Twilight was humming to herself happily...watching books float in the air wrapped in purple magic and landing gracefully on the shelves. Organizing wasn't something she did often lately, most of her recent studies at the princesses request, were taking all of her attention; leaving the simple things to fall behind. Most of the library was back in place, all that was left was the books she needed for her studies. Twilight walked calmly to her desk and let out a soft sigh.
Advanced Teleportation and its Side Effects
The pages fluttered open and soon Twilight found a steady pace, page after page turning and time flowing along as she soaked up the information in the book. Though the lingering thoughts of how odd the request was hung in her mind still; Twilight was already well versed with this field of magic, yet when a book from the Canterlot library: Starswirl section, lands on her doorstep...how could she resist? Soon, Twilight found her attention was dragged to a marked chapter, a note from Celestia herself attached to the page...
"Twilight! Please tell me you're home!"
Twilight sighed heavily and shut the book, trotting to the door quickly and putting on a warm smile, despite the annoyance for this interruption. The door opened and before she could welcome Applejack in, she found herself tackled down as another set of hooves rushed inside.
"Twi! I got a mighty big problem..." The tan mare said quickly.
There is no way she has a horn on her head...
"What's wrong...? ...and could you please get off me...?"
Applejack's eyes widened and she jumped up, letting Twilight get up and dust herself off; she took a deep breath and smiled again, but found herself speechless when she looked back up to speak.
In the middle of her library was a stallion that could rival the princess in height...yet it was his bulk that sent the chill of fear into the mare...
"A-applejack....who is that?"
Spike ventured down the sitars to see what the commotion was about; only stopping halfway down when both Jake and the small dragon found each other...
"Monster pony!!"
Jake looked around rapidly, just as afraid of the dragon and even a monster pony. Spike rushed back upstairs before Twilight could tell him otherwise, Jake just trotted in place and looked around for anything he could call normal at this point. It was his fatal mistake of shaking the shelves of books until some had fallen to the ground that he realized that this purple pony was a unicorn. Jake was lifted into the air like a feather and rendered immobile, he started hyper-ventilating again and tried his best to wiggle out of the purple field.
"Let me go!" He shouted.
"Ha! I knew you could talk!" Applejack shouted.
"I can! ...I can?!"
Twilight extended the hold to both their jaws and warped Spike back down to the library to keep him from sending a panicked letter to Celestia. Just as Twilight had the situation back under control...fate would have it that a bubbly pink, hyper-active and party loving mare bounced inside, tail twitching fast enough that her whole body shook with the force.
"Twilight!-"
Twilight once again extended the silence spell to Pinkie Pie, all she needed was a few moments so that everypony could take a breather and continue this...odd...moment calmly. Yet like a cyan blue blur, Rainbow Dash flew through the window and crashed into a bookcase,kicking off the wood thankfully, but letting all the books fall once again, that fierce glare and quick assessment of the situation made it hard for Twilight to catch and silence her in mid-flight.
"I'll show you,monstmmmph!"
Twilight glared at all of them, Jake just kept shifting his eyes to each, a unicorn, a pegasus...things he only heard about when the humans talked about childhood books and stories. Suddenly the door swung open again and another unicorn entered, looking distressed.
"What is all this racket! I am trrrrryang to make-yiiip!" Rarity joined the others in silence much to Jake's pleasure...just a few moments and he was already tired of hearing that drama queen.
Twilight was feeling the stress of keeping the spell up now..a few beads of swear rolled down her head and a glare that could cut glass boring into all of the petrified ponies.
"Are we all going to act civil now?!" She shouted.
All of them nodded as much as the spell would let them, with relief, Twilight let them all go and winced when Jake crashed to the ground. Fluttershy poked her head in the doorway and hid behind most of her mane; making Twilight feel a little bad for how forcefully she calmed her friends down. Jake though, found himself surrounded in moments, all eyes on him with suspicion, wonder, confusion and...it seems the pink one was the only one eager to see him. Jake had to resist the urge to just get up and run for the hills, were it not for his fear for the purple unicorn keeping him locked in place.
"Okay...now that everypony is caught up on the situation....Applejack?"
Applejack nodded, getting the other four away from Jake to give him breathing room.
I don't think I can take six crazy mares...but really miss Rainbows? The constant death glare is getting old really fast.
"I found him in the barn this morning, I guess he was sleeping cause he was just as confused as I was when I found him..and now that I know you can talk, what's your name, big fella?" Applejack said, the pressure of the stares getting to him a bit more...
"I...holy cow I can talk..." Jake said with a laugh.
All of the mares just seemed more confused...
"I'm Jake..."
