"In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again." ― Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

The first thing I remember after I was pulled through the portal was the feeling of falling forever, winds of some force rushing past me. As I fell into this void of endless length, I saw what seemed to be memories of my past coming to life before my eyes: I saw my parents arguing in a drunken stupor, myself finally leaving the house besides my mother's protests, my times of loneliness in my small farm house, the list goes on. But there were some recent ones too: my fortune being told, Raine arriving at my house, Nightmare Moon appearing before me and Marking my arm, and me arriving at the house where the main six were located at. But something was apparent in each memory, something oddly familiar, yet strange: there was some form of a dragon (be it a drawing, a figurine, a picture), as well as a moon somewhere. But why were they connected? And most importantly: Why were they in MY memories? Your world and destiny are connected, but they cannot be together in one reality… Carbon's voice rang throughout my descent, repeating over and over, echoing throughout space and time. Suddenly a flash of light engulfed my entire being, and my descent came to a sudden halt as I was thrown out of the portal and onto marble floor.
"Ow…" I squeaked, pain coursing through my body, especially my back that I landed on.
"Welcome to Equestria, Jon." A familiar voice rang from in front of me. I looked up from where I was lying and saw only a purple winged unicorn smiling at me.
"Did that horse just talk…?" I questioned myself. The winged unicorn then let out a very human-like sigh out of annoyance.
"Why yes, I did. And my name is Twilight, thank you very much." The purple winged unicorn huffed, causing me to yelp in surprise and scoot my whole body towards the portal as fast as I could.
"AH!" I screamed, pointing at Twilight "DEMON PONY!" Twilight gave me a funny look, then took a step towards me. "DON'T YOU MOVE!" I warned, getting up and grabbing a sword from behind me from what I thought to be a statue, brandishing it like a warrior defending himself, and causing Twilight to cower back suddenly, "Or I will gut you!"
"Ahem…" A male voice grunted behind me, upon which the sword was engulfed by a blue aura and ripped from my hands, "That's not a very nice way to greet the Princess of Friendship." I turned to see a unicorn, one wearing golden armor. The sword then went back into its holster by his side.
"GAH!" I screamed again, "ANOTHER ONE!"
"What are you talking about, John?" Another familiar voice said above me, which I looked up to see a cyan Pegasus with rainbow hair hovering inches from my face, staring at me with maroon-colored eyes. To be honest, I almost shat my pants right then and there, but instead I yelped and fell over myself.
"What the hell is going on…?" I groaned as I lay there, "First the nightmares, then the entity marking me, then portals, and now talking animals? Man, I must have seriously gone overboard with my imagination…"
"Hate to break it to you John," The rainbow haired pegasus announced, "but we are actually NOT strangers. After all, carrying you to the house was a drag…" Then it hit me.
"Wait a second," I said, "You're Raine? So that means that…the people at the house were…" I turned to the rest of the group, who all smiled at me in return, save for Rainbow Dash, who just had a look of annoyance. "Oh man, I REALLY must be dreaming…" A white Pegasus then came up to me, and swatted my arm, which stung quite a bit, causing me to yelp in surprise.
"See?" she explained, walking away with her head held high, swishing her swirling mane in the process, "Not dreaming."
"So let me get this straight." I announced, trying to piece everything together, "You saved me from an entity called Nightmare Moon. Just who the hell is she besides being a total bitch?"
"Ah, Johnathan." A voice called from behind me. I turned to see a Winged Pegasus, dark blue in color and a mane that sparkled like a night sky, "Welcome to Equestria." The other six ponies bowed to this taller one, but I saw something about this Alicorn that got me into a full out defensive position instead.
"OH SHIT!" I screamed, putting my fists up against the Alicorn, causing the others to rase their heads in shock, "IT'S YOU AGAIN! THAT MARK YOU GAVE ME REALLY HURT AND I'M GOING TO REPAY THE FAVOR YOU SWINE!" I felt a weight on my shoulder and turned to see Rainbow Dash holding me back.
