My Name is Brayden Miles

My name is Brayden Miles. If you're someone who knows who I am, then I beg you please read what I have to say and then send this along to my family. If you're someone I've never met, then read my story anyway. Someone needs to know, no matter how strange it might sound.

You're probably wondering what is going on, and frankly, I had no idea either. But anyway, let me try to explain. My current situation is something that would seem crazy, or pulled out of a fairy tale- but it's happening. I don't know where I am, nor do I find myself in any familiar that could even bring me home. But I know I'm here, whatever this place is, and not dreaming. And man, I don't know what I have got myself into. What I do remember of what took place before I got here was that I was on Earth. Yes, I get to say that. Where I am now doesn't even begin to classify as the planet that I know.

It was just another drawn-out shift at this small run-down restaurant a few blocks away from my apartment. It was a quiet night thanks to the rain we had been getting for weather the last couple of days. It made every hour take forever, and I already didn't expect to get a lot of customers to begin with. The business was making its way to bankruptcy, which meant sooner or later I would have to look for another job. What did this make, job number twelve at this point?

“Hey Miles? Miles!”

I jerked my head up towards the sound, looking into the face of my supervisor, feigning interest. “Yes sir?”

“You got a few minutes left. Mind cleaning up out back while I get someone for the dining room?” he said, slacking off around one of the refrigerators.

I shrugged, keeping silent so I didn't rudely respond. I ignored my hope that for once I was allowed to leave early. I was one of the five people on shift, and I know that they didn't really need me to stay until the end; my super just wanted to be a dick. Typical. I grabbed a couple of clean rags and a spray bottle, trying to quickly get things cleaned up so I could go. I was stuck inside the kitchen to hide my messy appearance for most of the day after a drunk customer spilled her drink all over me while I was serving another table. That meant a third trip to the laundromat this week, damnit. It was sooner than I wanted it to be, don't think that I had the funds. Didn't get much for tips lately either; possibly by the fact I was ready to lose my cool at some of the teenagers that would come in and sit, grab something small to eat, dirty up the area beyond description and leave without cleaning up afterwards. It didn't sit well with me, even when I was their age I wasn't like that- great, now I feel old.

When my parents said that getting an education was to further excel my prospects of getting better paying jobs were incorrect. I did my time, got a degree, but still get paid minimum wage to scrub toilets and wash dishes. Some benefit it turned out to be, eh? It's not like I had a bad track record with employment. Sure, I had a bit of an attitude from time-to-time, but at least I did fill what the job required of me, relatively with a smile. Anyone who considered to hire me were low wage jobs, which would be seasonal or close up shop after a few months. That's how my luck was.

Once I did what was asked, I was able to leave. I grabbed my jacket and left, saying a short goodbye or a wave to the other co-workers. I plodded through the rain down the quiet, empty streets. Everything looked dingy and bleak as the sky was a void of darkness above me. Even the moon seemed to be swallowed up in the inky black abyss. The shower of tiny droplets was escalating to a torrential downpour above me, which made me only grunt in frustration. I was only able to pull my long coat closer to my body as the dampness began to seep into the fabric, my umbrella left on the floor at my place where I had forgotten it before I left for the day. This will suck if I start getting a cold, which meant no work for the next couple of days if that happened. I begin to walk quicker to my apartment, knowing that it wasn't helping me prevent me becoming completely soaked to the bone.

I fumbled for my keys and unlocked a side door to a large house nestled between a couple of buildings. I walked up the stairs to my apartment, which was one of the top sections of the house. The owner decided to cut the up place into sections and renovate it into small apartments. There wasn't anything wrong with my place, it was just really tightly cramped. I knew that I was trailing water and dirt on the way up, but I didn't care. I'd worry about it tomorrow. I turned on the light, pulled off the coat and kicked off my shoes. I saw my umbrella on the floor by the door, making me slightly more irritated at myself. I tossed my keys onto the small counter in my kitchen before making my way into my dungeon.

The light flickered on inside the bathroom and I noticed how dishevelled I looked in the mirror: dull dirty blond hair dripping down my face, sunken blue eyes, my drenched, stained work clothes clinging to my tall, thin frame. There wasn't much for muscle tone or fat, I was really skinny- quite homely for the moment to be honest. This was what I am at 27; living in a small apartment by myself, limited in a social network, working a crappy but paying job, living each day just to make a paycheck. A sorry excuse for a life, right? I continued looking into the mirror, rubbing my face as a new layer of stubble had grown throughout the day. This is how my life was going to be, huh?

I shivered as the cold started to sink in, and I began to undress. The warm water from the shower greeted me when I turned it on and I jumped inside, quickly washing up before what ever was left of the precious water from my small hot water tank was going to run out for the day. I had already showered before in the morning and the tank that was in my apartment was old and preferred to malfunction once in awhile. I called the landlord several times about it, and he says that it's, “on the list”. There were times that I wish I could take that proverbial list and shove it right down his...

But I'm getting off topic. I continued in the bathroom and looked out the window that happened to be where they installed the upright shower. Poor planning, thank you renovators. It was low enough that I had to keep it covered, except for a small part of a corner at the top where I could look up at the sky. Coming home after the night shifts I got well acquainted in watching what stars I could see in the smog of the city. I especially loved watching the moon. Where I had the opening I had a clear view of it some nights, especially when it was full. There was something about watching it that gave me a moment of peace. Unfortunately tonight wasn't one of those times. I could hear the rain pelting at the glass outside; hopefully the rain will stop sometime soon.

I could feel the temperature of the water beginning to lose its heat and had to finish up my hair before things went icy on me again. I turned off the taps when I was done and grabbed a towel, drying off as best as I could. I made sure to have some extra clean clothes in a basket I kept near the door in case I was late for work. Everything was quiet as I dressed. Usually there's someones bass booming underneath me or a TV blaring next door. It made things eerily silent not hearing anything. It was possible that people were smart and actually slept for once instead of partying in the early hours of the morning before passing out. Thinking like that made me feel even older than I was, which never helped my cause.

Going into the kitchen, I grabbed a beer from the fridge and some leftovers from a couple of nights ago, rice and vegetables. Normally I get something to eat from work before I head home, but money was tight, and it's a few days until my next pay. I heated up my late supper and cracked open the bottle, taking a swig of the bitter liquid. I had grown accustomed to drinking the stuff, something that was cheap and had alcohol to take my mind off of things. I heard the rain beating down on the roof, it was lighter now, and I started to hear the sound of cars driving down the street. It looked to be a calm night, and I humbly took it.

I sat down in my small space I called a living room. It had a small couch and a coffee table, my laptop resting idly on top of it. I didn't own a television, there wasn't much to watch that interested me. And if there was, I could find it online. The internet was good for that at least. I flipped the machine open and the fan whirled to life, the screen lighting the dark space. A few clicks and I loaded up something to watch in ambiance while I ate, hearing the rain becoming faint trickle in the background. I took another long drink of my beer, feeling my body relax without resisting. Thanks to my form, it doesn't take many bottles for me to be intoxicated, which in a way helped me financially.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, the food half gone and my beer nearly empty. Whatever I had playing continued to ramble on, my mind now becoming a drawl of thoughts as my fatigue and the liquor settled in. I must have stayed on the couch for a good hour, the rain had stopped and so did my computer. The apartment went dark when the laptop went on standby. Everything was still as I started to drift off to sleep, but my mind continued to wander. Was this really going to be it? Living on my own trying to be a responsible adult with dead-end jobs and a little to no income? What a sorry life to have.

The clouds must have began to clear in the night sky. I opened my eyes to see slivers of moonlight began to filter through the blinds. I groaned, not wanting to get up off the couch and into my bed. The alcohol made my body feel heavy, not wanting to be disturbed. Reluctantly I got up, leaving my unfinished dinner and my laptop to deal with in the morning. I walked passed the kitchen and stopped back at the bathroom, seeing the moonlight shining brightly from the gap in the window. It made me smile, leaning on the door frame for a few seconds, seeing parts of the tile lit up within the darkness. I was entranced by the light, walking inside and opened up the shower door, the floor still wet from before, my socks slightly damp as I looked out the window, peeling back the cover to let more light in as the moon shone brightly in the sky. The light cascaded through the glass shower onto the wall behind me to the floor.

“Hello Moon.” I said out loud, my speech slightly slurred. “Glad to see you're out and about again.”

Talking to a moon in the sky, don't ask me why I did something like this. I did it often when I was alone, usually when I was sober. It's not like anyone else could hear me. And it wasn't like it was going to respond back to me. It was just a ritual that I did, something to distract me from the world. As much as my life seemed boring, dull, and uneventful, at least I had something that was always fixed, seeing that it was the Earth's moon after all.

I was just about to leave when I noticed something...different. I narrowed my eyes to focus on the moon, the beer in my system not helping my efforts. The usual patterns on the moons surface was different from before. It's possible that asteroids may have hit the moon recently, but I wasn't too sure. There seemed to be a different shape on the moon, almost like a head of a creature. A horse maybe? I shook my head, trying to get my bearings.

'I must be really tired for me to start seeing things.'

I left it at that and began to leave. As I turned my foot slipped in a puddle of water and I fell backward. I slammed hard and the back of my skull collided with the bathroom tile on the wall. I cursed loudly and was about to feel if I damaged anything and hopefully still had brain matter left when I felt a resistance on my left arm. I blinked a few times and tried to pull the limb free to no avail. I looked down to see what was going on in the darkness.

Where my arm had landed was on the tile that was illuminated in the moonlight. At first I thought my elbow and impacted had damaged the wall. I tried to pull again, only to stop dead when the rest of the moonlit wall rippled at my movements like water. Once it got to the edge of the cascading light to the darkness the ripples disappeared. My eyes went wide, looking in disbelief. I figured I must have hit my head pretty hard for me to be seeing things. I grabbed my wrist with the other hand and gave a hard pull, managing to free my arm with a loud splash as the wall reformed, continuing to ripple slightly.

“What the...?”

My heart sped up in my chest and took a few steps back away from the moonlight, checking my arm first. There didn't seem to be any damage while the rippling of the tile went still. I checked the back of my head as I continued to stare at the wall dumbfounded. There was going to be a major lump on the back of my skull from what I could feel. I looked up at the moon, which still glowed brightly in the night sky, then back to the lit wall. I raised my hand and noticed that no shadow seemed to appear when my hand was in the light, which was extremely odd. I went and touched the surface of the strange anomaly, seeing ripples form from my touch. It felt creepy, but not life threatening- at least not to me just yet.

“I must be dreaming.” I said out loud. However, the throbbing pain in the back of my mind wanted to prove otherwise.

I continued to look, the wall staring back at me. It almost looked like the air twinkled in the moonlight, but that wasn't at the forefront of my thoughts at the moment. I was surprised, and increasingly afraid. What ever was in those leftovers were making me hallucinate, that's it. I start to move my my hand away and felt the resistance again, pulling hard and broke free, watching the ripples appear and then fade away once more. I didn't know what to make of the situation. Was this real? Or was this a really vivid dream and I was still back on my couch? I wanted to leave the bathroom but I felt strangely drawn to it. I was worried, but also curious. What was I supposed to do with this?

An idea popped into my drunken thoughts and I looked outside the bathroom to where the light was hitting the wall, seeing the other side being completely solid on the other end. This posed more further questions. What could this be? A portal? Where would it lead? And then my heart sank...

Am I dead? Was I poisoned instead?

No. I had to think about it for a second. That's just the beer talking. Hopefully if I did die this isn't the way things were going to go, at least I hoped. I wouldn't be going through my bathroom wall into the afterlife. That's retarded. I figured there would be something like a light or something. Must be the alcohol, or I'm that really out cold. Nevertheless, I had to do something about this.

I went out into the hallway and found my wooden sword I had purchased a long time ago. At first it was part of a small collection I once had when I was hooked on samurai films when I was a kid, but then I left the rest with my family and kept one in case someone tried to break into my apartment if I was home. It was the only sturdy thing I could think of this late. I brought it back and the moonlight continued to shine on the wall. I gripped the handle tightly and poked at the tile a little bit.

It would have been very idiotic sight if someone were to find me like this; an intoxicated grown man looking like he was attacking his wall with a wooden sword in the middle of the night. I'm sure it wouldn't go over well. But here I was, the tip of the sword going into the wall with no difficulty with me holding on to the other end. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary from my previous test and tried to pull the sword back out. It was then when I felt something pulling it into the wall, not letting go. I looked down and saw what looked to be a midnight blue aura spreading over the wooden blade towards me. I tried to let go but I wasn't quick enough, the aura engulfed my hands and was pulling me closer to the wall.

'Crap....come on. Let go!' I thought to myself.

I began to panic, grunting as I tried to pull free at the force that now had its hold on me. I did my best to brace my feet, but the floor was still damp and so were my socks, making gripping impossible. My heart pounded in my chest, my breathing quickened. I was helpless to what was happening. I felt my hands going into the wall, feeling a warm pressure around them as I was getting sucked in. I tried to shout but it felt like I had a giant lump growing in my throat, unable to make a sound. The wall continued to pull me in, but now there was a increasing fear inside of me as I stared, unable to do anything while a new problem was occurring. The moonlight on the tile began to shrink around me. I looked behind me to see out the window that there was a cloud beginning to cover the moon once again, making my heart seize inside my chest.

'What do I do? What do I do?!' I screamed in my thoughts. 'If this thing disappears I'm going to

be stuck like this!'

The darkness of the night was getting rather close to me, half my body already swallowed into the wall. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, gave a prayer to any God that was listening, and dove in the rest of the way into the wall. It was dark as warmth and pressure enveloped me completely, my hands still gripping the sword as best as I could. I kept my eyes closed, afraid to open them to what might be happening around me. I felt like I was moving, but held in place at the same time.

And then suddenly, there was a burst of light I could see behind my eyelids. I covered my eyes with one of my hands, my mind snapping to attention--

Wait, I could move my hand!

Opening my eyes I then found out something rather quickly....

I was in the air, and I was falling.

The lump in my throat was gone, and I screamed at the top of my lungs as I plummeted downwards towards the ground. How I ended up outside was one thing, in the air was another. The wind whistled in my ears as I tumbled. It was night and I couldn't make out anything familiar. But that wasn't the point at the current state I was in. I was descending quickly towards the ground, closing my eyes once again as I awaited the collision. I could almost see my life flash before me- it was pitiful.

But I didn't hit the ground, I was met with the sound of a resounding splash as my body hit water. I assumed that the impact should have broken every bone in my body, but I had managed to hit without killing myself. My body screamed in pain and my lungs burned, not taking in enough air in time as I was thrashed about by the current. My mind clouded as I was being swept away, flailing aimlessly to pull myself to the surface. But it seemed that my body was unwilling to do so, my lungs filling with water and I completely collapsed, my world going dark.

.o~End of Journal Entry~o.

Thank you for reading! Please review and tell me what you think! :)

Chapter 2: Journal Entry #2

Chapter Text

Here you go everyone. Please read and review. :)

My Name is Brayden Miles

Journal Entry #2

Dear anyone,

This being my second journal entry you have come to the conclusion that no, I'm not dead. My unceremonious fall from the sky into a river did leave me unconscious. Once the current had released me I was alive for the most part. I figured that I was out cold for quite some time, but I had never expected to survive after that experience. I started to come to, realizing that I was out of the water as if by a miracle. My body felt heavy and drained, my lungs kicked in coughing up the large amount of water I swallowed. Taking in several gulps of air I was able to roll over a little so I didn't choke anymore than I had to. My chest felt like it had been kicked several times, so did the rest of me. Bits and pieces of my memory kept flashing back to what happened that led me to this point, my mind blank as to how I had gotten out of the water. But for right then it didn't matter.

I was completely soaked again, so much for the shower. The affects of the alcohol were now gone, and my stomach felt empty. I groaned and did my best to look around. It was still night time by the looks of things, the sound of the river at my feet was my first discovery. I tried to push myself up but my body was so sore that I couldn't move from the ground. What I could feel was the damp grass underneath me from me and my clothes, my frame shaking slightly after the rough ride and my skull still pounding from hitting the wall in my bathroom. I returned to my back and closed my eyes, taking shallow breaths, unable to do much of anything else for the moment. I could see what looked to be a very dense and oddly coloured forest behind me. From what I could tell it stretched up and down the river. I assumed it was on the other side as well even though I couldn't really see it. The sound of creatures I have never heard before were in the distance, which meant that I was safe, I hoped.

The first batch of questions circled my thoughts. 'Where was I?' was the immediate one; 'What brought me here?' was another. I knew I wasn't in the city, which was obvious. How I fell from the sky...ugh. I raised my hand and rubbed my aching temple as best as I could, letting my hand fall back onto the grass. Wherever I was wasn't home, and now I needed to figure out how to get back, or at least wake up from this vivid nightmare.

