37 - An Introduction to Social Dynamics
It was a few days before Twilight could seek out Jacob. She was a busy mare with a school to run. Jacob was, in her eyes, moderately low priority, especially with him being visible to the ponies of the town. He wasn't suffering, and she still wasn't entirely sure her input on the matter would make a critical difference.
Still, she had made a promise, and when she saw him there chewing a carrot and perched on his favorite bench, she wandered towards him. "Good afternoon, Jacob."
"Hey." He looked over her, applying his new super power to deduce that she was a little nervous about something by the way one of her ears was pinned back. "What's wrong?"
"Wrong? Oh, no! I'm fine." She smiled, forcing her ear up. "I was more concerned about you. Tell me, now that ponies can see you, have things improved, or deteriorated for you in terms of your quality of life?"
He tilted his head a little to the left. "That's a, uh, interesting way of asking how I'm doing." He began petting the bench next to himself. "I think I'm good. I think I'm... a little better? I have a girlfriend!" The last part he suddenly blurted, looking excited and perhaps a little terrified. "I never thought I'd have one of those. Um, since you're asking, maybe you can help?"
Twilight hopped up lightly beside him. "That's what I'm here for," she assured as she put a hoof to her chest. "Also, congratulations! The initiation of a romantic relationship is an quite the advanced step in socialization. You really are improving."
"I wasn't trying." He shook his hooves in the negative quickly. "It just... happened. She feels safe around me and I like being around her and we hang out a lot. The other girls said we were a... thing long before either of us did. I don't want to mess this up but I'm afraid I will any moment. She's the only pony I can't read."
"Can't read?" She lifted an ear towards him, looking faintly doubtful. "What do you mean, read?"
He gestured to that lifted ear. "Pony body language. Rose taught me and I'm still getting better at it, but it's amazing and it doesn't work the moment Lily comes into view." His cheeks began to burn thinking about her. "I just panic instead of reading."
Twilight's tensioned suddenly eased. "Oh, I understand." Nodding with building confidence, she patted his back with an extended wing. "You're nervous about failing this test and it's causing you to forget what you already know. But! There's an important factor you're not considering."
"What's that?"
"You already passed this test." She nodded softly once more. "Lily clearly wants to be your friend, and to be around you. You have nothing to prove. She has stated as clearly as a pony can that she enjoys you." Twilight pointed at him directly. "As you. You can be yourself."
"Everyone says be yourself." Jacob rolled his eyes. "Be yourself, be yourself. It--"
"--You have a girlfriend," interrupted Twilight. "I know those words can feel hollow when you're alone." She reached behind her head and rubbed lightly. "I mean, really... When I wanted to attempt romance, being told to 'be myself' felt like the worst advice, but you already did it. Whatever you are, she likes it."
"She likes it..." He sat up slowly, chewing on the words. "Yeah... She really kind of does. She likes it when I'm quiet. She likes it when I ask about her. She likes it when I get confused and just go quiet for a little while. She likes it when I ask what she wants and what she's thinking about."
Twilight set a hoof on his shoulder. "So maybe 'fixing' this isn't really what's needed, since it sounds like it's working quite admirably."
"Yeah..."
"Did I hear you have a girlfriend?!" Pinkie sprang out from nowhere, smiling up at the two on the bench. "Now we have a reason for a party!"
He considered that a moment, reading Pinkie. She was actually very easy to read, wearing her emotions on the outside without reservation. He could see she was joyful and excited. She was happy, for him. "Pinkie?"
"Yep?"
"Thank you, for being a friend." He reached down from the bench and placed a hoof right on her forehead. "Without you, I wouldn't be here."
"Aw!" Her happiness only redoubled. "Glad to be here!" She hopped up next to Twilight, placing Twilight between herself and Jacob. "Now about that party...?"
Twilight gestured to Pinkie, then Jacob. "You two have fun planning that. I should get back to work, but it's good we had this little chat. Feel free to stop by if you need anything else." She suddenly stopped. "Oh! You can seek out Starlight too, she's a counselor at the school and would be delighted to help."
