Jacob had trouble falling asleep at first, but eventually even the image that was burnt into his retina couldn’t prevent him from dozing off. The calm darkness that surrounded him allowed him to relax his mind. Moments before he drifted off, everything seemed to feel normal again. His busy mind had been flushed, allowing the tension to momentarily melt away. It was only temporary, of course. The faint sound of wind blowing outside was all that he needed to pass out completely.
Hours passed as the teenager slumbered. His brain didn’t waste energy creating a lively dream world for him to explore, nor did it allow him another attempt at digging for answers. Instead, he just slept peacefully. Around him the world went on. Birds began to chirp as the sun was risen. The lack of a window provided him a valid reason to sleep in.
By the time the human awoke, it was nearly half past nine. Jacob’s bare feet gently landed on the wooden floor as he dragged himself out of bed, rubbing his eyes with his hands. The anxiety that had been banished the night before returned with a vengeance. It took a lot out of him to get up and walk into the bathroom.
He stared at his reflection for a few moments, straightening his frazzled hair and pressing his finger against a bruise that was already seeming to heal to the point of fading away completely. It was odd to imagine that just a day previous he had woken up in this world.
A part of him wondered if he would be looking at himself the same way if he were back home. He shuffled out of the small bathroom and began to get dressed again, finding out that his one spare set of clothes had gotten muddy and were now covered in dried mud. Once he allowed himself to fully wake up, he wandered out of the room and up the stairs towards the main floor of the library.
“Good morning! Sleep well?” Twilights voice greeted him as the teenager stretched his back.
“Yeah, I did. Thanks.” He responded, watching as Spike passed him holding a feather duster in one hand.
“That’s great! Spike made eggs and toast if you’re hungry. I have to run an errand. If you’d like we could also visit the rest of my friends along the way?” The mare asked curiously.
“Sure.” Jacob bluntly replied, indifferent to the idea.
Twilight smiled and summoned a small piece of parchment in her magic, scribbled a few words down, and nodded. “Alright! I’ll be ready in a few minutes!” The alicorn announced.
With a quiet yawn, Jacob took a seat and began the process of filling his near empty stomach. The human watched as Spike set down the duster and approached him. There was a silence for a few moments before the dragon spoke up.
“Are you nervous?” Spike asked cautiously, taking the human by complete surprise.
“About…?” Jacob retorted, coming off a little more defensive than he had expected.
“I mean, yesterday you seemed upset. Everypony was staring at you and talking about you.” Spike said, unaware of the candor of his statement.
Jacob simply shifted uncomfortably in his chair, his mood deflating to an all new low. “Yeah. They were.” He muttered, his voice barely audible.
“Sorry! I just meant that well… Things will get better! When everypony sees that you’re with Twilight they won’t think you’re that scary.” Spike quickly added.
Although Jacob felt a little defeated by the reminder that he was an alien in this world, he could tell the dragon didn’t mean anything by it and tried to summon a weak smile. “Hopefully.”
Spike nodded slowly and scampered off to dust off the book shelves in the other room, leaving Jacob alone with his thoughts. As he sluggishly devoured his breakfast he couldn’t help but notice the faint sound of howling and barking in his head. His heart began to race as visions of large glowing green eyes surrounded him. They grew closer and closer as lightning struck nearby. The flash of bright white light revealed the silhouettes of large, jagged quadruped creatures hunched over him. Just as they were about to bare down onto him, Jacob heard a voice pull him back into reality.
“-Just about ready! You may have gotten the wrong impression of Ponyville, but I'm sure I can change your mind!” Twilight happily said as she walked into the room, floating the teenager’s empty dish up causing it to vanish with a pop.
Jacob glanced over to the alicorn and silently nodded, shuffling towards the door, his heart still racing.
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The day was sunny, and the wind was calm. As far as heat went, it was very mild. Jacob stuck close to the Princess as they walked down the street. Twilight wasted no time and began to point out places of interest to the human, who was only half paying attention. “Over there is the schoolhouse. Spike already took you to Sugarcube corner… Have you seen Town Hall yet?”
“Town Hall? No, I haven’t.” Jacob admitted, hands in his pockets as he gazed towards a large three-story building that stood near the center of the square the Princess led him to. The building was taller than every other structure he had seen so far, besides the tree house turned library. Groups of ponies wandered passed, giving a courteous nod to Twilight, a few even bowing their heads as they passed.
“I'm still not used to being bowed to… I mean, I’ve only been a princess for a few weeks,” Twilight whispered to the human as they continued passed the large building. “Speaking of Sugar Cube Corner, I have to quickly speak with Pinkie. Would you want to-”
Before Twilight could finish her sentence, Jacob spoke up. “I’ll wait outside. Look around a little bit.” He quickly said, not really wanting to deal with the ultra-hyper mare this early in the morning.
Twilight raised an eyebrow in response but shrugged it off. “That’s fine. Don’t wander off too far. Ponyville is small, but you could still get lost.” The alicorn smiled warmly at the human as they continued towards the appetizing looking bakery.
There were a few moments of silence as they walked before Jacob decided to ask the mare who he was staying with a question of his own. “You’re sure that you don’t mind me staying with you and Spike? I mean, you have your own lives and stuff.” There was still a bit of discomfort that he felt with the whole situation. Jacob didn’t exactly feel like the Princess of Friendship was bothered by him, but the knowledge that he was her responsibility just didn’t sit well with him. She still felt like a stranger. Less so than the moment he met her the day before, but still someone who was completely different from him both personality wise and physically.
