Here it is, yet another self-insertion HIE fanfiction. I'll be the first to admit that this will most likely not be the worlds greatest story by any stretch.

A little about me, I'm in my 20s, male, and love cartoons. everything from outlaw star, to Ponyo, to SWAT cats, and yes, obviously, MLP, FIM. Oh how my little sister would laugh at me now, if she knew. I used to tease her a a kid for always playing with the GEN-1 ponies, and wanting to watch their movies over and over again when the Mighty Morphing Power Rangers were on instead.(Ahhhhhhhh long past days of my youth, why did you leave me?) But despite all of this, my greatest love is Fanfiction. I started over a decade ago, when my best friend wrote a fanfic about the anime series Tenchi Muyo. I then wrote one for FF8, and was hooked. However, over the years I transitioned from writer, to reader, to beta, to co-author, and finally just to side-liner.

Now I'm coming back into the world of Fanfiction with the MLP bronie crew. ...and thats about all you probably want to hear about me, so on to the story!

oh and disclaimer...i don't own MLP or the song 'my first kiss' by 303.

Josh blinked a few times as the light from the sun blinded him. A second later he pulled his leather jacket closer around himself. Shivering slightly as his breath turned to mist in the cold December air, he looked up at the clear blue sky and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. Hurrying across the parking lot to his car, he said a few goodbyes and farewells to those he wouldn't see for a few weeks. He had 2 weeks of vacation on the books at the factory where he worked and if he didn't take it by the end of the year he would lose it as company policy didn't include a vacation-rollover clause.

So, he had decided to take the last two weeks of the year off to celebrate the holidays as well as his birthday. It was December 17th, 2010. Exactly 2 days prior to his birthday.

Getting into his car, he let out a soft exclamation of how cold it was within the enclosed area, and put his Keys into the ignition, wriggling as much as possible to keep moving in the small space so his body would make more heat to warm the air around him. After giving his engine a few minutes to warm up, Josh backed up out of the space he had parked in that morning and began the drive home. The blue 4-door Toyota corolla's steering wheel was cold enough to cause him a little discomfort. Stopping at a red traffic light, He leaned over and opened his glove box, to remove his leather gloves. They were also cold and didn't help much, since the cold leather was stiff in an extreme way.

As the car's heater finally began to kick in, Josh shivered, breathing his frosty breath downwards to try, and prevent the windshield from fogging up. After a few more lights, he turned onto the interstate and headed for his one-bedroom apartment.

Walking in the front door, Josh put his keys down and the muttering under his breath picked them back up as he went back out into the cold to get the milk he had forgotten to pick up on his way home.

At the grocery store, He picked up not only his milk, but a small serving of chocolate cake to have on his birthday. His father would probably forget again. And the rest of his family would put it off until Christmas, since they were on the same week this year. Grabbing a few other necessities, including a fresh card for his pre-paid phone, and a few loaves of bread just in case, Josh checked out. Then he drove back to the apartment once more.

After checking his e-mail and finding nothing but some junk mail, and a notice for the newest red-box movies (a few of which looked interesting for a bachelor) he set about making dinner. Peanut butter and jelly wasn't fancy, but for a 25 year old guy living on his own and making less than $10.00 per hour, it was a dietary staple. Adding a glass of his recently purchased milk, and a few potato chips, He had dinner.

Watching an episode of NCIS, and then cleaning up his dishes, Josh tried to push away the feelings of loneliness which had crept into his life after he and his fiancé had broken up. Putting his favorite mix cd into the cd-player and turning up the volume, Josh stripped out of his dirty clothes and placed them in the laundry basket he kept just inside the bedroom door. Stepping into the bathroom mirror, he caught his reflection out of the corner of his eye, and jumped, not recognizing himself.

He studied himself in the mirror, and chuckled. He had changed drastically in his appearance over the last few months. A steady exercise program and hard day's work at the factory had trimmed the excess fat his body had carried for so long off nicely. He wasn't ripped by any means, but his four pack of abs was beginning to emerge into a six pack. The front of his chest was sparsely covered with medium brown hair, and his chest muscles were there. Not well defined or chiseled, yet not sloppy nor were they hanging. They were simply there. Brown hair topped his head messily, as he spent little time on it. It behaved well enough so long as he kept it trimmed, but with just a bit of natural curl to it, if he let his hair get longer than about 3 inches, it became unruly and required several minutes to tame in the morning.

