//------------------------------// // 3 - Culture Shock // Story: Far is the Star Called Sol // by Omnicron25 //------------------------------// Far is the Star Called Sol Chapter 3: Culture Shock Three days later, Jason awoke with a start as he dreamt a red and black creature tore apart his chest. He warily glanced around with a spooked feeling of dread. Nothing seemed amiss though; he was still basically immobile, laying in a bed in the room he had occupied for exactly two weeks now by the American calendar. I wonder if they count in the same number of days as Americans do… I always did find the seven-day week to be an odd number. Maybe they go by fives or something to that effect. For that matter, I wonder if there are the same number of hours in a day or even if our measurements of time are identical. Twilight seems smart, so I'll ask her when I get the chance. With the momentary thought out of the way, the teen turned his focus back to the dream again. The red and black creature was definitely a quadruped, but beyond that, he did not get a clear enough view of it in the blurred dream to even tell what type of animal it was, let alone the species. I hope that isn't a future sight, because I know that should not be a memory. If it is… I'm more fucked up than I thought, Jason thought as he stared up at the ceiling. It was not as if the young man could really do much else with the shape he was in, but he was starting to get fidgety as his attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, more commonly known as ADHD, started to take hold finally. Jason usually had pretty good control over it so not many knew he had it. In fact, he had not taken medicine for it since he was twelve years old, but right now the young human could really use the Strattera. On the topic of medicine, I haven't taken my thyroid medication in a week, and I doubt the ponies even know what a thyroid is… let alone how to treat someone with a hyperactive thyroid disorder. This is bad… really bad, Jason continued thinking in a serious manner that had his face in a cross expression as he shifted the his right arm in its sling to make it more comfortable. He had talked to Fluttershy often, and he had learned much from her about this country called Equestria. He found out the there was a nearby town called Ponyville, much to his amusement. Their sun and the moon were controlled by their Princesses Celestia and Luna respectively though he highly doubted that was true. The capital of Equestria was called Canterlot. He also had learned a few things from Rarity too when she came to visit to take his body measurements, much to his discomfort, and obtain clothing ideas. She told him it was for a new set of clothes she was making for him, and so he had readily agreed. During the visit, he had learned about the the more posh lifestyles that Canterlot ponies lived, which disgusted him though he said nothing. There was a lot of information to go through and collect. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he completely missed Twilight and Fluttershy enter the room right in front of him until Fluttershy quietly asked, "Are you feeling well, Jason?" The pale teen snapped out of his thoughts instantly with a bit of a jump. Usually, he could sense living beings approaching him, but he had been too deep in thought for his mind to register their presence at all. He looked at her and nodded his head as best he could. "Yeah, I was just thinking. Actually, it is kinda important, and has to do with my condition." "What is it? Can we help?" Fluttershy immediately asked in concern. "Well, that's the thing. I don't know if you all can. You see I need medicine in order to survive because of a defect in an important gland in my throat called a thyroid. It was a highly specialized variation of a common defect," Jason answered calmly since he did not expect the residence of 'whatever-the-fuck-this-planet-was-called' to be able to help him at all. "I remember that from your memories. In fact, it was that type of condition I was looking for," replied Twilight smartly, "I do not know what a thyroid is, but how long can you go without your medicine? If there is enough time, I can even make a spell to fix it." "Err… I can last about three months without it before brain damage starts to set in if I take it easy," he explained with a bit of a dismissal. I never expected anything like this, but then again, I guess I am a world where magic supposedly controls the orbital cycles. I could of expected more diluted things, but something tells me different. These pony-things probably think they control the weather too. That's just laughable. Hell, for all I know I could of just had a mental breakdown in my own home, and I'm in a comma either laying in hospital bed or on my couch drooling! This could all be a massive hallucination of different parts of my mind and life! "Any other affects before then?" asked Twilight as she produced a quill and pen from her saddle pack using her telekinesis spell and to start writing down the specifics of the human's thyroid disorder. Jason gained a thoughtful expression and began, "Well for the first week or so, I will have an astoundingly increased metabolism which causes: accelerated healing and aging, enhanced strength and agility, hyperactivity, a difficulty remembering and keeping my attention on a subject at a time, bursts of extremely violent behavior if provoked, brief bursts of amazing clarity and thought speed, and an increased libido. Second week in, my body will not be able to keep up with the demands so I act pretty normal except extreme weight loss starts to happen and I start to pale and form dark lines under my eyes. Third week in, I begin to fatigue easily and I will still lose weight. By the end of the first month, I will begin to become lethargic and my body will begin to eat at its own muscle mass. About half way through the second month, my mind will start be unable to focus on anything and there's something of a fog around my mind, and I will probably had lost a good amount of muscle tone by this time. At the end of the second month, I will be sleeping a large amount of time to compensate for the lack of food for my metabolism since I am essentially starving by this point even if I am being fed constantly, because the human digestive track cannot keep up. At the beginning of the third month, I will have a bit of a relapse for a few days as my body starts to use the fat in my brain and some of my less used internal organs as fuel. After that though, I'll probably be lucky to be awake for thirty minutes total throughout the day as the brain damage starts. After another two months, the damage will be irreversible, and after eight months… Well, I think I don't need to continue for you to be able to understand that." He paused for a moment to catch his breath before continuing, "Anyway, what is basically happening is completely hormonal. My thyroid produces an excess of the metabolic control hormones. That is what causes my metabolism to skyrocket. This is also unique because it can't be treated by simply removing the thyroid like the condition can normally be. My brain would literally cause my body to shut down all metabolic processes. I don't know much else past that though. The doctors barely understood it enough to give me suppressing medicine so my body wouldn't eat itself alive." "What a terrible disease!" gasped Fluttershy in shock, "Oh, Twilight, I hope you can help him." "I will find a way, no pony… or human… should have to live through that a terrible medical condition like that," said Twilight determinedly as she put away the paper and quill. Then she used her magic to set aside her pack and continued, "I'm sure you've healed extensively since your fall because of the thyroid disorder has gone through the first week. So, a healing spell should be able patch you up the rest of the way." "Sounds about right," he said as he sat up without a severe pain this time while supporting himself with his left arm, which was the good one. "The reason I am not overly hyperactive right now is because I am in the process of healing after several terrible injuries." Fluttershy started to look around nervously, but he did not pay attention to her since she was often jumpy from what he had seen so far. "Oh good! That means most of your lighter injuries should almost be healed already right?" asked Twilight Sparkle excitedly with quill in her telekinetic grasp. "I don't know. We'd