Chapter 1 - Beginning of a new end

With happiness and joy comes both great pain and great torture."

As I stood, numb, this phrase alone ricocheted around the inside of my mind. My vision began to blur as I fell onto my hands and knees. Gasping, I stared intensely into the wooden floorboards as I felt myself fade into the surrounding darkness. I couldn't shake the feeling that my grey and boring life was about to change forever. Soon after this, I was no longer capable of feeling anything at all.

I woke up with a start. I was pleasantly warm and I felt grass tickling my neck as the sun shined upon my face. The air smelled fresh clean. A cool breeze was ruffling through my… fur? Everything felt strange, my hands and legs… I slowly opened my eyes. When I finally started to gain my bearings, I realized that I was lying outside in a clearing looking at a cloudless blue sky. I raised my head from the ground and moved my arm to my face. I gasped... There was no arm, no fingers present. All I could see was a pink… Hoof? With a start I tried to scramble to my feet. I immediately tripped over my extra pair of legs and fell back down. As I dropped back into the cool grass, pink hair fell over my face partially obscuring my view. I once more tried to stand, this time on all fours. I could hardly believe what was happening. Mouth agape, I looked over myself again and again. Straight pink mane, pink fur, and balloons on my flanks, this part was obvious. Suddenly the reality of the situation set in.
"Where am I?" I asked inquisitively.
I started looking around, but this strange new place was completely alien to me. All I could see were trees, walkways, a couple benches, and a solitary lamppost. It looked like a park, yet nobody seemed to be around.
“How did I get here?”
For a while I stood mouth agape in the center of one of the cobblestone walkways, trying to comprehend the recent events. Suddenly the sound of a dog bark flew through the air and I snapped to attention. I quickly looked around and jumped into a small bush next to the walkway. To my dismay, the bush was too small to make a good hiding place, and my pink tail poked out. The pink did not blend in very well with the surrounding green fauna, and I was simply too obvious to be overlooked. Yet, the barking faded into the distance and I let out a sigh.
“Whatever that was is gone now.”
I froze when I heard a voice squeak. "H-Hello?"
I could hear the shaking voice of a boy standing behind me. I slowly turned my head and pointed my eyes at him. I could see surprise in his wide open eyes. I was just about to reply when he cut in.
"Pinkamena? Is that you?"

Once more I attempted to speak but was interrupted.
"I don't think it would be pleasant if someone found you here like this. If you want you can come with me maybe?"
I blinked few times. It didn’t seem like I had too many alternative options. He was young and seemed kind, so I just stepped out of the bush and silently nodded. I had no idea where I was, so I simply followed him. We passed through many sidewalks I’d never seen before. This couldn’t be the town where I used to live. I kept following him until we came to a house. Due to his age I doubted the house was his. We crossed the street and quickly got inside. Without even taking off his shoes he rushed me upstairs into his room. I caught my breath and murmured a weak
"...thank you."
The sound of my own voice surprised me. He just smiled and left me in the room as he walked downstairs. I could hear an adult's voice yelling downstairs, something about mud and shoes. Soon, I heard footsteps drawing closer, walking upstairs. I quickly hid behind a desk. My tail of course was sticking comically out from behind. As the doors opened again, the adolescent spotted me and chuckled.
"You aren’t too good at hiding, are you?"
“Matthew, time for dinner!” shouted a feminine voice downstairs not a moment later.
He motioned for me to stay where I was.
“I’ll be back soon” he said.
After he left I decided to examine the room further. The room had a purple carpet with white walls. It had a couple wooden bookshelves with a wooden dresser, all of which covered in various trinkets. There was nothing very unusual, a laptop on the bed, some books on the shelves, and a bit of mess from here to there. Through the lone window in the room I watched the brilliant hues in the sky as the sun set. After a while, I heard footsteps once more coming up the stairs. As the door opened, I saw it was the teenager once more. He walked in and sat on the bed.
“So, I’m Matthew” He exclaimed as he held out his right hand. I held out my ha---hoof and he shook it. We stayed in there for hours, talking, exchanging jokes, even laughing. I couldn't remember the last time I laughed... I didn’t feel like talking much about my life before, and why should I have? I felt so happy and warm after seemingly endless years of never-ending darkness. After a while, I dozed off and slept.
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I woke up sometime in the morning covered under a blanket. I crawled out of the bed and started looking around once again. He wasn't present and I could feel a squeezing feeling in my stomach. I already really missed his company. Something on the table caught my attention, it was a bowl filled with water. Next to it there was a note. I read the note:

"I had to go to school and I didn't want to wake you up.
I locked the door, so you should be safe from parents, but still try to keep quiet.
See you later, Matthew."

His handwriting was horrible. I analyzed my situation. I was a pink pony trapped in a room with a bowl of water in a house with people who had no idea. I had nothing much to do but wait and watch the dust particles in the air float lazily by. He was smart to give me a bowl; I wasn't able to get a firm grip on anything with my hooves. I wasn't the one who could sit still for hours so I hopped on the bed and grabbed a book from the shelf above in my mouth. I dropped it on the bed and the title instantly hit me
"Fallout Equestria" I muttered.
The title reminded me of the years I spent lifeless and mindless. These years ruined everything. As I began to think back, I shook my head and started to flip the pages carefully with my teeth rather than reminisce upon painful memories. I spent hours reading that book, diving straight into the story.

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I was awoken out of the gripping story when I heard a door open downstairs. Frozen in place, I jumped suddenly as I heard a key turn the tumblers of the bedroom lock. The door was opening and it was too late to hide. After they swung open my ears raised and I smiled, he walked in and dropped his bag. Matthew then looked at the book I was reading.
"Ah, that's a decent piece. Enjoying it?"
I looked at him and answered
"Yes indeed I do. I hope you don't mind me grabbing it?"
He shrugged and smiled "I can't expect you to sit in one spot for like six hours, and I really don't mind. Books are meant to be read."

We sat in the room and kept talking through the day. We both agreed that it wouldn't be wise for me to show myself.
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Days after days passed, many of which I spent in the room. I didn't feel caged at all, everything seemed so much better than before. I often smiled just for myself when i was thinking about things now. As the days passed, our friendship grew stronger and my dark memories slowly faded into a warm shine.

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