I've always loved nature. Loved taking care of animals, hiking through the woods, swimming in the creek behind the house, all of it. 'Course, I can't say I ever expected to become part of it. Well, I did, meaning stuck six feet under as worm food, but definitely not as a living, walking tree man! Now I have to fight just to keep living - or whatever this is called - and protect the forests of this crazy, messed up place from demons, trolls, ogres, and other lovely critters. Not quite what I had in mind when I headed off to college!

[Part of the Chess Game of the God's prequel universe, set 20,000 years before the current universe and the show itself (canon, approved by 7-4)]

A unicorn showpony searching late into the night for answers. A pair of twins powering a machine belching smoke and steam. A griffin exiled from her native land huddled in a cave. A sleeping farmer clutching a prized possession. As the secrets the night reveals begin to destroy the lives they knew, these unexpected allies must band together to protect their home from a new threat.

They have been around for millennium, waiting, hunting, killing. The beasts lurk in the dark - but not for much longer.

Story inspired by The Illusionist by Nastylady on deviantART. Also, it's the cover art.

Gather round, children, and I'll tell you a tale. It is a story of epic proportions; of magic and friendship, of inter-dimensional travel and time travel, of paradoxes and danger and insanity galore, and of an extremely unlucky young man named Ezekiel Martin.

When a spell goes awry in Equestria, a denizen of another world is snatched from his comfortable life and forced to live a life he'd never expected to have to live. Due to one freak accident after another, Zeke loses his voice and ends up living in Equestria as a human animal.

Alright guys, seriously. If you enjoy the story, please like, favorite, all that other crap, but above all, PLEASE COMMENT. I want to know what you think - I can see you favoriting it, so I know you're out there, but please, for the love of God, TELL ME THINGS. Ask me questions, post what you think is going to happen next, tell me what you like about it, but PLEASE, just put SOMETHING. The silence is killing me!