It was almost a week since Jack had left, and for once, all was peaceful in Equestria. No psychotic menaces, no foreign invasions, no interdimensional harbingers of doom. Who knew why, but somehow it was nice to not have to worry about things so much. In this peace, the Mane 6 made a realization: they had been neglecting their pets for a while. As such, they decided to have another field day. The twelve of them returned to the park at Ghastly Gorge, which had managed to restore itself from the thrashing they had put on it last time. As they entered the area, Rainbow Dash couldn't help the resurgence of memories.
"This is where we last saw him."
"Jack West? Cummon, R.D., you gotta put that feller behind ya."
"Applejack's right. Like he said himself, he's from another dimension. Even Celestia couldn't figure a spell to get to him, wherever he is. I don't think he's coming back."
"I know, Twilight. But he said he'd come back, and he never let me down before."
"There's a chance he can use whatever he did to get home to come back, and even then it's a remote one. But if what you told us about him is true, I guess you may be right. Once he stopped fighting us, he seemed like a decent, trustworthy person. Of course, I don't know very much about human personality, so there's nothing certain. But if he gave you his word, he seems like the type to hold to it."
"I sure hope so, Twilight. I sure hope so."
She gave Tank's propeller a twirl, and the enchantment on it kicked in, lifting him into the air. Everypony else's pets were already scampering about with their owners, save for Gummy, of course. He just sat there, looking oblivious as always. That is, until he started walking towards the treeline. Pinkie bounced behind him, cheerfully curious.
"What is it, Gummy? You smell something?"
If he had, he apparently thought it smelled good, because his next move was to leap into the bushes, mouth agape.
"What the? Get off!"
An unknown voice came from deep in the bushes, and its owner stepped out into the clearing. Rainbow Dash was the first to notice.
"Jack! You're back! See, girls? I told you he'd come back!"
"Well I'll be darned."
"I guess a remote chance is a chance all the same."
The group immediately crowded around him, while the pets approached more slowly.
"Hey, I told you I'd come back, didn't I? Never doubt me, Dash; I always come through for my friends. I just needed to do some bushwhacking from the spot where I landed, and luckily I found you all. And speaking of friends, I brought some trinkets I thought you might appreciate."
"Ooh, do share, Mr. West!"
"It's just Jack, Rarity. And as the Element of Generosity, you can go first."
Reaching into his backpack, Jack produced a small bundle of knick-knacks and devices. The first thing he grabbed looked like a reading lamp on a robotic arm.
"This is a stone-cutting laser. You simply set your stone on the base, press this button, and it cuts you a premium-grade gem. No labor required, and the cuts are flawless."
"Oh my stars! This will be perfect for my latest line! No more using Spike's teeth as sawblades! Thank you so much, Jack! How can I ever thank you?"
"Make good use of it, that's all I ask. Next is for Pinkie Pie."
He reached for a small, laptop-like device. It unfolded into several speakers and a digital display.
"This portable boom-box is preloaded with some of the best party music on Earth. Just press here, and instant songs. And it updates itself as new music is released, so you're always up-to-date with the latest hits. And you can use this line-out jack to hook up to even larger speakers."
"Awesome! I wanna try it out!"
Pinkie pressed as instructed, and her newest party toy began blaring exactly the kind of music Jack promised. An annoyed Applejack quickly hit the button again, ending the song prematurely.
"Quick save, A.J. You're next."
From an insulated pouch in the pack, Jack pulled a small vial of green chemical.
"This stuff is hypersaturated with nutrients and restoratives. Add a few drops to an acre of farmland, and your next crop will be larger, stronger, and higher-quality."
"Hay, we won't have to alternate fields every season with this stuff! Gee, thanks, Jack!"
He was already on to the next gift: a set of candles and another protected vial.
"This is yours, Fluttershy. First, some liquid bandage chemical. You paint this on a wound, and it acts just like a bandage. It's self-sterilizing, so you don't have to worry about that part. And second, these are aromatherapy candles. The scent they produce when burning promotes healing and revitalization, and has a calming effect on anyone, or anypony, I suppose, who inhales it. I hope both will be useful for your work."
