Josh sat on the large bed in Otis and Martha's guest room, staring out the window to the expansive fields of the farm, the haunting images of his nightmares still circulating in his mind from the previous night. Ever since he'd had that horrendous dream about Vinyl being covered in her own blood and screaming at him, telling him he was too late and that he'd failed, he couldn't get back to sleep, so instead opted to merely sit there, ruminating on his own sadness and loss. The young man had hoped silently that the events that had transpired the previous day were nothing more than a continuation of his nightmares, and he would awake once again in Equestria, laying next to his cream colored mare who he loved so much. He had hoped it, but sadly, the realization had completely dawned on him that his situation was not one that could be remedied by a simple mute prayer for a dream.

His soul seemed like nothing more than a mere husk of its former self. The stoic expression on his face belied the true nature of what he was experiencing inside, the insane torrent of sadness and anger that threatened to overtake his mind and mercilessly decimate his already strained emotions.

"Josh?" called a kind and gentle female voice through the haze clouding Josh's senses, "Are you feeling any better, dear?"

Slowly, the young man returned to the harsh reality he was forced to endure at the moment. However, he remained still and silent, not making any sort of move to acknowledge Martha standing behind him. Her distant voice soon became more pronounced as Josh's subconscious released him from its cold grip. He heard the door creak slightly as the elderly woman made her way inside the room, not taking her eyes off the young man on the opposite edge of the bed who had his back to her.

"How about you come on into the kitchen and I'll make you some breakfast," Martha gently said, walking over to stand next to Josh as he sat on the bed, "I can't imagine you've eaten recently, and some food may help you feel better."

Josh glanced up at the old woman for a second, glaring daggers at her as she looked upon him. She grew a concerned look on her own face as Josh's glare hit her full force. The young man looked back to the widow quickly, fighting the urge to scream at the kind old soul standing before him. How could she possibly know what would make him feel better? The only thing that had any hope of lifting his heavily downcast spirits would be to return to his home and see Vinyl again...

"Josh..." said Martha quietly, taking a seat next to the producer on the bed, "I... I don't know what you've been through, and I won't pretend to. But, it isn't healthy to just sit here and be miserable forever. Can you please talk to me and at least explain what brought you here?"

Josh didn't respond, but didn't glare at Martha again either. He merely sat there, staring out the window, but not truly seeing what lay beyond the clear glass. Image after image flashed through his mind from the past year of his life with Vinyl and his friends in Equestria. Moving out of Rarity's house and into his own home with Vinyl, going camping with Sweetie Belle and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders, his first "Hearts and Hooves Day" with Vinyl...

"You mentioned a girl last time you were here." said Martha, interrupting Josh's nostalgic reverie, "What ever happened? Did you go back to her?"

Josh subconsciously found himself nodding in response to Martha's question. The images of his mare and all his other friends continued to force themselves through his head, causing a lump to form in his throat. Still, however, he choked back his tears, trying to maintain his resigned demeanor at all costs.

"Were you happy?"

Again, Josh unintentionally nodded.

"Did... Did you... love her?"

"I... I still do..."

Martha almost jumped as he spoke for the first time since he'd passed out last night. She looked to him to see his expression still hadn't changed.

"What was her name? Was it Vinyl?"

Another nod.

"What happened?"

Josh's mind raced even more now, trying to decide whether to speak or not, to tell this old woman the truth and force him to relive the memories of his love and loss, or to keep it inside and bottled up to fester in his soul.

"I... went back... to be with her." he said, still not turning his gaze from the glass pane in front of his face, "It was... incredible. We were so happy... Able to travel all over and perform together... She... meant the world to me..."

"It sounds like you were living quite the dream." exclaimed Martha, smiling at Josh.

"The best dream anyone could ever ask for." Josh responded, grinning slightly himself.

The small smile dropped quickly as memories from the last few weeks flooded his hectic mind, reminding him of his incarceration and the horrible, crushing loneliness that came with that as well. Filthy Rich's smug face permeated his head, forcing him to become enraged. Then, he saw Vinyl and his friends all trying to stop the princesses from sending him back home...

"But... then... I... I could've stopped him... I could've put an end to it all before it even began..." he said, his voice beginning to shake as tears were forcing their way out of his eyes.

"What?" asked Martha, suddenly confused by Josh's change in tone and demeanor.

"It's all my fault that we're both alone now..." he said, not responding to Martha's previous query, "I... I failed to protect her... to stop this insanity before it got too bad... I..."

He could hold it back no more. With one final, sudden heave, Josh began to cry again, tears that he thought he'd completely used up throughout the night falling freely from his eyes and hitting the wooden floorboards.