“Really, Jacob, I am completely fine with looking after you until the Princesses find a way to take you home. You aren’t a burden if that’s what you’re thinking,” Twilight responded kindly and turned back to look at him. “I really do want to help you, so don’t feel like you’re keeping me from other things.”
Jacob didn’t feel like her response was condescending or a lie in any way. One small discomfort was lifted, but many more continued to itch at him. Mainly, the major gap in his memory. It was irritating to say the least, but he agreed that time might be the best solution to remembering. At least for now. A small smile formed on his face as he looked back at the Princess and kept walking.
“Thanks. I don’t know… I guess I just don’t like feeling like I'm someone else’s problem. I’ll do my best to pull my weight. Chores and stuff, if that’s okay?” Jacob offered, feeling as though that was the least he could do for having a roof over his head for the time being.
“That is very kind of you Jacob. Unfortunately, a lot of things don’t get done around the Library like they used to. Being a Princess has more duties than I expected... And with the chest-” Twilight trailed off for a moment but continued. “Spike has been helping around a lot more than he used to have to. Perhaps if you’d like you could help him to keep the Library looking tidy? It is still the only library in Ponyville after all.”
Jacob was slightly confused by whatever 'chest' Twilight had mentioned but decided not to bring it up. “Yeah, I can do that. No problem.” He said, feeling his mood brighten up a little more as within a minute of speaking with Twilight he felt like less he wouldn’t be dead weight.
“Thank you very much Jacob. That is very nice of you. Here we are. I’ll be right back!” Twilight happily said and trotted into the bakery.
The human nodded his head and glanced up at the bright blue sky, looking off into the distance to see the large mountaintop castle that he had woken up in just a day previous. He wondered if at that very moment Princess Celestia was making progress on sending him home. The sound of hooves clopping was instantly drowned out by a large snapping noise and an annoyed groan.
“Dagnabbit! Ah knew Ah shoulda replaced that blasted wheel…” A nearby voice said, catching the teenager’s attention instantly. A bright red apple rolled along the ground and came to a rest at his foot. Jacob gazed to the left to see an orange furred mare with green eyes and a yellow mane looking upset and annoyed at a nearly tipped over cart at her hooves. The contents of the cart, ripe red apples, rolled out onto the ground, at least three dozen of them.
Jacob bent over and grabbed a few, shyly walking towards the mare as she began to collect the fallen produce and refill the cart. “Now Ah gotta rewash all them apples, as if Ah didn’t have enough on mah plate already.”
“Hey, uh, you dropped these.” He said, feeling himself growing uncomfortable rather quickly as the mare looked up at him.
For what seemed like a full minute only amounted in a few silent seconds of the two staring at each other, both equally confused by each other’s appearance. Jacob, for obvious reasons, and the mare, because of her country girl accent and her cowboy hat. The mare cleared her throat and quickly changed her expression from one of confusion, to a friendly smile. “Well, thank ya kindly. You new ‘round here?” The mare, an Earth pony, Jacob noticed, asked curiously as she began to load the crippled cart.
“Yeah… Yeah, I'm new.” Jacob responded, watching the cowpony quickly salvage her produce and glare at the broken wheel that rested on the ground.
“Well, Ah’m Applejack. Pleasure to meet ya, and thanks for helpin’, awfully kind of ya. Say, what’s your name anyhow?” Applejack inquired, turning to face the human that stood before her.
Before he had a chance to respond, Twilight came walking back out of the Bakery. “Okay, Jacob, I’m ready if you are- Oh! Hey Applejack! I see you met Jacob! I'm showing him around and introducing him to the girls. It’s only his second day in town.”
Applejack’s eyes lit up slightly as she nodded her head happily. “Oh really? Well, welcome to Ponyville, partner. Ah hope everypony’s been givin’ ya a warm welcome. Hmmm… Ya’ll already met Pinkie? If not, Ah’d at least give him a heads up.”
Twilight giggled and nodded her head. “Already taken care of AJ. Oh my… Here, let me help.” The alicorn offered as she noticed her friend’s damaged cart. Her horn lit up in a bright magenta aura of magical energy as the broken wheel seemed to repair itself and snap back into place on the cart, looking good as new.
“Although Ah coulda fixed it mahself… Ah appreciate it Twi. Ah’ll let ya’ll get back to your grand tour of Ponyville. See ya’ll around,” Applejack said with a happy chuckle, turning back for a split second. “Oh, here’s a lil somethin’ for the help.” Jacob hardly had time to react as one of the few clean apples was thrown at him and onto his hand.
“Er- Thank you, Applejack.” Jacob said with a small smile, seeing the mare tip her hat and walk off, harnessed to the cart.
“What luck, that saved us some time. She’s the element of honesty by the way, in case you forgot.” Twilight reminded, smiling as she and the human began their trek once more.
“Huh? Oh, I uh... No, I totally remembered. Two left huh?” Jacob quickly piped up, taking a bite of the juicy apple before scratching the back of his head.
