//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: The Fan-Filly (Last Edited: 5/18/2022) // Story: Regression: Isekai of Equestria // by JackofEquestria //------------------------------// June 23, 2020 Unknown Jack's mind had once again entered the dream realm. To most, this was a magical place where they could do impossible things. To Jack, it was nothing more than a prison where he was forced to watch his worst memories play out over and over again. Mark barged into 16-year-old Dream Jack’s room, looking furious. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!" “What are you talking about?” Dream Jack asked. “SHE THINKS I’M A GODDAMN PERVERT BECAUSE OF YOU!” Mark shouted. "I mean... you kinda are," Dream Jack pointed out. "THAT DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO GO TELLING THAT TO ANY GIRL I ASK OUT!" Mark shouted. "FUCK YOU, JACK! STAY OUT OF MY LIFE!" he roared as he slammed the door and left. The scene changed to that of a suburban front yard where 15-year-old Dream Jack was talking with a short-haired Asian girl. Jack recognized the girl as Yuri Fujioka, his crush since Middle School. “I trusted you! How did this happen?” Yuri asked Dream Jack. "I'm sorry, Yuri, it was an accident," said Dream Jack said glumly. “An accident? My dog is dead, and you think I care if it was an accident?” she asked, sobbing. “Go away. I don’t want to be friends with you anymore!” “But I…” Dream Jack started. "I SAID, GO AWAY!" Yuri screamed. Once again, the scene changed. Now he was in the sunporch of his childhood home. Jack's mother had converted the porch into a game room when they moved in. There was an air hockey table, one of those foldable mini basketball games, a shelf full of board games, and there was the gaming center complete with both a Wii and Xbox 360. On the opposite side of the room from the gaming center was a door leading to the backyard. Shawn and Chase sat with Dream Jack at the gaming center playing Halo 3. After a few seconds, there was a knock on the back door. "Don't answer!" Jack pleaded. "Door's unlocked!" Jack called. "No fair! I wasn't paying attention!" he wined as Shawn used the opportunity to sneak up on him with an energy sword. "World's smallest violin, dude!" Shawn snickered. "Hey, guys," Bryce said as he walked in. "I made it." "What took you so long?" Chase asked. "I had to convince my mom that I was spreading the word of Jehovah," Bryce answered. "You want some of these pamphlets?" he asked, holding up a pamphlet reading Watch Tower Society: Do you know the Truth about Jehovah?. "Put all that cuff in the trash can and pick up a controller," Chase said. "Cuff?" Bryce asked. "Cult stuff," Chase answered. Bryce looked at the pamphlets, at the unused controller on the air hockey table, back at the pamphlets, and threw them in the trash can. "I haven't played video games in weeks!" he gleefully exclaimed as he grabbed the controller. As Bryce sat down next to the others, the world faded away again. 19-year-old Dream Jack pulled his CR-V into a massive parking lot. Trident Medical Center Dream Jack rushed into the hospital. “Is there a Chase Carney here?” Dream Jack asked the lady at the front desk. "Room 214," answered the woman. Dream Jack went into the elevator and rushed to the room. He found Chase in a hospital bed with his family surrounding him. “I came as soon as I heard!” exclaimed Dream Jack. "Are you alright, Chase?" "It's just a brumor. I'll probably be fine," Chase chuckled. “A what?” asked Dream Jack. "A brain tumor," answered Chase. “A BRAIN TUMOR!” Dream Jack shouted. "Relax, the doctors say it's just a small one. It shouldn't be difficult to treat," said Chase's father. "I'll be out of here in time to join you at Coastal," Chase smiled. “NO MORE!” Jack finally shouted. “Please make it stop,” he sobbed. The scene faded into darkness as Luna appeared in front of him. "Ask, and thou shalt receive!" “Luna, thank God!” Jack said with a sigh of relief. “'Tis time thou learnt how to control thine dreams," said Luna. "I'm willing to do anything," said Jack. "Thou must learn to forgive thineself of thine regrets," Luna firmly stated. "Oh yes, I never thought of that," Jack replied, rolling his eyes snarkily. "'Tis the only way for thou to end the nightmares," said Luna as she faded away. Jack’s eyes shot open to the sight of Angel Bunny, jumping on his belly. "Get off of me, you fucking bunny!" Jack snarled as he grabbed Angel by the ears and threw him into a basket with his freshly cleaned clothes. Angel angrily chattered at Jack before hopping out of the room. Sliding his clothes on, Jack looked at his two baseball caps (the only articles of clothing recovered from his car that still fit him) and decided to wear his State Park Service hat. He walked downstairs to see that Fluttershy had prepared some fish for him. Fish had been a rare treat for Jack since he got to Equestria as most of Fluttershy’s stock went to feeding her animals. “What’s the occasion?” Jack asked. "No occasion," said Fluttershy as she scrubbed the