//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: A New World (Re-written) 
// Story: The Ones From Beyond 
// by Lordvessel 
//------------------------------//

As darkness fades and the world around him returns, a man displaced and far from home will find himself at the center of what he could only dream of. However only time will tell if he is truly alone in this brave new world......... 







"Aw..ww..........where...................AW!........Aw shit." Tim grunted weakly. 

As he awoke, the black that obscured Tim's vision was beginning to fade. He wondered what he and Achmed had done this time, whatever it was, it was quite painful. But soon, his memory started slowly coming back to him and he quickly recounted that he and Achmed were searching a building. They were down in the basement when...
Tim's memory of recent events came rushing forward all at once, and he began to panic. He frantically looked over himself, fearing the worst, but thankfully he seemed intact. Breathing a sigh of relief, Tim's thoughts soon turned to the ground upon which he sat. It was.....green? Yes, green, a vibrant green of a dozen different plants growing from the soil. Tim slowly raised his head and began to take in his surroundings. What he saw left him absolutely awestruck. All around, as far as the eye could see were innumerable trees, wild, untamed, and ever growing. Vines were wrapped and inter tangled amongst their branches, ferns and shrubs grew at the base of their trunks, and great blinding light penetrated through the thick canopy that their leaves formed.

"A......a forest? An actual forest? One that's not burned to shit or in decay.............and I'm sitting in it!" he thought to himself. 

He looked around some more expecting this to be some trick, an illusion just waiting to pull the rug from under his feet. But alas, what he saw was very real. This was a place only spoken of in stories recounted by those who lived before the war or seen through the pages of old textbooks back when he was just a small child. It was a testament to a lost age, something he never once thought he'd ever see in his life and yet, here he was. To say it was beautiful would be an understatement. The vibrant greens and browns, the plethora of life around him. All of it came as a stark contrast to the desolate wasteland he had known his whole life. As all his senses began to return to him, he felt something big press against his back. Turning to take a look behind him, the thing in question was none other than a great oak, a giant behemoth whose trunk stemmed well over him and high into the air. He found himself astonished by just how healthy it was, as every other tree he had seen in life had been rendered into a black, shriveled husk or had lost its luster to the fallout. As his field of view stretched beyond the oaken giant, he caught a glimpse of the sky, permeating in a bright blue he could scarce describe. There was no place on Earth like this, not anymore. With this sudden change in his environment and the knowledge of what brought him here, Tim was left with only one definitive conclusion on where he wasn't, but a multitude of theories of where he could be.

"Okay, I definitely ain't on Earth anymore. Am I dead? Is this........is this heaven?"

Diverting his attention away from the abundant life surrounding him, he noticed that scattered around the forest floor were multitudes of debris. Sheets of paper, broken keyboards, bits of various desks and office furniture, and of course right next to him, his AKM rifle. As he stretched over to reach for it, a spasm of pain shot through his body.

"Fuck!" he said clenching his teeth in pain.

"Okay, definitely not heaven. Guess I'm not dead if I'm feelin' like shit."

While nothing felt broken, he was going to have one nasty set of bruises. He was just grateful to still be breathing. Tim was no scientist, but he knew well enough the amount of force it took for the vortex to pull him in probably shot him back out the other side at a tremendous speed. How he didn't have a fractured spine right now was beyond him, but he was just grateful to be in one piece. He attempted to reach for his rifle again, this time a little more carefully, and thankfully with less pain. He looked over his gun to see if it was still operational. He pulled back on the bolt, and the bullet that was chambered flew out. 

"Alright, bolt's still functional."

He released the magazine, revealing a full stack of 30 rounds.

"Okay, no problems there."

Finally he loaded the magazine, switched the gun to semi-auto and was about to fire, when a thought came across his mind.

"Y'know. Maybe firing a loud ass gun in a place I've never been isn't such a good idea. This forest might be pretty, but that doesn't make it safe."

Choosing not to fire his weapon, he began inspecting the exterior. Other than a few dents and scratches added to the many it already had, the rifle seemed to function properly. He slung the sling around his shoulder and grabbed the round that had been ejected.

"Alrighty then Tim, no sense in sitting here. Time to try and figure out where the hell I am."