“Yep! Rarity and Fluttershy. They are nearby so this shouldn’t take too long. I can tell this is a little difficult, but I believe that meeting as many ponies as you can will help you adjust better. You’re doing really good so far, leaving your comfort zone.” Twilight complimented, getting a genuine smile from the teenager as they left the center of town and near the outskirts, which only took about four minutes of walking. Jacob didn’t need a prompt from Twilight to let him know they had arrived at her next friend’s home. All three of her friends so far had been flamboyant in one way or another.
There was so much pink. Some purple here and there. What caught Jacob’s attention wasn’t just the bright colors of the building, it was the total opposite of what he had seen in town. It strayed as far from traditional as seemed possible. Near the top of the structure was a carousel. Jacob knew instantly that there was no way the pony named ‘Fluttershy’ lived there. Twilight took the lead and knocked on the door, giggling as Jacob craned his next to gaze up at the unique building.
“Coming!” A voice sang out from inside, followed by the sound of scrambling hooves and falling objects. A moment later the door swung open and Jacob saw a bright white unicorn with curled purple hair step outside. “Twilight! How nice of you to visit! Hello? Who’s this?” The mare’s beautiful blue eyes, not to his surprise, zipped towards Jacob.
“Good morning Rarity, ahem.” Twilight gently nudged the human’s leg and gave an encouraging smile.
“Huh? Oh… Uh, hello. I'm Jacob. Nice to meet you.” The teenager greeted, feeling like an idiot, but it seemed to have made Twilight happy.
“Oh! Don’t tell me this is our newest resident? You have been the talk of the town, even the girls at the spa yesterday seemed to-” Jacob caught a brief glare coming from Twilight, shooting right at Rarity in a way that got her to instantly trail off. “Forgive me, I didn’t mean to make you think there was gossip! My name is Rarity, and I'm delighted to make your acquaintance, darling. Come in, both of you! I may be a little tied up with work, but there’s always time to meet with my friends.”
Twilight and Jacob both entered the home. The human’s eyes were assaulted with bright, pompous displays of bright pink. Scattered along the edges of the room they stood in were mannequines wearing different suits and dresses that were fitted to be worn on ponies, something that slightly surprised Jacob. Large amounts of fabric, measuring tools, colorful outfits, and a sewing machine made apparent that Rarity was a fashion designer, or a seamstress at the very least.
“I was just showing Jacob around, introducing him to the girls. And yes, before you ask, he has met Pinkie.” Twilight said as Rarity lifted a hoof to interject.
Rarity’s turned to face Jacob, but she did not look at his face. Rather, his clothes. The unicorn smiled and blinked a few times. “Darling, please do not tell me those are your only clothes?” The mare said, tutting a few times as she observed the few small holes in the fabric.
“I mean… I have another pair... Just have to wash them. Well, technically only one pair of underwear…” Jacob muttered, not sure whether to feel insulted, or just confused by the sudden question.
“Two pairs of clothing? I’m sorry Jacob, but that will not do. Would you be so kind to stand still for a moment?” Rarity said, floating over a tape measure and a note pad. “Also, is this underwear as the name implies? To be worn under your shirt or pants?”
“Er- under the pants. It’s fine, really. You said you were busy and two pairs is fine.” Jacob responded uncomfortably.
“Oh, nonsense! Not only do you need an expanded wardrobe, this will be an exciting new endeavor. Yes, darling, just hold that pose for a moment!” Rarity smiled happily as Twilight watched on in a mixture of confusion and entertainment.
“What- Hey, what are you doing?” The human asked in surprise as the mare began to measure his arms and his legs. He was impressed to how fast and precise the mare was with the tape measure. In less than ten seconds, the deed was done.
“Rarity, I know your heart is in the right place, But Jacob is still getting used to well, everything.” Twilight put lightly, looking back towards Jacob, who at this point was starting to feel a little overwhelmed by the whole ordeal.
“I suppose I let my excitement get the better of me… I apologize Jacob. But I assure you it would be no problem at all! A friend of Twilight’s is a friend of mine! So, tell me, what are your favorite colors?” Rarity asked, examining his body once more and muttering things like, “Denim… cotton… Oooh, can’t forget socks!” Taking notes as she did so.
Jacob opened his mouth to speak but found himself unable to properly answer the question. “Socks? Uh.. I… Favorite colors… Um… Black? Blue…” He muttered.
“It shall be done! By tomorrow I will have new clothing ready for you, darling.” The white mare casually said, floating her small notepad away.
“I uh... don’t know what to say… Thank you.” Jacob said with a small shrug.
“Don’t thank me yet! I’ll get right to work- It was very nice of you two to drop by! Ta-ta!” Rarity quickly, yet politely, ushered them back towards the door and closed it behind them.
Jacob crossed his arms and thought for a moment. “Twilight… You have really odd friends.”
“I wouldn’t say that. They are more… Unique,” She giggled a little. “I had a feeling Rarity might like you when I noticed you wore clothing. But while we are on the topic-”
The human’s eyes widened as he quickly interjected, knowing exactly where Twilight was going. “Human’s always wear clothes.”
“Say no more, I won’t pry any deeper. If you’re ready we could go stop by Fluttershy before we head back?” Twilight offered, noticing the human’s thoughtful expression.
“I actually think I need a walk. Just… Have a few things to think about.” Jacob said weakly, turning his head towards the woods. He perked up slightly as he swore he heard a whisper in his ear. It was so faint he thought he was imagining it.
