The Blame Game
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked to see who had ordered them to cease. It was a tall, white alicorn with a blue, yellow, purple, and pink-striped mane and tail that were naturally flowing around. She had an amethyst necklace and crown as well as elegantly designed hooves, magenta eyes, and a cutie mark in the shape of the sun.
She strolled into Ponyville along with her royal pegasi guards by her side, who's golden armor with helmets looked similar to that of a Spartan warrior except the mohawks on top of them were blue instead of red, to the scene of the brawl. The alicorn looked at everyone.
"What is going on here?" she asked in a serious tone. The Mane Six turned towards her and bowed in greeting except for Cave, since he wasn't quite familiar with her. Twilight Sparkle stepped forward towards the tall, white alicorn.
"Princess Celestia," she greeted, "What are you doing here in Ponyville?"
"Well, was I setting out with my royal guards to investigate a sudden disturbance in the Everfree Forest," the princess replied, "until I noticed some hostility going on here in Ponyville. So may I ask again; what is going on here, what happened to your eye, and who's that young fellow over there?" She was mentioning Cave, who stood there nervously looking at Celestia, trying to figure out what was going to happen to him. Oh balls, you did it now Cave. You're so gonna get it big time, he thought, but he tried his best to act nonchalant. Everyone looked at Cave and then back at Celestia.
"Your majesty, he is the cause of all this!" blamed Twilight, pointing her hoof at Cave. The rest of the Mane Six joined in and brought forth their accusations.
"He shot me in the eye!"
"He made me crash right through town hall!"
"He slammed me on the ground and threw me into a building!"
"He blinded me with filthy dirt and kicked me in the face!"
"He threw me into barrels of ma own cider and sent me flyin'!
"Mmmph! MMmmph! Mmmpph! Mmmppphh! Mph! MMMMmmppphhh!"
Everyone looked at Pinkie Pie, who still had a pie stuck in her face. She opened her eyes and licked off the pie with a smile and repeated her complaint.
"And he threw a pie at my face!" she yelled. Fed up with their complaints, Cave stepped in to defend himself.
"Really!? After all the stuff you guys did to me!? Pinkie, first of all, you can never beat the classics," Cave argued regarding the pie he threw, "And second, you're the one that decided to introduce me to a face full of confetti with that party cannon of yours in the first place!"
He turned to the rest of the Mane Six and pointed them out.
"In fact, all of you struck a first hit at me because you thought I was some sort of evil villain! I mean come on! You didn't even give me a chance to explain myself for Pete's sake!"
All of the ponies started exchanging looks and realized that he was right. They immediately assumed that he was an enemy when he was just trying to defend himself. Princess Celestia stood looking at Cave with a curious expression.
"Well then. In that case, care to explain who you are and what you're doing here?" she asked. Cave finally calmed down, closed his eyes, and gave a deep breath.
"The name's Cave Kojack, but you can call me Cave ," he answered, "I'm what you call a human being and-"
"I KNEW IT! I KNEW THEY EXISTED!" yelled a mint-green unicorn named Lyra Heartstrings. Everyone glanced at her with confused looks. Once she looked at them and realized that she interrupted something, she stood embarrassed and then went about her business.
"As I was saying," Cave resumed, "I'm a human being. I'm not entirely sure how I managed to arrive here. I mean...Earlier, I was riding my bike and then I somehow got blinded and fell off a cliff, and -poof- I'm here. But right now I'm trying to figure out how to-"
While Cave was talking, one of the guards came up to the princess and whispered something into her ear. Her countenance became anxious as if she was in a bit of a hurry.
"My apologies, Cave Kojack," she interrupted, "but I'm afraid that we will have to do this at another time. Apparently, I'm running a bit short on my schedule." Cave grunted in frustration on the fact that he couldn't get any pony to listen to what he was trying to say.
"I would, however, like to know more about you while I'm gone," Celestia said. She turned to the Mane Six.
"Would any of you like to look after him and update me on what you know about him in the meantime?" she asked.
"After what he did to me and my apple cider? Heck no!" replied Applejack. The rest joined in.
"Unless he can stand on clouds, count me out."
"I'm sorry, your majesty. But, um, no thank you."
