I slowly followed the two Pegasus ponies wearing golden armor down a long hallway with my arms bound tightly behind my back and my mouth gagged. I wondered how it all came to this. Was it when I got into the fight with the dragon? When that weird figure clouded in black smoke, walked up and offered to help me get home? Maybe it was when I ended up falling off the roof of apple acres farm and nearly smashed their wagon? Wait I know when it was, it was when I arrived in Equestria. Wait, wait, wait, I guess I should start at the beginning. So I guess I just covered a few huge events, but you can’t really know which of them, the beginning was. I guess I should go back to the day before I ended up in Equestria. Which was, oh crap, I can’t believe I’ve been here that long. Anyway I guess I should really start at the beginning.

It all started at the beginning of fall in a little town called Mera Arkansas. My friend Zero and I were relaxing out at my place on the edge of town listening to music and letting our minds wander. Zero seemed to be thinking about how when everyone else needed cheering up he was there, when he needed cheering up no one was there. I meanwhile was thinking about the fact that reality seemed to be fucked up like nothing else. Eventually I sighed and said “We should go do something.” He looked at me questioningly and I said “Why don’t we go for a walk into the woods or something, I mean I’m bored as hell from sitting here.”

Zero thought about it for a bit then nodded and the two of us got up. I looked into the woods and smiled as I saw the leaves on the trees had already started to change color slightly. The two of us started walking along a path I’d cut through the brush behind my house and just walked along, letting our minds settle and our feet take us wherever they would. We walked for about ten minutes when Zero glanced at me and asked “Ever feel like reality just loves to be a bitch. And it does it even more so when you’re feeling like shit?” I raised an eyebrow wondering what had brought this particular wave of thought on.

I shrugged and replied “I’ve always felt that way. Just ask Shorty if you don’t believe me.” He nodded and the two of us walked on in a companionable silence for a bit. Eventually though Zero noticed a path off to the side and whistled to get my attention. I followed his eyes and grinned then asked him “You want to check it out?” He nodded and we started racing down the path, no more words needing to be spoken, the only thing we needed was a chance to find out what was at the end of this path. We slowed down after about fifteen minutes, and continued at a light jog. After another ten minutes of jogging we started walking occasionally seeing paths that branched off from the one we were on. They weren’t as well worn down as this one though, so we figured that they probably hadn’t been travelled all that often.

Then again this one was slightly overgrown, so we knew it had been years since any of these paths had been used. After a while we both stopped at the base of a large oak tree and Zero glanced around while I pulled a pack of gum out of my pocket and started chewing a piece. I’d recently quit smoking, so the gum made up for that slight niggling feeling of nicotine want in my brain. I knew it was just a want and not a need, which was ten percent of the battle, though the only reason I’d started smoking in the first place was because I needed something to help with stress. When I realized it really didn’t even work for that I’d quit. I glanced at Zero who had pulled out a notebook and started sketching a tall figure clothed in black.

I studied the drawing and said “You forgot the tentacles.” He looked at me then shrugged and said “This is how most people see him at first. The tentacles are something he only shows us and others that go after him.” I slowly nodded then went back to studying the forest as he drew. About ten minutes later, maybe fifteen, he glanced at me and motioned that we should continue walking. I nodded and the two of us started down the path again wondering where the fuck it stopped. We walked for another half hour, with the sky already turning dark, before we found an old abandoned farm. I blinked as I studied the sign on it while Dustin walked around looking at the gate and everything else. Eventually Zero walked up and asked “What’s so obsession worthy about the sign?”

I pointed at it and he followed my eyes then we both read aloud “Apple Acres farm, the best place on earth to find fresh apples at just about any time during the year.” Zero laughed and I just shook my head wondering who or what was the owner of Apple Acres. Zero and I started exploring, noticing that there was still the occasional apple tree mixed in with all the other trees around the farm. I mumbled softly “Who the hell would own a place way out here in the national forest?” Meanwhile Zero was laughing and going “Why does this place make me think of that kid show my baby sister always watches.”

I shrugged and said “Probably because of the acres of apple trees that the dang horses tend to.” He raised an eyebrow and said “Thought you had no problem with my little pony.” I shrugged and replied “Not a bad show, but right now I don’t want to think about television, more interested in finding out what happened to this place. Things like why it shut down, who ran it, etc.” He slowly nodded and we split up to explore the place. Zero went around checking out the barns and what not while I explored the house. I went through the cupboards and only found some old utensils that hadn’t been used in over twenty years, and a few rusty pipes that looked like they connected back to a well.

I sighed and closed the cupboards then stepped back and walked back to the living room where an old whicker rocker was sitting. I studied it and wondered how it had survived so long then ran my fingers along it and smiled as I caught the slight scent of apples on the wood. I smiled to myself and started up a staircase at the back of the room glancing around at the wall and down the banister as I ascended it. I smiled at a few old fashioned portraits of a couple standing in front of several orchards of apples. I smiled slightly and studied the picture a bit longer then continued upstairs until I got into a long hallway with about three doors on both sides, and a window that looked out the back of the house.

