Title:           Southern Anon in Equestria: Chapter 2
Author:          DatPoneScientist
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/LG7brhMW
First Edit:      Thursday 17th of May 2012 11:25:02 PM CDT
Last Edit:       Thursday 17th of May 2012 11:25:02 PM CDT

>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.