//------------------------------// // Will's Epic Quest of Totally Grave Importance. Seriously. // Story: Prince (Canon Pending) Will and Pinkie Pie in: Filly Cupcakes // by Wise Cracker //------------------------------// Will took in the room. Pinkie’s bedroom was quite huge, as far as his limited knowledge of girls’ bedrooms went, and it certainly looked bigger on the inside. An ornate chest stood in a corner, bulging with party items. A dresser drawer was placed on his right, the windows let in plenty of light, and there were various bits and bobs of pony party paraphernalia strewn around the floor to make a homely mess. Will kept his eyes on Pinkie as she folded out a bed out of her couch and quickly scooped up some of the things to shove them in the trunk. He could only assume her own bed was equally collapsable, given what he’d heard of Pinkie’s parties up here. He was fairly sure she didn’t party in her bedroom while her bed was still there. Pinkie Pie waved her hoof to show him around. “Okay, so this is my bed, this is the guest bed, where you’ll be sleeping, the bathroom’s just down the hall, and don’t worry about your food or drinks, I’ve got that covered. Any questions?” “Why is there a cannon in your room?” “That’s my party cannon. It shoots decorations, so it saves time.” “I see. And why is there a crocodile chewing on my ear?” “Oh, that’s just Gummy. He doesn’t have any teeth.” “I noticed.” Will chuckled. “You have a pet crocodile?” “Of course not, silly! Crocodiles are dangerous, nippy little guys, and they bite anything they can find. I have a pet alligator; they’re much more fun to have around. Don’t you have any pets back home?” Will carefully put the baby alligator down and grimaced. “I’m not sure. My memory’s a little fuzzy on that.” “So, what do you wanna do? Try and figure out what knowledge you sent yourself here for, or explore Ponyville?” “Umm,” Will looked to the ground. “Actually, would it be a problem if I remembered what I tried to learn?” Pinkie stared at the boy. “No, but Twilight said that would wake you up. Do you remember?” “Bits and pieces, yes. I remember what it was I wanted to do, but it’s not waking me up, so I guess it’s either not working or working too well.” Pinkie Pie kept a close eye on the boy. The cheer he’d shown with the twins and Scootaloo had all but vanished. Those eyes of his, those odd, spherical eyes, spoke of a heavy weight on his heart. She wondered if Funtasia really was as fun-filled a place as Equestria was a pony-filled one. Whatever it was, it was serious. “Go on, you can tell me.” The black and white Filly bit his lip. “It’s a long story.” “Ooh, I love stories! Is it a good one with damsels and princes?” “Um, well, princes aren't the same where I come from, but sure?” “Well then, tell me, I’m gonna burst! Oh, hold that thought.” She bolted off to the bathroom, Will heard something flush before Pinkie returned to the exact same spot. “Okay, tell me now.” “I don’t think you’d understand if I did.” “Oh come on, Will. Don’t you know how exciting this is? You’re from a whole different world! You broke the rules of space and time to get cosmic knowledge into your little head, you must have had a good reason.” “You’ll laugh.” “No, I won’t. I promise. I Pinkie Promise: cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Will raised an eyebrow at the gesture. “Is that like swearing?” “Kinda, but it’s more polite. Now, will you please tell me? Pretty please?” She leaned in, holding her front legs together in her best Rarity impression. Will sighed. “Okay, fine. I wanted to learn how to make cupcakes.” Pinkie stood there, and waited for the mechanic in charge of her head to get the gears turning again. “You warped space and time to travel to another world, broke through a barrier that can burn and crush your soul into a crispy soul pancake, and walked into a completely alien world, for cupcakes?” “See? I knew you wouldn’t understand.” Pinkie smiled at him. “Are you kidding? Of course I understand! Cupcakes are little bundles of deliciousness that can put a smile on anypony’s face! Why wouldn’t you want to learn to make some? But, um, you must be really serious about it if you wanna go that far for it. Don’t get me wrong, you’re totally right, but it’s still not something a lot of ponies would do. Or Fillies. Do Fillies do that kind of thing a lot?” Will rolled his eyes. “Not really, no.” The pink mare pouted as the boy’s cheer seemed to drain from him with every second. Something was very wrong here. “So why did you come here, then?” Will lowered his head in what Pinkie presumed was shame. “You know how I said I attended a Royal Magic Academy?” Pinkie Pie nodded. “Uh huh, and your classmates were princes and princesses, right?” “Well, I may have kind of, sort of, stretched the truth on that just a bit.” “So you lied? You’re not in a magic academy?” Will shrugged. “Not yet. I’m signed up and I’ve been there and I’ve met some of the Fillies I’ll be taking classes with, but class hasn’t actually started yet.” “That doesn’t sound like a lie to me. So what’s the problem?” “The problem? Well, there’s not really a problem, it’s just that I’m not much a frou-frou Filly. Not usually, I mean. I like doing tricks and acrobatics, I get agitated when