Tim stood up and began to check if he had all his belongings. He checked his waist, and sure enough his canteen, secondary pouches, knife, and satchel were all still there. He looked over his shoulder and saw that his backpack was also still on his person. His clothes remained intact, one British Army DPM camo jacket, one pair of olive drab cargo pants, and a pair of old American army combat boots. All that remained was his hat, reaching up to his head to grab for it only to come back with a fistful of air.

"AAAH! Nonono! Where the hell's my hat!? Shit! I've had that damn thing since I was bite-size, I ain't about to lose it now!"

He began searching frantically for his missing garment. He searched behind tree and root, blade and bush and came up with nothing. He searched around the tree he was previously sitting up against, nothing. He looked amongst the piles of debris that had been sucked in with him, still nothing. He then searched farther back behind the tree. 

"Aha! There you are! Thought I lost ya'."

Lying about fifteen yards from where he had awoken, sitting against the base of another tree laid the hat Tim so desperately needed to find. The hat itself was filthy, drenched in dirt, sweat, and the occasional smear of motor oil. It was camouflaged in a Real-tree pattern, with the front displaying a sun-bleached Dixie flag. Tim had it since he was 8 years old, but he wouldn't tell anyone why he was so fond of it. He knew, and that was his business and no one else's. As he donned it on his head, he began to think of a possible exit out of this forest. 

"I need a way outta' here. Jesus, I don't even know where here is!"

Sense of where to go wasn't the primary thought on his mind, however. Tim found himself stumped, he didn't know what he was going to do, he wasn't sure what exactly happened or how he was going to get back to Earth, if he was going to get back at all. Tim pondered whether he should wait to be rescued. He ran that thought through his mind and ultimately decided against it. There was no way for the rest of his unit to deduce whether or not he survived the incident that landed him here. For all they knew he could be dead, and even if they realized the device was a portal, they didn't know how to operate it. The only people who would know would be from the Science and Research Branch. Tim realized rather quickly that it might take awhile for them to fly from New Damascus out to Berlin, and even longer for them to figure out how to operate the device correctly. And even after all that, there was no guarantee they'd spend resources to rescue him at all. Tim knew the implications when he enlisted in the Militia, at the end of the day, he was one man, an expendable asset. 

"I may be on my own this time around. But I'll be damned before I give up." Tim swore.

Tim looked to his surroundings, hoping for a small hint on where to start. Alas, all he saw was forest that stretched in every direction. From his experience, sticking around in one place for too long was bound to end badly. Tim cleared his thoughts, and fell back to his optimistic side for comfort.

"Well, can’t stay here, that's for certain. I guess I could try and find help, maybe somebody actually lives on this world? Place seems perfect for it."

Tim span around slowly a few times, thinking of which direction to go before ultimately settling on one. It just so happened to be the direction he looked to find his hat.

"Ain't exactly scientific, but luck had me find my hat this way, maybe it'll lead me outta here too. Better than nothin' I guess."

Tim walked forwards into the literal unknown. Much dwelt on his mind, but he found comfort on the bright side of things.

"Who knows what I'll run into, but I gotta feeling I'm gonna look forward to it. At least the change of scenery will be nice." 







It felt like four hours had passed, and Tim still found himself walking through the ever expansive forest, unsure of where he was or even if he was going the right way. His mood hadn't changed though, he was still amazed by the sights and sounds that surrounded him. His journey revealed a multitude of different creatures that he recognized from old books as a child. Squirrels, possums, raccoons, and rabbits apparently made their home here in this wilderness. He knew that at one time they used to be hunted as small game. That helped ease some of his more short-term worries, for if he ever needed to look for food it was good to know that it was abundant. There were also creatures that seemed to be pulled straight out of myth. At one point, a very vibrant bird of prey adorned with a fiery array of orange and red feathers passed him by and seemed a tad bit curious at his presence. Tim recalled how it landed on a nearby branch and watched as he went on his way. Another strange creature came in the form of a golden rabbit with antlers. He saw it as it stumbled across his path probably looking for food, only for it to retreat back into the thicket when it noticed him. Albeit strange, Tim would happily take these creatures over the mutants any day of the week.
Tim continued his unforeseeable trek into the unknown, amazed but still aware of his surroundings. Some twenty minutes passed when Tim heard a faint sound emanating in the air. It was a sound that was unmistakably unique, and when Tim recognized it, he sped his pace in an attempt to close in on the sound's source. He passed a thicket of bushes and suddenly found the source in plain view. Mere feet away from him was something that he had never thought he'd ever see again, and it made him smile with joy.