"Oh, my... these will help.... thank you, Jack."
Next was the biggest item in the pack, a huge hardback book.
"Twilight, you're next. This encyclopedia contains a basic amount of knowledge of my world. It includes culture, sciences, human biology, and a lot of other topics. Basically, anything you want to know about humanity. Enjoy the read."
"Wow.. I've got to start now!"
Twilight eagerly snatched the book from his hands and opened it up to begin her pursuit of new knowledge.
"Yeah, okay... Alright, Dash, I saved the awesomest for last. Try these on."
He was holding a pair of luminescent orange goggles, held together by a thick strap. Dash took them and slid them onto her eyes.
"Perfect fit. These look really cool, Jack."
"That's not all. Here, just flick this..."
He hit a small switch on the strap, and the goggles came to life with animated imagery.
"They act as a heads-up display for flying, too. The strap contains sensors that can track your speed, altitude, etcetera. It will also tell you about incoming objects, the fastest flight paths, and other useful information. It can even give you night vision."
"Alright, that is twenty percent cooler than anything I've ever seen in my life."
"Glad to hear it. For you, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie, your gifts recharge with sunlight, so just leave them by the window and they'll never run out of power. Applejack and Fluttershy, I can easily resupply your gifts when you run out, just ask."
Twilight quickly glanced up from her book.
"Jack, this is all very nice and all, but why are you giving such very nice gifts to us?"
"Simple; I like to share my technology and knowledge with my friends. And for how quickly you accepted me as a friend, I thought you deserved them sooner, rather than later. Call it part-act of thanks, part-gesture of friendship. Or just enjoy your gifts. I prefer the latter."
Everypony was content to follow his suggestion. With Jack's arrival, they all agreed to return to Ponyville to catch up. Pets by their side, they began the short journey home. Sugarcube Corner was chosen as the best spot to meet, and though he doubted it could cater to his tastes, Jack willingly went along. His plan was coming along very well, indeed. He believed that if he exemplified each of the six elements his friends represented, he would have an excellent springboard to becoming a good guy in Equestria. He had gotten loyalty down for Rainbow Dash in his first adventure, all he needed was a little more time to show it to the others, and now generosity was taken care of. He could only show honesty by a long period without dishonesty, so all he needed to do was wait on that one. Magic he still wasn't sure about, though his tech would probably seem magical to the locals. He would show kindness at the first opportunity he got, but unfortunately, in his line of work such opportunities were few and far between. And now he was on his way to show his talent for laughter.
They arrived without delay, and as the Cakes got to work catering for their unexpected arrivals, the seven of them vassalated between toying with their gifts and chatting with each other. Mrs. Cake had just come out of the kitchen, carrying a fresh plate of cookies, when the whole building was shook by a loud thumping at the door. The next sound they heard was the shattering of a china cookie plate. It was soon followed by a muffled yelling, which they could barely make sense of through the thick walls and chattering outside.
"Y'all listen up! We know yer' harborin' a freak in there, and we don't much like havin' freaks in these parts! So open up this here door and give him to us. We can take care of 'im good and proper-like."
Of the eight ponies inside, only Applejack could recognize the speaker.
"Consarn it, it's Black Powder! I reckon' he's mustered up a lynch mob for Jack. Listen up, Powderhead! We ain't budgin', so y'all had best git on back home!"
"Applejack, you best let us in or let that freak out, or we're gonna have to come in and git 'im ourselves!"
Jack knew an angry lynch mob meant nothing but trouble for all of them. Perhaps he hadn't been discreet enough when they were walking through town. They needed a way out, and he was already working on one.
"Hurry, put something heavy in front of the door. We'll seal them out."
Dash was on it, using her wings to push a large bookcase to the necessary spot. There were several bangs on the door, but each had no success as the shelves held firm.
"Good. Now to take care of that angry crowd... Fluttershy, toss me your candles!"
She did as instructed, throwing them with her mouth into Jack's hands.
