I stirred from my dreamless slumber, sensations slowly greeting me back as my eyes fluttered open. Vibrant green vegetation surrounded me as I rose to a sitting position, gathering the slightly fuzzy thoughts from yesterday. My mind seemed much clearer and my emotions were back in check. I got up, dusting myself a bit and started to walk back towards the castle.
The way back was much calmer, the daylight bringing back the songs of the birds and the sounds of the diurnal animals. The whole environment seemed completely different during the day, almost giving the forest an inviting aspect.
My thoughts, however, were far away from here. I knew that I could not go back home, and that I would probably never see my family face to face ever again, no matter how much my heart ached.
I looked at the phone in my pocket. My only way to speak to those I hold dear. The only link to the world I was born in. Those thoughts brought another terrible realization that made me stop from sheer shock as I pondered the gravity if the question I asked myself. “Mom, Dad and Kate…How could I bring myself to tell them what I painfully discovered not ten hours ago?
With a sigh, I sat on a nearby stump. Maybe it would be better if I simply refrained from contacting them again… They would think I was eaten by something, or that I died some way or another.
The cowardly idea was thankfully interrupted by the unexpected ringing of my device. Surprised, I saw Kate’s number written on the liquid crystal screen. Shit! I forgot to turn it off last night.
The ringing sound resumed, reminding me of my previous dilemma. Against my better judgment, I answered the call, pressing the phone against my ear.
“Hello, Kate?”
“What the fuck Peter?!” she nearly blew my ears off. "What is wrong with you?! Do you know how much Mom and Dad were worried when you didn't call this morning?! Do you know that we had to constantly calm mom so she would not call the cops and the army to send a rescue mission to everywhere?!" I was speechless by the sheer-but deserved- vocal agression. I heard some panting noises through the phone, Kate having no doubt to regain some of the precious oxygen to breath again.
"Kate, I-"
"Shut up!" she started anew. "You careless bastard! You had us worried sick back here! They...they..." She started to fumble for words.
“Do you know how much you worried me?" she said, sniffling a bit at the end."When you didn't call this morning, I thought...I just...I...." She choked on the last word, unable to finish the sentence. I felt my heart ache as I realized how much of an ass I just was. I complained about me being alone, but I never did think about their reaction about all this. I smiled softly. At least, I could tell them I was okay now.
“No, nothing. Everything’s alrigh—“ I stopped, exhaling heavily. “No, everything’s not alright.” My hesitation was immediately picked up by my sister, as she voiced her growing concern.
“Peter, what happened?”
I sighed. There was no going back now. “Could you tell Mom and Dad to gather around...” I looked at my watch “around three? I think they’ll need to hear it too.” Nothing could be heard from the other side, which was rather scary knowing Kate's explosive temperament.
"Pete, I don't know what happened, but...Please, tell me that you're okay. You know you could tell me if something was wrong, right?" She pressed.
"Of course, sis, I know. I just...I think what I'm about to say should be heard by everyone. Please, I'll tell you everything. Just give me time." Once again silence greeted my ears as my sister pondered what to do. After what flet like an eternity, here voice filtered through the phone once again.
“Okay, see you then.” She hung the phone, leaving me to my thoughts. I put the phone back in my pocket, careful to turn it off this time, then started to walk back to my house.
It took less than two hours to get back, the white concrete walls quite noticeable in the middle of the clearing. I looked at the building that would probably become my house for the foreseeable future. Time to go to work, I guess. I unpacked the panels, the couple of wires to connect them together and disposed them on the roof. Once they were all in place, I connected the wires to the nearby electrical outlet on the side.
I climbed down, went inside, silently praying for a miracle to happen as I flipped the light switch on, and looked expectantly towards the light bulbs in the living room. I did not have to wait: the room’s luminosity rose as the center of each lamp shone with a smooth orange light, slowly increasing in intensity as time went on. I silently cheered as one by one, each machine in the kitchen was brought to life. A light humming sound started to fill the room as the refrigerator started.