"John!" She reassured, "She's not Nightmare Moon! That's Luna, the Princess of the Night!" I then got very confused.
"But why do they look the same…?" I questioned, lowering my fists slowly.
"Because myself and Nightmare Moon are the same being." She explained. I got even more puzzled, and Luna sensed this. She sighed. "Long ago, me and my sister Luna ruled Equestria. However, I became jealous of the daytime as the ponies of the kingdom loved and played in the daylight, yet shunned and feared the night. In effect, I became consumed by jealousy and rage that I turned into the being known as Nightmare Moon. I then fought my sister, but lost when she imprisoned me in the moon for 1000 years. After that, I was released, but I wanted revenge. I captured the Elements of Harmony, and attempted to plunge Equestria into Eternal Night. However," She then turned to the Six ponies standing around me, "These six defeated me, and broke the curse of Nightmare Moon from within my soul. For that, I have since been eternally grateful."
"But why then did I encounter Nightmare Moon before I came here?" I questioned.
"Nightmare Moon since then became a separate entity from myself," Luna explained, "A manifestation of my hatred and jealousy; locked away in the deepest part of the Everfree Forest. Since then, she has been plotting to once again rise up and conduct vengeance on all those who opposed her. But for how she found you, and what purpose she has for you, we did not know…that is, until now…" I glanced at the bandages around my marked arm, and put a hand on it.
"Why is this mark so important to her?" I asked.
"The Mark of Nightmares is not only a mark, John." Twilight explained, "It's also a curse: for when one becomes Marked, they become in the likeliness of Nightmare Moon herself." I became a little frightened at this notion. "When one receives the brand, they not only become marked physically, but also spiritually. Sooner or later, you will become a servant of Nightmare Moon herself."
"Why would I want to do that?" I asked, trembling at the thought of myself bowing down to that thing that almost grabbed me.
"It's not a matter of choice of the mind," Luna explained, "But it's a matter of what your heart chooses. You may say that you don't want to serve her, but the darkness in your heart may say otherwise. Without proper training, your Mark will brand you as a servant to the Mare in the Moon, and you will forever be an adversary to all of us…" She had a very gloom and serious look on her face that chilled me to the bone. To be honest, I was a little frightened. But I shook it off.
"So then, how do we fix this?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest, "I really don't think I have any intention of hurting any one of you guys…yet." At that statement, I gave them an evil look, causing all of them to cower a bit. I laughed, "I'm joking guys" I assured. Fluttershy, on the other hand, was still cowering behind Rarity, whimpering pitifully.
"Well," Twilight thought, "We should visit Zecora. She lives in the Everfree Forest, and is a powerful Unicorn to boot. She may have knowledge on how to fix something as grim as this."
"Alright then!" I announced, "What's the quickest way there? We could…we could…" I suddenly was overcome with a wave of tiredness, and fell to the ground. "Man, I'm am beat. I may just…." That was the last words to come out of my mouth before I fell into a deep sleep.

"John." Carbon's voice called from the back of my mind, in the midst of blackness that surrounded my consciousness, "It is time you learn."
"Learn about what?" I asked, slowly opening my eyes to find myself in a dark room. I sat up, and saw that I was laying on an altar of blue stone. And all around me were figures with pendants around their necks, all motionless and statue-like, clothed in black and blue robes. I then realized where I was. "This place was told to me through a fortune teller…" I breathed, getting up off of the altar and facing the robed statues. I glanced down, and saw the inscription on the Altar: "Johnathan Felix II: The Marked Kin of Terra."
"This is your heritage, John." Carbon's voice continued, "This is the remnant of the Kin before you. And now it is time for you to claim what was been set before you by your ancestors…" One of the figures suddenly started to move. It approached me, taking the hood off of his head as he did so, revealing a surprisingly similar face to myself, yet it looked very much like…oh god…
"Wait…" I breathed, clenching my hands into fists, "You are…" The figure smiled at me.
"Hello, my son…" My father spoke to me, a grin spread across his face.