Update: Due to the very helpful comments of several awesome people, I've realized how much I messed up the formatting for this first chapter. I've gone through and tried to change it, making it a bit easier on the eyes. I did not change any actual content though, so there's no need to reread it.

Author's note: Before we start, I feel I should give a bit of an explanation. I have to admit that this is my first attempt ever at creative writing. I joined the MLP FIM community just a few months ago, in late 2014. I fell in love not only with the show itself, but also with all the material from the fans. Over the past few weeks, I've been itching to take part. Sadly, I have no musical talent, very minimal drawing capability, and no idea how to do video stuff. This leaves me with story writing.

My goal with this is to fill a bit of a gap that I've found in my wanderings through the internet. This is going to be "another" human in Equestria story, starting off as a slow slice of life and some romance. I hope to add some adventure later on. The only thing about this that might be considered somewhat unique is that Applejack is going to be the main interest.

Again, this is my first time with recreational story writing, so please be patient. I would love some constructive criticism. Even if you think the advice might be pretty basic, please feel free to share. I'll appreciate any possible help with improving my writing capability.

Okay, that's enough from me. Sorry for rambling on like this. On with the show!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Utter darkness. That's the first thing I become aware of. Am I dead? I must be dead. I was expecting death to be a bit more painful. Weird. As I start to wake a bit more, I hear something. Birds singing? That's an unexpected element of the afterlife. And… grass underneath me? I try to open my eyes, but am blinded by the smallest light. I continue to lie there, slowly trying to get my eyes used to the light. After several moments, I start to become aware of my surroundings.

Despite being so blinded, I'm actually in the shade under a medium sized tree. I try to sit up, and realize that I am incredibly sore. After the slow process of sitting up, I look around, taking in the environment. Not much to see really, just more and more trees as far as I can tell. Am I in a forest? Maybe. Well, actually, these trees seem sort of spaced apart. Also, they are all almost exactly the same height being about eight feet tall and loaded with… apples? Huh. Some kind of orchard I guess. At least that implies some sort of civilization here. Maybe I'm not dead after all.

I make it to my feet and wonder what I should do. I check myself over, finding nothing out of place. Aside from a bit of dirt, my jeans and black polo are fine. My gray and white tennis shoes are still in the same ratty condition. I pass a hand through my short (about ¾ of an inch) light brown hair. Yep, I'm still my 6'2", pale, slightly pudgy self. What to do next?

No point hanging around here, I suppose. As I start to walk in a random direction, I try to think back. The last thing I remember is going to bed after a normal evening. Hmm, a dream perhaps? I've never had a dream like this though, one that feels so real while at the time being like nothing I've ever experienced. It's hard to describe, but this place just seems more…colorful? Cheery? I don't know. The air is cleaner than I've ever smelled it too, with just the smell of grass and some type of flowery scent wafting on the breeze.

I decide to see if I can wake myself. I close my eyes and pinch myself, hard. Hmm, nope, still here. Then again, I've never really been sure the whole "pinch yourself to wake up" thing actually works. I reach up and pick an apple off a nearby tree. Feels real. After checking it over and giving it a quick shine, I take a bite. Tastes real too. I'm just not sure what to think here, except that this is possibly the best tasting apple I've ever had.

I continue walking, finishing off the apple and discarding the core. After about fifteen minutes, I start to hear something. About every sixty seconds, there is a faint bang, followed by several quieter impacts. I pause to consider whether I should approach, but quickly decide that I should, seeing as how I have no idea where I am or what is going on.

As I wander toward the sound, I call out, "Hello! Is anyone there? I could really use some help!" After a couple seconds, the answer rings out, "Over here!" The voice is that of a young woman. She sounds pleasant, with a bit of a southern accent. I continue approaching where the sounds were coming from to find a bit of a surprise.

As the trees start to clear a bit, I see small horse looking at me. She's about three and a half feet tall, with a sandy mane and tail, bright orange coat, and green eyes. Both the mane and tail are tied into… pony tails? Almost as strange as the coat color is the fact that she has a hat on, a brown Stetson. She is staring at me with a look that one would almost think was shock. I look around, but aside from a several partially filled baskets of apples, there's no sign of the woman I had heard. I approach the horse and drop to one knee while petting her mane.

Still glancing around, I absent mindedly say to the animal, "Hey there, cutie, where did your friend go?"

To my surprise, I hear an answer, "Well, uh, actually, I'm by myself. Who are you?"

I freeze, and my eyes grow big. I slowly look back to the horse: "Did you just speak?"

"Um, yeah?" she answers with a confused expression.

"That's what I thought." I slowly nod, but as I try to stop nodding, the world continues to bob. Then it starts to spin, and everything fades to black.