'….Time to schedule an appointment with Dawn again.' He thought as he ran a hair through his almost shaggy hair. He had a scruffy beard coming in as well. He really only shaved once or twice a week, so with 4 days growth on his face, He could see the fade from brown on top of his head, down to red on his chin. Blue eyes stared back at him as he sighed, and turned away to start his shower running.

The stereo began to belt out the lyrics for his second song, and he nodded his head in time with the beat as he stepped into the hot water, singing along, "….No more teachers, and no more books. I got a kiss under the bleachers hoping that nobody looked. Lips like licorice tongue like candy, excuse me miss but can I get you out your panties…." Soaking his hair, he lathered in shampoo, and sang along as the hot water chased away the chill that remained from driving twice earlier that afternoon.

Finishing in the shower, he stepped out, and passed the mirror once again. He froze, and turned back to look again.

Strange…..he had been sure …. out of the corner of his eye of course…That the mirror had been frosted not fogged over, and instead of his own sideways reflection…

…..nah…..

He continued towelling himself off, and continued on to his bedroom. Slipping on a pair of boxer-briefs, he climbed into bed. After laying down, he closed his eyes, only to re-open them, climb out of bed again, and brush his teeth.

***the next day***

Waking up Josh climbed out of bed sleepily to turn off the alarm clock. He stumbled around the room bleary eyed before his half-asleep brain reminded him that he didn't have to work today. Since there was no need to be up at 4:35AM, He collapsed back onto the bed, his jeans still pulled halfway up his calves.

After a few more hours of sleep, he stood and stretched. At some point he had kicked his pants back off and out of the bed, so he stooped down, shook them out, and put them back on. Stretching again he walked into the kitchen, and marked another day off his calendar. It was now December 18th, and with less than 24 hours to go until his birthday, he was more than a little unsure about how to feel. Sure, he had what most of the world would consider a successful life. roof, food, clothes, car, computer, and a few friends to spend his time with. But none of this really helped him feel secure about who he was as a person. Breathing deep, and letting out a sigh for whatever unknown reason, he shook himself free of the depressing thoughts, and focused on getting some breakfast. Buttering up two slices of bread and adding a little cinnamon, he had the beginnings of a meal. By the time the toaster oven had the toast cooked, the smell of pan-seared ham was filling the small apartment. Along with a second glass of milk, he had a late breakfast, and set about filling his pockets with the usual items.

His wallet went into his rear pocket, while his keys were clipped onto his belt. A pair of pocketknives, one a simple lockblade-folder, the other a multi-tool, went into his front right pocket. A small Zippo was placed in his left pocket, and a ball point pin with some loose dollar bills got slipped in wherever he could fit them. shrugging into a grey t-shirt, he pulled on socks and boots, then went into the bathroom for his morning teeth-cleaning ritual.

After having brushed, flossed, and gargled, he scanned his apartment, making mental notes for laundry, vacuum cleaning, and giving the toilet a quick scrub. he then shrugged his jacket on, and grabbed up the gloves to be put back into his car. turning and walking out the door, he saw a flash of bright light, and was suddenly weightless.

# # # # #

"You know Twilight, This might go a lot better if there weren't two of us getting under one another's feet." Spike suggested in a slightly exasperated manner. He had been working hard all day, trying to get the library where he and his guardian/ big sister/ best friend, Twilight Sparkle had been living ever since Princess Celestia had sent them to ponyville to learn about friendship. He loved his roommate, she was all he could ask for in a big sister...

...the only problem was sometimes she was a bit more than he would ask for as well. Today was one such time. Princess Celestia was coming to visit, and Twilight was freaking out about the whole thing. Spike seemed to be taking one step forward in cleaning, just to fall five steps back when Twilight decided to re-make her entire checklist for the ump-tenth time.

"Good idea spike! You can clean up here, and I'll go check on the rest of town to see how things are going."

As The purple unicorn trotted out the door, spike tried to make the point that with her magic Twilight could fix the library far faster, but the words seemed to get tangled on his tounge, and before he knew it, she was out the door, leaving him to fume for a moment before getting to work as she asked.

