> A Second chance
>  by brony323
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> The Beginning
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        It was dark, unbelievably so. Hakann looked around himself trying to remember what happened. What happened, he wondered. The last thing I remember is the tunnel leading under the island collapsing and then nothing.
As he thought about this, he became aware of a sound. Whats that.? It was birds chirping. The sound came from all around, yet no matter where he turned, Hakann could not locate the source. Then, light started to engulf him, surrounding him in its warm glow. He was blinded for a moment, but as his vision cleared, he found himself on the outskirts of a forest, looking out at vast fields. Well, that was weird, he thought as he started towards a large red barn. Whoever the locals are, he thought with a sneer, they're about to get a big surprise.
As he approached the barn, he realized that his body was back to how it was before the water surrounding the island transformed him. Well, that is a good thing, he thought to himself. Being transformed like that certainly did not feel right. Nice to have my old body back. How did I get here anyways? This question continued to to boggle him. The last thing he remembered before he blacked out was a massive pain in the middle of his back and then an impact to his skull. Did I die? If that's the case, then why am I here?
He shook his head, thinking it might be best if he got an idea of what the locals are like. If I really did die then why am I here and what is this place, he wondered shaking his head. Maybe I should ask the locals instead of looting and killing them for once. Hakann walked towards the barn, and as he did so, he spotted a house not to far off. Seeing this, he changed course. As he approached the house, he could hear voices, although he couldn't make out any words. As he approached the door, he heard a young woman's voice with a drawl.
"Alrigh' , Granny Smith, I'm goin to the market, Ah'll see y'all later." As Hakann approached the door, it opened and an orange mare with a yellow mane and a hat stepped out. She turned towards him and was taken aback by his looks. Not wanting to be rude however, she greeted him.
"Howdy there, partner, don't think I've seen y'all around here before." Hakann jumped in shock and fainted.
"Now why'd y'all go and do that," the mare asked out loud.

As Hakann came to, he was aware of a soft feeling on his chest. He opened his eyes to find that he was on a couch, a long blanket over his body. As he looked around, he found himself in what appeared to be a living room, with a table in the middle and a fireplace on the wall. He sat up and groaned, his muscles aching from the impact he had with the ground when he fainted.
"Y'all are finally awake," a voice behind him exclaimed. He turned around and saw the mare from before standing in the doorway of what looked to be a kitchen. "Yeh fainted when I greeted you so Ah brought ya inside. My name's Applejack, what's yours?"
Hakann stared at her for a moment, shocked that this rahi or horse or...something, was actually talking. "I'm Hakann," he said, after regaining his senses. "You're a talking...horse?"
Applejack looked at him a moment, then she spoke up. "Ah'm a pony," she said.
"Sorry, no offense meant." Hakann paused a moment. Did I just apologize, he wondered. Why did I do that?
Applejack smiled. "Ah'm jus' jokin' with you. What are you, if you don't mind my askin'."
Hakann looked at her. "I'm a skakdi, but I prefer the term piraka. However, I don't know where I am or how I got here."
"Yer in Ponyville, or more specifically Sweet Apple Acres.," she said. "What do you remember?"
Hakann put on a thoughtful look. "We were in a long tunnel," he said. "The ceiling collapsed and a lot of rocks fell on me. I blacked out and when I woke up, I was on the edge the forest out there."
Applejack looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hm," she said. "Ah'll have Twilight send a message to the princesses later. In the meantime, are y'all hungry?" She looked at him as she said this last part.
As the issue of food was brought up, he heard a grumbling in his stomach. He took a moment to be a little embarrassed, wondered once again why he felt that way, then nodded. They went into the kitchen, not knowing that someone was watching from the window. Someone new is in town, huh, the figure thought. I better get everything ready then. The figure slipped away unnoticed.
Meanwhile, Hakann and Applejack arrived in the kitchen. Hakann moved to sit at the table while Applejack went to the fridge and got out an apple pie. She turned the oven on low and put in the pie. They waited in patient silence while it cooked. A timer Applejack set on top of the stove went off and she took out the pie.
"Ah hope you like it," she said, putting the pie in the middle of the small circular table and pulling up a seat. " Ah made it yesterday and kept it for later." Hakann took a bite and smiled.