Of course, only two or three devices could function with the energy my panels were providing, so before heading to my room, I went to disconnect the fridge when I nearly tripped on a fallen chair. Curious, I put it back up, not remembering to have made it fall in the first place. Huh, Weird.
I could not help but feel anxious at the thought of having the power back, as it also meant the moment to tell my parents the truth was getting near. I was nearly hoping that the computer was broken when I got into my room.
Fate however had another idea, and the soon the lights of the imposing black device flickered to life, followed by the screen proudly displaying its Windows logo. Surprisingly, it was one of the first times where my computer did not need to do any update or check the core’s integrity, which would have been very welcomed today, pushing the uncomfortable moment further away.
The loading screen soon disappeared, replaced by the typical light-blue windows seven wallpaper. I waited for a few minutes, as the computer finished loading all the programs need for my desktop.
I looked as the update manager quickly downloaded some minor update, as I—
I stopped my musings and looked at the black and green dialogue box showing the status of the download with wide eyes. ‘How do I even have internet here?! I’m on another planet, possibly in another universe for all I know, I could not even be on the same plane of existence?!’
I looked at the internet icon more closely. ‘And I’m at 200 Mbytes per second?! I’ve never been able to go past 80 in my whole life!!
Deciding to let it be, I focused on the dreaded blue and white Skype icon before double-clicking on it. Once in the menu, I scrolled down my contact list, coming to a stop when the familiar pseudo ‘Home’ appeared on my screen. I am not proud of it, but upon seeing the name written on the specific contact, I had been tempted to shut Skype and pretend not to be here. The idea of confronting them and looking at their face when I would reveal the news was a terrifying prospect.
Fate, being the same asshole as he was before, decided otherwise, resulting in an incoming call from those I was afraid to talk to.
“…Fuck.”
As expected, upon hearing the news, my parents and sister were extremely perturbed, the worst being my mom, who disappeared from the video conference, but could still be heard crying from afar.
After a bit of talking—and calming the poor nerves of mom—we were able to go down to the more pressing matters.
“From what I gathered yesterday, there was a castle on the mountain, which was the obvious sign that other intelligent beings—hopefully friendly, herbivorous ponies—would exist here. However, it is at least 20 kilometers away from here, which would represent quite the travel. I also sighted another one, which was in ruins.” I said, remembering the different landmarks I saw.
“Do you think this ruin could prove interesting?” asked Dad, quick to refocus on the new task. I shook my head. If my memory was good, there was nothing that could help me survive in those ruins. No food nor water, no weapons…But it had books, and books are knowledge. And knowledge is power. If I could decipher the local writing—which was unlikely—I could maybe learn more about the forest and have more chance at surviving in this world.
“I don’t think so, but I will be able to learn some more about my surroundings and I think that’s exactly what I need right now: to be able to prepare and act instead of reacting to events.” My dad nodded, as did my sister. My mother came back in the camera’s focus.
“I think that I’ll be going tomorrow, and will reside at the castle for a full day. I will try to call you every day from now on. Is that okay with you?” I asked, giving them time to reflect on the information I just said. My dad nodded.
“I agree. You simply can’t stay here, waiting for something to happen.”
My eyes fell on my mother, who was surprisingly warmly smiling despite the drying tears on her cheeks. She nodded to her husband, who moved away so she could properly face me.
“Peter” she started, love radiating from her demeanor, “I know those last hours must have been very exerting on you. I know they were for us. But know that: you are not alone. No matter the distance, no matter the predicament, you have a family that loves you. Don’t ever forget that. Alright?” I could only nod, my throat being too tight at the moment to allow any answer.
“If you ever need us, never hesitate to call. We will be here, at home. Okay?” I nodded again. She smiled to me even brighter than before.
"I know living here will be difficult. Please, Peter, no mater what happens, promise me to never let yourself down. I know it will be hard, but know that we will always be there for you." I nodded.
