The rain slammed into the man as he trudged through the forest. For hours, sticky mud squelched with each step, sucking his feet back into the ground. It had been hours since it had started raining, and now everything was soaked. His work rucksack felt like he was carrying bricks, and the helmet he was wearing now adorned a lower strap, bouncing annoyingly on his side to add insult to injury.

Growing bored of the rain and cold, he found a tree that was sheltering the ground from most of the rain. Crouching against it, he slung the bag onto the floor and opened the small pouch at the front. He took out a thin slip of paper and a small fibre cylinder. He made a cradle of the paper, placing the cylinder at the end, and poured a dry, brown line of tobacco down the spine. Licking the adhesive on the paper and rolling himself a cigarette, he took a moment to relish in the small mercies in life. Lighting it up and walking onwards, despite the rain, was easier than before. He relished in the bright orange glow, the clearer mind due to the nicotine, and the acrid smell of the thing.

Relishing in the cigarette, he didn't notice the blue blur overhead and he didn't notice it pitch down towards him just off his right-hand side. He saw the attack and froze, just throwing off the blur just slightly, leading to a glancing impact over his chest.

The cold, wet mud splashing around the mans head brought his senses back as he landed. Staggering to his feet, he held his hands up to defend against the next blow. The attacker in question stood before him. Moisture dripped from her fur as she moved upright, well-toned muscles rippling and an angry grimace on her face.

"surrender!" she shouted. Confused, the man tried to explain himself. "wait! I'm not-" the sentence was cut short as a rope looped his neck, was pulled taut and yanked him to the ground headfirst. Into a rock.

He awoke to jeers. He was being dragged by his hands through a street. It was flanked on each side by more of the furred beings. Villagers, by all appearances, shouting and throwing things as he bounced along the ground. Eventually, he was thrown into a cell.

What kind of fever dream had he fallen into? Strange furred being hated him and he didn't know why. He slammed into an impossible tree and didn't know why. Hell, he was walking though a forest that didn't exist

His musings were interrupted by a guard. "kneel beast!". Not seeing a better option, he knelt facing the door as a purple being entered. Wearing an ornate crown, which was complemented by a horn, he surmised this entity was royalty of some form. Wide wings flanked her after she entered, and two guards entered with her. "speak your name". her voice was soft, but with undertones of a threat. It grated on his tired ears, but seeing no other alternative, he obeyed.

"Simon, your highness" he responded, averting his gaze as to not offend. "what brought you here? And I will know if you lie, Simon". He shuddered. The anger in her voice was evident. Here, a wrong answer may bring death. "I have no idea". He could feel her gaze burn into his brain, as though she was rifling through each wrinkle of his brain. The guards left after what felt like days, but two seconds later, she bode Simon to sit, and sit he did. "tell me your story" and tell he did.

"And that's all you remember?" the princess asked, and Simon nodded an affirmative. "I am princess Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic and princess over the township of Ponyville. We will go to see princess Celestia, the ruler of these lands, in the morning. Come with me, we can get you something to eat."

As though ordered by royalty (which, to Simons' surprise, it was) he was soon enjoying a tall plate of pancakes in a fire warmed bedroom within the keep of the town. Prisoner maybe, but warm, fed and a little less confused, he was content to eat and rest for now, until the next day came.

Writers' notes:

Thanks for the heads up on the early edit of the first chapter, I'll make sure to check if any tags make it from Word to Fanfiction

Please feel free to leave comments and criticism!