“Oh, I see. That’s okay, would you like to be alone for a little bit?” Twilight asked softly and watched the human’s eyes wander as more and more thoughts were almost visible swimming through his head.
“Huh? Yeah, just… give me twenty minutes… I’ll come back to the Library.”
The alicorn seemed a bit hesitant but nodded her head, understanding the feeling of having too much on her mind to deal with at once. “You know the way?”
Jacob’s response was a quiet nod as he watched the Princess give him a look of concern but turn to walk away back towards Ponyville. For a few seconds the human stood and silently stared into the dense tree line, an odd mixture of curiosity taking over. He couldn’t explain what it was, but it felt like something was watching him. That was a feeling he felt back in town, but here he was all alone.
There was a sudden crackle of a twig snapping, not too far ahead of him two large glowing objects stared directly at him, before fading away into the dark green foliage. Chills shot down his spine, and his heart started to beat faster and faster. Part of him wanted to run, but the other wanted him to investigate. Jacob took a slow inhale and pushed his way through the bushes and into to forest.
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The moment he stepped into the forest, the light nearly vanished. The sky above was replaced by the thickness of the treetops. The teenager’s senses seemed to sharpen within a few seconds to every faint sound nearby. The sounds of birds chirping vanished and was replaced by near silence, broken by the occasional twig snapping or the sound of distant howling.
“What am I doing? This is so dangerous…” Jacob found himself muttering under his breath, but his legs seemed to be on autopilot. He swore he could hear his heart racing, even over the sound of his feet rustling through leaves. For a few minutes he silently walked deeper into the forest, the light fading to almost black and a thin layer of fog slowly forming around him. “Just head back, this isn’t-” The human gasped in surprise as his foot got caught against a large root, sending him to the ground with a loud groan.
Although slightly scrapping his elbows, Jacob was unharmed from the misstep. As he began to pull himself up a sudden feeling of dread washed over him, the strength of it was nearly debilitating. Through the fog Jacob began to see a few large figures moving around, as if to circle him. As quickly as he could, the human forced himself up and watched as the figures seemed to become more numerous with every pass. His heart was beating out of his chest, forcing him to begin to pant. Sweat began to drip from his face and fear began to stiffen his body in place.
The creatures, which seemed larger than most ponies Jacob had seen, stopped at once. One by one pairs of large, glowing green eyes began to stare at him. They were behind him too, he could tell. The human felt the urge to scream, but nothing escaped his mouth besides a near inaudible whimper. His legs were like boulders, holding him in place as he watched the creatures slowly walk closer as a pack, surrounding him. From behind the thin layer of fog Jacob noticed more details of the creatures, and they did not make him feel any less afraid. Large chunks of wood seemed to protrude from the creatures, some resembling jagged wooden horns. Their claws were each the size of Jacob’s hands as well as razor sharp. Equally terrifying were their fangs, each like sharpened spears ready to tear into flesh. The creatures were wolves… But their entire bodies seemed to be made of wood- the sight alone was enough to turn the teenager into a shivering mess.
Time seemed to slow down as the nearest wooden wolf lunged forward towards him, his legs finally unfrozen in time for him to narrowly avoid being tackled to the ground by the massive beast. Without thinking, Jacob took off running through the gap the wolf had made through the circle of its pack. Adrenaline pumped through the human’s veins as he sprinted as fast as he possibly could, his peripheral vision completely blurred as he turned back, unable to see if he was being chased. Ten seconds later loud howls rang out from behind him, as if the wolves purposefully gave him a head start. The teenager pushed his way through large bushes, feeling himself get a few painful cuts, but only focusing on getting as far away from the giant canines as possible.
Within a minute his lungs began to burn, and he could hear the barking and snarling growing closer. Jacob knew he couldn’t keep running forever, especially in the opposite direction of town. He jumped over logs and large rocks, hoping that his maneuvers would further the gap between him and the massive creature. Because of the fog, the teenager couldn’t see the ground more than five feet ahead of him, which prevented him from spotting a steep drop that lead into a small clearing.
He lost his footing and tumbled down the hill, somersaulting and feeling his head get pressed into the dirt. The shock of what was happening prevented him from crying out in pain. Everything seemed to flash before him, the foggy sky, then the dirt, over and over again. His legs slammed into a protruding rock and his momentum caused his body to launch outwards. Jacob landed in the grass with a dull thud. He was unconscious the second he hit the ground. Without having any idea what was happening, he felt as if he were drifting away.
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For a while, everything was calm and peaceful. Jacob felt as though he was floating. There was no pain and his mind felt relaxed. The ground under his feet began to distort and his surroundings vanished in a cloud of smoke. He watched his body fade away until everything came rushing back with the power to throw him to the ground. His hands instinctively reached out for something to grab, settling on a rusty railing that creaked the moment he had rested his weight upon it. A sharp exhale escaped the teenager as he opened his eyes and watched a sprawling forest materialize before him. The sky instantly went from calm to a navy blue, the clouds a dark gray. Rain poured down from above, creating a mist from the intensity. Jacob felt his body sway and struggle to stay balanced as he held the railing. It took a moment for him to realize where he was, but the instant he understood, his heart sank.