"Are you crazy!? He'll just throw more desserts at my face, silly! You know, on second thought, that actually sounds quite delicious."
"I would never let anypony, or anything, as violent and savage as him, reside at my own abode!"
"Actually, I would love to."
Everyone, including Cave, looked at Twilight Sparkle with confused looks.
"What!?" shouted the rest of the Mane Six and Cave in unison.
"You heard me," said the purple unicorn, "I'd like to learn more about you Cave; your species, your personality, all there is to know!"
"Okay, hold up," said Cave, "I shot you in the eye and beat up your friends, yet you still want to get to know me and offer me a place to stay?"
"Sounds kind of harsh when you put it that way. But yeah, that's right!"
"Man, I...er...*sigh*I...I just don't understand you ponies at all!"
"Well, now that that's settled," said the princess, "Twilight, I'll be expecting letters from you by the time I return to Canterlot Castle."
"Consider it done, your highness," confirmed Twilight. Princess Celestia nodded in return and went back onto her chariot. It was white and golden in color, had four wheels; two small wheels in the front and two big wheels in the back, and a tall backrest with a gold star on top along with a small purple flag above the star. The pegasi guards reattached their reins and took off towards Everfree Forest. By the time the princess disappeared in the distance, everyone glanced at each other and then at Cave, wondering what to do now. There was an awkward silence so Rainbow Dash decided to break it by forming a conversation.
"Gee, with the way he fights, the next thing you know, he's able to take on a whole army of ponies!" she said, rubbing the back of her head.
"Indeed!" Rarity concurred, "Those impressive fighting strategies would surely best any opponent that dared to stand in his way."
"OOH! You know what would be even better!?" asked Pinkie Pie, "If he took over Equestria's capital, Canterlot!" An idea popped inside Cave's mind. His eyebrows raised but he quickly lowered them to reduce suspicion.
"Uhh. Pinkie, that'd be a horrible idea," retorted Applejack, "He'd been hustlin' us around like a rampagin' tornado! The last thing we'd need would be puttin' him in charge and bowin' down to him. Anyway, I'll see ya'll later. Need to head back to Sweet Apple Acres to help Big Mac plough the fields before it starts raining." Out on the horizon were black storm clouds slowly making their way towards Ponyville. Many of the citizens retreated and prepared for the worst.
"Oh, I agree, darling," said Rarity, "I sure don't want to get my voluptuous mane ruined, more than it already is, by the oncoming frantic weather. I'll just head back to Carousel Boutique so farewell!"
"And I need to head back to Sugarcube Corner to make more desserts for the upcoming party in Ponyville!" Pinkie Pie added, "It's going to be so amazing!"
"And, um, I... also have to keep my, um, animals sheltered from the weather so, um, bye," said Fluttershy.
"Good luck with your new friend, Twilight," Rainbow Dash said as she flew up into the air, "You'll need it in case he tries to pull off any more funny business. In the meantime, I'm gonna head up to Cloudsdale, where it isn't raining!"
As everypony dispersed from where they were to make preparations and to get away from the oncoming rainy weather, Cave and Twilight were left alone, looking at each other.
"So," said Twilight.
"So," returned Cave.
"You wanna follow me to my place?"
"Nope." he said with a smile.
"But what about your condition? You don't look too well from what we did to you."
"Do you think I care? To be honest, I'd rather be stranded here with a pony that did not try to kill me than to be stranded here with you. And I'm fine, thank you."
"Well, suit yourself then," said Twilight, "If you change your mind, come to the big, tall oak tree in the middle of Ponyville, that's the library as well as my house."
"Yeah, like that's ever gonna happen."
Right after Cave finished his sentence, thunder and lightning came and rain started pouring, penetrating the ground like pebbles hitting concrete. He and Twilight were getting soaked. Twilight looked at him with a smart-alec smile and asked:
"Now do you-"
"NO!"
"Alright! Alright! Just...be careful, Cave."
"Sure, whatever."
As Twilight left him, Cave remained on his own. He wanted to find a pony that did not try to harm him, was not afraid of him, and was willing to provide him help. Although both of his legs were bruised from being thrown around, his right arm aching from trying to punch Rainbow Dash, his back slightly stiff from crashing into buildings, and his side churning from corkscrewing into town hall; he refused to give up searching. He limped his way through the deserted, muddy roads of Ponyville, trying to locate any houses that revealed any signs of residents.