"This is good, thank you," he said. Once again, he paused puzzled by his behavior. Normally, he would have just killed the mare and taken everything of value. Now, he felt, he was acting way too soft. I need to figure that out at some point, he thought, but for now, I'm going to enjoy this pie. He took another bite and decided that that would be best suited for finding out later.
He turned to Applejack. "You mentioned some princesses?"
She nodded. "Ah know a friend who can contact them if y'all need to get the lay of the land."
Hakann nodded. "That would be nice."
They ate for a good while until the pie was finished. Applejack looked outside and saw it was nighttime. "Wow, is it that late already," she asked. "We'd better head off to bed soon. Ah'll show you to your room."
As they headed up a short flight of stairs and made their way to the bedrooms, Hakann wondered what would be in store for him in the coming days. Whatever happens, I'm sure I can handle it, he thought, a hint of uncertainty tugging at the back of his mind. They came to a stop in front of a door.
"Here we are," Applejack said. "If you need me, Ah'm just down the hall." Hakann nodded and opened the door to a sparse bedroom. It had a bed in the far corner next to a window, a nightstand next to it. A small dresser was across from the bed and a bookshelf was to the right of the door walking in. Hakann didn't realize he was tired until he closed the door and walked to the bed. It was a bit small for him, so he lay on top of the covers and fell asleep. I hope to get answers tomorrow as to what happened and where I am, he thought, just before he fell asleep.
> The Dream
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He was running, fear coursing through him. Behind him, a shadow followed, never tiring. They were in a forest, dark trees passing by in flashes.
"Why do you run, Hakann," it taunted. "Don't you know who I am?"
Hakann looked back at the thing chasing him. "I know what you are, creature," Hakann shouted, "and I won't ever go back!"
Hakann tripped, falling on his face. Groaning, he turned over and saw the shadow looming over him. "Just go away!"
The shadow laughed. "Don't you get it yet, Hakann," it asked. "You can't get rid of me because I am you!"
The shadow leaned forward, and its face was Hakann's, but twisted and evil. "I will never leave!"
Hakann screamed.
With a start, Hakann sat up in bed, terror racing in his veins. "A dream," he said, barely a whisper. "It was just a dream. There was a knock on the door. "Come in," he called. Applejack walked in.
"Are y'all okay," she asked. Hakann sighed. Obviously, he had been making a lot of noise while he was sleeping. "Y'all were screamin' somethin' fierce for hours."
Hakann shook hi head, trying to clear it. "I'm okay now," he said, "just a bad dream." He smiled to try to alleviate her worry. Applejack smiled in turn and started out the door again.
"Oh," she said turning around, "Ah spoke with mah friend I told you about yesterday and she's downstairs. If y'all want to speak with the Princesses, she'll be the one ta ask. If you need it, the bathroom's just down the hall on the righ'." She nodded toward a door near the end of the hallway. She headed downstairs.
After Hakann got cleaned up, he headed downstairs. At the table in the main room, a purple unicorn with wings sat, speaking with Applejack. She looked up with a smile
"Hi there," she said. "Applejack here told me about you and what happened. I'm Twilight Sparkle, princess of friendship and magic."
Hakann did a short bow. "Nice to meet you, your highness," he said. "My name is Hakann."
Twilight nodded. "Nice to meet you too, Hakann," she said, "and please just call me Twilight."
"Very well, Twilight. So, I was told you might be able to help me?"
Twilight nodded again, a hopeful look in her eyes. "Hopefully," she said, "but I'd like to know about you more. Would you mind coming with me to my place so we can talk?"
Hakann nodded. "Sure, Twilight," he said, feeling happy for the first time all morning.
"Very well." She turned to Applejack. "Sorry that we had to cut our hangout short, Applejack," she said. "I'll look at the outer fields later."
"It's fine," Applejack said, nodding. "We'll hang out later, Ah gotta help 'Mac on the southern orchard."
Hakann and Twilight left, heading back into town. Hakann was deeply worried about his nightmare, and hoped Twilight would know a way to help him with dreams like that. If what I saw in that dream was real, then the darkest part of me still remains, he thought, a frown on his face. I hope that I don't start losing my grip. Why did I even become like this? Little did he know that things would only get harder.