.” She said walking into a different room.

Jason noticed his jacket was on a hanger near the door leading outside.  He started checking the pockets unsure if anything was taken.  He felt the gun and badge in the jacket pockets, along with something else.  What he pulled out was a plane ticket to the Bahamas with the date 1/9/2012.  He put on his jacket and left the house.  A dirt path leads him to the exit of the farm.  The sign above it read Sweet Apple Acers.

“Well that sure stands out.  A real shame if I can’t find this place.” he said to himself as he followed the path leading from the farm.

He kept walking down the dirt path next to the farm.

“Jeez, how big is this place?”

Finally he reached the edge of the farm seeing a hill blocking his view.  Jason turned to see the path he came from stretching for a mile, unable to see the entrance to the farm.  Proceeding up the hill, he saw a small village with a well in the center.

“Well now.  There’s the well, but I don’t see that pony.” Jason said to himself walking towards the village.

The village got bigger with every step.  The buildings radiated exuberant colors.  The buildings appear lavish, yet humble.  Jason found his way to the well and began scanning the area.  The sun is still not up and there is no life within the village.

“Hello.” a voice came from behind Jason.

Jason swung around to see the same brown pony from the night before.

“I’m the doctor.” continued the pony.

“…Hi…I’m…Jason.” he said hesitating.

“Tell me where do you hail from?”

“…Um…excuse me?” Jason asking confused.

“Where do you come from?”

“New York.  Why?” asking puzzled.

“Really?  I probably should have noticed your accent.  What time period though?” the Doctor asking intrigued.

“Umm…I think January ninth two-thousand and twelve.”

“Gee…” the Doctor gave him a concerned look “Do you know how you got here?”

“No.”

“Well…I can try to get you back home, come with me.”

The pony started heading towards an odd phone booth.  As he stepped inside, Jason began to follow.  The inside is much bigger than the outside and is filled with all sorts of futuristic technology.  Jason, stepping into the room, looked around in awe.

“Hey Doc, I think this is a paradox.” Jason said.

“He he…yea I know.  You like it?” the Doctor responded, throwing down a switch.

“Its amaz-” Jason said staring to speak, but got cut off.

“We’re here!  Good luck with that election!” shouted the doctor, pushing Jason out.

“What?”

“We’re in New York, January ninth two-thousand and twelve.”

The Doctor pushed Jason out of the phone booth only to reveal they were still in the village.  Jason, being pushed, tripped on the corner of the doorway.  The doctor began to glare at the machine.

“Bloody machine!  You were working a minute ago!” the Doctor yelled, angrily kicking the side of the phone booth “Are you alright?”

Jason was slow to lift his head as a thought appeared in his mind.

“I remember!” he said getting up.

“What?”

“I was looking for something.” Jason said thinking.

“What was it?” asked the doctor becoming intrigued.

“I…I don’t know.” Jason answered banging his head on the machine.

“Alright then, I’m going to work on this.  In the meantime you should get back to that house before everybody, I mean “pony,” wakes up.”

“Um…sure.  Wait!  What do I do in the meantime?”

“I don’t know!  Go and try to remember how you got here or something!” the Doctor shouted trying to shoo Jason away.

The sun was beginning to rise as Jason began the long walk to the farm.  He was lucky enough to leave when he did, because the ponies in the village were staring to rustle.  Jason reached to top of the hill to see Big Macintosh waiting for him.

“Good thing ya left when ya did.” he said to Jason.

“Yea, they would have all been panicking at the sight of me.”

“Come on.”

Big Mac turned leading Jason back to the farm house.  During the walk tension slowly began to grow.

“What were ya doin?” Big Mac demanded to know.

“What do you mean?”

Big Mac stopped and glared at Jason.

“Don’t play dumb!  Ya were talkin to that doctor bout somethin!” Big Mac yelled.

“It was nothing.” Jason said as he kept walking.

“Nutin!  It didn’t look like nutin!” Big Mac proceeded to yell.

Jason stopped in his tracks and swung around.

“Fine, he was offering me a way home!” Jason finally yelled back.

“And ya just left?”

“It wasn’t working, ok?” Jason yelled “Don’t you think I would have jumped at the opportunity to go…” Jason’s voice died out as he looked to the ground.

“Ta go where?  Yer’ home?” Big Mac asked puzzled.

Jason turned and stared to walk to the entrance of Sweet Apple Acers.  Big Mac followed waiting for an answer.  They walked all the way to the door, and then Jason stopped.  He gave a blank, sad stare to the pony.

“It’s not a home; it’s just a house with a history.” Jason said, trying to swallow his sadness.

The two entered the house, not saying a word after Jason’s answer.  Jason went straight to the room he woke up in.  Big Mac sat in the chair at the table staring at the checkered cloth on it.

Finding the Pieces to the puzzle

It is midday and in the kitchen there is Applejack and Big Mac sitting at the table.

“Big Mac, what’s on yer’ mind?” Applejack asked.

“Its, ya know?” Big Mac said nudging his head at the stairs.

“Oh…yea.  What about it?”

