I woke up in a cold sweat, relieved to have escaped the tormenting realm of my nightmares and returned to my bedroom.

Today’s the day, I thought, today’s the day I make everything okay.

I got up, got dressed, and quietly walked to the kitchen to make sure I had packed the few things I would need: my MP3 player, digital camera, and a few other miscellaneous items.

Before I go on with this part of the story, I should probably tell you what led up to this.

My mother, sister, and I had moved from our home in the city to a small town about a state away, “to be closer to family”, as she had told me. It wasn’t easy to say goodbye to all the friends I had, but it was better than leaving without a single word. We all made sure we exchanged phone numbers and friended each other on Facebook and such, promising we would keep in touch.

However, as you might already know, time is a cruel, unfeeling force, and we eventually drifted apart, being kept busy by school work, distracted by community activities, or simply not having anything interesting to talk about. So eventually, I was left on my own. I tried to make friends in this new town, but it wasn’t easy since it was the middle of the school year, and I just didn’t fit in; everyone else just seemed to be wired differently than I was. They thought church and religion was incredibly important, and focused all their attention on social popularity, while I didn’t really care about religion and focused more on my grades. This difference made them cast me out, and even despise me.

It was six months later I was diagnosed with depression.

I sat up slowly, having drifted back to sleep on the couch whilst watching some TV. I didn't dream, which was a relief. For the past month, I would only have two types of dreams: terrifying nightmares, or the ponies. At first, I would have been fine with the latter, but nowadays, I was more content with the demons of my imagination.

I had become a brony not too long after we settled in here, partly in an effort to have some sort of hobby to cheer myself up. It helped for a while, but eventually I developed a terrible mindset: their world was brighter and more cheerful than mine, and I would never be able to live a life as happy as their's. It was this revelation that helped worsen my depression. With all of this on top of being pretty much alone, I couldn’t take it anymore; I had to get out of here, one way or another.

So I came up with a plan. And here I was now, about to enact said plan.

I left the house wordlessly, the only idea my family would have of my intentions was left on the kitchen table.

Dearest family,
I’m sorry I have to do this, but everything I’m going through right now is too much. I need some time alone. A LOT of time alone.
Just know I love you all very much, I hope you can move on without me, and I hope to see you all again soon.
Love, Allen.

Oh yeah, my name’s Allen, by the way. I don’t know why I’m introducing myself now; it’s not like I’m going to be here for much longer.

I exited the house hastily with my backpack slung over one shoulder, closing the front door as quietly as possible so I wouldn't wake my family. I flipped up my hood and jammed my hands in my pockets, trying to keep myself hidden, and then quickly jogged away from my home, and from my life.

I took a deep breath as I passed the first few trees on the edge of the forest. I wasn't really the kind of person that liked being outside, but it was a cool, quiet spring morning, so I didn’t care all that much; at least the sun wasn’t beating down on me.
I walked deeper and deeper into the woods, for what may have been over an hour, and when I was tired of walking, I stopped and propped myself up against a tree for a rest. I looked around at the scenery that surrounded me: the trees were covered in bright, green leaves, and the forest floor was covered in fallen pine needles. took yet another deep breath, taken aback by the beauty that nature held. I may not like it too much, I thought, but it is pretty nice out here.

After a couple minutes, I decided I had put it off for long enough.

I climbed about halfway upthe tree, making sure there was a lot of space between the limb I was sitting on and the ground below. I tied the rope around the branch three times, pulling each knot tighter than the last, and then tied the other end into a hangman's noose. For my first one, it didn’t look too bad. I placed it around my neck, and then took out my MP3 player, pressing the play button as I closed my eyes. The air around me was filled with the beautiful chords of Fillypu’s “Dreaming With Ponies”, a song that once saddened me, but now filled me with a hint of joy. I smiled and daydreamed for a bit, the soft music taking me away from the world for a few minutes.
“Do you know... you’re all... my very... best friends…” I said quietly to myself, in tune with the ending of the song, and I felt the rope rub against my neck as I pushed myself off.

I woke up lying on my stomach on the ground. I groaned as I sat up, choking a little as the rope tied around my neck halted my rise. I turned and saw the branch I had tied it to lying next to me. I stared at it through dazed, narrowed eyes. How could it not have budged at all when I climbed on, but snapped like a twig when I fell?
Deus Ex Machina, I thought, chuckling at my sad fate, and I was suddenly overcome with rage. I pulled the rope over my head, grabbed the branch, and threw it like a spear, screaming in anger. Why? Why couldn’t anything I ever did go right? I couldn’t even get the one thing that everyone eventually does, death, right when I tried. I spun around, searching for something to unleash my self-loathing on, when I saw it; the object that would change my life forever.

It was a stone archway sitting atop a platform that was just an inch taller than the ground around it. The arch looked old, maybe hundreds of years old, and looked in no way man-made, but something told me it wasn’t a natural formation. I walked up to it and stroked the side, feeling the ancient, rough rock scratch at my skin.
I stared at it as I took a step back, and stumbled as I nearly tripped over a rock. I glared and picked up the stone, noticing It had an interesting shape; kind of like one of those pointed rocks you see hanging from caves. I chucked it at the arch and spun around, deciding it would be best to get home before my family woke up and found my note, when something made me stop. Or, rather, a lack of something: the rock didn’t make any noise when I threw it, no thud from the ground or sharp crack from hitting the arch. I looked back and saw it just floating in the middle of the stone structure, wobbling a little as if it were caught in some kind of telekinetic energy. What in the hell? I thought just before it exploded. I quickly hid my face in my elbow and recoiled from the debris.
When I looked back, the rock was gone, and in its place hovered a beautiful pink gem. It was slightly smaller than the rockhad been, but the same shape. I assumed it was the rock, but it had just been covered in dirt and grime from the years. It shot a beam straight into the top edge of the arch, and the empty space quickly became filled with a hazy, bright-pink screen. When it did, I felt some invisible force push me from off my feet, and drag me towards the arch.
“NO!” I cried out, unsure of what was happening. I clawed at the dirt and grass, desperate to grab anything I could anchor myself to. I felt a strange sensation in my feet, and I felt it slowly travel up my legs. I turned and saw, to my horror, that they had passed through the strange screen. Oh, come on! I thought with terrified confusion, Now that I've decided to give up and go home, I'm going to die?
There was nothing I could do but watch and wait as the screen and odd sensation slowly traveled up my body, until it reached my head. Then everything went black.

I woke up once again, this time in the middle of a wide, grassy field. Getting knocked out all the time like his can't be good for my head, I thought groggily, if only I knew how to check for a concussion. Just then, I realized that something was off. Wait, I thought, trying to clear the swimming feeling in my head, where’d all the trees go?
“You there! Who are you, and how did you get here?” I heard a deep, commanding voice say behind me. I turned around, and my vision finally cleared enough for me to perfectly make out what was speaking to me.

Standing there, a few feet away from me, was a pony. As in, a "My Little Pony" pony. What? I thought, my eyes like saucers. It spoke again, and I saw that this was no ordinary pony; it had white-and-blue armor. This must be one of Princess Celestia’s royal guards. But if that’s the case… Oh, I don’t think I’m in Kansas anymore, Toto.

“I said, identify yourself, creature!” the armored pony shouted. I saw now that he was flanked by four others, all wearing matching suits of armor. I opened my mouth and said the only coherent response that would come to my mind.

“Oh, shit.”