It was extremely cold; as frigid as death. The storm clouds delivered the illusion of night. Puddles of water lie scattered all across the town. The outsoles of Cave's sneakers were getting caked in mud with each step that he took. Raindrops pierced through his clothing like spears. Chills were crawling up his spine and making his teeth clatter. He used his jean messenger bag to shield his head from the downpour while he was scanning for houses.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Desperate to find shelter, Cave finally found a house that emitted a flickering light. He peered into the window and saw a fireplace with a nice burning flame with plenty of wood fueling it. Even outside, he was able to feel the relaxing heat gently warm his cheeks. He couldn't see any sign of ponies that were there because the room was too dark despite the fire being the only source of light. Finally, he decided to request the resident's assistance. Cave walked up to the door, knocked on the its wooden surface, and waited. He kept his primary airsoft weapon concealed behind his back so that none of the ponies notice it. A few moments later, the door opened and in the doorway was a dark-pink Earth pony with two different shades of light-pink on her mane and tail. She had green eyes and on her flank displayed her cutie mark, three smiling sunflowers. As she stared at Cave, she gave off an intimidated expression.
"Umm. Hello there," Cave greeted, "Listen, I understand that you're very frightened of me but if you please just give me a chance here, I swear I will-" FWAM! The door slammed right in Cave's face, indicating rejection. As Cave stood in front of the door, he began to think about what Twilight had told him. She was willing to offer him refuge that the pony that had just recently declined his offer to. He shook the thought away in disgust.
No, Cave, he thought, She almost killed you. And she could do it again while you're sleeping. Just keep going. You're bound to find some random, simple-minded pony that's willing to trust you in their own home. You're bound to.
As Cave trudged on forth, he eventually found another house that consisted of a few lights being turned on. He knocked on the door and out came a light-brown male pony with blue eyes, a spiky brown mane and tail, and had a cutie mark in the shape of an hourglass. This time, Cave tried a rather different approach.
"Why hello good sir!" Cave said excitedly, "My name's Cave Kojack and I must admit it's some very nice weather were having today!"
Right as he ended his sentence, a huge flash of lightning appeared nearby and caused a loud booming noise that made Cave and the male stallion jump from its effect.
"Ehehe. See? Nice weather! Now, as I was saying-" FWAM!
"Dang it!" he yelled out of frustration. He was starting to become really annoyed at the fact that the ponies were interrupting his sentences by simply slamming the door right in his face. He needed to formulate another type of strategy so that he can "smooth talk" his way to refuge and assistance. While he was thinking about this along the way, the thought of Twilight's offer returned to his mind. All he had to do was find her house and she will gladly take him in and he'll be safe from the rain. Again, the thought of it appalled him.
You're not weak, Cave, he thought, Giving in to a race of cartoon ponies will just make you look like a complete fool. You're better than them, Cave, and you can prove it.
After about twenty minutes of walking in a nonstop rainfall, Cave finally managed to encounter his third house. He gave himself a deep breath in order to relax himself from the previous rejections; they were really ticking him off. And so he knocked on the door and waited for a pony to open it so that he can try charming is way in. While he was waiting, he began to feel an unusual presence come up behind him, as if it were extending its long, slender, and sinister appendage and snatch him away to God knows where. He quickly turned; only to find nothing suspicious. The door opened but Cave didn't see anyone. He looked around for them until he heard a high-pitched "Hello?" coming from the bottom of the doorway. It was a pale-pink filly with a pink mane and tail and had green eyes. Her cutie mark was a palm tree. She curiously glanced at Cave and contemplated his human form. Cave returned her look and soon realized the she didn't recognize him so he decided to use this to his advantage and knelt down to her height level.
"Oh, hello there little fella," he calmly said, "My name is Cave Kojack. What's yours?"
"Piña Colada," she answered nervously.
"Piña Colada? I love those drinks! They're my favorite beverage! That's a very nice name you have there," he complimented; however, he doesn't drink alcoholic beverages.
"Thank you," she replied while blushing in the process.
"Say, um, is it alright with you and your family for me to come in and stay at your place? It's raining cats and dogs out here and I don't want to get even more wet."