"Josh..." said Martha softly, wrapping her old hands around the young man and holding him as he broke out into sobs.

"I... I j-just w-wanna go home!" he exclaimed, returning her embrace, "I just wanna b-be with her again! I can't live without her in my life. I l-love her so much..."

Martha gently rubbed Josh's back as the distraught young man continued to profess his love for Vinyl and his regrets over not being able to protect her. A horrible emptiness pervaded his heart and mind as he sobbed. He’d said all the time to Vinyl and the others that everything would be alright, but now, he wasn’t so sure that the promise he’d made could ever be fulfilled.

Josh made his way out of Otis and Martha's guest room for what he was hoping would be the last time. Though most of his time had been spent in absolute emotional anguish, he was still unbelievably grateful to the couple for allowing him to remain on their property, no questions asked. Now, however, he was ready to move on, and avoid being any more of a burden to the two than he already had been. Thank God I don't have much to pack he thought as he looked all around for anything he'd need before he left.

He had been back on earth for a week now, staying in the cozy little room so graciously provided by the old couple whose farm he had landed on... again. He hadn't really spoken to either of them that much in his time there, only really saying anything if they asked him a question. He hadn't told either of them the whole truth behind what had happened, that he'd lived in a bright, colorful world filled with magical, talking ponies and that the "girl" he'd fallen in love with was a unicorn herself. It wasn't paranoia for their inevitable reaction of disbelief that prevented him from explaining the whole thing, but was instead was his own wanting to avoid dwelling on the heavy thoughts too much himself and risk losing control of his emotions and sanity.

The young man had done much soul searching in the last week alone, beginning the rather unpleasant task of reevaluating what he was supposed to do now. The realization that he was far away from Vinyl and his friends had finally settled in his mind and, though he was still saddened by the harsh reality that he may never see them again, he had begun to accept it. That didn't stop his heart from sinking lower and lower every time he thought of the life he left back in Equestria, but he felt he was able to move on in some capacity, which was just what he was doing now, preparing to leave this little farmhouse and head off to Los Angeles, where he would try and find work for himself.

He spotted his possessions on the bedside table and grabbed them, placing his iPod and wallet in their respective pockets before making his way out the door and down the hall. He'd risen very early that morning in preparation to leave this place and make his way west. A thick mist hung over the fields outside, somewhat obscuring his view of the tops of the wheat in the distance. The rays of light from the rising sun hit the fog and illuminated it, painting the entire field a brilliant shade of gold. Josh stopped for a second at the door to the farmhouse, admiring the beauty of the scene before his eyes.

The young producer, having enjoyed the scene enough, reached out for the handle to the door, opening it and stepping out into the brisk, morning air.

"Mornin' Josh."

Josh nearly jumped out of his skin as the voice spoke and startled him. He spun around quickly to see Otis sitting in a wooden rocking chair next to the door, simply staring at Josh.

"How long have you been sitting there?" asked the stunned young man, his rapid heart rate beginning to slow down.

"For a little while now." replied the old man, not taking his eyes off Josh standing near the door, "Would you like to explain to me why you're up this early too?"

Josh hesitated for a second, not sure what to say to the farmer. If not for Otis, Josh most likely wouldn't have ever realized just how wrong he was to leave Vinyl in the first place. When the young producer had landed here a year ago after departing from Equestria, Otis had reminded him that if Josh wasn't worthy of the mare's love that she most likely wouldn't have ever fallen in love with him to begin with. Those words were all Josh had needed to hear to convince him that leaving was a huge mistake and that he truly did deserve Vinyl's companionship just as much as she deserved his.

"I... was going to go for a walk." said Josh, hoping with all his might that Otis would believe the lie, "Figured I've been cooped up in here long enough. May as well get out early and stretch my legs."

Otis raised an eyebrow at Josh's statement. The young producer's heart dropped a little as he realized there wouldn't be a way for him to skate around this issue.

"Josh, I wasn't born yesterday." said Otis, looking deeply into Josh's blue eyes, "Going for a walk's the last thing I think you'd be doing right now, especially this early in the morning."

Josh just stared at Otis as the old farmer's skeptical gaze continued to be on him. This was what he had been most afraid of as he'd planned to leave, that one of the kind old couple would try and stop him from leaving. He tried his best to keep his expression straightforward and serious, but found himself beginning to wither under the look Otis was giving him.

"What's really going on here, Josh?" asked Otis, gesturing to the chair next to his own.

"I... I didn't want to... bother you two with this." said Josh, not moving from his place in front of the door, "With everything that's happened lately, me showing up here again, taking advantage of you guys for a week... I just... I wanted this to be simple..."