"Holy hell! An actual stream of water! Pure water! Oh my god! Yes!"

He eagerly ran towards it and cupped his hands together, retrieving water from the stream and drinking it with fervor. It was clean, pure, and refreshing to the taste.

"My god, this place has it all! If this ain't heaven it sure feels like it! Thank you lucky hat for steering me the right way!"

He pulled his canteen out and opened it, proceeding to dip it into the stream to fill it until full. As he screwed the cap back on, it dawned on Tim that he might have his first insightful clue on where to find help. Many years ago in school he had learned that several societies in early human history built their civilizations along sources of water as a means of obtaining drinking water and conducting trade.

"Where there's water, there's usually a settlement of sorts. If I'm gonna find out where I am I guess following this stream downriver might be my best bet. Once again, thank you lucky hat!"

Tim placed the canteen back in its belt pouch and continued onward, traveling along the side of the stream in hopes that it would lead him to some semblance of society. This took him another hour or so when it started getting dark. On top of that, he noticed that the forest was becoming less and less dense as trees began to spread out and the forest floor gave way to grass. Eventually, Tim found himself walking across a grassy field, each blade flowing in rhythm by the gentle evening breeze. He continued following the stream's path from a distance, until what he saw in front of him made him stop in his tracks. In the distance, he spotted the indistinguishable congregation of structures, a town of sorts.

"God bless that education I got. I better get there before dark."

He began to walk towards the town when he stopped again, and began to have second thoughts on the notion. 

"Hold on, I already know this ain't Earth, something tells me whoever's in that town may not even be human. I may need to scope this place out first."

Tim resumed his approach, this time more cautiously. When he finally reached the outskirts of town, it was already nighttime, but even that too was unmatched in its beauty. A full, luminous moon shone down on him accompanied by a spectacle of starry constellations dotting the almost mystical blue of the night sky. It was as if the whole scene were painted on an artist's canvas. The air was cool, and the sounds of crickets offered a serene gentleness to his surroundings. 

"Of course the nights here would be just as beautiful." Tim commented to himself, overcome by a slight sense of euphoria. 

The town seemed to be lit, giving him some sort of visibility in the darkness. He found a spot on the edge of town where a few trees and some bushes offered a small pocket of concealment.

"Alright, perfect little spot to do some recon."

Once he made his way over there and properly concealed himself, he reached for his satchel. From it, he pulled out a pair of old binoculars and began to survey the settlement. Looking around he noticed it was a lively looking town. The buildings were colored and decorated vibrantly, made with a unique style of architecture where the majority of the buildings possessed a thatched roof. While a rather dated construction method, it did give the town a rather humble vibe that Tim found rather appealing. Tim also found out that the multiple sources of light came from what looked like candle-lit lamp posts dotted around the town.

"Hmm, candles, huh? Guess that means they haven't discovered electricity, whatever they..........w................wait..........WHAT IN GOD'S NAME!?"

Tim paused his moment of thought as he observed something beyond strange. Walking out the door of one of the buildings was none other than a bright pink puffy-haired equine, with some sort of giant pastry on her back. It stood only about 3 feet tall, possessing a head shape that seemed rather uncommon for a regular equine. Further observation led Tim to discover another one. This one was orange in color and wore what was unmistakably a cowboy hat. And then Tim caught another one through his binoculars as it came from around the corner, and then another descending down from the sky with a pair of cyan wings. His surveillance provided him with the sight of around a dozen or more of these strange creatures. Unless someone had let loose the animals of a very bizarre petting zoo, Tim got the picture that these had to be the inhabitants of the town, and in turn, this world. It was a concept that seemed rather bewildering to him, and he was uncertain if this was even real. However, when he spotted two conversing with one another by way of mouth movement, any doubts were thrown aside.

"Okay, that's not what I was expecting. A world inhabited by technicolor equines.................God I hope I'm not just hallucinating or in a coma or something."

Alas, the acute control Tim had over all his senses at the moment told him that this was in fact very real. He stowed his binoculars back in his satchel and thought on how to approach the situation.

"Alright, now how to go about this? I can't just walk up and talk to em', there ain't any guarantee that they speak any human language. Plus, they may not look it, but they could be dangerous. They could attack me just cause' I look different. Or it could be the other way around, walk up to em' and accidentally scare em' shitless. I do kind of stand out in contrast. SEVERELY at that. Actually that sounds pretty likely given how I'm nearly twice as tall."

