Settling In

by pchn00

Chapter 1: Back on Her Feet

Chapter 1: Back on Her Feet

“Well little filly, you officially have a clean bill of health.”

Jennifer couldn’t help but grin at that, despite not exactly being a fan of being called ‘little filly’. She didn’t even notice Doctor Gentle Touch wince and look away from the brilliantly glinting braces adorning her decidedly non-herbivore teeth. She kinda liked the rumors flying around about the metal braces being there to make it easier for her to tear through the bones of her prey.

“So no more chair? I can start doing stuff again?” Despite bristling at being described as a little kid basically, she was practically bouncing on the examination table at the news.

The unicorn stallion nodded absently, adjusting his glasses as he gave her chart another quick once over. “Absolutely. I’d still take it a little easy for a couple days. You don’t want to irritate your scar. Speaking of…since you’re on Ms. Pie’s insurance plan now you’re entitled to some ointment that’ll make it all but disappear.”

Jen couldn’t help but touch her abdomen at the mention of her scar. A reminder of her very one sided fight with Discord a few weeks ago. She’d been in Equestria for almost a month now but the events of her first few days felt like they just happened still. Discords release and subsequent attack on the princesses and elements of harmony then the race she and three of the elements had undertaken to stop him.

She accepted the small tub of cream levitated into her hands by the doctor’s silvery magical aura. “Just rub some into the scar every morning before you bathe. I’d like you to come back in for a follow up say…Tuesday after next? You’ll be in school then so how about four o’clock.”

With an eager nod the teen hopped off the table. “Sure thing, I’ll let Pinkie know. Do I gotta like…sign anything or something?” She was almost sixteen but this was the first time she’d ever been to the doctor without one of her parents, (or a colorful pink pony filling in for said parents).

With a chuckle her doctor nodded. “Just head up to the counter. My receptionist Notary has your information and Miss Pie is covered under Princess Celestia’s...’hero insurance’ plan so your medical bills are all taken care of. You just need to sign out and you’re free to go. And I’ll see you again in a couple weeks hm?”

A bright grin and nod was her response as she bounded out of the room and to the front counter. Jotting her signature on the forms the cheerful earth pony mare offered, she rushed out of the office and into the cool Ponyville morning air. “Freeeeeeedoooooom!”

Of course her exclamation drew a lot of attention. Not as much as it would have a few weeks ago when she first ‘went public’ with the citizens of the sleepy town, but she was still something of an oddity. With a little blush she readjusted her hoodie and slipped the hood over her head. Giving an apologetic grin she shrugged to the crowd. “Sorry…little excited.”

A little chorus of laughter and congratulations met her little announcement. Tucking her hands into the pocket at the front of the very comfortable hoodie Rarity had made for her she started onto the dirt streets of Ponyville heading toward Sugar Cube Corner. She was still a little put off by all the enthusiastic hellos and good mornings she received just for walking down the street. Though a combination of she and her friends’ stopping Discord in the newspaper and the more local news of her being the surrogate of everyone’s favorite party pony went a long way to the folk of Ponyville accepting the strange human girl into their midst.

It was a Saturday morning, evidenced by the typical crowd of little fillies and colts she always gathered in her wake. With the exception of three certain crusaders, the youngsters of Ponyville had a tendency to follow her at a cautious distance. Due in part to the rumors of her fearsome metal teeth, a rumor she helped to fabricate when a pair of little unicorn colts thought it’d be funny to dump a heap of snow on her head. She proceeded to exclaim how hungry she was for little pony and chase them about for the better part of an hour, (much to her throbbing abdomens protest).

She slowed her pace a bit, noting with some pleasure that the foals were getting closer. She could faintly hear the whispers…a filly daring another to get closer, a colt betting one of his friends wouldn’t touch her. From the corner of her eye she saw a particularly small palomino colt tentatively step closer…and closer. She feigned interest in something resting in the store front of Quills and Sofa’s, pretending not to sense his approach. He sure was a cutie with the big brown patch over his eye. Naturally that didn’t save him, the second one of his hooves reached out toward the heel of her beloved Converse sneakers she spun on her heel bearing her gleaming silver teeth in a vicious snarl.

“Time for breakfast!”

She was of course rewarded with a wave of terrified shrieks as the little ponies bolted around a corner. Her antics only received amused chuckles from the adults who witnessed the spectacle, who had seen it many times in the past weeks already.

With a spring in her step she entered the cheerful bakery, immediately hit with the drool inducing scent of every manner of baked good imaginable. Casting a cautious glance about the room for any tiny airborne attackers, and seeing the Cake’s foals not about she relaxed and approached the counter. With a little wave to Mrs. Cake in the kitchen the older mare gave her a smile and looked off to the side. “Pinkie! Jen’s here, why don’t you go say hello. I can cover for a little bit.”
“Jenny-bean!” Around the corner came the bouncing pink earth pony, her trademark face splitting grin in place. “What’d the doctor say? Are you all better now?”

“Yup! He said to take it a little easy for a few days still, and gave me a cream for my scar. Otherwise I’m good to go. I gotta go back Tuesday after next at four for a checkup.”