I sat up slowly when I began to hear an odd sound coming from the river. I held my side and groaned, feeling what seemed to be a large bruise forming from my lower back to my ribs. My breath hitched as I saw something moving in the water close to river bank, something big. I tried to move again, trying my best to be further away from the edge, but the sounds of the forest didn't sound very favourable either no matter how far away they were. My heart began to quicken in my chest, growing anxiety beginning to turn into panic. Something began to slowly rise out of the water. Whatever it was it very tall and long, like a serpent, making me turn as white as a sheet as I sat there. I tried to force myself up off the ground but my legs felt like deadweight, not wanting to move.

The huge creature continued to tower over me out of the water, it's lavender coloured scales somehow shining in the night. I could hear some splashing behind him, presuming that the other half of his scaly body remained in the river. I heard a low rumbling from its chest as it lowered its head towards me, making me freeze in place. All I could see was it's large eyes staring at me with a curious gaze, it's teeth large and looking rather sharp. I stared back at it, looking like a wounded, helpless animal, and I was its next meal. It exhaled through its nostrils, the warm breeze catching me by surprise and knocked me back down, causing me to grunt in pain. It let out a soft growl in response, making me go silent.

I heard something clattering onto the ground next to me. I looked over and saw what looked to be my wooden sword, wet and covered in some kind of sea grass. It seemed to have taken some damage from the river as well; some scratches were now etched in the blade, I assumed to be from some rocks. I reached for it and wrapped my fingers around the hilt, wiping off the wet debris. The serpent continued to look at me, wondering what I was going to do next. I sat up again, squinting to get a better look at the sea creature in the night, noticing that it had what looked to be hair on its head and a long goldenrod coloured moustache. Strange to find it on a serpent, but again, I didn't know that I would come face-to-face with something like this, real or imaginary.

"U-Uh...thanks." I croaked, my throat still not at its best from me screaming only moments before.

The creature snorted at me, lifted its head, and began to descend back into the depths of the river. My heart wanted to leap out of my chest as things grew quiet, my breathing was quick with alarm. I needed to get out of this place before something else wanted to come out and say hello and potentially try to eat me. It took several minutes to calm myself and get back on my feet. Not the best course of action giving my state, but I had no better option. My body wasn't used to this kind of strain, and I looked around to find some kind of path or direction to go. Noting the strange animal sounds, I found that it would be best to go a route away from that.

I looked down to find that I wasn't in the best shape when it came to my attire. My shirt and jeans were wet and somewhat torn, my feet bare except for my soaked socks. Trudging through a forest with nothing but my ripped clothing and damaged wooden sword didn't leave me in the best of chances for survival. I even checked my pockets, hoping that I had forgotten something in them while doing the laundry. Unfortunately I left everything in my other pants, damn.

I hobbled beside the river until I needed to enter the forest, my sword now acting like a walking stick supporting my weak limbs. The canopy of the trees opened up ahead of me and I saw what could be a moon shining above, lighting up the ground below. I stopped and looked up, gazing at the same odd pattern on the moon I had seen when I was home, the same horse silhouette looking down at me. At least that familiarity was comforting, even though it was strange seeing a similar, but different moon hanging above me.

I continued my trek, my socks and the bottoms of my jeans were covered in mud and twigs as I trudged deeper and deeper into the forest. How long I walked I couldn't tell, but my body was getting weak and hunger began to nag in the pit of my stomach. Surely I would find something nearby, possibly some berries to eat. If there were creatures in the forest, there must have been some kind of food. I did my best to ignore grumbling of my stomach and the pain that wanted to double me over, continuing my walk.

I found myself in a small clearing, looking at something that made me do a double take. I stood in front of a bunch of what looked to be apple trees. But these weren't any normal trees like the ones I knew. I could see in the moonlight their bark was smooth with a purple-brown tinge, their leaves were almost pitch black. But that wasn't the craziest part about the trees- it was the apples themselves. Contrasting the strange trees were these brightly coloured, rainbow-striped apples. I had never seen anything like it before. My stomach let out a resounding growl and I reached out and pulled one off a nearby branch, observing the oddities of the angled fruit right down to its jagged-looking stem. I rubbed it on my shirt and the stripes didn't seem to rub off. I gave it a sniff, it didn't smell like they were painted on which posed further questions. Nevertheless my hunger couldn't wait any longer and I took a bite, not giving it a thought that it might possibly be poisoned. By the way my stomach was feeling it didn't matter at this point.

I had never tasted anything that what this apple produced. It was sweet and savoury, more than a regular old apple. I chewed, the flavor all through my mouth as I swallowed. It made my mouth feel slightly tingly inside as it sated my hunger. I took a few more bites and quickly finished it, leaving nothing but a core. I felt a wave of the same sensation through my body, but it wasn't causing me anymore pain that I was already in. It was strange but it quickly faded away. The taste from the apple was so good that I pulled some more off the branches, only enough to carry in my free arm while the sword was holding me up. If I told someone that I had met a sea serpent, they wouldn't believe me. But if I was able to find home with these things, I know that I could prove at least something to be true about this whole thing, that is if this world was real and I find a way home.

I was going to sit down and begin to eat another of the strange apples when I heard a branch snap nearby. I stopped quickly and looked around, a low growl hitting my ears. This one sounded more deep and ferocious, with what looked to be yellow glowing eyes coming from the brush nearby the trees. I gulped and took a slow step back. The hairs on the back of my neck began to stand on end as I felt something breathing heavily behind me. I took a quick glance and realized that I met a silhouette of a creature, the same glowing yellow eyes piercing my very soul while the rest of its body was still shrouded in darkness.

"H-hi?" I stammered.

The large creature stepped on all fours out of the brush and into the moonlight. It was almost as big as a house completely made out of branches and other pieces of scrapped wood. It let out a loud howl, which made me drop my only form of sustenance and stare in terror. Its breath was pungent and foul, making me cover my face and cough in disgust, my stomach turning. Another one of same kind of monster took a step towards me, beginning to pin me between the both them. I dropped my hand and grasped the sword with both hands, holding it in front of me in defence as my body shook with fear. I had to make a break for it otherwise I was going to be into another world of hurt.

"E-Easy...let's not do anything that we would all regret." I said aimlessly to the monsters, as if they could understand what I was saying. I could hear more growling and more glowing eyes peering from the forest around me, which didn't bode well.

The second one howled, snapping me into attention as I gave one hard swing towards the one that was behind me, landing a blow on its muzzle. The move caused a sharp pain to rip through my side as I struck, my mind reeling and I did my best to ignore it. All I could see was pieces of wood fly off of the thing into the air, causing the monster to roar. I saw where the pieces fell, their outsides smouldering with a green aura, which I took it as my signal to run while the rest of the monsters seemed to be stunned for a moment by my action. My muscles burned as I did my best to sprint further into the forest. The group of wood creatures howled behind me, beginning their pursuit to chase me down. If I didn't find shelter or a place to hide soon, I was a goner.

I ducked and weaved as best as I could through the trees, the pain in my body becoming torture and agony. I held onto my sword for dear life, using it to beat some of the vines and branches that were in my way. I could hear the monsters behind me, heavy footfalls becoming louder as they were quickly catching up to me. Looking ahead, the forest seemed endless in the dark. I began to lose the last shred of hope I had left until I noticed something flickering in the distance. It could have been a light, or another monster who wanted to come and greet me. Taking my chances I changed direction and ran towards the faint glimmer.

That didn't seem to satisfy my pursuers as they were tracking me. Wherever I was headed, the monsters behind me didn't seem to like it. I could hear them yip and howl further and further away from me. But I didn't slow down, hoping that where I was headed was some sort of sanctuary or building. I may had found someone's house, or was going to be facing another encounter, either way it didn't matter. I wanted out of this freaky forest before I became someone's dinner for at least a few minutes. My legs wanted to give up on me, but I did my best to ignore it. The noise of the wood creatures became faint behind me, the light becoming my one chance of potential freedom.

Luck was finally in my favour as I burst out of the twisted treeline next to what looked to be a large hollow tree with windows carved in its trunk and a small round door in the front. I could see coloured bottles each varying in size strung up on some of the branches, which made me uneasy. A tribal mask was hanging above the door, painted in green and red, with some other masks strewn around the place. The tree seemed to be occupied, the light that I saw seemed to be coming from one of the windows. I was dizzy with fatigue as I tried to catch my breath, stumbling towards the tree. I couldn't hear the monsters anymore, which made me relieved.

The door was shorter than I expected, at least by a foot, but I knocked on the door, hoping that someone would answer as I collapsed onto the doorstep, shivering uncontrollably. I had finally found someone that may be able to help me. My vision began to blur as the door opened, seeing an oddly shaped figure above me as I fell back into unconsciousness.

When I began to come to my world was still a daze. I rubbed my eyes and opened them slowly. I didn't feel wet and cold anymore. The shivering stopped but my body was still in a lot of pain. Regardless I tried to sit up, smacking my forehead against wood which startled me. Everything went white for a split second and I rubbed my skull and muttered a curse. Today just didn't seem my day, no matter where I was. I shook my head and looked around, taking in my strange surroundings.

It seemed to had changed to day, the forest outside seemed to be brighter with light filtering in from the canopy. I found myself on a very small bed. From the knees down didn't even making it onto the spongy mattress. My head had rested on a small pillow and there was a thin blanket that covered my upper body that looked like it had a leopard print design. Whoever lived here was nice enough to lend me their bed, even though this person seemed to be small in stature. But I didn't judge, at least I could talk to this person to find out where I was.

The room was cramped thanks to my height and my feet extended into the next room which looked to be more open. I did my best to slowly move myself out of the bedroom, doing my best not to knock over anything. This stranger that took me in had a vast collection of different bottles and jars strewn all over the small bedroom. I was still sore, but at least I wasn't tired anymore. I rubbed my face and noticed my stubble had grown some more. Hopefully whoever lived here had a razor I could borrow.

When I finally got into the opened area of the next room, I wasn't wrong about the collection. There were shelves all around the circular room with jars and bottles, with some books and more of the tribal masks added to the decor. There were even some strange roots, herbs, and fruits growing here and there in between the walls. I stood hunched over, my head brushing the ceiling. I stayed to one side by the bedroom, praying that I didn't break anything. In the center of the room looked to be a cauldron, a sickly green liquid mixture cooking on top of a small fire. Whatever it was it didn't smell awful, but the look of it told me otherwise. At least the warmth of the fire made the room relatively comfortable.

My problem now was that I didn't see anyone around. Whoever saved me was away and I didn't have a clue what to do. At least those odd apples seemed to tide me over for now. I grunted in discomfort from standing and tried to sit down somewhere on the floor. I sat there quietly, unable to do much of anything. I reached for a book, hoping I could get some answers as to what this place was. But when I looked inside there was odd writing in a language I had never seen before. At least there were some pictures I could look at. It must have been a book on herbs because there was illustrations of various plants that I couldn't make out or had seen on Earth.

As I put the book back I hit a bottle nearby. I did my best to catch it but it hit the floor with a crash, breaking into small pieces. Fortunately it was empty, but I still felt bad that I destroyed someone's property. I heard a noise coming from outside. I guess I startled an animal or something, hopefully not one as big as the things I met last night. I shuddered at the thought and heard multiple light footfalls coming closer. I hoped that it was my rescuer, but it sounded that there was more than one person coming in. The door swung open and I was met with a peculiar sight.

There at the door was a creature that looked to be a small horse. No, not a horse, possibly a pony. The black, white and grey markings on it made me think zebra as my next guess. It had the same kind of mane and tail, but it was smaller and the patterns on its coat were not like normal zebras. What surprised me that it had gold earrings and bangles around its neck and one of its front legs. It looked at me with azure blue eyes, another questionable feature not normal to zebras. It walked in slowly with pouches strapped on either side of its body, giving me a once over while I looked back at it. I stayed in place, not wanting to startle the animal, my back giving me some grief from sitting still. I glanced behind it, hoping that I would find another human around, but it was only the zebra. I sighed, letting out another groan. The animal continued to look at me.

"I guess your master isn't around yet, huh?" I said softly.

The zebra snorted at me. I blinked in surprise as it pulled off what it was carrying, opening up one of the flaps with its nose. I watched in amazement as it seemed to know what its doing, carefully pulling out some kind of oddly shaped plants with its mouth that I had seen out of the book I saw. I had never seen that kind of behaviour before from watching animals on my computer, especially in horses. It moved over to the cauldron and dropped the plant into the liquid. There was a small puff of blue smoke that rose out of the pot and dissipated. The zebra looked in my direction, neighing at me.

"What is it?" I asked.

The zebra snorted again, looking up next to me. I followed its gaze, seeing a small wooden spoon hanging there. I grabbed it, moving slowly and held it in front of the animal. The zebra took the handle in its mouth and began to stir. Never did I see something like this before. Maybe this was all part of a circus act? Was this animal trained to do something like this? I watched stunned as the zebra continued to stir. It took out a portion of the odd liquid and poured into a large bowl. It continued to do so until the bowl was almost full. The zebra nickered at me, nudging the bowl with its hoof. The liquid swirled inside, a bubble popping on the surface that made my stomach knot. The animal whinnied at me, watching me.

"What?" I asked, staring at the zebra with mild disbelief. It nickered again, nudging the bowl now with its nose. "You want me to drink that?"

The zebra pushed the bowl in my direction, looking up at me. I took the bowl in my hands, cringing at the liquid. Another bubbled popped, making me want to look away in disgust. "Well, here goes nothing." I said aloud, closing my eyes and began to drink. I swallowed a big gulp of the stuff, tasting something bitter in the warm, pulpy liquid that made me sputter and cough. My chest pained in protest as I tried to catch my breath, shuddering as the stuff hit my stomach. I took a few moments to compose myself, the zebra watching me with a calm gaze; it was almost unsettling.

"Ugh...whatever this stuff is, it doesn't seem to have done anything." I commented setting the bowl down.

And that's when I heard another voice, it was female, and somewhat foreign. "Ah, but it seems to have done the trick, the problem that I was trying to fix."

I froze, looking around the room, not seeing anyone. I blinked several times. "Who's there? Whoever you are please come out." I called. But no one appeared.

"What do you mean? It's just us two. I'm standing right in front of you."

The gears in my head began to turn. I looked and only found the zebra, still staring back at me with its head tilted to one side. I took a moment, thinking. 'No, it couldn't have been the zebra, that's impossible...'

And then the zebra open its mouth, the voice I heard before coming from its direction. "It is I that you do see. My name is Zecora. Who might you be?"

If my jaw could unhinge and hit the floor it would have done so. I sat there stunned, my mind not comprehending what had just been said straight from the horses mouth, pun intended. The zebra, calling itself Zecora, took a few steps towards me, her hooves tapping lightly on the floor. I cowered against the wall, some of the jars clinking together behind me.

"S-Stay back." I said, my fear enunciated in my tone. All I could think of was whatever I drank just then was some kind of hallucinogen.

"Don't be alarmed, no need for fear. Nothing will harm you while you are here." she said, trying to reassure me.

My head began to feel fuzzy, shaking my head to force myself to stay focused. I wasn't going to pass out now. There had been too many moments of me doing that already. I began to think it out: here I was, sitting in a strange tree hut with a talking zebra. A zebra who was now trying to calm me down before I started a freak out. And right now, I was getting to that point, and fast.

.o~End of Journal Entry #2~o.

End of another chapter, tell me what you think.

Chapter 3: Journal Entry #3

Chapter Text

A/N: Here's Chapter 3! Took some time to get it right. Here ya go!

My Name is Brayden Miles

Journal Entry #3

The zebra continued its advance towards me as I did my best to move away from her. I stumbled a little to the side, keeping my eyes locked with hers. What was I to do? Whatever she gave me was making me hear things. She just talked to me, a zebra was -talking- to me. Was that stuff I drank a drug? I was at a point that I couldn't take much more of this- my tiny apartment and dead-end job was starting to be more and more welcoming than this place.

“Stay away.” I ordered, putting up a hand in front of me in an attempt to block her. “This is really messed up, get back--” When I put my other hand to the floor I had forgot about the bottle I had broke and put it down onto one of the glass shards, slicing my hand. I winced and pulled it close, holding it close to my body and looked away from her to see how badly I had mangled my hand, doing my best to keep my attention on her from the corner of my eye. “S-Shit. Get away from m-me.”

She stopped and looked around the room, seeing the mess I had made and then back at me, remaining calm. “You seem to have made another injury. Hold on a moment, wait for me.” She turned her back to me, looking at her various shelves of bottles and jars. She moved some around with her nose and a hoof now and again, seeing as though she was looking for something in particular. “Make sure that it is secured, I will find something rest assured.”

