Author's Notes:

A quick follow-up chapter to keep you all interested.

Now, I want to address a very important thing. Thumbs down. They give me a certain view on how my story is received, but it tells me nothing more. It would be much more useful if you provided constructive criticism before leaving the story with a thumb down.

What is it that I did wrong? Is it the whole idea, its execution, grammar, pace, character development? It would be much more beneficial for me to know what you don't like and why you don't like it. Your criticism will greatly help me improve my writing.

I know that the whole story is based on a thing not many people find fun. It's not meant to be fun, of course. It is a tale of a very troubled young man, a realistic tale as that. As much realistic as I can make it without overstepping the line into the boring part of realism.

Maybe a simple fact is in order — no one of main cast of MLP:FiM show will get magically connected to him. No "Celestia senses great disturbance in the harmony and finds the human".

However, the main character might or might not meet these ponies. Maybe he'll just hear about them, catch a glimpse at them here and there. Maybe they'll help him in some way.

But there will be no instantaneous liking or disliking without a solid reason.

With that being said, enjoy the new chapter.

The young man walked through the forest blindly, having absolutely no idea where to go. There was no pathway in sight as well. He stumbled through the bushes, climbed to get across a large fallen tree, almost fell as he hit his hoof against the exposed roots of a tree. He was dirty, had some scratches here and there, and was overall frustrated and fatigued.

He still carried the red leaf. He didn't know why, though. It wasn't a liability but it wasn't helping him either. Somehow, the leaf remained pristine, enduring his travel through the forest.

The young man saw something slightly familiar. He had seen those in the forest back home. It was a wild red raspberry patch. A small smile appeared on his face — those berries were perfectly edible and certainly much tastier than grass. He walked to the patch and nibbled on the raspberries, devouring them rather quickly. His stomach painfully grumbled, signaling him that the grass he'd previously eaten clearly wasn't enough.

Soon, the patch was picked clean. The young man let out a sigh of content as he felt hunger subsiding. Though, it would return. Until then, he should find another source of food and water.

***

He didn't know how much time had passed until he heard faint voices in the distance. He stopped and squinted his eyes, his ears aimed forward. Yes, he was right, those were voices he was hearing. From his location, he couldn't say if he understood them or not, they were simply too far away from him, hidden behind the trees.

He decided to move in and see who was in the forest. He moved as silently as he could through the foliage, the voices growing closer and closer. Soon, he came out to a small glade. Thankfully, no one noticed him as he came from behind their backs.

The young man quickly hid behind the trees, lying low to the ground. He observed the people he found, and he was very surprised.

They were horse-like, just like him, albeit the colors and sizes were different. There were total of five of them: two big figures, two smaller ones, and the smallest. The young man figured out they were a family. It looked like they were setting up a camp.

Two small tents were raised, a fireplace between them. It was burning, and one of the ponies held a long stick in his mouth. On the end of the stick, a few slices of white bread were situated, cooking in the heat that the flames were giving off.

Young man's stomach grumbled again. Even the berries weren't enough. In fact, he was getting thirsty as well.

Two big ponies were finishing with setting up the camp, making sure everything was arranged in the right order. The two other ponies were chasing each other around, cheerfully laughing.

The young man squinted his eyes harder, trying to make out who was whom.

After noticing a few very important details, he figured out that the big ponies were a stallion and a mare, two smaller ones were as well, and the smallest one was male.

The man decided to look at himself. His own important detail told him he was still pretty much male.

"Mom, may we play in the forest?" one of the smaller ponies asked the big mare. It was a language the young man didn't understand or even recognize.

"No." their mother shook her head. "You might get lost there."

"Aww, but we'll be nearby, we promise!" the daughter pouted.

"No, and that's final." the mare said, slightly stomping. "Why not you help your younger brother cook some food? Besides, we'll soon go to the forest, you will have your fun."

The young man tried his best to understand where the conversation was going but had little luck with that. From the tones of their voices, he understood that the foals were asking their mother something, and she refused.

For a moment, he thought about coming out and ask for help. He decided against it, though. He was very uncertain about how he would be perceived. He certainly didn't want to talk to strangers, especially aliens. Instead, he decided to wait for dusk and see if he could sneak in and get some food and water.

***

Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long. Almost the whole family went into the woods together, leaving the older brother to watch the flame. The young stallion grumbled something under his breath as his family disappeared in the forest.

The man knew it was time to act. Swiftly, he got around the pony and quietly sneaked to the tents, often stopping to make sure the pony didn't hear him. He tried to breathe as quietly as possible, but he was sure his beating heart could be heard across the glade. He looked under his hooves, evading any and all small twigs that could give away his position.

He stopped as he heard the pony mumbling something to himself. He sighed in relief when he understood it wasn't directed at him. He continued his way to a small picnic basket that he spotted near one tent.