Pinkie slid closer as Twilight jumped off the bench and took to the air. "Her schedule is always full." Pinkie rolled her eyes. "I mean, I get busy too, but she doesn't know how to just enjoy not having things to do, not like me and you." She suddenly threw an arm around Jacob.
Jacob blurt out a little laughter. "I'm just an amateur compared to the real expert."
"Ooo, who's that?"
"Rainbow Dash, of course."
"Someone call me?" Rainbow landed with a thump on the far side of the bench. "Hey Jacob, Pinkie. What's happening?"
"RD!" Pinkie threw her forehooves wide with a smile. "We were just planning a 'Congratulations on becoming special someponies' party for Jacob and Lily."
Rainbow burst into laughter, her tongue extending slightly. "How mushy. Not my thing, but hey, congratulations." She extended a hoof towards Jacob.
Jacob met it with one of his own, clopping the two together. "Thanks. How are things going?"
"Today's supposed to be a clear day." She extended a wing towards the sky. "And, as you can see, not a single cloud. My job is done! Speaking of done jobs, it's kinda nice not forgetting you constantly. Enjoying that?"
"It's a lot better," he agreed, nodding. "I... have a lot of friends," he said as if just realizing. Rainbow was a friend. Twilight was a friend. A lot of ponies knew him, even beyond a name, and they liked what they knew. Pinkie was a friend, even if she was everyone's friend. Then there were the flower mares, one of which had become a special somepony. "I never want to be a background character again, I think. Being in the--"
All was suddenly darkness. He was sitting on his haunches in the purest black void. He could see himself, but there was nothing else there, as if it was somehow perfectly lit nothingness. "Uh..."
It's been quite a while.
He peered at the words that formed in the air, glowing with a strange power. "We met before?"
You forgot? Rude. I gave you that form. I gave you this life. I saved you from your old one.
Jacob's eyes swept over the floating letters, reading them with faint muttering and moving his lips. "Wait. You're the one that cursed me!"
Is that how you want to see it? You haven't enjoyed this?
Jacob raised a hoof to his chin. "Why don't you come out?"
Come out? I am out. I am here. I am Text.
"No no, besides the words. You have a body, right?" Jacob squinted at the glowing letters. "Let me see you."
(annoyed) I don't have a body to read the signs of, so let me provide some helpful prompts. I cannot exist in the way you would desire. (calm) Let us return to the point. You wished to fit in, and I gave that.
"But I don't need that, not anymore. I fit in now. Ponies like me, as me." He stood up with a little half-smile. "I'm a good pony."
(placating)You're serviceable. (calm) But do you not want what I gave you?
"Do you mean being able to change? I like it... as an option. Can we just turn off the 'forget who I am' part? I don't want to be invisible anymore."
(emphasis) Anymore. (calm) You wanted it. Now you do not?
"Please?" Jacob smiled and reached out a hoof. "Thank you."
This experience has made you more polite. Still, this is your matter to resolve. My gift is given. You grow beyond it, and I will continue to watch. (skeptical) Don't bore me.
"Then I'll just introduce myself," he swore. "I'll tell everyone my name, and they'll remember me."
If you wish. This was your request, I remind. Do you want to return to humanity? I could send you home, lessons learned. You could find a human girlfriend, get a human job, do human things...
He considered that a moment, but when he thought of a human girlfriend, there was Lily, smiling at him nervously. "I can't leave her behind like that. That would be so mean... Besides, I like her."
Gone native, like so many others. Go on.
He was suddenly back on the bench.
Rainbow rolled a hoof at Pinkie. "Are you sure he wants a big party? No offense but he strikes me as more of a Fluttershy than a Pinkie Pie when it comes to party sizes."
Jacob shook himself out, blinking against the light of the sun. "Huh?"
"We were just talking about your engagement party," explained Pinkie happily.
Engagement? "We haven't decided on that yet! We're, you know, a couple, and that's cool."
