John Rickard stood in the middle of a cornfield on the back roads between his hometown and the community college where he taught History. He was facing perhaps the craziest and most beautiful person he had ever encountered. He had more than one reason to believe that she had serious mental issues that needed to be attended to.
Despite his continued efforts to find out who she was, she kept feeding him the same BS that she had when he had first spoken to her. She continually insisted that she was Twilight Sparkle from Equestria, faithful student of Princess Celestia, and the living embodiment of the Element of Magic. She was standing in the middle of a field of dried, dead, brambly corn stalks, completely nude. She had probably figured that since the real Twilight Sparkle never wore clothes, she would be better off doing the same.
John was a dedicated Brony, which was why he recognized what she was getting at when he saw her, picking up on her apparent intent from her hairstyle. She was probably lucky that he was the first person she met in her current state. Bronies in Southwest Kansas were few and far-between. Everyone else in the general area either knew nothing about My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or didn’t know enough to recognize a cosplayer when they saw one. Anyone else would have called the cops without a moment’s hesitation. This would have put the woman in a jail cell, devoid of the help she may need.
John studied her eyes, doing his best not to focus on the rest of her body. She seemed genuinely lost and confused. She obviously had no idea where she was or what was going on. She hadn’t even recognized the name, Kansas, when he had informed her of her current location. John decided that if someone were to help her, he would be the best choice at the moment. If he was going to help her, he needed to do something before someone else witnessed the spectacle and took matters into their own hands.
He closed the distance between them, removing his shirt in the process. “Here”, he said. “Put this on”. He extended the article of clothing to her. She accepted the shirt and did as instructed. As he suspected, it was big enough to cover everything that needed to be covered.
“Here”, John spoke again. “I’ll carry you to the car.”
“You don’t have to do that”, Twilight replied.
John simply gestured toward the vehicle and the obstacles that lie before them. “Would you rather walk through all this?”
Twilight sighed and nodded, allowing him to take her into his arms and carry her to the intended destination. He put her in the front passenger seat and instructed her to stay put. After she agreed to do so, he started back to the field. He stopped before getting far and turned back to turn off the engine and remove the key from the ignition. The last thing he needed was some crazed lunatic stealing his car.
He made his way back to the spot where he had found her and began studying the area. The field was such that walking through it was impossible without leaving a trail. Strangely, there were no trails in the field, save for the ones he had made. The only other evidence of activity in the entire field was in the spot where she had laid and stood. This was getting more interesting by the second.
John began walking around, searching for any article of clothing. He had studied her feet on the way to the car. They were flawless and uncallused, save for a few scrapes that she had earned by standing. If one were to walk in this field without footwear, they couldn’t travel so much as ten feet without earning bleeding wounds. He didn’t find so much as a sandal or sock within a hundred feet of the site.
John simply stood there, scratching his head in deep thought for several moments. He had no idea what to make of this. He made his way back to the car and took his place in the driver’s seat. He started the car and continued the journey home, paying close attention to this strange woman’s reaction to the vehicle. She acted as though she had never seen a car before.
When they arrived at John’s house, he made sure nobody in the small town was watching as he hastily guided her inside. The first thing he did was rummage through his clothes, looking for something that might come close to fitting her. Eventually, he just gave her a pair of shorts and a shirt that were so big on her, it was preposterous. He was relatively broad, after all.
Tomorrow was Saturday, so he didn’t have to teach any classes. He could use the day to take her to the nearest mall, which was thirty miles away. He would buy her clothes, shoes, and anything else she would need. In the meantime, he needed to get his bed ready for her. He would sleep on the couch. This way, he would be between her and the door if she were to try and rob him blind.
John decided to put her to a test. Ponies didn’t eat meat. If she were to eat meat without being tricked, he would have more evidence to her lack of sanity or her lack of acting skill. He began preparing supper for them. When it was ready, he sat her at the table and put the simple meal in front of her. He then took his place across form her.
“I hope you like ham sandwiches”, he said. He picked up his own sandwich and took a bite, pretending to enjoy it more than he actually did.
Twilight simply stared at the sandwich for several moments before pushing it away and speaking in a solemn tone. “I’m sorry, but ponies don’t eat meat. I can’t eat this.”
John nodded. She had passed this test, but there would be more to come. “Will you eat cheese?” he asked as he put the two sandwiches in a plastic bag and into the fridge with the intent of eating them later.
“I’ve never had cheese, but we don’t have any problems eating it”, Twilight replied.
John set to work preparing one of his all-time favorites, tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. After the meal was made, he placed it in front of her and watched as she enjoyed it more than he had expected her to. After supper, John began changing the sheets on his bed and preparing the couch for his own use. When he finished, it was ten o’clock and past his usual bedtime. He saw her off to bed and retired to his place on the couch. He lay there for several hours, contemplating the situation, before drifting off to sleep.
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Twilight Sparkle lay in a stranger’s bed, unsure if she could trust him. She could tell that he felt the same way about her, but she also knew that he was the closest thing she had to a friend. She had no idea how she was going to get back home without her magic and the thought of never seeing her friends again made her weep. There had to be some way for her to get back, but she needed help to know where to even begin. John may be able to help her, but first she had to convince him that she was who she said she was. She knew that this would be no simple task, but she had to do it if she was going to have any chance at surviving in this strange world and returning to her own. Tired, scared, and alone, Twilight eventually cried herself to sleep.