//------------------------------//
// Chapter One - Insane 
// Story: Summer Bound 
// by Windsocks 
//------------------------------//

Curled up in a little ball, I awaiting the eventual impact with the water’s surface. As I flew through the air my body seemed to hit something brittle yet solid. Which in turn confused me. I know that going at the right speed while impacting water can make it feel like cement, but I wasn’t going anywhere near that speed. So, you could imagine my thought process when then next thing that I noticed was the sound of shattering glass.

Still feeling the effects of gravity on my body, I kept myself curled up in the same small ball. If anything, being in this position will minimize any head injuries. That, of course, is assuming I’m not hurtling at the ground at Mach speed right now. If the sensations and sounds that I’m hearing were anything to go by, then I would at least live to tell this tale.

I’ve always been told that time slows down when something like this happens. Sadly, that’s not the case as milliseconds later my side made contact with a smooth yet very solid surface. The pain was excruciating as I felt the warm wave of pressure engulf my entire right side. As if the creators didn’t think that was enough, I experienced the feeling of hundreds of bits and pieces of glass stick into my skin.

To say that I was in pain was an understatement, and I made that pretty clear as I yelled out in an attempted to quench the pain. It wasn’t till seconds later that my adrenaline started to kick in and somewhat dull the pain. My mind right now was now focused entirely on surviving this ordeal that I didn’t even have the chance to see who, or what was coming to help me.

In fact, even if I was able to comprehend what was happening at the moment, I still wouldn’t be able to see anyone. This was mostly due to the fact that I was still curled up in my little ball. Man, I must have looked like a little kid crying over a small splash in the lake.

After about ten seconds of letting out cries of pain, my mind started to realize that I’m not going to die right away. So, it went on to think about other things. Like how in the hell am I able to breathe underwater? Or maybe, more importantly, why did I manage to hit two things instead of just the water’s surface.

The more and more I thought about the feelings I was feeling. The more and more my mind started to get curious. Yet it wasn’t tuned into my injuries like it should be right now. No, in this particular moment I found myself wondering where I am.

While I wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed by a long shot. I still prided myself on picking up things pretty fast, and these events that I found myself placed into unbeknownst just didn’t add up.

My first piece of the metaphorical puzzle was the ability to breathe. While it was an obvious one and probably one of the biggest give away, I didn’t stop there. That brings me to the second tidbit of information, which was the realization that I was laying down on a smooth yet warm surface. Characteristics that the bottom of a lake would surely not have.

Yet, out of all of the things that my senses picked up, the audio portion was the most important. It enlightened me that I was not alone. The notion of having someone near me was a welcoming thought as the injuries that I have seemed to inflicted upon myself would force me to inaction. Which at this particular moment was a godsend, seeing as any movement I did, spiked a new level of pain. Nevertheless, as time ticked on my senses kept updating me on what was around.

It was pretty cool to notice how when one sense is taken away from you, the others get a little boost. While it hurt to simply unfurl myself to take a look around, my other senses started to fill the gap. I could hear banners flapping in the early summer breeze, the crunching of glass as someone walked towards me, the gasps of others that just witnessed the event, and lastly the clinking of armor.

As I lay there motionless more words were spoken. The language they spoke was completely foreign to me. I saw no point in attempting to decipher what they were saying, so I turned to collect more information with my senses.

The ground I laid upon was hard and smooth, the breeze that my hearing picked up could be felt brushing against my skin. Yet out of all of the feelings, the last was the worst, I could tell that I was lying in a warm puddle which steadily grew in size. Only one thing came to my mind on what that could be, and it forced my eyelids to lift.

Cracking an eyelid open I took hold of the void. I was still in my fetal position my head tucked into my body. The easy part was done, and now the hard part has begun. I stated to myself as I slowly started to unfurl.

Pain wrapped my body in its harsh arms as I thrashed in its grips. If I were going to die due to blood loss, then I would at least die knowing where I was.

The first of my body to separate itself was my arms. Every centimeter they moved more pain pushed itself through my veins. Biting my lip attempting not to scream anymore I lifted my head to see what I had feared.