dishes. "I'm going to be out of town for a few days, so I’ve asked Rainbow Dash to watch you while I’m gone. If that’s ok with you.” "First of all, I don't need to be watched," Jack said as he opened one of his pill bottles. "Secondly, Rainbow Dash? She hates me! Why would you ask her to watch me?" he asked, popping one of the pills in his mouth. "I know you two didn't start off on the right hoof, but I'm sure you'll get along just fine," said Fluttershy. "Yeah, right," said Jack before taking his last pill. As Jack finished off his fish, Fluttershy informed him it was time to go. Ponyville School "I'll be gone by the time class ends, so Rainbow Dash will be picking you up," said Fluttershy as Jack went inside. “Jack!” shouted Apple Bloom, as the rest of the class cast strange looks in their direction. "Hey, Bloom," greeted Jack with an awkward wave. "How ya doing?" "Ah'm fine," Apple Bloom said as Jack sat down next to her. "Are you feelin' better?" "Much better," said Jack. "Apparently, humans are more susceptible to food poisoning than ponies are," he said with a shrug. The two spent the next three minutes talking until Cheerilee walked into the classroom. "Good morning, class," greeted Cheerilee. "Good morning, Miss Cheerilee,” the class responded. "Today, we will be finishing our course on basic division and reviewing for your test next Monday," Cheerilee informed. When class finally came to an end, Apple Bloom invited Jack over to Sweet Apple Acres to play like they normally did. However, as they were about to leave school together, they heard a voice. “STOP RIGHT THERE!” Jack and Apple Bloom turned to see a fuming Rainbow Dash staring at them. "Oh, heeey, Rainbow Dash," said Jack, awkwardly shuffling his feet. “YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST SNEAK OFF LIKE THAT?!” asked Rainbow Dash. "I always play with Apple Bloom after class," responded Jack. “NOT TODAY!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she flew up to them. "APPLE BLOOM, GO HOME!" "See ya later," Apple Bloom said timidly as she left. "Yeah, see ya," Jack said with an unenthusiastic wave. “I don’t know what you’ve been doing with Apple Bloom for the past week, but you won’t be doing it on my watch!” said Rainbow Dash as she got up in Jack’s face. “While I’m in charge of you, you will remain where I can see you at all times!” “Why do you hate me so much?” asked Jack. “You may have fooled everypony else, but you're not fooling me!" said Rainbow Dash as she accusingly pointed at Jack. "You're either a spy or a scout. I don't know which, but I know the rest of your kind are going to attack Equestria!" "Do you have any evidence to back that up?" asked Jack, knowing damn well she did not. “I don't need evidence! It's obvious!” shouted Rainbow Dash with a tick mark on her forehead. "You haven't proven you're not!" "That which can be claimed without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence," Jack said with a smug grin. "The burden of proof is on you, not me." “Shut up!” shouted Rainbow Dash. As the angry pegasus continued ranting about her crazy conspiracy theory, Jack's attention was caught by a flash of orange and purple ducking behind the school. “What was that?” he wondered. “ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!” asked Rainbow Dash. “Huh?” asked Jack as he snapped out of his thinking trance. "Oh, yeah, sure, Rainbow Dash, whatever." "Don't you, whatever me! I'm in charge, don't you forget it!" shouted Rainbow Dash. "I've got some clouds to clear near the town square. You're coming with me." One block south of the Town Square Jack hadn't ever seen the process of cloud clearing and assumed it would be a lengthy job. To his surprise, Rainbow Dash finished in precisely 20 seconds. The process itself was rather intriguing. While it wasn't in any sense complex, the way the blue pegasus moved from cloud to cloud, destroying them with physical force, made Jack wonder about the physics of the world he was in. However, that didn't last long as science was not one of his better subjects, too much math for his liking. Once again, he noticed the flash of orange and purple, rushing behind a building as Rainbow Dash landed in front of him. “What are you looking at?” asked Rainbow Dash with a brow raised in suspicion. "I'm not really sure," Jack answered. "Whatever, I'm going to go practice a new move, come on," she snapped. Rainbow Dash brought Jack to a lake just outside of Ponyville, where she proceeded to fly as high as she could go and dive at full speed. Jack wasn't really sure how this was considered to be a move, but he didn’t really care either. He was far more interested in figuring out why he kept getting the feeling someone was watching him. “Who’s there?” he asked. No one answered, but Jack still couldn’t shake the feeling that someone else was there. He decided to take a look around to be sure. However, after five minutes of searching, he was on the verge of giving up. As he was about to go back to watching whatever Rainbow Dash was doing, he