The day of Jon's visit back to Equestria had finally arrived and for the first time he was staying not because he needed to track someone down but simply to absorb the surroundings and broaden his horizon. The experience was going to be different than what he was used to; the immediacy of the situation would be upon sooner than he thought.
The sound of Jon's alarm began to slowly pull him out of his deep sleep. The day had barely started and yet it took him only a few seconds to realize that something was not right. The quilt that that he usually slept under felt somehow different, the warm feel of his wife in his arms was replaced by nothingness and the usual sound of his radio alarm was now the sound of a rooster screaming in the distance.
As if someone had sent an electrical shock through his spine Jon immediately sat up in his bed. His brain was still shaking off the last remnants of whatever he was dreaming about so the surroundings took a bit longer to register with him. But once it did Jon entertained the thought that he might still be dreaming or that he was kidnapped
"Where the hell am I?" Jon thought as he scanned the room looking for clues.
Wherever he was it wasn't his bedroom and it sure as hell wasn't any place he had ever seen before. His surroundings consisted of the bed he slept in, a nightstand, a desk located a few feet to this left separated by a window, and a wooden cabinet in the corner of the room. The walls were painted blue with matching light blue stripes and were adorned with pictures and light fixtures.
It was simple yet efficient; if he had been kidnapped then at least whoever did it so was accommodating. After a minute of further deliberation Jon began to notice a few key characteristics about his new setting.
The room wasn't just blue they were a very vibrant blue, the pictures on hanging from the walls were all whimsical paintings, and the light source that surrounded him weren't light bulbs but gas lamps. The atmosphere just screamed "other worldly."
"Am I in Equestria?" Jon thought getting up from his bed.
Immediately he turned his attention to the window in between the bed and desk and in one fell swoop opened the shutters to the outside world. It took a second for his vision to adjust to the sudden burst of light but once he did he realized that his hypothesis was confirmed.
Jon was now looking down at the busy streets of Ponyville's shopping district where a few bustling ponies could be seen haggling and buying various goods and services. From this height no one could see him so he took this moment to admire the view, which in its own right was quite serene.
After a moment of blissful silence that he rarely received in New York Jon closed the window and returned to his bed to straighten his sheets and adjust his pillow. He was obviously a guest in someone's household and as such felt it necessary to tidy up his living quarters.
As he put the finishing touches on his now tidy bed Jon noticed that there was a note on his nightstand held down by his own reading glasses. He took his glasses in one hand and the note in the other and began to read the familiar handwriting:
Greetings Jon,
I hope you find this room to be to your liking; it isn't much but it was the only place I could find that could properly accommodate your size. I've already commissioned this hotel to have you as their guest for the next few days though I highly encourage that you venture forth into town.
Your clothes are located in the dresser and your essentials in the desk. A map of Ponyville can be found in the hotel lobby in case you have trouble navigating around town.
If you need further assistance in any matter please don't hesitate to call me.
-Princess Celestia
PS: I apologize in advance if your transition was too sudden. I didn't want to burden you with the task of unpacking.
"Son of a bitch." Jon thought to himself. "This is a hotel...and I made my bed for nothing."
As slightly uncomfortable as he was by the thought of him being whisked off in the middle of the night without his permission Jon had to admit that the luxury of full room and board and having been spared the task of unpacking his own luggage more than made up for it.
With Jon now brought up to speed he put both the note and his glasses back on the nightstand and threw his arms out to stretch his muscles cracking some joints in the process. He continued his morning tradition by moving his head in a circular motion to stretch his neck, producing similar results. With his mind and body now at ease he was ready to start the day.
But before he could continue Jon's attention was now drawn to the door; he could hear muffled voices coming from behind it. It was definitely the sound of two people talking amongst themselves but they were too close to the door to be just passing by.
Jon stealthily approached the door to investigate. Lacking a peep hole his only option was the more traditional route of simply opening the door. He opted to do so but not before putting his ear against its wooden frame to do a little eavesdropping.
"...not doing it you do it." A male voice whispered.
"No way! What if he's dangerous?" A female voice retorted.
"Look the princess brought him here so it should be nice." The male voice shot back.
"Then why don't you do it?" The female voice asked. Slowly grasping the doorknob Jon took a step back and in one swinging motion opened the door as quickly as he could, freighting the two loitering individuals.
Just as Jon suspected they were both ponies: One a male Earthpony and the other a female Unicorn. The Earthpony was light brown with a tan colored mane and he wore a red hat while the Unicorn was pink with a bright yellow mane and was wearing an apron. Jon had been to enough gigs in his life to recognize hotel employees a mile away.
"Hi" Jon blurted, smiling at the two ponies. He paused to give them time to speak but none of them did. "Liiisten who do I talk to about a wakeup call?"
After a slightly uncomfortable pause the brown Earthpony (who was the receptionist) raised his hoof so slowly that Jon had time to give of a small yawn.
