//------------------------------//
// Prologue: In the Beginning... 
// Story: Just a Walk in Equestria (JaWiE), Volume 1 
// by Warden of Monsters 
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Hey everypony... sorry, everybody... Force of habit, slip of the tongue... Then again... You know what, moving on.

I'm recording this just as a way to get this story out there. I can't give you my name, not my real one anyhow, because in the event my family should find this I think they're better off thinking I've passed on. I know that sounds dramatic, but how would you feel if someone tried to tell you a member of your family had been sent to the world of a kid's show? Try it, and tell me if straitjackets are as cozy as they look, m'kay?

Anyhow, I only recently got everything together I need to send this out there. I just feel after everything that's happened to me it's a story worth sharing. I always have loved a good story. So now let's get on with it before I ramble off the ends of Equestria. Starting with the first day...

...

I'm off climbing in the Rockies, a bag of caving equipment on my back, and a sturdy walking stick in my grip. I'm wearing my favorite Carhartt jacket lined with fleece on the inside, and a pair of authentic camo pants with lots of pockets, even a pair of deep ones in between the legs with openings in the back, though I rarely use those. My stuff is all in the bag though, I hate long walks with my legs weighed down.

"Meow..."

The deep feline noise has me look up where my cat Cubby is crawling up some rocks. He's a Savannah, F4 generation so he's a few generations away from a purebred. So while he doesn't have the bright coloring he's got all the size of thirty pounds of feline muscle. Before beginning the hike I had made sure to put a glow-in-the-dark neon yellow vest on him so I can keep an eye on him, and a collar that vibrates if he gets too far from the bracelet on my wrist. He's learned from history to stay close to me though on trips like this so I set it on a range of about fifty feet, that way he has room to explore while staying close.

The rock slopes down to waist height farther up the mountain, and I scratch my cat's head as he walks the rock beside me. Looking back at me he meows again, and after checking the time on my phone I concur that it's time for food. Cubby rubs against me as I sit on the rock, open my bag, and pull out a can of his favorite turkey flavored cat food. Opening with the ring it has I set it on the rock nearby, and while Cubby chows down I fish around in my bag for my roast beef sandwich. That with a few gulps of water goes down rather nicely.

Once we're full I put the empty can in my bag, and we start walking again. A distant rumble overhead alerts us to thunder, and we share a look. Seriously, sometimes I wonder if we can read each other's minds sometimes because as one we pick up the pace, looking for shelter, or something we can use to make some.

We come across a cave, and Cubby bravely steps forward to investigate. He sniffs at the entrance, and when he walks right in I assume it's been abandoned, or hasn't been marked by wild animals recently enough to be worrisome. Still to be on the safe side I take out one of my mountain picks hanging on the sides of my bags, and carry it in my teeth while I fish a headlamp out of a pocket. Once the lamp is on I drop the pick into my empty hand, and follow Cubby's glowing vest. Savannah's are bred from the wild African Servile so I trust his instincts. "Lead on buddy," I say, smiling at the slight echo in the cave.

We find a comfy space deep in the cave, and decide to wait the storm out. I settle on some loose dirt, but Cubby is still jumping at the slightest of noises. I don't think very much of it though, in a cave sound tends to echo, and reverberate. I figure he'll calm down once he's used to it.

Suddenly there's a sound like the sky ripping in half, and the cave shakes. At first my mind can't process what's happening so my reaction is a bit delayed, but I then jump to my feet. Cubby however pinics, and looks around with wide eyes, his ears swiveling around like satellite dishes.

"It's okay Cubby,' I say, and freeze... the echo had been a bit too loud that time. Now I start to panic as I climb back to mouth of the cave... or more accurately where the cave mouth used to be. I sniff at the air, and smell sulfur mixed with ozone. My heart sinks as I realize a bolt of lightning must have caused a cane-in.

I gotta act fast, pawing at the rocks, and sniffing, searching for a scent of fresh air, or a wind current... nothing. Cubby is beside me, and from the look he gives me he's coming up empty too.

I swallow hard, "Well... maybe it's a tunnel," I assure him as I bend down to pet him. I hope I'm right, otherwise we might suffocate before we run out of supplies, depending on how big the cave is. So with that in mind I turn, and Cubby follows me as we start walking the cave. His night vision helps him, and my headlamp lets me see where I put my feet. I have a powerful lantern in my bag with a solar battery, but I can't remember if I charged it or not.