I slowly opened the first door to my right and blinked as I saw it just contained a student’s desk and a bed. There were a few pictures on the wall, and the closet was half open revealing that it was rather extensive, but otherwise the room was completely empty. I sighed and opened the room across the hall to find a bedroom full of furniture, but most of it was in disrepair, and obviously had no clues. I moved on to check the next two doors and found empty rooms that looked like they used to hold something important. I then opened the last two. In the first one was a simple pendant carved in the shape of a horse sitting on a table. I took it and slipped it around my neck figuring I may as well keep it since no one else was going to be coming for it anytime soon.

Then I opened the last door which had a simple writing desk with a quill, ink, and a piece of paper that looked like it would crumble at the touch. I walked over and glanced down, then started reading it. It told of how the family was leaving the farm because of strange sounds from the woods, and the loss of their daughter. She’d gone wandering in the woods one day and never came back. The family had gone looking for her all over, but they never found any sign of her. The only clue they had was she kept talking about visiting a land of magical horses in her dreams. So they assumed she ran off to marry a horse rancher without telling anyone. I had a feeling there was more to the story, but that was the last thing anyone had written before leaving the house.

I sighed and walked back out front where Zero was leaning on the entrance waiting for me. I walked up and said softly “The family left after their daughter went missing.” He looked at me questioningly and I said “No. I don’t think it was that one; she kept talking about magical horses so they think she ran off to join a neighboring horse ranch or something. I honestly don’t know why she ran away though. I just get the feeling, that her dreams had something to do with it all.” He nodded and said simply “Nothing much to the farm. A few pipes that lead off down a deserted road, bout it. Everything else is in disrepair; it’s kind of weird that the pipes would last this long though.” I nodded and asked “Think you can lead me to the well?” He snorted and said “Sure, follow me.”

He led me to an old deserted path then the two of us started following along it. I noticed the occasional pipe sticking up out of the road along the way, but other than that, it was almost as if the road was untouchable. No plants grew on it, the trees stayed a few feet back from it, and it almost look as if there was an invisible fence line keeping their roots from going any closer than five feet from the road. I studied the trees and noticed they were all apple trees, yet none seemed to have lost any of their leaves. I mentioned it to Zero and he said “You’d know better than I would. This place gives off an aura of peace, yet it’s so alien to where we come from. I wonder why?”

I shrugged in response and said “I was more focused on the shape of the trees than their aura. Maybe it’s just this place in general. Though if I’m right this is probably where that family’s daughter ran off to. I wonder why?” Zero shrugged and we kept walking until we saw an old fashioned stone well with a simple winch on it. I ran over and stared down into it then whistled softly. Zero walked up and said simply “Wow.” The interior of the well seemed to be bottomless. I didn’t know where the family was getting their water from, but they sure as heck must have drilled deep to get it. I silently wondered if their little girl may have fallen down then tried reaching across the top to grab onto the rope hanging out over the middle.

Zero looked at me and asked “Jake, what are you doing?” I shrugged and said “trying to get the rope unwound and see if the bucket it’s bottom. He glanced at the pulley system that held the bucket up and saw it was slightly cracked then sighed and said “Be careful, I really don’t’ want to have to go to the hospital today.” I nodded in response then suddenly felt two opposing forces on either side of me. One seemed to be trying to pull me from the pony necklace around my neck, and the other seemed to be pushing me, like a strong wind. I glanced at Zero, but he seemed to be unaffected as I jumped forward and grabbed onto the beam supporting the bucket and felt it crack under my weight.

I stared at it a few seconds then smiled at Zero and said “Looks like I’m going for a trip, guess I’ll see you next fall, if I’m out of the hospital by then.” He stared at me slightly lost then heard the beams creaking and said “Jake get the hell off there?” I snorted and said “I wish I could but it feels like gravity won’t let my legs move and I’m starting to lose my grip.” I unwound the bucket quickly and let it drop. Zero and I waited a few seconds but we didn’t hear the thud of it hitting the ground, or splash of it hitting water. Zero stared at me and said “You can’t possibly think you’ll survive a fall that far.” I smiled and said “We’ll see, since I have no other options really I guess we’ll have to see if I survive.” He sighed and said “Damn it Jake. I hope you don’t die, so I can kick your ass when you get out of the hospital.” I snorted and mumbled “I’m not worried about death; I’m worried about being paralyzed.”