“He said that doctor can get him home.”

“That’s good, ain’t it?”

“Yea, but we began talkin.” Big Mac paused “I think somthin happened to him, or his family.”

“What?  What happened?” Applejack asked in shock.

“I donno, but he was mighty sad.  Gonna cry I recon.”

They both just looked at the stairs trying to listen for a noise, but there were no sound.  Suddenly a loud nock came from the door, spooking them both.

“Now who could that be?”  Big Mac asked walking to the door.

He opened the door, and there was the Doctor.

“Hello.  Um, is the human here?”  the Doctor asked looking around.

“The what?  questioned Applejack and Big Mac in unison.

“The human.  Sorry, I mean Jason.”  The Doctor answered them.

“What’s this about?”  asked Applejack.

“I’m here to take him back home.  Now where is he?”  responded the Doctor.

“I’ll get’em.” Applejack answered, galloping up the stairs.

She reached the door and no sound was coming from behind it.  She nervously opened the door, expecting to see Jason inside.  She slowly started to step inside looking around for him.  Back in the kitchen Big Mac and the Doctor started to talk.

“How’d ya suppose yer gonna bring him back?”  questioned Big Mac.

“You see I have a machine that can take him home, where he belongs.”  answered the Doctor.

“Don’t suppose I could see that them there machine, do ya?”  wondered Big Mac.

Applejack came thundering down the steps.

“He’s gone!”  yelled Applejack.

“What?”  responded Big Mac and the Doctor.

“The window was open, an I didn’t see em.”  Applejack said panicking.

“We got to find him!” shouted the Doctor.

Apple Bloom came into the kitchen from the other room, wondering what the ruckus was.

“What’s going on in here?”  Apple Bloom asked  “Yer all gonna wake Granny.”

“Jason’s gone missin.”  replied Applejack.

“No he ain’t, I just saw him.”  responded Apple Bloom.

“Where is he?”  asked the Doctor.

“The same spot we found em yesterday.”  answered Apple Bloom, walking back into the other room.

“Let’s go.”  said Big Mac, leading them to the spot.

The three ponies, galloping past tree after tree, saw a figure.  It got more detailed with every hoof step.  Finally they reached it.  Jason was crouching near the ground looking at something.

“What ya suppose yer doin?”  asked Applejack.

“Shhh!”  answered Jason.

“Hey, I w-” Applejack began.

“SHH!” snapped Jason, quickly silencing her.

“Jason, what are you looking at?”  asked the Doctor.

“Does anyone know what shh means quiet?”  Jason yelled at them.

They all grew quiet.  Jason was tracking at his bloodstain on the grass.  The dry blood was stretching further than it originally seemed.  Jason got up, walking towards the fence.  On the walk over, Jason kept looking at the ground, until one spot.  Measuring a meter away from the fence, Jason crouched again, examining the ground once more.  Some of the dirt was ripped up.  He got up after a few seconds and started looking at the fence.  The fence was slightly tilting inward, with a small scuff at the top.

“Got it!”  Jason called out, shocking the group.

“What is it?”  asked the Doctor.

“I was chasing someone and jumped over the fence, hitting my foot.”  Jason continued explaining, “I can’t jump the highest, so I know when I hit something while jumping.”

“So, what does that mean?”  asked Applejack.

“It means I fell right here.”  Jason answered pointing at the ground.  “Then I got hit in the head with something and dragged to the spot I was found.”  he continued.

“Ok, who did it?”  asked the Doctor.

“I don’t know.  But why was I chasing em…” Jason thought for a second, “And why did e take my bag?”

They all thought about the situation while walking back to the house.  They took every step in silence as the sun began to set.  Finally upon reaching the house the Doctor said something.

“Jason, it’s time to go.  I got it working.”

He held out a hoof towards the phone booth.  Jason had no answer, just began walking towards it deep in thought.

“Ready?”  asked the Doctor.

“What?  Oh yea, bye.”  Jason responded too deep in thought to pay attention to what he was agreeing to.

They both stepped in closing the door.  The machine made a few noises but stayed where it was.

“I think that doctor there is a few apples short of a bushel.” said Applejack.

“Eyeup” responded Big Mac.

The Doctor and Jason stepped out of the phone booth.

“Ok, here we are!” shouted the Doctor “Wait!  What happened?” he asked looking around, “Why aren’t you working?” he yelled hitting the machine.

Jason just stood there in thought, oblivious to what was going on.

“See, what I tell ya.” Applejack whispered nudging at Big Mac.

“What!  Is he not supposed to-” the Doctor stopped yelling and hitting the machine to think.

He grabbed Jason by both shoulders and shook him.

“I got it!” the Doctor yelled at him.

“Got what?” Jason asked terrified.

“You’re not supposed to go back!”

“What?”

“That’s why the TARDIS isn’t working!”

“The what?”

“The phone booth!”

The Doctor let go of the terrified human and pointed at him.  Jason fell onto his back and cringed terrified of the mad pony.

“Now, you must find out why it’s keeping you here!  Only you can find the answer!”  the Doctor shouted at Jason.