“I shall, mom.” I choked. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
The call ended.
I do not know how long I stayed on my chair, staring at my computer screen and mulling over what happened ever since my arrival here and what my plans for the future were.
This world would most certainly become my tomb, as I had currently no way to go back. Even though I could still contact my family, I could not allow myself to spend time talking to them. As much as it pained me to admit it, I needed to move on. Wallowing in self-pity would do me no good. I looked one more time at the blue desktop screen, before eventually standing up and walking away. As I walked out of my room, I felt somehow much lighter than I was before, as if a weight had suddenly been lifted from my shoulders.
I walked into the living room, sat on the sofa, and took a pen and a sheet of paper from a nearby block, and started writing down my ideas.
‘Okay,’ I thought. ‘If I want to survive out there, I first need to make sure my house is fully operational.’ I then proceeded to check every single part of my new improvised HQ, beginning with the electrical devices. All in all, everything seemed functional.
I began looking in the other rooms before discovering a very important problem, along with the feeling of my bladder asking for immediate relief: my toilets were not connected to any water pipeline anymore, which meant that if I had to go, I would need to use part of the water I collected in order to use the amenity. But then, if I sacrificed water for the WCs, I would not have enough to wash myself up the following morning.
I shrugged. I would have to bathe in the river, like our ancestors used to do.
I resumed the checking process of my base of operations, which took me the rest of the day. The last rays of the sun were bathing the living room in a melancholic orange, as I checked the hour on my watch. Hmm… 6.35 pm. The sunset is a bit early here, even more for summer. I wonder if the seasons here were any different from the ones back home.
I paused in my work to look at the already rising white orb in the darkening evening. Contrarily to the one orbiting around the Earth, damaged and scarred by the multiple collisions with numerous asteroids, this one was completely devoid of them, offering its pure white surface for anyone to see.
A feeling of calmness and peace washed over me as I looked at the celestial body which continued rising higher in the sky. This pleasant feeling did not last long, soon interrupted by a loud rumble. Looking for the source of the perturbation, I realized it was in fact my stomach.
“Well, I did walk a lot today.” I remarked with a chuckle. I walked over and opened the fridge. Searching in the frozen wasteland, I settled on a few slices of pizzas I ate some time ago. Nodding to myself, I took the dish put it in the microwave, setting the timer to two minutes.
While the food was pre-heating, I decided to prepare my water for the night. I filled one bottle that I had placed near my bed, while I put the rest in the fridge. I could use it for at least two nights if I rationed myself before I would need to fill it once more.
Eventually, the microwave stopped, and taking the still fuming dish with me, I set myself on the living room’s table and ate away. Food too would become a problem in the future, should I fail to find a decent source of either fruit or meat in the next few days. I also had the possibility to go exploring the castle ruins in hopes of finding some map, or even some armor or weaponry. Considering the limited amount of bolts and the currents inhabitants of the surrounding woods, I thought the latter option was certainly not overkill.
I could also try to find my way out of the woods and contact the locals. This last option was risky on many levels: one, I did not know how far the forest stretched, and was more likely to get lost in the wooden maze rather than actually getting out of it. And in the case I succeeded, how could I be sure that the indigenous population would welcome me? For all I knew, they were going to chase me down, believing I was some kind of monster, the episode in which Zecora first appeared was proof enough of the ponies’ xenophobic tendencies.
For now, finding food was definitely my priority. I finished my meal, put the plate in the sink, and headed back to my room. After all I had been through during the last two days, the perspective of having a good night’s sleep was heavenly right now.
Slumber took me nearly as soon as my head hit the pillow, my thoughts drifting towards another plane of existence.
The trees were flashing past me as I ran through the woods. I hoped that if I maintained my current speed, I still had a chance to escape and that slowing down would result in my immediate death, the ominous shadow behind me getting closer each passing second. I had no weapons to defend myself, no apparent place to hide. The only hope I had to escape was to run faster than my unknown aggressor.