The first thing that caught my attention was the crimson pool of blood that spread out across the marble floor. A floor that I traced upwards to see multiple marble pillars holding up the grand roof of this establishment. The mosaic that detailed the walls were all spraying light across the floor in a multitude of colors. It would have been beautiful; would it not be that it was my deathbed.

Continuing to look at the windows I had noticed that one of them was shattered. Its pieces laid scattered around my battered body. While I knew that I crashed through some form of a window, I had not expected it to be something of this size and craftsmanship. That welcoming feeling I got when hearing those footsteps seemed to vanish at the thought that I had now destroyed something that was probably worth more than my car.

My eyelids started to gain a weight to them as my thoughts went back to the sound of the footsteps. Every passing second the room distorted more. Soon it was spinning around me as I attempted to find who was coming over to me.

Sadly, as I finally spotted a blur that looked to be moving towards me, my eyelids shut. I felt another shock of pain shoot through my head as I accept the darkness.





Call it cliché, but those stories have it right. As soon as I had awoken in what looked to be a cell of some kind I couldn’t help but think ‘where am I?’. Which of course could not be answered until I made some sort of contact with another being.

Looking around the room revealed to me that there were not many options I could utilize. In fact, the only things in my cell was an old, small and battered bed next to a pail of water. Whether that pail was used for drinking or bodily needs I had no desire to find out.

Shoving that thought right out of my head, I continued to take in the cell. It was cramped as I had expected a cell to be, but it also adorned a small window on the far wall. It seemed to look much more appealing to me than the metal bars on the other end. My curiosity told me that the window would be the best place to start. For a brief look outside would at least help me orientate myself.

This, however, was going to be a hard task. My body was sore all over, the pieces of glass that embedded themselves into my skin were all removed, but the cuts remained fresh and open. The bandaging they had done looked to be rushed, which in turn made it very uncomfortable for me to move. Then again when was a prisoner supposed to be comfortable?

Which brings me to another thought, why the hell was I put into a cell? I used a boat without a proper license sure, but I don’t remember ever getting caught. I broke a rather expensive window, but at that, they would just force me to repay them. Nothing I had done was worthy of being slammed into a medieval style cell. I had rights and I would be damned if I didn’t get a chance to explain myself.

Sadly, I would have to wait. My body protested every incentive to get it moving and the pain it brought was not worth the effort. So, in turn, I opted to just sit here and wait for either one of two things. One being I heal or two someone comes to check up on me. Seeing as most of my injuries were quite major, I would wager that the second of the two would be the most likely.

As time tends to do, it moved on. The birds chirping outside was the only thing that kept me company within the confinements of this dark and dreary cell. Occasionally I would hear the rare word or two being spoken, but since they were of an unknown language I just cast them aside. I would have to break this language barrier soon if I wish to communicate with the people here. Then again English was the universal language, so here’s me hoping they have a translator with them.

This idea was tossed to the wind as the first sign of intelligent life marched up to my cell. I could see from here that he or she had gold-plated armor, accompanied by a lone spear. As he or she opened the door, all I could hear was all of my science teachers yelling at me that gold is a weak element. Pushing those thoughts out the door they came from, I once again turned my attention to the person entering my cell.

Or that’s what I would have liked to have thought when the person or should I say pony walked into the light. At first glance, I thought it was a mistake or maybe a joke, but then I remember myself seeing it unlock the cell door. Not only that but when it came into full view it even talked to me.

The same gibberish I heard from before spewed out of its mouth, causing me to give it a confused look. My head started to hurt as I tried to make sense of what I was seeing. Yet no matter how hard I tried, it just made my head hurt more.

Having utterly no idea what to even think anymore, I did what any other person would have probably done. I fainted.





For the second time today, I awoke in a different place. No longer was I in a cell, but on top of a metal table. All around me were ponies… yes ponies, wearing out of all things lab coats. As I registered their attire a cog in my head started to spin. I was no longer a prisoner, I was a test subject to these ponies.