The Doctor proceeded to enter the phone booth.  The machine made a few noises and then this time teleported.  Jason and the two ponies looked at each other in shock after what they just witnessed.

“Umm…anyone else think it’s time for bed?” asked Jason.

“Eyeup” answered Big Mac.

Jason went straight to the room he had been staying in, taking an apple on the way up.  The apple became devoured in a second and soon turned into a part of the trash.  Jason laid on the bed just thinking of the events that occurred today.

“Who are you and why did you take my bag?” he asked as he fell asleep.

Paranoia

Jason opened his eyes to see a dark ceiling looking back at him.  Light from the moon illuminated the center of the ceiling, while the rest of the room remained dark.  Jason got up walking to the window, noticing the apple core in the garbage.  It showed little decay, just a yellow color from explosion to the air.  He took a seat at the frame examining the vastness of the farm.

“What does the other side look like?”  Jason asked himself.

On that note, he thoughtlessly climbed out of the window and continued up to the roof.  Every movement was quiet.  He was sure not to let anyone else known of his presence in the house, especially since he was latched on the side of the structure.  At the moment his hand clenched the roof, a voice called out to him from the ground.

“What do ya think yer doin?”  asked Big Mac

“Umm…getting…to the roof.”  Jason said dangling from the roof “What are you still doing up?”

“Umm…I was just in the cellar…”  Big Mack answered, surprised.

“How long were you there?”  Jason inquired, pulling himself onto the edge of the roof.

“Um…I recon…almost twenty minutes.”  Big Mac said thinking

“Ok thanks.”  Jason got up to his feet.

“Why ain’t you sleepin?”  asked Big Mac angrily.

“I was, but I woke up.”

“That ain’t good, you should get that checked.”

“That’s kind of hard to do.  I mean, after your and Applejack’s reaction to me.  I doubt it.”  Jason said turning away to walk up the roof.

“Got a point, ya have a good night.”  Big Mac replied heading inside.

“Yea…night…”  Jason said staring out at the other side of the apple field.

For miles, apple trees were seen in every direction.  One way was different though, the other pathway from the entrance.  The road to the left, lead to Ponyville, but the other led to a river.  Jason slid down the side of the roof landing in a mound of hay.   He crawled out from it slowly and stopped, going into a fetal position.

“Agh…yea…I’m not making a habit of that.”  Jason said to himself.

After collecting his bearings, began walking down the path.  Upon reaching the entrance, he looked around to make sure nothing was following him.  He continued walking, taking the path to the right this time.  The trees, which blocked the light from the moon, caused shadows to cast down upon the path.  The spacing of the trees left small breaks that the light slipped through.  With every few steps, Jason would be illuminated by light and then engulfed in shadows.

The path itself wasn’t special, dirt road, trees on one side and the farm on the other side.  This part of the farm stretched for a mile and a half, when Jason reached the edge of the forest and the fence left to proceed in the opposite direction, away from him.  Before him was a river with a precarious little bridge over it, continuing the path to the opposite side.  The water from the river was fresh and cold as he took a drink and washed his mouth out with it.  The moonlight reflecting off the water created a vision, showing the peacefulness of harmony and nature.  Jason began walking along the edge of the river, near the base of the trees, away from the path.

Jason finds an opening where the river turns into a lake.  He looks around to make sure no one is watching him undress.  He puts his cloths into the water and washes them.  As soon as he finished, they were set aside to dry as he got into the water.

“Ah! OH GOD!  That’s fucking cold!”  Jason quietly yelled out, looking around.

Jason washed himself and quickly jumped out of the lake.  He then glanced at his cloths, picking them up.

“Fuck it.  I’m done.  That’s it, I give.”  he said putting on his shirt and paints angrily.

The cloths hugged him and no longer shielded him from the midnight breeze.  Chills shot down his back during the walk to the house, hugging himself and rubbing his hands together, to keep warm.  The cloths got much dryer as he finally approached the house, after an hour of walking.  His gaze caught the cellar doors as he came up upon the house.  They were closed and yet intrigued Jason.  He opened them and continued down the steps.  The floor at the base of the steps was cold, even with Jason wearing shoes.  The right wall had a table with ordinary tools on it.  The wall in front of him was bare, as well as the wall to the left.  The wall behind him had shelves, filled with paint cans and jars.  Below the shelves were some bags of cement.  The ceiling was made of wood and had a wooden support beam coming down to the center of the room.  The cement floor was covered in wood shavings, leaving a fresh cut wood smell.

He left the cellar, unsure why he ever went in there.  Jason opened the front door to hear growling.  The sounds came from a brown and white dog near the table.  Jason knelt down and held out his hand.  The dog sniffed him for a second, then jumped up and licked his face.  The dog tag read Winona.

“Hey stop that.”  he laughed pushing the dog off of him, “You remind me of my dog.”  he said with sadness in his voice.

Jason then crept up the stairs and into the room, grabbing his jacket.  He then snuck back out of the house, putting on his jacket.

