“39…40…41…42” Joshua counted with each sit up.
Joshua lay on a blue plastic mat on the grey concrete floor. He had retreated to the 12th floor, well past any floors of activity. People did not work on this floor because it was an abandoned part of the building. To Joshua’s front are wooden walls through an open door. Windows also are covered up with and nailed similar material. Cables and loose wire decorated the sides with old graffiti painted in red. Either side of the man in the room was metal frame beams, supporting the building with exposed walls.

Above is a sea of cables and wires, a lone light hangs in the ceiling but has long since worked. If not for the light through the cracks in the window, the room would be in total darkness. The 12th floor was a nice place to collect thoughts or to be alone. Joshua did not sleep here but often came. He could choose any floor above 10 up to 16 as they were the same. The only thing that awaited him on these floors was darkness, dust and silence.

Joshua sat up on the mat and let his muscles calm down. His eyes looked down on his old tired hands. They were dirty, and filled with grime or cuts. The man would wash them, but then soon he would have to wash them again shortly after. On his left ring finger was one of his last remaining possessions, his wedding ring. Parts of its shine had worn with time and scratches could clearly be seen. The man sighed and thought to himself.

“Um, hello, Winters sir?” said a strange but familiar, masculine voice in the darkness.

Joshua became surprised at hearing another’s voice. He blinked and coughed some of the dust filled air in the room as a response. How did they find him up here and why are they bothering him? After hearing some soft clopping sounds against the floor, he instantly knew who it was. His first instinct was to get angry, shoo him away. The man simply was too tired to get into another argument again and instead decided to ignore the voice.

“I thought you might be thirsty and a bit hungry. I brought some for you if you would like.”

The man blinked in surprise and became curious. The pony brought him food by himself? How did the equine bring it exactly? The species doesn’t have hands but remembered they held things in their mouths…muzzles or whatever. Joshua was hungry but his feelings toward ponies were not the best. This was a pony he shouted at, yelled profanity at, and wanted nothing to do with. Yet here he was trying to be just nice. This caused the man some guilt at his previous actions. With a sigh he made his decision.

“….Alright, I’ll have some,” he said with a slightly bitter but defeated tone.

The beige pony beamed as he trotted slowly around the corner and coming into view. The food tray rest firmly and perfectly balanced on the pony’s back. This was very odd and it seemed impossible to Joshua. On the tray contained many different kinds of foods. A small and hot bowl of what appeared to be tomato soup with green cut vegetables on top with crackers, a small salad with a small portion of dressing, and a tiny pastry that looked like an orange tart. Finally there was a small tea kettle with 2 tea cups. The cups looked handmade, or hoof made if it was the case, with equine designs on them.

All of it almost made Joshua’s mouth water and caused his stomach to groan in anticipation. He had not seen such good food in a long time, not since he last saw his family. He sat up straighter on the mat and still marveled on how all of this was still perfectly balanced on the ponies back. With ease, Desert reached around with his long neck and firmly gripped the tray in his muzzle before setting it down in front of him. The pony calmly sighed as he sat on his haunches on the concrete floor.
The man began to reach out with his dirty hand nervously to the display in front of him. Joshua paused and blinked before looking back up at the pony in front of him. Desert was giving him a small non offensive smile from the other side of the room. This caused Joshua some discomfort and slight anger. The smile alone was almost enough to throw the food in the pony’s face. The pony saw his expression and quickly frowned and looked to the side. Joshua then simply put his arm down and stood up, ready to walk out of the room.

“I can leave you here to eat in peace if you like.” the pony calmly, causing Joshua to halt his departure.

Joshua thought for a moment and closed his eyes. He thought these ponies were monsters that came and wanted nothing but genocide of his race. In all the 3 months, the man has had contact with them, they were never rude to him, never wanted to hurt him.

“I hope this is ok for you to eat.” Sand said calmly and politely.

“Why would it not be ok to eat exactly?” Joshua asked cautiously.

“Well I tried to get everything fresh from the kitchen, it should be ok.” Desert quickly explained, though slightly shocked at the insinuation.

Was there something wrong with the food Joshua thought? It still irritated him that he found him when he was trying to get away from everyone. Joshua just then picked up on the pony’s hint. It was a completely vegetarian meal. There was not a single trace of meat on the tray. He knew ponies didn’t eat meat and it was now common knowledge that conversion bureaus didn’t serve them. Had they replaced all the bad hospital food already this fast? It still smelled nice and his body was practically begging him to try some.