I decided to leave the zebra to her how devices while I tended to my hand, finding a large gash on my palm with a piece of glass stuck inside. I pulled it out and let out a small yelp, doing my best to ignore the stabbing pain shooting through my hand and the blood beginning to drip down my wrist. I tossed the piece back into the pile with the rest of the shards and pulled some cloth off the bottom of my shirt to wrap it around my hand, trying to keep pressure on to stop the bleeding. She grabbed a small jar and opened it, looking at the contents inside.

“H-How are you talking? You weren't before until I drank...whatever that stuff was.” I questioned, letting out a grunt in pain. “God damnit this hurts.”

“The language you spoke while you slept, I knew it was something I hadn't heard yet. So I concocted a special brew, in order for me to speak with you.” She explained, looking at a few other bottles, popping a cork on one of them and sniffed the contents. “Ah, here it is, a special mix. This will work on what we're trying to fix.” She took a small orange bottle into her mouth and walked towards me. She kept her distance, placing it a few feet beside me. “There you go. Drink it up. It will help you mend your cut.”

I shook my head. “No way. I'm not drinking anything else you give me. Whatever you I had before is making me hear things. I don't trust you, this place, or even what's in that bottle” I said, pointing to the object in question. It may have been childish and rude for me to say, but I didn't know what else I was getting myself into. I began to try and get up onto my feet, staggering a little. “S-Screw that, I'm done.”

The zebra's calm demeanour quickly vanished. She narrowed her eyes, her tone becoming stern and authoritative. “If you do not heed what I have to say, the cut will not simply go away. If you let it bleed anymore, you will pass out and hit the floor.” I looked at the poor wrapping job around my hand, checking on its status. She was right. Red bloodstains were beginning to seep through the fabric, not looking to stop anytime soon. Not enough yet that I would start to get dizzy from blood loss, but if I left it unattended it would lead to something much more critical. She continued to speak in a low tone. “I have never met a creature like you, but I will help if it's the best I can do. Try and trust me with your health, I will make sure you'll be yourself.”

I listened to her words, feeling a pang of guilt in my chest above the rest of my injuries. Hallucination, dream, or reality, here was someone trying to help me, even if it was a oddly coloured, talking zebra. She pointed to the floor, and I sat back down as ordered eyeing the orange bottle. I let out a small sigh in defeat and reached for it with my free hand. I examined the contents inside, taking a sniff. It was a clear liquid with a sweet smelling fragrance. It didn't look harmful at least.

“And this liquid is supposed to help me?” I enquired, still a little reluctant.

She nodded, looking at me with a calm glance. I gave the bottle another once over before I thought, 'down the hatch' and drank the contents. The liquid was smooth and sweet, my taste buds unsure as to what the flavor was. It was much better than what it was I had before. I set the bottle next to me and waited, not sure what was supposed to happen. My body was still in alot of pain, and I didn't even want to know how my injured hand was looking like in the makeshift bandage. She gave me a small reassuring smile, which almost calmed down my paranoia of this whole business.

A few more seconds passed. I shrugged my shoulders, “I guess it didn't wor-- ahh!”

I looked in surprise as my skin began to glow with a soft white aura underneath my clothing. A warm sensation spread quickly throughout my body, dulling my senses as the liquid worked its way into my system. The warmth continued in waves, my body became increasingly numb in the glow. As much as I wanted to panic, the concoction was preventing me to do that. I did my best to stay upright, hoping that I didn't fall into the rest of the glass or onto anything else to cause a bigger mess. I tried to keep my eyes focused but the room would try and spin occasionally. I had lost track of time once the aura began to fade I was able to regain control of my head and limbs. The zebra simply observed me at a distance, remaining in her spot while the potion did its thing.

“Wha....what was that stuff?” I asked, my speech a little slurred and my head in a daze. “That...felt really weird.”

She let out a small chuckle. “It's something I've worked on for awhile. Seeing the results gives me a smile.”

She took a few steps towards me, but this time I didn't move away. Once I got my bearings I was fixated on the fact that I wasn't in any pain, anywhere. I pulled up one side of my shirt to see where the hellish bruise I had gotten in the river, only to discover that it wasn't there anymore. Only my normal lightly-tanned skin remained. My back and my legs felt better than ever, the bump where I had smacked my skull was gone. I pulled at my bandage, unwrapping it slowly. I looked bewildered that underneath the caked and dried blood was a thin line of newly healed skin where the wound was previously. I stared in awe, touching the skin with my other hand.

“What? How? It's gone. The cut...it's healed. Just like that.” I exclaimed. I looked up at the zebra, watching her flick her tail slightly. I frowned a little, looking down at the floor. “Th-thanks uhm...Zecora, was it?”

She gave me a nod. “You're welcome...?”

“It's Miles. Brayden Miles.” I muttered softly, collecting my thoughts. “Listen, I'm sorry about...my actions before. This place, everything- it's all very strange to me.”

Zecora shook her head. “Do not worry, no need to be sorry, please continue explaining the rest. But right this moment, for what we have current, it's time to clean up this mess.”

“Oh...yeah. Right. But, please. Can I tell you something?”

I told her everything. I didn't have much of a choice. It would sound weird and strange to a normal human being of my experience, but at the time I was in short supply of actual people. She was the only one I had to talk to, and she wasn't afraid of me, or attempting to take my life. Which thinking about it, I wasn't much of a threat compared to her woodland neighbours; but again, to her I was just an odd, spindly, hairless, creature that stood on two legs is what I could assume she would think. Zecora said that she had never seen someone like me, which meant that I was an alien to this world, or humans were really good at hiding themselves. Either way it didn't help my current situation. Seeing the other creatures in the forest made me realize that they were the normal ones, and I was the freak, great. At least it didn't look like Zecora was going to start scientific experiments anytime soon, but drinking those odd potions would make a person think that they were being studied.

But I told her that I was from another world- Earth, a place where there were humans like me everywhere. I explained some of the things that I do, my life, what were some of the customs of humans do that would probably be strange to her. Surprisingly, she took it fairly well, which meant I wasn't going to be thrown back into the woods- a good sign. I told her the events that brought me here, and she continued to listen. I hoped that she understood who I was, and that I didn't know why I was there. Eventually I relaxed, not feeling intimidated or scared about being with her. I think it was because I was slowly accepting the idea of being in this world, and this was reality- here and now.

Before I got the chance to ask about where or what this world was, I started to smell the odour my clothes were emitting and decided to wait, admitting that I should try and clean myself up. Zecora gave me permission to use a small trough outside where I could wash off while she worked inside to get the mess on the floor. I had almost smacked my head again on the door frame heading out. I had forgotten that I was taller than the place, something that I would have to get used to. Once I was outside I got a good look of the dense forest that circled her tree hut. Everything looked dark and ominous despite the sunlight overhead. It made me wonder how a zebra could live in a place like this, even if it was a different world. But after all that has happened so far, I was beginning to accept that this wasn't a dream, and I knew that I was definitely not on Earth anymore. From what I could gather she was pretty capable of handling herself. I was starting to make a list of questions that I hoped Zecora could answer. Although, with her speaking in rhyme continuously was starting to hurt my brain. Does she always talk like that?

In any case, she supplied me with a towel, wash cloth and what looked to be a bar of soap. At least that was something that was similar to my world. I had found the trough behind the hut, setting the items next to it. Zecora had reassured me that nothing of the forest came close to her home and she rarely expected any visitors. I could hear her inside, humming some kind of tune while she worked. I gave one more inspection around the area before I started undressing.

I felt kind of embarrassed as I stripped down to my blue pinstriped boxers. Being like this made me feel ever more vulnerable to the area. I put my tattered clothes in a pile as I started to wash the blood and dirt off my body, seeing that I had mud, tree needles, dead leaves, and the occasional pebble fly off my skin. I shivered a little as a breeze rustled the grass, the water in the trough not warm at all. But for the moment, it beat being completely filthy. I then did my hair and face, feeling somewhat refreshed. I took another glance where the bruise had been, poking at the skin lightly. There was no indication that it had been there before, and I know that where the cut was there wasn't going to be a scar. It was almost like magic, or maybe it was. If magic really existed, could it? One moment I'm banged up and almost broken, to being completely fine in an instant after drinking a potion. It was amazing, but also scary. If Zecora could make these kinds of things with just a few plants and other ingredients, who knows what other things could be out there despite what I had already seen. My guess the sea serpent, the wood monsters, and talking zebra's were only the start.

Once I had my body as cleaned as I possibly could get, I went to work on the remnants of my clothes. There wasn't much left to my shirt, and my jeans were ripped in various places, my socks were caked with mud. I wished that I had a something else to wear but I had no other choice. Once that task was done I had found an opening in the canopy above near Zecora's hut and hung my clothes up to dry on one of the branches. I stretched and sat outside, listening to the sounds of the forest. Still wished for a razor, but having that probably wasn't going to happen. I wonder if Zecora had some hair removal ointment in her array of bottles....

After a few minutes I felt the need to use the bathroom. It didn't seem that Zecora had the facilities or running water for that matter and I figured it would be best to find a spot nearby to relieve myself. The grass was soft enough that it didn't bother my feet as I found a tree to hide behind in case Zecora came looking for me. I leaned back and slipped off my boxers, keeping an eye out for anything that might come around. Once I was finished I returned to the hut, washing my hands in the small trough and was about to empty the dirty water onto the ground when I noticed something nearby my clothes. I stood up and slowly made my way towards the branch, hearing a slight buzzing around my jeans.

Once I got close enough I noticed a small, round, floating pastel pink colored insect with neon green eyes inspecting my socks. I blinked in surprise, watching the creature. It spotted me and landed on the tree, flitting its paper-thin wings. I stared back, giving it a smile as it bounced a little in front of me.

“Hello little guy.” I said to it, not expecting it to respond. Or at least I hoped it didn't. I extended my hand, praying that it didn't decide to bite me. The bug floated over into my palm, looking up at me. The pink fuzz on its body felt soft to the touch, it's tiny legs keeping it upright. It let out a soft buzzing sound, flying out of my hand and circled around me a few times. “Never seen someone like me before either, huh? The same goes for you, I guess.”

The bug flew towards my socks again, looking at them idly. It was then I noticed more of the same kind of fuzzy creature coming out of the forest, all varying in colour. I watched distracted by the bunch of them, watching them do what looked to be a dance in the air. My look turned to shock as the first one I met opened its mouth wide and took a bite out of the end of one of my socks.

“What...what the heck?!”

The little furry sock eater floated there, chewing on the cloth fragment and swallowed, looking at me happily. I was about to swat the group of bugs away from the rest of my clothes as the pink one looked like it was going to throw up. A bug throwing up? Didn't think that I could say that in a sentence. The creature opened its mouth again, a small round ball of fuzz escaping its mouth and suddenly had wings, legs, and green eyes, exactly like the bug that I held in my hand but yellow.

“Oh God! That's friggin' gross!” I said with a disgusted face, rubbing my palm on my boxers where the bug sat. I noticed that the rest of the bugs circled the rest of my clothes, pulling them off the branch where I had them and flew quickly towards the forest. “Hey! That's my stuff! Come back!” I shouted, beginning to chase them. Thanks to Zecora I had a better chance to catch up to those things.

She must have heard my screaming and went to one of the windows, seeing me run towards the treeline and called out to me. “Wait! Brayden! Do not go! There's a place that way that you must know!” was all I heard but I didn't have time to stay and talk. These pesky insects were taking my clothes and probably going to eat them for lunch, which I wasn't going to allow. She kept shouting to me, but I couldn't make out what she was saying as I sprinted deep into the forest.

So, after all that I had seen the night before, I should have stayed at Zecora's hut like a good boy to hear what she wanted to tell me. But I felt that now that I was back to normal, I was a grown man who could get his belongings back from small, cute, cloth-devouring insects. Man, wasn't I the retard.

I bolted through the forest, barefoot, wearing only my boxers, and my mind only on the mission at hand. I wasn't always the fastest runner, but I knew I could pick up some speed if I wanted to run. I needed my clothes back, and I was willing to do anything to get them back, even look like an idiot if I had to. I was closing the gap between me and the bugs. I could see in ahead of me that one of them was gnawing on a pant leg which meant that I was running out of time. The trees opened up to a rather flat area and I stopped, noticing a large amount of strange-looking blue flowers growing all over the place.

I looked up and saw the little annoyances buzzing over the flower patch, seeing my little pink “friend” sucking on a shirt thread like spaghetti, which fuelled my anger. “I'm going to turn you into a pink smear once I get my hands on you!” I roared, running through the flowers as fast as I could. I could feel my chest tighten, beginning to reach my limit. But I couldn't give up, not to something so small. If I couldn't even fend off my clothes from insects I was going to be in real trouble being in this world.

I got close enough to reach out to the swarm of bugs, grabbing a surviving pant leg and pulled. Some of the group dispersed and they slowed down enough that I could reach the rest of my things, my hope that they would still be roughly wearable. They let go and I held my clothes away from the remaining group, letting out a snarl.

“Shoo you damn things. These are mine, hands off!” I growled, my eyes narrowed.

I batted them away and they quickly disappeared into the forest, the pink one giving me one last look as if to taunt me before flying away. I panted heavily and paused, making sure that the insects weren't coming back before I inspected my stuff. Unfortunately, what was left didn't survive. My shirt was down to a collar and sleeve and my jeans were irreparable. My socks? There wasn't much to be considered socks at this point. I threw the rags down on the ground in frustration, falling to my knees in defeat. I gave myself a few minutes to let my rage simmer and my lungs to work properly before thinking of moving, realizing that I had gotten myself lost again.

“Shit.” I cursed, punching a tree beside me in frustration. It wasn't anyone's fault but my own, and I leaned onto said tree and crossed my arms, looking around to which direction I could go to get back to the hut. I gazed up at the sky, seeing the sun above me and my heart dropped in my chest. “What next, huh? Something's going to fall from the sky and land on me?” I said it as if someone was listening, but I had hoped no one did. I had enough problems at this point, which included being almost naked and lost, again. “This is such bull...”

There was no point in staying here, I had to try and get back to Zecora's hut. I picked up some of the rags, contemplating bringing them back and just tossed them back onto the ground. There was no point in trying to mend them, they were too far gone. The bugs can have the rest for dessert I guess. I got up slowly and I was about to make my way back where I thought I came from until I felt an odd sensation shoot through my back, causing me to falter. I braced against another tree, hearing a crunching sound fill my ears as my body was collapsing on me.

“What n-now?” I stammered, sliding down to the ground. My stomach rolled as I felt an odd pressure around my tailbone. I looked back in horror as a small bulge was poking out from my backside underneath my boxers, the fear I had before slowly coming back to the surface.

“W-What...what's happening to me?!”

.o~End of Journal Entry #3~o.

A/N: Please review, let me know what you think!

<3 Thanks for reading!

Chapter 4: Journal Entry #4

Chapter Text

Hello everyone again. Hoping you're enjoying the story. Don't forget to leave a comment and tell me what you think. I do like hearing people's thoughts of how the story is progressing.

My Name is Brayden Miles

Journal Entry #4

My stomach was doing a few back flips as I continued to stare at the lump that now rested at my tailbone, my thoughts scattered as to what was happening to me this time. Numerous popping and grinding sounds rang in my ears as bones started to shift throughout my body, causing me to double over. I rolled onto my back, placing my hands on my chest as I wheezed, making sure I could still breathe. Every fibre of my entire being was slowly changing before me, and I was scared, fearful that going through all of this might kill me. I flinched, feeling my heartbeat pound hard against my ribcage. Trying my best I slowly got to my hands and knees I continued taking deep breaths while my form changed.

'Must...get back to Zecora...' I thought hard. 'I need h-help.'

I felt a sudden tingling sensation spread over my skin. I stared down at my arms to discover what hair that I had on my entire body except on my head began to shed and fly off in the air making me shudder. I freaked out a little, touching my face where my stubble was previously and finding only smooth skin. Razors be damned I guess. I shook my head to get back at the matter at hand, trying to get up on my feet, struggling against the change that wanted to keep me grounded. I maintained my balance, now hunched over bracing against a tree. Panting heavily, I felt another wave of the same tingling sensation, pushing it at the back of my mind as I was convincing myself to move forward.