“Winona, I’m going for a walk ok?”  he said turning to the dog.

Winona yipped back at him, as he closed the door.  The light from the moon shined down at him, as he began his walk towards the town.

Can't Ignore the Call

Jason followed the path up the hill, reaching the top.  The moon shined down hiding the time of night.  The only thing to alert him would be the rising sun, but then it would be too late.  He continued walking down the hill to explore village.  It was quiet, just like the first night he was there.  The all houses were dark as Jason walked through the streets, all but one.  He quickly hid behind the corner of the building, two houses away.  He peered his head over the edge of the corner, to see the building’s upstairs bedroom light was on and the window was open.  The walls inside the room were yellow and had a silhouette running back and forth.

“Damn, please don’t tell me this is what I think it is.” he said to himself.

Jason took out his M9, and checked the magazine.  It held eleven out of its fifteen rounds.

“What the fuck did I waste four shots on?”

A pony appeared at the windowsill, holding a bag with it mouth.  The pony was wearing a cloak and hood.  It glanced around, before jumping down from the window.  Upon its landing, the figure continued to look around; making sure nothing was following it.  It walked off towards a tall building, larger than all the others.  The building appeared to hold meetings, as if a town hall.  Jason snuck out from the corner, putting his gun away and climbed up the side of the building to the open widow.

Immediately upon getting into the room, he saw a bleeding pony on the floor.  The blood came from a stab wound in the left flank of the ponies’ leg.  The room was ransacked, all the drawers of the dresser and a jewelry box, were on the floor.  Jason grabbed a blouse from the floor and tore it.

“T-take whatever y-you want.  P-please don-don’t hurt me again.” the pony cried, shielding herself behind her hoofs.

“Don’t worry miss; I’m here to help you.  I just need you to be quiet though.”

Jason wrapped her leg in the torn cloth to stop the bleeding.  She uncovered her face to only be devoured by fear again.

“W-what a-are –y-you?”  she asked starting to shake.

“Your leg is going to be fine; I just need to get you to the hospital.  What did-”

Jason saw a backpack on the floor, precariously placed to be seen.  He opened it to find it was full of human clothing.

“This…this is mine.  Someone’s trying to set me up.”

Jason zipped up the bag and threw it out the window.  He then walked over to the pony, picking her up on his back.

“Ok. I’m going to carry you down and bring you to the hospital.  Hold on, ok?”

Jason began climbing out the window with the pony on his back.

“Um…w-why can’t we use t-the door?”  asked the pony.

“It’s easier this way for me.  Besides, if that pony comes back, it’ll think your still in there and have to climb all the way back up; giving us extra time to escape.”

They reached the bottom and Jason picked up the bag, still carrying the pony on his back.

“Now then…where’s the hospital.”

“W-wait, you’re bringing me there and you don’t know where it is?”

“Do I look like I live here?”

“I-it’s that way.”  she said pointing a hoof.

Jason set out in the direction she pointed, silently carrying her, until they got to the hospital.

“This is it.”

“How would you know?  You said you didn’t live here.”

“A hospital is a hospital, but how do I get you in?”

“Umm…walk in?”

“No.  I can’t be seen.”

“Now I’m starting to think you did do this to me.”

“Ever play ding-dong ditch when you were a kid?”

“Do you mean filly and no?

“Well, now is a good time to learn.”

He placed her down at the door and put his bag on his back.  Jason banged on the door franticly before tuning and running.

“What are you doing?” the pony questioned.

“Good luck!”  Jason yelled running away.

“Where are you going?”

“I got a thief to catch!”

Jason turned his head to notice some pony come out of the hospital, to see what was happening.  Realizing she was going to be ok he focused his attention on finding the cloaked pony.  He ran throughout the village to end up back at the house he first found hooded assailant.  The sun was already starting to come up upon the horizon and the ponies of the village began to awake.

“Where the hell is e?”

Suddenly the pony appeared, wandering around the corner of a house with the bag in its mouth.

“Freeze!” Jason said pulling out his gun again.

The figure dropped the bag, taking a fearful step back.

“Put your hand-I mean hoofs over your head!”

The pony turned and bolted towards the large building.

“Damn!”

Jason took after the assailant, hoping to catch the pony before every pony came out of their homes to see the commotion.  They passed building after building, causing the ponies to come outside in curiosity.  The assailant climbed up the side of the tall building and Jason followed.  All the ponies in the village saw Jason standing on the glass roof with the cloaked pony.  Jason heard them from down bellow yelling out and questioning what they were seeing.

“What is that thing?”

“What is that?”

“Oh my Celestia, what is that?”

It was too late; Jason was found out and had to deal with the current situation.  A yellow pony with a grey mane and tail stepped out from the building he was standing on.

“What is going on out here?” she asked.

“Mayor look! called out a pony.

“What is-um...now, now; calm down everypony!  I’m sure it’s nothing!”

“That’s not nothing!”

“Everypony, please!  Let us figure out what’s going on!”