"Right right, that." Pinkie nodded sagely as if that had been what she had said in the first place. "So do you want a big thing or a small thing?" She moves her forehooves far apart then close together to emphasize the words.
"I think..." He paused and frowned. "Lily would prefer a small thing, with ponies she knew well. Can you talk to her? I'll be happy with however many ponies are there. If I don't know them, I'll say hello." He smiled softly. "Saying hello is something I should have been doing before."
The greyness began to fade, becoming blue across his form in a slow line that started at the end of his nose and worked back over his body. His cutie mark remained, the smudged outline of a pony, for he could still stand in for others if he wished to. "But she's still coming out of her own shell, and I'll wait for her."
Pinkie suddenly had an arm around him, squeezing firmly. "I have passed the torch!"
"What torch?" Rainbow had a brow raised high. "Also you know you just... uh... colored. Are you standing in for a pony or something?"
Jacob returned the squeeze, both with one arm around the other, hooves at the other end of one another. "Pinkie helped me come out of my shell, and I'll help Lily. That's the torch, right?"
"Yup! But she's not kidding. You're all blue now." Pinkie tilted her head left and right, though she was not fighting the hug exchange. "Nice color, not that there's anything wrong with grey. My sisters are grey, you know."
"And she helped." He released Pinkie and stood up. "I should go talk to her. Maud was... great. Maybe she has some tips for special someponies, and she deserves a few more thank yous." It was only at that point that he really looked at his own arm as it moved to put his hoof down in front of himself. "Oh! Huh..."
"Yeah..." Rainbow smirked a bit. "You still Jacob in there?"
"I am Jacob," he stated firmly. "Nice to meet you, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie."
Rainbow lifted into the air and reached, mussing up Jacob's mane with her hoof. "Already know you, but hey, welcome to the world of color. Pinkie, tell me when the party's gonna be." Just as suddenly, she was gone, darting off into the air.
Pinkie waved at Rainbow before pulling out a mirror for Jacob. There he was, a soft blue shade. He had wings on his back and no horn atop his head. "No more errors."
"And that's alright," he agreed with a smile.
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Enjoyed it. I hate endings but sometimes its gotta be.
So he has a blue coat. An interesting idea is that Text wants them not to go native. I think not turning them into a pony or other creature native to that world would be a better option. Still this was a sweet ending and I hope all goes well for the new couple!
That was a good ending. Thanks for the lovely story.
Does everyone now see him as an alicorn?
9634125
He's a pegasus.
Aww, that's a really cute ending! Wish there was a sequel to this, but ehh!
Fin.
Nice side story. But still connected in a way to the other story.
A bien nice low-key story that took a challenging prompt and made it work.
The Text obliged quite nicely.
Wonderful conclusion. The florists do come out of nowhere, but you make the ship work in relatively little time. Sometimes the meet-cute works out. Thank you for a fascinating exploration of both Equestria and the mind of an introvert who was given too much of a good thing.
9654382
The florists surprised me too. I didn't plan for them! But I am happy they came in.
9463809
I have to say, the fact that Pinkie isn't believable at all is a failing point for this story. She doesn't seem to actually are, and still looks like she's exploiting him to become what she wants. Its just that now he's her "Friend" and she gets to satisfy herself by boinging around him with no regard to anything he thinks or feels, not allowi g him to decide anything. That's what sours me on how things will resolve, that he will be "fixed" by cursing him further and imprisoning him in a role that suits those around him. It being twelve chapters and Pinkie still being selfish and insincere makes it seem like that will be the status quo, with a happy ending for everyone except the protagonist.
9741832
And you'll never know because you stopped there. Your choice. I apologize for writing what does not appeal to you.
9741863
Who says I stopped? I'm at ch18 now. Though Pinkie still hasn't convinced me she's doing it for him. When she first said "I'll stop using you" her subsequent actions made her look a liar, so it seems she's just doing this so she has a playmate, rather than helping him. Mostly because it doesn't looks like she's giving him a choice in anything, nor is "No" a valid answer.