have to check. I'm not exactly injured often enough to give exact diagnoses of myself," Jason said with a slight shrug of his shoulders that caused him to wince. "Though I am certainly the broken bones are just that… still broken." "Well of course, though they are probably better along than what they normally would be, they still take a long time to heal regardless. I'm no doctor, but I've read enough to know that," said Twilight proudly as she wrote the last note down. The pale teen swallowed nervously. "You don't say… Well…" he started but noticed Fluttershy was starting to quiver in the corner of his peripheral vision. So, he turned to her and said instead, "Are you okay? You look frazzled." Fluttershy glanced around nervously while avoiding making eye contact while almost whispering, "N—No. I—It doesn't matter." The human raised a brow and Twilight turned to her as well with a curious gaze. "You can say whatever you want to me, Fluttershy. As I said before, you can speak your mind around me. It takes a lot to agitate me, and I don't take offense to almost anything," Jason said soothingly. I may not have emotions at the moment, but I can feel the nervousness radiating off of her. That's more than slightly unsettling. This new definition of that 'perception' sense of mine is going to take getting used to. "Oh… um… okay, well, I think Twilight should wait until we know more about you, or your body actually, to attempt a healing spell. I—I hope th—that's alright," she said almost too softly to hear. "Oh? Well, maybe she's right, Jason. I mean, your skeletal structure is vastly different than a pony's. I think a scan spell I picked up recently would be more useful here," said Twilight with some of her enthusiasm curved, but with most of it still shining bright in Jason's mind's eye. "I… concur. Given the circumstances, and not to belittle you or anything, but you admitted to not being a physician yourself, I think that is the best course of action as of right now," he agreed flatly as he let his logical side take full control. "Do you always talk like that?" asked Fluttershy with a hint of confusion before her confidence wavered again and she amended, "N—Not that is a problem or anything." The human stared at her in mild surprise and began to say at a faster pace, "Hm? Well, it depends on what mindset I'm in really. I can either be a human dictionary or a regular person depending on how fast I am wanting to think at any given time. Right now I am communicating in advanced language because this medical conversation is mentally stimulating. Sometimes I wonder if there is actually split personalities within my psyche, but more often than not I pass it off as how much energy I have at any given time. I am also feeling hyper-active at the moment so please excuse my abnormally complicated vocabulary and fast talking speed." "I take it your body has almost healed itself already of all of its minor injuries," stated Twilight unfazed by the vocabulary and talking speed. Jason nodded. "It would seem that way, Twilight Sparkle, and I am sorry for my speech, Fluttershy. I do not always have control over how I talk with my ADHD active." "A-D-H-D?" asked Twilight curiously. He turned his line of sight to her and nodded, then began to say very quickly, "Yes, attention-defecate hyperactivity disorder is a mental disorientation that makes someone unusually energetic, prone to mood swings, and easy to distract. I strongly suspect that Pinkie Pie has it too, but usually mine is so well controlled because I had to learn to or take medicine for it, because my grades in school were less than up-to-par because I didn't care to do the boring work they assigned. In fact, I usually drew or read a textbook, mostly the historical and scientific texts since the others were too boring. I also used to stand all of the time, but it was considered odd and eventually I learned to sit in the desk like a normal kid so I wouldn't keep getting in trouble. Anyway, I also have a bad short-term memory so if I put something down, I wouldn't be surprised if I forgot where I had put it five minutes later. It can be quite a bother actually." Twilight just nodded slowly saying, "Uh huh. I only got half of that, but I think I understand. I'm going to go ahead and do the scan really fast and come back tomorrow with my findings to run a cross analysis with you since you seem to know a decent amount about your own body." He laid back down and gave her a thumbs up. Even if the ponies did not know what the gesture meant, it was more to comfort himself. Then, he announced, "I am at your will for the moment, Twilight Sparkle. Scan away." Twilight walked up beside the injured human and set the tip of her horn on his right bicep. A purple glow started to surround Jason and the experience made him briefly think of his time in an MRI machine when he was little. After a moment or two though, the glow disappeared and Twilight straightened up into her normal posture though a bit rigidly. "So what's the trouble?" Jason asked as he sat back up. She looked at him, but quickly looked away for a moment with an unreadable expression on her muzzle. I guess she is still processing all the information that she just got from the spell, the pale teen thought as he started to whistle a little tune while he was waiting since he was bored. "What a beautiful talent," said Fluttershy as she listened to Jason's whistling, "You sound like a lone bird singing a song." The young man stopped whistling with a surprised expression. "Really? I'm by no means that good of a whistler. Besides it was a fairly simple tune." "Oh no, you are good. I've never heard anything like it from anything but a song bird," said Fluttershy with some enthusiasm, but with a still very quiet voice. "I've heard that song somewhere, but I can't think of where," stated Twilight as she pulled out her quill and paper to write more notes on what she had just discovered through the spell moments before. "You couldn't have. Something similar, maybe, but this is a song that is just in my head. I don't remember hearing it from anywhere else," Jason said with a heavy layer of disbelief. Twilight made a gesture that he assumed was the equivalent of a shrug as it was a slight roll of the front shoulders. Then again, I maybe assuming too much from just their body language, he corrected himself as he stared off into space. "Are you alright? You were, uh, hyper just a few minutes ago," asked Twilight with some concern in her voice, "I think I should start intense cross studies on the anatomy of humans and ponies so I can get your thyroid situation at least treated to a stable point." "Hm? Uh, okay," Jason said nonchalantly. I did say that these episodes pass quickly didn't I? Oh well, I can only pray that this purple unicorn can find at least a temporary solution. Twilight put her quill and paper away, before putting her hoof on the human's good shoulder comfortingly and saying, "I will find a way to cure you, even if it takes finding a way to teleport you back to your home. You have my word as Princess Celestia's student on that." Jason nodded with a serious expression. "I will not take your word. You are undertaking something that may have mixed results. Any results that you get at all, even if it bares no cure, will be enough for me. The effort you are selflessly putting into just healing me is more than I could ever ask for. I thank you, and your friends." Despite his strong exterior though, the young man was moved by the gesture she made to him nonetheless. I pray you succeed for your sake. I've already been living on borrowed time, and already know I'll die young. "I give you my word as a disciple of Princess Celestia still. I will find a way to cure you," stated Twilight firmly still with her ears laying down as though he had insulted her, "You are my friend." With that last sentence uttered, she turned around and made for the door leaving no room for argument or persuasion. "Good luck to you then," Jason said with a wry smile. Twilight turned to him and nodded with a serious expression and a determined smile before turning to Fluttershy and saying, "I'll see you around, Fluttershy." "Oh, thank you, Twilight. Please don't push yourself too hard," Fluttershy said with a shy smile, "Um, please be safe." Twilight nodded and leaves the room. -X-X-X- Several tense moments pass, but finally the pale human said, "Well, how are you doing, Fluttershy? I never did get to ask you