All the ponies became silent and watched Jason and the pony on the roof.  The glass under the pony’s hoofs and Jason’s feet made small cracking sounds.  The pony gave a large noticeable grin.  The glass suddenly shattered and broke away from underneath them.  The two fell three stories, with the pony landing on a table and Jason landing on a couch.  The impact with the table and couch caused them both to break.  The ponies outside panicked and ran around in mayhem, scared of the events unfolding before them.

The pony through the table was motionless and Jason rose to his feet.

“Ahg!”  Jason cried out dropping to his left knee, “Fucking great.  A twisted ankle!”

Jason got up on his right leg and hopped over to the window.  He opened it and jumped out landing on his shoulder.

“Gah!” he shouted as a pain shot through his arm.

The mayor stepped in the room to find only the cloaked pony in the shattered table and a broken couch.

“Somepony get me Twilight Sparkles!”

Jason crawled into the forest where no pony would be able find him with any luck.

The Memory in a Dream (A Trek Back Home)

Jason dragged his body into the forest, escaping the vigilant eyes searching for him.  He crawled deep enough into the forest so that the village couldn’t be seen and the village couldn’t see him in return.  Jason got up and braced himself up against a tree, standing on his right foot.

“God damn it!”

Jason looked around for a fallen branch, sturdy enough to hold his weight.  There were many small, fallen branches that were long enough, but not strong enough to support him.  Finally, he found the branch he needed, but was dangling from a partially broken tree.  The tree had scorch marks, most likely due to being struck by lightning.  He hopped over and tugged on the branch.  It snapped, forcing Jason to fall back on his left foot.

“AGH!” he yelled dropping to the dirt floor of the forest, clenching his ankle, “Fucking shit!”

Jason rose to his one good foot, using the stick to prop himself up.  The stick was long enough to fit under his right arm, to allow him to walk.  This helped his mobility greatly; otherwise he would have had to crawl amongst the rocks and sticks, he could now step over.  The walk was long and disorienting.  All he saw was tree after tree and kept hearing the same thing over and over again.

“Where is he?  Where is he?”  the voices grew louder and louder, “I hear him!”

“N-no!  Leave me alone!”  Jason’s pace quickened, as did the voices.

“I see you!”

“Go away!”

“I’m right behind you!  HE! HE!”

“NO!  You’re not real!”

“Am I?  Or-”  the voice whispered in his ear, “Or am I as real as you?”

“Go away!”

“You would like that wouldn’t you?”

“Yes!”

“Remember I’ll be back and also;” the voice went to his ear again, “We become evil by attempting to hide from ourselves.”

Jason dropped to his knees, speechless.  He stared at the shaking, palms of his hands.  His vision blurred as he passed out, collapsing on the dirt.  The dark regions of his mind opened the gate to his memories, unleashing the unpleasantness of his past.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jason saw himself entering the doors of the precinct back in New York.

“Hello Jason.” called out a man in a police uniform.

“Dad.”  Jason turned.

“Jason, you look like a mess.  Are you ok?”

“Yea, just trouble sleeping.”

“You should get that check-” cut short by the transceiver on his paints.

“Calling any available officers to Thirty-second and Third, we have a possible breaking and entering.  Suspect may be hostile.”

“Jason!  Let’s go!”

They both ran out the entrance of the precinct.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jason’s consciousness came back to what seemed like reality.  He was back in the forest and the farm was in sight.  He pulled himself back up with the stick and continued to limp to the house.  Jason dropped before reaching the tree line, once more to be tortured by his memories.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jason opened his eyes taking a deep breath.  The firefighters, already there, knocked down the door and on that note all the cops outside the room rushed in.

“Hey Danny it’s pretty bad in here!” shouted an officer.

Jason’s dad walked into the room.  Jason followed his dad passing the officers walking away from it.  The room, before Jason was near the door, reeked of semen and blood.  Some scene photographers were in the room taking photo evidence.  The sheets were blood stained and ripped off the bed.  Clothing from the dresser was sprawled all over the floor.  The nightstand had bloody fingerprints on it.  There was a dead body on the floor with multiple stab wounds in its lower gut.  The blood seeped out staining the carpet.  The corps had bruises covering its face and wrists.

There was then the body in the bed; it was the source of the stench.  The body was a gruesome mess.  The throat was slit, which appeared to be the initial cause of death.  Half the face was cut off and the breasts were skinned; revealing the bloody muscle underneath. It forced Jason to turn away in disgust.  His averting eyes took him to a partially closed window.  He walked closer examining it.  The grip on the bottom had blood on it.

“Guys! I think I found something” throwing open the window and jumping out of it.

“No! Jason! Were on the third floor!” yelled out his father.

Jason fell down onto some trash bags that already had a crease and some blood on them.  A figure halfway down the alleyway turned to see him.  The moment Jason got up, the figure turned and ran.  Jason pursued the man down a split in the alleyway.  The direction the murderer took was a dead end.

“Put your hands behind your head!” Jason yelled, pointing his gun at the figure.

“mmm…” the man mumbled staring at the ground.

“Hey!  I said-” Jason getting cut off.

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster.” The figure looked up. “And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.”

