//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Tender Heart // Story: Sparké // by moviemaster8510 //------------------------------// Peter woke up in a room that looked to be made entirely from marble. He gripped onto his head with one hand, his temples hurting. He took a second to observe his surroundings before he came across the only other thing inside the room: a white alicorn with a flowing mane of four-different colors. Peter couldn’t help but be confused at the horse that stood before him. He then wondered why it had a horn stuck on its head or wings attached to her back, or how its mane moved constantly. However, it was the next action the brought Pete over the edge. “Hello there,” she spoke. “It seems you’re finally up.” Peter screamed and crawled backwards towards the wall. Even as his body slid into it, Peter continued to push, hoping that by some miracle that he could break free and run. The alicorn just looked at the small child with a confused glare. “You…” stuttered Peter. “You just talked?” “So you can speak in pony too,” she commented. “What? You’re a horse! Horses can’t talk!” “For your information, young one, I am a pony, not a horse, and yes, ponies can talk.” “Just… where am I? Who are you? What are you?” “I suppose you deserve an answer to your questions,” she said with a sigh. “My name is Princess Celestia. I am an alicorn, and you are currently in a maximum security holding cell that we save for more… unruly creatures.” “What? Cell? I’m in jail?!?” Celestia couldn’t help but chuckle. “Stop laughing at me! Let me go, or I’ll–” “Relax, young one. I can be the first to tell you that you are not in prison and you are certainly not in trouble.” Despite this news, Peter continued to breathe heavily. “Forgive me for saying so,” Celestia said, “but you appear to me as if you’ve never seen a pony before.” Peter couldn’t help but look at the pony as if she was insulting his intelligence. “Of course I’ve seen ponies before! But they don’t talk where I come from! Is that horn or those wings even real?” To answer his question, Celestia, flared her wings open. This action startled Pete into screaming again. “I can assume that your ponies don’t have wings or horns either?” she asked. “N– n– n– n– no,” Peter stammered. “Then I’d be curious to know where you come from if you’ve never seen either a unicorn or a pegasus before.” “I’m from Earth!” Peter answered. “Wait, is that it? Are you an alien? Did I just get abducted?” “My my,” giggled Celestia again, “you certainly have a vivid imagination.” “Stop it! I’m being serious!” “Forgive me,” spoke Celestia. “I’ve never seen anything, or anyone, for that matter, quite like you. I’m going to guess that you are a child?” “Not really! I’m ten!” “I’d say that’s just still about colt-age in my book. But, I think I’m getting ahead of myself. May I please have your name?” Peter cuddled towards himself, scared of the intentions of Celestia’s questioning. The white alicorn gently walked up to him, Peter cowering further into himself as her hoofsteps came closer. Peter’s eyes were shut as hard as they could be. Celestia, in pity, sat on her four legs and unfurled her left wing. Peter suddenly felt the wing caress itself around his body, the unnatural softness easing him into slowly opening his eyes. He saw as Celestia was knelt before him, looking deep into his eyes with an expression that assured him that everything would be alright. Peter’s fear of this creature was now completely eroded away, but he was still a stranger in a strange land, and he was far from home. Peter broke down into tears and wailed into his balled fists. “Please,” he cried. “I just want to go home. Please. Take me back home.” Celestia couldn’t stand to see this boy in such a state, but her greatest sadness came from knowing that she could not fulfill his wish. “I’m sorry,” she cooed, brushing her face against his and wiping the tears that ran down his cheeks. “I certainly would if I could, but I’d have no idea where your home is.” Peter was too scared and weak to fight back, and it only caused him to weep harder. “I just…” he sobbed as he hyperventilated. “I wanna’ see my pop.” “I know you do. But please, I want nothing more than to return you to your father, and we’re trying our best to find your home…” A great anger rose in Peter as he shot up to his knees and tried to push Celestia back. His sudden actions forced her into retreated back to the exit of the room. “Then try harder, you stupid pony!” Peter screamed. “Take me home, now!” Peter ran out to Celestia to attack her again, but ran into an invisible wall that glowed yellow upon contact. The force knocked Peter to his rump, causing another torrent of tears. The invisible wall made Peter’s hyperventilation more violent, fearful of the unknown barrier. “I understand that you’re upset,” Celestia reasoned to the terrified boy, “and I know how much you wish to return