//------------------------------//
// A cafe, a pin-stripe suit, and a Half-Life reference 
// Story: The "Elder One" 
// by HonorableMention 
//------------------------------//

	Prologue - Chapter 1 – A café, a pin-stripe suit, and a Half-Life reference



My life was less than desirable, yes. Forgive me for sounding like the standard angsty teenager, but being abandoned by your mother at birth and being cared for by an inebriated, abusive father tends to do that to you. Although my faith still stood it had been shaken and broken. I still refused to turn on my God. Why? Because my Faith is all that kept me chained to life, my one reason. I was bullied at school, beaten at home, and ridiculed by my “friends”, who would sooner stab you in the back for a good reward. All in all my life was sad and miserable. That was the exact reason HE chose me.
It all happened that one fateful day. It was a gloomy day; the rain pelted the small, muggy, dirty windows. I was in the café by my house. I would sneak in there before returning home, in order to avoid my father who could honestly care less about my welfare. I thought about the day.
It began with me being late, compliments of father. Then I was bullied in the hallway after being chided by the teacher for being late to class and having none of the assigned homework. The bullies started the same way each time: slamming my head into a locker, making fun of any of the “nerdy” references to memes I had in my locker and then running away when the principal come around. 
The last thing I needed to do was tell them I watched my little pony, the one thing that would cheer me up; connecting to the community, talking to other bronies, and dissecting the show. I would watch it off my lap top. 
I snapped out of my deep thought. An elderly man had approached me; he wore a dark crimson and black pin-stripe suit. He wielded a clever grimace aimed towards me as he approached.
“Well, Young man. How are you doing?” He asked in a cool manner.
“Uh, do I know you?” I responded rather confused at his approach, I would come to regret those words of acknowledgement.
“No. Not yet. But you will know me soon enough.” He said. He sounded like a sage, very cryptic.
“Well, what’s your name?” I inquired. I was not one to ostracize, as I would hate for anyone else to experience the torment similar to mine. The man did seem strange to me at first, but I shook it off due to his welcoming aura.
“That is not important at the moment, what I will tell you though is who I serve: A man who is known for disrupting the natural order, not anarchy or chaos per se just change. This man has a proposition for you.” He told me. His eyes seemed to penetrate my soul and he seemed otherworldly.
“Well what is this ‘proposition’?” I interrogated him further.
“Well I recognize you are a ‘brony’” He said with a flat tone. “Yes, my ‘employer’ knows all about you humans and your strange pop-culture trends” He declared with a smug smile that showed a row of jagged, white teeth.
“I can explain… You see it’s not just a show for little girls, it’s actually really good.” I defended as my face flushed red. 
“No need to explain, I understand. You are my client and as such I am completely adjusted to tolerate your tendencies, no matter how eccentric.” He said in a reassuring tone. “You see that is the exact reason why I have come here. My ‘employer’ has sent me to acquire a chess piece of sorts, you are that chess piece. You will be His ‘ace in the hole’, his champion. He intends to use you as an asset to the fullest of your purposes, but promises free will and choice in the realm of Equestria. All he asks is your compliance so that he may use you as an asset. So do you want to go to Equestria?” He informed me.
“You can’t be serious; Equestria is a made-up land by Lauren Faust intended to market Hasbro’s products. It’s not real. Is it?” I assured the mysterious man.
“Are you sure it’s not real, what if this is the fantasy? Everything you hold dear: Your free choice, your ‘faith’, your colleagues? How can you be sure that you are so real? Maybe the insane are actually sane and vice versa. How can you be so anchored in that sad, fake pre-established order? Everything crumbles so easily when it doesn’t go exactly planned and your ‘order’ blows away like dust in the wind, just give it time to change and everything crumbles. When things don’t go according to plan things crumble.” He taunted. He had begun to raise his tone and become angry.
“Well, I guess so… Theoretically that is.” I responded, with any reproach I could muster now crumbling.
The man regained his composure and straightened his tie.
“So if you had the choice ‘theoretically’…” He said mockingly “Would you go to Equestria?” He asked
“I guess so, it’s not like I have anything to keep me on this miserable, suffering rock called earth.” I answered
“This is exactly the reason why my ‘employer’ chose you as his client and asset. He knew you would say yes, it’s not like you had any choice in the matter that is. So do we have a deal Mister…uh…?” He wondered 
“The name is James, and yes. What would I be in Equestria, A pony?” I replied
“Your race has already been pre-decided. Shall we depart? My ‘employer’ is a rather impatient man and does not like to be kept waiting… all the pieces are now falling into place… The die is now cast.” He finished, mumbling to himself
“Wait… pre-decided?” I asked, but was soon cut-off
The world began to fade around me. Any coherent thought process was scrambled and drowned out by a constant shrieking; I was shocked and gasped for air. I could feel my body warp and strain as I was pulled through a small opening and dragged through into a void.
My body was out of tune with my mind and thus slept for a long time after coming out of the void. After a while my body rose, during the rest my mind was still functioning and cried out in pain. I looked around after I had risen and the world around me had shifted. I was surrounded by an influx of colors and textures that were alien to me. It was all too bright! The small gloomy café had turned into a bright open field. I turned to hear a disembodied voice that quickly vanished.
“Good luck James. Your turn has begun, make the most of it. The Right man in the Wrong place can make all the difference.” He whispered as he vanished
I looked around and then realized something: My legs moved at a slow pace and I lumbered around. More importantly I was walking on four legs! First off: What am I? Second: Am I really in Equestria?