He was standing on an old, rundown structure. An early 20th century water tower that seemed to struggle to even stay standing. Memories flooded him even more than the forceful rain assaulting him from seemingly everywhere. Jacob recoiled and leaned against the empty water tank, fearfully quaking as he heard thunder booming in the distance, bright flashes of lightning striking nearby.
Voices infiltrated his ears from every direction, forcing the confused teenager to cover his ears as tight as he could. His brain felt like it was melting, every voice that forced its way into his ears made his legs feel weaker by the second. Everything was coming back to him as he felt tears begin to blur his vision as he was unable to resist the voices that continued to bring everything rushing back. The jumbled-up mess of voices seemed to pause for a split second, allowing a woman’s voice to clearly speak.
Just talk to me. You can’t keep this up, it isn’t healthy. Please just look at me!
Jacob found himself short of breath, his entire body felt like it was shutting down as memories began to drown him. He was crying, face down in a pillow, and then he was packing a backpack. He was back at the water tower, curled up and sobbing into his arms. Hardly anything was coherent enough for him to try to focus on finer details. Everything moved so fast. Everything seemed to vanish in a puff of black smoke, his body lurched forward to cling onto the railing of the water tower. For a split second he had seen it, the moment he decided to run away. The forest below began to darken, the treetops turning from green to a foreboding black. The thunder grew louder as a powerful wind nearly forced him to tumble over the railing. A flash of lightning revealed the silhouette in the corner of his eye. The teenager shakily turned around, watching as the figure walked closer. Dark hair blew in the wind and he could feel an odd calmness begin to return. The rain turned into a light drizzle, the powerful breeze dying down as the sun began to poke out from behind the dark clouds. Jacob watched as the figure was brought into the light, but it was the last person he had expected to see standing before him. It was himself.
Jacob looked at the clean and unharmed version of himself as it walked closer and leaned against the rail near him. It didn’t seem to pay him any attention for a few seconds, until it spoke up. “You heard it then? Her voice?”
The human looked over, his eyes wide as he cleared his throat and weakly nodded his head. “Was it… Was it her?” Jacob found himself asking, looking down at the ground below and feeling a pit in his stomach.
Although he could not see it, Jacob knew that his double was nodding its head. A wave of guilt swept over him as he craved to hear more. He wanted to hear the voice again, he needed to. The human felt a hand on his shoulder and found himself averting his eyes back towards his copy.
“I know this is confusing and that you want to know more but… It’s going to take time. You are wondering who I am?” His double asked, seemingly reading his mind. “I’m you.”
Jacobs head was buzzing with questions, all of them answered a few seconds later when his personified thought continued to speak. “Before you ask, no, I don’t know anything you don’t. I think it is obvious where we are. We came here a lot before we woke up in that forest. The old water tower not too far from our house. It’s one of the only places where we could escape the real world and our problems.”
“Yeah… It’s all fuzzy. Why am I remembering this? I want to remember mom. I want to remember how we ended up in… Equestria. How am I even talking to you- I mean, me?” Jacob piped up, his annoyance clear.
“Princess Luna mentioned her ability to enter dreams. Maybe magic has something to do with it?” His subconscious offered, to which Jacob nodded as he had also figured magic must have been the explanation. “Guess we should be happy the fall only knocked us out.”
“Wait… we, I mean, I… Remember other things. But, mom. Home…” Jacob trailed off, knowing that the duplicate of himself would be able to finish the rest.
“That’s obvious, isn’t it? Something or someone doesn’t want us to remember them. But it isn’t working as well as they want to. We remembered her voice. We are where we were before everything went black. And yes, I think you’re right. The picture. It reminded us of her.” The other human said, once more knowing what Jacob was going to say before he said it.
“I think… That stallion. The one that saved me, he said that for some reason we aren’t affected by magic…” Jacob muttered.
“He said we are resistant to it, yeah. You think that maybe its magic that locked our memories away? That could be… Something fishy is going on. For now, I think all we can do is wait and hope more memories come back.”
“Wait? We cant just sit and hope that-” The sky above began to darken once more as powerful winds nearly swept Jacob off his feet. He braced himself as massive glowing green eyes surrounded him, his lungs short of breath as the human felt the ground wobble under his feet. “W-What’s happening?!”
There was no response. The other Jacob was gone, leaving the teenager alone to face the horrific weather. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, hearing steel twisting and bending. Everything began to spin. Even through his sealed eyelids, Jacob could see the bright flashes of lightning. Thunder nearly deafened his hearing while the structure he stood on began to wobble violently. A yelp of fear escaped his lips as he lurched forward, feeling the water tower tilt and launch him over the railing. He grabbed for anything to prevent him from falling, but it was no use. The adolescent let out a scream as he forced his eyes open just in time to see the cold, wet ground rapidly approach. Everything seemed to fade away as he splashed into the mud, the only thing left in sight was the ominous pairs of radiant green eyes.
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Jacobs eyes opened, and he sat up quickly, panting in both sudden pain in his lower back and his legs, but also from the nightmare he had just had. He fell back onto his back, tears of pain swelling in his eyes. It took him a minute to remember where he was. He had fallen down the steep hill, no doubt injuring himself bad enough that there was no way of climbing back up. There was also the concern of the wolves still waiting for him. How long had he been unconscious? Minutes? Hours?