The man was bald and look of disgust running across his face.  The soulless red and grey eyes pierced Jason, as if looking deep inside his very being.  The man threw a short blade from his pocket, hitting Jason in the arm.

“Agh!” cried out Jason pulling the blade from his arm.

The eyes stared deeper, as if revealing Jason’s secrets.  The man rushed forward at him, taking out two more short blades.  Jason jumped back trying to avoid the blades.  The assailant swung at Jason, nicking his cheek and cutting his shirt.  The two’s eyes never at one moment broke contact.  Jason grabbed his arm trying to apply pressure to his wound.

“How long do you think-” the man lunged forward.

Jason’s gun rang out and blood bursted from the man’s chest.

“-before y-you…c-change yourself?” the murderer said dropping to the cement.

The red and grey eyes flickered with life, for only a moment, before becoming vacant shells.  The eyelids closed and a smile appeared on the man’s face, as his face collided with the man made earth.

Jason looked down at the body, starting to bleed all over the pavement of the alleyway.

“Bastard got the easy way out.”

Jason turned putting his gun in its holster.  He looked back at the body and said;

“The truth is I don’t know, but I want to fix this world; even if I become a monster trying.”

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Jason opened his eyes again, seeing the farm.  He pulled himself to his feet one more time and slowly worked his way to the house.

I said I would give credit where credit is due.

Quotes:

“We become evil by attempting to hide from ourselves.”

By - M. Scott Peck

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.”

By - Friedrich Nietzsche

Out in the Open

Everyone, I'm very sorry it took so long to come out with one simple chapter, but I've been very busy lately.  I don't want to go into it, but I will say that I have been very overwhelmed lately.  So, please accept my apology and I will try to make chapters at a better pace if I can.

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Jason staggered to the door.  He saw Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle playing with Winona by the trees.  Jason slowly moved towards the door, hearing something behind it.

“I don’no what to do?” said Applejack from behind the door.

“What are you talking about dear?” asked a very feminine voice.

“Oh-um…nothing!”

“Is there something bothering you?  Applejack, I know we may not get along all the time, but we are friends.  You can tell me anything.”

“Well …um …never mind.  I don’t think it’s a problem.”

“Fine, but If you need to talk, you can always come to me.”

“Thank ya, yer a good friend Rarity.”

“Oh! I almost forgot.  Keep your eyes open for a creature.”

“A-a…a what?”

“There was some kind of creature that stands on two legs that attacked someponies.  The royal guard is coming to Ponyville to investigate.”

“A-attacked?”

“Applejack, are you alright?”

Jason opened the door, entering the room holding himself up with a big stick.  In the room he saw Applejack and a white unicorn with a purple mane.  The unicorn’s eyes rolled to the back of her head and then she collapsed to the floor.

“Rarity!” yelled Applejack.

“She just fainted.”  Jason said working his way into the room.

Applejack took a look at Jason to see why Rarity fainted.  Jason was covered in blood, limping to a chair.  Jason sat and took off his jacket, revealing a piece of glass in his arm and multiple cuts all over his body.

“What in the name of Celestia did you do?”

“My job.”

“Your job?  What the buck are you talking about?”

Jason brought himself to his feet, letting out pained growls underneath his breath.  He continued to walk towards the collapsed pony.  He put his hand near Rarity’s mouth to feel her breath.  Jason got up and staggered towards the stairs.

“She’ll be fine.”

“Where do ya’ll think your goin?”

Jason ignored her and struggled up the stairs.  When he got to the top, he forced himself to the room he was staying in.  Jason heard Applejack’s calls for Big Mac, giving him less time.  He stumbled into the room colliding with the foot of the bed.  He grabbed the bandages on the chair that were never put away.  Jason got his shoe off and started wrapping his left foot, hearing the door slam open.  Heavy hoof-steps came up the stairs as he finished with the bandages.

Big Mac and Applejack appeared at the doorway.  They both entered the room, closing the door behind them.  They were both nervous and unsure about the situation they were in, but ready for anything to happen.

“Now tell us what happened, we don’t want to hurt you.” commanded Applejack.

“Eyeup.” Big Mac followed.

“Fine.  I was going for a walk, then I…”

Jason paused to look out the window.

“Then what?” inquired Applejack.

“Then I saw an open window.”

Applejack put a hoof over her mouth and took a step back.  Big Mac grabbed Jason by his shirt and pulled him off the floor, to his feet.  Jason tried to drop as soon as his left foot touched the floor, but Big Mac was keeping him up.

“How could you!  We trust you and…” Applejack’s voice died.

“Agh!  No!  I helped the pony!”

“Explain!”  Big Mac demanded.

“I brought her to the hospital!”

“What did ya do?” Big Mac questioned, shaking Jason.

“I found the pony that stabbed her and chased him to the big building in the town.”

“Then what?” Applejack asked unsure how to feel.

“We climbed on top of the building and crashed through the ceiling.  Then I escaped into the forest.  But everyone saw me!”

Big Mac dropped Jason on the floor.