The cave slopes up ahead, and we pause at it. The slope is just smooth, and glittery rock of some surprising hues. I wish I had a camera better than the one on my phone. But this makes a problem for us, the stone is too smooth for us to climb down, and sliding it would probably be suicidal if it collapses under us, or suddenly drops off into an underground ravine or something. Looking at the walls though I'm glad to see they're solid dirt, and stone.

I take off my backpack, and clip the front of Cubby's vest to it, and he gives me wide eyes when I put the bag back on. With him riding my back I slip my walking stick in the space between my back and the bag before drawing my other pick.

"It's okay buddy," I say as I tilt my head back to nuzzle him. "I got you, and I'm not letting anything bad happen to you."

He purrs gently at my tone, at least until I sit down. He clings to my pack with the help of the clip on his vest, and start finding purchase with my steel-toe boots while I hook my picks into the wall. Ever so slowly I put my weight on them to see if they hold...

They do not, and at the worst possible time my foot slips. Cursing my first instinct is to roll on my back, but with Cubby in mind I roll on my front instead, my picks kicking up sparks on the rainbow splotched stone as we slide. He yowls, I curse like a sailor, and pray for our survival as our world goes into quick flashes of rainbow light probably reflected off my headlamp.

...

My heart will not stop trying to escape my chest as the insane ride down the stone comes to an end. I hit my head along the way, and my headlamp is busted from the impact. Though that matters little right now because I see light at the end of the tunnel, just around the bend.

I look back at Cubby, "If that's the light at the end of the tunnel then I'm sorry I brought you along for the ride." He gives me a sour look in return, but quietly lets me detatch him from my bag. Once my picks are back where they belong I pick up my wlking stick, and we start down the tunnel again.

I squint as we step out from the cave, and blink a few times to let my eyes adjust. With a frown I look over the forest ahead of us, "This doesn't look like the Rockies..."

I take some binoculars out of my bag, and look around. I don't see much, but I do notice an abundance of apple trees. "We're probably near a farmland of some kind, good. We just find the owners, and get to the nearest town so we can get home. I've had enough adventure for one day..."

Cubby quietly agrees as we head down a small trail into the orchard. The size of the trail strikes me as odd, it looks well worn, but way too small to be regularly traversed by humans. My best guess is wild animals, and I hope whatever lives in that cave doesn't meet us on our way down.

As we walk among the trees I frown at how high they are, which isn't very high at all. Most of these treetops brush the top of my head as we walk under them, like smaller versions of the apple tree that used to live in my back yard before we cut it down. Cubby perks, and we stop. Seconds later I hear it too, a hard sound of something striking the trees, making me smile as I think we've found civilization. We turn to head in the direction of the sound, and I make a mental note to ask just how they managed to set up a farm out here, they weren't called the Great Rocky Mountains for nothing.

But what we find freezes me in my tracks. A small horse... A familiar one... I mean how many equines wear cowboy hats, and have three apples pictured on their hindquarters. I feel my forehead to see just how badly I hit my head, but there doesn't seem to be any damage. Further confirmation of my sanity arises as Cubby pads over to sniff curiously at the mare.

"Well hey there little'n," Applejack chuckles as she pauses to look at him. She tilts her head as she eyes his vest, "Now just where did you come from with the fancy getup?"

"...He's mine," I say, and as she looks up at me I swallow. I think my brain is misfiring, there's no way I can actually be talking to... or in the presence of Applejack, the Element of Honesty... Or at least she was until season 4 of a damned KID'S SHOW! How is this possible?!

Applejack just stares at me with wide eyes, her pupils, and irises shrinking a bit in apprehension. Cubby nuzzles her, and cautiously I go into the speech I had planned out for the owners of the farm. "I... that is we... We were mountain climbing, and uh... we kinda got lost... Could you possibly point us towards town?" My throat feels so dry right now while my mind is trying to catch up with reality.