Edit: and no, I'm not saying "You suck for not writing what I want". That's just silly.
9742224
Pinkie is pushy, this is fact. She does come around.
9753340
Well of course. Honestly Fluttershy seems to be doing a better job than Pinkie is at helping him. For one, she actually seems sincere.
...that's it? No more? No resolution or turnaround? So much of it was just people forcing things on him to be what they wanted "for his own good". Pinkie is still a little shit that doesn't care what he wants, yet is somehow a "friend"? Daisy, Fluttershy and Twilight are the only ones who appear to genuinely CARE about him.
Worse yet is the malevolent genie. This was supposed to be HELPING him? No, that was a monkey's paw to take his wish and torment him with it. And the evil genie just... restores him? Makes him choose between what he has and what it took from him, just to drove the nail in deeper? Why not turn him back into a human, to fully be his true self if its removed the curse? If he isn't allowed to be himself, I can't consider this a Happy Ending, and with all this I can't believe a the asshat genie would allow him to be happy AND have his own actual identity at the same time.
While the beginning was... aggravating to read, the meat of the story was enjoyable. However it all stops abruptly without actually healing him, making it feel unfinished. The last chapter really should be reworked, because it isn't believable that he isn't still trapped in a curse meant to harm and hurt, with how the evil genie gets to do whatever with him. I'd rather see him be his REAL self regardless of what any character in the story wants from him, without anyone holding power over him to create doubt.
Overall a good story but too unresolved to upvote, not unsatisfactory enough to downvote. Would love to see a continuation.
9753532
Thanks for taking this trip with us. See you for the next story!
Glad this provoked thought. Always a good sign.
9753546
A more condensed and less ranting version: Pinkie seem to be pulling what she shoukd have learned from Cranky Doodle, and she never really seems to turn about and truly help him instead of doing what Pinkie wants, making her aggravating to read. Fluttershy and Daisy seem to have done the most good for him, and the story could have used more of them being wholesome.
It seems to end without actually resolving the conflict by having the evil genie show up, thereby ending the story. The genie's actions flat-out cannot be considered benevolent, because it has already firmly established itself as malicious by acting as a Monkey's Paw (twisting the wording of a wish to mean something harmful the wisher obviously didn't mean). Such a being would likely only let things lie if it was somehow harmful to him, if his situation somehow obscured, damaged, or forcibly altered his identity into something other than himself. And I don't mean turning into a pony, I mean effectively creating a different person by changing their characteristics, thus killing the real and original person mentally.
9755128
The Text it is not a good person. He is not a bad person. He just wants an interesting story it doesn't really care. Our protagonist found peace with himself and accepted his situation and decided to take a positive path. He has a bright future ahead of him. He is no longer forgotten. He has many potential paths he could take with the power that he has. which of those paths, I leave to the reader to imagine and consider which would be best.
9755133
That brings up some interesting thoughts. If this was intentional, then I applaud it. If not, then still nice touch to see. Also, this is going to get very Meta.
Now, this is assuming that the Author (you) is a seperate individual from The Text. What the Author, Text, and Reader see in the story is ultimately different due to the interference on the Text's part. By appearing in the story qnd acting upon the protagonist, it makes itself a character in the story, thus causing its actions to influence the outcome. If it took the role of a catalyst, "fairy godmother", or mentor type figure it would have less influence on the story that shifts its implications. Instead how it acts in the story is outside of those narrative tropes, more like those of a malicious figure. Granting the wish the way it did has no marks of being a karmic act, punishing someone for a wrongdoing wherein they either suffer further through hubris or atone and are cured. Neither is it an ordeal to overcome and learn a lesson. Instead it is twisting a wish (one neither truly selfish or selfless) with the intention of it being permanent and harmful. In addition, The Text ending the story how and when it did further impacts things. If it had removed the curse after he had improved because he had learned a lesson, or other such narratively significant act, it would fall in line with the tropes for such a story. Instead it berates him for not submitting to it, saying it is what he wanted/deserved, and that he should have stayed miserable. Then it gives him the choice of being freed from the curse and returned home to have his life back, and the fresher snd more recent bonds of friendship that have weakened the curse. Either way he looses out by having something of value taken away, rather than learning a lesson or overcoming some obstacle. Each step of The Text's Story (a seperate story from the Author's existing within the Author's Story) has its integrity undermined at several key points, casting doubt as to the validity of the events and whether or not the characters within it accomplished anything significant themselves, or if they were made to suffer and be pushed to what happened just because it satisfied the criteria of The Text. The end result is The Text establishing itself as Evil and Selfish, harming someone meaninglessly and setting them firmly in an unhealed uncured state and calling it a "Good Story" for its own amusement. In short, The Text may think its story is interesting, but due to its malicious and undeserved actions it undermines itself, making its own story end on an unhappy unsatisfying note.