Jacob was becoming extremely dizzy. The mixture of pain and fear was fogging his senses. He tried to calm himself down and think of a way to get back to Ponyville, but his thoughts were interrupted by a very loud whine near his body. Using some of the remaining strength he had, Jacob glanced towards his right side to see a large wooden creature a few feet away, squirming in what seemed like agony. The human gasped in shock and recoiled further away the injured wooden wolf and watched as it kicked its legs and let out agonized whining. From what Jacob figured, the wolf must have tumbled down the steep slope as he did. There was no telling how long it had been trapped in the small clearing. Jacob glanced back upwards from where he had fallen, seeing the thick fog above him. It didn’t reach all the way down into the clearing, but it made searching for an easier way out much more difficult.
No matter how terrifying it was, Jacob found himself feeling bad for the injured creature as it writhed in pain. He didn’t even know a creature made of wood could feel pain, but he was in a world full of magic after all. A few pieces of its wooden exterior had been shattered and destroyed, but a large glowing orb-like object was still intact. The beast’s eyes, which were bright green like the others, began to fade away. It was dying.
Jacob couldn’t bring himself to watch the creature suffer, no matter how hostile it may be. He crawled forward and picked up the orb. He felt an odd warmth in his hand. He was holding the creature’s life source, whatever it was. The adolescent spotted a large hole in the wounded animal’s chest and pushed the orb inside of it as hard as he could, feeling the magical orb seemingly snap into place. Instantly every piece of timber that lay strewn across the grassy floor began to rise and rebuild itself into jagged shapes of wood and lodge themselves back into the creature’s body. The whining began to die down as right before his very eyes, the wooden animal began to heal itself.
Jacob crawled backwards away from the wolf as he watched the creature’s eyes slowly light back up as it carefully got up onto his wooden paws. For a few silent moments the wolf, which stood over Jacob, stared directly at him, unblinking. “P-Please… Don’t hurt me…” The human muttered.
The creature took a step closer and buried its head into the human’s chest, almost in an affectionate sort of way. Although still afraid, Jacob felt as though the strange animal had known what he had done. It’s eyes slowly faded from a bright green, to a calmer blue. It sat down and looked around, gazing upward at the dirt slope and whining at the human, who slowly slumped down onto his arms. “Yeah. We’re trapped down here. I'm not climbing back up like this…” Jacob mumbled, gazing upward.
The wooden wolf slowly walked closer and sniffed the human, nudging him with his muzzle and causing Jacob to wince. Many small slivers got caught in his arm. He let out a loud exhale and tried his best to stand upright, but the adrenaline was now wearing off and the pain from his injuries began to overwhelm him. His lower back and both legs felt banged up, and he was starting to feel as though he was going to faint. Not only was the pain in his lower body starting to become overwhelming, but the exhaustion was beginning to set in. The creature that stood before him whined loudly and forced its head under Jacob’s legs, standing back up with him on its back. Jacob wanted to resist but found himself too tired to even try. It took everything in his power to keep his eyes open as he mumbled, “Ponyville.” As if the creature could understand.
With speed that caused Jacob’s body to bounce painfully against the sharp wooden creature’s back, the wolf began to run towards the steep hill, no doubt planning on carrying both of them out of the small clearing. Fearing that the steep incline would cause him to tumble off the back of the creature, Jacob tried to yell. “Wait… Don’t…”
The two words seemed to fall on deaf ears as the creature hunched over and began to run at a speed that made Jacob feel as though he was going to get thrown off and into the grass. His hands wrapped around its wooden neck and he braced for what was to come. Jacob felt his body lurch back as the wolf’s wooden claws sank into the dirt and he began to climb the slope. At any moment, the human feared that he would lose his grip and fall off, but he forced himself to maintain a strong hold, even if it meant that he grew weaker by the second. The 50-foot incline felt like a mile to the exhausted human. He wasn’t sure if the wolf had trouble climbing, or it was his constant fear of falling backwards that seemed to make the short journey feel like an eternity. With a sudden lurch forward, Jacob’s stomach impacted the jagged wood of the creature’s back with enough force to knock the wind out of him. Without taking any time to rest, the creature continued to run, the human on its back struggling to stay awake.
The heavy panting and heavy sounding steps of the wooden beast was the only thing ringing in the human’s ears as he kept his eyes closed and tried to ignore the pain that was growing stronger by the second. More and more Jacob were regretting his decision to step foot into the forest. The realization that he could have died was setting in, making his stomach feel uneasy, but that was in part due to the violent shaking under him. He imagined how he had just narrowly avoided being torn to shreds by more than a dozen murderous wolves. His fuzzy thoughts were interrupted as the wolf skidded to a halt, a loud roar ringing in the human’s ears.
Jacob forced his eyes open and looked up to see a massive brown creature looming over he and the wooden wolf. It was a bear, easily 8 feet tall and looking enraged. Jacob tried to cover his face and neck for protection, but his body refused to cooperate. Under him, the wooden beast quickly turned to run away, forcing Jacob’s weakening grip to break and send him to the ground with a dull thud. His blue eyes gazed upwards to see the bear lower back onto all fours and growl at the wolf as it tried to rush back to his side in an almost protective manner. Knowing it was no match for the bear, the canine fled, leaving Jacob laying on his back looking fearfully up at the bear as it leaned down to sniff him. “Please…” Everything began to fade away as he swore he could hear an almost angelic voice echo around him.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
All around him the sound of rainfall was replaced with birds chirping, critters squeaking, and the sound of little claws on a wooden floor. Jacob’s body felt sore, but the pain was beginning to die down considerably. His eyes lazily opened, revealing that he was inside a medium sized living room, laying on a green couch. His arms and legs had a few bandages wrapped around his deep cuts and scrapes. A few birds fluttered passed his head and rested on a nearby windowsill, looking right at him before chirping intelligently to each other and flying outside.
