//------------------------------// // Mind Blowback // Story: Dude, What the FFFF!! // by Vallis //------------------------------// ...A few mind blown moments later... Joel snickered for the 100th time already, holding one of his hands on his face. "There is alot of explaining to do." He shook his head. "Damn right." I said. "God damn, what time is it?" Joel asked. No more than a few minutes passed by, but it did feel like more time flew by than that. "Not sure, why?" I questioned back. "STILL PRETTY EARLY!" A pink pony appeared from behind Joel out of... thin air. It startled us all. Pinkie Pie. "Oh, great great!" Joel rubbed his hands together. He seemed to be adapting... fairly quick. Either that, or he probably convinced himself that he went insane the moment he set foot on this world. "Take us to your cafe, Pinkie! I'm starving!" Just as quick as she appeared, the pink mare was gone. "What... I-" He muttered in confusion. I simply held a cocked eyebrow, but waved a hoof. "Y'know what, I think this means we should just go to those friends that you mentioned, and see how they can help." I suggested. His face dropped into a slight form of dissapointment, probably upset that he wasn't going to get to eat. I felt bad, but I honestly just wanted to fix this all first. Once we have a fullproof solution, I'd be more than happy to let my bro eat and party as much as he wants to. "I guess." Joel nodded. "Let me count the money again, to see if they gave me enough to bring us all back." He pulled out a small sack from his backpack, which looked fairly heavy. "Holy shit, what's in there, gold?" I chuckled. "Oh, like you wouldn't believe." He held the sack towards me, showing the contents inside. "They're solid gold coins. Bits, is what they're called. Turns out gold here is like dirt, compared to like... fuckin' Earth." My jaw fell off. Well, it would've, if it could. Apparently, Spike liked the hefty pile of bits that was in there aswell, but Zecora (almost instinctively) held him back before he could make way to the sack. It was as if she practically knew all his antics already. "Spike, my friend, it must be earned with tears, blood, and sweat. Do not be greedy, you're not old enough to take responsibility of it yet." The little dragon crossed his arms, rolling his eyes. "Stupid..." He groaned. "You'll thank me later, young one." Zecora simply stated with a smile. I couldn't help but chuckle under my breath. Meanwhile, Joel left to the ticket booth, counting the bits in his hands as he waited in line. ...Man, I miss my hands so much already. For what looks like a century and a half old locomotive, this thing travels pretty damn fast. Even felt smooth over the rails. Reminded me a lot of the Amtrak... which is somewhat unnerving. Anyway, maybe it's because we spent most of the time talking. Zecora and Spike were, of course, interested in our conversations more than anything. Hearing two dudes talking about their home planet just does that, I guess. A few questions were tossed back and forth about how things worked there, compared to here. Turns out this world in general isn't that different, comparing to home. Maybe behind by a few decades (not sure myself), and some distinct customs here and there, but still, not so different. "Man..." Joel muttered. "What?" I naturally inquired. A grin then formed on his face. "Now that all the mindfucks are aside, we still haven't properly said 'hello' yet." "Aww, get over here bro." I opened my forelegs for a hug. He practically crushed me with his bear hug. I then felt a hand going up in my hair/mane/whatever it's called now. "Uhh, why are you..." I started, until I heard his chuckle. It gradually climbed into a fit of laughter as he held his mouth in his hand, other hand clutching his gut. He fell back onto his seat, kicking the floor. I was genuinely confused. "What?" I asked, straight faced. After his laughing fit ended, he took a few breathes. "I don't know. I really don't." He said, shaking his head. "What." I monotoned. "Well, crap, you don't expect to wake up in some magical world where your best friend turned into a... pony. Do you?" I nodded, looking out the window. "Yeah... you really don't." I could tell he was looking at me from the corner of my eye. I quickly glanced back at him, then locked my eyes on him the second time. "What?" "Well... are you okay?" I took a moment to backtrack mentally on what's happened lately. I don't like being that guy that just says 'Yeah, I'm fine'. Besides, it never hurts to do a little mental reorganizing. "Yeah. I feel good. Ready to tackle whatever's next, to be honest." He scratched his chin, making a rough bristly noise from the goatee that resided on it. He seemed to be a little more uneasy, rather than content now. Finally, he cocked an eyebrow. "You do know where we are, right?" I cocked an eyebrow as well. "Uhh... Equestria?" I said, half unsure where he was going with it. His eyebrows dropped, mouth opening slightly. "Yeah... Equestria." His tone was a little odd. I'm confused. "Why?" I pried. "You're not telling me something." "...What did I miss?" "Come on man. This is not you." "What are you talking about bro." I had a feeling that he wasn't telling me something now. The other two acquaintances that we have forgotten about now held worried expressions. "What's going on?" Spike intervened. "Chris, come on. Equestria." Joel started snapping his fingers in front of my face, ignoring the little dragon. "What are you trying to say, bro." Something far in the back of my mind kind of knew what exactly he was talking about, and yet at the same time I couldn't understand. It was irritating me now. "Relax." Zecora placed a hoof on my shoulder, but I was too focused on Joel. Right now, I felt like I was in a room with only Joe. I felt a little tense now, my shoulders stiffening. On top of that, I was experiencing that Jamais Vu again. This time, it really felt strong, to the point where I velt some slight signs of vertigo. "Come on, we're on our way to see the princesses. Luna, Celestia, and Celestia's student. Twilight Sparkle. Doesn't it remind you of anything?" "I-" I began, but caught it before I lied. No, if there's a moment to speak up, it's now. "...Yes, and no." I looked out the window again. "What?" His tone changed instantly to confused. "I know what you mean, but don't remember." I told him flatly. "...Ok, what are you-" "I hit my head." "..." "Hard. After the wreck. I don't remember alot of things anymore. I can't even recall a shit I've taken this past week." "...Oh, shit." He leaned forward. "Yeah, shit is right. And fucking annoyed I am that I can't remember anything, yet I feel like I know this all. As a matter of fact, everything here lately, even the residents that I've talked to n' shit are familiar. Yet, I can't even put my finger on it. The best way I can describe it to you is like a broken USB drive. I feel like I know this all, but my mind won't even give me one fucking drop of memory. Not even a lick. So, I have absolutely no idea what the fuck is going on, but in some way, I do. I just can't figure out why." Everyone went quiet. I felt a little self conscious now, and hoped that no one else was around to hear my rant. They'd think I was some form of crazy. Thankfully, there was only one other pony that was asleep. I looked out the window, the rest of the trip in utter silence. After about half an hour or so, the train felt like it was decreasing in speed little by little. I looked out the window, and there it was, no more than a mile away from where we were. Just like how Joel described it... and what a sight it was. An entire city on the side of a mountain. "Bro?" Joel broke the raw silence, catching my attention in an unnecessarily abrupt fashion. "What's up?" I tried being casual to lift any tension that was left. "Y'know, just... don't worry. I have a feeling it's all going to be-" "No no, it's ok man. I'm not afraid or anything. Honest." "That's good, but- I mean. I'm sure that... they'll help us fix this all." "Yeah, I'm sure of it man." "...Heh. If only you could remember who they are... you'd be shitting bricks." I chuckled. "I probably would." A few more minutes passed, and we finally arrived to the station. Welcome to Canterlot