Her smile shrank a trifle as Pinkie whipped out a notepad, (where she whipped things out from was still a mystery to Jennifer), and jotted down the date and time. “Got it! Tuesday…four o’clock!” The pad seemed to vanish as mysteriously as it appeared. “Sorry I couldn’t be there with you but we have a HUGE order to fill for the Hearth’s Warming stuff coming up.”

Jen gave a non-committal shrug. “Hey it’s cool I’m a big girl. I don’t need ya holding my hand or nothin’.” Of course she WOULD have liked Pinkie there with her, but she was getting to the age where she shouldn’t need an adult at the doctor’s with her.

“Oh…well good! Good. So! Want some breakfast! I just whipped up a fresh batch of cupcakes!” The cheery mare presented said cupcakes, topped with an obscene amount of icing to match her bright pink coat.
Making a bit of a face Jen laughed. “I dunno how you can eat that sweet stuff so early. How about my usual blueberry muffin?”

With a nods Pinkie bounced her way into the kitchen and emerged with a fresh muffin that Jen suspected she had waiting specifically for her. “Okie dokie Jenny-bean! I should get back to work but we can get lunch together. D’you have plans for today?”

Accepting the muffin and managing not to slobber all over it Jen inhaled its scent with a faraway smile. “Plans? Nah I was probly gonna wander around town a little. Maybe try and track down Miss Cheerilee. We haven’t met yet but if I’m goin to her school Monday…” She shrugged.

“Ooo good idea! You should swing by Carousel Boutique too! I think Rarity said she was making you your own saddlebags for school!”

“Heh, alright so I officially have plans now. I’ll swing by around lunch time!” With a wave over her shoulder Jen strode back out into the bright sunshine. It was a cloudless winter day, so the sun was shining brightly on the dusting of snow covering the ground. Almost reverently Jen freed her muffin from its papery prison, slight steam wafting off the still warm baked good. Naturally the first bite was as perfect as ever, just a hint of sugary sweetness sprinkled atop the muffin.

Making her way toward Rarity’s boutique first, since she had no idea where her teacher-to-be was at the moment, she noticed a filly staring at her. While this wasn’t unusual for Jen, it WAS a bit odd that she wasn’t staring at her mouth…but the rapidly cooling muffin. It was heart breakingly adorable the way the little unicorns’ mouth hung open. Her bright yellow mane contrasted starkly with her light violet coat.

“Hey kid, you miss breakfast?” She approached the little filly who must have been very hungry or very brave to not immediately turn tail and run.

The filly’s response was to nod slowly, eyes never leaving the muffin. “Uh huh…momma had to rush to work and forgot to gimme my allowance…again.”

Jen had come to decide that rather than evolving more typical natural defense mechanisms, a young pony could ward off their natural enemies with sheer cuteness. IT seemed that with very few exceptions they all had stubby marshmallow legs, slightly chubby bodies, and the same adorable huge eyes they’d grow into adulthood with. Helpless before the sheer cuteness rolling off the obviously hungry filly Jen broke off the bottom half, (she felt for her but wasn’t about to give her the GOOD half of the muffin) and offered it up.

To compound her cuteness the little filly puffed her cheeks out concentrating hard, her horn sputtering to life and shakily levitating the muffin to her waiting mouth where she wasted no time devouring it.

“Heh, glad I didn’t get my fingers near there.” Deciding to err on the side of caution Jen ate her half at a quicker pace than normal, tossing the wrapper in a nearby bin. Hunger sated, the little filly was staring at her again.
“Izzit true you gotta unicorn horn?” Her little voice squeaked out.

With a nod Jen slid her hood back, revealing the forest green horn peeking out through her auburn bangs. “Yup, it does magic and everything.”

Wide eyed the little one took a few steps closer. “Wow…d’you really have metal teeth?”

In response Jen bared her teeth for the filly; a flash of silver from her braces confirmed the rumors.

The little unicorn seemed a bit more hesitant with her next question, barely whispering it. “…do you really eat ponies?”
Straightening up Jen shrugged. “Nah, but its fun to get your friends all riled up sometimes.”

This seemed to go a long way to putting her at ease, and the filly instantly relaxed her posture. “Oh! Well that’s good! I’m Dinky.” She smiled widely.

Jen had to bite her lip to avoid letting out a big ‘aww’. “Well Dinky, I’m Jennifer. But just Jen is fine.” She started walking again, and Dinky fell into step beside her.

“Izzit true you’re just a filly too?”

With a little disgruntled grunt the human girl shrugged. “TECHNICALLY...yes. I’m almost an adult though.” She really wished the ponies had a word for teenager her. It seemed you went from filly to mare with nothing in between.
“Huh. You’re pretty big for a filly. Izzit true Pinkie Pie’s your mom?”

“Ehe…well also technically yeah. She’s my guardian so I guess in a WAY you can say she’s my stepmom I guess.”
“Izzit true you’re gonna go to Miss Cheerilee’s school soon?”

“Yup. That’s just regular correct. Princess Luna thought it’d be a good idea for me to learn Equestrian history and stuff, and maybe find out what job I’d be good at like a pony would. I’m getting my own saddlebags from Rarity then I’m gonna try to track Cheerilee down.”

“How come you’re wearing all those clothes?”