“I get it, I fucked up!”  Jason said hugging his legs, “I do the right thing and all I get is grief or I get in trouble.”

“A.J., I’m gonna go into town an’ see what happened.” said Big Mac.

“Alright, I’ll keep an eye on em.”

Big Mac left to go to the town, leaving Jason on the floor with Applejack.  Jason continued to stare out the window, muttering to himself.  Applejack only stared at him, trying to figure out what he was saying.  After a few minutes Jason took his gaze off of the sky, to set it on Applejack.

“You should probably check on Rarity.  She should be waking up around now.”

“Um…yea…”

“Applejack, please believe me.  I’m telling the truth.”

Applejack looked at him and with that one look; she knew he was telling the truth.  Jason’s eyes were dilated and

his face was consumed with fear and pain.  The fear was eating at him, even though he did nothing to be afraid of.  Applejack was now troubled, unknowing of what was obviously bothering Jason.  She continued down the stairs to see Rarity was still unconscious on the floor.

“What happened to em?  Was it somethin that happened in town?” Applejack asked herself.

Jason stood by the window, staring into the forest.  He felt himself shaking, as a chill struck him.  His eyes shifted from tree to tree, unsure of what he was looking for.

“What happened in there?  What did I do?  Who was that?”

A figure shifted back behind a tree.  Jason’s eyes focused and he saw them.  The Soulless red and grey eyes, that once before pierced Jason’s very soul, slipped deeper into the forest.  Sweat dripped down the side of Jason’s face.

“N-no…no.  I killed you.  No!  You can’t be alive!”

Jason fell back holding his head, rocking back and forth.

“No.  I killed him.  He can’t be alive.  He-he…”

Jason turned his head to see Applejack, three small fillies and Winona by the door.  They each had a concerned look on their faces.  They just stared at him, as he opened his mouth to speak.

“We have a problem.”

A Rude Awakening

Jason began to open his eyes as he heard the sound of children approaching.  The sun is blinding, much stronger than he had ever seen before.  It was as if the sky itself was ecstatic.  He felt grass and dirt beneath him.  The fertility was obviously different, the smell and feel, disorienting his senses.  The sound became words as Jason began to slip away.

“What should we try today?” asked a young girl.

“Hey let’s try to get our marks by-” another girl began, but was cut off.

“What do ya suppose that is?” asked young country sounding girl.

Pain shot into the back of his head.  Everything went dark and the voices disappeared.  All there was; was darkness.  He wondered to himself, what happened?  The numbers six-twenty is all he could think of.  Images began to form in his mind.  He saw himself from two days ago in his room.  He suddenly shot up from the bed as the alarm rang out.

“AH!”

He looked towards the clock, trying to catch is breath as sweat dripped from his face.  Outside the window the sun was setting.

“Ugh…six-thirty!” hitting the alarm off.

He fell back into the pillow.

“Sigh…another ten minutes of sleep; that makes one hour this week and I’m late for work!  Ugh…just great! Just freaken great!”

Jason got up the exact same way he always did, shower and brush his teeth.  Pausingto look at himself in the mirror.  His green, bloodshot eyes stared back at him, as if piercing into his very own soul.  Underneath his eyes; patches, exaggerating the exhaustion in his face.  His black hair sits messily on his head. It looks slightly dirty, even when washed.

The facial hair obviously shows he hadn’t shaved for a while.  On the chin and cheeks, there is a thin layer of hair, not long to be a beard, but adding a few years to his appearance.  Only a small amount of hair is on his upper lip, but nowhere near long enough ether to be a mustache.  His appearance seems poorly maintained, rugged and dirty looking.

He shifted is eyes away from his reflection, putting down the toothbrush.  He let out a sigh as if in thought.  Then he proceeded out to the dresser and put on a t-shirt, jeans, black sneakers and a black hoodie.  Upon exiting the room, he took with him his wallet, keys and gun.

Jason’s senses brought him back to the current situation.  He started hearing the voices of young girls again.

“What is it?”  asked one of the voices.

“Why is the grass at its head red?” asked another.

“I dun no, but I’m goanna go and get my sister; she’ll know what to do.” responded the country voice.

He could not talk to them or even move for that matter. He could onlylay there, listening before he faded away again.  Pain shot through his head and his ears rang out, awakening him.

“It’s over her!” yelled the young country voice.

“Now what in tar nation are ya'll runnin and hollerin about?” yelled back an older country voice.  “Wha-what is that?”  Shock filled the voice, “It’s bleedin! G-go get your brother!”

The young country voice shouted something as it ran away, but it became impossible to understand.  Pain shot through the back of his head and he slipped away once more.  Pressure was felt at the back of his head again.  As he opened his eyes, his vision became blurry and voices floated around him.

“Alrighty there!  That should stop the bleedin for a little while.”

The figure gained focus of a few seconds.  It had golden hair and a cowboy hat.  The voice was distinct,easily recognizable.

“Applejack!  I found Big Mac, he was in the cellar!”

“Good job findin him Apple Bloom.”

