and with that... everything

by The Anonymous Writer

Chapter Two: Nothing

Chapter Two: Nothing

If you're anything like most people, you'd be curious to know what traveling through a dimensional portal into another world feels like. It feels like a mild electrocution. Not bad enough to make you involuntarily piss your pants, or jiggle your jimmies, or writhe in horrendous agony, but it's something of a shock, nevertheless. I'd have to probably caution against it if you have a weak heart, or are prone to seizures for no apparent reason.

So in the interest of all fairness, I did sort of have to electrocute myself each and every time I wanted to travel to Ponyville to be with my friends. They never really seemed to be phased by the portal. From what I could ever tell, they just had a little extra static cling to them, and would randomly pick up lint and cloth; but nothing that seemed near as stupid as me getting a mild zap.

I should probably also mention that the portal is fixed in one spot in Equestria: Sweet Apple Acres. So that first time I told you about where I was butt ass naked, cupping my Johnson and the twins—I don't have to tell you that it was Applejack that was the first to meet me. I was embarrassed; it was uncomfortable; there was lots of screaming and yelling and panicking. Big Mac got involved, and then to make matters worse, Granny Smith came to investigate. I wondered if I'd ever be able to have Mr Johnson stand at attention again after that experience.

When everything was said and done, I realized that the ponies in Ponyville were pretty decent folk. I use that term loosely of course, because they aren't folk, they're ponies. And I have not forgotten that fact since that day. Nope, not for one minute.

When we arrived on the farm, I was immediately greeted by Big Mac. He was out in the fields planting—that's what he did. Don't ask me why they were always planting. All I know is that they only ever gathered apples. Strange, strange, strange. Sort of like one of those mysteries of nature programs on TV; we know it happens, but science has multiple brain-gasms trying to understand it.

Big Mac is always stoic when I see him. I'm still not too sure if he even understands what's going on at all. Sometimes I get the distinct impression that he's sort of special, like in a, his momma dropped him on his head sort of way special—a social paradox. Like one of those people that has no clue how to interact in society, but can solve a Rubik's Cube in a matter of seconds.

With a curt nod of his head, Big Mac acknowledged my appearing through the portal, and then went off to do more planting. Sheesh. Applejack must make him do all the dirty work.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash scattered as soon as we got there, and I strolled past Mac to their house, where I expected to find Applejack doing some chores, or yelling at the help for being, and I quote, "slack jawed tar heads." She always comes off more rough and tumble than she actually is. Truth is, she's a real sweetie when you get to know her, sort of like the tomboy that I used to know that lived a few houses down from mine when I was a kid. Her name was Del. Probably short for Delila or something. She would come over and knock me to the ground, then she would sit on me, and threaten to fart in my ear if I didn't go with her to do some sort of mischief.

Sometimes it was tough being Del's friend; but she did show me her boobs once, out behind the portable building we used for a tool shed. She had a birthmark on the left one that reminded me of Garfield. I often wondered if Applejack would be the sort of girl that would show me her boobs, that is, if she had any. Probably best not to go there, you're obviously giving me some pretty strange looks, and I'm no doubt sending out a creepy vibe.

"Hey, what's up?" I said, as I approached Applejack. She had her face buried in the open door of her cellar, like she was waiting on something to happen.

"Oh, hey, Tommy," she whispered, taking a careful glance out of the cellar, then sticking her head back in the opening. "I'm trying to catch a mouse."

"Do you have a mouse trap?"

"Yeah, but that varmint is clever. Been getting into my corn sacks; and I want 'em dead."

Holy shit, she actually had something besides apples. I was amazed.

"Where do you get the corn? I asked.

"From town," she said before shushing me.

I wanted to smack myself in the forehead. Guess the conundrum of what they planted versus what they harvested would never be solved. I was pretty bored standing there waiting on the mouse to fall into its entrapment, so I occupied myself with imagining that Applejack was a pirate at sea, and that she was watching her crew from the upper deck of her ship. I'm kidding. I was sitting on the ground, picking at the bits of burs and sticker weed that had managed to cling to the legs of my jeans as I wandered up to her house.

Eventually, she sighed and withdrew her head from the cellar door, and gave me a wary grin. "Guess that rat will have to wait." She gave me an inquisitive look. "You're here for another bath, aincha?"

She could almost read my mind, but then over the past four months, my stopping by to borrow her bath tub was no longer an unconventional thing. "Yes, ma'am," I said. "Twilight is cooking me dinner at her place tonight."