As the neurons fired in my head I immediately started to panic. All the damage that I caused myself and my clothes seemed to have mysteriously vanished. With nothing holding me back I went to jump off the table, only for me to realize that I was tied down. Two lonely pieces of rope were all that kept me from a chance to escape.

Thankfully, however, none of the ponies in the room saw my attempt to run as they continued to work away. With the element of surprise still within my grasp, I started to formulate a plan to get out of these bindings. Just from what I can feel, they got my arms and legs tied down pretty tightly. They did, however, forget one important thing, and with that in mind I waited for the perfect moment to strike.

Two hours passed by as I sat there butt naked on their operating table. Every time I cracked my eyelid open I would see multiple ponies talking to each other over a hand drawn picture of my physic. I knew what they all wanted to do, but I would never imagine myself in such a position. This, to me, was something straight out of a nightmare.

It was as if this were but a dream and I was just blindly following its predetermined path. How I wished this was a dream. The pain I endured during my first entrance was enough to open my eyes to this weird new place. I don’t know how I got here, but it’s pretty clear to me that this is no longer Oaklyn lake.

My thoughts on the matter, however, were interrupted by the sound of hooves on marble as they approached the table. As I thought, the three ponies that were working started to surround me as they begun the examination of my body.

Before they could make any progress, I decided that this was the chance to strike. In the blink of an eye, I tossed the untied ropes off me and swung my fist around, successfully connecting it with the first stallion's face. A soft thump echoed through the now silent lab as the first pony slumped to the floor.

With the first threat dealt with I moved onto the other two. They were both situated on the other side of the table, both drenched in shock at their thought-to-be knocked out specimen attacked. In another fluid movement, I slid off the opposite side of the table. Reaching the ground on all fours I slid halfway back under the table. Waiting for nothing I pushed the table up and over the two ponies causing it to fall on them. Within seconds the other two followed the first on the ground.

Not wanting to stay in this room long I looked around for any form of exit. When none presented themselves, I did a double take. Once again, the room held no exit, curiously I moved towards one of the walls and examined it. As my glance told me before there was nothing to be seen, just a plain stone wall.

Scratching my head in confusion I turned my attention to the roof. The moment I did, I regretted it. Lining the top of the room was multiple vents that I can only assume had one purpose.

“Ah fuck me,” I stated out loud before the vents activated causing me to lose consciousness.





Once again like all the other times, I found myself in a new room. This time, however, I was actually wearing something. While it was nice having something to wear once again it annoyed me that it so happened to be a straitjacket. Oh, and the room, well it was a padded room. It has seemed that the ponies of this place have deemed me insane. Which with my current mindset isn’t too far off from the truth.

With nothing left to do in a room that provides no means of escape, I leaned against one of the walls and let out a long deep sigh.

“How the hell did I get myself into this mess,” I stated knowing full well how I was dropped here. It almost seemed straight out of a novel. I didn’t even attempt to understand how being tossed into a lake could transport someone to what looks to be another realm. My body was still hoping this was all some kind of cruel joke, but my mind knew better.

With absolutely nothing to do, I stared off into the foamy walls. Their comfort ruined by their purpose. As time went on so did my mind, new thoughts started to take hold and I soon found myself wondering if these rooms just made the problem worse. For if I was going to be stuck here for days on end I would surely go mad.

Thankfully it seemed someone was listening to me as a part of the padded wall opened up to reveal two figures. One was a white horse; she was too tall to be a pony. While the other one was a bit shorter and shaded to a dark blue. They both had wings and a horn, making the padded room I was in all start to make sense…

Shaking the thought out of my head I looked on as the two horses made their way over to me. They both seemed to be taking extra precaution, which around someone like me seemed appropriate. Who knows, I might just snap at any given time. I stated to myself as I watched the two continue to walk towards me.

After a couple of seconds, the two arrived before me. As they stopped, they both looked down towards my form. Their eyes told me the whole story, they didn’t know what I was and they were here to find out. I can only assume this was not their first attempt at figuring out what I was. Thinking about the lab room still sent shivers up my spine.

“Too bad I don’t speak the same language as you guys…” I stated. This seemed to get their attention as they started to talk to each other. “…would make this a whole lot easier,” I add albeit more quietly.