"What exactly do you mean?" asked Otis, raising his eyebrow once again.

"I was... going to leave." said Josh, lowering his head at knowing he'd been found out, "Head back to LA. I've got a friend there who can help me out. I was hoping you two wouldn't catch me leaving... and try to stop me."

Otis simply continued to stare at Josh, leaving an uncomfortable silence hanging in the air. The young producer looked up to see Otis's tired, aged eyes locked on his own. The green orbs seemed to pierce Josh's being, looking deep inside to the troubled spirit that dwelled within. As his gaze met Otis's, he felt a lump form in his throat.

"Otis..." he said, his voice beginning to shake as he spoke to the old man, "I... I can never go home. I can never see my friends or Vinyl ever again. I... I'm lost, in a place I don't belong anymore, all alone. If I don't move now... I'll just be stuck here wallowing in my own misery till I waste away. I... can't do that. It's not what she'd want. I know it..."

Josh felt his legs become weak as tears threatened to flow from his eyes once again. He crouched down, placing his hand over his eyes to shield Otis from seeing him cry. He knew the truth of it all, that his wish to move was nothing more than a futile attempt to try and suppress the depressing reality around him. However, that's all he knew how to do, to force the pain and anger into the deep recesses of his subconscious to simply fester. As he felt the first few drops prepare to leave his eyes, he felt a strong but comforting hand place itself on his shoulder.

Josh looked up with his watery blue orbs and saw Otis, smiling warmly down at him. The old man's eyes again looked deep into Josh's soul, clearly seeing all the pain and torment it was experiencing within.

"Josh," he said gently, his smile never faltering, "you have no idea how strong you really are, how strong you've been, throughout this entire ordeal."

The producer had to suppress a laugh at that.

"I'm far from strong." he replied, looking back down from Otis's gaze, "All I've done this week is mope around, knowing that it won't do a goddamn thing to help me at all."

"Do you have any idea how many people would've just shut down over somethin' like this?" asked Otis, "Most would've just continued to sit and allow themselves to waste away over their pain, but not you. You've lost it all, it seems, and yet you still forge ahead, still try your best to move on and make somethin' out of nothin'. That's strength right there."

Josh pondered his words as Otis continued to speak.

"Last time you were here, I said you were a guilty man, that you had a lotta ghosts in your past. But I also said that you're sorry for those ghosts. I can see it in your eyes. You've tried everything you can to fix the mistakes you've made in your life and done even more to ensure you don't make them again. There's not a lot of men out there like you, those who're not only willing to learn from their past, but to also apply the lessons they take away."

Josh looked back up to the Otis, seeing that same, warm, comforting smile.

"I'll never understand how you got here, what happened to get you here, or even why you're here." said Otis, "But, I do understand that you've gotta do what you've gotta do, and there's absolutely no way that myself or even Martha would stand in your way."

Josh returned Otis's smile, standing up and wiping a tear from his eye. Upon Josh getting to his feet, Otis placed his other hand on the young man's shoulder so that he was holding both of them and standing directly in front of his tall form.

"And as for Vinyl, you remember what I asked you when you were here, when you said that you didn't deserve her?"

"Y-yeah. You asked me... if she loved me. Unconditionally."

"And you said yes, did you not?"

Josh nodded in affirmation.

"Then, let me ask you one more question: do you love her unconditionally?"

"She's... my whole world." replied Josh, speaking as authoritatively as he possibly could at that moment, "I've got nothing but love for her."

"Then I can promise you that no matter what you or anyone else may think or say, there's not a damn thing that can stop you two from bein' together again." said Otis, gently squeezing Josh's shoulders, "Love is one of the strongest forces there is in this world. It can break the strongest of barriers and repair even the most broken hearts. If you two well and truly love one another unconditionally, then nothin' will keep you apart for long."

Josh smiled even wider. Otis, you always know just what to say, don't you? he thought. Otis pulled Josh in for a quick hug before backing off, still smiling wide at the now empowered young man before him.

"Now, as for you leavin'..."

Josh flinched a little, hoping that Otis wouldn't try and hold him back.

"I'll get out some cash for you and take you to KCI this afternoon." said Otis, making for the door and opening it up, "We'll get you a ticket to LA as soon as possible. But, you gotta let me and Martha see you off, alright?"

Josh smiled and nodded as Otis looked back to him. The old man nodded his approval and headed back inside, making his way towards the little kitchen, Josh in tow. Together, the two talked and enjoyed one another's company, knowing, but not hoping, that this would be one of the last times they'd see one another.