Chapter 1
My Name is Jason Hicks, I'm 24, a business undergrad and I have a hell of a story to tell. It’s like something out of a dream, ( Or nightmare, however you want to look at it.) It involves some of the craziest shit you couldn’t make up; not without inspiration anyway. I can tell you, as a young impressionable adult, i was not ready for the kind of moral dilemmas and shenanigans that I experienced. But it was all worth it.
One day I was back from work at the local pharmacy one late night when it happened. I had opened the door to my room, at my apartment and threw my empty thermos and keys on my bed. None of my roommates had gotten home yet so i decided to take a nice long shower, cause my muscles ached from moving so many 24 packs of water that day. I might have been getting paid 12 cents more than the minimum wage, but it was hardly worth it. I got a towel from my closet and exited my room, into the hall, making my way to the bathroom. Nothing seemed out of place when I opened the door, turned the light on and entered, just maybe the fact that the bathroom was a little dirtier than usual.
I closed the door behind me and turned the shower on. Turning the faucets to the right positions, I stepped back from the shower to take my clothes off. It was then I heard something. It was faint but i could hear a girl’s voice. It was too faint to understand what she was saying so I thought it was one of the girls next door. Then she started to sound louder, almost like she was in my head. I turned around thinking she was in the hallway. I could hear her and she was saying, “Please, come to me….”
Suddenly the light began to dim and the walls creaked. I felt cold and dizzy as i fell to the ground. Everything went dark.
Opening my eyes I gazed up, seeing green leaves and a blue sky. The sun shined down on my right side with a soft warmth that was comforting like a blanket. Around me, I could feel the tickling touch of soft grass on my body. It enveloped me as if i was being embraced by mother nature herself. I lifted my head to look around, trying to shift my weight to get into a sitting position. .
Of Course after being asleep for so long, my eyes were dried out. It took a few tries for me to completely open my eyes, but eventually the dryness had washed away from my eyes and I could now clearly see the beautiful green hills and sparse trees before me. I took in the site with shock and wonder of it’s sheer beauty, wondering how i could how I could have come to such a place. It felt like a fantasy. Maybe it was a fantasy.
I could hear birds chirping and the wind gently rustling the tall grass and tree leaves. Their melodies sang with a harmony that nearly lulled me back to sleep and It took all my willpower not to.
The perfume of nature wafted in the air, smelling of honey suckle, grass and earthy tones that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It was apparent I wasn’t in my apartment any more.
I pushed myself onto my knees feeling the stiffness of my muscles and joints resisting my efforts to stand up. The grass felt soft like velvet in my hands and its coolness spread throughout my digits and palms. Eventually i stood up and felt the breeze cool my body, pushing on me from the east. It was only a slight breeze.
Taking a look around, i pretty much saw the same thing for miles; just hills trees and grass. There wasn’t a road, building or vehicle to be seen, nor were there any sounds familiar to me, like cars, planes or construction.
The idea that there was no human civilization to be seen anywhere, taunted my weary mind. I thought to myself, What the hell? Wasn’t I in my bathroom a moment ago? My mind then raced, despite the calming properties of my surroundings.
If memory served me right, I came home from work to my three bedroom apartment close to the university. I was about to take my uniform off and get ready to take a shower when I….. I heard a voice….
“Yeah thats right, I remember that voice.” I said aloud. I did remember her voice. It was a higher tone female voice that was easy on the ears. She beckoned me to “ come”. I remember the lights dimming in the bathroom and suddenly I….
The stress of the weirdness of the situation started to get to me. I felt a sense of dread at the thought that i had been taken away and displaced in a strange land. Yet, if i was pulled here, wherever here was, by someone malevolent, where was she? Questions only begot questions and speculating about them only made the situation worse in my head.
“ Damn it!” I said out loud. I shook my head as the fear played on my emotions. Eventually I came to the conclusion that I needed to find some sort of civilisation. Still though, I couldn’t see any signs in my immediate area, so I picked a direction and started walking.
Thank God I still had my uniform on, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and found that i had no signal. Well that's fucking lovely! I thought to myself. I put the half drained phone in my right front pocket. I was really out in the middle of nowhere. It’s too bad i didn’t take that backpacking class with my friends or I'd feel better about my situation.
As I was walking I noticed a horse just off in the distance. At first I didn't’ notice it but eventually I realized it was following me, or at least that's what it looked like. I couldn’t make out too many details since it stayed back a ways, but I noticed it was a white horse. I could also make out red in its coloration, like bright red. Maybe its ribbons and it belongs to someone? I thought to myself.
I decided to make an attempt to approach the small horse, however, It wasn’t having that as the horse maintained its distance. I whistled and waved my hands, but it wouldn’t come close. After a while I gave up and continued on my way. I still had no idea where I was going. Then the horse continued fallow me again. What the hell does it want? I thought to myself. I kept glancing back, keeping an eye on it. To be honest, it was very creepy.
I also noticed that the shadows were getting shorter, which was weird since my phone read 3:00 pm. I guess that meant I was really far away, like continents away. I’ve never traveled farther than Ontario Canada so that began to scare me. An American in a foreign land with no visa or passport can’t be safe. Shit I could be anywhere in Europe or Asia! Still I walked on, keeping an eye on the horse.