I attempted to take a step and heard a loud crunch, yelling at the jolt and quickly collapsed onto my side was on the grass once again. Surprisingly, I felt no pain, but when I looked down I went white as a sheet. My right knee was completely bent in the other direction, which looking at it caused me to start convulsing. I covered my mouth and willed myself not to vomit, doing my best to ignore the horrid image from my thoughts. I shut my eyes tight as I felt my left knee following suit, snapping quickly the other way. Again, it didn't hurt, but the odd feeling still wracked my system considerably. My arms lengthened and my legs shortened in places, the muscles bulged slightly and tendons stretched and grew to match my new bone structure. I could feel my boxers becoming tight on my lower half, restricting my movements.

My hands and feet began to morph and change. The bones began to shift on their own and I pulled my hand away from my face, trying to keep my fingers apart but they quickly fused together, so did my toes. I screamed in surprise and fear as the bones crunched and melded underneath my skin. My nails merged and hardened, stretching over the palms of my hands and the bottoms of my feet. I heard the sound of wings flapping in the distance. I probably scared some birds, but that wasn't top priority. All four of my appendages finally formed what seemed to be...hooves?

“...the hell?!”

I felt my neck stretching and my ears grow and shift, moving themselves closer to the top of my head, brushing against my dirty-blond hair. The bones of my face began to move on their own, my nose and mouth feeling like they were being pulled forward and down a few inches. Even my jaw and teeth grew and shifted, which made the attempt to not throw up even more difficult. Whatever I was becoming must be something of a monster. I just prayed that if I survived and Zecora did find me, that she would help me and not run away in terror. I couldn't really see what I was becoming, and whatever it was it couldn't be good

My skin began to itch over my entire body- at the time I wish I still had fingers. The transformation seemed to slow down, which I had hoped meant that it was nearly finished. I had managed to move my head to the side to see a layer of lightly copper-coloured hair grow rapidly from head to...hoof over my body. But the coup de grace was yet to come. The bump on my tailbone had lengthened and was pushing against the seam of my boxers, causing a new feeling of discomfort registering in my brain. I heard a loud rip as the last remnants of my clothing was destroyed, a short slightly wavy tail with hair that matched my head poking out of the hole from behind me.

I rested my head back onto the ground, breathing deeply through my newly formed nostrils. The tingling stopped and so did the changes, or at least it felt like they were finished. I didn't move, nor did I want to. I was scared, afraid that something else was going to happen. The sun shone down on me, my new chest rising and falling with each breath while I kept my eyes closed.

'This is very, very bad.' I thought to myself, stating the obvious. 'How did this happen to me? Was this some sort of magic?' I lifted one of my limbs that used to be an arm, seeing the hoof once again and set it back down onto the grass, not believing what I was seeing. 'Whatever this is...I can still change back, right? Man, I hope this isn't permanent. Crap, even if I did I would be completely naked.'

I began to hear something in the distance. It sounded like galloping, coming closer to my location. I stirred, unable to do much of anything else. Maybe it was Zecora trying to find me, or maybe something else. Either way I needed to find out. The trampling of hooves was close by, but whoever it was hadn't spotted me yet.

I opened my mouth, hoping that I still had a voice. “Z...Zecora?!” I called. Good, at least I could still speak english. “Someone? Anyone? Help me!”

The running changed direction and headed towards me. I could hear it closer now and began to slow down, stopping next to me. I could hear something jingling next to my ears. I cracked one eye open, seeing the familiar grey and white zebra looking right at me. She looked calm; at least whatever I was wasn't going to scare her off. I breathed a sigh of relief. She gave me a once over, probably in surprise because some creature was laying on the ground randomly in the middle of nowhere.

“Why hello. This is a strange circumstance...” Zecora commented lightly. “Have you seen an odd-looking creature by any chance?”

“I wouldn't think that I was that odd-looking...at least before now” I chuckled, but let it drop. I looked at her helplessly, “Z-Zecora...i-it's me...”

She took a moment to register what I had said, flicking an ear and gasped, backing away from me in surprise. “Brayden?! But...how could this be? What did you do to stir up the Everfree?”

I raised my head, locking my eyes with hers, my tone coming off slightly irritated. “I didn't -do- anything. Some stupid insects stole my clothes and I ran after them. I chased them through the forest, got them back, realized that I was lost, and then turned into...this. Whatever -this- is.” I looked at my hooves, still not seeing myself completely while laying down. “By the way, what do I look like? I'm not a monster am I, like the creatures in the forest?”

She shook her head. “Your human form for now is gone. However, it seems with this look you do belong.”

“Belong? What? You're not making any sense.”

She gave me another smile. “Do not fret. I'll show you, this way. Unless you want to remain here to stay.”

“U-Uh....no. I need some help, I can't seem to get up like this.” I gave a few attempts to roll over and get my legs underneath me but nothing was working. She watched, giggling at me. “Hey! This isn't funny.”

She trotted behind me, slipping her nose underneath my backside. She began to push, helping me roll over. Staggering, I got on all fours, doing my best to support my new weight. It wasn't all that difficult now that I was upright, feeling my muscles tense with my new form. I looked at Zecora, now only a few inches taller than her. I felt the rest of my boxers tear away, sliding off of me and I finally got a good look at myself, my eyes wide.

“I-I'm...I'm a...horse?!” I said in surprise. I tried to turn around but being awkward walking on all fours I nearly fell all over again. I stayed in place and stared agape, “W-What the hell?! Zecora...how did this happen? How--”

“Perhaps you may have missed a clue. Tell me, when you ran did you see some flowers of blue?”

I paused, thinking back to a few moments before. “Flowers of blue...those weird flowers? Yeah. There was a large patch of plants that I ran through to catch up with those weird bugs--”

“Ah! There you see? It seems you have solved the mystery.”

“Mystery? What are you getting at?”

“Follow me and I will show, something important that you need to know.”

She started to move ahead of me as I looked down at my hooves. “U-Uh...how do I...” I watched her stride, seeing how she walked and tried to copy her, taking a few small wobbly steps, my legs shaking. “W-Whoa...a-almost got it--whaa!”

I lost my footing, being immediately braced against Zecora. She didn't move, waiting for me to regain balance. I looked away embarrassed once I was on all fours again, letting out a sigh. “Thanks...again.”

She walked slowly beside me as I was trying to understand my new body. It was hard at first to get the rhythm right in my head to walk without thinking about it. While Zecora led I began to get the hang of it, but still maintained a slow pace. I followed her back through the forest, trying not to trip over anything. Going from human to horse was different to say the least. I felt shorter and awkward being on four hooves. Even if I tried to stand on my back legs I probably wouldn't stay like that for long. It was something new that I would have to get used to for the moment.

The various kinds of trees around me were starting to seem very familiar. I saw the clearing ahead, the blue plants Zecora had asked about were growing all over the ground. “Here, this is it.” I said, noticing the trampled strip I had made previously.

“Hmm, it seems that your sprint through this path, the poison joke incurred a laugh.”

“Huh?”

She pointed to the plant. “This here is poison joke, you see. It grows rampant through the Everfree. For what its worth, it doesn't harm. Instead it likes to give some charm.”

“You mean to tell me that these flowers turned me into a horse?!”

“A pony, to be exact. But give me time I can change you back.”

“Whew...this isn't forever. Good. So what do I need to do to get back to normal?”

She looked at me. “May I suggest a different task, before I arrange for what you ask.”

“What do you mean?”

“This may be a great opportunity, to see the rest of the world as a pony.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You want me...to stay like this. You're talking nonsense Zecora. I can't be a hors-- pony. Whatever this is. I'm human, and I need to find a way back home.”

“Brayden...” she shook her head. “A creature like you is rare. You may find others who won't be as fair.”

“You mean, they might not be as understanding as you have been.” I bowed my head and sighed. “I might scare anyone who I tried to get answers from if I changed back. Damn. ”

She nudged her head against mine, looking into my eyes. “At least you have taken a few steps....”

“Hmm?”

“This is the closest you've been with me yet.”

I blinked, just now realizing that she was so close and was able to touch me. Before I was afraid of her being near me; and now, I guess that it meant that I was getting used to her. I had no one else in this world. She was nice to me, much more than any person had met before on Earth, besides my family of course. But even then my family and I weren't exactly close to begin with. I took a few steps away from her, creating some distance between us. I could see by the look on her face she was confused.

“Sorry Zecora. It's not you. I just, don't know what to do right now. First I'm sent to this place, and now I've been changed into a pony by some odd magical plants. If this is someone's idea of a joke, I'm not laughing.” I dug at the ground with a hoof, slightly annoyed by the whole thing.

“I think it's best that you should go; to Ponyville, one of my friends may know.”

“Wait. Pony...ville? Seriously?” I scoffed. “Someone really named a place that?”

She looked at me, slightly irritated. “Do not judge what you haven't seen. It lies beyond the Everfree.”

“Sorry.” I winced. I took a moment to think. “Everfree. You've said that word before. I assume that's what this forest is called.”

She nodded. “Other ponies prefer to be wary. Most of this forest is somewhat scary.”

“I can agree to that.” I took one more look at the flowers, then turned. “Fine, let's go to this 'Ponyville' you talked about. I hope I can get some answers to why I'm there.”

Both of us remained silent during the trip through the forest. I figured I shouldn't say anymore to piss her off, being my guide and all. It took us awhile with me fumbling through the trees to keep up with her. The sun overhead continued to beam down on us. It actually felt nice on my new coat. Wait, no! Keep it together Miles. This was only temporary until I figured out how to get back on Earth. I wonder how my boss will feel about me missing work because I was sent to another world? I doubt he would take that as an excuse.

Eventually we came to a path that made things easier for me to move around. It was well trampled and flat, perfect for me to practice. The forest opened up and I could see what looked like a village in the distance. It was rather quaint to be honest, with a large farm in the distance. From what I could see it kept up well. I thought I could even see a train on the other side of the town.

'This must be where Zecora was talking about. But why would anyone call a town 'Ponyville'? Did they have some kind of economy that revolved around...'

And that's when I saw it, Ponyville. There were ponies, dozens of them; all of them walking around freely around the village in various shapes, sizes and colours. Pink? Yellow? Green? What odd colours for these creatures. I gave my head a shake, watching in awe at some of them pulling carts or standing at food stalls. Wait, they worked?! They had jobs? My jaw dropped, watching the peculiar animals performing various tasks. All of them seemed to have some kind of tattoo on either sides of their rumps. I narrowed my eyes to some of the ponies, blinking in surprise.

'Some of them have a horn on their head. Wait...does that mean....'

“Zecora...are those...”

She silenced me with a hoof, pushing underneath my jaw to make me look up. If she didn't have her hoof underneath my head my jaw would have hit the ground.

'Horses...with wings...flying around in the clouds. I'm not seeing things, they're real. Ponies, unicorns, and even pegasi.' I couldn't believe it, they were here. Mystical creatures that were only in myths and legends were right in front of me. 'I wonder if they can talk too....'

“Zecora!” came a child's voice, almost with a touch of an accent. I heard light footfalls galloping towards us, but I continued to stare at some of the pegasus that were messing with some of the clouds overhead.

Zecora looked over to see a small yellow pony with red hair and a pink bow on her head, giving her a smile. “Apple Bloom, how are you? What have you and your friends been up to?”

“Oh, nothing much today. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and I took a day off to draw up ideas on how to get our cutie marks.” the little pony said. She looked at me. “Hey Zecora, who's the new stallion? I've never seen him before. Is he a friend of yers?”

“Ah yes, he is a friend. Apple Bloom, this colt is named Brayden.”

I snapped to attention, hearing my name. “I....huh, what?” I shook my head, looking down, seeing the small pony as I towered above her. “Oh, hi.”

The pony named Apple Bloom laughed at me. “Ehehe, you're a funny stallion. I'm Apple Bloom. I live here in Ponyville. Where ya from?”

I blinked. “Uh...w-well...”

“He comes from a land most exquisite. But he's come to Ponyville for a visit.”

“Really? That's great!” Apple Bloom said, bounding around me happily. I felt nervous, staying in one spot as Apple Bloom continued to move around me. She stopped behind me and gasped. “Land sakes! You don't have one either!”

I blinked, looking at her. “Don't have...what?”

“A cutie mark! You have a blank flank!” she said, showing the side of her leg. Yes, there didn't seem to be anything on her, making me confused.

“Uhm...”

“I've never seen a stallion before that didn't have their cutie mark. Is that what older ponies call a 'late bloomer'?”

“Uh...yeah? I guess?” I looked towards Zecora, my eyes pleading for help.

The zebra let out a chuckle, turning back towards the forest. “I will leave you two be. Brayden, I hope you find the answers you need.”

“W-Wait! Zecora? Don't go...I don't know what I should do!” I said to her, slightly panicked.

“Find your path, it will show you the way. Call me when you need me, you two go on and play.”

“B-But...I--”

“Come on Brayden! Let me show you around!” Apple Bloom said, looking at me with a huge grin on her face.

I looked at the child, and then back where Zecora was standing, only to find that she vanished. I looked around, unable to see her. “Zecora? Where did she go?”

“Zecora? Oh, she does that alot. Let's go!” she said, nudging my hind leg.

“H-Hey...wait a minute...I don't think this is a good idea....”

I found myself stuck. Now I was somewhere that was infested with multi-coloured ponies, being directed towards the village by a kid pony. Dear God, what had I gotten myself into?

.o~End of Journal Entry #4~o.

Thanks for reading! <3

Chapter 5: Journal Entry #5

Chapter Text

Hello again! Here's the next chapter for everyone! :)

My Name is Brayden Miles

Journal Entry #5

I could see the sun beginning to set on the horizon. I was in this new place called Ponyville. Wish I had a brochure nearby giving me tips on how to wrap that around in my brain. Not only that, I was being dropped into this new place that had mythical, strange, colorful talking ponies all over the place. To top it all off, there was a young pony now trying to push me into a town with said creatures that had weird tattoos on their....rumps. Was that a trend? Is it a cultural thing? And how on earth did they hold the needle gun properly with hooves?

“S-Stop. Hey! Cut it out!” I said aloud, looking down at the particular yellow pony with her head on my hind leg and a trench underneath her hooves.

She backed off, looking up at me. “What's the matter, mister Brayden?”

“Just Brayden is fine.” I said, sighing a little. “Listen. I'm not from around here, and I'm kinda really nervous being in this place. Where I'm from we kinda do things a little...differently. If you don't mind, can I just take a moment?”

“Sure thing!” she said, happily. “Anything you wanna know that I migh' have the answers to?”

“I hope so.” I turned so she wasn't behind me anymore, looking down at her. “These anim-- ponies, unicorns, and pegasi; they all live here together?”

“Of course! There are alot of pegasus, unicorn, and earth ponies all living together here in Ponyville. There are other places too! Like Canterlot, or Cloudsdale, and many more! But shouldn't you know that already? How far away do you live?”

“Very, very far away.” I said, unable to fully tell her the truth. “And, what about the tattoos?”

“Ta-ttoos? What 're you talkin' about?”

“Those markings. You said I had what you called a 'blank flank.'”

“Oh! You mean their cutie marks!”

“Cutie...mark...?”

“Yeah! They show a pony's special talent!” she said, jumping up and down. “Everypony who discovers their talent gets a cutie mark! I don't know the magic behind it, but it appears on your flank so everypony can see.”

“Every...pony....” I repeated, 'She said it again...I hope that's just a kid thing....'

“Which is why I'm surprised that you don't have one. I'm still a little filly. My friends and I are the Cutie Mark Crusaders; on a mission to find our special talents! But to see you here without one...” she explained, and then looked like a light switch flickered on in her brain. Oh!! I should ask Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to make you an honorary member! That would be so cool! We could help you find your cutie mark too! It would be just swell.”

“And how does one get a cutie mark? Is it painted on? Or....”

“Of course not silly. It just appears, like magic! Then everyone can see what you're good at--”

“Hold on a second!” I said, cutting her off. “This is confusing to me.”

“What is?”

“Everything! This whole thing is confusing!” I shouted, stomping the ground with a hoof. “This place you call Ponyville; different kinds of so-called ponies, each working towards a special talent that just happens to 'magically' appears on their body. Once they have it, is that what they do for the rest of their lives? Just that one thing?”

She backed away from me slowly, her voice shaking, “W-Well...I-I guess...but we do other s-stuff too....”

“Still, to have one job, one talent, marking you for the rest of your life? And what if it's the wrong one? What then?” I protested, my volume rising.

“I-I don't know....”

I grunted in frustration,“Then if it was my choice, I would stay a 'blank whatever', at least then it wouldn't matter.”

“Y-You're the one not making any sense.” She bit her lip, continuing to back away from me. “I-I don't know how it's like where you're from, B-Brayden. But having a c-cutie m-mark means that you have a p-purpose, something that you know you're g-good at and can show it to others.” she said, sniffling. At that point I could see tears in her eyes, bowing her head to the ground. “I-It's true, not having a cutie mark gives me a chance for me to be anything, or a-anypony; but not b-being able to discover that one thing that makes you who you are leaves a pony feel rather...e-empty.”