_ _
Jake spent the better part of an hour explaining...everything...Where he came from, how he woke up and why he was shocked that he could talk. More to the point though, he explained that last night on the farm back in his home, the six seemed quick to accept his story, insane as it is. It was slow, but eventually Rainbow Dash lost the glare and resorted to defensive curiosity, thankfully the drama queen seemed at a lose for words just as well, the pink one though was the first to speak up once his story was finished.
"This is great! I can throw you a welcome to Ponyville party! Or maybe it would be a welcome to Equestria...could I do both at one time?! That would mean two parties wrapped into one BIG one! Perfect! A big party for a big pony, i'll go get things started,see ya later, Jake!"
Jake had to duck when the pink pony suddenly took off over his head and out the door, Seems he was already wrapped up in a mess he didn't understand. Drama queen was next, walking with her nose up and a odd way about her walk as she strode past him.
"As odd as it is, I think we've been though stranger things. My name is Rarity, and if you ever need help, feel free to stop by my boutique; I think I could turn you into quite the dashing stallion."
Jake felt his face redden slightly and looked back, Rarity though was already gone. Jake looked back to the remaining group with more than confusion on his face...
"She was talkin' about your mane...she's got an unhealthy compulsion to make everything sparkle and glitzy." Applejack said, as much sarcasm seeping into the last few words as possible.
Jake ran a hoof on his head, sure it was a little messy...but to be fair, he did just wake up in a completely different world with a host of new problems and realizations. A rats nest of a mane was the least of his worries at this point, he had an angry pegasus staring him down and a unicorn with control issues that could go off on him at any time. Applejack was at least willing to give him a chance, yet the yellow one was so quiet about all this...he really couldn't get a read on her.
"We'll see how this party plays out...one false move though and you're gonna be dealing with Rainbow Dash, future Wonderbolt and fastest pony in Equestria!" Dash quickly leapt into the air and flew up to Jake to get nose to nose with him.
"And you don't want to tick me off..."
Jake lowered his head but Dash just butted heads with him, glare boring into his soul before she finally flew over his head and out the door. Is this what mares were like?! All crazy in some special way to the point of driving a stallion to drink? Jake found himself re-thinking that last bit of his list where he finds his dream mare...putting it a bit lower until he found someone-...somepony normal.
"...Well....It was nice to meet you, Jake..."
Jake was torn from his thoughts when the yellow mare finally spoke up, even though she was quiet. Walking over to him slowly,trying to have the courage to keep eye contact, but mostly finding herself looking around or at the ground.
"It must be really frightening to be in your shoes right now...and you must really miss home..."
A little...
"But I admire how well you're taking it..If you need somepony to talk to, all you need to do is ask...and my name is Fluttershy."
Fluttershy looked up at him for just another moment, those big wide eyes peaking out from behind a pink mane caused Jake to actually feel his heart melting...
Okay...maybe I'll move it back up a little higher on the list..
Fluttershy stepped around Jake, trotting out and leaving him with just the unicorn and Applejack. The purple mare was already using more of her magic to fix the books that had been thrown off the shelves during the chaos. Which was a little disturbing considering her attention still seemed fixed on him...
Twilight sighed as another row of books took their place on the shelf again.
"My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am sorry for restraining you earlier." She said with genuine regret in her voice. "And this scardy dragon is Spike..."
The scaled head of the tiny dragon poked around from behind Twilight, still suspicious of the pony. It was helpful that at this point, Jake gave up on trying to find normality, a tiny dragon was just another little thing that would slightly edge him closer to the revelation that he had gone crazy. While Jake was silently trying to decide if sanity was overrated, Twilight was already thinking of a letter to send to Celestia, explaining her of the situation with the hope that the sun goddess would have an answer. With no real reason to leave, she nodded to Jake and brought a quill and plain paper from one of the many reserves in her library to start taking down the letter.
"Come on, big fella; Twilight here just needs some space is all." Applejack stated, walking for the door as well while bringing Jake around to follow her.
Once Jake ducked under the doorway, he was greeted a little differently by the crowds of colored ponies walking the streets. More of them regarded him with a friendly smile or wave, some said hello as he walked by. A big improvement from hushed whispers and timid stares...
Maybe this had something to do with the six mares? Whatever the case,it felt nice to see all the ponies smiling up at him and offering friendly words as he passed. Was this the plus to this world? A land full of friendly and kind hearted equines, all of them living...well to him, they were living the human experience. Couples kissed on the bridge as he walked over with Applejack while foals played in the grassy fields with their parents. It was subtle...a slow realization that he was given a chance that no stallion or mare back home was ever given..or had for that matter; it was the chance to be human. To live as a human would, problems and benefits all added up into every single multi-colored equine that smiled and made him see the light in all their hearts. No longer would he be limited to another horse out of five on that barn so far away for any hope of conversation...now he was given the chance to talk to everypony...to see and understand the world from a new set of eyes.