With a sigh he sat back down and picked up the soup bowl and spoon. He noticed the bowl was warm but not hot. The man wondered how much the soup had cooled down as he dipped his spoon in the bowl. After tasting the first bite, Joshua was almost overwhelmed by the flavor. Not only was it not scalding hot but it was much better tasting than it looked. Each bite was more satisfying than the last. Only with each bite did he experience a hint of sadness that he could not explain.

The pony became ecstatic and he could not maintain his growing grin. “He loves the food! Oh thank Celestia for that.” The pony thought to himself. His ears drooped slightly in relief.

Joshua noticed quickly the pony’s express and his own face turned to a scowl, screaming for him to cut it out. Desert lowered his ears in response and returned to a neutral expression. Just that smile those ponies always had bothered him on an unknown degree. He saw that smile on almost every pony he met. That nice expression went along with their behavior. They always tended to be friendly, trying to be a pretty little helpful pony spirits. Those smile burned something fierce inside every time.

While Joshua was making quick work of the food in front of him, he noticed the pony pour tea into a teacup. The aroma of the leaves caught his nose. Joshua could not pinpoint the type of flavor it was. It smelled sweet and seemed safe enough. Desert noticed the confused look on the man’s face.

“This is a special blend of mine. I learned it when I was just a colt. Would you like to try some?”

Joshua was curious but hesitant. He briefly wondered if the pony was trying to drug him, maybe trying to slip him some potion in the drink. This idea was quickly pushed aside as he saw no sparkles in the drink indicating the nanites normally found in potion. It also didn’t appear that the pony was trying to deceive him. He had grown used to others acting for their own personal interests. Few people whom he had met didn’t act this way but it was enough to make him learn the value of being cautious. Taking a sip from his tea cup gave him fewer answers about its origin than before. Now along with a tangy sweetness was something like spice. It was sharp and strong almost spicy. He had to know what this mystery tea was.

“Who taught you how to make this again?” Joshua asked as he took another sip.

“Oh well you see a dragon taught me how to make it.”

“Excuse me but DRAGONS?! What, ow but how did, how can….just…DRAGONS!” blurted out Joshua as his confusion hit its peak. The response caused Joshua to choke and cough, and nearly spilled his cup over.

“Oh, I’m so sorry I completely forgot they are not exactly common here. Are you alright?” Desert said with a concerned look on his face.

The man simply shook his head, unable to believe what he was hearing. Dangerous, fire breathing dragons were in that realm of talking ponies and they expect humans to just GO there? How could they fight back without any hands? Even worse is that perhaps there were humans who KNEW there were dragons or other dangers but still abandoned their species anyway. Completely crazy he thought to himself.

“I’m sorry if that topic disturbed you, there has not been much contact with them. That wasn’t what I wanted to talk about however. It isn’t anything bad.”

Uh oh, here it comes, the question almost every pony asks him. Well his answer is and will always be no, no matter how many times they ask. He was not about to give up his fingers just because of good food. How could he join a race that was responsible for his family’s death?

“I looked into this ‘debt’ of yours and I’m sorry that it happened to you and your loss. Since the building will be converted any patients who had debts will be resolved and canceled. This includes you Mr. Winters.”

Huh? Did he just hear that right? His debt gone, just like that, no strings attached? He owed tens of thousands of dollars during his unintentional stay at the hospital, and in an instant it is no longer an issue? Joshua did not know how to take this news. He was confused but he knew he should be happy. This would mean he could leave anytime. He could quit his job, but where would he go? It was all that he had left in his life. Normally he would show extreme bitterness and hate to this alien species, so why was he acting so strange, was it the food? He could not accept their kindness, no matter what they did for him. Nothing they did could bring them back.

The man never thought about what he was going to do after his debt was paid, it never crossed his mind. Would he go back to Haven, try to pick up whatever was left of his home and start over? All it would do would buy some time before the barrier would come close in a few years. However, there was nothing left in Haven. The house is likely sold off for a fraction of a fraction of what it was worth. It was worth more than money to him, but his family meant much more than that.

“You’re welcome to stay here if you like so long as you don’t offend or hurt anyp- I mean anyone else.”