home. Please understand that I’m doing everything in my power and knowledge to find your home, but I couldn’t tell you how long that will take.” “You’re going to take me there now!” shouted Peter. “You’re still very upset,” Celestia answered. “I do have other things to attend to, so I’ll give you some space and time to calm down…” “NO! I wanna’ go home!” “…and once you’ve calmed down, I can try and explain more to you and you can tell me who and what you are…” “Stop! You can’t leave me here!” “…but you need to settle down first.” “Wait!” Peter shouted as Celestia opened the door with her magic and quickly closed and locked it before Peter could try and escape. “Come back! Take me home! I wanna’ go home. I want my pop! I WANNA’ SEE MY POP!!” ======================================== The sound of the opening to the second movement of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony woke Peter out of his sleep. The notes repeated over and over again. The room was still dark, but that wasn’t important now. Peter knew it was his dad, and he knew that he’d want to hear from his son as quickly as possible. Peter quickly rolled over to the table where his phone was and hit the green phone icon before putting the phone to his ear. “Hey pop,” grunted Peter, his voice still a bit groggy. “Hey pop?” questioned his dad. “What the hell happened to you, and why aren’t you in New York?” “Well, you see,” Peter tried to improvise. “I went to fill up for gas and when I got back in my car… it wouldn’t start.” “Uh-huh.” “I had a guy come up and try to kickstart it, but it didn’t work. There was a nearby garage that the guy worked at and he said he could hold onto it for the night until they opened up the next morning.” “So you left it at a garage? With all of your shit unattended?” “Pop, I had the keys to my car and the trailer; he wasn’t going to break in.” “He has tools you know.” “Pop, he’s a car mechanic, not Danny Ocean. Besides, I checked into a motel right across the street so I could keep an eye on it at all times.” “Is it there now?” “Hold on, let me check.” Peter got up off the bed and walked around in a circle to pretend to walk to the motel window. “Yeah, it’s there.” “Well, that doesn’t guarantee that nothing’s missing.” “I’ll go check on it right after I hang up. If you don’t hear from me, just assume that there isn’t a hair out of place.” “I’d really like you to do that now. There’s a lot of money in that case of yours and I’d hate for you to lose it.” “I know, I know. But that guy didn’t seem like a car-thief.” “The best thieves never do.” “Pop, I know you’re worried about me and shit, especially after… you know, but pop, I told you last night that I was fine, didn’t I? And I wouldn’t be stupid enough to leave thousands of dollars unattended if I knew they’d have a good chance of being stolen.” “I hope you’re right.” “I probably am.” “…So, now what?” “The guy said the garage opens at nine, and I’ll spend all day there until he fixes the car. Hopefully, it can get cleared up right away and I can get back on the road before lunch.” "Okay then. And you have enough money?” “Puh-lenty.” “Alright then. I’m going to hop into the shower and wake up. I was up all night thinking about you.” “Really? Even after I said I was fine?” “…Well, you didn’t give me many details…” “Was, ‘I’m okay,’ not enough of a detail for you?” “Alright, then. I’m glad you’re fine. I just hope not to hear from you soon about anything stolen.” “I’m sure you won’t. Have a good day at work.” “Thanks. Good luck with your car. Please give me an update before lunchtime. I love you.” “I love you too, pop.” “Buh-bye.” “Bye.” Peter put his phone back on the table. As he gave his arms and legs a much needed stretch, he heard the door open, causing him to turn quickly around. He looked to see Applejack standing in the doorway with a confused look on her face. “I thought I heard somepony up,” she spoke. “What are you doing up so early, Pete?” “Pop gave me a call back. He just wanted to make sure I’m okay.” “And that’s just what you told him, right?” “Yeah, but to be fair, he became very concerned about me ever since I disappeared from my world and back to Equestria. I had to make sure he knew I was okay. There are only so many lies I can tell.” “Lies?” What lies?” “Well, I can’t just tell him, ‘Hey pop, I just got transported to a world of magical talking ponies!’ Not only would that sound crazy to him, but it would be in very bad taste.” “So what did you tell him?” “That my car failed and that I was taking it to a mechanic until they can fix it.” “Oh, I see…” “Well, I did find out last night that I can access the internet on this world, so I was planning on Skyping him sometime in the near future. Again, there’s only so many times I can tell him, ‘Whoops! I didn’t make it to New York… again!’” “New York? But ah thought you said y’all were goin’ to–” “Manhattan is one of the four sub-cities of New York City.” “Okay. I think I get it, but what in the hay is ‘Skypin’?’” “It’s like a phone call, but you can actually see the person you’re talking to.” “Well, there ya’ go! That will make it easier to tell the truth, especially when he can see and hear us.” “Yeah, but I don’t know how he will handle it.” “What do ya’ mean?” “I can’t keep stalling to tell my dad that I’m in another world, but even if I tell him, he might break down again.” “Break down?” “My pop has not had the easiest of lives,” Peter answered. “A few weeks after my mother gave birth to me, she died of an aneurysm, so he was stuck raising me all by myself.” “Oh my… I’m so sorry, Pete.” “I never really knew her, but from what pop told me when I was older, when I had disappeared from Equestria, he thought he had lost everything. I mean, imagine coming home one day and Big Macintosh, Granny Smith, and Apple Bloom just vanished from your life without a trace. You don’t know where they are, if they’re alive or not, or whether you’ll ever see them again, dead or alive.” The situation, as nonexistent as it was, visibly hurt Applejack. It was clear that having lost someone close and then losing another loved one would destroy anyone from the inside out. “If my pop finds out that I’m gone again, that could just be the end of him. I don’t want to put him through that pain again.” Applejack walked over to Peter and nuzzled her nose into his hand. “Well,” admitted Applejack, looking up at him, “I can see how that can be scary for you, but I don’t think it’s as bad as you’re makin’ it out to be.” “Huh?” “Well, think of it like this. When you got sent here the first time around, you didn’t have any of these fancy whirlymajiggers to tell your dad you were okay, did you?” “…No.” “Well, now that you do, I bet that even if you’re here, as long as he can see that you’re okay, I think he’ll be just fine.” Peter smiled. The prospect of telling his father the truth didn’t feel as bleak anymore. “Thanks, Applejack,” Peter said, scratching behind the pony’s ears. “Huhuhuhuhu…” shuddered Applejack in a state of pure bliss. “Heh. I still got it,” he muttered to himself, before he raised his voice to a conversational tone. “Applejack, now what are you doing up?” “It ain’t got nothin’ to do with that car of yers if that’s what yer askin’. Remember those two fillies I was talking about before bed last night?” “Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, right?” “Yeah. Good memory. But anyways, I’m heading over to Ponyville to pick them up so they can have breakfast with us.” “Great. I haven’t had a country-style breakfast in a long time. You mind if I help?” “Help? What in Equestria do you want to help for?” “I still feel like I’m getting off too easy for trashing the barn…” Applejack glared at him for his insistence. “Let me finish!” he exclaimed. “At the very, very least let me cook breakfast for you. I guarantee you that you won’t be disappointed.” Applejack pondered this some more. It seemed that Peter was set on helping out more than just moving his car, and she was very interested to see how good of a chef he was. “Alright,” she said, “you got yerself a deal!” She spit in her hoof and held it out for Pete to shake. Peter surprised the orange mare by immediately taking her spittle-dripped hoof and shaking in agreement. Upon letting go, he wiped his hand on his shirt and began to walk to his suitcase. “I’m going to take a bath now,” Peter stated. “I like to be clean when I cook.” “Take as much time as you need, sugar,” responded Applejack. “Any ideas as to what you’re cookin’?” Peter turned to face Applejack from the hall as he grabbed a bar of soap and a travel sized shampoo as well as a change of clothes. “I don’t know,” he said. “Is there something in particular that you like to eat on a day like today?” “Surprise us.” “Are you sure? I can get pretty ‘fancy-schmancy’ sometimes.” “Hey, as long as it can fill our bellies, I’ll try whatever you make. Granny Smith can help you around the kitchen if you’re lost.” “Thanks a lot, Applejack. Have fun getting the girls.” “I’ll certainly try,” she said in a slightly unsure tone. With that, Peter walked out of the room, down the hallway, and to the bathroom, closing the door on his way out. ____________________________________________________________ Granny Smith was in the kitchen putting pans on the stove when Peter came down. He was wearing a pair of baggy dark-blue jeans and a black shirt with the Rock Band keyboard logo on it. His hair was pulled back and put into another ponytail. Now that he was up and washed, he also looked far chipper, especially as he walked into the kitchen. “Well hello, Sonny!” greeted Granny Smith. “Applejack said you were makin’ us breakfast, so I’m just gatherin’ some pots and pans for y’all.” “That’s very nice of you, Granny Smith,” he answered, “but if you could help me gather the ingredients now, that