My heartbeat was slowly eclipsing all other sounds as more blood was being pumped in my veins. My limbs were screaming for a break, my muscles on the verge of rupture as I pushed myself to go faster, the thing chasing me now mere feet away from me.
I could hear the hoarse breathing clearer, my future and the woods darkening around me. Roots and branches were growing twisted, the canopy becoming thicker as I ran, the shadow behind spreading around me and to extend to my sides.
I was beginning to think I might as well stop and surrender to my pursuer when voices started to be heard in the distance. I could not understand what they were saying, however, the tone and pitches were eerily familiar.
I ran towards the voices, only to find myself in a clearing, beneath the smooth glow of the moon. In the middle of it stood my father, mother and sister, all of them smiling at me, as if nothing were wrong, completely unaware of the danger roaming in these woods.
Still running from the shadows, I tried to yell at them, to warn them about the thing chasing after me. My attempts were met with silence as I found myself unable to speak. My desperation growing, I ran faster towards them, my eyes moistening from the pain of my aching muscles.
As I was about to reach them, a flash of light coming from a nearby mountain blinded me, forcing me to shield me eyes from the sudden aggression. When my eyes could open again, I looked at the mountain where the alabaster castle tower imperiously just like the day I first saw it, its golden cupolas reaching towards the skies.
“No…” The sight of the castle somehow brought a terrible feeling of dread, as I turned to see were my family was, only to see wild grass and flowers.
I ran towards the now empty spot, trying to grasp them, looking for something that obviously was not there. Nothing… Just like a mirage, they had disappeared, and would never come back. A tear rolled down my cheek. I had lost them…
The breathing reappeared, albeit much louder than before.
“Alone…” The voice whispered, the world darkening around me at an alarming speed. I ran away from the whispers, hoping to get away from it all.
“You cannot flee…You cannot escape…” The voice insisted, echoing in the forest, emphasizing each word and causing them to resonate as a sledgehammer in my mind. I redoubled my efforts, the voice laughing at my own distress.
“You will die here… Alone…” The words echoed. I closed my eyes as I ran faster, branches slapping against my face, leaving hot burning marks on my cheeks.
“Alone…” The voice ranted, unrelentingly pursuing me.
I arrived in another clearing, much more familiar this time. The box-shaped concrete house standing in the middle of it looked like a beacon of sanity in a world of madness. I ran inside, slammed the door shut, and locked it with a strength and speed I did not know I had in me.
I slumped against the wooden frame, the voice from before now completely silent. My heartbeat was still pounding painfully as the image of the smiling faces of my parents and my sister refused to leave my mind’s eye. I walked to my bedroom, wanting nothing more than to lie down and let slumber take over, eventually washing the horrible events away.
Sleep however eluded me; turning in my bed, I tried to empty my head of thoughts, but to not avail: the words of the shadowy being still echoed in my head. Moving around, I finally settled in lying on my back, looking at the white ceiling.
My eyes wandered for a bit, suddenly noticing a small crack in the structure above me that seemed quite recent. Directing my gaze on another part of the ceiling, I spotted another crack. Surprised, I looked back at the first one, which seemed to have gained a few inches. I shook my head. ‘Probably the lack of sleep.’ It would also explain the visions I had earlier and the chase part. Could it all be my imagination? A small noise brought my attention to my desk, the sound apparently coming from my computer, which for some reason was still on.
Grumbling, I walked up to my desk, and clicked on the shut down option. Playing its little jingle, windows began to close the desktop and the programs in it, only to stop after a few seconds, a small dialogue box popping up. A program seemed to be actively running, preventing the computer from shutting down. I looked at the rogue element in surprise.
“An mp3 file? Weird, I don’t remember listening to music today. Or is it an update to my media player that forced it open?”