Like I said, it got Meta.
9756973
You'll be (un)pleased to know the Text has appeared in several other stories, goading protagonists on and tormenting them with sweet promises and cruel fates, for its own amusement and those that would read its words.
Just wrapped up, and I gotta say, I loved it! It was a bit slow at first but the last few chapters really had me smiling. I don't know why this sat on my "read later" shelf so long. I wish I would have read it sooner.
So...that was a story. I gotta be honest, while I read it through, it just didn't really do much for me towards the end once they started solving the mystery, and it felt lacklustre. It was far more interesting in the beginning when the protagonist was filling in for other ponies and experiencing their own lives.
9806518
He can and likely will continue to do that, just without being a forgotten shadow in the process.
What’s the color of his mane now?
9933903
I imagined a dark color, perhaps even black.
Wow, this was such a fun time! It's been a while since I found a fic that I wanted to finish without putting it down for a break. The concept was so enticing, and it was great seeing Jacob develop. There were a few things that didn't really get cleared up, like the other humans (though they felt like they belonged to other stories that I haven't read yet). But the ending was a happy one that I enjoyed reading. Great job DS!
10008640
That's encouraging to hear. The other humans belonged to the same universe (Silver Verse), but were guest stars in this story. Glad you liked it!
Glichies no longer glichies, but what does his cutie mark stands for now?
10151702
It’s a representation of his skill to act as somepony else. A good way to put it is like a actor, they are good at playing someone else, but they don’t forget who they are. Just because he can still fill in for a missing pony doesn’t mean he is still an error.
Will there be a sequel?
10331982
If I an commissioned via my patreon, yes.
This is actually a very beautiful story. Needs an "Introspective" tag, but Fimfic doesn't have that. I love the more personal, soul searching feel of this all. And the side note of Mane 6 trying to figure out the MC.
The first chapter was abrupt as hell, and really didn't do this story justice. The overall content itself is really good and well-written. Maybe a few typos here and there, but overall really good. I usually pick what I read by the 10:1 like-dislike ratio, but I'm so glad I ditched that for once, because this is genuinely good, and left me with a smile for once.
Kudos for the author, you really made something that sticks out. I wish more people would read this.
10613004
I read along with your comments. Always nice to touch someone the right way. Thank you for taking this walk with me.
10864950
I like to read.
10865037
Protip: If you don't reply in the same chapter as a comment, no notification is sent that you replied.
(I got notified because it's my story)
10865041
My bad.
And so it ends now I have to go get another fanfic to read the hardest part is to find them
10865200
Glad you enjoyed the trip. I have a number of others if you're still hungry for horse words.
Just as good as I remembered. Great read.
11323954
Gasp, a second round. Is that even allowed? (furiously checks notes)
I'm confused. I thought he was getting to Daisy, but then suddenly it is Lily in this chapter.
I enjoyed this story, it was interesting. It seems his resolved form is as a pegasus, it makes sense since he has showed excitement every time he became a pegasus, but not when becoming a unicorn, unicorns were only convenient.
I'd assume he can still become the form of a different species, either by becoming more comfortable as one or when needed to fill in.
11713972
He is still the prince of errors. But he has so much more choice and identity. Now. It's a better place to be.