earlier." The tension deflated like an old balloon and she answered softly, "Oh, I am well, but how are you feeling? I noticed that your right shoulder is still giving you a lot of pain." Jason glanced at his right shoulder and then back to her with a nod. "Yeah, but I doubt anything past surgery will help it very much. I do appreciate the concern though." "You talk as if no pony has ever cared about you before," muttered Fluttershy too softly for him to hear. He cocked his head to one side and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't hear that." She shook her head saying, "I—It's nothing. Are you tired? Do you want me to leave you alone?" Jason shook his head and appealed, "No, I enjoy the company, and I think I've spent enough time asleep as it is. If I go without any interaction for too much longer, I might just go bonkers." He chuckled at his own comment which seemed to put Fluttershy more at ease. She smiled lightly and stepped closer saying, "I think I'll redress your bandages then. I—If that's alright with you that is." The young man inspected the current bandages, and they did indeed appear ready to be changed with the dried blood and all. So, he nodded his head and answered, "You certainly can. They look about ready for a change." Fluttershy stepped closer and started unwrapping the bandages on his head first being, as always, extremely careful not to put Jason in discomfort. At this point though, his normally well-trimmed goatee was disheveled and slightly overgrown with stubble starting to grow on the rest of the jaw and on the bridge of his nose where his, usually gotten rid of, unibrow was. She stopped for a moment after removing the bandages to inspect the wounds to make sure they were not infected saying, "Are you alright? Do you want me to stop for a moment?" Careful to not use his head, Jason waved his hand instead replying, "I'm fine. In fact, I'm almost hazarding to say the fresh air feels good, but I know the injuries are far from healed." I also think those bandages were wrapped too tight, but I don't want to upset her. Hmm, choices, choices, better not rock the boat before you can bail. "I'm glad you are feeling better. Your injuries are almost healed so I won't have to wrap the bandages so tight this time," she said warmly in her usual quiet tone. "Alright then, let's see how much of the other damaged areas have recovered," Jason implored as the still open wounds start to sting in the open air. Looks like this, err… pony knows what she is doing when it comes to medicine. I've seen a lot of animals around, so I wonder if she is the local veterinarian or something along those lines. It would make sense I would be a foreign animal to them that I would be taken to a veterinarian. A pony doctor wouldn't know what to do with me, he mentally brewed on the subject as the conversation dropped off. Fluttershy continued to redress the human's wounds diligently with little discomfort besides when he had to move one of his broken limbs, but he kept a brave face and did not let her know how much pain it caused. After about thirty to forty-five minutes— he was guessing since there is no timepiece in the room— Fluttershy finished her work with no mess save the old bandages on the floor. New bandages covered all of the still open wounds. There were only half the original count of forty-three she had told Jason in slight amazement commenting that he healed as fast as Rainbow Dash. After the quick clean-up, Fluttershy returned with what seemed to be a hint of pride. Jason actually enjoyed seeing the usually skittish pegasus being proud of herself. She deserved it after being able to treat his wounds as well as she had. Thinking she was self-confident enough to carry a conversation the young man started, "You know despite the fact that I have been here for two weeks, we know next to nothing about each other." "I—I wouldn't know where to begin," answered Fluttershy with a nervous quiet tone. Maybe I spoke too soon, Jason thought to himself before he said, "How about hobbies? You surely must have a few things you enjoy doing for fun." Fluttershy just simply stood there and looked at the floor with a nervous expression on her muzzle. The human was thoroughly confused by how nervous she was. In fact, it was actually starting to annoy him, but he had dealt with more annoying things than some pony that had difficulty talking. I suppose I'm more annoyed at myself for misjudging her, Jason conceded to himself before saying, "Well, my hobbies are: cooking, writing, mending clothes, reading, gardening, drawing, fixing things, playing various types of games, listening to music, and working on computers." She seemed to relax some and came out of her shell asking, "What is a com-peau-ter?" Jason thought for a moment on how to describe it before explaining, "A computer is a highly advanced piece of technology that can do various tasks such as: store various types of data such as: music, books, text, mathematical computations, vocal recordings, pictures; and some things called programs can combine those to make games, edit various types of data on the computer, write words in data sheets inside the virtual world inside the computer. They have many uses and my world depends so heavily on that civilizations would fall if the computer network of Earth ever failed. The global network is called the World Wide Web or the Internet by the way." "Wow, that sounds really complicated, but that also sounds very fragile for your world to depend entirely on technology like that," said Fluttershy in some form of awe. "Indeed, but very few countries actually depend on this technology, but those few, such as the North American Federalized Union, the East Asian Coalition, and the European Union, but they are the most advanced and produce most of the world's food and finished product supply. Especially, NAFU since they produce the most food. Without them, the world would starve and serious wars would start all over the globe. Humanity is humanity's worst enemy," Jason said gravely. Then, a smile spread across his face. "However, the Internet is so spread out and has so many connections that it would almost literally take destroying the world to get rid of it, so I'm sure that won't happen." Fluttershy was slightly more nervous now, but seemed still at ease. "Oh, that's good. Your world sounds so violent and scary." Jason gave Fluttershy a reassuring smile saying, "It is, but I don't think you'll ever have to go there. It is not a place of peace, but that is what some people strive for. I can only hope one day an international peace can be gained, but even still, there will always be conflict. It's human nature, and it is a sad reality humanity lives in that made us that way, but there is always the kindness in almost every human heart." Fluttershy looked at him with an expression he cannot read so he continued on, "So, what are your hobbies, Fluttershy?" She snapped out of whatever thought she was in and said softly, "Well, I… uh… I like: taking care of animals, singing, gardening, sewing, cooking, reading, napping, and being with friends." Jason scratched his beard with his left hand before asking, "Hmm, I hope you don't find this as in intrusion of privacy, but I am genuinely curious. How does a pony's life change from a filly, I'm again guessing on the terminology, to an adult? Other than obvious maturity that is… Hmm… I guess what I'm trying to ask is: What is it like to grow up as a pony?" Fluttershy gained something of a pensive expression before saying, "Well, I am a pegasus from Cloudsdale. So, when I was a filly, I went to Flight School. I was always picked on because I had trouble flying and my nervousness. I thought I'd never gain my cutie mark…" "Err…" the teen interjected quickly, "What is a cutie mark exactly? And what does it do? Also it only females that get them or do both genders receive them?" Fluttershy was caught off guard for a moment, but she quickly understood the human's confusion replying as she showed Jason her mark on her flank, "This is a cutie mark. Both fillies and colts gain these after a certain age and find what they are best at doing. Mine is butterflies which resembles my love for animals." Jason thought about it for a moment. "Hmm, interesting. Humans do not have anything of that sort. So it just sponta… err… suddenly appears when a filly or colt find what their calling in life is?" Fluttershy genuinely smiled saying, "That's right." The pale teen