//------------------------------//
// Chapter Eight 
// Story: Wishing Well 
// by Nobrains 
//------------------------------//

    * Special thanks to TheArcher20 for his help with proofreading this one.


 Chapter Eight


“Hey, wake up.” 

You felt a sharp force poke you in the back. But you were too lost in your slumber to bother checking what it was. You simply grumbled and rolled over. 

“Hey, come on. You promised we would thumb wrestle today.” 

Your eyes shot open instantly. Oh man, now you remembered what was going on. You rolled back to your previous position on the floor and saw the baby dragon that had been pestering you in your slumber. 

“Nice! You're awake! Twilight told me not too, but I knew you wouldn't mind if I woke you up.” 

“Where is she...?” You grumbled, feeling groggy. 

“She's over by the door. She was talking to Pinkie just a minute ago, then as soon as she saw you she darted off.” 

You groaned thinking about what was now in store for you. You were going to have to meet everypony at whatever party Pinkie was setting up for you. 

“What's wrong?” Spike asked. “Pinkie isn't so bad. She can just be a tad bit... over flamboyant.” 

“Spike what did I say about bothering our friend here?” Twilight's voice cut through the air as you heard the door to the library closing. 

“Aww come on, Twilight. He's already up and he's not mad, I promise.” 

You sat up, shedding the blanket and rubbing your eyes. Twilight was giving Spike a talk on proper manners and you just sat there and watched the whole thing. Spike kept giving you glances, as if he thought you were on his side, and was waiting for you to intervene. 

“It's alright.” You finally said. “I needed to get up anyways.” 

Twilight finally turned towards you, her face changing from one of disappointment in Spike's behavior, to one of concern regarding your disturbed state. 

“I am so sorry about Spike. He just hasn't learned how to act around guests yet.” She explained to you, while taking the blanket you had used in your slumber and taking it upstairs, until needed once more. 

“Whatever. He's not even mad.” Spike retorted, obviously mad that the situation had come to this. 

“I don't want to hear it!” Twilight called back down from upstairs.

Spike turned to you and gave a dull shrug, indicating that he didn't understand what he really did wrong. You simply returned the shrug and he sighed.

“So...” Spike started. “Uhmm, do you want to give thumb wrestling a try yet?” 

“Not really.” You replied. “But I will if I must.” 

Spike's face lit up as he stepped over to you. It was easy for you two to interlock your hands this time now that you were basically at the same level of height with you sitting down. You set your thumbs up in the tradition position before commencing a thumb wrestle match. 

“Okay, so this is my first time doing this. I read somewhere in one of Twilight's books that this was super fun and that the minotaurs did it all the time.”

You just gave a faint nod and told him you were ready whenever he was. With that he counted down from three. Once the count had ended, you, to your surprise, defeated him handily and with quick precision, causing him to eye you suspiciously for just a second and demand a rematch. 

You were simply shocked that you had come out on top so easily against a creature with claws. If it was going to be this easy, and this painless then what was the problem with another match? With that, you did just that, and ended up with the same result. 

Spike threw up his arms in answer to your second victory. “You must have done this a thousand times or something to be so good at something like that!” 

“Something like that.” You said, checking to see if your hands were still undamaged after your test of digit strength. 

“You must have been around some crazy places.” Spike said, examining his own claw after he had seen you studying your hand. 

“I wouldn't say that.” 

As you continued to explain to Spike that you weren't some super dexterous creature from some land full of harsh geography that required the need for such skills, Twilight reemerged from upstairs. You noticed her in the peripheral of your vision while she was walking down the stairs, eying you both curiously. 

You didn't know why this was so significant but apparently you had stop talking to Spike long enough for him to notice. 

“Hey, you still there?” He snapped his fingers rapidly, causing you to shake your head.

“Yeah. Sorry about that.” You apologized, scratching your head. 

“It's fine, but you got all weird for a second there. Like you were in another place or something.” 

You didn't know what caused you to lapse out for a second there. You assumed it was because you were still feeling a bit on the astonished side that you were even there in Equestria. Yeah, that was probably it. Why it came when you caught Twilight in your vision, you weren't sure. But you already dismissed it within your mind with the simple solution you had come up with. 

“We can talk later if you want.” Spike said, his gaze turning to the purple unicorn that was standing a bit off, waiting patiently for you to give confirmation that you had noticed her. 