Eventually I came to a stream. If the discovery channel, (with all it’s survival shows) has taught me anything, streams and rivers eventually lead to villages and towns, so I changed my strategy and started following the stream down stream. The trees had become more numerous and the underbrush was thicker. I could also hear all kinds of animals and insects. Of course The horse was following me still.
I was trekking along when I suddenly spotted something that made my heart sing. A bridge! And not just a few logs on their sides but a stone and masonry bridge with cobble stone. There was a dirt path that led up to the bridge and continued onward into the forest. I was pretty damn proud of myself that I managed to find a way to civilisation. Maybe I wasn't in as much trouble as I thought. I started walking faster to the bridge when I noticed the clopping noise behind me getting louder. I made it to the bridge when the horse….
What the hell? It had gotten a lot closer and now I could make out a lot more details. It had large pink eyes, it’s mane and tail had streaks of blood red colorations, and protruding from its oddly shaped head was a horn about three quarters of a foot long.
“ Wait! Stop!” it said. She was clearly a mare, with her long eyelashes and voice. She slowed from a canter to a trot as she made her way up to me. I pretty much acted how most people wound in that situation.
“ What The Fuck!” I screamed and turned to run, but I fell on my ass. I proceeded to desperately kick away from the abomination.
“ No! Please stop screaming!” She yelled, trying desperately to get me to stop. I wasn't having any of this shit though. Where the fuck am I and what the fuck is that! Were the only coherent thoughts running through my mind. That and I had to get out of here.
The horse trotted onto the bridge to get closer to me and that got me up on my feet. I cleared the bridge and was running when a low branch hit me in the face and knocked me down to the ground. I could see stars dancing around my vision.
“ Oh Pony feathers! Are you alright?” Her voice was awfully cute and I would have noticed it sooner if I wasn’t feeling the gut wrenching terror that I was. Talking to me only incited another bout of screaming. I continued to kick at the ground and managed to back up on a tree.
“ Please! It’s ok, I'm not going to hurt you!” She said. She had her right front hoof up in a gesture.
“ No! Get the fuck away from me!” I yelled and pointed at her with my finger.
“ Why are you so scared all of a sudden?” She asked with a hint of frustration.Her eyes were slanted as she gazed into my own eyes.
“ Because you’re so fucking weird looking!” I pointed out with zero tact. This made her flinch. Her eyes were open in shock as she took a step back. If it wasn’t weird enough, I could see her emotions, human like emotions which made me stop squirming. The thing started tearing up and she looked at the ground.
“ I’m weird?” she asked almost too quietly. Why was I suddenly feeling guilty? It then clicked in my head what I did. I Told a girl...mare she was weird looking. That's not really something you should say to any girl.
“ uh.. No wait.” I put my hands up shaking them.
“ Why does every pony have to make fun of me!” She said and then sobbed. God damn it! Now I feel bad! I thought to myself.
“ Hey wait, Look Im sorry, I’m just a little freaked out cause I've never seen a talking animal before.” I said hoping to get her to understand that I was in a weird situation.
“ Animal?” She snorted. Ok Poor choice of words. I thought.
“ I’m sorry, I'm an idiot! Look…. Ugh…… who and what are you?” I asked. The mare glared at me for a moment before she spoke. She still looked hurt but the tears stopped.
“ My Name is Astra, I’m a unicorn pony.” She said flatly. I was still trying to get over the fact that I was talking to a horse, and she confirmed she was a unicorn. What the hell was I suppose think or say?
“... And you are?” She asked.
“ Oh… uh… I'm Jason Hicks, I’m a human.” I said timidly. This perked her curiosity.
“ What’s …. a human? “ she asked almost indignantly. Her eyes looked me over. It took me a moment to answer since that’s not a question I’ve had to answer like… ever.
“ Well. Im a greater ape that walks up right, uses tools and has sentience unlike animals.” I said.
“ Sentiance? that's not rare here. Where are you from?” she asked very curious.
“ Earth?” I said in the form of a question.
“ Like the ground?” She asked carefully,
“ No, that's the name of my planet.” I said. Indignantly.
“ Well you’re not on Earth anymore pal.” She said shaking her mane. It was kind of cute.
“ …… wat?” I think I broke.
“ Welcome to Equis, more specifically Equestria.” She said, almost proudly. She ran a hoof through her mane. It was wavy and constantly fell in her eyes.
“ …...wat?” I said still broken and confused.
“ You’re not home anymore!” She said frustrated.
“ …..how?” I asked with trepidation in my voice. She was quiet then.
“ How Did this happen?” I asked again..
“ ….. Well…...It’s kinda my fault.” She said hesitantly. I glared at her. I remember now, She was the voice I heard in my bathroom. I started at her quietly. She was noticeably uncomfortable.
“ …What?” She asked
“ You pulled me to another planet? How?” I asked, anger in my voice.
“ Well Actually….” She trailed off. I grunted to get her attention. My eyes conveyed my thoughts. I was demanding with my eyes an explanation.
“ …...You’re in a different universe.” She said quickly. “You’re… not too mad…. are you?” Her voice transitioned into a soft squeak.