nodded with a still thoughtful expression as he replied, "Oh, sorry about interrupting you by the way, but I had to ask. You can continue if you want." Fluttershy shook her head insisting it was not a problem as she continued with the story of how she had gotten her cutie mark. It told of her friend Rainbow Dash protecting her from a couple of bullies and challenging them to a race. Fluttershy was the starter flag pony, but she ended up falling off the cloud toward the ground. It was a very far fall Jason imagines, but she continued to tell that she did not have the wing strength to break the fall and plummeted to the ground. Then, amazingly a large gathering of butterflies caught her just before she hit the ground. She explained that she had never seen the surface before at such a close view and instantly fell in love with all of the animals that lived on it. Then, an explosion scared away all the animals, but she was able to cox them back out showing her ability to handle animals which gave her the cutie mark she has now. The young man was surprised to say the least, but the yellow mare looked very happy now. So much so, that he did not want to share his years growing up. It was a very rough childhood, and he was sure it would certainly ruin the good mood, but fate would not like that would it? "So, how was your early life, Jason?" asked Fluttershy with a happy curiosity. Jason looked down at his left hand clutching the sheets saying, "It was not a happy childhood." He attempted to distract himself with logic as a familiar itch in his chest began to build continuing, "Humans between the ages of five to ten are technically children, but childhood is a broad term for younger humans until the legal age of eighteen years of age. If you really want to, I'll share it, but…" However, the itch started to burn again and his logical side gave. "Actually… I think it needs to come out. It's been weighing me down for years, and I've had no one… or pony I guess in this case… to tell it to. If you will listen that is." "Of course, what are friends for?" said Fluttershy softly, but reassuringly. Jason made one last attempt to spare both himself and Fluttershy from the horrid story saying, "It really is violent and sad. Are you sure?" She gently placed her hoof on his shoulder saying, "It's alright. You can let go. I'm your friend." Jason gave a ragged sigh and began with an explanation of he had a good long-term memory, and that he just had short-term recollection problems before starting with as far back as he could remember. The young man began with the old house he lived in when he was five in Albany, New York, before his grandmother took ill. Jason described the snow shower in an early morning winter day that he played in happily before going back inside and snuggling with his grandmother and the four cats that lived with them; his last birthday he had at the old house was next with the tail of confetti that he had to follow to find his way to his surprise birthday party which made him feel like the luckiest kid in the world; and then, the first incident when his grandmother started to take ill is the next. Jason almost stopped there, but Fluttershy reassured him that he would feel better afterwards. So, he continued, but tentatively. He described how his life started to change when his grandmother took ill, and he had to start helping her around the house. The young man started to sweat heavily, but he pushed farther with telling her how his grandmother kept getting worse and worse, and how the hospital would not do anything for her. Then, he fell silent. He could not continue. His mind would not let him go any further and he conceded saying, "I'm sorry, but it's too painful and it doesn't really get any better. In fact, it gets worse so I'd rather stop there." "No living thing should have to endure something like that at such a young age," Fluttershy was teary-eyed herself and patted his shoulder softly to comfort the young man, but suddenly there was a knock at the door which made both of them jump. She ended up making a goat sound and falling onto her back with all her legs straight as a rod in the air. Jason tried hard not to laugh. Even though I can't see her face from here the goat sound makes me want to bust a kidney laughing, he thought to himself as he attempted to not even giggle at the predicament that just happened. I'm glad she can't see my face either for the moment, because I probably look like I just ate something really sour right about now. This thought made him want to laugh even more, but the pale teen pushed it off to the side and just smiled like nothing happened. Which turns out to be really hard and made his chest hurt from the strain. The mystery visitor, which Jason's mind eye identified as the white unicorn known as Rarity though he says nothing, knocks again, but neither of them jump this time. Fluttershy righted herself and went to the door saying, "I wonder who that is." Now, he had no idea if it was not directed towards him, but she was already out the door before Jason could say anything making him think, I wonder if it's good news. -X-X-X- Fluttershy opened the front door tentatively to see Rarity with her saddle bags on the other side and tapping her hoof impatiently. Then, then the white unicorn said in a raised voice, "Fluttershy, I know you are inside. Please come out, darling, I have those new clothes for Tiberius I promised." Fluttershy opened the door the rest of the way saying, "Hello, Rarity. You scared me when you knocked the first time." "Oh, my apologies, darling, but you really do frighten too easily," apologized Rarity with a sincere tone. "I know," admitted Fluttershy so softly that it was nearly inaudible. Rarity put a comforting hoof on timid pegasus's shoulder saying, "You've come along marvelously, darling. I remember when you would not even leave your cottage." "Um, thanks… I guess," Fluttershy said with uncertainty. "Back to the subject at hoof, is Tiberius awake? I wish to show him the new apparel I created for him," inquired Rarity with an ecstatic air near the end of the sentence. "Um, yes," informed Fluttershy quietly, "But I…" "Marvelous! I'll be in and out before you know it, darling!" announced the white unicorn excitedly as she pushed her way in gently making a bee-line toward the second-story bedroom. "Oh, okay," murmured Fluttershy as she followed Rarity. Meanwhile, Jason was using a spare piece of paper and a pencil he had found to start practicing writing with his left hand. It was fairly difficult and slow going, but the letters were still recognizable, and it looked relatively good. Good thing I practiced some when I was little. I doubt I'd be able to do this otherwise, he thought as he writes the next line of:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
Then suddenly, Jason heard a conversation with Fluttershy and the familiar Trans-Atlantic accent which reaffirms his identification. She had told him she was going to bring him a new set of clothes, which in his opinion, were highly needed. He is getting tired of being naked, and he is certainly not getting used to it. The temperature was not uncomfortable, but young man was still self-conscious after years of wearing clothes and just human society in general which was not something that could be easily overridden especially not in just four days of being awake. He actually felt uncomfortable whenever anything with eyes got to close to him despite being under a sheet though he never let it show, but it is getting quite annoying. Him and the fashion pony had actually had an extensive discussion the last she was over to measure him, which he found humiliating, but she seemed excited and even admiring that an entire civilization wore clothes all of the time. He had always found it bothersome and even more so now that same civilization's customs were still affecting him. To rid himself of the train-of-thought, Jason started to practice again with his left-handed writing, but that was when Rarity cantered in elegantly with Fluttershy, well fluttering, in behind her. He fought the urge to grab the sheet, which was already covering his lower body, and pull it up to his chest by putting down the pencil and scratching his stomach instead. "Oh, hello, how are you this morning? It is still morning, right?" "I am marvelous, Tiberius. You seem to be recovering well too," said Rarity in an enthused tone. "And, yes, it is just past morning tea." The young man instantly