Once you had finally turned to face her instead of just watching her in the peripheral of her vision, she gave a gawky grin, seeming as if she wasn't comfortable under your vision.

“Hey, what's wrong?” You asked, sensing her awkward aura. 

“Nothing. I promise.” She answered quickly, shifting slightly. 

You gave her an inquisitive look and she suddenly revealed another lengthy book from behind her. It floated gracefully through the air into your hands. You gave a pleasant smile as you guessed what was in the book. 

“It's a more defined look into the unicorn's magical nature.” She explained, her confidence returning back to her once she had seen your reaction to it. “I thought maybe you'd like that since you were so engrossed with the book yesterday.” 

“It's awesome.” You said, opening it up and flipping through the introduction. “I can't wait to start reading it.” 

“You can bring it along with you if you'd like.” She said. 

“Do you guys have to go so early?” Spike asked. “It's still not even noon.” 

“I think so, Spike. I'm sure he wants to meet everypony and get a sense at where he's at.”

You gave a grimace. You suddenly didn't feel like moving at all. You wanted to stay inside and avoid everything outside. Still how could you avoid it when you already knew that Pinkie Pie was already preparing a party for you? You frowned and furrowed your brow. 

“Are you okay?” Twilight asked after a minute of watching you contemplate.

“I guess.” You replied. 

“You aren't scared or anything, are you?” Spike asked curiously. 

“Spike!” Twilight called out. 

“What? What did I do this time?” Spike asked, honestly confused. 

“Never mind.” She turned back to you, who was still grappling your inner turmoil. “If you're nervous, it's fine. I wasn't too fond to meet ponies when I first came here either.” 

“Yeah. I suppose I'm a bit nervous.” You admitted, standing up. 

“You'll be fine, I promise.” 

You held the book in one hand and gave her a thumbs up with the other. She gave you a look that told you she did not understand the significance of your gesture. You then proceeded to tell her that you were ready to leave whenever she would like.

She nodded happily and put on her familiar saddlebag. You tucked the book under one of your arms and made for her door, but she cut you off in the middle of your stride, which she apologized for with the familiar awkwardness that you remembered since you had met her in person. 

With a wave of the hand, telling her it was no big deal and she should not worry about offending you, she continued to the door and pushed it open. 

You covered your eyes with your hand as the morning sun glared out in the eastern sky. To think that the show itself was bright and vivid. Twilight gave you another worried look, but before she could ask if you were okay for the umpteenth time, you told her there was nothing to be concerned about. 

“So.” You finally said, your eyes adjusting to the light of the sun finally. “Where are we going first?” 

“Hmm.” She tapped her chin as she thought about how you two would go about the day. “I suppose we could follow the order I took on my first day in Ponyville, what do you think?” 

You shrugged. It's not like you knew where anything was anymore. You were trying to remember what exactly was the order of places Twilight had visited on her first day in Ponyville but could not seem to bring the thought into coherence. Funny how you knew so much but it was becoming more and more useless the more time you spent here. 

“Well, okay then. We'll just go and meet all the ponies the same way I did then.”

“Alright.” You said, your voice feeling like it was about to falter. “Where first?” 

“That would be Sweet Apple Acres, where my friend Applejack lives and works. She's very nice and very honest. I'm sure you'd like her.” 

Your stomach knotted up for a second as you now knew who you were going to have to meet first. You were on the verge of hyperventilation as you followed Twilight through the streets of Ponyville. The ponies gave you strange looks but you were too busy dealing with the tension knotting up inside of you to really heed them any notice. 

Paved streets eventually turned into dirt roads as you continued your walk with Twilight, who was watching your every step with an odd sort of fascination. Again, you may have cared if you weren't a nervous wreck at the moment this had been occurring. Alas, you simply kept telling yourself in your mind that you needed to tough this out and not act like an idiot in front of Applejack or anyone else up at the farm. 

Eventually you took a turn on the road around a hill and came to the farm in question. You could already see the orchard from here, your eyes scanning up and down the rows of apple trees that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was huge.

“I know what you're thinking.” Twilight said with a giggle. “I was thinking the same thing my first time here.”

“And what was that?” You asked jokingly. 

“Just how many trees there are. I mean, look at them! If you say you weren't thinking about that, then I know you're lying.” 

“Alright. You got me.” You shrugged with a smirk.

“I knew it.” She said with a devious grin. 