“And why would I hurt anyone else exactly?” the man asked with an angry louder tone.

“OH, I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to insinuate that at all. I don’t think you would harm anypony-uh ah I mean anyone…ugh.” Desert quickly said noticing again the tension in the room, waving his front hooves in slight panic.

The pony was really starting to become irritating now. Always apologizing, why can’t he just shut up and leave? Instead of saying thank you, he felt that familiar rage once again take control. He constantly showed bitterness, anger and resentment. Even though the man felt his anger, he could not shout and tell him to leave. The whole situation made him suddenly feel very awkward. Desert noticed the sad expression on his face again and frowned slightly.

“Would you like to talk about it some, it might help if I lend an ear.” The pony said as his ears dropped as low as they could.

Why does he want to know exactly? There were only 2 people who knew everything that happened after he crashed in the car. One was likely drinking themselves into a coma stupid and the other was not on the best terms with. He did not talk to others about his problems and hoped he would simply forget them, but never did. Joshua sighed and thought back to those memories months ago.

“I learned you were in an accident, and that you were in a coma for nearly two months. I don’t know much more than that other than this debt you mentioned. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but it might help you overcome the-,”

Joshua interrupted by slamming his fist into the tray, doing his best to hold back his emotions. This caused the pony to become slightly frightened and shivered slightly. Joshua sighed once again and rubbed his temples with his hands.

“If you really want to know I’ll talk. I’d rather be alone right now, but if I tell you can you leave me alone? I’ll tell you, only because you want to pay my debt and that meal helped.”

Joshua began to tell his events from before, recalling details ever since he woke up 3 month’s prior. Only two months after his accident and the death of his family.

Doctor Becker took a breath of his cigarette as he sat in an outside smoking lounge. The lounge was fenced off for many years with only one door leading back into the Brooklyn Medical hospital. This used to be an entrance for the building decades ago, but now it is closed off indefinitely. The old doctor always became annoyed when he journeyed across the building for the one spot where he could smoke. The walk lasted a fair chunk of precious minutes he had for his break, but the dose of nicotine during the day kept the man’s sanity in check.

The hospital became crowded after the arrival of Equestria, with patients either wounded from the previous riots or from acts of violence by the local extremists. Because of workload, the doctor got little sleep and his eyes were showing signs of fatigue. His addiction helped however, Becker was also used to pulling long shifts over the years of his career.

Becker would watch the streets from behind the metal grate of the lounge. In his lifetime he saw many people across his vision. Some even were of the wounded he helped get back on their feet. One thing the doctor noticed was a new surprise one day as it came into his line of view. He saw his first pony walk down the street, more accurately it galloped. The small pony must have been in a hurry to be someplace fast, or it was being chased, Becker didn’t really remember.

The doctor would only see that one pony for almost a week before he got a second sighting. As time went on, the number increased to where he was seeing dozen, perhaps hundreds of varied ponies during the week pass his view on his breaks.

“Doctor, I’ve been trying to find you!” shouted a female nurse as she ran into the break room.

The nurse looked about 27 and was a brunette with her hair tied up in the back. She wore a matching blue shirt and pants and had a clipboard in her hand. Her eyes were blue and were wide and alert. She was breathing hard due to her frantic sprint to locate him. The doctor gave a sigh and turned his head to the distraction.

“I’m on a break Jacquelyn, come back in 7 minutes,” said the irritated doctor in his chair.

“But doctor I’ve been calling you on your cellphone for a while now!” shouted the nurse.

“I had it turned off, and you can stop shouting. I know he’s awake,” Becker said as he pushed his cigarette into an ashtray.

“Ugh, you’re being difficult about this again.”

“That’s what my ex-wife said you know.”

The nurse did nothing but glare at the dark haired man with glasses as she crossed her arms.

“…Fine, let’s go, any luck finding his friend?”

“None doctor, she didn’t leave any contact information and she has not visited in a few weeks. Not since her husband pa…”

The nurse cut her sentence off, instantly remembering the experience that woman gave while at the hospital. Losing loved ones not uncommon in the hospital, and she saw many families lose loved ones that day. She only remembered seeing his face once when he brought Joshua in. The man’s face was angry and tired. Before he said his name, the man was gone. She only knew he passed on somehow likely due to the war that started that day. The mystery woman simply cried in silence while Joshua simply laid silently in a coma in bed, unaware of anything around him.