Zero didn’t catch what I said and just looked down into the hole then said “Wish it wasn’t so dark after about ten feet down. Also, hope there’s a lot of water down there.” I nodded in response and said softly “You’re not the only one, just going to have to trust that my luck holds out when I fall.” Zero nodded as he heard me say that then gave me a thumbs up and said “Good luck, bro.” I nodded and slowly started to let go as the wood creaked starting to give way underneath my weight. As I started to let go I heard a soft voice say “It’s alright, you just have to let go.” I slowly shook my head and said softly “I’m going to fall anyway, so why do I need to let go?”

The voice let out a very soft sigh of sorrow and said “If you don’t let go the portal cannot open fully. If the portal doesn’t open fully, you will be stuck falling in darkness for the rest of time.” I blinked and mumbled “Oh, that’s enough reason to let go, hope you’re not fucking with me, whoever you are.” The voice laughed softly and said “I’m not trying to lie to you; if you don’t allow yourself to pass through the portal it will remain closed to you.” I sighed then let go with a smile at Dustin and a simple saying of “Leap of Faith, bro.” I slowly fell into the darkness, and as I got farther from the light the voice started to seem louder, and more defined. The voice said softly “Three things I can help you with, 1. Remember the lady of night is your ally no matter what you think, 2. The light at the end of the day will always guide you true, and 3. Never trust the one wearing darkness as a cloak, for he is out to rule all.”

I nodded at each one then asked “How will I know who these people are?” She smiled and said softly “You’ll know them when you see them, also always keep that pendant on you. It’s the only way I may contact you, and you may return home. The queen of the sun will doubt you, and your path will never be as it began, but you must prove your worth to all. When you’ve done that you may make a decision on your final path, and possibly return home. For now another realm needs your help, hero of shadows.” I blinked wondering what the hell it meant by hero of shadows. The voice started to fade as everything got lighter and the last words it whispered were “Beware the mist of darkness and blood, for it will try to destroy all, and always lead you astray.”

As the last bit of the voice’s words faded away, I found myself falling through the air into a well-lit, bright and cheery place. The colors were more vibrant than back where I’d come from, the clouds seemed to be fluffier, even the air smelled fresher. I glanced around and mumbled “Where the hell am I?” After a few seconds I realized I was still falling, so I looked down and let out a soft whistle. I was a good thousand feet up from the ground, and it looked like it was coming up fast. I sighed and mumbled “Yay, fall forever, or hit the ground and die, wonderful choices lady.” Suddenly I felt something grab hold of my shirt and heard someone say “Gee you sure are heavy.” However it was kind of muffled so it came out more like “Gee you sur ah heafy.”

I glanced up then sighed and said “I’ve got to be hallucinating.” Because holding onto my shirt, and thereby me, was a Pegasus. It was about the size of a normal horse, with long spread out wings, which were flapping like mad to keep us both aloft, a deep dark red coloring of its hair, a light red mane and tail with blonde tips, and had light blue eyes that glowed with an inner light of mischief. He grumbled out around my shirt “How the hell does someone who looks so thin, weigh so much?” I shrugged then blinked as he suddenly let go of my shirt and hooked his hooves under my shoulders. He glanced up at the sun and said “Crap, saving you is going to make me late. I think I’ll just drop you off at Sweet Apple Acres, and let the apple family deal with you.”

I blinked then glanced up at him and said “Right, well since you’re so polite and cordial about saving my life I guess I should tell you my name.” in such a sarcastic tone he nearly dropped me. He smirked and said “No, no, let me go first. The name’s Blaze, wings. Brother to Heavenly wings, and cousin to Jack mule. All of which are a bit more polite than you, so who are you?” I laughed at his trying to outdo me in sarcasm and said “Jake Wolf.” He snorted and said “Nice to meet you, now you mind telling me what the heck you were doing above the clouds?” I smiled politely, trying to be innocent and said “Oh you know, just thought I’d drop in and see how the locals were.”

He smirked as we passed the sign for sweet apple acres and said “You know what that’s a good idea. I might just DROP you off at Sweet apple acres.” I stared at him and said softly “You wouldn’t bloody dare.” He smirked and said “Oh yes I would, you just don’t know me that well if you think I wouldn’t.” Suddenly he flew over a hay pile and dropped me saying “I’ll probably see you before next fall, so try to be a good sport when the apple family finds you,” before flying off with a laugh. I fell through the air then landed in the hay and sunk right to the bottom of the pile. I laid there a while then slowly pull myself out and took a deep breath of fresh air.

As I breathed in I felt something hit me in the back of the head and everything started to go dark. I sighed and thought “God damn it, today just isn’t my day,” before I heard someone riding up. I heard the voices of multiple people talking about the bump on my head, and how I was so different from everyone else then felt someone grab hold of my shirt and start dragging me. As I was dragged I thought back to when I was a kid and had been in a similar situation. However at that time my horse was dragging me through cactus, thorn bushes, and over rocks because I wasn’t smart enough to let go of his reins when he ran out from under me. I started to slip into unconsciousness as the voices started talking about getting a doctor, and the local librarian.