"Whoo, sounds like somepony is gonna be getting his rope oiled." A quick flash of her teeth, and a punch in the gut, and Applejack trotted off to her front door. "Come on slow poke, the bath ain't gonna go no faster with you standing out here."

I have never once considered getting my rope oiled by Twilight, or any of the other ponies in Ponyville. I am a gentleman, sort of. I'm not against a little playing; maybe some tussling, or some hugging, cuddling, and erotic touching because Rainbow Dash said she had an itch that she couldn't reach; but I am not into ponies.

I watched her go into the house, and I followed obediently. For some reason, Applejack had the ability to command me, and if she ever knew about it, she would use it to her advantage. Hell, for all I knew, she probably suspected as much, and did use her powers for evil. I knew that I wasn't going to confront her over it.

* * * * *

The bath was nice and warm. I liked my showers, like anyone, but a bath was the perfect stress relief. I could feel all the turmoil of the day just withering away and melting. For just a few minutes, I didn't have to think about ponies, or work, or the possibility that my friends were a mental disorder. The doctors and the prescriptions, the worry and the dread could all go to hell.

It was a shock the first time it happened. And by that I mean, the first time that Applejack walked in on me in the bath. Now it's something of a strange coincidence that she just happens to need in there every damn time I'm in there. If it isn't, "Oh, sorry. I just need to get my brush. Whoops, guess I forgot that it was in my bedroom." Then it's, "Hey, I was wondering if you could take the lid off of this jar of pickled beets, I just love beets." Who in the fuck loves pickled beets?

So like I was saying, it was no surprise when five minutes into my bath time, that I hear the faint knocking on the door, and I see Applejack's muzzle pop through. "Hey, partner. Mind if I join y'all for a spell? I'm dirtier than a circus flea at a mud wrasslin' convention in the Dust Bowl."

This was a first. It was definitely a first.

"Are you serious?" I asked, as I tried to cover myself in the tub. I shouldn't have even bothered. By that point Applejack had probably seen my package more times than I had, figuratively.

"Oh, now don't go getting your long johns in a bunch, I used to bathe with Big Mac all the time when I was a filly."

"And then I bet suddenly, he decided it wasn't a good idea anymore, right?"

"Yeah, always wanting his alone time."

I realized as she climbed into the tub and wiggled into place opposite of me, that there was no arguing. She was stubborn, and could always get her way.

The tub was accommodating for the two of us. I could have my legs stretched out all the way on either side of her rump, and she could rest her back hooves on my legs just above the knees. She gave me a satisfied grin of accomplishment as she splashed at the water in front of her with her hoof. "This is nice, ain't it?"

I shrugged. "It's not bad."

"Oh, come on now. I know a dozen stallions out there that would bust their sack at having a pretty filly like me in the bath with 'em." God almighty, she could be crude sometimes. I could only shrug at her, and that was obviously the wrong thing to do. She immediately splashed water at me, landing a generous amount of it in my eye. "You're acting funny."

"Maybe it's because I have a pony in the bath with me."

"No, it's something else."

She frowned, and kicked at me with her right leg, hitting me in the inner thigh. "Does it have something to do with them doctor visits?"

"How do you know about that?"

"It don't take no genius to figure that out, pumpkin. Every time you come back from visiting one of them, you look like Apple Bloom stole your lunch money."

"Apple Bloom is too nice to take anyone's lunch money," I retorted, hoping I could get her off the subject.

"Don't let her happy-go-lucky butter ass fool you. She'll knife you, steal your money, then step on you as she walks over your cold lifeless body."

For a split second, we stared at each other, then both erupted into laughter. We laughed so hard at the notion that Apple Bloom could rob someone that we jiggled the water in the tub almost out onto the floor as it sloshed back and forth. Then we settled down and Applejack gave me a serious expression. "Come on, shug. Tell me what's eatin' at ya."

"The doctors think that I have a condition that makes me see things that aren't there," I said. I was looking down as I told her. "He seems convinced that all of you in Ponyville are part of those things that I see that aren't real. That I have an illness in my head, and you, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Rarity... everyone, are because of the illness."

Applejack was frowning hard as I told her this. I could tell that she was getting angry; not at me, but at the doctors. I suspect that if one of them were within the reach of her hooves, she's have strangled the life out of them right there on the spot, and then stomped their ass for good measure. I honestly hadn't seen her make that face before, and I found it alarming.