Jen glanced down at her impromptu travelling companion. “You ask a lot of questions Dinky.”

A proud nod is the response. “Momma says it’s the best way to learn something new!”

“Hrm, I guess that’s true.” Jen had never spent a ton of time around kids. She had nothing against them or anything…and the pony children were painfully adorable. “I don’t have fur to keep me warm is all.” That’s easier than explaining cultural taboos most likely.

“Oh that makes sense! So d’you really have a magic sword?”

With a nod Jen glanced to the shield she wore on her left arm. The hilt of the Sword of Harmony exposed over the top. “Yeah. Princess Luna asked me not to draw it for no reason though so I can’t really show it off.”
“Ohhh. So are you good friends with the princess?”

That was a difficult question. She seemed to have a genuine interest in Jennifer that was for sure. She had even mentioned wanting her to visit in Canterlot when she was healthy, though she hadn’t communicated with her in any way since that day. “I dunno, I like her and I think she likes me. We didn’t talk too much.”

The pair soon reached the boutique, Jen holding the door for Dinky who stepped in quietly ahead of her. The proprietress was busy as ever with one her new designs. The ponequinn in question covered in layers of colorful silks all in the process of becoming a dress. “Hey Rarity. Pinkie said you had something for me?”

The snowy white unicorn looked to her guests and smiled radiantly. “I do darling! And it is SO good to see you up and about again. Everyone has just been dreadfully worried for you you know?” Glancing down at the bashful filly hiding behind the human’s legs she raised an eyebrow. “Are you foalsitting now? Heaven knows Ms. Doo could certainly use one as busy as the poor dear is.”

“Eh? Who Dinky? No I shared a muffin with her outside and we were just kinda hanging out.” Jen ended with a shrug as she tucked her hands into her front pocket.

“Ah...well that’s nice of you dear. And how are the clothes working out? I’ll admit it was something of a challenge getting something proper together for you…but I’d wanted to work with human styles ever since our visit to your world and I simply could not pass up the chance.” She turned her critical eye to the beat up sneakers. “Though I do wish you’d let me get you some proper footwear. You ARE going to see the Princess in a week after all.”

Now it was Jen’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “I am? Since when?”

With a casual wave of a hoof Rarity turned and trotted to a large wardrobe, her magic swinging it open easily as she began to rummage. “Didn’t Twilight tell you? She received a letter yesterday…or was it today? I can’t recall. Anyhow Princess Luna has invited you to be her guest next weekend.” With a triumphant AHA she retrieved a fine canvas back pack. A paler green than Jennifer’s horn, (and future coat color) with a simply ruby for the clasp. “It’s traditional for one’s cutie mark to be the clasp of course but well…” She floated the pack to Jen’s waiting hands.

Slowly the girl turned it over giving it a little tug here and there to test the seams. “This’ great Rarity, thanks a lot. When Pinkie said ‘saddle bags’ I was a little worried I’d have to drape them over my shoulder or something.”

The fashionista laughed lightly. “Well of course that won’t do just yet. Of course once you progress a bit further on your…journey to ponyhood, it can be easily modified. I know you already have that big sack you carry about but it is most certainly more for…” She waved a hoof searching for the right word. “…outdoorsy pursuits.”

Unable to hide a smile at the obvious dislike Rarity was showing for ‘outdoorsy pursuits’ Jen slipped the backpack over a shoulder. “Well thanks for this. I should letcha get back to work. Say hi to Sweetie for me.”

Rarity heaved a world weary sigh. “Sweetie Belle is already off ‘crusading’ for the day. Now if anypony could use a foalsitter it’s THOSE girls. I know they want their cutie marks and all but I’d feel a lot better if they had a bit of adult supervision.”

Glancing down at the little filly stick taking shelter behind her legs, then looking back up to Rarity Jen gave a little hm. “Is it normal for all the kids to just sorta…run wild through town most of the time?”

Having already turned back to her work Rarity nodded absently. “Well more or less. When they’re not in school of course. It’s rare for a pony to not have a profession of their own. Home maker cutie marks aren’t the norm after all. Most of them behave well enough and the wait between school ending and their parents returning from work is short…on the weekdays. Those of us who work weekends well…the little ones sometimes get a bit more freedom.”

Jen stepped back, expertly maneuvering around the little beagle sized filly behind her feet and rested against the counter. “Doesn’t that seem a little irresponsible?”

Rarity turned her attention back to Jennifer, the needle and thread she was working with still held in the grip of her magical aura. “I suppose it would seem a little odd to you dear but Equestria isn’t the same as your world. We’re born with a strong sense of right and wrong and nopony would ever hurt a foal. They might get into a bit of mischief from time to time but nothing really serious ever happens.”

“And is it normal for the adults to forget to feed their kids or give ‘em lunch money?” She glanced pointedly at Dinky.

With another sigh Rarity turned back to her work. “I suppose it’s not NORMAL, no. If you’re really so concerned with this go see the mayor and offer your services hm? You could be Ponyville’s official daycare overseer!” Laughing a little at her own joke Rarity turned back to address the human…but she and the filly trailing along in her wake were already gone.