Once again, I found myself attempting to decipher how their language worked, but sadly it was all for nothing. I was never really all that good at learning new languages, and something like this just seemed way over my head. The only thing I could do now was wait for them to do something, maybe do something back to show that I can at least understand them.

It was at this time during my thought process that the white horse stopped talking and turned towards me. Her eyes told me that she was unsure of something, probably me to be honest. Yet as I glanced at the other mare she had a look of determination.

Utterly confused I just continued to stare at them. I must have looked really creepy, but what else was I supposed to do. My body had taken a beating today, and I knew full well that trying to escape again would not end well for me.

Without any warning, the two horns on their heads started to glow and a large white beam shot out from each towards me. With instincts kicking in I jumped to the side just barely missing the light. Their eyes -and no doubt mind- were filled with fear.

Once again like clockwork, the two horses fired another beam, and like before I rolled out of the way. This time however when I looked at the two I could see them getting more and more tired. It was as if the beams of light they cast required a lot of energy on their part. Who am I kidding they're using fucking magic! Of course it’s going to take a lot out of them! I yelled to myself as I successfully dodged another bolt.

Sadly, as I dodged the last bolt the white horse shot another one ahead of me causing me to slam right into it. The expected pain however never came, instead, I just continued on my path across the room. Being caught off guard with the seemingly useless spell they casted I looked towards the two. The white one seemed to have a smile on her face as she looked towards her sister and once again engaged in conversation.

The conversation this time took only a couple seconds as the white horse looked back at me. Seeing that I was out of breath she once again stepped towards me. Instead of the cautious approach like last time, this one was much more relaxed.

“Are all the beings of your race as stubborn as you?” The white horse stated in perfect English. Her tone was light and soothing to hear. The next thing she did was untie the straitjacket, something I had not expected my captors to do.

Nevertheless, I was not going to be talked down to by this mare. If what she said was true, then I would have to show her that us humans are not one to be reckoned with. So, in response, I got up to my full height, puffed out my chest and walked on over to her. For a brief moment, her eyes flickered with regret and fear but nevertheless stood her ground. I admired her state of mind yet that was not going to stand in my way of bringing us to an equal plane.

Reaching my hand out towards her, I slowly tipped the tiara on her head off. The whole room remained silent as the tiara clattered as it hit the ground.

“Since when did horses learn how to talk?” I replied.

This response caused the white mare to back up with a shocked expression on her face. The mare behind her looked like I had just slapped her mother in front of her. As if acting on her emotions her horn lit up with a blue hue before she fired another bolt towards me. The bolt took naught but a millisecond to impact its target.

I, however, looked on with amusement as the bolt dissipated across my chest doing absolutely no harm to me. Sadly, while the bolt of energy did nothing to me, it did set my straitjacket on fire. Seeing as I am now on fire I started to yell and run around the padded room like an idiot.

“Thou shall be punished for thy transgressions.” The blue mare stated as she watched me run around the room engulfed in flames.

By the time she was done that sentence I could feel the fire starting to burn my skin. The pain that I once thought was gone came back with a vengeance. The next thing I could remember was me rolling on the floor while a bucket of water was dumped on me.

It took a couple of seconds to recompose myself after that little stunt, but when I did I was not a happy camper. In fact, I was royally pissed. “What the fuck was that for you blue piece of shit!” I yelled out as I looked over my body for any damage. Which was actually quite easy to do seeing as all my clothes have burned off.

What I saw was not surprising. I had a couple of black splotches on my body but nothing too bad. If anything, it would all heal within a week or so. Still, I would have rather not liked being set on fire in the first place. So, after a quick glance at my body, I snapped my head right back at the two horses. If they were reading my expression, I made it all too easy for them.

It seems, however, that I was not the only one that was pissed. The blue horse also bore the exact same expression as I did. Yet surprisingly enough, she was not the first one to speak up. “I suggest we all calm ourselves down before one of us does something they may regret.” The white horse lectured.

“Who are you to order me around?” I stated more than asked.

“I only suggested, I never ordered.” The white mare replied.