I stopped, blinking in surprise. '...crap.'

“I-I...better go.”

“W-Wait! I didn't...I'm sor--”

At that moment she turned away and bolted away from me, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed. I watched her run, knowing that I wouldn't be able to catch up with her. As I watched her run I noticed that I had drawn an audience, making my chest tighten with guilt. Some of the 'earth ponies' that Apple Bloom had described stopped to hear the commotion that I was making, giving me some surprised looks. To be fair I was surprised too, now realizing that I just told off a kid for no reason, and made her cry. I looked back at them angrily, narrowing my eyes.

“What are you all looking at? Mind your own business!” I said, stomping away slowly. I ignored their stares, mentally cursing. I wasn't mad at Apple Bloom, I was mad at myself, 'What was I thinking?! The one chance to find answers and I blew it. All because of something so...so...damnit! If this is what they do here, I can't question that, no matter how messed up and confusing it is.'

Some of the others nearby continued to whisper amongst themselves and then quickly dispersed, leaving me alone to deal with my own internal struggles as I continued to wander aimlessly into town. 'Even if I looked like a pony in their eyes, I'm not like them at all. I'm still human, I'm still me.'

I found a pile of hay bunched up in an alleyway. I took the opportunity to sit down and think; which took a few minutes to get my legs to bend the right way. I felt some of the hay against my body, poking at me. I looked down at the ground, kicking a pebble away with a hoof. I heard a grumbling sound coming from my stomach, while the light from the sky started to dim while I felt sorry for myself.

“Why...” I said to myself. “...why am I here?!”

I looked up, noticing that the sky wasn't darkening on its own. Pegasus ponies were moving around, beginning to move clouds around in the sky into what seemed to be a large raincloud the spread across the town. It was still a marvel to me that I was watching flying horses above me, but it didn't stop the pain I was feeling inside. 'Why did I get so angry? This world is completely different from Earth. Things are different here, it's alot to try and adapt to.'

I felt the first few drops on my fur, alerting me that I needed to find some kind of shelter. I got up off the hay and started walking again, feeling a few more droplets hit my nose. I could hear hoof beats going in various directions with doors and windows closing up. It felt like there was going to get worse very soon. Just the atmosphere that I wasn't hoping for. I was alone, again.

The rain picked up as I continued to walk into town. All of the ponies I had seen before had gone. For me I had no where to go, and I was getting hungry. I had forgotten to ask Zecora if she had anything to eat, fuelling how much I felt like an idiot. The earth beneath was wet and started to build up around my hooves, making them rather heavy. I was too distracted in my thoughts that I didn't see the rock sticking out of the ground, tripping on it. I fell over head over hooves straight into a mud puddle. I sputtered and flailed around in the mud, trying to get back on my feet.

“Ugh...damnit!” I cursed, doing my best to get all four hooves underneath me to pull myself up.

After a few failed attempts I just stayed there in the rain and the mud, sinking into the puddle in defeat. So, this was how it was going to be. Continuously getting myself more and more into trouble as well as constantly being dirty. I must have looked ridiculous and pitiful if anyone was looking. But after my emotional explosion in front of everyone I doubt anyone cared. I closed my eyes and remained there, shivering as the rain pelted my body.

“Hey! You! Are you alright?” I heard a female voice call.

I opened my eyes, feeling the rain stop above my head, making me look up. I saw an umbrella floating above my head, it's handle surrounded by a magenta aura which confused me for the moment. 'How is that hovering in mid-air?' I thought to myself. 'Nevermind that. Someone's willing to help me, just be polite this time.' I looked over to see a cloaked figure, presuming that it was another pony. I could see four hooves underneath the cloak, unsure of what color they were. I lifted my head out of the mud, nodding my head. I did my best to keep calm, not trying to cause another argument, “I think so. I'm sort of stuck in the mud and can't get up.”

“Just hold still. I will get you out.” the female said. I could see a faint light coming from the hood of the cloak, the same color as the aura that enveloped the umbrella. There was a few moments of silence as I watched the light got brighter.

“W-What are you going to-- H-Hey!” I felt a warmth wash over me, a majenta hue surrounding me. I looked around startled, the mud not letting go of me as I was being pulled out of the ground by the unknown force. “W-What's going on?”

“Careful and don't move. This takes alot of concentration.” she said, grunting lightly.

I froze, staring at her. “Y-You mean you're doing this?” The mud finally let go and I was thrown a few feet into the air, knocking over the umbrella and hovering in place while the rain fell on me. “W-Whoa...please don't drop me.” 'I've had enough of falling already in this world.'

I felt like I was slowly descending down to the ground, my feet touching the ground. The aura faded around me and I could feel the gravity again. The female picked up the umbrella with whatever ability she was using, shaking it to get some of the dirt off of it before putting it over her head. Her face was shrouded so I couldn't really see her in the wall of rain. I however was cold, shivering and a complete mess again. Figures.

“Well?” she asked, turning towards me. “Here you go. You can get home now.”

“Huh? Oh uhm...” I muttered. “Thank you for helping me. But, I-I...really don't have a place to stay and....”

“Oh? That's not good. Well, you can come to my home and we'll get you at least cleaned up, possibly something to eat. Are you hungry?”

My stomach growled in response, making me to look away. “Y-Yeah.”

“Then let's go, and quickly. It's supposed to be really wet tonight. The weather ponies really stirred up a doozy of a storm this time.”

'Weather ponies, I'm assuming the pegasi...noted.' “O-Okay.”

“Come along.”

I did what I was told, walking beside the hooded figure. I kept looking at her, trying to see who she was. But with the cover I couldn't see anything. We walked through the rain, hearing it fall hard onto the umbrella. I avoided anymore puddles that we passed, stepping over rocks so I didn't trip and cause another spill. The whole town would feel empty if I didn't see the cottages lit up inside. I couldn't really see much of anything except the female I was with, making sure I didn't lose her. We made it through town to a large tree that seemed to be carved out on the inside. It was a surprise to me, it even had balconies from what I could gather. I glanced inside a window; bookshelves plugged with books layered the walls. My guess that it was a library, seeing a red sign with a book painted on the front.

A lantern swung slightly from side-to-side above our heads, casting long shadows behind us. I watched as the same aura that I had seen before on me covered one of the handles on the door. The handle moved on its own and the door swung open. At first I was still nervous, not knowing how a pony could do these kinds of abilities; as well as the fact that I was soaked and caked with a layer of mud all over me. But inside looked safe enough. It's not like something was going to come out and attack me from the place, I hope. I walked inside with her, keeping quiet as the pony shut the door behind me.

I didn't move any further, not wanting to bring more mud into the place. I looked around, seeing hundreds of books arranged in several shelves lining the inside of the tree. I was amazed. This wasn't Earth, but somehow ponies were able to record things on paper. How were they able to write things down? I was curious to try and look at one of them, but from what I gathered from trying to inspect one of the books Zecora had it would be difficult. I saw a small circular table in the middle with a wooden carving of a horse head, with a few desks by the shelves. I saw a staircase leading up to I presumed to be where the pony had her residence.

“Excuse me...miss?” I said, breaking the silence. “Thank you for bringing me here. I u-uhh...” I lifted a hoof, watching some mud drip off of it. “Don't want to mess up your floor.”

“Oh don't worry, we'll have you cleaned up real soon.” she said, looking up at her books. “Let's see, where did I put that book...aha!”

I watched as a book on one of the far shelves was enveloped in the colored aura, pulled out of the stack and floated towards her. The book opened and began flipping through a bunch of pages in mid-air. The hooded pony went quiet for a few moments, her head moving up and down with each page she glanced at and stopped, the book closing quickly. “This is what I was looking for. Sir, just do me a favor and keep still again for me.”

“Uhm, okay?” I said, looking blankly at her.

The faint glow flickered from the top of the hood, small white sparks erupting from it as beams of purple light flew out of the hood towards me. I yelled in surprise as the light changed direction and swirled around my head, moving down like a ring of light down to the floor and vanish. I blinked, staring at the pony. “What...?” I looked down, seeing that my entire body was clean, no trace of dirt, mud, or rain on me. My copper fur almost seemed to almost shine. “But...how did you. What was that?”

“Magic, sir.” she said, shaking her head as the hood slipped off. I stared in surprise to discover the pony who took me in was a lavender purple pony with violet eyes. Her hair was long and fell to one side of her head, a hue of dark blue, purple, and magenta. I glanced upward to see a horn protruding from her forehead? I was wrong, she was a unicorn. She looked at me with a small smile on her face. “You look like you've never seen magic before.”

“I-I uh...I haven't actually.” I muttered, backing away from her. 'U-Unicorns use magic? That's a new one for me.'

“You haven't? That's strange. You're a pony, you should have seen something as basic as that. Where are you from? I've never seen you before.”

'Think Miles think!' I stopped backing away when I hit the door. “I-I'm uh...a traveller. Yeah, I come from a place really far away from here.”

“A pony who doesn't know about magic? Somewhere that's not a part of Equestria perhaps? Here, I can get a map and you can show me where you're from--”

“No!” I protested, which made her jump a little in surprise. She glanced at me with a curious gaze, and I looked away sheepishly, “I mean...no. Right now it's probably not the best time, thanks. I mean...I don't even know your name.”

“Oh! What are my manners.” she said, clearing her throat. “I'm Twilight Sparkle, mister....”

“It's Brayden.”

“Brayden. What a peculiar name. Then again you are an odd pony,” she said, taking a step towards me, causing me to huddle closer into the door. She stopped, watching my movements. “Are you...afraid of me?”

“Me? Oh no no...of course not.” 'I'm terrified.' “I'm just, new to this place, need some time to take it in that's all. Pegasi, unicorns, it's rare to find ponies like those where I'm from, trust me.” I looked at her, giving her a reassuring smile as I did my best to be polite. “Sorry. We haven't even gotten passed the door and you still have your cloak on. I've distracted you enough that there's a puddle beneath you.”

She looked down, lifting a hoof to realize that she was indeed standing in a small pool of water. “I suppose you're right. Please, come in. I'll get my assistant to clean up this small problem.”

'Whew...dodged that for the moment.' I thought, taking a few steps inside. I continued to look at the vast array of books, slightly distracted while she worked to get her cloak off of her. 'Maybe if I can get some help I can find out why I'm here and how I can get back home.' My stomach rumbled, making me chuckle nervously.

“Sorry, I guess I'm more hungry than I...” I turned, looking at Twilight in awe to what I saw.

She ruffled her hair, watching it fall to one side before looking up at me, noticing my stare. “Is something wrong? Do I have something on me?” she did a full circle, looking at herself and back to me. “Brayden, sir?”

“Y-You...you have...”

“What?”

“...wings?”

A pair of neatly folded wings rested on either side of her body. One of them opened up and she looked at it, raising an eyebrow at me. “Oh, yes. Seeing as you've never seen Pegasi or unicorns, you don't know what an alicorn is.”

“An ali-what?”

“Alicorn. A pony with a horn of a unicorn, and wings of a pegasus. It's...a long story.” she said looking away. Now it was her turn to sound embarrassed.

I just continued to look at her. Rude I know, but seeing a creature like this in front of me in the flesh was kind of a big moment in my life. Tell me I wasn't dreaming all of this.

'All of these kinds of creatures in one place? This is way beyond hallucinations.'

“Twilight? Is that you? I heard the door open.” came a new voice.

I snapped back to the present and looked up towards the voice. “Who's that?”

“Oh, that's Spike. He's my assistant.” she said, looking up as well. “It's me Spike. Come downstairs, we have a visitor.”

I heard the sound of footfalls coming down the stairs. I began to see a small creature that looked purple and green, but I had never seen this one in my travels in this world. It was carrying what looked to be various kinds of colored stones in its arms. Wait, was that a diamond I saw? The small newcomer made it down the steps and walked towards us. I heard a loud crunch behind the pile of stones.

“Hey Twilight!” the creature said.

I looked more closely at the creature, seeing that it had scales, claws, and a tail. The pile of stones in its arms was blocking what its head look like. All of a sudden I saw a long tongue slither into view and wrap around another stone, watching it disappear followed by a crunch. I looked back at Twilight, slightly confused.

“What...is that?” I asked flatly.

The new creature poked its head around the stones. “Hi! I'm Spike!”

My eyes went wide, gawking at Spike. “Y-You're...you're a....” That was the last straw for my brain. I suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed on the floor, my world going dark once again.

My name is Brayden Miles, and just I found a dragon.

.o~End of Journal Entry~o.

Thanks again for reading! Please R&R! Much appreciated!

Chapter 6: Journal Entry #6

Chapter Text

A/N: Here's the next chapter. <3

Journal Entry #6

My Name is Brayden Miles

“Miles? Miles!”

My eyes flew open, looking around blurry-eyed. From what I could tell I was in the kitchen of the restaurant, looking up at one of my co-workers who was now hovering over me. I must have been on the floor, feeling the hard tile underneath me. I blinked a few more times with the lights blinding me as I looked at the girl who was calling to me, doing my best to focus on the girl. She was someone I had feelings for a long time ago, but that old flame extinguished quickly once I met her boyfriend's fist to my face awhile back. Her brown eyes looked at me with worry.

“Ugh...Cynthia. What happened? Why am I on the floor?” I asked, a little shaken.

She gave me a sigh of relief. “Good, you're conscious.” she gave me a smile. “You slipped on some sauce that was on the floor. You landed pretty hard. Are you in any pain?”

“I don't...think so.” I closed my eyes and gave my head a shake, trying to get my bearings. I looked at her surprised, “Wait...it was all a dream?”

The girl looked at me questionably. “You must have hit your head pretty hard. If you want you can probably head home for the day.”

“Uhm, no. I just had a weird dream is all. I think I will be okay to work, if it's alright with the Super.”

“You sure?” she asked, and I nodded. “Well, if you're okay...table six still needs their meal. You were about to get it before you slipped. Here, let me help you up.”

I gave my head one more shake before reaching out to her, seeing something odd about my hand and recoiled, looking at it with wide eyes. A hoof. I had a hoof, there wasn't a hand. The gears in my head began to turn as I looked down and my stomach lurched. Copper fur covered a naked pony exterior sans a white apron that was tied on my front with a small name tag attached with my name labelled on it. I panicked, yelping in surprise.

“What's wrong Brayden?” Cynthia asked, tilting her head. “You need help standing up?”

“What do you mean, 'what's wrong'?” I said loudly, thrusting a hoof into her line of sight. “You don't notice this?!” I was catching the attention of a few of the chefs working in the kitchen, and they turned back to what they were doing. I looked around, my heart sinking. 'Why isn't anyone freaked out about this but me?'

She pushed my hoof away from her face slowly, the mood she had was slightly irritated. “What are you talking about? You've always been like this. Come on, customers are waiting.”

“N-No...I'm human, this isn't me!”

She shook her head, moving closer to me. “Get a hold of yourself, Brayden."

I squirmed away from her, my back hoof hitting a cart that had a few trays resting on it. The trays shook and slid off, its contents smashing next to me and I did my best to block my head from flying plate shards, I looked at the mess and my eyes widened further. What was on the trays were small hay stacks and gems that littered the floor, making my mind spin.

“N-No...” I kicked at the mess, beginning to freak out on the floor. “This isn't real! T-This can't be...!”

Cynthia got up and move closer to me again and grabbed my shoulders, shaking me slightly. “Calm down! You have to get up!”

“L-Let me go! This can't be real!”

Her voice began to change in my ears as she shook me, my vision becoming dark once again.

“..ak...p....”

'Huh?'

“...ake...wp...!”

'Who's voice is that?'

“WAKE UP!”

I opened my eyes again, seeing a purple hue blur. My vision cleared as I saw a familiar magenta colored pony looking down at me with a concerned gaze, a hoof pressed lightly on my shoulder. I let out another yelp and she backed away, her wings open and flapping in surprise. I looked down to see the same form I had in my dreams poking out from underneath a blanket. I had been moved to a bed, a pillow propping me up slightly. I looked towards the other pony, alicorn, whatever, blankly as she stared back at me perplexed.

“It's me, Twilight Sparkle. I'm sorry Brayden if I was too loud.” she said politely, folding her wings to her sides. “I had to try and wake you. You looked like you were having a terrible nightmare...”

I closed my eyes, ignoring her rambling for the moment. 'No, this is the nightmare.'

“....and you were shouting and kicking the hoof board. I was worried that you were going to break it--”

“Stop...just stop.” I interrupted. “That's not what it's called.”

“What isn't?”

“It's not a hoof board. It's a -foot- board. Foot. Board. That's what it's actually called.”