He was standing right behind the pony. Fortunately, the young stallion wasn't aware of his surroundings at all, focused on his own thoughts and problems. The man used it to his advantage.

He nudged the basket open. Inside, there were various types of food: some apples, a couple of sandwiches, a bottle of water, some tissue paper, and a box of matches. He closed the lid and prepared to take the basket, but his stomach betrayed him, loudly grumbling. Pony's ears swiveled in his direction, and then the stallion turned around.

"Hey, it's our stuff!" he exclaimed angrily, standing up.

The young man would have none of it. He needed the basket to survive, at least until he found civilization to constantly feed himself. He took the basket.

"Oh no, you won't!" the stallion said, tackling the intruder, forcing him to drop the basket.

A fight ensued as the two rolled on the ground, trying to pin the other down. The young man was desperate and wouldn't go down without a fight. He used his hoof to punch the stallion in the muzzle, albeit awkwardly and not very effective, to which he retorted in kind with a powerful well-directed punch. It damaged man's nostrils, making them bleed. He groaned in pain but didn't cease fighting.

The young man knew that horses and the like should be scared pretty easily. He decided to use this knowledge to fight.

He widened his eyes, furrowed his brows, and opened his mouth, baring his omnivorous teeth. He let out a loud angry screech, trying to look as intimidating as he possibly could. The stallion he was fighting let out a tiny squeal, dropping the fight altogether, rolling away from the threat. He closed his eyes lied on his back, instinctively showing his submission and defeat.

The young man took his chance, jumped to his hooves, grabbed the basket, and sprinted away into the forest, leaving the stallion to his animalistic fear and puzzlement.

"Hey!" he recovered from his initial shock. "Come back here, you stealing cunt!"

But the man was nowhere to be seen. The stallion groaned, the pain coming to him after the adrenaline wore off. He stood up and rubbed the spots he was hit in.

"Fuck, my mom's gonna be very upset..." he mumbled.

The young man ran and ran, not looking where he was going. He was scared, his mind telling him he was being chased. He didn't stop until his body involuntarily collapsed.

He breathed heavily, his vision darkening from the intense load he had put himself through. He tried to subdue his racing heart, to no avail.

He just lied there, coming back to his senses, to his more reasonable self. He finally realized where he was.

He was still in the forest, in some unknown part of it. It didn't matter to him since he didn't know any part of the forest to begin with.

He looked around. To his right, the basket was lying, its lid closed. The young man sat, and then used his mouth to open it. The food and water was still there. His stomach grumbled at the display, and the man went deeper into the basket, using his mouth to grab the first thing it touched. It was a sandwich.

Not caring for anything in the world, he quickly devoured it, and then went for other food that was still in the basket.

He ate two apples and another sandwich before he felt the satisfaction of his belly being filled. Unfortunately, there wasn't much left: just another sandwich and an apple, not counting the bottle full of water. Tissue paper or matches weren't exactly made to eat but he decided to save them nevertheless.

He used his mouth yet again, grabbing the bottle. Then, he used his front hooves to firmly grasp it, unscrewed the lid, and then downed the bottle in one go. Instead of throwing it out, he decided to save it for later. He put it back into the basket.

He felt little regret over stealing or basically robbing the family. His own wellbeing was more important for him than that of those who could take care of themselves. He didn't have a family, at least nearby. He didn't have anyone to help him. He wasn't even sure he would survive long enough to tell the tale. Well, if he ever wished to do so in the first place.

Maybe he could've just asked. Maybe his hasty decision of stealing food was bad. He didn't care, though — what's done is done. The point of no return was long gone.

The discovery of sapient ponies made him realize he was not on the Earth anymore.

This realization terrified him and relaxed him at the same time. It meant he would no longer see those he knew. It was much more an upside, though. The downside meant that he at the moment needed to learn a new language to be able to speak with anyone. And it would be especially hard for him.

He sighed. Perhaps he could do better in that situation. Too late now.

And then, a realization struck him — he left the red leaf. The only thing he somehow wanted to remain at his side.

He frantically looked around. To his great surprise, the leaf was there with him. Was it on him the whole time? He was pretty sure he took it off before he sneaked. It should've either been gone or torn to shreds after the fight. Neither happened to it, however.

Shrugging it off, he decided to go. He took the basket in his mouth and went. He couldn't stay in one place, he needed to move, he needed to find a settlement. Maybe he could get someone to help him. Or he could just sneak in and get whatever he needed.

And then, he would... actually, he didn't know what to do next. He had no plan of action.

He stopped in his tracks. The realization hit him fully. He slumped to the ground, shock evident in his purplish eyes.

Until that moment, he had a more or less clear goal before him, be it getting education, getting work or committing suicide. They were clear goals with a set of requirements to be fulfilled. They were goals he had been striving for. But there was nothing for him at the moment. Not even the slightest hint of an idea of what to do after he gets to a settlements and finds food.

Nothing.