"Uh... yeah, I guess," Applejack replies slowly. She starts picking up her baskets of apples around the tree, and to be polite I pick up one too, helping her load them into a wagon a few hundred feet away down the trail. We don't say much, but Cubby really seems to like her. Once the wagon is all loaded up my cat jumps in to ride while I walk beside the cart. Applejack pulls it, and as we walk we occasionally send each other uncomfortable glances.

"Um... My name's Harley," I say to strike up a conversation. "I, heh... I guess you've never seen a human before huh?"

She offers an awkward smile, "Eh nope." That brings a smile to my face, but for reasons only a fan of the show might know. Still she tries to keep conversation up with me, "I'm Applejack... Must of been on doozy of a trip that brought ya'll to Sweet Apple Acres."

I snicker, and in an impression of Big Mac I reply, "Eeyup..." That makes her smile in turn, and as we crest a hill we see the barn not too far off.

"So where ya from Harley," she asks, sounding a bit more comfortable around me.

"Noplace you'd recognize by name," I say as we get closer. When we get to the barn I set my stuff against the wall, and start helping her unload the wagon into the barn. As we do I try to keep the conversation going with small talk, "So what's the apple business like? I mean it must be rough keeping mice, and stuff out of these before you can sell them."

"Not really," Applejack replies. "I got a friend named Fluttershy who's real good with critters, she talks them into keeping out."

I shrug, from what I know that makes total sense my terms of My Little Pony. When the trailer is empty I spot two more ponies coming down the trail into the farm's entrance. One is a large red pony with an orange mane, and tail, a full foot higher than Applejack which puts him about four feet high. I recognize him, and the butter yellow filly trotting beside him.

"Big Mac, Applebloom!" Applejack waves to them, and trots over. I let her do her thing with them so they won't have as many misgivings about me while I root through my backpack. At the very bottom my hand touches wood, and I freeze as I remember what that is. Glancing at the ponies out of the corner of my eye I just pull out my canteen, and take a drink. As I put it away Applebloom trots up to me to inspect me curiously. "You're a long way from home mister," she says. "I don't think I've ever even heard of a creature like you before."

"I suppose not," I chuckle, thinking how more adorable fillies are in person rather than just through a screen.

She smiles up at me, "Well, if you got noplace to stay you can use the clubhouse to hang you're hat. Might be a little small, but it's better than the barn I reckon."

I look over at the other two ponies, and Applejack nods. Big Mac gives me the warning look a big brother usually gives strangers around his smaller kin. "I hope you don't take no offense," he says. "But until we're totally sure we can trust you I'll be keeping an eye on you sir."

"I wouldn't have it any other way were our roles reversed," I say with a smile, and a nod. That seems to get a positive reaction out of him as a small smile plays on his lips. Gathering my stuff I let Applebloom guide me to the clubhouse, and while I'm a little worried it might not hold my wait at first glance it proves quite sturdy as I climb it. I stoop to get through the front door, and kneel as I start unpacking. Mentally I start making a To Do list.

I am in the world of a cartoon that has a wide, diverse fanbase, there's no getting around that. First priority, learn my surroundings. While the show is probably a basis for my knowledge here there could be deviance which I should keep an eye out for. Ultimately I'll want to get home... Won't I?

I pause as my mind starts to drift. There are millions who would do anything to be in my position, and to be quite frank the human world isn't that great. If I were to spend my life here it wouldn't be so bad, right?

I reach in my bag, and sit cross-legged as I pull out a smooth wooden box. I dial a combination on it, and open it. Inside is a custom foam setting, and it's empty. Reason being is the firearm it's meant to house is in a shoulder holster under my jacket. I pull out the shiny Desert Eagle, and stare at it. I unscrew the silencer, and set it in its slot in the box before doing the same with the clip after I eject it.

Finally putting the firearm itself in the box it strikes me just how wrong it is to have a weapon like this in Equestria. I brought it hiking in case so ran across wildlife that attacked, but here is different, this is Equestria. Humans are a warlike, violent race who made most our technology with war in mind. Our culture has thrived off suffering, and misery for generations, but these ponies...

I close the box, and lock it, putting it away in my bag. I'm arranging my food in a corner when Applejack walks in with a blanket, and pillow on her back.

"It ain't much," she says. "But it's the best we can do for the moment."

I nod, grateful for their generosity. "Thanks Applejack... It's always good to have some new friends."