would be splendid.” “Sure thing! What’cha makin’?” “I figured a farmer family could use a hearty breakfast, so I was thinking of poached eggs on potato pancakes with hollandaise sauce with a side of cheddar-and-chive grits and warm, cinnamon apples.” “Woo-wee! Sounds like you’ve got everything under control. Follow me, you whippersnapper, I’ll bring y’all to the chicken coops!” Granny Smith walked out of the kitchen and out the front door, Peter following close behind. ____________________________________________________________ Applejack walked through the streets of Ponyville. The sun was now shining bright over the land, the ponies now going about their daily business. Applejack had two fillies at her side. One was a white unicorn with a curly pink and purple mane. The other was an orange pegasus with a cropped purple mane. Neither of them had markings on their rumps like Applejack did. “Where are we going?” asked the unicorn filly. “This isn’t the way to Sweet Apple Acres!” “I know it ain’t, but I wanna’ make a quick stop first.” As Applejack and the fillies turned, they went straight to Applejack’s intended destination: a decently sized building made out of a tree. ____________________________________________________________ Peter mixed mashed potatoes, minced onion, spices, and eggs into a large metal bowl, folding the mixture in with each turn of his spoon. Several of Peter’s knives were scattered over the counter. Meanwhile, Granny Smith arrived back with a large basket of eggs with her mouth on the handle and placed them on the table. “Now,” asked Peter, “exactly how many ponies am I cooking for?” “Let’s see,” thought Granny Smith aloud, “we got you, Applejack, Apple Bloom, Big Macintosh, yours truly, as well as Apple Bloom’s two friends and a couple of Applejack’s friends from Ponyville.” The last one mentioned was a mild shock to Peter. “Really?” he asked. “Who are they?” “Eh… can’t say I remember, but I’m sure they’ll be really glad to meet ya’.” “Yeah,” he sighed. “Me too.” Peter resumed mixing the potatoes. ____________________________________________________________ Applejack knocked on the door of the tree house. After only a couple of seconds, a mare answered the door. With her lavender coat and Hime-cut, it was obvious to Applejack and the fillies that it was Twilight Sparkle. “Oh,” she exclaimed. “Good morning, Applejack! Hello, Sweetie Belle,” she said to the unicorn. “Hello, Scootaloo,” she greeted to the pegasus. “Hi, Twilight!” the two fillies answered back. “What are you doing here?” asked Twilight. “You ain’t gonna’ believe this,” Applejack said, rubbing her neck with her hoof, “but some strange critter crashed into our barn last night.” “Oh, gosh! I’m so sorry! Is anypony hurt?” “No, thank goodness. However, this thing ain’t anything like I’ve seen before! It’s tall, it ain’t got no hair ‘cept on his head, and it runs around wearing clothes, and it came in this weird machine that ran into the barn.” “Huh!?” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo shouted. Twilight gasped at the description of the creature. It was all too familiar with a creature that she had met long ago. However, because of her past experience, she seemed more determined than frightened. “You brought an alien into your home?” shouted Scootaloo. “It’s okay, girls,” Twilight assured them. “I think I know what this is, and if it’s anything like the one I’ve seen, you should be just fine.” “Phew” asked Applejack, trying to sound as genuinely relieved as she could without breaking her fib. “That’s a relief. Can you still come and help us out? We’ll make breakfast for you and everything.” “Really? That’s so nice of you. Sure, I’ll be ready in a jiffy. Just let me call Spike.” Twilight ran back inside and closed the door. Unbeknownst to the fillies, Applejack gave a gleeful smile, excited for the reunion she was setting up. ======================================== Peter watched as Crème Fraiche whisked the egg yolk, white-wine vinegar, and Dijon mustard in a glass bowl that sat above a pot of hot water. Peter watched with careful observation as she slowly added the last of the butter to the mixture, all while continuing to mix. “You see,” Crème instructed, “hollandaise sauce, while easy to prepare, is quite difficult to make. You have to keep the heat of the water very low, otherwise, your yolks will harden and the sauce will become chunky. Also, you must be careful with your butter. If you add in too much too fast, the butter and the vinegar will separate.” Peter sighed dreamily. He could listen to Crème Fraiche’s lectures for hours on end. “Cooking is very hard work, but with enough diligence and concentration…” finished Crème as she removed the bowl from the pot and held it in front of him. Peter knew this cue, and he placed his finger into the sauce, brought it to his mouth, and sucked it dry. Peter’s eyes closed and a pert smile appeared