I don’t have anything to balance on or if I have to stand still for too long.” Pinkie noticed him shifting his hooves back and forth then. She made a mental note to keep track of when he did it more. The note came with a scribbling involving balloons and whipped cream. “That’s not so bad. Rainbow Dash is like that, too. So is Scootaloo.” “I kind of thought that.” Will chuckled. “But, umm, that doesn’t always cut it.” “Cut what?” Will heaved out a deep sigh. “Like I said, you wouldn’t understand.” “You won’t know unless you try.” Will sighed again. “I’ll be going to the Royal Magic Academy. Not just any regular magic school, the Royal Magic Academy. I’m going to be surrounded by Fillies who are…” Pinkie Pie felt her heart sink. “Special?” Will couldn’t look her in the eye after that. “Yeah, special. There’s going to be Princess Fillies in my class, and one of them’s an actual prince, heir to the throne and everything. There’s going to be Filly Elves, they’re practically born knowing magic. There’s even a Witchy Filly in my class, and no one even really knows what they can do. And then…” Pinkie Pie stepped closer. “Something spooked you, huh? What happened?” Will closed his eyes and gulped. “I didn’t see any Unicorn Fillies when I was there, but then I heard they’d be coming to the Academy, too, even some in my class. I can’t deal with that, I just can’t. You have no idea what a big deal Unicorn Fillies are where I’m from. I’ve only heard stories, but if even half of it is true, I’m going to be a nobody compared to all that.” “Come on, Will, you don’t have to be scared just because everyone in your class is special. You just gotta show’em what you’re made of.” It only then occurred to Pinkie Pie that she didn’t actually know what Will was made of. Considering the circumstances and the mix of white and black on his body, chocolate was as valid an option as any. She made another mental note, this one to ask Princess Cadence sometime if the Crystal Empire didn’t have any ties to a Crystal Sugar Empire, or a Cotton Candy Country, or at least a Chocolate Province with a Whipped Cream County. Geography had never been Pinkie’s strong suit, but then no pony was ever really good at geography because certain towns had a tendency to not be in the same place as they were the day the maps were drawn, one of the reasons Cloudsdale didn’t get much in the way of tourism. The big drop was another. “You don’t understand. I can handle other Fillies being more special than me, or better than me. That’s just part of life, I get that. But what about when we get new students and I want them to feel welcome? What if someone’s feeling down and I want to help cheer them up? What am I supposed to do when I decide I want to do something special, like for a birthday? Stand on my front hooves? Do a backflip? All that’ll do is make me into a showoff.” “What makes you so sure your classmates aren’t the same way?” Will winced. “Princess Fillies all learn at least one form of art, it’s kind of a rule. Filly Witches learn at least one form of art to help them focus on their magic. Filly Elves use art to commune with nature, and Filly Unicorns? They’re famous for their celebrations, for their arts and crafts. They spread joy, wonder, and beauty everywhere they go, at least that’s what I heard. But us Faerie Fillies, we don’t really have a tradition for art. If a Faerie Filly wants to learn how to do it, they do it. Most of us just decide one day to start on something artsy and then they do it. I never did, and now I’m stuck.” “And you thought making cupcakes would help fix that,” Pinkie stated, rather than asked. Will nodded morosely. “I thought, if I can just learn how to do that, then I’d be fine. I could be the guy with the cupcakes, I’d have something that I can give to a Unicorn Filly or a Filly Elf and I wouldn’t have to feel embarrassed about it. Just something for me to make, that’s all. Class starts soon, and I was too embarrassed to ask anyone for help. So I cast that knowledge spell, I went to sleep, and I ended up getting fried by those statues. I guess it’s a good thing I’m not really here.” “Well, you’ve come to the right place, Will. Sugarcube Corner is one of the best bakeries in Equestria, and I would be honoured to teach you how to make the most delectable, mouth-wateringly good cupcakes Funtasia’s ever tasted.” The left corner of Will’s mouth twitched up ever so slightly at that. “Really? You’d do that? Just like that?” “Of course I would. You risked using your magic to break the rules of space, time, and the universe, just to get here. You went a long way just to learn how you might make other Fillies happy. Besides, you’re totally right: cupcakes are exactly what you need.” Will chuckled. “Thank you. It’s still pretty embarrassing, though. I feel like I used chaos magic for something silly.” “Well, duh, of course it’s silly, silly Filly Filly. But it’s silly in a good way, and you’re not the only one who’s done goofy timey-wimey stuff for silly reasons. My friend Twilight once traveled through time once just to tell her past self to relax.” “Wow. Did that work?” “Nnnope. But it’s the thought that counts, just like it counts for you. So I am going to teach you how to make cupcakes, and once you do, you’re