Tim brainstormed a few possible ways to set up a proper yet careful introduction. Preferably one in which he wouldn't cause much of a panic. As he overlooked the town one more time, an idea came to him.

"Alright, I need to see their reactions first. Guess I should sit and wait somewhere where they can see me and know that I ain't here to stir up trouble. From there I guess I let them make a decision. I gotta make contact sooner or later if I wanna' get back home. But where do I go and do this?"

At that moment he spotted what looked like a small park along the outskirts of town not too far from his position, and it didn't seem like anyone was there. Tim surveyed the area and found a cylindrical structure with a small bench at its center. Tim thought that might make a nice place to sleep during the night and make his introduction by day.

"May not be as comfy as my rack, but then again, that wasn't very comfy to begin with."

Tim moved from his hiding spot in the bushes and made his approach towards the bench. One quick look around revealed that nobody was present nearby. He walked up and into the open structure, which seemed to be made from white painted wood with a black tile roof. He laid himself across the bench; finding it was a little small for his size as his legs hung over the side, but he'd just have to make do. He kept his rifle by his side the whole night. Even though he didn't feel particularly threatened by his surroundings, he made it a habit to keep it close when sleeping in unknown locations.

"Least I got somethin' to look forward to. We'll see how it all fares in the morning. God help me."







Celestia's grand sunrise swept across Ponyville in a brilliant golden ray of light. With its rise came three of Ponyville's most renowned floral salesmares, Daisy, Lily, and Rose. The hour was around 7:00 am, though the three were no strangers to this time, as it more often than not became a regular routine during the busier times of the year. But today was a rather special day for them, as it happened to be the day they'd finally put the finishing touches to the little project on the outskirts of town. Mayor Mare had asked the trio if they would be kind enough to plant a flower garden for the newly constructed gazebo that had been erected in that area. All three were excited by this prospect, both from the opportunity to promote their modest flower shop business and a genuine love of labor. The three were partaking in some friendly conversation as they made their way towards the gazebo. 

"So?" Lily asked giddily, "What did you all bring to plant for the new garden?"

"I thought the gazebo would look nice with some azaleas, I think they complement the white finish very well." said Rose. 

"That's fantastic!" Lily said jubilantly. "I brought some violets, I thought they would look nice and they might serve as a nice contrast with your azaleas. What about you Daisy?" 

Daisy looked ready and eager to discuss the contents she brought.

"I've been really excited about this project for awhile, so I brought my-" 

Daisy cut off mid-sentence and stopped dead in her tracks, a fearful gaze struck across her face. 

"Daisy? What's the matter" asked Rose. 

Seconds passed with no answer and no change in expression or posture.

"Wait a second, Daisy don't tell me you mistook the Prench Primroses with the Paralyzing ones! Again!" Lily huffed.

Daisy simply lifted a hoof directed behind them.

"Oh, she's not paralyzed." Lily commented. "Thank heavens."

"But what is she pointing at?" Rose asked.

Daisy's friends followed the direction of her hoof. Not even a second passed before they too began to quiver in fear, for what lay before them was most unnerving. Laying on the gazebo bench was what looked like a giant hairy ape creature they had never seen before, wearing strange camouflage attire with some sort of strange half wood half metal object laying in its hand. He seemed to be sleeping at the moment, as its eyes were closed and it was snoring. But that only seemed to unnerve them more, as all three feared to wake it up.

"*What is that thing?*" whispered Lily.

"*I don't know.*" whispered Rose. "*But it's big and snoring. MENACINGLY!*"

"*We need get out of here and tell Princess Twilight.*" whispered Daisy.

They all nodded in agreement, but as they took a step back, Lily, not paying attention, had inadvertently stepped on a fallen stick. It snapped beneath her hoof, and the creature awoke.

"Hua...wh.wha?" It mumbled.

All three of them screamed in panic. Tim jumped screaming as well, confused from just waking up, the last thing he caught in his vision was the sight of three of those ponies running like a bat out of hell back into town. 

"Dammit!" He swore. 

He began to worry that the incident might lead to bad consequences.

"Okay Tim, they know you're here. Just stay put and see how events play out, hopefully it'll end peacefully. Show them you don't mean them harm by just sitting down and doing nothing."

And there he sat. And kept sitting....................................................................................

"Damn, forgot how boring this was gonna' be. Wish I had somethin' to read."