"Ah good," Jon said, trying his best to sound friendly. "Listen could you please set me up for 6:30 every morning?" The receptionist didn't say a word; he simply just nodded his head.
"Alright thank you!" Jon said patting Earthpony on the shoulder. Jon closed the door and was about to make his way to the dresser when a thought crossed his mind. Scratching his chin he turned his attention to the door again and swung it open in the same fashion as before. The two employees we're still there.
"One more thing," He said. "Where can a guy get a bagel around here?" His sudden reappearance caused the Earthpony to fall over in surprise leaving only the pink and lemon unicorn to answer.
"Su...Sugarcube Corner." She said.
"Thanks again." Jon said, once again retreating to his room. Having no questions left Jon made his way to the dresser to get changed. When he opened it he was greeted by nearly every suit he owned neatly arranged by color along with their respective slacks. On the left door of the dresser were his ties; while on the right was a mirror. The bottom of the dresser had Jon's dress shoes which looked like they were recently shined.
"Yeah I don't think so." Jon said as he stuck both his hands in between the wall of suits, pushing them aside to see what else was available. Eventually Jon found what he was looking for: his grey William and Mary T-shirt (Jon's old college), black leather jacket, a pair of beige khakis, NY baseball cap, and his old running shoes.
At the risk of wasting more time being by himself Jon left his room and into a hallway. His two pony friends where no longer blocking his way, in fact the entire area was deserted. After taking a hard left down the hallway he soon found his way to a set of stairs. He descended them quickly and was now in the hotel's main lobby, now Jon realized why no one was upstairs.
Ahead of him was the exit to the hotel where a rack of pamphlets could be seen. To his left was a rustic looking dining hall where several ponies were enjoying their continental breakfast and to his right was the receptionist's desk. His plan was to simply walk straight ahead and exit the building without being noticed but doing so proved impossible
As Jon made his way for the exit the sounds of ponies in mid-conversion came to a halt as did the clanging of their silverware. Jon was halfway to the door when he noticed the now dead silence and looked over his shoulder at the room filled with awestruck ponies staring at him. For all of them this was the first time seeing a human in person.
Matching their silence Jon continued in his path to the door, opening it ever so slightly. He could still feel rows the ponies leering at him from behind, some of whom actually got out of their seats to get a better look. As understanding as Jon was at their curiosity he couldn't help but have a little fun with them. So to that end he spun around quickly and lightly jolted forward at them.
"BOO!" He said, causing everyone to recoil at once and a few to fall over in their seat.
After giving a friendly wave goodbye he took a local map off the nearby rack and exited the building into the streets of Ponyville. Although his new location was very much different from this last in terms of settings the reactions he got from the masses was very much the same.
Jon strolled down a random dirt road enjoying the fresh air and sun trying his best not to stick out, though this proved to be impossible. The regular clothing he wore was standard attire for whenever he was on vacation and/or out of the house and didn't want to be noticed.
As famous as he was back home he rarely got noticed on the streets of Manhattan; especially when we wasn't in a suit or wearing professional on screen makeup. Only those with a true keen eye would spot him in his shabby disguise but that was New York...it didn't matter what he wore on the streets of Ponyville, either way he stood out like a sore pink thumb.
He continued to walk down his current path occasionally playing on his phone or looking at his map for reference. All eyes were on him and he knew it. Jon may have been well known but he wasn't used to this much attention outside his show. Little did he realize that rumors of his visit were already fast traveling through the region.
Looking up from his map he began to scan the many ponies who were doing the same to him. Some were trying to avoid staring but it was very obvious where their attention was. One colt in particular was in the middle of painting the side of a house but was so distracted by Jon's presence that he accidentally starting painting the windows instead, much to a older unicorns dismay.
Jon wanted to try something so he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. Looking in all directions Jon was secretly looking at the cutie marks of random ponies to see if he could properly guess what they meant.
He saw some that looked pretty straight forward like: A log being cut in half by a saw, or a book being written on by a quill.
Others however Jon found were to abstract to guess on visuals alone like: A piece of metal bent in the shape of a heart, or a lightning bolt that was twisted into a circular motion.
After a good while of staring at pony flanks Jon realized he was hungry as indicated by his stomach gurgling in protest. Even with the map Jon was still unsure of where this "Sugarcube Corner" was. It had been quite some time since he'd felt like such a tourist.
Lacking even the general knowledge of where he was Jon got the attention of the pony nearest to him, a pink Earthpony with green hair and a daisy as a cutie mark.
"Excuse me?" Jon said. "Could you point me in the direction of 'Sugarcube Corner?'"
"Uh...sure thing," she said, pointing to Jon's left. "It's...r-right around the corner."
"Thanks." Jon said handing her a business card much to her confusion. "If you're ever in New York."
His stomach grumbled in anticipation and after a quick wave goodbye Jon was once again on his way.