-----

“You have an appointment…miss?” The beige earth pony stallion didn’t look up from his desk at first. When he eventually
did his eyes widened at the sight of Ponyville’s resident human standing in the office requesting to see the Mayor. “Er…one moment!” Without delay he dashed into the office behind him.

Taking a seat on one of the nearby benches, Dinky clambered up beside Jen. “Whatcha wanna see the mayor for?”

A shrug was the humans’ response. “Nothin serious, just to talk for a few minutes. You should probly wait out here.”

Seeing the filly’s ears droop Jen pondered a moment, then withdrew her iPod from the front pocket of her hoodie. A few taps of the buttons and she brought up some of her stored cartoons off the iTunes store. “Here, you can watch some Adventure Time while I’m in there.”

Setting the little device in front of Dinky the filly’s eyes widened. “There’re little people moving in there! Is it magic?!”
With a chuckle Jen nodded. “Yup, the magic of television. Just watch and enjoy. It’s like a play.”

The filly safely ensnared by the all-powerful magic of cartoons, Jen stood up again as the stallion returned. “The mayor would be happy to see you Miss Pie.”

That brought the ghost of a frown to her lips as Jen headed by him. “It’s Miss Allen actually, but just Jen is fine.”

Stepping into the Mayor’s office Jen saw said mayor seated comfortably behind a large desk. The older mare offered her guest a smile and gestured for her to take a seat across from her. “Hello Jennifer. It’s good to see you looking so healthy. What can I do for you this morning?”

Taking a seat Jen fidgeted a little, she was feeling pretty determined a minute ago but how do you bring up the subject of mass negligent parenting, especially when it seemed the norm? “Well…I met a filly this morning. Dinky.”

“Ah! Ditzy Doo’s little filly. She’s a lovely little girl, though a bit shy around new ponies. Unless they happen to have a muffin they’re willing to share.” The mayor laughed a little at her joke, despite how accurate it may be.

Jen nodded at that. “Right. Well apparently her mom forgot to uh...feed her this morning. Or give her money to buy anything to eat. Rarity seemed to imply this isn’t the first time?” At the mayors’ nod Jen continued. “Well does this sort of thing happen often?”

Eyebrows raised the mayor seemed to ponder her question. “Well I wouldn’t say often. Sometimes their parents are just in a rush I’m sure. And nopony goes hungry in Ponyville. Just about anyone in the market is willing to spare a bit for a hungry foal of course.”

Chewing her lip Jen nodded slowly. “What about the Cutie Mark Crusaders?”

Images of damaged buildings, over turned food carts, and three fillies tearing through the middle of town on a scooter flashed through the mayors’ head. Her smile dimmed just a little. “What about them?”

“Well don’t you think those girls should have some form of supervision during their antics?”

With a little sigh the Mayor removed her glasses and cleaned them against her coat. “I certainly can’t argue with you there. What exactly are you proposing?”

“Well…what about a daycare? Somewhere the kids…uh…foals can wait for their parents to get home from work.”

“Hm.” The earth pony slid her glasses back atop her nose. “It’s an interesting idea, but who would be in charge?”

Feeling her confidence building Jennifer smiled. “Well I’ve been hoping to find a way to earn a few bits for myself. I was thinking I could do it.”

Mayor Mare instantly slid her gaze to Jen’s hip, hidden behind a wall of denim. “There are a few problems that immediately come to mind. The first of course is that you’ve made a reputation for yourself of scaring the foals witless in the middle of the streets. Second not only are you not a pony, you have no cutie mark. I think many parents would be hesitant to leave their foals in the care of someone not specialized in looking after them. And finally, where would this daycare BE?”

Each extremely valid point seemed to shrink some of the girls smile, nervously she shifted in her seat. “Well…yeah I guess that’s all true. I mean I’d never hurt them of course! I’m pretty sure anyone can see that. The scares are y’know…just for fun. And I’m pretty sure the foals know that too. And I’m definitely a cutie mark free not-pony but where I’m from anyone can try anything they want. We don’t have marks saying what we’re best at…people just figure it out for themselves. The third point uh…no idea. I was hoping you’d have an idea?”

“Hmmmm.” Now the Mayor was eyeing Jen a bit harder. “…I’ll add your idea to the charter for the next town meeting. We’ll see what the people have to say and proceed from there alright? You might be asked to say a few words so I’d get something prepared. It’ll be Next Wednesday at five o’clock. Sound good?”

With a smile Jen hopped to her feet. “Sounds great. Thank you very much ma’am.”

“Oh and Jennifer? Try not to make your potential future charges shriek in the middle of the streets between now and then hm?”

Jen gave a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of her head. “Ehe heh…yes ma’am.”

With a nod and a little smile of her own the Mayor waved her off. “Alright I’m sure you have better things to do than spend the day in this boring office. Off you go. See you Wednesday.”

Stepping back out and shutting the door gently behind her, Jen grinned at the sight of Dinky enraptured by the show on her iPod. “Alright we can get goin.”

“But Finn didn’t save the princesses from the Ice King yet!” Was the filly’s desperate response as the human reclaimed her little device.

“Tell ya what, if we got time after all my running around is done you can finish the episode alright?”