“A what? What is a 'foot'?” she asked, intrigued. “Is it something that has to do with its woods measurement? Is that why you call it that where you come from?”

I shook my head. “No it's....nevermind.” I said, rather frustrated at the different terminology. “Just forget it.”

She raised an eyebrow, looking me over. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah I will be fine for now.” I looked around. “Wait, where's that little dragon?”

“Spike?” she asked. “He's downstairs, putting away the stack of books that I had been reading while you were passed out.”

I rested my head on the pillow breathing a sigh of relief. I began to calm down slowly.

“I'm surprised. You've never seen a baby dragon before?”

I shook my head. “Sorry, but no. Where I'm from we don't see dragons....”

“Interesting,” She turned, looking at a small quill and a piece of parchment on a small end table next to my bed. He horn glowed faintly as the quill was enveloped with a small aura, scribbling something on its own.

I blinked, looking at the sheet, the words seemed to change in front of my eyes, translating into English as it continued to write. I assumed Zecora's potion must still be doing its job helping me read the odd language of this world. I looked back at her. “What are you doing?”

“Taking notes.” she stated, setting the quill back down. “I've been studying the outer lands to find out where you were from. But from what I've gathered from what you mentioned I couldn't find anything from what you told me so far. You're an odd character Brayden, if you don't mind me saying.”

“It's okay,” I chuckled. “I could say the same about you, really.”

“Yes, you mentioned before that you've never seen somepony like me.” she gave a reassuring smile. I mentally groaned at hearing that word again, “Are you still hungry? I could get Spike to whip something up for you. You don't have to be afraid, he's a very kind and gentle dragon.”

My stomach cramped at the thought of food. I gave her a small nod. “If you don't mind, thank you.” She moved towards a set of stairs, her steps making a soft thunk on the wooden floor as she walked. I watched her move, calling out to her. “Hey...”

“Yes?” she asked, looking back to me.

“I'm...sorry, about my rudeness earlier. I didn't mean....”

“Apology accepted. Just rest, I won't be long. Spike might be joining us in a little while. Don't freak out too much this time for me, okay?”

I smiled at the remark. “Sure thing.”

I turned my head, looking out the circular window out towards the darkened sky once she left. Dark clouds loomed overhead, but at least the rain had stopped. I did my best to shake the rest of my thoughts of the dream I had out of my mind, recollecting my thoughts. I didn't know what to say, or what I should tell Twilight, even if I should explain anything at all. It seemed that Zecora had a better understanding of strange anomalies that could occur in the Everfree Forest, but this was a whole different story. I had already annexed myself from the rest of the inhabitants of the town thanks to my outburst earlier. I sighed, knowing my reaction to what Twilight was becoming another argument with my current surroundings. I did my best to accept that not everything was the same, aside the obvious, but my mind wasn't making things easy.

I rolled over, the blanket rolling over with me and my backside felt a slight chill. My tail hung on the side of the bed as I curled up slightly on the mattress. At least the bed was comfortable. I checked the area, noting that there was another bed on the opposite side of the room, assuming that it was Twilight's. There was a basket on one side with its own blanket, noting that it was possibly Spike's bed. I eyed the basket with a smile. Never in a million years, I thought. I returned to looking at the gloomy sky.

'Now what, Miles?' I asked myself, closing my eyes. I still had a lot of unanswered questions, and I was unsure how Twilight was going to react if I try to ask. She already sees me as

different, I didn't want to draw too much attention. 'Just roll with it. Gotta find out about this world before I find a way to get out of it. At least I'm in a library, that's a good start.'

I heard someone coming and I shuffled myself around, tugging at the blanket. “Why won't you cooperate?” I said out loud, pinching the covering between my front hooves and gave a pull, the blanket sliding off of me and onto the floor. I groaned and looked up at the sound of giggling, seeing Twilight Sparkle standing there with a hoof covering her mouth. I looked away, somewhat embarrassed. “I-I..uhm...”

She smiled, looking down to her side as the small dragon walked out from behind her, carrying a tray with what looked to be a few carrots and apples. When I locked eyes with him he seemed to have flinched, unsure of how I was going to react. I disregarded the blanket and gave him a small smile, but didn't move. He slid the tray onto the night table, looking down at the floor when he was finished.

“Sorry man, for scaring you like that.” he said. “I didn't mean to, honest.”

“I wasn't scared, I just never seen someone like you before.” I commented. “Looking at you now, you look kinda cute as a baby dragon.”

He gave me a small pout, “I am not a baby anymore,” he interjected, crossing his arms. “Someday I will be a strong, brave, ferocious, fire-breathing dragon! Just you watch.”

“I look forward to that.” I chuckled, patting the top of his head with my hoof. I felt his scales rub against it, it felt kind of weird. 'On the other hand, dragons do live a long time, perhaps I don't want to wait that long.'

“Oh Spike.” Twilight finally spoke, “Right now you can stay being my number one assistant until that happens.” She nuzzled the side of his head. “Now, you can do me a favour and finish up cleaning the kitchen and get ready for bed. I will stay with Brayden, okay?”

“Okay Twilight,” he said, giving me a wave before bounding down the stairs again.

I remained on the bed, watching him leave and then turned my attention to Twilight, whom decided to float the plate of food next to me. She gave me a smile, observing me as I was inspecting her, the air between us completely quiet. I was enthralled with the idea of what she was doing. It may have been simple to her, but I was surprised by the fact that magic existed here, no matter how much I wanted not to believe it. I looked at the plate, seeing the red and green apples and my mouth began to salivate in front of her.

“Go ahead, eat.” she said, breaking the silence.

I glanced at her, lowering my head towards them, feeling rather uncomfortable that someone was watching me. I felt even more awkward that I had not tried eating with this mouth and no hands, praying that I didn't make a complete mess of myself. I took a bite out of one of the apples, feeling my jaw work as the sweet taste touched my tongue, and I chewed and swallowed quickly, taking another bite. My stomach invited the food willingly, the muscles relaxing as I rested. I glanced back at her after I finished the apple, nudging the plate.

“Is something wrong?” she asked, tilting her head.

I shook my head, swallowing, “No, nothing's wrong.” I moved one of the carrots slightly. “I feel kind of awkward being the only one eating. Please.”

“Oh. Why thank you.” she said. One of the carrots flew idly towards her, letting her take a small bite.”Mmmm....”

There was another moment of silence, both of us preoccupied with eating. I continued to watch her actions, unsure of what to say next again. My mind was blank. I looked behind her and noticed the mark she had on her rump, seeing the fuchsia 6-pointed star surrounded with five smaller white stars. It was quite interesting, really. I wondered what her job was, possibly astronomy? I assumed that what Apple Bloom had said about their markings appearing out of nowhere had to do with the unicorns, seeing as they used magic themselves.

My heart wrenched. Apple Bloom. Maybe Twilight knew where I could find the little pony. I hoped that I could get a chance to apologize....

“Brayden?”

I blinked and looked at Twilight, “Y-Yes?”

She waved her tail slightly, looking behind her as well, and then to my flank,“Forgive me for saying so, but I noticed before that you do not have a cutie mark.”

“N-No...I guess I don't.” I said, pushing the negative words I said before to Apple Bloom out of my mind for the moment. “I guess you could say that I didn't want to be locked into one...talent, for the rest of my life. Judging from yours, you like stargazing, right?”

She frowned, closing her eyes. “Is that you consider a cutie mark to be?”

“Huh?”

“A cutie mark is a symbol of what you represent- it has more than just one meaning behind it. It doesn't simply dignify who you are.” she explained, Apple Bloom's words echoing in my thoughts, not helping in my guilt at all. Twilight moved so her flank was completely visible as I listened. “It's true that I do enjoy observing the stars occasionally, I have a telescope in the observatory on the top of my tree in fact. However, I am more than just that. I'm a librarian, a researcher, good with organizational skills. My cutie mark has shown me that my five very best friends that I had met here in Ponyville are the most important ponies in my life. And with that friendship we have a strong bond that can overcome anything.” She opened her wings in front of me. “If not for my bond with them I wouldn't have learned what true magic and strength in friendship could be. I was a unicorn before I met them; and being with them made me the alicorn that you see in front of you.”

“I am still trying to get used to that, sorry.” I sighed, my head drooping. “I didn't know. Forgive me Twilight, I really don't know or understand this place at all. I don't even know what I should be doing, or the reason I am here in the first place.”

I took in what she was saying. Friendship. Magic. Strength. A strong bond. Listening to her it sounded a bit farfetched, but she was sincere in what she was saying. I could almost believe her. She was honest, I will give her that. I couldn't tell if she was lying to me at all. From what I saw so far, there was more to this world that I was giving it credit for compared to my own Earth. I still wanted to believe that this wasn't real, given my current situation, but my brain was beginning to accept my predicament, and I felt stuck, filled with questions. What was I supposed to do?

She tilted her head, giving me another smile, “Sounds to me that you have more to you than just a travelling pony with a blank flank, Brayden,”

I let out a long sigh. “You wouldn't believe me if I told you.”

“I could give it a try.” she said, lifting the plate off the bed and set it aside with her magic. She moved her body smoothly to the floor, flicking her tail to the side and folded her wings neatly, looking up at me.

“Just...I know we just met and all I've done is be stuck in mud, and faint on your doorstep. You've been nothing but kind to me, even given me something to eat and a place to rest,” I said softly, crossing my hooves in front of me. I thought it would be a bit odd but it was actually quite comfortable. I rested my head on my hooves, looking down at her. “Promise me that you won't freak out?”

She lifted a hoof, making a cross shape in front of her chest. “Cross my heart and hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye.” she spouted, sticking her hoof close to her left eye, letting out a small laugh. I looked at her blankly, unsure of what to say. When she was done she noticed my gaze, smiling again. “Don't mind that. It's a long story that I will tell you later.”

I let out a nervous chuckle. “I bet it's not as long as what I am going to tell you.”

So I repeated the whole explanation I had went through before with Zecora, adding in the bits and pieces what had happened with the bug swarm and poison joke that had turned me into a pony. I decided to leave out what had happened when I encountered Apple Bloom, figuring I would explain that situation a little bit later. Twilight never moved or changed expressions, listening to every word. I couldn't tell if she believed me or not. But since she was of this world hearing a story about a tall, fleshy, two-legged creature with hands- she probably thought I was crazy and didn't want to show it. Once I had finished there was another period of silence.

She got up slowly off the floor, stretching a little from being in the same spot. “Well, that is an interesting tale, Brayden.”

“Do you believe me? I know it sounds crazy....”

“No, it doesn't sound crazy at all to me. If Zecora trusts your word, then so will I. It is strange how you came to be here, but at the same time fascinating. I wasn't aware that there were other worlds beyond this one, it's an important discovery.” she lifted the quill and began to take notes once again, vigorous scribbling was all I could hear coming from her direction.

“What are you writing now?”

“I'm trying to get some things down before I forget what you told me. If it's alright with you I would like to send a letter to Princess Celestia about your situation....”

“Princess Celestia?” I repeated. “Who is that?”

“She's the one of the two royals who governs all of Equestria. She took me as a student when I was just a filly learning magic. She's a wonderful teacher, she might be able to help you get back to your own world, if she can.”

Finally, I was able to find a way out of this place and back to Earth, where things made more sense to me. As she continued to write I thought of my life at home, my job, my apartment-- wait. I quickly put a hoof on top of the parchment, the quill stopped mid-sentence and Twilight looked at me confused. I began to realize something...

“Brayden? What's wrong?” Twilight asked, giving me another look. “Isn't this what you wanted? I know if I was somewhere I wasn't supposed to be I would want to get back home.”

“I know. I know that and you're right.” I moved my hoof back, trying to get the words right in my head. I couldn't believe what I was thinking, but it started to make some sense. “But whatever sent me here, there must be a reason why. This world you have is different from my own, I know that. This could be a big mistake for all I know. But I'm here now, I might as well get to know this world. One thing is for sure, I'm glad that you believe me, Twilight Sparkle.”

“I have to say that this is an odd occurrence that you, a pony, is actually a different creature that nopony has heard of before until now. And from another world no less. But things don't happen without reason here in Equestria.”

“If it's at all possible, I trusted Zecora not to tell other ponies about who I am, not yet. I don't want to cause any problems or confusion. She's only one who has seen my original form. Fortunately she told me that I will be able to change back. She didn't turn me away or was scared of me. Believe me, I am not at all intimidating, honestly.” I explained. She chuckled, and I continued. “But please, don't tell others who I really am.”

Twilight nodded, “I won't say a thing until I get your okay, Brayden. I promise.” she said, crossing her heart again.

I nestled into the pillow, the first time I felt truly relaxed while in this world. “Thanks,” I said, then blinked. “Wait...Twilight. I just remembered, about not having a place to stay....”

She laughed. “Of course Brayden, you may stay here. I don't mind. You can sleep here on the spare bed. I don't think Spike will mind either.”

I smiled, “Thanks. If it's okay with you, I would like to rest some more without fainting.”

She nodded, moving back towards the stairs. “Let me or Spike know if you need anything. I wouldn't mind hearing more about your world some more if it's alright with you.”

“Sure thing...” I yawned, closing my eyes. “Thanks again Twilight.”

“You're welcome Brayden.”

.o~End of Journal Entry #6~o.

Thanks for reading!! Please R&R!!!!

Chapter 7: Journal Entry #7

Chapter Text

A/N: Holy guacamole! Another chapter so soon? Well, it was requested of me to try and update more often. I will do my best, but it's getting to the time of year where things like to be busy for me. As for this story, here's ya go everyone! Hope it makes sense XD.

My Name is Brayden Miles

Journal Entry #7

Thinking to myself I felt that I was starting to get a better chance to find others who weren't going to disregard my story than I thought. I guess my last shred of luck was still holding out for me. I had Zecora and Twilight believing me, that was a plus. I wasn't going to be seen as a monster, or someone crazy. For the first time my mind wasn't running with questions and thoughts of where I was, or what I was.

I spent the rest of the day up in Twilight's bedroom, resting as best as I could. Attempting to find a good sleeping position as a pony was difficult at first, but eventually I was able to lay in some way that I finally got through most of the night. I figured it would be best to start my exploration of this world after a decent night's sleep. Later in the evening Spike and Twilight had returned to go to bed, and I did my best not to stir and interrupt their usual routine.

I hope that Twilight would be able to show me around Ponyville tomorrow if it wasn't too much trouble. I didn't want to impose, but having her by my side meant that she could tell me about the territory and I wouldn't get horribly lost. If I ever found Zecora again, I made a mental note to ask her about plantlife that I should avoid, like poison joke, that is if I was able to find her hut her in the forest. She said that she would be there if I needed her. I assumed that the rest of the pony community might keep their distance from me for the time being. I never got the chance to tell Twilight about that, which meant that my first objective was to find Apple Bloom and tell her that I was wrong, and that I was sorry. If these ponies were like humans, news of a strange newcomer randomly shouting at a filly probably spread like wildfire.

Regardless of my successful attempt to getting sleep, I had stirred in the night. Something was shining bright in my eyes as I slowly cracked one open, letting out a yawn. Everything on my side of the room was bathed in moonlight, including me. I looked outside to see that the storm had cleared completely and the moon shone in the stillness. I smiled a little, taking in the comfort of familiarity to home. My gaze trailed back to my form, pushing the blanket off of me so I could take a good look at it by myself. The copper tones shone from head to toe under the light, my long legs stretched out and my hooves were a dark chocolate brown. I could see my tail sticking out to one side. Tilting my head I concentrated, attempting to see if I could move it on my own.

'Come on...move.' I thought, staring at it. It didn't even twitch, remaining in the same spot. I grunted in frustration at its stubbornness. 'Seriously, I know having a tail isn't normal for me but, please move? Flick? Anything?' I let out a louder grunt of frustration and I heard something stir and I glanced at Twilight, seeing her roll over peacefully in her bed. I went quiet, realizing that I was probably being too loud at this time of night. I went back looking to the sky with a frown. I figured that my tail won this round. Instead I went back to my usual mantra of talking to the moon.

“Hello Moon. At least I hope you're not mad at me too,” I said quietly, not wanting to disturb the other two. As if the moon had emotions, it's not like it could judge me. The moon hung in the sky with it's shining beauty. “I guess I didn't get to say hello the other night. I was kind of...preoccupied? Yeah, I guess that's the word I am looking for. Facing sea creatures, monsters, and ponies sounds like one hell of a predicament, right?”

I ran through the events in my head once again, remembering my home and going through the portal in my bathroom, falling into the Everfree Forest, getting turned into a pony, arriving in Ponyville- it's an odd strange of events. But thinking about it it's better than what I was doing in my life. 'This all happened because of moonlit tile...wait a minute.'