His eyes trailed to the ground, noticing the green wooden floor and silky looking blue rug that sat beneath the couch he lay upon. A small squirrel approached him, lifting a small acorn over its head up to him, as if to offer it to him. The teenager weakly waved his hand and shook his head in response, letting out a heavy exhale. Many of the birds who were looking over at him began to chirp louder. It almost seemed like a greeting. Jacob slowly forced himself into a sitting position, perking up slightly as he heard an angelic hum from the next room over.
“I’ll be right back Angel. I am just checking up on our guest.” The voice was the same he swore he heard before he blacked out. A moment later the human watched as a butterscotch yellow furred pegasus trotted into the room, her cyan blue eyes looking up at him. Jacob was a little surprised by her appearance. Her pink mane and calm, caring eyes made him feel as though he was perfectly safe. The mare walked closer, turning her attention to his bandages momentarily. “How are you feeling?” She delicately asked.
“Not too good, but much better than before.” The human muttered, watching the mare smile towards him at his response.
“I'm so happy to hear that. You were very hurt… If Harry hadn’t found you…” The mare trailed off, looking a little fearful.
“H-Harry? All I remember was… A bear…” Jacob felt a cold chill travel down his spine as a large brown furred ursine wandered in through the front door on all fours. The human perked up and tried to stand up but found the sudden rush of blood to his brain disorienting.
“It’s okay! Harry might be big, but he is a sweetheart! We were actually out collecting berries when he scared that big nasty Timber Wolf away.” The pegasus glanced towards the bear as he sat down and affectionately patted her mane and smiled towards the human. Jacob couldn’t muster more than an awkward smile and weak hand gesture in return.
“Timber Wolf… That’s what they’re called… It...” The teenager hesitated to say that the creature saved his life. What would the mare think if he had told her that one of the murderous canines had turned good and rescued him? Jacob took his time standing up as carefully as he could, using the couch for support. A yelp escaped him as Harry took a step forward and held him steady.
“Oh my,” The mare said, blinking a few times and covering her mouth with her hoof for a moment. “Forgive me for asking… But what were you doing in the forest? You did know dangerous creatures live inside, right?”
Jacob sighed and plopped back down onto the couch, noticing the intense look of curiosity on both Harry and the mare’s face. “I mean… Yeah, I kind of figured that one out…” He said, coming off ruder than he intended.
“Sorry! I was just curious. Everypony knows to avoid the Everfree if they can help it, especially if they don’t have anyone to come with. You are very lucky something worse didn’t attack you…” the pegasus said ominously, Harry nodding in agreement to her left.
“No, it’s okay… I guess it was stupid of me to leave Twilight… I doubt she expected I would leave the trail.” the human looked towards the window and winced, noticing the sun was beginning to set.
“Twilight? Oh! You must be Jacob?” The butterscotch colored pony asked with a friendly smile.
“Yeah, I am. I said I’d only be gone for a little bit, but I must have been out for a few hours… You’re Fluttershy, right?” The human asked for confirmation, seeing the mare nod in response.
“It is very nice to meet you, Jacob. Twilight stopped by to tell me she was introducing you to our friends a few minutes before we had left to gather berries. Do you feel ready to walk? I don’t want you to get hurt even more…” Fluttershy asked, genuine concern in her soft voice.
“I think I will be okay. I might need help finding my way back.” Jacob admitted, feeling slightly embarrassed to ask for help.
“I’d be happy to take you back to the Library. It isn’t a problem.” The mare added, noticing the teenager’s doubt in his expression.
“Thank you. Both of you, I mean… I don’t know what would have happened if you didn’t find me…” Jacob muttered, letting out a sharp exhale as Harry gave him a painful side hug and then wandered back out the front door.
Fluttershy simply smiled and offered the human her hoof. He took it, feeling her gently pull him back to his feet and act sort of like a crutch for him to let the pain in his legs settle for a few moments. “We can go as slow as you need, Jacob.” She kindly told him as he began to walk towards the door.
“I think I can walk by myself.” Jacob said, both to sound confident, and not feel like he was relying on the mare to step forward. His legs felt like jelly and his knees seemed to want to give out each slow step he took, but after a few steps he was able to walk unassisted.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I did use a bit of herbal cream my good friend Zecora gave me to try and help with your legs. It will take a few more hours for it to heal your legs completely.” Fluttershy nervously said, as if Jacob might be offended by the idea of her using medicine on him while he was unconscious.
“Herbal cream?” Jacob repeated, a little hesitant to believe some sort of cream had been able to fix his legs. From the pain he had felt before he passed out, he figured he had sprained his ankle, or even fractured something. Then again, this world did have magic.