I opened the folder, and played the file in it curious as to what it was, the file being untitled. For a few seconds, no sound no sound being played, and I was about to close the useless file when I heard a faint sound of coming from the speakers.
I turned the volume up and listened at the words, barely at whisper-level at first, but grew clearer as time went on.
“Alone…Alone…Alone….” chanted the speakers with the same voice as before. I jumped in fright from the chair and immediately pressed the power button, stopping the ranting of the speakers, leaving me shaking in the dark.
“It can’t be real… It can’t be real…” I repeated as a mantra as I went back to my bed, nearly falling off of it in the process. I pleaded to whatever deity was listening to bring sleep to me, so I could get away from this all.
My eyes wandered once again, setting one more time on the cracks in the ceiling, trying to find a way to distract my tormented brain. My eyes widened as I saw that the cracks had grown, so much it could not be a simple judging mistake this time. Some of them had joined each other, forming some kind of distorted letters. It read, A, L, O—
I shut my eyes. I did not want to see it! It could not be real, I knew it, yet why did it frighten me so much? I just wanted to sleep, to fade away from this reality, from this nightmare! I just wanted to be left….Alone…
I could not bear it anymore. I screamed as the words from before came back to my mind. I ran away from my house and into the forest.
“Leave me!” I screamed to no one in particular, as the ranting from before came back, chasing after me. I stopped running and came to a halt. I had no will to continue. I turned back to face the darkness.
The whispers stopped.
Something moved in the shadows in front of me. A form appeared from behind a tree, walking towards me. The wait was agonizingly slow, until the creature finally stepped into the light, revealing my opponent.
I immediately recognized its features as my mouth involuntarily opened in horror. It was I, only, much slimmer…No; slim was not strong enough to describe the lack of flesh on the bones, clearly sticking out under the sickly pale skin. Its clothes were partially torn off, its ribs clearly visible under its shirt. The worst part probably was the face, the cheekbones showing as were the orbits, the eyes devoid of life. If its eyes were not looking at me, I would have sworn the being in front of me was dead.
“You cannot escape…” My alter ego said. “You will die here… In this world, forgotten from the ones you love.” He laughed grimly.
“What do you want?!” I cried. “Why do you torment me?!” I screamed at my doppelganger, its stony expression unfazed by my sobbing form. The whispers resumed, joining the ranting of my other self, twirling around me in a bitter breeze, penetrating my soul.
In a desperate move, I threw myself at my clone, channeling in a roar all my hatred about this world that had striped me of my beloved ones. I ran towards him, unleashing a devastating right hook, and was about to connect with his jaw when my face brutally encountered a wooden floor, I heap of covers falling on me.
I looked around blearily, my heart still thumping in my ribcage, as cold sweat formed on my brow. My ears were listening for the smallest sound, looking for any signs of the whispers. When nothing other than the sound of my own breathing could be heard, I finally allowed myself to relax, letting out a breath I did not know I was holding, before slumping against the mass of covers.
I breathlessly chuckled. It was a dream, I assured myself. I looked around, the feeling of dread slowly subsiding as the first rays of dawn filled the room in a warm soothing glow. The comforting smell of my house greeted me, a subtle mix of old paint, dust, and a somewhat musky smell, which all together formed the familiar scent that formed the fertile ground where my memories laid.
I shakily rose, my eyes darting in every direction, still haunted by last night’s very realistic dream. Nothing seemed out of place: the very same room I spent years in, browsing the internet, reading, masturbat—ahem! All in all, everything seemed like it was before, my good old room that accompanied me through my college years.
I walked over the desk, turned the pc on and sat down, waiting for the engine to boot. As I watched the desktop loading its icons, I could not help but to think back to what my dream double told me. I shuddered. I was not alone, mind you. I still had contact with my family, I knew that. However, the nightmare brought forth a preoccupying realization: could I bear living the rest of my life stranded away from my home world without any intelligent physical entity other than me?