I blinked, an idea sparking in my head. “No...that's impossible. Could it have been...” I trailed off, staring at the moon. I shook my head, laughing mentally. 'Nah, get a hold of yourself Miles, the moon of all things couldn't do something like that...but then again....' I smiled, “If it was possible that you had something to do with all of this, whoever or whatever you are, thanks? I guess?”

I looked down at the moonlight, watching my shadow that was cast onto the floor. I stared at it, trying my best to get used to seeing a pony instead of a human silhouette. “I mean, I don't know what I should be doing. What is my reason for me being here?” I asked, repeating the same questions I have been saying since I arrived. It must be getting frustrating at this point, “If there's something that I need to do, what is it? Where do I belong in all of this?”

The room was quiet. I continued to look at my shadow, tracing the outline of my mane down the back of my neck. Again, I didn't expect a response, and look where that got me. I inwardly chuckled, laying my head back down onto the pillow. I closed my eyes, trying to get back to sleep under the moonlight.

“Goodnight, Moon.”

~...den....~

'...hnn.'

~...ayden...~

'...wha? Another voice...?'

~Brayden....~

'Who...?'

The sound of a loud bang startled me awake. I jumped at the sound and tried to sit up normally, only to stumble to one side and fall off the bed onto my back, my legs all tied up in my blanket and my pillow smacking into my face. I let out a grunt and scrambled to kick my legs free, rolling over on the wood floor. I managed to pull the covering off of me and look around, my mind still foggy.

'That voice...who was that? I've never heard that one before.' I thought to myself, shaking my head. I heard muffled yelling from outside, followed by another bang. 'What's going on?'

“What in Celestia name....” I heard Twilight say from below. There was another bang. “Spike! Get the door before somepony destroys it.”

I pulled myself up slowly with my front legs and managed to get my hooves underneath me. At least there was some success to my day. I slowly made my way to the top of the stairs to see Twilight on the main floor, and the door swinging open with Spike dodging out of the way before becoming a dragon sandwich on the wall. I saw a new pony stomp into the library that looked oddly familiar. She had a long blond mane and tail tied off at the ends, emerald green eyes, and an orange-goldenrod body with three red apples on her flank. What got me that she wore a faded brown cowboy hat on her head and built like she could take down a truck if she desired. She looked around the room before staring down Twilight, who was currently startled and confused.

“Applejack! What in the wide world of Equestria is going on?” Twilight asked, looking at the intruder.

The pony named Applejack let out an irritated snort, stomping a hoof as her ears flattened. “Twilight. 'Ahm looking for a stallion that rolled into Ponyville with Zecora yesterday. Some of the town ponies told me that the brute was seen around your library before the storm and I was looking for him to give him a piece of mah mind for what he said to my little sister!”

'Sister--Uh oh....' I thought to myself, slowly backing away from the stairs. I was about to make a break for underneath the bed when I stopped and noticed a familiar filly walk inside with a bundle of rope on her backside, her head low. My heart twinged a little seeing her so sad knowing that it was probably my fault. Twilight saw her as well, noticing her sad demeanour.

“Apple Bloom?” Twilight asked, seeing the little filly. “What's going on?”

“Ahm sorry Twi, Applejack insisted that she went looking for mister Brayden, and we ended up here....”

Twilight and Spike both perked up at the mention of my name, looking up towards the stairs discovering me and I smiled nervously. Applejack and Apple Bloom followed their gaze and noticed me too, making me look around for a way to escape. I was completely blocked off, and running was out of the question.

“Is that the pony, Apple Bloom?” asked her sister. Applejack quickly grabbed the rope, a lasso already tied and ready to throw. She skillfully twirled it above her head using her mouth and I turned and tried to make some distance before she was going to let it go.

Unfortunately I was too slow to react as she let it fly, landing her mark on one of my back hooves and pulled, my body unable to balance and I landed hard on the floor once again with a loud 'Oof!', knocking the wind out of me. 'Seriously, is falling going to be a common thing to me now?'

“Right on target!” Applejack said triumphant, sprinting up the stairs to finish tying the rest of my legs together. I was too dazed from the fall to notice that I was being moved to be hog tied. If there was a spare apple around I'm pretty sure the mare would've shoved it into my mouth for good measure. I coughed and tried to catch my breath, looking at Applejack who was currently glaring at me, causing me to flinch as she pulled the rope tight.

“Applejack! That's quite enough!” Twilight yelled. Both of us turned and noticed her horn glowing brightly. There was a sudden flash and she disappeared, reappearing in between us. She opened her wings, acting as a barrier.

“Step aside Twilight, this is Apple Family business.”

“Not until I get an explanation as to what is going on.”

“Oh!” Applejack said in surprise and looked behind Twilight, her eyes blazing into mine. “So you act all nice like and take advantage of other ponies hospitality too?”

I stammered, trying to speak. “W-Well I--”

“That's not what he's done at all.” Twilight defended, a scowl creeping up on her face. My heart went out to the alicorn, wishing now that I had told Twilight sooner of this problem. “The weather ponies scheduled a major storm last night. I found him stuck in the middle of town and I took him in by my choice.”

Applejack narrowed her eyes, making me wish I could do that disappearing thing that Twilight had done. “So ya sweet talk mares too. That's low ye lily liver--.” she was cut off with Twilight's wings silencing her.

“Snap out of it AJ, he hasn't done anything of the kind.”

“That's not the impression I had gotten from Apple Bloom.” Applejack retorted. “That stallion chewed out mah sister for no reason and made my little sister cry. And he never even bothered to apologize.”

“C-Can I get a say in this? I'm the one tied up--” I asked innocently.

“No!” both Applejack and Twilight said at the same time.

I bit my lip and went silent while they continued to argue. Being fought over by two ponies, that's new. I glanced down and saw Apple Bloom and Spike watching the scene unfold. Once the filly noticed that I was looking in her direction, she jumped, her body shaking. I stared at her with pleading eyes, praying that she would see how apologetic I was.

'I'm sorry,' I mouthed to her, taking a gamble if she could read lips. She took a moment and blinked, giving me a small nod.

“...now if you excuse me, this pony is leaving and there's not a thing you can do about it Twi.”

“He's not going anywhere, Applejack.”

“We're leaving and he's coming with--”

“STOP!” came a shrill, high-pitched voice.

The two ponies went quiet, both startled and look down, seeing Apple Bloom rather cross. The filly began to make her way up the stairs, looking at me with a blank expression. I kept silent as all of us watched her. Spike remained where he stood, just as shocked. I was feeling pretty helpless being tied up and unable to do anything. My legs were starting to go numb with the lack of circulation. Twilight lowered her wings as Apple Bloom stood at my side, giving me a tiny smile.

“U-Uhm...,” I looked away sheepishly. “Apple Bloom, I'm sorry for the bad things I said to you. I was an idiot and should have kept my mouth shut until I fully understood. I did try to apologize, but you were so fast that I couldn't get the words out in time.” I said truthfully, turning to Applejack. “I don't have a younger sibling myself miss Applejack; but if I had the same thing happened to my little sister I probably would've been as angry as you. Probably not go through the same actions though....” I said, tugging at the restraints. She was unfazed, so I continued, “I hope you both can forgive me for my behaviour. I will take any punishment you want to throw at me, whatever it takes for you to forgive me.” The library went quiet after I finished speaking. Twilight stood there utterly confused, Applejack was completely dumfounded. Only Apple Bloom and I remained the same expressions just looking at each other.

“Hmph, well it's not my decision to make,” Applejack stated, looking down at her sister. “It's hers.”

“Well....” the filly paused, smiling at me. “...I do forgive you for that you said, mister Brayden. And thank you. But i-if you don't mind, I do have an idea of a punishment for you.”

“Name it, Apple Bloom.” I said, sighing out of relief. “I will do it as a favor to you.”

She took a moment to think about it, pointing a hoof at me with a determined tone. “You have to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders with me and my friends, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Also...” she looked at Applejack, “Can he help me with my chores that I missed yesterday?”

Applejack cracked a smile as she looked at the filly. “If that's what you want, Apple Bloom, then yes. However....” she glanced at me again, her gaze darkened. “Don't think that you're completely off the hook yet, -mister- Brayden.”

I mentally winced. “Y-Yes ma'am.”

Twilight twitched slightly, stomping her hoof. “Can somepony please explain what in Celestia is going on?!”

I looked at her, “I can explain--”

“After the chores.” Applejack interrupted, grabbing the rope in her mouth and starting making her way back down the stairs. “We'll see you later Twilight.”

“W-Wait...h-hold on....” I was pulled and dragged on my side. I my heart jumped as she got me to the first step when I began to squirm, “A-Applejack? T-The stairs—Aah!” I felt a tug and went down a few stairs, hitting each one with a soft thud. “U-Ugh....”

Twilight sighed, her horn glowing as I was covered in another magenta aura, now being lifted off the steps. I felt like a balloon on a string as Applejack continued to drag me along behind her. Apple Bloom followed, looking up at me. I looked down at her, giving her another smile. Once we made it to the door I looked outside, seeing a wooden wagon and a rather large stallion hitched to the front of it. I gulped as I floated towards the wagon, landing softly as the aura dispersed. The stallion looked back at me, snorting in my direction and shook his head.

“T-Thanks Twilight, I hope to be back soon.” I called out. 'There goes my original plans in a way.'

Applejack put her sister onto her back and leapt into the wagon next to me, letting Apple Bloom jump off of her and rest beside me. “Yeehaw! Giddy up, Big Macintosh!” Applejack hollered, “We got ourselves another farmhoof for the day.”

The wagon jolted and started moving, my back thudding against the boards. “O-Ow...hnn...this is rather uncomfortable. I'm not going to escape, I promise. Can I....” I looked up at Applejack, who continued to glare at me with her arms crossed. 'If looks could kill...'

“Big Sis?” Apple Bloom asked politely, looking at her sister with puppy-dog eyes.

Applejack sighed. “Fine,”

She pulled on the rope, the knot loosening and my legs hung in the air. My eyes widened as I felt the sleepy, tingling sensation surge through my legs with each bump. “Oh dear g-- make it stop!” I whined, trying to wake up my limbs.

Applejack leaned back, a sly smile on her lips. “No can do, mister. We gotta head'r back to Sweet Apple Acres and get started on the chores. Trying to find you has set us back a few hours. Granny Smith has been waiting for us to get back from Ponyville.”

“Granny Smith...” I repeated. “All of you have names related to apples?”

Apple Bloom nodded. “We aren't called the Apple Family for nothin'” she said. She seemed to perk up a little from before, what was a good sign. “We have a rather large family that lives all over Equestria.”

I slowly sat up, looking around. We were driving through town still. There were a lot of ponies out and about already, which was nothing like the city that I came from. I saw the different houses and stores; a small cafe in town as well. On one of the stores I noticed had a sign that had a quill and sofa on it, which struck me as odd. Was that all they sold there? Weird. But I shook my head as we travelled.

'Don't think it odd. If it's what they have here then just go with it,' I told myself, seeing that we were now getting to the outskirts of town down a long dirt road. I sat back on one of the benches, surprised that I could do so to be honest. But I noticed that Applejack and I did my best to follow her. 'I just hope that what she might put me through won't break me.'

It must have been at least five to ten minutes before the path opened up to a rather large farm. The plots of various orchards and crops seem to go on forever, with a barn and other small animal barns in the centre. I looked around the farm, my mouth agape as I gulped, feeling my tail move in close between my legs.

'The one time....' I said to myself, staring at the countryside.

“Here ya go, Brayden.” Apple Bloom said, “Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres.”

“It's huge. You all take care of this farm by yourselves?”

“Sure do, for most of the year. The rest of the Apple Family visits around harvestin' time to gather everything up to take to market. It actually is really exciting.”

“I bet it is.”

The wagon slowed down and stopped in front of the barn, Applejack and Apple Bloom easily jumping off the back with ease. “Come on, yer turn.” Applejack ordered.

I looked over to the ground, noticing that I was a few feet from it. I took several steps back, shaking my head. “I-I don't think I can--”

I suddenly felt the wagon lurch as I was catapulted off of it by Big Macintosh bucking the front of it. I flew forward and yelled in fear, landing headfirst into a nearby pig sty, the rest of my body landing with a loud splash. Two large pigs oinked into my ear as I lifted my head, one of them snorting in my face. I heard laughter behind me and the looked, the Apple family was on the ground laughing their heads off at me.

'You think that's funny....' I shook my head, the mud flying off of me and I glared, 'This might be turning into a long day.'

.o~End of Journal Entry #7 ~o.

And here we are! Another chapter written. I hoped you liked it, I had a laugh writing it. Please R&R

Chapter 8: Journal Entry #8

Chapter Text

Here we are with another chapter! I had a lot of fun writing this one. It made me chuckle in some places. I hope it does for you too!

My Name is Brayden Miles

Journal Entry #8

I had never worked on a farm before. Being a city boy I never would have thought that I would ever get the chance to. I grew up watching it on TV or online, I knew that it was labour intensive, I got that. If I was still a human, as scrawny as I was, I may have had a chance with the tasks that Applejack had given me, at least I would have hands. But as a pony...

started to gain respect for the animals that had to do this kind of work pretty quickly.

The smell of the farm burned my nostrils. It was a bit much to get used to, but this is what I agreed to do, and I was going to do my best to see it through. After I made it out of the pig pen, Apple Bloom was nice enough to direct me to the garden hose around the back and helped me get cleaned off as best we could do together. Once I was semi dirt-free and dry, I was pulled along to help with the chickens first. Applejack threw an old saddle bag over my back and shoved a bucket of chicken feed at me and Apple Bloom an empty basket for eggs. It was uncomfortable carrying something on my back and having a worn piece of rope in my mouth, but I shadowed the little pony and followed along with her to the chicken coop.

“Are you ready for this Brayden?” Apple Bloom asked, balancing the basket on her backside.

“Um hmm,” I grunted, muscles that had never seen use like this beginning to tense. 'My neck is going to be ripped after all of this.'

We made it inside, the hen house was stuffy and my ears barely brushed the beams overhead. Apple Bloom trotted ahead of me, looking at the rows of chickens all sitting in their pens. I heard soft clucking here and there while they rested, each of them all nestled in their own beds of hay. I set the bucket down by the entrance and waited for instructions.

“Should I head outside Apple Bloom?” I asked quietly.

She nodded, “It's probably a good idea. If they chickens wake up right now and see the feed we migh' not make it out alive.”

I gulped, 'She's kidding, right?'

I picked up the bucket and inched myself back out the door, walking down the ramp and set the bucket down, staring at it. 'How am I supposed to get the feed out of the bucket? I don't have hands, or a scoop. I can't just dump it all in one place....'

I inspected the bucket further and noticed a small cork on the side of it almost to the bottom. I pried it off as best as I could with my hoof and it popped off, rolling off to the side. I nudged the bucket, seeing a small pile of chicken feed pour out the hole. To be honest I was slightly impressed at the ponies ingenuity. I took the bucket and began to walk around, watching the feed zigzag and scatter all over the ground. Once I thought I had enough I went back and balanced the bucket and plugged the the hole, waiting for Apple Bloom to give the word.

I heard the sound of a bell from inside the small building, “Alrigh' chickens! Time for yer breakfast!” I heard the filly call.

There was the sound of scuffling and loud clucking, I swear it was like she released the beast. A flurry of chickens poured out of the entrance of the chicken coop and flocked to the feed sprayed on the ground, racing around to get a good pile of food in their stomachs. I stood at the edge of the fence, doing my best not to draw any attention that I had more in the bucket. Apple Bloom continued working inside what I stayed outside, keeping watch.

Some of them scratched at the ground, pecking here and there to get as many pieces as possible. A few of the chickens were flapping their wings at each other, duelling over some of the small piles of feed to declare a winner. It was kind of nice standing there watching the animals, it made doing chores slightly bearable. Or so I thought.

A few of the chickens took notice of me and the bucket and began to walk over towards me. One of them cocked their head to the side, probably that they hadn't seen me before on the farm. I looked back at them, shaking my head.

“You've had your fill.” I said through my teeth, the rope still in my mouth. More chickens began to take notice and move towards me, and I gave a fake glare in their direction, trying to look intimidating. One of them clucked at me and I shook my head again. “No.”

Apparently they didn't want to take no for an answer. One of the chickens got out of my line of sight and began pecking at the cork on the side of the bucket. I felt the constant thud against the wood and I lifted my head higher, trying to get the bucket out of reach. However, the chickens were becoming increasing persistent. I felt sweat began to form on my forehead, matting my fur as I tried to back away from them, beginning to feel the insistent birds pecking at my hooves. Some of them were even trying to fly up towards the bucket to get at the cork, almost succeeding.