The next sensation I feel is familiar. Waking up in a comfortable bed. With my eyes still closed, I begin to stretch, just like I do every morning. 'Man,' I think to myself, 'that was one weird dream. Pleasant up until the animals starting talking, though.' As I start to consider what I have going on today, I notice several things. This does not feel like my comforter, being a bit thicker and scratchier. Also, this bed is too short, with my legs sticking off the edge about ten inches.

My eyes snap open as I realize that this is not my room at all. I sit upright and swing my legs around, next noticing that my shoes are in the corner. The room is rather bare, with an old dresser, a small closet, and a single window. Aside from the bed and dresser, there's no other furniture. I stand up and approach the window, which is a good bit lower than I am used to. I notice that I'm on the second floor of what seems to be a ranch style home. Outside, I see those apples trees again and groan. It wasn't a dream, I'm still here… wherever "here" is.

At this point, I notice the faint sound of voices. I step over closer to the door, and hear what seems to be several people talking somewhere on the first floor, with one of the voices sounding somewhat familiar. I sit back down on the bed and put my head in my hands, wondering what's going on. I don't notice that the voices have gone quiet. I do however hear the footsteps (or hoofsteps?) approaching the room. As the door opens, I'm somewhat surprised again, although not as much as before, considering how this day has been going.

Standing in the doorway is another small horse. However, the height seems to be the only similarity to the one I saw earlier. This horse has a light yellow coat, long flowing pink mane and tail, and teal eyes. What's really shocking though is the fact that she has wings. Yes, wings. They are folded up at her sides, but they are unmistakable. As freaky as this is, I have to admit that my first thought was, 'How on earth did it turn the door knob?' As she starts to speak, I'm again feeling somewhat panicked, but at least I am not passing out.

"Hello there. Are you alright?" she says with a calm smile on her face, speaking as if to a small, easily frightened animal.

I just stare at her for a few seconds while trying to slow my breathing. Eventually, "Um ye-yeah, I'm just great…"

Her smile broadens a little. "That's good to hear. My name is Fluttershy. My friend Applejack asked me to come and help out with a strange creature that had collapsed out here. What's your name?" She is speaking very quietly still.

As weird as the situation is, I have to say that her adorable smile and soothing voice are really helping me to calm down. "My n-name is… Leon. Leon Jefferson. It's, um… it's good to meet you, Fluttershy."

She gives a small nod as she responds, "It's a pleasure to meet you as well. If you don't mind my asking, what happened to you out there? Applejack said that you greeted her and then fainted."

Scratching the back of my neck, I try to figure how to say this, "Well, it's just…um… you can talk."

She raises one eyebrow at that, "Yes? Is there something strange about that?"

Man, this is weird. "Yeah. The, uh, horses where I'm from can't talk. Although I guess you're not really a horse with those wings. What do you call yourself?"

She glances back at her wings before continuing, "Um, well, I'm actually a Pegasus, or a flying pony. We don't really use the term 'horse.' We generally prefer the term 'Pony' to refer to anypony here, whether they be pegasus, unicorn, or earth pony. What do you call… whatever you are? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

'Did she just say unicorn?' I wonder to myself. "No it's fine. I'm called a human, or homo sapien…"

"Hmm, I've never heard of such an animal before. And you mentioned that there are ponies where you're from. Where is that, exactly?"

And so the conversation continues. I try to describe where I am from and how humans are the only sentient species there. She then explained to me that, yes everyone here is typically some kind of pony, though there are several other sentient races. She also explains that I am in a kingdom called "Equestria," specifically at a farm just outside a town called Ponyville. After chatting for a few minutes, there is a knock at the door. "Fluttershy, is everything going alright in there?"

Fluttershy walks over and opens the door, revealing two other horses, er, ponies waiting there. One is the same orange one I'd seen outside, and the other is a larger, stronger looking one with red fur and light orange mane. Fluttershy nods and answers, "Oh yes, Applejack, he's doing much better now."

The larger pony glances between Fluttershy and myself before quietly asking her, "So it, erm, doesn't seem dangerous to you?"

"Defintely not," she answered, "He actually seems sort of afraid. His name is Leon, and he's new to, uh, this world."

The orange pony raises one eyebrow at this, having an expression somewhere between surprise and confusion, "New to the world? Well tarnation, where is he from? How did he get here?"

Fluttershy glances back at me before responding, "Why don't you just ask him yourself?"

The orange pony looks over to me with a look of embarrassment as she rubs the back of her head with one hoof, "Whoops, sorry, didn't mean to talk about you like you weren't here and all…"

I just nod to her and force a smile, "It's alright. I'm sure this is probably just as strange for you as it is for me. To answer at least your first question, I'm from a place called earth, where beings such as myself are the ones that run everything. As for how I got here, I really don't know. I just woke up here earlier today without a clue. I'm not sure why I'm here, where to go or what to do."

With a slight shake of her head, "You poor thing. Well, you don't need to worry about where to go. You can bunk here as long as you need to. Right, Big Mac?"