on his face. “…you can make the most delicious of foods.” As Crème took the bowl back, she ladled a heaping amount of the sauce and poured them over a platter of steaming asparagus stalks. “Perhaps I can let you prepare the sauce next time,” said Crème with an encouraging tone. “Eh, not yet,” Peter admitted. “I don’t think I’ll ever make hollandaise as good as you.” “Don’t belittle yourself, Peter,” she spoke as she lifted the platter off the counter. “If you truly love to cook, and if you love eating delicious food, I guarantee you that your hollandaise sauce could even be greater than mine.” Peter smiled warmly as Crème walked towards the exit of the kitchen and out to Princess Celestia’s dining hall. Remembering that he was standing, Peter jogged up ahead, wanting to catch up with her. ======================================== Peter had all that he needed on the counter: a bowl of separated egg yolks in a glass bowl, a large mound of churned-cream butter, and a bottle of Dijon mustard and white-wine vinegar from the trailer. There was also a bowl of untouched eggs next to a smaller bowl of chopped chives to the right of it. Peter picked up the bottle of vinegar from the counter and tossed it into the air, catching it in his hand. “Thank God for bubble wrap,” he stated. In the sink, the pot that boiled the potatoes, the knives that cut the onions and chives, and the grater that shredded the cheese were sitting in soapy water. He then looked to the stove. In a saucepan on one burner, the grits were cooking and could sit until they needed to be served. In a large skillet, a small pool of oil was heating up for the potato pancakes. On the other two burners in the front were two large saucepans with simmering water. In the oven below the pots and pans, a casserole dish of sliced apples in a cinnamon and brown sugar syrup heated up. Seeing every little bit working together in synch like a grand symphony brought a joyous smile to Peter. He could only imagine what Applejack and her family would think once they took their first bites. Peter went to the table to grab his glass of orange juice, taking two greedy gulps before setting it back down. Once Applejack arrived with the girls and her friend, he’d begin on the hollandaise sauce. He knew it could sit while he poached the eggs and fried up the potato pancakes. The grits and apples were finished and only needed to be served once everything was done. “This is going to be one hell of a breakfast,” commented Peter to himself. Suddenly, he heard voices coming up to the front door. It seemed that Applejack was having a conversation about the barn. “…can’t believe that happened. I’ve never seen a machine like that. I sure hope he’s sorry,” spoke the voice of Twilight, which Peter didn’t seem to recognize. “Don’t worry,” Applejack assured her, “he’s awful sorry about it. In fact, he’s makin’ it up by makin’ us breakfast.” “He’s making breakfast?” she asked, the opening of the door increasing the volume of the voices. “Applejack, you have to be careful. You don’t know him or what he’s capable of.” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle ran into the house and looked in the kitchen to see the creature making breakfast. The two were instantly awestruck by its appearance, staring at it in wide-eyed wonder. “No,” answered Applejack to Twilight’s statement, “but from what I hear, you do.” A small, purple, bipedal reptile with green back-scales and green underbelly walked into the room as well, peering into the kitchen to see the creature, only to look upon Peter with the same shock that the fillies had. “I do?” asked Twilight, looking into the kitchen, “what do you–” Twilight froze upon seeing the back of the human’s body in the kitchen. Clearly, she was stunned by it just standing there nonchalantly. Once Peter had placed his hand above the oil in the skillet to test the temperature, he turned around to greet Applejack’s guests. While he scanned upon Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Spike, his eyes locked on to Twilight almost immediately. Peter’s eyes went wide and his lips parted, letting in a loud, audible gasp. While Twilight couldn’t recognize Peter from the back, the second she saw his face, her eyes widened too and her mouth went wide open. It was the first time in fifteen years that either of them had seen each other, and the nostalgia was beginning to drown the two of them. Twilight clenched her teeth as her eyes began to water. Peter’s hands were cupped over his mouth as two tears rolled off of his eyes and ran down his fingers. “Peter?” stammered Twilight, her voice cracking due to the emotional weight. “Is that you?” Peter’s heart soared upon hearing his old friend call his name again. His hands took themselves off of his face, revealing a tearful and elated smiled as he made a noise between a chuckle and a sob, trying his best to find the right words. “Hey, Sparky.”