She was rewarded with a big grin and eager nod, as the pair again stepped out into the streets of Ponyville. Still having no idea where she might find Cheerilee, Jen opted to make her way to the much more visible landmark of the library and home of Ponyville’s resident, (and semi-crazy) librarian Twilight Sparkle.

Not bothering to knock, (it WAS public hours at the library after all) Jen showed herself in with Dinky hot on her heels. Twilight’s assistant Spike, looking thoroughly miserable was shelving a small mountain of displaced books.

“Hey Spike! What’s with the bookalanche?” Jen set her iPod on the floor for Dinky out of the way, starting it up again and leaving the filly glued to the screen.

The little dragon gave a huff. “Cheerilee asked Twilight for ONE little book on some kinda animals from Zebrica and Twilight went into a flurry tearing off half the books in the exotic locales section.”

Hearing voices upstairs Jen glanced toward Twilights private rooms. “Cheerilee? Is she here? I was on my way to find her after I talked to Twilight.”

“Yup! Dunno what they’re talking about but Cheerilee seemed to think it was really important.” With a shrug the dragon went back to work. “Go on up if you wanna, she didn’t shut the door so it can’t be that private.”

With a grin at the dragon’s antics Jen ascended the stairs. That was one thing she loved about towering over all the ponies, little staircases. Cresting the top of her short climb she saw Twilight chatting with a magenta earth pony mare in her room over a cup of tea.

“Cheerilee I know you’re nervous but she’s really a very sweet girl. …and I don’t think a book on Zebrican primates is going to help you relate to her.”

Stifling her sudden bout of laughter Jen inched a bit closer. The school teacher had a pleasantly cheery voice that matched her name. “Oh I know Twilight…she helped save Equestria and all. And obviously if she was dangerous the Princess wouldn’t let her run loose. This is just…new to me is all.”

With a nod Twilight took a sip of her tea. “Well…try not to think of her as the new human girl in class. Think of her as the new unicorn filly. She IS still a filly you know? She may look different on the outside but she’s just like anypony else on the inside.”

A sigh was Cheerilee’s response. “You know what? You’re right. I’m getting all worked up over nothing. …still…is she going to be wearing that…sword with her?”

Twilight shrugged. “I imagine so. It’s a very special sword, and she gave her word she wouldn’t draw it without reason. It’s perfectly safe.”

Clearing her throat softly Jen stepped into the doorway. “Sorry if I’m interrupting…Rarity said you had some news for me Twilight?”

Both mares started a bit at the sudden appearance of the subject of their conversation. Twilight was the first to recover. “Oh! I do!” Her horn flares to life as a scroll whisked from her desk to Jen’s hands.

Please extend an invitation to Jennifer Allen Pie to join me at Canterlot Castle this Friday evening. I would like the pleasure of her company from then until Sunday afternoon.

Princess Luna Equestris

“Well it’s very to the point isn’t it?” Jen chuckled and rolled the paper back up returning it to Twilight.

The unicorn gave a nod as she slipped the scroll into a desk drawer. “Yes, certainly more so than her sister.” Twilight couldn’t hide a frown at the mention of her currently incapacitated mentor, a secret she was keeping from almost everypony.
Cheerilee cleared her throat gently and Twilight blinked out of her reverie. “Oh! Jennifer this is Miss Cheerilee, she’s going to be your new teacher come Monday morning.”

Turning a bright smile to her soon-to-be teacher Jen couldn’t hide a slight wince at the mares flinching away from her braces. “It’s nice to meet you. And no they’re not there to tear through bones, they’re straightening my teeth.”

“Oh! Really? Why that’s so clever! What an interesting idea.” Jen knelt down to give the suddenly excited teacher a clearer view of her braces. “Oh yes I see now. I know I shouldn’t be listening to silly rumors but you know how it can be sometimes. You should consider paying a visit to Dr. Bright White, I’m sure she’d love to see those.”

Her smile returning full force Jen nodded and had a seat on the floor. “It’s alright. I haven’t exactly been helping my case scaring the foals the last couple weeks. And a visit to the dentist would probably be a good idea, I’m supposed to have these things tightened now and then. Maybe she can figure something out.”

Cheerilee was visibly relaxing the longer she sat in her future student’s company. Just from the brief chat is was clear that while she may be unorthodox she was in fact the same as any filly in her class, if a bit closer to being a full grown mare than most of her charges.

“Well Jennifer I suppose I’ll be seeing you bright and early Monday morning. Enjoy your weekend!” Cheerilee made her way from the library…leaving the book on monkeys behind.

Jen picked it up with a bemused grin. “Was she hoping to study me out of this?”

Twilight just rolled her eyes and levitated the book from her grasp. “You can’t fault her for being a LITTLE out of sorts. You’re an alien from another dimension after all. And very few ponies have even heard of your world let alone been there personally.”

Conceding the point with a nod Jen got to her feet. “Well I am now out of stuff to do today and it’s…not even lunch time yet. I’ll catch ya later Twilight.”

“Oh! Well have a nice day. Don’t get into trouble!”

Taking the steps four at a time Jen hit the bottom of the staircase in no time. “Have fun in there Spike!” The shaking of a little purple fist was Jen and Dinky’s goodbye as they left the library. The filly handing the human her iPod.
“I really liked that! And the stretchy talking dog is funny.”