As you two stepped onto the actual farm, you were greeted, not by Applejack but a large red stallion who was hauling a cart of hay. He gave you both a nod and seemed to sense what you both wanted. He turned his head towards the orchard where you could see a tree vibrating in the distance, where it was being bucked. 

“Thanks, Big Macintosh.” Twilight said as you both walked by him towards the orchard. 

“Eeyup.” Was all he said, before returning to his task. 

“Kind of weird he didn't really react towards me.” You said absent-mindfully.

“He doesn't really talk at all. I'm not really shocked he didn't find you too prominent.” Twilight, as you stepped into the orchard. 

The trees were full of the little red orbs and they looked like they weighed down upon the branches heavily. You had the sudden compulsion to cover your head as you passed under several to get to the tree that was being bucked. 

Eventually the pony you were both looking for came into view, her stetson placed neatly over head and surprisingly not falling off despite the amount of voice she applied from her whole body to buck at the tree. Apples showered down around her as she noticed you both walking up slowly.

“Howdy there, Twi. Who's your friend? He sure looks like a strange fellow.” She gave you a curious eye for a second before moving onto another tree to buck as soon as she was sure the majority of the apples had made it into the buckets by the tree's side. 

“He's a human A.J.” She turned to you, giving you an encouraging smile. “Why don't you introduce yourself?” 

“Yeah.” You said flatly before raising your voice ever so slightly, and introducing yourself in your usual fashion. Except for the fact that you were standing too far away for Applejack to still hear you.

“What was that?” She asked. “I didn't quite get that, sugarcube.”

Your brow furrowed as you realized what you had done. You fought the urge to facepalm and stepped a bit closer, repeating your introduction. This time it better work, or you risked really coming off as an idiot. 

Unfortunately, as soon as you had repeated your introduction, Applejack had chosen to finally buck the tree she was standing next too and your voice was drowned out in sound of apples colliding with the wooden innards of the buckets they fell into. 

“You gotta speak up. I promise I won't bite.” Applejack said with amusement. 

You gave a displeased frown, and were determined to be heard this time. But just as soon as you opened your mouth to introduce yourself in the loudest voice possible, Twilight cut you off. 

She gave you an understanding smile and told her your name and a little bit about yourself. You couldn't help but nod in confirmation as she listed off many of the things you had told her previously. She had photographic memory it seemed, but this was Twilight you were talking about. 

“Well he sounds like a swell fellow.” Applejack said happily after Twilight's description. “He kind of reminds me of Fluttershy, though. With the low volume and all.” 

“Now, just wait a sec-” You started but Twilight cut you off once more. 

“He's usually not like this. He wasn't like this when I met him.” 

“That's alright.” Applejack said. “I suppose if he got around Fluttershy, they would both be scared off around opposite corners.” 

“Maybe.” Twilight considered. 

You were standing there, listening to all this and you weren't able to get a word in on the conversation to defend yourself. You eventually gave up and sat against the tree Applejack had been bucking previously, placing the book you had been holding at your side. You knew she probably wouldn't mind. 

After a few moments of their chit chat you heard Twilight's voice beckoning for you. 

“Hey! Are you ready to go see all the other ponies? Applejack is going to be coming with us if that's okay with you.” 

“I guess that's-” 

“Great!” You heard Applejack say. You couldn't get a break, it seemed. 

You pushed against the tree, ready to stand up when you felt a branch from above rustle for just second. As you looked up to see what had caused the sound, a lone red orb was approaching your face with a high velocity. 

You pulled your sight back down and attempted to cover your head with your hands, but it was too late. The apple collided with the top of your skull and gave an unpleasant bonking sound. The apple fell into your hand and you couldn't help but glare down at it while rubbing your head with your free hand.

You finally picked the book back up and held the apple in your other hand. You finally noticed that the two had been laughing at your misfortune for quite sometime. You gave them an angry look but thought the manner this had happened was similar to what had happened with the blanket the night previous and decided to drop the hurtful act and instead insist on them getting on their way. 

“We should probably be go-” You gave a sigh as you were interrupted once more. 

“I suppose we should get going, huh Twi?” Applejack suggested. 

“Yes, we should.” She gave one last look to you and giggled slightly. 

You pretended not to notice as you both began exiting the orchard and out back towards Ponyville. It seemed like you were failing at your attempts not to look like a dolt. That was just great.