"It's raining cats and dogs? How's that even possible? I gotta get out there and help them! They could be hurt from falling from the sky!"
"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. It's just that...where I come from, the term 'raining cats and dogs' means that it's raining very hard. Don't worry, there's no animals in need of help, well, unless you count me as one. Hehe."
The filly began to laugh along with Cave. She was beginning to grow fond of him. She agreed to let him in as soon as she introduces him to her older sister. Cave was relieved and gave Piña Colada a little noogie, messing up her mane, but she still laughed. Through his own sense of manipulation, he finally found a pony that was willing to accept him in their own home. Now all he had to do was greet Piña Colada's sister and he would finally be safe from the deluge of rain.
"Hey, Berry Punch! Come here, quick! There's a friend I'd like you to meet!" she yelled towards the back. Cave smiled at the fact that she called him a "friend". It helped indicate that she had definitely bought it.
"I'll be right there!" returned a female voice. While Cave and the filly were waiting, another pony finally appeared in the doorway next to Piña Colada. It was a tall, purple mare with a dark-pink mane and tail as well as her eyes glowing a dark-pink color too. Her cutie mark was a strawberry and a vine of grapes next to each other. She placed her front left hoof around her little sister's withers; much like how a momma bear protects her cub by keeping them close. In her right hoof she held, what appeared to be, a gold chalice of a mysterious purple liquid of some sort. She looked at Piña Colada and smiled down at her.
"Hey, lil sis," Berry Punch happily acknowledged, "So, who is this friend of you-"
As she gazed upon Cave, Berry Punch's jaw dropped. She dropped her beverage and immediately let out a horrific shriek. Cave realized that he had been discovered. She had recognized him from the brawl in town square and he quickly tried think up a way to calm her down.
"Wait! It's alright!" Cave assured, "Relax! I'm not going to hurt-"
"Get away from me!" she yelled, "And stay away from my little sister!"
Berry Punch picked up Piña Colada, who was confused, and slammed the door in Cave's face. Cave continuously knocked on their door, trying to help settle them down, but it was no use. They completely ignored his assurances and refused to let him in. Anger and frustration had built up in him again and was getting ready to release it in a loud yell. He clenched his fists, raised them up to the sky, and shouted:
"WHAT THE F-,"
BOOM! A loud crash of thunder had caused him to flinch and halt his moral outburst. He was getting ready to leave the two sisters' house alone until he noticed an object on the ground at the foot of their door. It was Berry Punch's gold chalice and it still had some liquid inside it.
"Do I even want to know?" he asked himself. He wasn't really thirsty but he couldn't help but wonder what she was drinking. He picked it up and contemplated it. It was engraved with carvings of ponies and mysterious symbols. He looked into the chalice and noticed that it had a strong essence emitting from it. Finally, he took a sip of the unknown purple liquid. Cave recognized the taste and immediately expectorated it and threw the chalice against the door.
"Wine!?" he complained, "Are you freaking kidding me!? You put wine in a freaking little girls show and then name little kid-ponies after stuff that contains booze!? Ugh, you morons!" He washed his mouth with rainwater and stormed off, grumbling to himself and making splashes in the puddles as he passed by dozens of seemingly lifeless houses. Curse my curiosity, he thought.
The rain was becoming more and more worse as time passed on. Cave was completely drenched through his clothing and could barely see thirty feet in front of him. He looked at his Armitron digital watch to see what time it was but realized that it would serve him no purpose from where he was. He was in a different world with a different kind of time zone. Eventually, Cave gave up trying to look for assistance and sat in an alley, where the hay overhangs of houses poorly protected him from the rainfall.
A powerful and chilling breeze swept through the alley where Cave was in. He began to shiver constantly and was unable to sleep appropriately. He was bound to suffer from a fever at some point. Twilight's offering came back, once again. As much as Cave hated the idea, it was either safety or death. He knew that if he continued on like this, he will not see morning by the time it comes. It was decided: go to Twilight's house.