“Yeah Jake’s pretty rad. I should show you some of the later episodes. It’s a pretty great show.”

Wide eyed Dinky looked up at her. “There’s MORE?”

With a shrug Jen slid her hands back in her front pocket. “Oh yeah like…a ton. A hundred or something by now I’m sure. Maybe we can watch more of em later.”

A streak of grey interrupted whatever Dinky was about to say, as a powder grey pegasus plowed into a snowdrift right in front of the pair. Jen let out a startled shriek and fell on her butt in the snow, while Dinky just rolled her eyes and trotted over to grip the bright yellow tail in her teeth, heaving the crash victim out of the snow.

Jen found herself unable to look away from the decidedly wall-eyed gaze of the pegasus mare before her. Good eye shifting from the human to the filly the older mare frowned. “Dinky are you bothering this nice uh…girl?”

With a quick shake of her head Dinky let the pony’s tail fall from her mouth. “No momma, Jen shared her muffin with me and we walked all over Ponyville together! She’s really nice!”

The mare, Dinky’s mom looked back up to Jen offering an apologetic smile. “I hope my little muffin hasn’t been bothering you miss. She can be a bit of a hoofful.” She ruffled the filly’s mane with a forehoof.

Shaking her head Jen smiled back. “Oh not at all ma’am, she’s very well behaved.”

Through what looked like a supreme amount of effort the mare focused both of her eyes on the girls face. “Well I appreciate you looking after her. I’m Ditzy Doo by the way, Dinky’s mom. The post office is getting slammed with Hearth’s Warming mail already and I’ve been more out of sorts than usual.”

Waving it off Jen’s grin grew. “Really it was no problem. I was just running some errands. No trouble at all.”

Nodding Ditzy looked back to her filly. “Alright muffin I gotta get back to the route. You behave ok? And I’ll see you for dinner.” With a kiss to her daughters head Ditzy slung her saddle bags filled with mail back across her flanks and was off into the air.

Watching the mail mare vanish around the street Jen looked back down at Dinky. “Don’t suppose she slipped a few bits for lunch in your mane did she?”

With another sigh Dinky shook her head. “Don’t sweat it. I’ll get us something to eat in a bit. You wanna head over to the park til then? I haven’t gotten to spend much time over there.”

An eager nod was the filly’s reply as she was off like a rocket on those stubby legs of hers. Jen trailing behind at a slightly slower pace. The park was packed with foals all over the playground and generally running about causing the sort of havoc only little kids could cause. There were a few parents here and there but for the most part it was something of a free for all. Still Jennifer had to admit she was impressed the way they naturally seemed to take turns or allow others to join in their games without missing a beat.

“Cutie Mark Crusader Bobsledders?”

“Oh oh! How about Cutie Mark Crusader Ice Fishers!”

“Ah know! We could be Cutie Mark Crusader Rescue Ponies!”

“How about Cutie Mark Crusader Snow Warriors?”

The three little fillies looked up to see a grinning human adolescent looking over them. Their classmate Dinky Doo peeking out from around her legs.

Applebloom perked right up of course. “Well howdy Jenny! Whatcha doin ‘round these parts t’day?” Jen had been living with her family the last few weeks while Pinkie Pie got other arrangements made for her and her new ward.

The little orange pegasus of the group butted in before Jen could answer. “What’s a snow warrior? It sounds pretty cool!”
The girls could see a glint in Jen’s eye as she knelt down. “Well…you take two teams. How about you three against me and Dinky? Each team builds a snow fort a little bit away from each other, then sticks a flag in their fort. The first team to get the others flag wins. BUT. If you get hit by a snowball you gotta go back to your own fort for a couple minutes.”

The trio immediately went into a little group huddle, no doubt discussing the slim chance of getting a cutie mark in such a pursuit…against how fun it sounded. Sweetie Belle peeked up first. “You’re on! …um…where do we get the flags?”

Jen gave a shrug. “Why don’tcha go see if your sister can whip something up for us while we get started on our forts.”

With an eager nod the little unicorn was off toward the boutique, while Jen trotted out into the clear field of the park. Using the toe of her shoe she drew a line, then jogged to the other end of the field and made another. “Alright crusaders, this’ll be YOUR base, and me and Dinky’ll be over there.” Digging out her iPod she set the stop watch to start. “We get a half hour to make our forts! Better get to it!”

The fillies of course jumped into the construction with gusto, while Jen led Dinky over to their construction site. The snow couldn’t be more perfect for packing as a set of crude walls began to take shape. It didn’t escape Jennifer’s notice that their antics were attracting attention from the other foals either. Spotting a familiar pair of colts she waved them over. “Congratulations, you guys have been drafted into team Doo! Get those walls built up boys.”

The chubby blue one exchanged a look with the gangly orange one…a bout of quick whispers between them and they rushed to aid in constructing the fort. With a nod toward the busy Applebloom and Scootaloo Jen sent a little white filly with a curly red mane to join the Crusaders team. Sweetie Belle returned before long bearing a pair of flags, one red and one blue…definitely of finer make than was necessary for the game at hand.