I had made up my mind: I needed to check the castle. I was not even interested in visiting the old ruins anymore. I would travel there, even if it killed me. The prospect of meeting another intelligent being was all the motivation I needed.
I explained my plan to my family, which at first strongly advised me against it, but after a few minutes of arguing—and a promise to my mum that I would bring my phone with me on the trip—I managed to convince them.
Ten minutes later, I was out, my backpack safely attached, a small cover for the potentially rough nights, a few bottles of water with a pack of jerky beef—yes, I always have some jerky beef—an apple in said bag, and my trusty crossbow, loaded, a small pouch containing the rest of the bolts on a belt around my waist.
I deeply inhaled the smells hanging in the air while steeping out of my house.
“Ahh…I love the smell of adventure and potential death in the early morning!” I said in an exaggeratedly deep voice, before entering the canopy and stepping in the unknown.
Darkness encompassed me as I progressed through the thick foliage which came low enough to brush against my head periodically, causing me to jump, looking for a potential aggressor, before realizing what caused my surprise and laughing at my own foolishness.
The walk was quite peaceful, small critters sometimes running away from me, terrified of the giant bipedal wereape monster that disturbed the quietness of their home.
The same beautiful lys-like poison joke bushes paved my way. I had at some point decided to cut one and to put it in my jacket pocket, careful to not directly touch it with my bare hands, holding my breath all the while. If this plant was at least as powerful as described in the show, it would not doubt constitute a very useful weapon, If I was not dumb enough to unleash its effects upon me. I sincerely did not want to know what this thing could do on humans.
Now that I thought about it, that may have been the reason why the animals ran away from me, the evilness of the navy blue flower radiating its dark influence so that even the smallest creatures would cower in fear in front of me!
I chuckled at the image of me holding a poison joke bush threateningly towards a group of ponies, said group falling into chaos trying to escape from the mass-murdering plant, suddenly appearing in my brain.
“Stand back and bow to me Equestria! Close your doors, hide your weak, your young and your old, for I, Peter the third, have a chlorophyll-based organism in my hand!” I shouted to no one in particular, continuing on my merry way.
Surprisingly, no creature of nightmare was drawn towards me upon hearing my rather loud declaration of war on Ponykind.
“Strange,” I thought. I would have expected that something would have shown by now… The woods stayed silent, as if to upset me even more. I mean, I was not hoping for something bad to happen. I was not suicidal mind you. But come on, this is an adventure! Not a silly forest trip with grandma to gather plants and mushrooms! I grumbled as I walked on. I encountered monster on my first day here, and now nothing?! This place was enjoying making me crazy, I was sure of it.
The sun had just begun to disappear over the horizon when I decided to set up camp. The skies had taken a red-purple hue, darkness creeping up quickly as the last rays of light illuminated the clouds above the horizon. The temperature had started to lower significantly, humidity from the moss and humus piercing through my clothes and giving a feeling of intense cold. The covers would definitely come in, handy tonight.
I set up a small rudimental detection system by hanging some tin cans with a small cord between some trees. I ate a bit of my rations, and setting my sights on some old stem, laid my head on it, drew the covers over myself and let sleep slowly take my away, the lullaby of the nocturnal insects reminding me of the nights my friends and I used to share when we camped together, years ago.
I was abruptly awoken by the metallic sound of one of my cans ringing to my left. My hand firmly grasped my crossbow as I jumped up, aiming at the approximate location of the noise, ready to unleash hell upon the unsuspecting fool who would dare to attack—
*Chirp?*
“What?” I incredulously stared at the small blue jay that currently stood on the food container, a snail in its beak. As I held still, the bird resumed its work, trying to break open the poor being, using the metal can as a makeshift anvil, causing another series of metallic sounds.
I groaned, putting the crossbow aside as I slumped against the stem. I looked at the time. Two am. The moon was still out, a white-blue light filtering through the thick canopy, giving the whole forest a feeling of untouched serenity. During those early hours, where all creatures were asleep, one could see the woods in their primal, true unaltered beauty.