“Big Mac!  Would help me bring him inside?  I gotta hold his head.”

“Eeyup”

Jason felt his body movie and the pressure on the back of his head increased.  The world around him shifted.  There were green and brown blurs with red dots passing by.  The body underneath him was some shade of red and to him seemed oddly shaped, for a human.  Three small figures bolted ahead towards a big red house.

“Don’t worry; ya’ll goanna be alri-” the distinct voice faded away as Jason sight became fuzzy again.

Pain shot through Jason’s head once more making him close his eyes.  His eyes open to discover he is in a simple room with only a bed, a closet and a mirror.  Jason gets up wobbling, trying to keep his balance.  Out the window there are miles of apple trees.

“Ok…I might still be somewhere in New York…maybe?” he turned to the mirror, “What happened to me?”

He noticed his head was wrapped in bandages.  The door suddenly opened and Jason jumped at what he saw; an orange pony with a familiar golden mane and cowboy hat walked into the room.  It was carrying a bucket of water in its mouth.  The pony put down the bucket on a chair hidden at the end of the bed.  She paused seeing his piercing green eyes.

“Uh…nice to see you’re awake.”  It said smiling in that distinct voice.

“Holy shi-y...you can talk!”  Jason stepped back covering his mouth.

“Uh…um…yea...but…I didn’t expect you to talk either…”

“Then why did you talk to me like I could?”

“I was bein nice and sayin hello!

“…good point…”

They gave each other an awkward glance as silence filled the room.  The silence lasted for a few minutes until Jason broke it.

“I’m sorry about that, my name is Jason Stanford.”

“It’s alright, my name’s Applejack.  What happened, I mean, how did ya get here and all that.”  She said pointing at the bandages.

“I wish I knew.”Jason thought for a second.

“Hey Applejack we found some more bandages!”  yelling out a young voice as three small ponies ran in.

“Hey! It’s up!” yelled a small orange filly with a fuchsia mane.

“Really?” asked the secondfilly, which was white with a light pink mane.

“Hey can it talk, my name is Apple Bloom.  Can you say that?” inquired a pale yellow filly with a rose mane.

“Yea, my name is Sweetie Belle.  Say that!”  bursted out the white filly.

“No! Say Scootaloo first!”  commanded the orange filly.

“Now ya’ll settle down!  Let him rest a bit before he has ta deal with your nonsense!”  Applejack barked pushing them out of the room.  “I’m sorry about that.”

“Its alrigh-”  Jason got dizzy and began to stumble towards the bed.

“Hey!  You ok?” Applejack asked.  “Just sit down and wait till the doctor gets here.”

“Um…ok.”

Jason crawled into the bed and Applejack undid the bandages he had on.  She cleaned the wound with the water from the bucket.  After she finished that, she rebadged his head.

“You’re pretty lucky.”

“Why?”

“The cut ain’t as bad as I thought.  Anyway, can you remember anythang?”

“Um…no…well maybe-” the door opens disrupting Jason’s unsure answer.

Walking in is a brown pony with an hourglass on his hip.

“Hello, I’m the Doctor.” he said walking over to the side of the bed.

He took out a flashlight and shined it in Jason’s eyes.  He then put it away, but discreetly slipped something into Jason’s hand.  After that he began to leave.

“Ok, your fine.  Just get some sleep.”  the pony closed the door behind him.

Jason looked dumbfounded at Applejack.

“What was that?”

“Err… I think…it was..the Doctor?” not knowing what exactly happened herself.

“Anyhow, I’m gonna let ya rest.  You could stay here for as long as you need.”

“Umm…thanks, but I don’t want to intrude.”

“It ain’t a problem!  The Apple family is always willin to help any pony in need.”

As soon as Applejack left the room, Jason took a look at the note before going to sleep.  It read;

Tomorrow meet me by the well in the center of town.  We need to talk.  It’s about how you got here. The Doctor.

Author note

Ok. I got really bad news for all of you.  For everyone following, I'm going to make maybe a few mor chapters for a little while.  Don't worry, they should be good.  It is more of a break, you could say.  I'm also going to do some side-stories in the meantime.

Now for the reasons:

1) I need sleep, insomnia is killing me and I need to try to sleep.

2) The silent hill dreams are back; Yes I dream of being trapped and killed there.  That answeres for the first one a bit.

3) I need to watch my drinking; I will not explain this...

4) Mad work for school; Thats what i get for taking electives.

5) Shipoff for the robot is coming up in two weeks, so yea...got to finish building it.

6) Grades; I didn't even check them yet...  : (

I don't want to see them!  :.. (

Everyone, I'm sorry.  I will try to keep an almost weekly post of a story or chapter.  I can't focus or work any further, but i got three chapters and a story, I'm working on.  Definatly I will get at least two chapters done by the weekend.

The dreams though; are really bad and I don't know why they popped up again.  No I didn't play it recently.  It just came back.  My sidistic and suicidal thoughts are kicking in, so I'm going to come up with a story soon.

Do you wan't cupcakes?  A special kind, with my helpful mind.

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WISH ME LUCK...