"Eeyup. We'd never turn down a pony in need of help," the larger pony says with his ever present neutral expression.

"That's so kind of you, thank you very much. I promise I'll find a way to make it up to you, Miss… um…" I realize now that these two have taken me into their home and I don't even know their names.

"Applejack's the name. This here is my brother, Big Macintosh, or Big Mac if you please. And don't you worry none about returning the favor, it's the least we can do. Now, how about tomorrow, you and I go into town to speak to a well informed friend of mine. If anyone would know how to help you, it'd be Twilight, I'm sure," she says, gaining a nod of agreement from Fluttershy.

"Thank you Miss Applejack, I really appreciate that." I reply with the beginnings of a sincere smile.

"Think nothing of it. Now how's about we get you something to eat and then you can get some shut eye. You probably need it after the rough day you've had," she says as she starts to turn back out to the hall.

"Sounds great," I answer.

As she and her brother walk out, Fluttershy turns to face me again. "Well Leon, I'm glad that you are being taken care of. It's time for me to get going, I think."

"You're leaving!?, But… I…" I'm not sure what I wanted to say or even why this bothered me so much. I guess it's because Fluttershy is the closest thing I have to a friend in this world so far.

Her expression changes to one of understanding. "It's okay, Leon. You can trust these ponies. They are some of the most hospitable ponies I've ever met. Actually, Applejack has been one of my best friends for years now. Of course, we'll be seeing each other again. I'll probably see you around town, and I tend to visit here often."

I'm still a bit worried to see her go, "Oh, okay then. Well, bye Fluttershy, and thank you for making me feel welcome here."

At this, she takes a few steps toward me and hops up on her hind legs to wrap me in a hug. I'm both surprised that she is capable of this and by how comforting it is. After a couple seconds, she lets go and turns to leave, just after giving me one more encouraging smile.

Finally alone, I lay back across the bed with my legs hanging off the side. I can't believe this day. In the back of my mind, I'm still hoping that it is some kind of dream or hallucination, but I know it's not. As I think over the possibilities of this new world and wonder about what's going on back home, I start to doze off. Just before I completely nod off, my last random thought is, 'what on earth is the difference between a horse and pony?'

Waking up again, this time in a very uncomfortable position, as I have my legs still strewn over the side of the bed. I stretch a bit and realize that it's now dark outside. 'Hmm, sleeping in the middle of the day was probably not good for my sleep schedule,' I think to myself as I begin to wonder how long I was out after fainting earlier. I begin to stretch out fully before sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

I stumble over toward the door in the semi darkness, looking for a light switch. I find it and activate the soft white bulb located in the middle of the ceiling. After a quick glance over the room again, I notice something new. On top of the dresser are a plate and a glass of water. The plate holds a sandwich and an apple. The sandwich seems to be spinach, lettuce, some type of light salad dressing, and… daisies? Hmm, that's weird. The apple is a red delicious, which lives up to its name as much as the one I had out in the orchard. I start to slowly eat and drink while looking out the window. The flowers turn out to taste okay, surprisingly.

As I look out the window, I realize two things. One, that this is the first time I've been somewhere with this kind of true darkness, lacking any light pollution from nearby towns or cities. Second is that the sky is absolutely amazing, with millions of stars and the brightest, largest moon I've ever seen. 'Well,' I think to myself, 'This is not exactly earth. Maybe the moon here rotates closer to the planet? Or maybe it's just much bigger.' I finish the meal and drink and then set the dishes back on top of the dresser before sitting back down on the side of the bed to continue looking out the window and thinking.

After a while of looking on the beautiful nature outside, I realize that I actually… well… need to answer a call from nature, so to speak. I step out into the hall and look around. It seems my room is the last one at the end of the hall. To my left are four more doors, two on each side. There is also a door right across from mine, and to my right there is a hatch in the ceiling, the type you typically see as an access to an attic with a bit of rope hanging down. I don't want to wake anyone, but I really do need to find a restroom.

I take one step across the hall and put my ear near the door to listen. I hear the faint sounds of deep breathing from within, indicating someone is asleep. I walk left down the hall and lean in to listen to the room on my right. From this one I hear loud snoring. Hmm. As I'm about to check the room across from here, or the door next to mine, I notice that the next door down on the right has light shining under the frame. Thinking that it's either someone still awake or maybe just the restroom light left on, I walk over to it and knock.

"Come on in," is the answer I get. It sounds like another girl, but much younger than Applejack. Somewhat hesitant to intrude on someone I have not met, I open the door just a crack and say, "Um, excuse me?" I hear several hoofsteps before the door is suddenly pulled open.