noticed that she has saddle bags on, so he was hoping his hunch was correct. "I am doing better than I thought I would be. I believe Fluttershy is to thank for that due to her knowledge in medicine." Fluttershy seemed to perks up saying modestly, "Oh, it's no big deal. Anypony with a heart would do the same. You should thank Rainbow Dash; she's the one that found you." "Nonsense, you have just as much credit in my recovery as her," Jason stated flatly leaving no room for her to duck out of his acknowledgment. "He's quite right, darling. Rainbow Dash may have found him, but it is your kindness and knowledge of medicine that has allowed him to recover so quickly," agreed Rarity with an encouraging smile before turning to the human with a proud expression as she pulled the outfit from her saddlebags with her magic and unfolded them holding them up for display. "Here is your new attire, Tiberius. I have replicated your old outfit with a few additions of my own. What do you think?" The pale teen stared at the clothes for a moment studying them with raised brows and wide eyes. The shirt was a replica of his white dress shirt, but with the addition of embroidered ferns with gold trim on the shoulders and an enlarge version on the reverse side that covered almost all of the upper back with the addition of a large green ten-point star in between the ferns on the center of the upper back. The pants were a duplicate of his dress pants with gold embroidery on the seams and pockets as an added flare. The belt was there too, to his surprise, with a brass buckle instead of the stainless steel the last one had. Jason glanced at Rarity for a moment in amazement thinking, If she is nervous on what I think, she definitely isn't showing it. Though I swear, she has to be getting a kick or something outta saying my middle name. It doesn't sound that cool or even all that suave for that matter! Then, he looked back to the clothes saying, "They are miraculous! I can't wait to try them on!" Rarity was taken aback by how excited the male human was to see the clothes, since stallions rarely care, but beamed with pride as she gently put the clothes down on the bed beside the monkey-like creature. "I am thrilled you think so. The additions were really a shot in the dark, but the part that confounded me the most was the small pieces of fabric that I could only guess goes on your hind paws." She proceeded to pull out the two duplicate dress socks and Jason's old restaurant work shoes which had been repaired and cleaned to lustrous shine. He nodded in understanding and explained, "Human hind paws are known commonly as feet, or foot if it is just a single one, but they are… fragile in case of most 'modern' humans, because we use shoes all of the time to make sure that are feet are not hurt by heat, cold, or sharp objects. Now, if we used them every day by themselves, they would get tougher and able to stand the majority of discomforts as if they were nothing, but humans are lazy and rather not put themselves in discomfort if possible." "Alright, that explains why your shoes were so well used, but you have yet to explain the case of why the two pieces of fabric I hold," pushed Rarity with an exaggerated sigh. Jason chuckled and said, "Sorry 'bout that, but I thought giving a thorough explanation would be better. However, I do understand I am getting boring. Anyways, the two pieces of fabric are known as socks. They are commonly used because twenty percent of human sweat glands are in the feet, so their purpose is to absorb the sweat and prevent the shoes from absorbing it and thus prevents the shoes from smelling too bad. Although they do need regular cleaning too, which I neglected to do unfortunately. The socks' secondary purpose is to prevent blisters and raw skin from where the foot would rub inside the shoe over a long distance. Okay, I think that about covers it." Fluttershy said, "Oh, that makes sense. I can see why humans would wear shoes and socks. The skin is not even as tough as normal animal paws." Rarity gave a thoughtful nod remembering the conversation from the last visit with Tiberius commenting, "Beg your pardon, but humans do not seem very physically adept, Tiberius." Jason nodded in acknowledgment. "Yep, humans usually have other err… less intelligent animals and machines do most of the heavy stuff for us, but humans can be strong too. Just the average human can't compare to most animals about the same size. Our adaptability lies within our creativity. Humans can do amazing things with large numbers of workers and tools though. I wish I had some history books with me to show you." "How big is the population of humans though?" asked Fluttershy quietly. Jason scratched his chin in thought for a moment before saying, "Don't quote me on this, but I think it is approximately seven billion individuals still accounted for, and possibly another half billion not accounted for in remote areas. That accounts for the entire human population of Earth though, and we are notorious for our unusually high birth rate." "I'd say!" said Rarity in shock from the sheer number. "There are less than seven million ponies in all of Equestria!" The human gave an amused smirk and attempted to change the subject saying, "Well enough on human fertility issues, shall I try on the new clothes?" Rarity snapped out of whatever she was thinking and exclaimed, "Oh, but of course! Do you want us to leave you alone?" The pale teen nodded gratefully saying, "Yes, please do. I'm… not used to changing in front of… other intelligent beings." Jason knew he just portrayed severe awkwardness thinking, I hope they do not think of me as weird. Rarity seemed to understand last time, but as sympathetic as Fluttershy seems, I really have no idea of what she thinks of me. "Are you sure you can get the clothes in the condition you're in?" asked Fluttershy worriedly. Jason shook his head no saying, "I appreciate the concern, but this is something I feel I must do myself. If I need anything, I'll give ya a yell." Then, he thought, I know changing clothes will be difficult, but I really don't care at this point. I do have pride, and I am stubborn like that. Wait, why do I even care?! It's not like they wear clothes themselves most of the time 'cause they have a coat! I don't have a coat so why do I care what they think?! It is both functional and decorative! He looked down and examined the clothes before him again. No underwear. How bothersome. "Oh… alright, but please be careful," said Fluttershy nervously as she followed Rarity out of the room. When the door shut behind them, Jason sighed and painfully shifted into a sitting position at the edge of the bed with his forelegs dangling off the edge. He had been lucky Fluttershy had not decided to use a full cast for his left leg. Slowly, and painfully, he put the socks on one by one. Then, he grunted as he started to pull the pants on. It was a lot more painful than the young man would have ever imagined. He was already sweating, and he had only now got his pants past his knees. Jason sighed and thought crossly, I'm lucky the pants fit with the bandages and casts on. Next time you are heavily injured and have to change clothes. Do not turn down the offer for help. It might just save you some pain. It's not like they're human and have the same social rules as us. He sighed though and decided to keep going without the help… this time. He grunted and wheezed as he pulled the pants on with only one arm and a bad leg. After a few minutes, the pale teen succeeded finally and decided the shirt and belt can wait until the ponies can help and called, "Hey, y'all you can come back in now! I finished about all I can do by myself at the moment!" He breathed heavily with his face slick with sweat as he thought, I really need to figure out how to not be so stubborn. Just getting socks and pants on made me exhausted. The door opened almost immediately and the two mares filed back in. They both looked at the human with concern since he was breathing so heavily, but they did not move to help, yet. "Are you alright, dear? You look as if you just ran across town," said Rarity with concern evident in her voice though he really cannot tell if it was actually for the clothing or for him. Either way he found the concern rather annoying. The young man hid it well though. "It was a lot more painful than I expected," Jason said with an effort to keep his voice even. "I don't see a way I can put the shirt