Her name was Rebecca and she was to be married to the late Robert Stansley. Her eyes were amber and her hair short and curly. She wore a light red tank top and a business skirt that day. The woman overheard her screaming something into the phone that day, something about a promise to never go somewhere. Jacquelyn never fully understood but assumed it must have been that man’s final message.

The two walked down the marble hallway as Becker greeted each person he met, instructing them on what to do. How would this man react to ponies she wondered, she knew he had never seen one since he was in a coma. Her thoughts became interrupted as she finally listened to the conversation Between Dr. Becker and Dr. Menza.

“Yes Dr. Menza but I told you, your patient is Ms. Vicky Chambers not that Turkish man. This is not your operation” Explained Becker flatly.

“But the Mr. Ozma was brought in first! They need me as their neurosurgeon in there!” Screamed Dr. Menza.

The Neurosurgeon looked to be in his early 20’s Jacquelyn thought. He had straight, black hair and a clean shaven face. His face covered by a mask and gloves on his hand ready to enter the quarantined room. The surgery room was kept closed off to anyone to keep the area clear of contamination and disease. Other surgeons were glancing back and forth between the two with confused looks on their faces.

“The fact of the matter is that Ms. Chambers happens to be a celebrity, and it would look bad on the hospital as a whole if something were to happen to her,” Becker said coldly to the neurosurgeon.

Dr. Menza clenched his fists in anger and glared madly at him.

“So this is what it is all about then?...Fine, keep him stable until I get back.”

Jacquelyn was stunned. Was this the hidden truth of how this hospital worked? Did all hospitals work like this? The nurse found herself frozen in place unable to move. How could Becker simply say it like that with such ease? Glancing up she saw Becker stare at her with an irritated scowl.

“Keep it together Jacquelyn, we have work to do.”

“Yes Director.” She said weakly.

Joshua stood before on his rusted old dock and stared out into the lakeside. It was autumn and multi-colored leaves were starting to fall from trees, landing on the ground or water. The water was much higher and he noticed the boat was still in the dock. He remembered he sold it years ago and didn’t understand how it was here. This lake had not looked so alive for over a couple of decades.

“Do you remember our date out there on the lake? You borrowed your uncle’s barge and we sat there for a long time. We hugged together on the slightly dirty seats and you were too lazy to clean them,” called a sweet voice behind him.

“Chess!”

It was her again! In his view was a beautiful scene with his wife in the center of his vision. She was smiling and standing in a white dress while her orange golden hair shined from the setting sun. They both stood on the old dock for a small moment.

“Is…is it really you? Oh how I’ve missed you, I knew you could not be dead!”

A single hand harshly pushes him off the dock and Joshua plummets into the shivering water. The soaking man tries to kick and push to stay afloat, gasping and coughing for air.

“Aaaa! Why did you do that for…Robert!?” Joshua said as he struggled in the afloat. Something was unusually keeping him heavier than normal, attempting to drag him down.

Robert merely smiled in his 3 piece business suit as he looked down and began to laugh loudly. The struggling man was unable to keep above water and his body began to slip under the surface. His body weighed down by some unexplainable force. Joshua needed air quickly and began to panic for his life. As much as he tried to push himself up the harder it became.

Finally he broke the surface and looked up into the sky but for some reason he still could not breathe. Relief would not come and it started to not matter if he was above or below the water. Joshua looked over to the dock and saw Lucas collapsed on the dock and shivering.

“Lucas!”

He tried to swim over and pull himself out, however his vision changed to below the water again deeper than before. Again Joshua tried as hard as he could to swim to the surface, using all of his strength left in his body. The man broke the surface again but still could not gasp for air. As Joshua looked over he saw himself in his old clothes next to his wife.

“Who are you!?”
The doppelganger said nothing and started to reach his hands around Chess and began to strangle her neck. Her eyes grew wide with terror as the woman tried to pry the attacker’s hands off.

“Get off of her!” Joshua screamed and lashed in the lake, trying desperately to pull himself out.

With a thud his wife collapsed next to her son and he saw himself grinning at his work on the dock. Joshua gave up his struggle, it was over for him. The man didn’t care anymore and noticed once again he was under the water near the bottom. The old man released his cares and closed his eyes to the dark waters around him.