After a few minutes of searching, Cave spotted a massive figure about twenty five feet away from him. It was a giant oak tree with branches spread out forty feet away from its center. Its thick leaves kept everything below it well protected and dry from the downpour. Glass windows replaced the holes in its trunk and crown. A wooden balcony stood at its crown and green grass acted as an awning at its trunk. A large beehive clings desperately to one of the branches to avoid being blown away by the wind. In front of Cave was a red, wooden door that opens in three ways as well as an image of a candle on an old-fashioned candle holder. A sign to the right of it showed a picture of a book, indicating that it was a library.
This must be the place, he thought. After approaching the door, he gave a deep breath, hoping that the purple unicorn has still kept her offer on the line. He knocked on the door and waited for the moment of truth. The door opened and Twilight Sparkle appeared in the doorway. She was wearing a black eyepatch that covered her left eye that Cave shot. She looked at him from bottom to top and giggled.
"Well, will you look who it is," she said obnoxiously with a smile, "I thought you didn't need my help."
"I gave up, okay!? Geez!" Cave admitted, "Since none of the other ponies in this freakin' town would help me, I guess I'd, might as well, go with the pony that was willing to in the first place!"
"Well, at least you made the right choice," she said, "Come on. Get inside and I'll help you get dried up."
Cave gave himself a deep sigh and stepped into the house of Twilight Sparkle. After he made it through the doorway, Twilight aimed her horn directly at Cave. At first, he thought she was going to shoot him when he saw her horn glow purple and winced. But when he looked at his clothing, something strange was happening. Drops of water were transpiring from his jacket. He stopped wincing and looked around at himself. Water was coming off of his clothing, his skin, and his hair; and they were all accumulating at one spot, forming a giant, floating ball of water. Twilight carefully aimed and tossed the water ball out the door and closed the door with her magic.
"Thanks," Cave said, slightly amazed.
"You're welcome," Twilight said happily in return.
Cave strolled to the center of the house and took a good look at what he was seeing. The whole place was built inside of the tree and was filled with the stench of books. The tree's bottom trunk was its floor. Round rectangular shapes were carved along the edges as bookshelves. The books that rested neatly on these shelves had almost no speck of dust of them and were a little rugged along their edges, meaning that they were used quite often. A wooden stairway leading upstairs was built alongside the tree with three pink hearts painted on the risers with every other step. Two wooden lecterns were placed on opposite sides of the house. In front of one of the bookshelves was a wooden bust of a horse's head. Windows were scattered across the house, above the bookshelves, and laid against the wall was a wooden ladder for obtaining books from a particular height.
Not believing what he was seeing, Cave rummaged through his bag, took out his iPod Touch, and started taking pictures.
"Hey! What kind of device is that?" asked Twilight.
"It's just my iPod Touch," Cave answered, "Normally, I use it just to listen to music, play games, and take pictures like what I'm doing right now."
"Can I see it?"
"No."
Twilight's ears dropped and she frowned from rejection. While he was busy taking pictures, Cave heard something coming from upstairs. He looked up and saw a purple, reptilian-like leg appear at the top of the stairwell. Descending with each step, its full image was revealed to Cave. It was a purple and green dragon walking on its two hind legs. It was shorter than Twilight and appeared as if it were a kid with a baby-like face. It looked at Cave and grimaced.
"What's he doing here?" it angrily hissed, pointing at Cave. Its tone of voice indicated that it was a little boy dragon.
"It's alright, Spike," assured Twilight, "Cave won't be any trouble. He'll just be staying with us for a while."
"Twilight, can I talk to you please?" Spike asked.
"Alright," sighed Twilight. She turned to Cave. "Be just a second."
Twilight trotted over to the end of the stairwell, where Spike was.
"What is it, Spike?" she asked quietly.
"Twilight, I don't want him staying at our place!" Spike whispered, "Did you see what he did!? The next thing you know, he might kill us in our sleep!"
"It's nothing to worry about, Spike," Twilight assured, "And besides, I promised the princess that I would notify her of anything that I learned from Cave."
"But he's dangerous! He did that to your eye and beat up our friends; most importantly, my Rarity!"
"I understand, but we misunderstood him and that's why he was acting like that. And I'm willing to do whatever it takes to familiarize myself with him more. Who knows? Maybe he might turn over a new leaf or something."
Spike glanced over at Cave and scowled.
"I don't trust him," he grumbled.
"Well, get used to it, Spike," Twilight ordered, "'Cause he's staying with us and that's final. Now go upstairs and get some sleep. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."