on with this sling on though. My apologies." Rarity shook her head in a show of 'don't worry about it' he guessed. Then, she said, "Considering your condition, Tiberius, I'm surprised you didn't allow us to assist you sooner. Let me help you with the rest." He nodded resigned. "Alright." Jason held his left arm outward as Rarity used her magic to undo the sling and hold his arm in place while she put the unbuttoned dress shirt on him, and quickly rehashed the sling after the sleeve was on the right arm. She then proceeded to put his belt on for him as well before buttoning up the shirt and the cuffs. Then, the magical glow of her telekinesis spell dissipated, and he was left fully dressed. "Other than your mane and facial hair, you look fabulous, Tiberius," says Rarity proudly as she took a few steps back. "Though, I suppose a bath would not hurt." Jason inspected the clothes thoughtfully before he looked back to Rarity saying humorously, "I feel like I'm going to a fancy dinner party. Feeling high-class now." Rarity stared at the human with a confused expression on her muzzle commenting absentmindedly under her breath, "I had come to the belief you were high-class." Unfortunately for her though, Jason still overheard her and almost chuckled at the thought of him being upper-class. The simple assumption she made also made him uncomfortable though he did not show it. "My apologies. The clothes that you had found were some of the best clothes I had. I was actually once in the middle wage class, but being laid-off my job a month before I was teleported here made me fall to poverty. Not that it made much a difference though since I was always just teetering on that line to begin with. Anyhow, thank you again for the clothes, but I have nothing to pay you with monetarily." Rarity was dragged out of her thoughts again replying with nonchalant, but dramatic, wave of her hoof, "No payment is necessary, darling. I just simply could not allow you to be without clothes when you have so little fur." Though he was sure Rarity had not intend it to, the comment stung, but Jason really could not complain to the pony that had just given him clothes to wear either. So, he decided to change the topic to something he thought she would find interesting from their conversation they had last time. "Well, I immensely appreciate it either way. You know there is this old cultural saying back from my country that's called the American Dream, and it entails going from a lower wage class to a higher wage class and pursuing your ambitions to bring you into that higher wage class and become successful." "Oh, that sounds like you, Rarity," commented Fluttershy absently with a smile. Rarity nodded slightly in agreement. "Tell me more about this Amer-i-can Dream, would you please, Tiberius." Jason nodded just happy to be away from the previous topic. "Well, just to tell you it didn't start with North American Federalized Union, but rather the United States of America, which is now the central band of NAFU, and was the country I was born and lived in before the war. Anyway, it started in the USA around the time it started to expand across the continent of North America to the wild and unclaimed regions to the west. Settlers would travel to the west and lay down a claim to the land and would hope to start a new life and become prosperous. Over time, however, the western areas were populated and it shifted more towards a vertical economical climb rather than owning land. Now, the Dream is still economic prosperity, but with fame too. Sadly most people never get to see the American Dream come to fruition for them, but the ones that do are among some of the most powerful individuals in my world." "Your country sounds like it has great ideas, Tiberius. Were you proud to be a citizen?" asked Rarity curiously. Unfortunately, the young man was not sure how he would like to answer that seeing as how he despised the government, but he loved the ideals and base of how the United States was constructed. Jason certainly did not like NAFU, but he had no choice in that either. After a moment of thought, he finally responded, "I loved being a citizen of the United States of America for what it stood for: freedom, equality, the American Dream, and democracy. However, I didn't like how corrupt our government had become and the way our country had been slowly deteriorating because of it. I certainly do not like NAFU, but that is for how it was made and having our God given rights taken from us." "From what you told me, it sounds like you were not alone in hating your government," responded Fluttershy with a hint of sadness. "I'm glad Equestria isn't like that." Jason scratched his beard with his left hand inquiring, "So is Equestria the name of this planet or is it just the country we are in? You never did clarify." Rarity blinked in mild surprise before answering, "Equestria is our country, but I would of guessed you would as Twilight that type of question, darling." He shrugged with his left shoulder saying, "Well she isn't here right now, and just to be fair either one of you could have answered the question. I was just curious is all. By the…" Suddenly, Rarity seemed to remember something and started to become frazzled saying, "Oh dear! I'm going to be late to pick up Sweetie Bell!" "Don't let us keep you, Sweetie Bell will probably be upset," prompted Fluttershy quietly as she started to worry about Sweetie Bell as well. "Your right! I'll see you two later!" Rarity said exasperatedly as she galloped out the door with her saddlebag in magical tow. -X-X-X- The human blinked in mild surprise not knowing how to respond in the exchange and sudden leave of the white and royal purple unicorn. He did not need to say anything though as Fluttershy turned to him and said, "I'm sorry about that, Jason. Rarity has to go pick up her little sister. They have been on bad terms again recently." Jason nodded slowly thinking, I'll also have to ask Twilight if ponies have some sort of enhanced internal clock. That would be an interesting discovery it that would be true. It would also mean there would be no need for standard clocks either, which might get annoying. "Are you alright, Jason? You seem upset. I'm sure Rarity was not meaning to be rude," comforted Fluttershy. Hearing his name pulled Jason out of his thoughts, and he asked, "Why do you think I'm upset? Was I scowling or something?" Fluttershy nodded nervously not saying anything. He chuckled lightly before explaining, "That was just my expression I get when I am thinking. I can get quite absorbed into my thoughts so I have that expression and I seem to be ignoring you, it's not intentional. I'm just lost in thought… quite literally actually." He chuckled some more. She nodded her head but obviously feeling better. Then, he started to get a feeling in his gut. Literally oh shit… I have ta go take-a-dump, and I still have no idea whether or not the ponies even have the concept of toilets or indoor plumbing at all yet. Well, I guess now is much better than never, Jason thought awkwardly before forcing himself to ask, "Um… do you… have a toilet?" He winced at how quiet he sounded. Then, the thought of why he had not needed to go to the toilet for his solid waste occurred to him. Quickly, he chose not to think about it. Some things were better off not known. Fluttershy turned one of her ears toward him and said, "I'm sorry. I couldn't hear you." Jason started to think he was making a fool of himself and restated in his normal tone, "Uh… do you have a toilet?" She stared at human confused and asked, "What is a 'toilet'?" The young man started to turn red from embarrassment and quickly explained, "It is a place where one leaves their digested solid waste." "Oh! You mean you need to go to the latrine! Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't understand you sooner! Please don't be mad at me! I'll go get a wheelchair!" exclaimed Fluttershy with some urgency as she quickly left the room to find the said object leaving a Jason Nalick blinking in surprised confusion. For a few more minutes, Jason waited with mind full of questions that he planned on asking over a matter of a few weeks, but he quickly pushed the mental list aside and started to practice with his left hand again on another sheet of paper. After the fifth sentence, he was interrupted by Fluttershy's reentry with the wheelchair saying, "I hope this works well. I know it won't be perfect since it wasn't intended for humans." Jason studied at the wheelchair in question with a curious gaze. The seat is larger than the average human wheelchair, but the basic shape is the same. There also seemed the addition of a fold-away desktop, but since ponies do not have hands and need things closer to them to manipulate things with their mouth, it made since. There also seemed to be an air tank and some type of metal structure on the back which he could not fathom the purpose to. Finally, he said, "It should do nicely. I'm just glad that wheelchairs exist." Fluttershy nodded with a smile, and she helped the injured man make the painful transition to the wheelchair. "I'm glad Twilight brought her wheelchair yesterday. I wouldn't of had one big enough if she didn't," Fluttershy said with a happy tone. The young man raised both eye brows in surprise clarifying, "She doesn't need this anymore, does she?" Fluttershy shook her head as she pushed him out of the room and to the top of the stairs which made the human a bit nervous. "Oh no, she used this when she got injured awhile back, but she said she made some additions to it to help it get up and down stairs." "Oh? What are they?" Jason asked with nervous curiosity. "Well, she put an electric fan and a balloon that can be filled and emptied back into a tank in the back," explained Fluttershy as best she could. "The controls are on the left side. I think. Oh, I wish she was here to explain it." He looked on the left side noticing three levers, and then he examined the right to find a book in the slot built into the desktop. Curiously, Jason used his left hand to grab the book and opened it. It was not in a language he could read, however, so he closed it again and looked at the cover which had a picture of the wheelchair in schematic form. "I think I found the instruction manual, but there's a problem." "What is it?" asked Fluttershy with curiosity overriding her nervousness. "Your written language isn't the same as mine. I can't read it," Jason stated flatly with a twinge of frustration and a good dosage of disappointment. "I was wondering what language you were attempting to write with your left paw," commented Fluttershy as she unfolded the desktop so she could use it as a platform. "I can read it for you. It's not a problem." He opened up the manual to the first page saying, "Thanks, Fluttershy. I really appreciate it." There were other matters that he was literally holding back so a long delaying conversation was not an option. He was half temped just to hop down the stairs, but there was no railing so that might be the best idea. "It's not a problem, Jason. I like helping," Fluttershy said as she started to read the Equestrian written language. The pale teen remained quiet and attempted to read along, but it seemed to be more than a different shape of the alphabet. It could be runic, hieroglyphic, or phonetic for all Jason could tell, but he could not tell heads or tails out of the entire language past its basic characters. There are definitely more than twenty-five characters if it was an alphabet though. Finally she stopped reading and walked over to the left-hand/hoof side and pointed at the lever furthest away from him with a wheel under it instructing, "I think you pull this up and turn the wheel under it leftward until it stops." He did as she said which made a metal pole rise up from the back where the equipment that was thought useless earlier is, and the wheel turned the balloon and its frame into position from a folded down position to parallel to the ground above the occupant. "That's interesting. Using lighter-than-air travel to navigate stairways and other obstacles. Ingenious, I wonder how much this cost," Jason commented with a calculating expression before turning back to Fluttershy saying, "You can continue." She nodded uncertainly as she pointed to the second and third levers explaining, "This controls the lift, and the third controls the wing speed." The human wondered at the 'wing speed' terminology, but saved the thought on the choice of words for later saying with confidence, "Alright, I think I understand, Fluttershy. Thanks for explaining that to me." Fluttershy backed away with a happy smile responding, "Isn't that what friends are for?" Jason nodded with an appreciative smile while he thought, I wonder why all these ponies are stressing friendship so much. I think I'm starting to like this culture. I just hope nothing ever takes advantage of such an innocent and pleasant culture. Then he started to flirt with the second gear until he felt the wheels leave the ground after only a few nudges up and thought, I hope this doesn't use something similar to hydrogen in an explosive sense. I do not want to be a mini Hindenburg. Then, he held his breath hoping that Twilight's contraption did not go up in flames as he nudged the third lever up. He felt it click into its first position unlike the others which move smoothly. He heard a whirring sound, and the contraption started to move forward. Now Jason Nalick was in concentration mode as the wheelchair clears the railing at the top of the stairs and lower the second lever some to let him start a slow decent. As he cleared the stairs, he shut off the fan and nudged the second lever down more until he lands on the ground and let the rest of the air back into the storage tank. Fluttershy trotted up next to the human as he let out a breath that he did not realize he had been holding. Then, he used the reverse order to return the frame, balloon, and pole back to their storage positions. "That was nerve-racking. Glad it works though, it'll make life easier for however long I'm unable to walk. Remind me to thank Twilight next time I see her." "I will, but are you sure you want to use it? You seemed awfully nervous," inquired Fluttershy with concern. Jason sighed with a forced smile assuring, "It'll be fine. I jus have ta get used to it is all. Now, where's the latrine?" Fluttershy used her forehoof to point at the closed door across the room to the left of them saying, "It's in there, but be careful. The water pressure is a little high." "I'm sure I'll be alright," the teen assured her as he wheeled himself across the room and into the bathroom wondering what was bad about high water pressure and hoping he did not find out. As he entered the bathroom, Jason noticed it was similar to some Japanese-style bathrooms that he had saw in a home makeover show a few years back, but with a few slight differences. It was certainly larger than any bathroom he had personally seen before. Well of course their bathrooms are going to be bigger than the average human's! They're bigger animals! he scoffed at himself. After a few moments inspecting, he turned around and closed the door behind him before pulling a lever which he assumed is the lock that changes the label above that from yellow with black writing to blue with white writing which he equates to the unoccupied/occupied labels you often see on porta-potties at the public fair. Wheeling over to what he assumed was the toilet; the young man noted that it had a flushing system that was similar to the standard toilet back home. Then, he made a tedious and painful transition from sitting in the wheelchair to the toilet seat which he noted also did not lift up like a standard biped's would. Jason did his business as he stared at what he assumed was the flushing mechanism hanging from the ceiling in front of him since there was not one on the toilet itself. Then, Jason noticed there was no toilet paper and no place for the toilet paper to be stored. He thought about yelling something to Fluttershy, but thought better of it. He looked around desperately trying to find something to wipe himself off with, and finally his eyes landed on the manual. He grabbed it and flipped though it desperately trying to find a blank page, and thankfully at the end there was one. He tore it out and used it before finally pulling on the flushing pulley. Then, Jason received the worst shock of his life as he heard the toilet begin to flush and a jet water simultaneously hit his rear causing him to yelp first in surprise until his muscles tense then in pain which quickly caused him to cough a few times. "Oh shit!" Fluttershy quickly burst in demanding in worry, "Are you okay, Jason?! I heard a yell and you've been in here an awfully long time!" At first, the human blinked in surprise and just stared for a moment completely stupefied. Then, the realization of what