“Cut that out!” I grunted, feeling the fence pressing against my legs.

Some of the chickens teamed up and flew towards my face, making me turn my head to try and shoo them away. Unfortunately that was a big mistake on my part. One of them got a hold of the cork and I heard the familiar pop as some of the contents began to spill out all over my front and onto the ground.

'Uh oh...'

“BAWK!!!” some of the chickens squawked, all of them unleashing their assault on me.

Instead of dropping the bucket like a sensible person, my mind decided to do the opposite. I fled. I fled with the rope still in my mouth. Big mistake. I ran awkwardly around the edge of the chicken coop, a flurry of chickens following quickly behind me. I was too slow to get away from them, my efforts in an escape failing horribly as they continued their chase. Some of them even got into the saddle bag and decided it was a nice time to sit while they enjoyed the ride. I was losing stamina quickly like this, unsure of where I should go. Apple Bloom was still working inside, and I didn't want her to get in an accident because of my stupid ass.

“Oh ponyfeathers. Let go of the bucket ye young whippersnapper! It's the food they want!” I heard call from the barn. The woman sounded old, her voice somewhat grainy.

I looked over quickly, trying to see who was calling to me when my back hoof caught in a hole behind the hen house. I fell on my side, my breath escaping my lungs and I let go of the bucket, watching the chicken feed spray in the air. The wind was not on my side as a breeze caught the feed in the air and blew it onto me, my fur covered in the stuff. I sputtered as some of it hit my mouth, the taste dry and stuck to my lips. The final straw was the bucket, coming back down to earth and landed squarely onto my head with a hard thunk, blocking my vision.

It was then that the chickens had caught up and finished me off. The whole flock must have jumped me. I could feel pecks coming for all sides, making me yelp and try to kick them away. It seemed like a futile effort, they were a ruthless bunch that didn't want to take the hint. I shook my head to try and get the bucket off my head, some of the chickens were pecking at it causing the thudding sound to echo in my ears.

“Round 'em up, Winona!” came a familiar voice.

I heard a dog beginning to bark, the sound getting louder. It seemed that the chickens took their cue, the sound of frightened clucking and wing flaps now filling my ears. The pecking ceased and the barking continued. I was able to lower my head for a moment to pry the bucket off, shaking my head. I discovered a small brown and white dog with a little red collar around its neck. It panted happily, wagging its bushy tail and a small pink tongue hanging out of its mouth. It looked at me, barking once.

“Uh...h-hey pooch.” I said, looking at the mess of chicken feed all over me. “I guess I have you to thank...” I trailed off, squinting to read the name tag. “Winona.”

I heard someone laughing and I looked up, seeing Applejack leaning onto the fence with a big grin on her face. “Well hello there, Brayden. I see that ye were getting well acquainted with the hens. Having a good time?”

I slowly got onto my hooves, glaring at her a little. “It isn't funny, Applejack.” I gave my whole body a shake, a rain of feed falling off my fur. The pecking made my skin itch, but I wasn't in any pain at least. I saw the saddle bag on the ground next to me, trying to get it onto my back. “I just had a little accident.”

“Well, ye seem to be fine. Yer not hurt are ya?”

I managed to get the bag onto my back, pushing it so it was level and didn't fall off. I shook my head, looking slightly angry and embarrassed at the same time. Winona barked again, noticing that some of the chickens were trying to get to the last remnants of their breakfast off of me. She growled at them, her front low to the ground.

“No, I think I'll be fine. I'm glad that your dog here was able to rescue me.”

“Well ya better get back to the gate, otherwise I might find you covered in feathers instead of your coat. Come on Winona, stay with Brayden. Apple Bloom must be done collecting the eggs by now.”

Winona gave a bark in response as I began to walk around to the front of the house. Apple Bloom was coming down the ramp with her basket, being really careful until she was safely on the ground. I looked around, wondering who was the other pony I heard, not seeing anyone else besides the sisters. The chickens were keeping an eye on me, making me slightly uneasy.

'Does everything on this world have a vendetta against me?' I thought, giving myself another shake.

“Applejack? Winona? What are ya doing back here?” Apple Bloom asked, looking at me. “Heya Brayden, where'd the bucket go?”

“I left it behind the hen house. I think for the better right now. I will go back and get it once it's safe.”

“Safe?” she asked curiously. Some flecks of chicken feed trickled out of my mane, getting the fillies attention. “Ahh, I was wondering why I heard such a raucous. Sorry I couldn't get out in time to help ya.”

“It's alright. I kept them distracted. You got the eggs though?”

“Yup! Righ' here!” she said, looking at the pile she had nabbed in her basket. “Granny Smith should be delighted with these.”

'Maybe that's who I heard....' I thought, looking back at Applejack. “I think we're done here.”

Winona gave another bark, clearing a path through the flock of chickens while Applejack flicked the latch to open up the gate. She was pretty smart for a dog. The three of us in the pen made our way out, and I felt much safer not being in there anymore. I did my best to be polite and keep my mouth shut, despite the negative aura I was feeling from Applejack.

“I'm gonna get these to Granny right now. You wanna come along?” Apple Bloom asked.

I shook my head. “Nah, I will stay out here. Don't want to track this stuff in the house.”

“Alright then. I will be back soon!” She made her way towards the barn, leaving me and Applejack with Winona sitting at Applejack's side, her tail wagging happily.

The silence was making me nervous. I avoided looking at Applejack while she tended to her pet. I distracted myself by practising with my tail, still trying to move it on my own. I got it so I could sway it back and forth slightly at this point. It was progress, I was taking it.

“So...,” Applejack spoke up, her tone still having a slight edge on it. “Apple Bloom seems to have takin' a likin' to ya.”

I looked back at her, trying to sound relaxed. “Yeah. After what happened I am surprised. But I am glad that she's not upset anymore.”

The yellow pony dug at the ground, looking at my flank. “Yes, and you seem to be on your best behaviour around her.”

“Yes, I was wrong. I don't have a cutie mark either. I'm not as sensitive about the subject like she is. Which is why I am doing my best to make it up to her.”

“I still haven't forgave you just yet.”

I let out a sigh. “Listen, Applejack. What I said back in Ponyville, I meant it. I am really sorry for what I said. And I don't expect you to be as forgiving. But I'm a grown ma-- stallion, and I can admit it when I'm wrong.”

Applejack tilted her head, noticing my slip up. “Well, I will give you that, you seem honest.” she commented. “But here at Sweet Apple Acres, we prefer actions as well as words.”

“You mean getting almost pecked to death by a horde of chickens wasn't good enough for you?”

She let out a chuckle. “No, that was just really funny. A few pecks will toughen up that soft hide of yers. From what I'd seen from ya, you probably set foot on a farm before. Am I righ'?”

I shook my head and stopped. “Wait, how did you guess?”

“You let a harmless group of chickens get the better of ya.”

“What do you mean, 'harmless'? They were all over--”

I stopped as she started laughing at my expense, making me frown. She nudged my shoulder with a hoof. “See what I mean?”

I rubbed where she nudged, feeling that it was a lot rougher than I expected. “Yes, but I could do more than feed chickens.”

A glint of mischief sparked in her eyes, “Oh really?”

I mentally cursed, 'I don't like where this is going.'

“Then why don't we see if you can be good as you say. Wanna help Winona and I rustle up the cattle from the south field?”

“I-I don't think...I mean...I was going to say...aren't I supposed to stay and work on Apple Bloom's chores?”

“Ahm sure Granny will help her aroun' the barn just fine. Come along then...”

“Wait, I don't think--”

“...or do I get to call you a hoity toity, yellow bellied, city slicker?”

I twitched inside. That did it. This girl really knew how to get one riled up. I let out a grunt, my anger starting to rise as my ears flattened close to my skull. “Oh. It. Is. On.”

“That's the spirit!” she beamed, walking towards the barn. “Follow me. I'll go tell Apple Bloom that we're on our way. Maybe the exercise will help knock off the chicken feed buffet you still have on your backside.”

I followed behind, gritting my teeth to control my simmering rage. Once we made it to the front of the home, the gears began to turn in my head. Wait a second, I was getting myself into a pretty dangerous scenario. I had seen cattle rustlers in western movies before, and now I was going to do it on my own? I swallowed hard, my rage beginning to be replaced my fear. I still didn't know how to gallop properly, let alone trot before tumbling into a mess of tangled legs. Now I was going to be sprinting around trying to drive cattle? Applejack looked like she was really serious about this idea. Maybe it was her way of getting back at me, and possibly getting me trampled with stampeding cows.

I heard a soft whine and I looked down, seeing Winona still at my side. Since I caught her attention her tail began to wag, sitting pretty on her back paws. She must have noticed my apprehension. I lowered my head to her, and she licked the end of my nose.

“You wouldn't know if Applejack was going to lead me to my death, would you?” I asked, getting another lick. I shook my head and snorted, feeling her soft fur brushing against my leg. I smiled. “Thanks for the vote of confidence Winona.”

She scampered around in a few circles before stopping, spotting something at the door and barked. I looked in the same direction to see Applejack return, the same devious, intimidating smile plastered on her face. I felt my tail began to slide between my legs again...

'No, I can do this. If Applejack can do it, so can I.' I said, trying to be confident. I smiled back, looking like I was ready for anything. 'This body must be good for something. If it's going to be used to wipe that smile off her face, then so be it. I am not going to let her get the better of me, not this time.'

“All set, chicken boy?”

I narrowed my eyes, determination growing inside me. “After you, -miss- Applejack.”

I didn't realize how much time had passed already. The sun was shining above us, with a few billowing clouds floating overhead. I was led to a wide open field, the air filtering into my nose. It was a step up from the smell of farm. I could even catch a hint of apples from the nearest orchard. I inhaled deep, for once being glad to have fresh air. I stood beside Applejack, looking around the field and spotted some of the cows lazily grazing, not paying us any mind. Some of them mooed at each other, some of them responding in kind.

I noticed the large stallion called Big Macintosh standing beside a small boulder in the distance, the collar from the wagon still hanging around his neck. I blinked, wondering why he still had it on, but didn't want to really pat it any mind. Winona bounded in front of us with Applejack a few steps ahead of me. The closer we got to the red stallion I noticed how broad he was in body compared to me. He was a few inches taller than me, but he looked like he could pin me down like I was a feather pillow. I noticed his uninviting gaze on me, and I looked away.

'He's on my case too. Just perfect. You're doing a wonderful job on that grave of yours Miles.'

“Heya Big Mac!” Applejack called as we got within earshot.

The stallion snorted, his gaze softening as he looked at the golden yellow mare. “Heya sis.”

I went slightly wide-eyed. 'They're all siblings?! Now it makes sense that he's pissed too.' I groaned internally. Winona sat beside me, watching my actions.

“You've met Brayden before. He's going to help us by bringing the cows back to the barns. You fancy he will be able to do it?”

He raised an eyebrow, examining me from ear to tail. He closed his eyes and spoke a short, “Nope.”

My eye twitched at the abrupt answer, looking at Applejack. “Well then...I guess I better make it back--”

“Nonsense. Big Mac was just trying to joke with ya.” she laughed. She nudged me again, this time it was harder and I nearly faltered. “Lighten up, this will be fun.”

“Yeah. Fun.” I said flatly, rolling my shoulder. 'Fun for you.'

“Now listen here, this is the plan.” she started, looking towards the cows. “Big Mac, Winona and I will be gathering all the cattle around the pasture. This will be quick. The three of us have done this together so much that the cows know when it's time to head'r back home. I'd ask you to come along but I wouldn't want you to break a nail.” she smiled, earning a slight glare from me.

“And where do I fit into this. It sounds like you don't need me at all for this job.”

“Aah, but that's where yer wrong.” she noted. “Getting them together is always the easy part, leading them all together without the herd trying to break apart or some get loose is the reason you're here. Apple Bloom is still too young, and not fast enough to join us yet. Granny Smith is too old to be doing much of any real hard labour. Which is why I am getting you to help.”

I took a moment, looking over the field and back to the path. Like it or not I had to do this. I could have said no, but I made a promise. And I couldn't back out of it even if I wanted to.

“Are you ready?” she asked, looking half-expected of me giving up.

I took a deep breath, my expression becoming serious gaze, my tone low, “Yes. Just tell me what to do.”

I think I surprised her. She looked at me with some bewilderment. There was a short moment of silence before she looked at Big Macintosh, who was silent through the whole thing. He gave a nod to her and turned, getting ready to spring into action. Applejack was alongside him, followed by Winona.

“Brayden, there should be a rope in your saddlebag. Grab it for me please.”

I did as instructed, opening one of the bags, finding a rope for her. I pulled it out and was able to toss it in her direction. She caught it effortlessly in her teeth and slipped it over one shoulder.

“Where do you want me?” I asked.

“Stay right here. We will call you over when we're ready.”

I stayed silent, remaining beside the rock, observing them. 'I am intrigued, and yet immensely terrified at what they're going to do.'

“Alright Big Mac, Winona. Ya'll both ready to fetch us some cattle?”

Winona gave a soft growl.

Big Macintosh nodded. “Eeyup.”

“Then let's get us some cows! Get 'em Winona!”

When Applejack gave the go ahead, the dog went straight towards them, with the Apple siblings following suit. It was amazing watching all of them work together. I leaned against the rock, watching intently. The three of them ducked and weaved through the growing volume of mooing all of around them. They coordinated their movements as they were moving the livestock closer and closer without getting trampled by heavy, thundering hooves until there was one large collective of black and white surrounded by green grass. Applejack zoomed around them with incredible speed. If I wasn't directly focused on her she would've been a complete blur.

Once they moved the cattle into position, they slowed their speed, getting in close without spooking them. There was a long pause, I assumed that they were making sure all of them were gathered in one spot. There must have been at least thirty by my count. Things seemed to look good. Applejack tied one of the ends of the rope around one the neck of one of the cattle, holding the other end in her mouth. She looked towards me, giving me a nod.

I took it as the signal to move closer. I attempted a trot, which seemed to work for me. I lucked out and didn't fall on the attempt. I could see Winona and Big Macintosh taking point on either side of the group, with Applejack staying in front. The volume of moo's got really loud as I drew closer. The large, red stallion checked his side and came towards me, making me stop.

“Stay back here. Make sure they're no stragglers. The kine needs to stay together or it will break apart and we'll have to round them up again.”

“The what?”

“Kine. The cows.”

“Oh. Right. Okay”

I remained back, seeing nothing but rear ends. As much as I wanted to gripe about where I was being placed, I did my best to take it seriously. I took like I was at my job, I needed to take the responsibility of my position and make sure things get done properly with as little mistakes as possible.

Besides, if I did things correctly I could wipe that smug look off of Applejack's face when we were done.

Speak of the devil, I found she was looking back at me, probably expecting a look of disgust on my face. But I remained stoic, hiding my emotions from her. She pulled on the lead cow, giving the others the hint that it was time to move. All of us began to make it towards the dirt path back towards Sweet Apple Acres.

'Time to prove my worth.'

.o~End of Journal Entry~o.

Whew! There we go! Please read and review!

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Rachel (Guest) on Chapter 1 Fri 02 Aug 2013 08:07PM UTC

Hey, I'm curious to see where you go with this story, but I'm finding I don't get a sense of Brayden's personality. Maybe in the first chapter have him chat briefly with another character just to show what's Brayden is like?
Also, in the first chapter you go into a lot of details of Brayden's surroundings/things (ex: his apartment, his job) which they don't really matter because they disappear from the story in the second chapter. We need to get a better sense of who Brayden is as a character.
Anyway, you do have a decent start here. I hope this helps.

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1. Varaeli on Chapter 1 Tue 06 Aug 2013 12:09AM UTC
  
  I never thought of that, and I understand what you mean. He seems kind of bland now that I think about it going on a lack of info. I think I will keep the environment stuff in...possibly- I don't know quite yet. I'll probably go back after working on Chapter 3 and fill in that blank. Thank you so much for responding!
  
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Solgress (Guest) on Chapter 8 Wed 17 Feb 2016 09:40AM UTC

I suppose I am leaving this comment in vain, but I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your story. I am a huge fan of the 'falling into another world' theme, especially if the protagonist is forced to adopt a new form while in that world. I enjoyed reading your transformation sequence as well. Poor Brayden is having a heck of a time. I only noticed this is an older post after I finished and realized I wanted more. I wish I knew what happens. Does the main character decide to stay a while? Why was he sent in the first place? Will he eventually meet Twilight's other pony pals? Does he ever make it home? Will he even want to go home after living in Equestria for a time? I know I wouldn't! Thanks for your curious and wonderful tale.

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