Joshua began to hear something softly in his ear, a small beeping sound in the distance. He had no idea what it was and felt very tired. The noise began to grow louder as his consciousness returned to him. Finally he attempted to open his eyes. A difficult task to do, he could barely make them twitch which was more than the rest of his body at the time. Cracking his eyes open he was temporarily blinded by the light in the hospital room.

He was in a white room with a curtain to the left. A small IV unit strapped to his arm was on his left side and his upper body was propped up slightly by the bed. He was wearing what appeared to be some sort of itchy hospital gown. Then he noticed the smell in the room, it was an awful smell mixed in with chemicals. It hit him all at once, the smell was coming from his own body.

Joshua began to question many things. How did he get here, when was it, what happened to him? The man noticed the large Holotv shown for patients in the room as it sat on the other end of the wall. Holotv’s were a somewhat recent advancement in technology, replacing the old flat screens half a decade ago. These new TV’s helped reduce weight and was less expensive than the prior models.

Turning his head to the left he noticed a tray that he could reach. On the tray sat a simple black remote. The man attempted to lift his arm but it proved to be somewhat difficult. It was not paralyzed but simply asleep, like the rest of his body for who knows how long. With effort he managed to move his left arm enough while keeping the IV unit plugged into his joint to grab the remote. Satisfied with his prize he turned on the HoloTV.

He saw some sort of news program with two individuals on the screen. He wasn’t sure if he could call both individuals since only one of them was human. The other creature seemed to look like a white equine with a strange multi colored mane. It flowed in the wind even though both appeared to be indoors. What was stranger was that this equine was speaking and had a horn poke from its head. A gold grown rested on the top of the head indicating it must be some sort of royal.

“Huh I thought this was the news, is this some sort of cartoon?” Joshua thought to himself.

Suddenly he heard the door open to his left and a man stepped inside wearing a suit covered by a white lab coat. He wore a tacky red tie with a simple badge hanging from the shirt pocket.

“He must be a doctor around here. I really am in a hospital.”

“Good morning Mr. Winters, I am sure you have many questions but I will answer them to the best of my ability. I am Doctor Becker, the director of the Brooklyn memorial hospital.”

“W…what happ-”

“Happened to you?” interrupted the doctor as he tilted his head down to look down on the man. “You got into a wreck Mr. Winters, and this all may be a bit hard to take in. You have been in a coma for 2 months.”

Doctor Becker reached for a nearby chair and sat next to the bed. His fingers flipped through the papers on his clipboard and scanned the contents.

“You were in rough shape when they brought you in. A few broken ribs, head trauma, and a long nap. Could say worse for the car they found you in.”

His body shook slightly with hands gripping the covers. He could do nothing but listen to more.

Your friend vouched for you and told me your story….I am very sorry about your loss,” said the doctor with a sad expression on his face.

“I was in a car I think…I was waiting for something…at the…”thought Joshua as he lay on the hospital bed.

Joshua’s eyes grew wide as the thought finally hit his mind. The man’s eyes became dilated and twitched slightly and he was soon once again filled with a sense of dread. He had forgotten the one most important fact before he was in a coma.

“Chess, Lucas….oh god…I was at the airport waiting for them…”

The doctor sighs again and places the clipboard on the nightstand and looked in Joshua’s face.

“I understand you are employed at Bluecorp before your accident. It was explained that ever since certain…visitors arrived that company went under. I’m sorry again but you no longer have a job. Now we are not cruel people here, we can’t expect you to pay right away. What we or should I say I can do is offer you a job here while you work to pay off your debt.”

“WHAAAAT?! No this can’t happen to me, where is Robert now?”

The doctor sighed and felt like he was starting to get a headache.

“Stop sighing! Where is he?” shouted Joshua as he gripped the covers.

“I’m sorry again Mr. Winters, he passed on shortly after you arrived. His girlfriend used to visit you, sometimes would just sit and read books while she waited for you to wake up.”

“This can’t be happening to me! Robert, Lucas, Chess…oh god, THEY ARE ALL DEAD!”

The doctor was about to say something when the news on the holo changed and became louder. Images of an overhead view of what appeared to be a building come into view. It looked like a lot of people were outside protesting with police barricading the front. The female news anchor began her speech.

