Southern Anon in Equestria: Chapter 2

>So here you are

>Standing in front of a ruined castle in the middle of a forest in God-knows-where with only your beloved guitar to keep you company

>It seems pretty tall, though, so you can get a better view from up there to find a nearby town

>Plus, it's on the way to the source of the smoke. At worst, you'll just see if it's a structure producing the smoke or a forest fire

>You walk across an ancient stone bridge and through what looks like the remains of a gate house

>A seal is engraved above the doorway, a pair of wings around a sun and moon

>Maybe that used to be the seal of whoever built this castle

>Whoever they were, by the looks of the castle they were long gone

>As you pass through the gate house, your eyes dart around the alien interior

>Strange symbols were all over the walls

>Fucking great; that means you probably don't even understand the language

>You haven't ever even seen these symbols before

>They're almost like the standard 26 letters you're used to, but they're just different enough to be illegible

>And there are quite a few horses on the faded tapestries you walk by

>In fact, there are /only/ horses on the tapestries

>The culture that built this place must have considered them holy

>You exit the building having gleaned the information you could from it

 

>You come to another stone bridge, this one in a worse state of disrepair than the previous

>The supports are covered in vines, and parts of the road's surface are missing, holes where vines leap into the abyss below

>You came this far, and you've got Confederate blood in you, the country Stonewall Jackson fought under

>You steel your nerves and walk across the bridge

>It feels like walking on a minefield; any step on any part of the bridge could collapse under you, sending you tumbling hundreds of feet down

>You make it across

>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04854XqcfCY&ob=av3e

 

 

>You look back at the bridge

>Just as sturdy as before

>Nothing at all to worry about

>The return trip is going to be a lot easier on your nerves

>You turn around, and walk towards the half-fallen tower

>The lower levels house a library

>Books are scattered everywhere, some half rotten from exposure, and others in strangely pristine condition

>All of them have that same uncanny alphabet

>And there's still no sign of life

>You haven't even heard a single bird on your way here

>You really hope this isn't a dead world devoid of life

>That would really suck

>Just like a horror movie you saw a few months ago

>A guy walks into a forest

>He is slowly tormented by the spirits of the damned until he succumbs to madness

>And it's revealed he was in purgatory

>But then again, the protagonist was an ex-Nazi

>You're pretty sure you've never been a member of the Nazi party

>You head towards the stairs

 

>After a few floors, you come to a break in the staircase

>The gap's too wide to jump

>Looks like you'll have to settle for this level

>This was probably a dining hall

>Tables black with rot stretch across the length of the room

>The chairs are in various states of disrepair, and most are turned over, like everyone left in a hurry

>That's another bad sign; you've never read or watched anything where this went well

>Places were quickly abandoned like this because a monster, plague, or army had invaded

>When you get home, IF you get home, you're swearing off horror movies

>You step over a fallen rafter

>Looking up at the ceiling, you sigh with relief when you see that most of the supports are still up

>Your day would be even worse if a stone ceiling fell on your head

>You look out a rectangular hole carved into the stone

>Broken pieces of stained glass jutt out of the stone where a window once stood

>Through the hole, you see how high up you are

>The view is amazing from here

>The forest stretches for miles and miles; no sign of any civilization whatsoever

 

>You walk to the other side of the room for a different window

>You can see the end of a mountain range in the distance gently descending into the trees

>The city, tiny in the distance, still jutts out of the mountainside

>The smoke is still there, rising just as it was this morning

>It's too small to be a forest fire

>A forest fire would also have spread or gone out

>Someone has to be tending to that fire

>For now at least, you don't seem to be the only living thing in this world.

>You turn around and carefully descend weathered stairs

 

 

>You exit the tower, and come once more to the bridge

>Still as decadent as you remember it

>You steel your nerves once more, and begin walking across

>Suddenly, your foot plunges through the bridge's surface!

Oh shit!

>You yell out, more as a knee-jerk reaction than a call for help

>You know help is not anywhere near this lifeless place

>You struggle and manage to get your leg out

>In panic, you run across the bridge

>Your heavy steps cause cracks to appear anywhere your feet touched the ground

>A rumble starts up behind you

>Oh shit, bridge is collapsing

>Shit shit shit

>Not good at all

>You jump and land on the other side, guitar still in hand and protected

>A cloud of dust envelopes you as the bridge falls into the abyss

>You sit down, out of breath, and contemplate your own mortality

 

>You could have died right then and there, a stranger in a world not meant for himself

>Since you are in a different world...do Heaven and Hell apply?

>Or is the afterlife entirely different?

>Assuming the afterlife is the same in this world, do all worlds share the same Heaven and Hell?

>Does each world have a different version of the two?

>You really don't feel like finding out

>Standing up, you cross - carefully this time - the stronger, shorter, more stable bridge that leads from the gatehouse to the rest of the forest

>A path leads from where the bridge meets the land to the forest

>You follow it as it swings around the castle and tunnels into the forest

>It's heading right for the nearest sign of civilization you've seen here:

>The smoke.