Before me stands the absolutely most adorable little creature I've seen so far. I thought the ponies I'd already met were small, but this one was downright tiny, being the size of a large cat. So, being a very young horse or pony… I guess I would call her a filly? I'll have to ask someone at some point on that. Anyway, the filly before me has yellow fur, bright red wavy mane and tail, and hazel eyes. As if this were not cute enough, she was also wearing a large pink bow in her mane. Resisting the urge to utter a long "Dawwww…." at her cuteness, I bend down to one knee and say to her, "Hello there, what's your name?"

She gazes up at me for a few seconds, before smiling and responding (speaking rather quickly while she is at it)," Oh, oh! You must be the hoo-min my big sis was telling me about. Your name is Leon or something, right? Mine's Applebloom! I have so many questions for you! How old are you? Why are you so tall? How'd you get here? Do you have any brothers and sisters? Are you married? What's your favorite snack? Are you..." She went on in a flurry for a few seconds before she paused to breathe, leaving me in a bit of a daze.

Applebloom, huh? I'm starting to notice a pattern here. I focus back down on the adorable filly and try to answer a few of her questions, at least the easier ones that I remember from her torrent a moment before. "Well, Applebloom, it's good to meet you. Yes, my name is Leon, and my kind would be called a HUMAN, with an 'a'. Um, I'm 19 years old, a very young adult for my people. I have one younger brother, I've never been in a serious relationship, and my favorite snack would have to be… ice cream, I think." I reach down and ruffle her mane, to which she responds with a high pitched giggle. Seriously, can she get any cuter?

"Applebloom, I actually have a favor to ask. Would you mind directing me to the restroom? That's what I was looking for when I knocked."

"Why sure!" she responds. "It's just across the hall, one door down, right next to the guest room. Well, I guess it's your room now. Across from me is Big Mac's room, next door is Granny's, and at the end is my Sis's room."

I give her a big smile, "Thanks Applebloom. If you'll please excuse me." As I stand up, she gives a quick giggle and walks back into her room. I walk down to the restroom and… well, you know. Answer that call from earlier. After finishing my business and washing my hands, I step back out into the hall. Looking around, I notice that Applbloom's room is the only one with a light on besides mine. I walk down the hall and knock again before slowly opening the door. "Hey, Applebloom, I've got to ask. Why are you still up? It seems pretty late."

She looks up from her book with a sheepish grin, "Well, I was just reading a story. Um, I was sort of, kind of supposed to have already gone to bed. Hehe."

I smile at this, "Well, I'm sure that a growing young lady such as yourself needs her rest. Although I certainly understand being unable to put down a good book."

With another giggle, she responds, "Yeah, it's a good adventure story. Don't worry, I was just about to go to sleep." With that, she hops off the bed and carries the book over to a bookshelf I had not seen before, as it was positioned behind the door. It has several shelves and was fairly full.

Upon seeing the books, I say, "Whoa, that's a pretty decent collection there. Say, you wouldn't happen to have any kind of books about this world, would you? Like history, specifically?"

"Of course!" she answers, "Would you like to borrow my school history book? It's from last year, so I don't need it anymore. You can borrow it as long you like."

"Thank you 'Bloom, this will be a great help. I'd like to know a bit more about Equestria, and this'll be a good start. Reading always helps me fall asleep too," I say as I gratefully accept the book from her.

"Oh yeah, anytime Leon! But you know…" she says with a smile, "You shouldn't stay up reading too late. I'm sure that a growin' stallion such as yourself needs his rest."

I give her a big grin, "You know, that's pretty good advice 'Bloom. I'll keep it in mind." I bend down to pet her mane and elicit another giggle. "Goodnight Applebloom, and thanks again for the book."

As I turn to leave, I hear, "Goodnight, Leon!" I walk back to my room and lay out on the bed. Contrary to Applebloom's sagely advice, I do stay up for a while reading. I have to say, it's certainly weird reading about unicorns, pegasi, and magic in a history book. Of course, I guess it would also be weird to wake up in a world of technicolor talking horses… ponies.

As I'm nearing the end of the section about ancient history, ending with the reign of Chancellor Pudding Head, I start to feel a bit weary again. Placing the book just underneath the bed, I strip to my boxers and crawl under the covers. Hoping to get at least a few more hours of sleep before morning, I try to relax. I think about how weird it is that just 24 hours after arriving here, I'm fairly comfortable with the idea of talking animals and have even become friends with a couple of them.

I'm not sure what to think of Applejack and her brother, since I did not exactly get to speak to either of them much. However, if they are anything like Fluttershy and Applebloom, I think we'll be getting along in no time. With a comfortable smile on my face, I slowly drift off.

Whoo, okay, there it is. Please let me know what you think and share any tips or advice. At this point I have about 25,000 words already typed up, so there will definitely be more posted at some eventally. However, I can't say for certain how long this will be in its entirety. While I don't foresee myself quitting this story any time soon, again this is a first for me, so who knows.

Please review, and to all bronies out there, stay awesome!