exactly just happened hit him, and Jason immediately turned red and face-palms before starting to laugh hysterically. Fluttershy began to back out with an uncertain and embarrassed expression on her muzzle. Jason forced himself to stop laughing after a moment and said out of breath, "I'm sorry, Fluttershy. I'll explain what caused me to laugh when I get back out." Her expression did not seem much better, and she simply nodded as she closed the door on her way out. He shook his head in embarrassment and attempting to control his laughing fit as he redressed himself and transitioned back into the wheelchair. As he left, Jason changed back the symbol on the door and shut the door behind him. He looked around to see if he could find Fluttershy but did not see her in the living room. However, he did notice the front door was ajar. So, he wheeled himself to it, and noting that it was not locked, closed it behind him as he left the cottage to the blinding sunlight outside. The pale teen instinctively shielded his eyes from the bright light and as his eyes adjust, he started to look around for her, but again, she was nowhere in sight. Jason looked up in higher areas to see if she had flown anywhere since she was a pegasus after all, but still to no avail. Oh come on! I didn't think I had upset her that much! he thought angrily scolding himself as he gave the left arm/foreleg rest a thump with his fist. Deciding she would show up when she is ready and since he was in no condition to go looking for her, Jason sighed and started to look around noting there were a lot of different animals around. She even had a chicken coop which made him wonder whether Equestrians are truly vegetarian or not. The sightseeing was not to last though as a white rabbit opened up the door behind the unsuspecting human, jumped up into his lap, and smacks him in the face. "Huh? What the hell?" At first, Jason had no idea what to think, but obviously the bunny wanted his attention. "What do you want, little guy?" It made flapping motions with its forelegs as it sat upright, a scared fidget, and then pointed inside. "Fluttershy is still inside? I didn't see her. Where is she?" Jason asked the bunny with something of a disbelief he was actually communicating with a rabbit. This is starting to get ridiculous. I feel like I'm in Wonderland from "Alice in Wonderland" now. The bunny made a pillow like gesture with its paws as it snored and then made an outline of a rectangle in the air. Then, it made a crying motion before settling back into its angry expression. "So she's in the bedroom… and she's crying. Damn, I didn't think… Thanks, little guy," the human said to the white rabbit before it jumped off and pointed back to the house with a huff. Jason sighed as he made his way back to the base of the stairs and used the lighter-than-air system to get himself to the top. When landing, he noticed the door was cracked and crying was emanating from inside. News alert! I'm now officially the asshole of the millennium! Fuck, I didn't think this was going to happen. I wasn't even laughing at her. I was laughing at myself… the young man thought morosely in a scolding fashion. Eventually, he built up enough courage to knock on the door and apologized, "Fluttershy, I'm sorry about laughing, but I was directing it at me. I hadn't been expecting the jet of water for cleaning, and it made me jump which made my muscles tense and caused me to yelp in pain. Then you came in and I got embarrassed. I was laughing at the entire situation that had happened right then. I was laughing at myself. I didn't mean to embarrass or hurt you." He heard the crying stop and a clopping of hooves as she approached the door and opened it. To his surprise, she was smiling and her eyes are not an irritated red like what happens when one cries. Jason blinked a few times in confusion without saying anything. Either she just had a major personality change, pegasi eyes do not redden when they cry, or she had not been crying at all… "I'm sorry, Jason, for making you think I was crying," she started off, but then her expression changed to nervous embarrassment. "I was actually laughing, but please don't be mad at me. I didn't want you to think I was being mean so I hid in here to laugh. Was I really making that much noise? Did I upset you?" The human smiled and sighed in relief. He held his index finger on his left hand up and explains, "First of all, I didn't mind that you were laughing. I laughed too, and besides that situation was too awkward not to laugh at." He held up a second finger and continued, "Second, I had actually gone outside at first thinking you were out there. It wasn't until a white bunny using different gestures told me that you were up here. It was also under the impression that you were crying. So, good job on the hiding part." Finally, Jason held up a third finger and finished, "And third, I didn't hear you until I was literally in front of the door close enough to knock. So, all things considered, I think we just had a big misunderstanding." After a moment, the tension broke and they both laughed, though hers seemed more like a giggle. During the laughing though, Jason noticed how much he had actually relaxed since he had come here. In fact, he was more relaxed now than he had ever been in his own world except for when he was about to go to sleep in his own bed. Jason filed away the observation for later though so he could enjoy the hearty laugh. It was not one of his usual hysterical laughs that erupt to deal with stress, but a genuine laugh which was a rare commodity for any human to enjoy. After a few moments, the laughing petered-out and the human and mare made their way back downstairs to the living room. As Jason landed, Fluttershy turned to face him and said, "I have to go out and check the songbird population on the north edge of town. I'm sorry this is so sudden, but I was supposed to go quite a while ago when Rarity showed up. I'm hope you're not upset with me." Her expression seemed sullen and nervous now, but she seemed determined too. The young man shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Now that I'm mobile again, I should be able to take care of myself until you get back. I am an adult after all." Then he thought to himself, Besides if I can't take care of myself now that I can move, I am one sorry excuse for a human being. She nodded with enthusiasm seemingly happy that he agreed without argument. "Oh good." She pointed in the direction of the wood stove which had a pantry sitting a safe distance away from it continuing, "The kitchen is over there, so help yourself to anything you want while I'm away. I know it isn't much, I'll cook something when I get back." Jason nodded in agreement with a reassuring smile. "Alright, sounds fair. I'll see you upon your return then. Oh, and lets not talk about the toilet incident to anyone." "I think that's for the best. See you in a while. Have a good time." Fluttershy gave a small smile and stepped out the front door before flying off with the door left ajar again. Hmm, I wonder if she leaves the door open for the rabbit. It would make sense if the rabbit is her pet, though I would hesitate to call that particular rabbit a pet, Jason thought as he maneuvered himself out the door, and noticed she was already just a speck in the distance. He glanced around again and started inspecting the area out of curiosity. "Wow, what beautiful scenery. I haven't anything like this except for pictures of Ireland, but in person… Enchanting…" His mind was overwhelmed as he took in the beautiful scenery, and without realizing it, he started to go down the dirt road away from the cottage. Then he stopped himself, and turned around as it came to mind that Fluttershy may have wanted him to stay at the cottage. "Maybe I'll just look around the cottage. There is bound to be interesting things around here too," Jason said to himself, though not entirely convinced, "Besides I feel starved." He went back into the cottage and opened inside the pantry. She was right when she said she didn't have much, but the apples look good, the young man thought to himself as he pulled three green and two red apples out of the basket and shut the pantry again. Then, Jason picked up pencil from the small table in the living room and went back outside to enjoy the sun as he ate the apples and started on a journal of his time in this place known as Equestria. Whether real or fiction, it mattered not.