Spike obeyed and went upstairs worried. Meanwhile, Cave was perusing around Twilight's house. He had too much going on in his mind that he couldn't exactly overhear Twilight and Spike's conversation. Twilight started to trot up to Cave, who was observing closely at the wooden horse bust.
"So, what do you think?" she asked Cave.
"There are termites eating it," he answered.
"That's not really what meant but...wait what!?"
As Twilight looked closer at the head with a magnifying glass, she noticed a small colony of green termites chewing at the wood.
"Aaauughh!"
She quickly lifted the horse head with her magic and one-by-one, tiny green dots exited the bust in a single file line and floating out the window. Once they were all out of the house, Twilight quickly shut the window.
"Phew! Sorry about that," she said, "Now, as I was saying, what I really meant to ask was what do think about being here in Equestria despite our little....feud?"
"Oh, in that case, I hate it," Cave answered.
"And why is that?"
"Because I never asked for this! What's worse is that I have no idea how I got here or how to freaking get back home! And now, I'm stuck here in some ridiculous world dominated by ponies with tattoos on their a-"
"You mean....cutie marks?" Twilight interrupted. Cave looked at her confusingly.
"You're kidding me. That's what they're called?" Cave retorted.
"Exactly," she assured, "and they're not 'tattoos'; they symbolize a pony's special talent in their lives once they've discovered it."
"Well, then that's a stupid name to call it. It's," he paused for a moment, "....girly."
"Girly? What do you mean by that?
"Never mind."
After that, there was nothing but an unpleasant silence between each other. The rapid downpour had soon been reduced to the light pitter-pattering of raindrops. The storm clouds have almost completely cleared, revealing the night sky, and the cricket callings started to arise.
"Aaaannyway," Twilight said anxiously, "Would you like me to help heal your injuries? I can go get you some bandages or escort you to the Ponyville Hospital if they're-"
"I'm fine," Cave snapped. As he began to move around to prove his condition, he ended up limping with each step, humiliating himself. His legs were just too hurt from the fight and he was trying his best not to show any pain; but he can tell that Twilight was not buying it.
"Judging by the way you're walking, I don't think that you're alright at all. Are you sure you don't want-"
"Yes, I'm sure."
"Okay, fine," she hesitated before continuing, "Listen, I'm sorry about what happened to you back there; but now's not the time for you to be stubborn. If you're going to get home, you're going to need all the help you can get. And since you've done a good job getting everypony to become extremely afraid of you, it seems like I just may be your only chance of getting out of here. Now, since Spike doesn't trust you and it's pretty crowded down in the basement, you may have to rest on the floor of this room. I'll come fetch you some sheets."
Twilight went over to her closet and used her magic to bring out a pillow and a couple of blue blankets. She set them down neatly in the middle of the room and looked at Cave.
"There you go; nice and neat!" she cheerfully declared, "Now, I suggest that you get some sleep because tomorrow's when we finally get to know each other."
"Woawoawoa. Hold on," snapped Cave, "I don't think you understand. I need to get out of here now."
"Now? Why now? You just arrived here."
"I am not staying for another second in this ridiculous world! I have family and friends back home!"
"So?"
"SO!? They're probably worried sick about me right now! I can't have them wait any longer, thinking that I'm dead or something! Heck, they've probably even set up a search party or called the freakin' police to go look for me but I know there's no chance because I'm stuck here in EQUESTRIA!"
"Then let them wait!" stated Twilight. Her cold-hearted backlash punched Cave right in the chest. He couldn't help but feel the inconceivable rage fill up inside him. It was like lightning bringing life to an indomitable abomination about to reign destruction over anything that dared to stand in its path. Buildings would be decimated by its unchallengeable strength. Ponies would shriek in terror as they attempt to escape their inevitable fate. All of Equestria would crumble to its last remnant of its past and the pariah will stomp on it, eliminating the final piece of evidence of the once great kingdom's existence from the face of the planet.
Cave shut his eyes and turned away with disdain, trying to suppress his anger; it would do him no good if he let out his eruption over the ponies in such a way that it would destroy his chances of returning to Earth forever. He cannot let that happen.