Applejack looked to her left and frowned harder. I could tell she was greatly disturbed by what I told her. Then suddenly she jerked her head back to me and frowned more, baring her teeth. I thought for a second that she was going to bite me in the face, but she took a few deep breaths and relaxed some. "What do you think?" she asked.

"I don't know, Applejack. I want to believe so much that it isn't the case, but when five doctors all give me the same diagnosis, what am I supposed to think?"

"I can see how this kind of thing would have you being down," she said as she scooted over and leaned against me, pressing her back against my chest. I couldn't help it, I buried my face in her neck and wrapped my arms around her. I squeezed her so tight, it felt as if I was going to push all the air out of her and me both. "I promise that we will always be here," she said to me, as she brought her hooves up and laid them over my arms at her waist. "We will be with you forever."

"Applejack," I whispered. "Please, don't say things you know might not be true."

* * * * *

I'd love to tell you that the hugging that ensued in the bathtub precipitated other things of an intimate nature, but that would be a rather bold lie. In truth, all we did was sit in the tub and hold each other. Then, when I was finished with my bath, we embraced like long lost lovers, sharing a kiss. It wasn't that passionate, but it was sincere. I knew that Applejack wanted me to know a lot of things, and while we both knew that she was not very good with words, or expressing herself, she put every hope, fear, thought, and joy into that kiss; the likes of which, no tongue could tell.

The walk to Twilight's place was long and lonesome. I saw several ponies along the way, and I returned their gestures of friendliness. I waved and smiled, pretending that I wasn't walking to my uncertain doom. But I knew deep down that inside the library, once I got there, something was going to happen. Twilight was too smart for her own good, and she was the sort to make things worse at the worst possible times.

I entered the library and noticed that there were books all over the place. Not that surprising, really. I couldn't think of a time that there weren't lots of books scattered all over the place. This time, however, there were books littering the floor and everything with a surface that were on one specific topic: mental disorders. I frowned as I picked up one of the books, and held it up to examine. It was a book that outlined several mental conditions in ponies and some other creatures that I had never heard of. There were some sections in the books that were place marked, and I flipped to them easily enough to find that they were on possible cures; the likes of which made me wince. I for one was not eager to have my head subjected to the sounds of a Shrieking Sundrel. Whatever in the hell that was.

Still frowning, I walked through the library and into the kitchen where I could hear Twilight bustling about. I creaked the wooden door open and stood in the doorway, holding the book in my hands, letting it fall open to one of the places she had marked, and then marked again.

"Doing some light reading?" I asked, which caused Twilight to jump with surprise and let out a shout.

"You scared me!" she retorted, spinning around to face me. Then, seeing the book in my hands, her face made an expression of embarrassment. "Oh."

"Oh?" I said, stepping into the kitchen. "I thought we were going to have dinner; not discuss my condition."

"I'm not discussing it. And I wish that you wouldn't call it, 'your condition,' it makes me uncomfortable." She used her magic and snatched the book from my grasp and sat it on a table in the kitchen. "I want you to enjoy your time here. Look! I've got dinner almost ready."

I could smell the food from the time I walked through the library, and my stomach was doing cartwheels at the thought of a delicious meal. "It smells good," I said, as I walked around her to peer into the pots. I could see the pasta in there boiling away, and the Alfredo sauce was almost done. Its aromatic fragrance washing over me like a blanketed fantasy.

"Rainbow Dash has some last minute things to take care of in Cloudsdale, and said she might be late, and that we could start eating without her, and Rarity mentioned that she might come over, since she didn't get a chance to see you today." Twilight was standing at the stove, stirring the pots as she spoke.

"What about Pinkie and Fluttershy?" I asked.

Huffing slightly, Twilight gave me a look of annoyance. "They are still busy with Fluttershy's bunnies. Something about having to go all the way to Hoovesville to get some special formulated food, or Angel won't eat it."

"That sounds like Angel," I said, nodding my head. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"You can set the table if you want." Twilight smiled and then rushed over to me, and squeezed me around the midsection.

"What's that for?"

"I just wanted to give you a hug," she said.

I couldn't help it. There was something incredibly adorable about that, and it made my heart want to burst into a million little pieces. I gave her a hug back, and then watched her tear herself away with a giggle as she ran back to the pots.

There was a table on the opposite end of the kitchen, and I went to it to clear it of the few dozen books that Twilight had scattered on it from one end to the other. I smiled at the thought of her dragging her books all over the place to read them. I was like that with drinking glasses; I'd get one carry it with me and put it down half finished where ever I could find to set it down.