As the forts took shape the teams grew as more fillies and colts decided to join in. When Jen declared time was up both teams ducked behind their makeshift walls and came up with hasty battle plans. Soon snowballs were soaring through the air with abandon, dropping their targets left and right as both armies charged the field toward the others base.

After a particularly solid snowball smashed across her face, (courtesy of Applebloom) Jen’s attention was drawn upward by a braying guffaw. She spotted Rainbow Dash perched comfortably on a cloud over head. Her laughter was cut short as a perfectly launched snowball from the ground caught her full on in the snout.

“Ohh you’re gonna be sorry you did that little missy!” In a flurry of brightly colored streaks Dash was off and gathering an unsettling amount of heavy black clouds. Sensing her impending doom Jen tried to make it to some tree cover…alas for naught. In no time at all the weather pony was atop her stomping out a localized blizzard and burying the poor girl.

Finally digging herself out she was heartened to see Dinky Doo had claimed the Crusader’s flag for her team, winning the game and eliciting rounds of cheers from Team Doo and demands of a rematch from Team Crusader. Casting a baleful eye up at the again guffawing weather pony Jen shook some of the snow out of her hair.

Before she could come to the poor decision to launch another snowball at the brightly colored mare, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she realized Pinkie Pie was standing next to her. “Heya Jenny-bean! Goin for a swim in the snow?”

Brushing the last bits from her shoulder she offered a shrug. “Someone dropped a blizzard on me.”

“Hmm…well didja wanna get lunch? It’s closer to dinner time than lunchtime now but we can have a late lunch and a REALLY late dinner!”

Raising her eyebrows Jen checked the clock on her iPod. “Jeez it’s almost five? I can’t believe we’ve been out here this long.”

With a bubbly nod Pinkie grinned. “Yupperooni! Most of the grownups are here to get their fillies and colts. You didn’t notice?”

Looking around Jen did indeed see that a good number of adults had come to claim their foals. Even Ditzy crashed into the snow beside a laughing Dinky. “Huh, guess we were having so much fun I didn’t notice.” She gave a little chuckle. With a wave to Dinky and another glare at the smirking Rainbow Dash Jen followed Pinkie from the park.

“Iiiii have a surprise for you!” The party pony took off suddenly forcing Jen to run to keep up. It wasn’t much of a run fortunately…the exciting day was starting to wear on the girls recovering stamina a good deal. Pinkie stopped a couple blocks away in front of…a big empty space, gesturing proudly.

“It’s uh…really…empty?” Jen offered with a confused shrug.

“Well of course it is silly, our house isn’t on it yet! This is it! Our official home. Once the home is on the spot of course.” Pinkie was practically vibrating with excitement.

“Oh! Oh I can see it now. It looks like the perfect place for a house.” Offering her legal guardian a big smile Jen nodded, looking over the patch of land with as if examining it more critically. “Yeah it’ll be perfect Pinkie…I’m definitely excited to sleep passed sunrise again.”

A cheerful giggle and Pinkie was on the move again, back to Sugar Cube Corner. “I bet! The Apple family are definitely early risers!”

Stepping into the bakery Jen released a resigned sigh. The Cake’s baby foals Pound and Pumpkin were up and about…and both riveted their gazes on her as she entered. In seconds she had a giggling pegasus colt swinging from her hood and a cheerful unicorn filly, mouth firmly attached to her horn dangling before her vision.

Pinkie either didn’t notice or didn’t care about Jen’s distress, trotting to the kitchen to prepare a late lunch. Mrs. Cake offered an apologetic smile from behind the counter. “Sorry about them…they seem to really like you dearie.”

Lifting a hand to wave to the co-owner Jen grabbed a seat, maneuvering well enough despite her vision obscured by a dangling filly. “Hey Mrs. Cake. Not a problem, really.” Especially since forcibly removing either of the foals resulted in ear shattering shrieking. The mother claimed them soon enough, and neither offered much fuss…though both kept their eyes locked on Jen. A silent promise of future torment.

Pinkie bounded back out balancing a tray of sandwiches on her head. One peanut butter and jelly…the other what appeared to be chili peppers and pink icing. Wordlessly Jennifer claimed the peanut butter letting Pinkie devour her own…hideous conglomeration.

“So I was talkin to the mayor, she’s gonna talk to folks about starting a daycare for me to look after the kids after school.” Jen took a sip of the heavenly fresh squeezed lemonade Pinkie prepared just for her.

Eyes wide the earth pony swallowed a big bite of the god awful looking sandwich. “Wow that’s great Jenny-bean! I didn’t know you wanted to be a foal sitter!”

With a shrug Jen kept at her meal...making a visible effort to avoid looking at Pinkie’s food. “Well seems like a niche that needs filling, and I’d like to earn some of my own money. I feel bad mooching offa you and Applejack like you guys were my parents or something.”

If she hadn’t been so studiously ignoring Pinkie’s eccentric tastes in food Jen would have seen her companion’s smile dim. “Right…that’s pretty silly.”

“Yeah. So I figured I could spend a couple hours after school playing a movie or board games or whatever with them. Maybe make some after school snacks? I dunno…I guess I’ll think about it more if they approve it or whatever.” Finishing her sandwich Jen chugged the rest of her drink.