noticed a scooter next to a bush. He didn't think much of it until he saw the leaves in the bush rustle as if something were moving inside. "I know you're in there," said Jack. There wasn’t any response from the bush. Jack looked up at the sky to see if Rainbow Dash was watching him. She was still trying to do whatever trick she was practicing. “Probably too busy practicing to pay attention to what I’m doing," he thought. After deciding that Rainbow Dash was too busy to notice, Jack pushed his way into the bush. Once inside, he saw the stalker, an orange pegasus filly he recognized from class. “Why are you stalking me?” asked Jack. The filly didn’t answer. "Well?" Jack asked, raising his voice. “I wasn’t stalking you," the filly muttered under her breath. “What was that?” Jack said in a stern tone that didn’t really work with his childish voice. “I said I wasn’t stalking you," she said louder than before. “Then why were you following me?” Jack asked with a raised brow. "I was watching Rainbow Dash," said the filly. “Why?” Jack asked. The filly didn’t answer. "Let's start over," said Jack before offering his hand. "I'm Jack; what's your name, kid?” "We're in the same class," she stated in annoyance. "Don't you know my name already?" "I'm terrible with names," said Jack as he shrugged his shoulders. "Took me a few weeks to remember my own best friend’s name back home.” “Really?” she asked with a quiet giggle. “I’m a bit better about it than I used to be, but yeah, really," Jack responded, extending his hand again. "I'm Scootaloo," said the filly as she shook Jack's hand. "Well, Scootaloo, why are you watching Rainbow Dash?" asked Jack. “Because she’s so cool!” said Scootaloo. "So, she's like your idol, then?" asked Jack. “Yeah!” answered Scootaloo excitedly. “You should just talk to her. There’s no need to stalk her," said Jack. “What if she doesn’t like me?” asked Scootaloo. “Well, then she isn't worth looking up to, but I somehow doubt you'll have that problem," answered Jack. “You think so?” asked Scootaloo. “Absolutely!” said Jack. Sky above Ponyville 5 minutes prior Rainbow Dash was about to make another attempt at a Sonic Rainboom. She knew she was capable of doing it. After all, she had done it before. However, as she was about to make another dive, she noticed Jack heading into a bush. “What’s he up to?” she wondered. She flew down to the bush to confront him. “Why are you stalking me?” she heard Jack say from the bushes. “Stalking? Who’s he talking to?” wondered Rainbow Dash. “Well?” she heard Jack say. “Maybe I should go in after him," thought Rainbow Dash. “What was that?” Jack asked. Rainbow Dash was about to go in when she finally heard the pony Jack was speaking to. “I said I wasn’t stalking you." “That’s one of the fillies from the school," realized Rainbow Dash. She continued listening as Jack finally got the filly to answer. "I was watching Rainbow Dash," said the filly. “That makes sense," thought Rainbow Dash with pride. Rainbow Dash heard Jack ask why the filly was watching her to no response. What she heard next surprised her. "Let's start over. I'm Jack. What's your name, kid?" “He’s gonna blow his cover," thought Rainbow Dash upon hearing Jack refer to the filly as "kid." "We're in the same class," the filly pointed out before asking. "Don't you know my name already?" “Good, she didn't catch on!” Rainbow Dash thought in relief. Rainbow Dash heard Jack talk about how it took him a bit to learn his best friend's name. This seemed to have gained the filly's trust as she giggled upon hearing his explanation. The filly then introduced herself as Scootaloo and explained that Rainbow Dash was her idol, and she was watching her because she was afraid Dash wouldn't like her. Jack's response was not even remotely what Rainbow Dash was expecting. "Well, then she isn't worth looking up to, but I somehow doubt you'll have that problem." “Why is he being so nice to her? Is this some kind of trick?” wondered Rainbow Dash, completely unsure what to make of what she was hearing. Taking a deep breath, Rainbow Dash chose now to make her presence known. Bush by the pond Present time “Hey! I know you’re in there!” said Rainbow Dash from outside the bush. “It’s time to go!” "Well, it was nice meeting you, Scootaloo," said Jack as he got up. "I gotta go now." “Maybe we could hang out sometime?" asked Scootaloo hopefully. “Sure thing!” said Jack. As he stepped out of the bush, he saw Rainbow Dash waiting for him. Jack couldn't figure out exactly what, but there was something different about how she looked at him. “What is it?” asked Jack. "It's time to get you back home," answered Rainbow Dash. Over the next 2 days, Rainbow Dash continued looking after him. No longer did she accuse Jack of being a foreign agent, much to his shock. It was almost as if she was beginning to trust him. By the end, he found that Rainbow Dash was allowing him more freedom than he had ever been allowed under Fluttershy's watch, and when Fluttershy came home, he actually found himself missing Rainbow Dash.