Running. That was the last thing I could clearly remember. I was running through the forest, away from the burning town. My brothers were not with me. The last I saw of them was in the wear house. I kept running until I tripped and began to tumble down a hill. I finally hit a rock and stopped. I sat up. Even though I was down hill, I could still see the flames rising up over the trees. The forest would soon be ablaze as well. I tried to get up and run, but my right knee gave a sickening crack when I tried to stand. Fell back to the ground and grabbed my knee, releasing a loud groan of pain. I looked up to find a tree beginning to burn. It cracked and began to fall over towards me. I tried to stand again, but my knee would not have it. I fell over again, howling in pain. I looked up to see that the tree was going to fall right on top of me. I closed my eyes and awaited death.

5 hours earlier...

"Hurry up, Erex, we have to go!" I heard my oldest brother call from ahead of me.

"Just go on, I will catch up later." I said.

"You know that mother is going to be angry if she finds out that you are late for supper." my youngest brother said as he ran past me.

"Oh shut up you little prick. Just get going, don't worry. I will be there." I said.

I stopped to catch my breath. My brothers ran off running past people in the streets. I looked left and then looked right. I began to walk forward, my lungs cramping with the lack of air they were getting. I kept moving forward. I walked past merchants selling goods ranging from food to clothes. I saw colorful patterns all around me. The sun was going down and there were not a lot of people in the market. Some merchants had either gone home or left to go to the next town. I brushed the sweat from my brow, today was one of the hottest days I had ever seen. I looked at myself in a mirror as I passed by a merchant who was selling them. I saw my long gray hair which was strange because of my age. I was only 15 yet my hair was as gray as a ghost. My eyes matched my hair and I had a long vertical scar on the right side of my mouth. I had forgotten how I got it, but all I knew was that I had it as long as I could remember. My skin was tan and had been sun burnt many times since I spent most of my time outside. I ran off when the merchant started yelling at me to go away unless I was going to buy something. I walked off and began to jog back to my house.

I walked in just a supper was being put on the table.

"Where have you been? I was starting to get worried!" my mother said.

"Sorry, I strayed from the path of life for a moment and lost track of time." I said.

"Your nose is growing, Erex." my little brother said from the end of the table.

"If that's true, then yours should be about as long as this table." I said.

"Stop fighting boys, just sit down and eat." my mother said, ending the argument before it got physical, which most of the time it did.

Me and my brothers lived with my mother in a town in the country. My oldest brothers name is Marcus. My youngest brothers name is Nick. I was the middle child. My mother worked hard in the governors house every day to put food on the table. Ends always met, and my family lived a good life. Tonight we would be having chicken, potatoes, peas and a salad with leaves grown from my mother's personal garden which me and my brothers were forbidden from being in without supervision. My mother handed us plates and told us to make sure we ate our vegetables. Marcus said something about that being "the only thing to eat in this damn place" under his breath so our mother would not hear. We all ate and were just about to head out when my mother stopped us.

"We are going to be having company tonight. A friend of mine is coming over and she is bringing her daughters with her, so get washed up and make sure to behave yourself. Act like you have some common sense." she said.

"Do we have to, Mom? Girls are like a disease, and should be dealt with accordingly." Nick said.

"Right now is not the time to be acting like this. Just go and get ready." she said.

Me and my brothers ran up stairs to get ready and to take showers. Our skin was covered with dirt from the long day we had in the forest, so a shower was a requirement. We also had a stench to us that smelled like we had been out in the sun to long. We all looked at each other and then looked at our bathroom. I was the first one to grasp the situation, and launched myself at the bathroom door, getting in and shutting the door and locking it before my brothers could drag me out. With four people in the house, hot water went quick, even if you lived good like we did. I stripped down and turned to shower on. I stepped in when the water was warm and washed myself off. I began to plan what I was going to do. My mother was inviting her friend and her daughters over, so I had to figure out what my plan of action was. Would I face them, or pretend to be ill so I could stay in my room for the entire night.

As soon as I got out, I pulled a towel around me and exited, and had to leap to the side to avoid being trampled. I walked to my room and closed the door. I got some clothes to wear, nothing special, just a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans. I looked over at the clock and realized that they were not going to be here for another hour, so I jumped on my bed and took a nap.

I awoke to hear my name being called. It was my mother. I pulled myself out of bed and walked towards the stairs. I stepped a little to far on my way down and stumbled and tumbled down the stairs. I fell on the floor at the base of the stairs. I got on my hands and knees and looked up to see my mother, brothers, my mothers friend and her daughters looking at me.

"Smooth move, idiot." I heard Marcus say.
"Do you really want to go? Cause' we can take this outside if you want." I told him, standing up.

I looked at the group and automatically felt out of place. The rest of my family looked good and so did my mothers friend and her daughters. Then there was me, in a white t-shirt and jeans.

"Well, this is my friend, Anita Baker, and these are her daughters, Shelby, Maria, and Elizabeth." she said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." they said.

"Yeah, pleasures all mine." I said, stuttering a little.

I looked at the girls. Shelby seemed the oldest, Maria seemed to be the middle, and Elizabeth seemed to be the youngest. Not wanting to stand around like a idiot, I found a chair to sit in and listened to the conversation. A few times I caught Shelby staring at me, like I was an interesting thing to behold. Maria was busy talking to Marcus and Elizabeth was talking to Nick. I just sat there and said nothing.
"Hey, is it okay if I step outside and get some air for a minute?" I asked my mother.

"Sure, just stay around the house. Don't go wandering off." she said.

I got up and put on some shoes. I was just about to step out when I heard a voice say "I think I will too". I looked behind me to see Shelby walking up behind me. We both exited the house and stood out on the front porch. I leaned up against the wall while Shelby took a spot on the bench we had on the porch.