Time seemed to have stopped; the soft moonlight was reflected in hundreds of ways through the humidity-born water droplets on the leaves, just like millions of mirrors, the whole place being lit up in the most beautiful kind of way.
I walked in a daze, beholding the rare sight displayed in front of me. The night did not seem as cold as before. My mind was at ease, ‘as if I just entered a sanctuary,’ I thought as I strolled through the maze of leaves and trunks. I was so enthralled by the spectacle that I nearly missed the soft cracking sounds ten feet away from me.
Snapping back to reality, I quickly hid behind the nearest tree and waited for the thing that caused the sound to walk away. When the noise grew more distant, I risked looking towards the source of the sound.
For a fraction of second, I saw the shape of a small grayish pony, its light orange mane flicking in response to its movements, casually trotting down the same way I did. Its yellow eyes looked with interest at my empty camp, before resuming its walk, and disappeared behind a bush.
I stood there for about a minute, unable to move as my brain pained to registered what I just witnessed. ‘A…Pony?’ I blinked twice. ‘A pony !’ I mentally screamed as I chased after it.
I ran, my hopes and desperation growing each second, fueling my energy and my speed, my brain ablaze with the possible encounter with another sapient specie. My senses did not even realize the scratches and cuts I was getting from smashing against branches and roots as my mind solely focused on the image I saw, as I sprinted even faster forward.
Soon enough, my stamina was depleted and I was forced to stop, catching my breath as I took in my surroundings.
If my camp’s location looked like a little heaven, the place I was now in was a completely different story. Most of the trees around me were dead, their crooked branches reaching for the black skies, as if pleading for their torment to end, knotted roots intertwining in a sickly embrace. The dirt was covered with a thin layer of grayish moss, climbing to the base of the hollow trunks, where some half-rotten parasite mushrooms hang, nicely completing the dreadful picture in front of me. A small cover of fog, probably oozing from a nearby bog, had started to creep up, rendering the navigation more and more difficult by the second.
“God damn it! How did the pony managed to navigate through this shit?!”
“What does ‘shit’ means?”
“Aaahhh!!”
I jumped at the sudden voice coming from behind me, in a combination of moves that would have brought shame to Bruce Lee’s films, I quickly turned around to find myself face to face with a gray filly, staring at me with mirthful eyes.
“Wow, you have the same voice as my mom when she’s scared!” The little piece of concentrated diabetes giggled, earning a frown from me.
“Hey” I objected, “I wasn’t scare—ok, maybe a little.” I admitted, looking at the young pony as she smiled at me.
“What are you mister?” She asked in a little voice, observing me with wide curious eyes. “I never saw anything like you in my entire life!” She jumped around me, exited to have found a new oddity in the forest.
I chuckled at the energetic foal. I sat on a nearby boulder and proceeded to tell her of my species, a bit of my world and how I was brought here. When I looked back up to the filly, I saw her staring at me with a sad compassionate smile. She came up to me and patted me on the knee.
“I’m sorry for what happened to you. Being ripped from your family…” She started, but was interrupted as something rustled in the bushes nearby. I instantaneously sat up and took a defensive stance, placing myself between the potential threat and the filly.
The bushes soon split, revealing… another pony? I lowered my guard as the new equine approached me cautiously, its light gray fur and black mane perfectly mending with the forest around us. He was much taller and seemed much older than the filly. ‘An adult maybe?’ It was hard to tell, considering they all looked like cute little plushies from my point of view.
After a few seconds, the pony smiled brightly at me, vaguely reminding me Pinkie Pie, before extending his hoof at me.
“Hello, my mane is Grayhoof!” The pony exclaimed, before stepping aside, and motioning towards a mass of fog, which had started to dissipate, only to reveal a village nestled in a small clearing in the woods.
“And welcome to Sunny Town!”