“Whatcha gonna play movies on? Isn’t your iPod thingie gonna run out of batteries soon? I thought you’d wanna save it as much as you can.” Pinkie tilted her head curiously.

“Oh! Well it’s a new model. Top of the line, lifetime battery.” Jen gave a little smile…when Pinkie looked away she fingered the jewel around her neck hidden under her shirt.

“Ooo neat! Well maybe you an me can watch one sometime!”

Standing to leave Jen nodded. “Sure that sounds fun. I got a couple good ones on here I think you’ll like. You could invite your friends too if you wanted, make it a little slumber party or something?”

“Hey that’s a great idea! Why don’t we do it tonight?”

Grinning at the sudden enthusiasm Jen shrugged. “Why not? I’m gonna head back to the farm so I’ll let AJ know if you wanna tell the others. We’ll meetcha back here when she’s done with her chores around the farm.”

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie chirped in her sing-song manner. “See ya in a little bit then Jenny-bean!”

With a wave Jen slipped out of the bakery and made her way back to her temporary home. The Apples had been very kind to her. For the first week or so she’d mostly spent her time loafing around the farm house, or napping in the living room with Granny Smith, (much to Applejack’s amusement). The oldest of the Apple family always had a colorful story for Jen, who found them unbelievable until Applejack firmly confirmed that they were indeed all true.

When she wasn’t busy with school or engaged in another hare brained scheme to earn her cutie mark, Applebloom was hovering around Jennifer bombarding her with a seemingly endless barrage of questions about the human world. Big Mac accepted her presence the same way he did any other guests, with few words but warm intentions. The huge stallion always made it a point to help her up and down the stairs in the mornings and evenings while she was still more or less stuck in the wheel chair.

There were things she missed about home of course. Internet and TV for one. Though her yearning for those eased as she got healthy enough to be up and about, wandering around the town and browsing the market. She was also missing meat, and that specific desire hadn’t eased with time. The ponyfolk made great food. Awesome salads, freshest fruit, delicious pastries. But they didn’t make hamburgers. They didn’t have her beloved spicy chicken from Wendy’s.

“Hm…maybe it’s time for another visit to Uncle Derek.” Again her fingers toyed with the gem around her neck. Then she stopped. Every now and then she’d feel eyes on her…as if someone was watching. Whipping her head from side to side she caught a flash of an aquamarine coat as a pony ducked out of sight and into some trees.

“…swear that’s like the fifth time I’ve caught that one spying on me.” With a frown she approached the trees and activated the very first bit of magic she ever learned, the Find It charm she had named it. Her horn pointed her unerringly into the little thicket and she jumped through. “Alright! Who are you and why do you keep spying on me!”

She was surprised to find a rather ordinary unicorn mare, (‘ordinary’ is not something she ever thought she’d attach to ‘unicorn). About average size, her coat was a lovely aquamarine teal, and her mane the same with white streaks. Large golden eyes stared up at the angry human. She bore a cutie mark of a lyre on both flanks.

Finally the unicorn opened her mouth. “I’m your biggest fan!”

Comments

[DJ Discharge]

uh oh it's lyra i cant wait for the next chapter.

[pchn00]

2103540
Of course the resident human fan has to run into the resident human!

[LostUmbrella]

Oooh, I see problems in the near future, courtesy of our human-obsessionate pony

By the way, nice chapter and promising story

[spectralorange]

I get the felling that you wrote this at a slower rate than the first part of this series. That and there's a noticeable improvement in quality between the first chapters of each story. There were far fewer mistakes in this chapter than there were in the last story, and I figured I'd point out any that I find for you to do with as you please.

"With a nod toward the busy Applebloom and Scootaloo Jen sent a little white filly with a curly red mane to join the Crusaders team. "

There should be a comma after Scootaloo. (I love how spell-check thinks 'Scootaloo' should be 'Tuscaloosa')
"Use a comma to set off introductory elements, as in "Running toward third base, he suddenly realized how stupid he looked.""
I had to go find the rule online because after I put the part before it I noticed that I sounded like a pretentious idiot who doesn't know what they're talking about.
This time I was right, but feel free to completely ignore any of my corrections. I'm sure I won't notice them all and the ones I do have a good chance of being utter nonsense. On a positive note, I think this is a nice change of pace from the last story, and I like the plots that were set up in this chapter. Here's to hoping that they pay off.

[StormHoof32]

Yay! LYRA!!!!!!!!

[Icthelight]

Lyra, meet Adoring Fan. Adoring Fan, meet Lyra. You two play nice now while I back away slowly.

[midnight cloud]

XD fucking lyra, you crazy mare

[Prismmirror]

Turning a bright smile to her soon-to-be teacher Jen couldn’t hide a slight wince at the mares flinching away from her braces.

But Cheerilee HAD braces! It's in the episode from season 1 where she teaches about cutie marks, so it should be canon to this story:

vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/4/47/Young_Cheerilee_ID_S1E12.png/revision/latest/thumbnail-down/width/340/height/292?cb=20131111165405

[Prismmirror]

You’re an alien from another dimension after all.

So Pinkie did blatantly break a 'Pennie promise' in the last story! Now it can't be denied.

Also:
Wow, Jen broke her promise to Discord faster than a newly-elected politician does with their constituents!