Well she got me there. I stated to myself. That being said I didn’t stop my questioning. Oh no, I had a lot on my mind and it seemed that this white horse had some answers. “How can you expect me to calm myself down when you set me on fire, put me into a padded room, placed me on top of a lab table, and lastly but certainly not least, tossed me inside a cell!?” I continued.

“Ha! Tho-” The blue mare stated before the white mare turned around and gave her a pretty brutal look. After the small staring contest was done and the bigger horse stated her position as alpha. The white mare said some words in her language which caused the blue mare to leave the room.

“Sorry about that, I suppose you would like some answers.” The white horse stated as she picked up her tiara with her magic.

Just the notion of magic being real spun the world around me. Seeing it in action almost made me faint again. “y-yeah that would be nice.” I replied not taking my eyes off the floating tiara.

What happened next, in all honesty, scared the shit out of me. One moment the golden tiara was there, and the next it was gone. The part that made me almost jump out of my skin was the loud pop and the bright white light that it gave off.

“You have to realize that you are not the only one curious about the other, but I will let you ask the first question.” The white horse stated as her horn once again flared up. Before I knew what was happening the door to the padded room closed, successfully isolating the two of us.

After the doors closed the white mare seemed to visibly relax. “Alright, I’ll bite. I’m assuming I’m not on earth anymore, so where am I? or more importantly how did I get here?” I asked the pain that was running through my body seemed to have dulled itself momentarily.

My question seemed to have surprised the horse as she chewed on the question a bit before answering it. “interesting, I thought your arrival was planned. Nevertheless, you’re currently within the borders of Equestria on the planet Equis. As for your arrival, I have no idea, but you sure do know how to make an entrance.” She said and out of all things chuckled right after.

“To be honest I don’t even remember my entrance. I was in so much pain.” I continued.

“A story for another time perhaps. It is my turn, however, and since you asked two questions it only seems fair that I get two as well.” The mare stated.

My response was a small nod for her to continue. “You speak of ‘earth’ sorry if I mispronounced it, but what is it?” The white horse asked.

“Earth is the planet where I’m from.” I simply stated.

“I see, so you believe to have traveled the stars to have gotten here?” She asked.

“Maybe, who knows? Getting tossed into the lake might actually be the ticket into space instead of shooting rockets up there,” I stated sarcastically.

“Rockets?” The white mare questioned.

“A story for another time,” I replied with a shit eating grin on my face.

“Fair enough, as for-” The white horse stated, but was cut off by me.

“- I do believe you had your two questions already.” I commented. She stopped for a second before nodding me on. “So what is the name of my captors?” I asked.

The white mare recoiled at that question. “Since when am I your captor?” She questioned back at me.

“Since you slammed me into the cell,” I replied rolling my eyes.

“That was just for precautions, you were a being unlike any I have seen before. For all I knew you could have been a wild beast incapable of reason.” She quickly said back, it was almost as if I had offended her deeply.

Taking that answer for now, which still doesn’t explain why they tossed me onto an operating table I re-asked my question. “Either way I would still like to know who it is I am speaking to. Otherwise, you’re going to have to deal with ‘white horse’.”

“My name is Celestia, and yours is?” She asked me back.

“Kenneth, but everyone I know calls me Ken,” I stated simply. “So how am I able to talk to you right now? I know you horses or ponies have some form of language. Does English exist here?” I asked back leaving no room for idle chit-chat.

Celestia just shook her head. “No, English as you call it does not exist here. I and my sister Luna had to use a memory spell on you to gain the knowledge to communicate.”

Magic, I hope I don’t have to stay here long enough to understand it. Wait, wait, wait… does that mean she mentally raped me? I stated to myself starting to feel a bit uncomfortable. Nevertheless, I let her ask her question. “What is it that you call your species? For us, we are known as ponies.” Celestia lectured.

“Humans, or homo sapiens if you’re more scientific. Personally, I like being called a human over the latter.” I responded. “So do you ponies have a way to get me back or something? While it would be cool in all to stay and explore, I rather not leave my friends alone at my cottage any longer than I have to.” I asked thinking about the ways my friends would react to me vanishing.