"I'm sorry," Twilight said sympathetically, "I didn't mean it like that. Listen, if it makes you feel any better, I've already begun my research in order to help ensure that you will get home. Please rest, Cave. I promise that will find a way." Twilight turned off the lights and went upstairs to get to sleep; leaving Cave all by himself again. All was silent and eventually, Cave decided to go get some sleep too since he believed it will, at least, allow his body to heal much quicker. So he stripped off his jean jacket, laid down his things, climbed under the sheets, laid his head against the pillow, closed his eyes, and began to imagine living his normal life as usual as if the whole going-into-Equestria thing had never happened.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Cave couldn't sleep. He just couldn't. The fact that he was in a world full of cartoon ponies was so overwhelming that it gave him insomnia. Pretending to live back on Earth was not making things any easier either. It only made him want to go back even more. He laid on his back, wondering about what he could do in order to get home as fast as possible. Cave thought back to what Pinkie Pie had said earlier: OOH! You know what would be even better!? If he took over Equestria's capital, Canterlot!
Canterlot..., Cave thought and later he came up with an idea. He got up, took out his iPod Touch, and activated his Torch app, casting a bright white light aimed in one direction. His body had healed a bit during his time lying down although he could still feel pressure in some places. He explored the circular library, examining each of the bookshelves until he came across a section called Geography. Looking through the labels of the books, Cave managed to find one that was rather thick and matched his interest perfectly. Ready to pull out the book, he turned around to view what else the library had to offer.
Now's not the time, Cave. You can do that somewhere else. Let me remind you that it's My Little Pony, he recalled. He carried the book to one of the lecterns, hovered his iPod above, and opened it to, what appeared to be, a map of Equestria. The kingdom was one gigantic land mass with detailed depictions of its towns and cities and natural formations: Appleloosa, Manehatten, Baltimare, Los Pegasus, Cloudsdale... the list went on and on. Studying the map, Cave noticed that there were lines connecting all of the areas to one central point. They were railway lines. Using his index finger, he followed them all to a single white city that seemed to be built literally on the side of a tall, purple mountain, Canterlot.
Bingo.
Now that Cave found what he was looking for, he tore the page out of the book and was getting ready to sneak out until he stopped and thought for a moment. What if all this wasn't real at all? Am I really in a coma? These questions perplexed him; and the only way to answer them is if he had left something to come back to once he had returned to Earth. So he took out his iPod, initiated Voice Memos, and started to make his first audio log entry.1
While in the middle of concluding his first entry, Cave heard a door creak open from upstairs. He gasped and quickly shut off his iPod and rushed underneath the sheets and pretended to be asleep. Descending down the stairs was Spike and he was holding a lighted candle in his hand. Cave talking in his entry must have accidentally woke Spike up. Spike gazed suspiciously at Cave, who had his back turned away from him.
"Hmmm," Spike murmured and he eventually went back upstairs. As soon as he heard the door close, Cave got up, gathered his belongings, and quietly tip-toed out the front door.
It was slightly cold outside and very wet from the rain. A full moon shone a bright light that lit up the starry night sky like a blue flame. Its reflection was beautifully elegant in the puddles of water. Echoing in the night was the sound of crickets calling for their partners. And up in a nearby tree was a family of phoenixes snoozing together while expecting a new addition this week.
Cave held out the map in front and tried to see if he could find a train station somewhere. During his search, he saw a glowing white city up along the side of a tall mountain far up ahead. It was Canterlot. He figured using the capital as a reference point would help him spot the station. After finally finding a pavilion on an elevated platform that turned out to be the train station, Cave saw a sign up on the window of one of the ticket booths that read: "Station Closed Due to Curfew".
"Figures," Cave muttered to himself. He glanced at the map again and noticed that if he went right then he will eventually make it to Canterlot within an estimated guess of about thirty to fifty minutes by walking. He peered inside the booth and saw a clock that said 10:10pm; still plenty of time to successfully carry out the plan overnight. Cave set his watch and his iPod to their correct time. Subsequently, he hopped off the station and began to saunter along the side of the railroad to where may lie his best chance of getting back to his race; however, he was not alone during the journey. Someone, somewhere, was keeping a very close eye on him, contemplating his every move.
1 = To be elaborated.
Author's Note: Special thanks to Violet Runner for proofreading this!