When I finished setting the table, I sat down in the spot that Twilight had said was my spot whenever I was visiting her there. It was a spot right at the head of the table. I had told her that it made me uncomfortable to take that spot, but she insisted that I was always the guest of honor, and that I should have the best seat in the house.

Using her magic, Twilight dished out a nice helping of Alfredo pasta onto my plate, and then sat down a long stick of garlic bread. When she did the same for herself, she smiled with a hint of embarrassment as she trotted to the cupboard and brought back a bottle of wine. I was shocked. Twilight was not the sort to ever want to drink with her meals, but I guess that it was some sort of special occasion.

Giving her a hand, I popped the cork and then poured us each a glass. She was all smiles, I knew she was ecstatic because she had made me dinner and hadn't set something on fire, or caused a meteor to fall from the sky. I took a sip of the wine, and frowned.

"Oh, is it not a good choice?" she said noticing my expression.

"It's not that," I said. "It just reminds me of a wine I'm familiar with."

"Really, which one?"

"A Pinot Bianco, or a Grigio." She tapped her hooves together in delight, and then took a sip. It was a near perfect night.

We ate in silence for most of the meal. Twilight did her best to pretend that there wasn't anything on her mind, and I let her pretend. There wasn't any point in spoiling the meal. But just as I pointed out earlier, she had that way of doing the worse things at the worst times. She spoke up and there went the meal.

"Tommy, can I ask you a hypothetical question?"

"Sure."

"If you thought that there was something wrong with me, and you thought that there was a way to make me better; would you want me to get better?"

I let out a sigh. I didn't want to have that talk but there was no getting around it. "Is that what this has been about? A nice dinner; my favorite dish; all so you can soften the blow?"

"Tommy, answer the question."

"Yes, I would want you to get better," I said, staring at my plate.

"I'm your friend, right? I mean, we all are. You love us, don't you?"

"Of course I love you," I said. "You are what makes life worth living."

"Then if you love me, if you love us, you should take the medicine."

"I just don't understand why you would want me to take a pill that may or may not make you all disappear. How could you want that?"

She looked down at her plate and moved some of the pasta around. "Because, you're suffering."

I shook my head. "I'm not suffering, I'm in perfect health."

"I've read about this condition of yours, the one that the doctor told you was a psychosis. I read about it, and usually that type of a condition is brought about by a great trauma, or an event that caused it to trigger... Tommy, I don't want you to suffer anymore."

"I don't want to lose you," I whispered. "I can't lose you..."

"You don't even know that you will. But if you are suffering, I can't watch you live in a delusion, I can't know that you are in pain, or wounded..." She started crying as she looked at her plate. "I want you to be whole. And if that means that you can never be with me again, then I could go on the rest of my life at peace, just knowing that you are alright."

"I can't."

"Tommy!" She was looking at me then. Her tears were marring the soft lavender of her face. I could feel my heart crumbling into shards with each passing second. I felt the pain... her pain. "Tommy, you are going to stay here tonight. We are going to enjoy our time together, and tomorrow, you will go get your medicine. We will all be with you. We'll spend the whole day together and we'll make the most of it. Then, you will take your medicine, and whatever happens, happens."

"Twilight, I..."

"Tommy, say it!"

I held her gaze for a minute. It was a long minute; long and agonizing. Then, just like that, I nodded my head. My words sounded like someone else's. "I will take the medicine."

Wiping at her face with the side of her hoof, Twilight smiled at me. It made my heart wither and fall into my stomach. I wanted to cry, and I wanted to hold her; but all I could do was sit there like a dumbass.

I don't know how long we watched each other; minutes, maybe hours. We were interrupted when the door to the library opened and closed, and Rainbow Dash came bounding in.

"What a shit storm!" she said, stomping in. "I've never seen the evening crew fuck up so bad." She stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she saw us seated at the table. She looked from Twilight to me, and then back at Twilight. "What's going on in here?"

I looked at her and smiled. A single tear had already marked a trail down the side of my cheek. "Nothing."

Comments

[setablaze53]

I don't understand why I get so emotional over stories, but this made my eyes water up.
Anyways, great chapter!

[Pearple Prose]

Your prose is superb. I'm bowled over.

I'm not really a fan of HiE but this one seems rather inventive, and I'm not feeling any gary stu vibes. Have a favourite.