"So, Erex, is it?" she asked.

"Yeah, that would be me." I said.

"Your mother says your the middle child of the family." she said.

"Oh yeah, that's me." I said.

"So, what do you like to do for fun?" she asked.

"Me and my brothers go into the woods a lot, we build forts, have wars, get hurt quite a lot, and just sort of hang out." I told her.

"Me and my sisters just sit around most of the time and talk about girly stuff mostly. My mother tells us to stay out of the woods, that there are wild animals that can kill you out there." she said.

"Well, unless you count mosquitoes that will eat the hell out of you, there are not a lot of wild animals that can hurt you. Mostly deer and rabbits." I replied.

"Well, do you want to go for a walk in the woods?" she asked.

I looked at her, a bit surprised I guess. By the way she was dressed, I was surprised that she wanted to go even close to the woods. With her blonde hair, blue eyes, and olive skin, and a dress that looked very expensive and heels, it was just a little odd I guess.

"Well, I guess so. The woods are not very far from here, it would only take five minutes to get there." I said.

She stood up and told me to lead the way. I stepped down from the porch and she followed. I walked around to the back of the house and led her through a field to the edge of the forest. I looked up at the trees and could just barely see the moon through the leaves. The sun had already gone down and I was still a little sleepy from my nap.

I led Shelby into the wood, having to help her over some stuff, but making sure she did not get hurt. I did not want to get an earful from my mother about letting Shelby get hurt while she was with me. I was probably already going to get a speech about wandering off already, but I guess it would not be so bad as long as it was quick.

I led her deep into the woods and stopped at a tree. It was the tree that had an arrow carved into it, a method me and my brothers came up with to help us back into town if we got lost. Shelby stood behind me, her hands in front of her. Her face low and her eyes looking left and right.

"Well, this is the woods. What do you think?" I asked.

"It's beautiful." she replied.

"To tell you the truth, I have never been in the woods at night, let alone with a girl." I said, probably making things awkward.

"Have you ever had a girlfriend?" she asked, looking up.

"Not really, never really thought about it. I guess I was just to busy." I said.

"Well, I have never had a boyfriend, but I know a boy that I like." she said.

"Really, who is he?" I asked.

"Well, you see, its you, Erex." she said.

I turned to her and her face had turned red. I was fighting to keep my mouth closed, which did not matter very much, because she had soon pushed me up against a tree. She put her hands on my shoulders, and closed her eyes, parting her lips slightly like she was going to say something, but I knew different. Then I remembered. When I had been at school, I remembered a girl looking at me, staring, but never saying anything. This must be her. Our lips met, and she kissed me gently, not exactly sure what to do. She took a step back, I looked into her blue eyes and saw innocence. I brushed some hair out of her eyes, and kissed her again. I had just realized that she existed, and yet I knew that I liked her. She on the other hand had probably known who I was for a long time, and wanted me.

I pulled away from her.

"I think we should be heading back." I said.

"Please, just stay for a little bit longer." she said.

She was just about to kiss me again when I heard an explosion from town. I looked and saw that there was an enormous fire in town. I turned and ran as fast as I could towards the source of the explosion, leaving Shelby behind, awestruck.

I came up on the source of the explosion. The warehouse in the center of town was ablaze. I heard voices screaming for help from inside. I found a hole and squeezed through it. I looked around to find my brothers surrounded by flames.
"Marcus! Nick!" I yelled at them.

They both turned and looked at me. I saw a strange shape written on the wall they were close to, in fire. It was the shape of a pentagram.

"What the fuck did you two do?!" I yelled at them.

"We saw it in a movie once, we wanted to see if it would work." Nick said.

I was just about to jump over the flames and give those two an ass kicking they would never forget when the roof began to collapse. It fell and separated me and them.

"Hold on, I will find a way through!" I yelled.

"No, run!" they both yelled.

I looked up and realized why the building was on fire. A dragon made of fire sat perched on a beam. It looked down at me and roared.

"RUN, NUMBNUTS, RUN!" Marcus screamed at the top of his lungs.

My mind went into self preservation mode. I turned and ran and exited the same way I came in. I looked around and saw the dragon emerge and explode into a million flames, spraying all over the town. I turned and ran for the only place I knew would be safe. The woods.

I sprinted through town, left and right. Dodging falling buildings and rushing out of town. I ran for the woods and soon the trees and darkness swallowed me. I kept running. I kept running until I tripped and fell down a hill. I rolled over and over and was eventually stopped by a rock. I felt the air rush out of me, and felt is suddenly suck back in. I looked around and saw that the fire had already spread into the woods. I tried to get up to keep running but heard a sickening crack come from my knee when I tried to stand. I fell over on the ground and screamed in pain. I looked up and saw that a burning tree was cracking and beginning to fall. I tried to crawl away but I knew I would not make it in time. I closed my eyes and awaited death.

Then I saw a large flash of light. I looked up and the tree was laying on its side, still burning. I looked over in front of me and saw a woman standing there. Her hair was a beautiful mix of colors I cannot explain. She wore a white dress with gold trim and gold bracelets on her wrists. She turned to me and she had a gold necklace around her neck. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of purple. Then she spoke, and her voice was as beautiful as a dawn over a river valley.
"Are you okay? Can you stand?" she asked.

"I-Uh, well, I-" I started to say but stopped.

"Oh my, is your knee hurt?" she asked.

The only thing I could do was nod. She lifted me off the ground and told me to hold my breath. I had no idea what was going on, but one flash of light later and I was in a small cabin in the middle of the woods. There was a fire burning near me in a fire place. The woman was standing before me, her hand was on my knee. Her hands began to glow and I began to feel my knee get fixed and put back into place. I sat up and looked around.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Oh, deeply sorry, I am Princess Celestia, princess of Equestria."