Fluttershy simply nodded her head, staying close to the teenager’s side in case he was to lose balance. “Zecora is a very dear friend and assured me that this was the strongest she had. I wasn’t sure if you were in any condition to be carried to the hospital.” The mare said, carefully opening the door and allowing Jacob to exit first. Many of the critters inside squeaked and waved their little paws at him, while the birds continued to chirp loudly amongst themselves.
Fluttershy’s home was near the forest, but from the looks of it, she was nowhere near the dangerous part that had seemed to grow dark as night the moment Jacob had stepped foot inside. Her yard was well-kept but very clustered at the same time. Many bird feeders and bird houses were strewn across the property, while a few burrows made by small creatures were noticeable within mounds of dirt near the outskirts. Jacob even noticed a raccoon with a cast on his front left paw give Fluttershy a friendly wave as they passed. There was no doubt in his mind that Fluttershy was some sort of animal caretaker, perhaps a veterinarian? A small bridge that stood over a slow flowing pond lead to the end of her property and back onto the trail towards Ponyville. Jacob felt a sense of guilt that made his stomach feel as if it was in knots. Twilight was no doubt worried sick about him. Only a day with her and he had probably made her think that he was lost somewhere.
“We aren’t very far from town. Please stay close, just in case.” Fluttershy said cautiously and began to walk alongside the human down the dirt path. Her light cyan eyes glanced up at the teenager as he seemed to stare at the dirt, not a word leaving his mouth as they walked in silence.
Jacob felt like an idiot the more he dwelled on his mistake. He should have turned back the moment he realized the danger he was walking into. He could have been torn to shreds or fallen to his death. Never in his life, that he could remember, had he ever been in so much avoidable danger. He bit the inside of his cheek and bitterly glared up ahead at the trees, hands in his pockets and the knots inside him tightening.
Within ten minutes he saw the familiar buildings he had spotted hours ago. Jacob felt both relieved and extremely nervous to be back into town. No longer was he in danger of being attacked by wooden monstrosities, but he would now have to answer to his guardian to why he was missing for hours. Twilight would surely not be too upset with him?
The streets weren’t as crowded as they were when he had left with Twilight, and the sun began to set. “I must have been out for a while…” He said under his breath.
“You were. Almost seven hours… But that was a good thing. It would have been very painful to feel the cream take affect for the first few hours…” Fluttershy said, looking up towards the humans nervous face.
The library had come into view and Jacob let out a small sigh under his breath. Doing his best to block out the stares he was receiving from the few ponies still wandering the streets, he strode forward towards the door and opened it. The moment he had opened the door he was nearly face to face with Twilight Sparkle. Her expression was hard to tell exactly what she was thinking or feeling. For a few silent seconds her purple eyes pierced him, but she didn’t look upset. She let out a relieved sigh and tried to smile. “I… Where were you?” The mare asked, while her expression quickly went from relieved to upset.
“I uh... got... lost.” Jacob muttered, unable to look into her eyes as he imagined how much she must have been worrying while he was gone. It was as though Fluttershy was no longer there. Jacob took a step inside, noticing Spike glancing at him from the other end of the room. He hoped that his injuries weren’t to obvious. Jacob craved to just slink off downstairs and be alone, but he knew that he wouldn’t be let off the hook.
“-Thanks so much, Fluttershy.” Twilight’s voice brought the human out of his slight daze. The smaller and meeker mare assured Twilight that it had not been a problem, wished her and Jacob a goodnight, and turned to leave. The front door gently closed, but the outburst he expected didn’t come. Twilight just stared at him, her expression hard to make out, but Jacob knew that it wasn’t anger. “If you’d have gotten seriously hurt or worse, it would have been all my fault. I knew I should have told you the dangers of the forest. I should have expected that you would-“ She trailed off, noticing that the teenager was simply biting the inside of his cheek and staring at her hooves.
“Yeah,” He muttered, trying to stand upright to hide the fact he still limped ever so slightly. The last thing he wanted to do was disclose what exactly had happened, fearing that Twilight would be even more upset or worried. “I won’t do it again.”
“I hope not. Princess Celestia trusted me to keep you safe until she and Luna can find a way to take you back home. I need you to promise me you won’t do anything else like this. I knew I shouldn’t have let you wander off… I knew it…” She paced around him, making him feel even smaller than he already did.
Jacob nodded his head, which wasn’t enough to satisfy her. “I promise.” He finally said, her ears perking up to hear his near inaudible voice.
“Thank you. Spike just made some-” Twilight stopped as she watched the human turn away and start towards the basement.
“I’m not hungry...” He whispered, slinking down the steps and closing the door behind him. That was very true. Although he had hardly eaten anything all day, at the moment he felt sick to his stomach.
The short walk to his bedroom felt like an eternity. He kicked his shoes off in frustration, sliding his shirt off and looking at the few small bandages on his chest and stomach. His body was still quite sore, and Jacob had no issue plopping his body onto the bed, staring up at the dark ceiling. Occasionally he glanced over at the photograph laying on the bedside table. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness and he could faintly make out the two silhouettes on it. He wished desperately that he could somehow enter the picture, as if that would fix everything. Jacob felt sick at the thought. What had happened between him and his mother? Why would he have left her? Just the thought of being back home with her, wherever that was, brought a sense of excitement to him, followed by disappointment as he realized he was still laying alone in his bedroom. Alone…