"Mrs. Cake, you should go up and stay with the little ones. Keep them safe. Mr. Cake, where is the ventilation duct for your oven?"
"Right up there, just above the refrigerator. There's a pipe running from the oven to the vent, and we have a fan to push the smoke out."
"Good. Be ready to turn it on when I tell you."
Mr. Cake placed himself next to a button on the oven, marked by a fan blade. Jack was already climbing up the furniture, to the top of the refrigerator, where he perched himself. Examining the ventilation duct, he called back down to the others.
"Rarity, give me your gem cutter."
She ran over and heaved it up to him. He caught it by the beam projector, at the top of the mechanical arm. Aiming it towards the pipe, he tapped a button on the device. A short laser beam was spat out, cutting cleanly through a bolt on the pipe. He repeated this three more times, then held the button to cut through the pipe itself. With a portion of the pipe freed, he pulled it away from the wall, revealing the duct outside. It was wider than the pipe, and rectangular, so that Jack could see a large crowd rabbling outside.
"Hmm, the shaft is too high for the candle to reach. I need some kind of stand to hold them up. Umm.... Twilight! Encyclopedia!"
Reluctant to give up her newest reading, she slowly lifted up to him. He plucked it from her mouth, set it up below the duct, and placed Fluttershy's candles on top. All he needed was a light.
"Dash, toss me your goggles!"
Dash slid them off easily, and hurled them upward. Snatching them in midair, Jack grabbed each lense and began adjusting. If he could angle the concave sides just right, they would focus the light of the overhead lamps onto a single spot; namely the wick of a candle. It took a few seconds, but soon he achieved a smolder, which became a spark, which then became a full-blown flame. He touched off the other candles with this one, setting all three down on the encyclopedia.
"Hit the fan, Mr. Cake!"
He tapped the button, and Jack could feel a rush of air coming from the pipe. It coursed over the candles, making the flames flicker, but not die. Now all they had to do was wait. The ever-nervous Twilight was not prepared to do so.
"What exactly are you doing, Jack?"
"Simple, Twilight. Taking a page out of the playbook of a guy from my world named MacGyver. He could use everyday items to make extraordinary devices that saved peoples' lives. I actually met him once. Really nice guy. But this is something like he would do. See, Fluttershy's candles produce a calming aroma, which we are using the current from the Cakes' oven ventilation fan to propel outside. I used the laser from Rarity's gem cutter to pull it off the wall, and bent it so I could fit the candles between it and the exterior duct. I propped them up high enough with your encyclopedia as a stand. Then I reflected the overhead lights using the lenses on Rainbow Dash's goggles to light the wicks on the candles. Hence, by now, a calming, peaceful scent should be washing over that mob. Who knows, we may even inspire Ponyville's largest naptime when we walk outside."
It was just as Jack said: the candle scent was entering the noses of every angry pony outside. The group's conversation was often interrupted by the thumps of forced-entry attempts, but as they progressed, the thumps grew quieter and less frequent. The same effect took hold on the loud chatter, which gradually drew to nothing more than a dazed murmur. Taking this as a sign, Jack slid off the refrigerator and pushed back the bookcase. He opened the door, meeting his own prediction; a large crowd of ponies, slumped over on the ground, each one asleep. Directly at his feet was a grey, bearded one with a flintlock musket for a Cutie Mark. My, how the mighty have fallen.
"It's all clear, everypony. And I think I'm finally getting a hold on your language. Just add 'pony' onto things and I'm set."
He pulled down the encyclopedia and candles, returning them to their respective recipients. The seven of them strolled outside, as they carefully stepped over fallen bodies. But the somewhat goofy mood was broken by a deep, booming voice which Jack could not pin down a source for. It was almost intimidating, but sounded very much like it was mocking him.
"Aww, a good murderous riot breeds so much chaos! Why do you all have to go and ruin my fun?"
It was peculiar; Jack never imagined God sounding like that. But the Mane 6 were knowingly startled, and for once, Fluttershy was the only one who could speak.
"Di...dididi...Discord!"