"Jake...are you feeling well, sugercube?"
Jake realized that they were already at the farm, he was stuck in thought, just staring out at this town with a smile stuck on his face and tears pouring from his eyes. Jake quickly wiped his face and nodded,turning to avoid looking foolish. Applejack leaned over to follow him, noticing that the ground was wet and Jake was trying to wipe the fresh tears off his face as quickly as he could.
"Hey...no need to feel bad now...I'm sure Twilight can find you a way back home." She said reassuringly.
Jake let out a laugh, it was a bit shaky from the tears but he still laughed for a few moments until he felt his face was dry once again. Turning back to Applejack, a soft smile on his face that he knew was genuine...
"Why would I want to go back?" He said with another laugh and stifled sob.
Jake stood up proudly and looked out again at the town, the soft wind was blowing though the long hoof fur and helping untangle his wild mane little by little. It was the first time he felt peace in all his life....true peace that he dreamed of sitting by the road and watching cars fly by like the wind. Somehow that wind took him to another world...it gave him the exact thing he wished for...a place he could call home,not prison. The afternoon sun hung high in the sky and Applejack soon realized that he wasn't joking...Jake wanted to stay...and it was tearing him apart on the inside. Even if Jake couldn't see it, Applejack could tell that even if he did hate his old home..it was the comfort of the familiar, and friends he had, that he missed so much.
"You must miss all your friends back home though..." She said quietly.
Jake nodded in silent agreement, wondering why he missed them but not thinking on it too hard...after all...if he was crazy.....this was the best fantasy he could ask for. For a moment...he thought for just a moment that this might be the afterlife...it was a paradise after all; but the fire in his chest, the wealth of emotions raging inside him. Jake knew that he felt too alive to be dead now. In fact...he thought to all the mares he meet earlier.
I think I might take Rarity up on that offer...and I cant wait for that party!
Jake laughed out loud when he remembered that this was the first party he has ever attended as a guest and not a showpiece. Though he had a feeling that around here, parties were a normal thing to do. Fluttershy could help him adjust to his new life, showing him do's and don'ts that he might be unaware of, even helping him get to know about the world he was in...Rainbow Dash on the other hoof...maybe he would keep his distance for now. Twilight though just seemed to be a bore, too focused on her books to be easy to get to know. Jake mulled over the thought of getting to know her a bit better at the party when she could relax. All of them though were kind, funny, generous and full of the life that he wanted to see back at the farm...
"I do..a little...but I think I have even better friends here than I could hope for back home."
Applejack smiled softly as well...his words were honest and bittersweet. Seems there was yet more under the surface of this giant pony..
Jake found his distant thoughts ending his stare on the tan farm pony sitting by his side...but when he realized that he was being rude, he noticed something that he didn't bother noticing before...
"Hey now...what's the big idea staring like that?" Applejack said, face turning a bright red and her tail covering over her flank.
Jake tilted his head in confusion but flushed red when he realized what he was doing...
"Oh god, i-i'm so sorry! I uh, well see I didn't mean to stare like that...I just was curious about-"
"About what?"
Jake felt the color leave his face when the deep voice of Big Macintosh interrupted him.
Oh...crap...
Applejack turned to see her brother standing with a judgmental glare cutting though Jake. After a few tense moments, she pieced together what exactly Jake was looking at...feeling unbearably awkward for taking it to that level so quickly...
"Oh! Would you..! Go on back to your chores, Big Mac, he just doesn't know what a cutie mark is. Making Jake feel all guilty and shameful like that..." She scolded furiously.
Big Mac turned his attention to his sister..who did indeed have a better judgment with it came to ponies actions. Still...now he knew to keep an eye on this pony. Big Macintosh huffed and walked on about his business, leaving them alone once again. Jake was still trying to recover from the shock when Applejack decided to explain the odd mark on her flank,just to get the conversation back out of the gutter...
"It's called a cutie mark...each pony has to learn what he or she is meant for in life to earn it.When you do...it's like all your life has lead up to that one moment...and everything suddenly makes sense."
Jake looked on his flank and saw just the same dark color of his fur. It was a little disheartening,he thought he would have this cool and mysterious mark that would help him integrate even faster into this new world. Jake sighed and looked back out at the town...his hopes not dampened even a little by the bump in the road. Perhaps even he was meant to be like this? What if he couldn't get a cutie mark? The thought comforted him a bit and it helped him get the big grin on his face that make even Applejack smile...he was home...no matter what his past was, he was finally home...and his first visit around town would be to get ready for a party and see his new favorite drama queen for a manecut.