“You have such a funny way with words. Do you not like to speak to others with respect?” Celestia stated.

“I’m talking to you like I would any other person, given they put me through what you did. You are nothing special in my eyes. Now could we get back to my question, I rather not dilly-dally and waste time that could be spent finding a way home.” I stated.

Celestia just gazed at me for a while after that before responding, “I know too little about what happened, but I will make sure to get my top mages on this problem. It is the least I can do seeing that we couldn’t heal you with our conventional ways.” Celestia replied.

“And what do you mean by conventional ways?” I asked back.

“Usually we can just cast a spell on a wound and it’ll mend it from the inside out. Quite useful in the right places. Sadly, for some reason, you expel some form of field that counters high intensive spells.” Celestia responded.

“What do you mean by high intensive?” I questioned Celestia.

“I take it that you don’t have magic where you’re from?” Celestia asked once again diverging from the ask-and-answer type of routine we had going on. she looked like she was absorbed in this conversation. As if the notion of not having any magic was such an interesting topic to discuss.

“Nope, it’s all just fairy tale where I come from. Man, I bet you ponies have it easy here?” I stated, thinking of all the possibilities.

“Interesting, how do you cope without magic?” Celestia asked.

“We use technology to help us,” I stated trying to end the train of questions so we could get back to the more important ones. Like what the hell is a high intensive spell and why am I immune to it? Do I have some sort of disease?

“That’s just its technology?” Celestia responded, obviously not impressed by my answer.

“Tell me, Celestia, what is the pinnacle of pony technology?” I prodded.

“Coal-powered train system, it has enabled us to get to places far faster than any other conventional means. While Pegasus can still fly faster, it’s more convenient to just sit and relax then do the workout.” Celestia boasted, she had a smile on her face.

“You are like a baby, watch this.” reveals the vast knowledge of human innovation gained by competition and war. I thought in my mind with a small smile. “As I thought, we humans have split the atom, gone to the moon and created a blanket that has sleeves.”

Celestia just sat there digesting the info bomb I just dropped. “A blanket with sleeves, why haven’t we thought of that.” She stated.

“That’s really all you took from that?” I replied.

“I wish I could believe all your accusations Ken, but what you’re telling me is simply not possible,” Celestia stated her mind.

There was nothing I could really do to prove my statements at this moment so I just let the whole thing slide. It was like a man watching a mudslide toss tiny cars off the side of a cliff. While there was nothing I could do about it, it was painful yet somewhat entertaining to watch.

After that the conversation kept going for many more hours. In all honesty, I was actually having a blast asking questions back and forth. Who knew that learning a completely different way of life would be so fascinating.

Nonetheless, as we all know nothing lasts forever, and this moment of questioning was no different. While I had no means of knowing what time it was, my bodies biological clock deemed it was night. It displayed that useful bout of information by letting out a long and exhausted yawn.

“Well, it looks like it’s getting quite late in the day Mr. Ken,” Celestia stated getting all formal up in here. To be honest, I think she knew it annoyed me, she was just going to drag it along like nails on a chalkboard.

“I wouldn’t know that would I.” I retorted.

“I guess you’re right. While I have grown to understand your somewhat unique ways, I cannot let you free. Trust is earned, and until that time comes, or until we can figure out how to send you back, you will have to stay here.” Celestia stated as she gestured to the padded room.

I just rolled my eyes as I once again leaned against the plush walls. I know I was being a bit of a prick to her… okay, scratch that, more like a complete asshole, so I wanted to give her a little compliment. You know, to end this whole event comprised of chaos and hatred on a light note. Kind of like those crap sandwiches teachers always seemed to give you throughout your schooling.

Seeing as I wasn’t responding, Celestia rose from her spot and opened the secret padded door. When she reached the other side of the other door and was about to close it I let out what I had set out to do.

“You’re a great leader Celestia.” Was all I stated.

The door was kept open for a couple more seconds before it was shut closed. My compliment no doubt settling into her mind. While it may be simple, imagine what kind of impact it made coming from an alien.