“We interrupt our interview with her highness Princess Celestia to bring you this latest update on the attempted bombing of the downtown New York Conversion Bureau. Equestrian ambassadors Twilight Sparkle and Rarity noticed that a small girl had deadly high explosives wired to her. The girl and the citizens of the building remained unharmed as police and federal agents try to find the attempted killer responsible. Likely this is the result of the extremist group the Human Liberation Front. The child’s mother named Susan Becker, claims to be not associated with the man responsible for the attack.”

Beckers eyes grew wide in shock and his mouth gasped open. Just in a single moment, a terrible truth was revealed to him. He reached for where his cellphone was in his pocket and instantly swore, remembering he accidentally left it back in the smoke room. Sparing no time he rushed out of the hospital room and ran down the hallway for fear of his daughter and ex-wife’s safety. The doctor thought to himself that he should have never left her, but he didn’t want to give up his smokes. That was the dealbreaker, his addiction or his family. She could not take anymore of his cruelty and bitterness.

Again Joshua was alone, scared at every piece of news hitting his mind. He continued to stare as once again the white equine appeared on screen. The figure appeared to be giving some sort of speech.

“And that is why we here of the Equestrian lands will not take this attack lightly. The HLF have continued to be enemies of both mankind and pony folk alike. This attack unfortunately will lead to closure of the bureaus until proper security can be adequately supplied.”

“The HLF, Human Liberation Front, who are these people? What the hell is that thing on the screen?” thought Joshua as he frantically tried to pull his IV needles out of his body.

The equine figure who named herself Celestia shinned her horn in a golden light on the screen. For some reason this caused Joshua’s frantic mind to halt as he faintly remembered something about that glow. Then it came to him, that golden glow, he had seen it before. It was the same golden light he saw that day 2 months ago. He remembered a flying golden light above the wreckage of the plane, lifting it into the air. Joshua recalled screaming at the window, beating his hands madly against the window in confusion before being pulled away.

Becker ran down the marble hospital doors and raced to the nearest desk phone. In front of his path was Dr. Menza’s scowling face staring back at him.

“You bastard, Mr. Ozma is dead now thanks to you.” the Neurosurgeon said flatly.

Becker shoved the doctor aside, paying no attention and knocking him to the ground and continued to run.

“COME BACK HERE! THIS IS NOT OVER!”

The Doctor finally reached the floor desk where Jacquelyn was waiting. She was holding the receiver in her hand and shaking. Her expression was grim and in shock at what she just heard as was everyone else nearby.
“Doctor I…It’s your wife on the phone…I mean Ex.” She said with a concerned voice.

Becker sighed and reached for the phone receiver. He had not talked to her in a month and a half. They were together for almost 8 years until the divorce papers came. Despite his addiction he still cared for her but was unable to show it.

“Susan are you both ok?”

“Apollo, we are both here at the bureau. They brought me in for questioning. We are a bit shaken up but we are still alive.”

Dr. Becker knew they were both alive from what the broadcast explained earlier but was still terribly afraid for their safety still.

“Is Emily there Susan, can I hear her voice too?”

There was some talking in the background that Apollo could not hear. He could faintly hear his daughter’s voice along with other female voices he did not recognize. There was a woman crying the other end but it was not either voice. Finally he heard some breathing come closer to the phone.

“Daddy?”

“Oh my sweet little angel are you ok? Daddy will be coming right over.”

“….I’m scared daddy.”

Joshua continued to hold tightly onto a crutch as he made his way to the front of the hospital. He was still dressed in his hospital gown and an open wound was on his arm from the pulled IV. The man was weak due to his coma and could barely walk. Surprisingly he didn’t run into any nurses along his way. Joshua figured the hospital must be in an uproar about the recent attempted bombing across town. After walking through the automatic doors and into the afternoon sunlight he saw the strangest sight of the day.

Ponies from every corner of his view went about their daily routine. Some flew, others used their horns for magic, and some grew plants with ease creating gardens out of nothing. He could not believe his eyes and questioned if any of this was real. Joshua’s body gave out and he collapsed on the ground while continuing to stare. A lone light green pegasus with a yellow mane flew up to him. The mare had teal huge eyes that displayed looks of concern and worry.

“Um mister are you alright?” asked the pony.

With all of his pain and all of his loss he simply expressed a single strange gesture. Joshua began to laugh uncontrollably on the hot concrete entrance, generating more attention of the equines around him.