# # # # #

Josh fell and landed on a wide platform-like tree branch. he looked around, trying to get his bearings, but quickly fell back against the trunk of the tree, dizzy with vertigo. the entire world seemed to be spinning on it's axis, and he could barely breathe for the pressure of it. Some where in the depths of his memories, a fragment of a TV show from britain played through his minds eye.

A man in a beaten up jacket was holding hands with an attractive blonde girl, he was speaking of how fast the earth felt, and how fragile the bond of gravity which held people to it's surface was and how he could feel every moment of every movement in space. 'Doctor, i finally know how you feel' Josh thought, just before the pressure between his eyes got to strong, and he passed out.

# # # # #

Spike stretched in bed. he had worked so hard the day before, making sure the entire library was so clean even the rough hewn wooden rafters shined like mirrors. every scale had ached, but the look on twilights face had been worth it all when she showered him with praises. then she had introduced him to the small...whatever it was...that Fluttershy had found.

"Spike! wake up! what's happened!"

Spike opened his eyes to see two blobs of yellow blurring his vision. Exclaiming at the creatures, he pulled them off his face, and looked around at the multitude of creatures in the living space he had worked so hard to clean the day before.

"Where did they come from?"

"I don't know!"

As the two worked hard to gather the small insect-like creatures, Twilight called for Spikes help. which caused him to lose focus on what he was doing, and collapse into a pile of the things he had just gathered. After being glared at by his sister, Spike hid the pain he felt in his heart by shrugging and commenting, "I know, I know, Quit fooling around."

# # # # #

Josh woke up from his Vertigo-indiced nap, to find he had somehow fallen sideways, and was precariously stretched across two branches. Straightening himself up, he climbed down slowly, and checked himself over. He still had his boots, and his clothes were dirty, but in one piece. He stood, stretched, and tried to get blood flowing in all his muscles again. Looking around, he began to try and make some sense of where he was. as he walked, he looked for any familiar land mark.

He walked for several hours it seemed, trying to find a spot where the sun shone through the foliage of this forest so he could see, to get his bearings. after some time, he saw a break in the tree canopy ahead of him, and moved forward carefully to look. There, surrounded by a seemingly long dried moat, was the ruins of an old castle. Taking the time to walk around the moat, he found a rope-bridge where he could cross...somewhat safely... and went towards the castle to see if anyone lived there...or atleast if there was anything eatable. He had long since burned off his breakfast, and was ready to find some lunch.

# # # # #

"Let's go ladies, theres no reasoning with that one, she's a few apples short of a bushel."

Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Rarity all rushed past a frustrated Pinkie Pie.

"Girls, I'm trying to tell you that the ruining is on the other hoof! If your just slow down and LISTEN TO ME!" Pinkie pie yelled exasperated. She had been trying to warn the others about the parasprites, and having dealt with them before, was attempting to convey to the others just how to solve their delima. But no one was listening to her, no matter how hard she tried. it was frustrating to no end to have her best friends totally ignoring her every atempt to help them out.

As the para sprites descended upon ponyville, she went and gathered up the rest of her instruments. Seeing the others there, she tried once more. "Look, tambourines, now if you could all just...GRRRRRRRRR!"

Honestly, was she the only one in all of ponyville who actually cared about what happened? Well she finally had everything she needed. Starting on the edge of town furthest away, she began to play the instruments to lure the parasprites away from the friends. Even if they didn't listen to her, there would never be any ponies like the ones she knew here in ponyville, and she would do whatever it took to protect them.

# # # # #

After searching as much as he could, Josh had finally found a small room which was closed off from the elements, and dry enough for him to feel safe. He had gathered some dried vines from the masonry surrounding the castle, and built a fire in the fireplace which was attached to the room. He was wishing for some toast, or even a glass of milk from his fridge right now, but instead chewed on some berries he had recognized in the forest as slightly under-ripe black berries. The bitter fruits were just at the perfect point where they were almost like the sweet-tart candies he had loved as a child. He ate a hand full, folded his jacket up under his head like a pillow, and laid back to sleep. He guessed this had once been a servants quarters due to the size of the fireplace, and lack of any proper furnishings, but he didn't know for sure. closing his eyes, he let himself fall into an un-easy sleep.