gonna wake up and you’re gonna go be able to hold your head high in class with all those princesses and witches and mermaids, or whatever it is you have classes with.” “But is that going to be okay with the owners?” Pinkie Pie pondered it for a moment. “Oh, I bake here all the time, it’s not a problem. But um, actually, I need to go check on something with Twilight. Will you be okay on your own? You could explore Ponyville some more, just make sure you don’t get into any trouble.” Will put one of his thick hooves to his chest. “I promise I’ll stay out of trouble.” Scootaloo was distracted by her own thoughts as she trotted over to the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse. With her scooter in need of repairs after a very strange incident involving a blowdryer, an anvil, and some waffles, her lack of flight capacity just stuck with her more. She didn’t have any speed in her if she didn’t have wheels. Then again, she could just try running. After all, Rainbow Dash did runs as well, if not as often. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom sat in the clubhouse, hunched over a checklist they’d gotten from the same place where Twilight Sparkle got hers. They needed a long list to keep track of all their previous -- and failed -- attempts, after all. “Okay, so we’ve tried apple bucking…” Apple Bloom started. “I think I chipped a hoof on that,” Sweetie Belle piped in. “And we tried zap apple harvesting when Family Appreciation Day came around…” “My hair is still frizzy from that.” “And then we tried apple cider making…” “I still don’t know why Applejack said we were too young to try it. Ponies drink that all the time, and it makes them so happy they can’t even walk straight after a sip.” Apple Bloom shrugged and and continued down the list. “Then we tried apple seeding, apple mushing, apple tree grafting… you know, I’m startin’ to think maybe we should expand out into some other fruits. Apples just isn’t working out for us.” Sweetie Belle winced. “Apple Bloom, shush! Don’t let Applejack hear that.” “Why not?” “She’d get upset with you, or angry.” “Err, why?” “Because you’re talking about growing something other than apples. Everypony knows the Apple family only grows apples.” Apple Bloom fixed the little unicorn with a steady glare. “You do know we grow wheat, like, right outside our front door, right? And that my great-grandparents used seeds from everything they could find? My family's only been farmin' apples for about three generations. What makes you think we’re obsessed with apples?” Sweetie shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s all of the apple trees? Or the apple cutie marks your family has?” “Uhuh. So your sister’s only obsessed with dresses because she makes those for a living? Or she’s obsessed with gems because she has a gem cutie mark? Or your dad’s obsessed with football because he has a football cutie mark?” “Actually, now that you mention it-” “-Okay, bad example.” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. The Crusaders hadn’t been getting much progress in terms of getting their cutie marks lately, but that wasn’t anything new. With Scootaloo’s scooter in the shop, they’d lost a lot of their transportation capacities as well, so there weren’t that many schemes left as options. “Hey, Scootaloo!” Scootaloo jumped up when the black Filly suddenly appeared in view. “Changeling alert! Changeling alert!” The Filly just had time to raise his eyebrows before he found himself tackled by the two little fillies. He was pinned down to the ground, and once again he questioned whether he was breaking any laws, or if they were. The idea of girls pinning him down just for fun wasn’t entirely foreign to him -- he was male and a teenager and healthy, after all, as well as being straight -- but the fact that this kept happening with little children was somewhat disconcerting, to say the least. Scootaloo put her cannon on her nose. This meant she bent the outer end of her leg around her nose, so her hoof dangled from the edge. Normally, this wouldn’t have been worth noting, but the gesture tended to cause confusion in other species. This gesture did not involve her hoof touching or pressing into anything, and technically only her muzzle was being touched, not her whole face. And yet, as many generations of royal inquisitors would report, for some reason this gesture was known as a ‘facehoof’. Most scholars blamed this confusion on the fact that, compared to other species, ponies technically walked on their fingertips, not their hands and feet. Only a minority of scholars argued that it was mostly griphons and minotaurs who made this mistake, and part of the reason behind it was just that explaining differences in anatomy between species made for bad prose, with the possible -- but rare -- exception of playing it for comedic effect. An actual facehoof, scholars would point out, involved the hoof touching the face. But seeing as ponies walked on all fours and had a basic understanding of hygiene, they didn’t do it very often. This had led to the generally accepted compromise of calling one gesture a ‘dirty facehoof’ and the other a ‘clean facehoof’. Calling it a ‘nosecannon’ was considered for a short time, but then the epidemiologists complained that it might cause confusion among readers regarding a plague from the Paleo Pony Era. Pony scholars were a strange bunch like that. At any rate, as Scootaloo did a clean facehoof that involved neither her forehead nor her hooves, she groaned. “Girls, this is Will. And he’s not a changeling. He’s new in town.” Sweetie Belle hopped off the boy. “Oh, so that’s why he doesn’t have any fangs.” “Fangs? These changelings you’re so afraid of have fangs?” Will frowned. “I’m being confused with something that has fangs?” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes and released the Filly from her attempted death grip, which had ended up being more of a bear hug given the difference in size. “Well, yeah, you do kinda look like one. But changelings can change shape, too.” Will got up and adjusted his crown. “If changelings can change shape, doesn’t that mean that anything can look like a changeling? Even your dog?” “Hey, you’re right. Now that you mention it, I think Winona’s been actin’ a mite weird lately. I’m gonna have to keep an eye on that, actually. Your new friend’s smart, Scootaloo!” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I noticed. Anyway, Will, this is Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, this is Will. He’s from another world, or something.” Sweetie Belle went wide-eyed. “Really? Are you a prince? Where are you from, how did you get here?” Will chuckled. “Ah, that’s a little complicated. I’m from the magical land of Funtasia, and I got here by casting a knowledge spell. Basically, back in my world, I’m asleep and dreaming all of this.” Sweetie Belle made a grimace not unlike the one Rarity had made when Sweetie Belle had tried to make toast, or rather toast in liquid form. “So you’re dreaming us? That can’t be right. I think I’d know if I wasn’t real.” “Um, you are real, Sweetie Belle,” Apple Bloom argued. “You can’t not be real, or else you wouldn’t be standing there.” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Anyway, Will, next time don’t jump ponies like that.” “Sorry. Faerie Filly habit.” “Fairy Filly? Is that what you are?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Sure. You know what a faerie is, right?” “Um, yeah. But are you supposed to be a filly?” Sweetie Belle looked him up and down. By her reckoning, Will was both male and adult-sized, neither of which would make him a filly. “Obviously that’s just what his kind is called, Sweetie Belle,” Apple Bloom remarked. “He’s probably a Filly colt the same way we have pony colts.” “Oh right, of course.” Will smiled. These girls were a lot more level-headed than most of the adults he’d met. A lot smarter, too. “Yes, I’ve heard that was a strange thing around here. But the reason I’m here is because I was just flying around Ponyville looking for something to do, and I couldn’t seem to find any of the other kids in town. Then I saw Applejack on the road, and she suggested I try here. She said you girls always knew something fun to do.” This had been, of course, Applejack’s way of bidding Will welcome in Ponyville. It was also a minor attempt at revenge for insulting the nation, the nation’s capital, and the nation’s princess. The princess who’d ruled for over a thousand years, kept her imprisoned sister a secret for a few centuries, and not only neglected to tell her star student that graduation meant a species shift -- a notion Applejack still felt was slightly discriminatory, but magic is as magic does -- she’d also never told Twilight that Philomena was a phoenix. Then there was the minor matter of bringing up a baby dragon while knowing nothing about his violent growth spurts, or at least neglecting to tell anypony about them. Truth be told, by the time she’d realised she’d sent Will towards the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Applejack wondered if maybe the prank wasn’t entirely deserved, and if perhaps there was some prejudice playing on her part. Perhaps there was something about him that just seemed off on the surface, and she should endeavour to put it past her. Perhaps it was because he was partly black. Perhaps it was because he was partly white. Perhaps it was because modern pastel coloured equines were just naturally aversive to old-fashioned black and white ones. Whatever the case, after sending the Filly towards the fillies, Applejack decided to check on them once she’d wrapped up another bout of apple harvesting.   In the meantime, Apple Bloom had to disappoint Will. “Sorry, Will, but we’re kind of out of ideas right now. We’ve tried everything to get our cutie marks, and still no luck.” Will sat down and raised an eyebrow. “What’s a cutie mark?” Sweetie Belle held her hoof. “A cutie mark is a magical mark on a pony’s flank that represents what she should do in life. You get it when you find your true calling.” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “You’ve got it all wrong, Sweetie Belle. If that was true, then your sister would still be mining gems. A cutie mark is a magical mark on a pony’s flank that represents what they’re good at. They get it when they do something perfect, when they find their true talent.” Apple Bloom shook her head. “Well, if that’s true, then how is it Pinkie Pie was so bad at managin’ the farm when her cutie mark got switched around? You got it wrong, too, Scootaloo: a cutie mark is a magical mark on a pony’s flank that they get when they’re happy. It represents your true self, your deepest desires, the one thing that’ll always be a part of you and come natural to you, no matter what.” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both frowned at that. Scootaloo was the first to pierce Apple Bloom’s logic. “But if that’s true, then how is it that when Rainbow Dash and her friends got their cutie marks switched, they felt miserable following their cutie mark?” “That wasn’t because of the cutie marks; it was because of Twilight’s spell,” Apple Bloom argued. Sweetie Belle frowned. “You can’t just blame anything on a spell, Apple Bloom. Spells are supposed to do things, and not do other things. Like Twilight says: magic only happens when you put your mind to it. And what she managed to do was really hard, so she couldn’t have done it by accident. I don’t even remember what really happened. Do you, Scootaloo?” “I’m not so sure if I was even in town for that.” Will held up a hoof to call for attention. “Excuse me, so… if I understand this correctly, you all want to get these marks of cuteness, yes?” The girls all nodded. “They’re very important to a pony? Like a rite of passage or something?” Again, they all nodded. “So they’re a very big deal, and you have no idea what they are, aside from the fact that they’re magic and that they go on your buttocks.” Apple Bloom reluctantly nodded and shrugged. “Pretty much.” Will grunted. “I think I’m starting to notice a trend here.” Apple Bloom smiled sheepishly. “Eheh, yeah, rules aren’t really set in stone around here.” Will walked up to the box that served as their table and checked the parchment. “So what’s the problem, then? If the rules aren’t set, then you must have plenty of options.” Scootaloo winced. “Um, not really. Usually we get some stuff in Ponyville and load it up, but my scooter’s in the shop.” Will nodded. “Right, and I guess you can’t get that much money, either.” Sweetie Belle shook her head. “Actually, we handle quite a lot of money. Hey, we could try getting an accounting cutie mark!” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “If we had a talent for accounting, we’d have gotten our cutie marks way before now.” “Oh, right.” Will frowned. “I don’t see any kind of baking attempts here. Have you tried that yet?” “Yes,” Apple Bloom said. “No,” replied Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Will turned and faced the girls as yet another argument broke out. “We’ve never tried baking to get our cutie marks, Apple Bloom.” “You mean you haven’t, but I have. Pinkie Pie tried to teach me how to make cupcakes the day we met. Why do you think I didn’t want you to try them?” Scootaloo frowned. “Wait, you’ve tried to get your cutie mark on your own?” “Sure. In fact, it was Rainbow Dash who told me to try lots of different things really fast. She had me go kiting, do kung fu, even hang gliding.” Scootaloo’s frown evolved into a glare. “You went hang gliding with Rainbow Dash?” “It was more hang falling, really.” “So you mean to tell me you got a flying lesson from Rainbow Dash before I did?” Scootaloo felt a pang of jealousy at that. The sentiment was completely misplaced, of course, as everyone in Ponyville knew how close Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were and always had been. That’s why Rainbow Dash had kept such a close eye on Scootaloo’s lack of flight and, as any in Ponyvillian would insist, had always called the girl by name, rather than an inane nickname like ‘squirt’ or ‘kid’. Ponies were not known for their keen observation skills. “We could still try baking at Sugarcube Corner, if the Cakes would let us,” Sweetie Belle suggested. “You could join me, if you like,” Will offered. “Pinkie Pie’s going to teach me how to make cupcakes tomorrow.” Scootaloo’s glare entered its final form as a surprised grimace. “You’re from another world, and you’re gonna learn how to make cupcakes here? Seriously?” “No, of course not seriously; for fun. Because that is the Funtasian way.” Will jutted his chest forward, smiling and beaming with pride. Apple Bloom’s left eye twitched. “The Fun-tasian way? Really?” “That sounds like a great idea!” Sweetie Belle jumped up. “We could finally just do something for fun and not worry about getting our cutie marks for once. Maybe if we stop worrying about it so much, we’ll figure out something better to do. Besides, it might work better the second time.” Scootaloo gulped. “Second time for you, maybe. I’ve never tried baking anything.” “Then it’s settled, Lieu of Scooter: tomorrow you learn how to make cupcakes with me and your friends. I’m sure it’ll be fun,” Will offered. “But what is there to do in the meantime? I’m still not sure how the other teenagers in town spend their time, aside from working, I suppose.” The Crusaders all looked at each other, lost for words. Truth be told, they weren’t sure how teenagers spent their time in Ponyville, either, mostly because as far as they knew, teenagers didn’t spend any time in Ponyville to begin with. Ponyville ponies, as far as the girls could tell by appearances, just went from school age to adulthood, and if there was a stage in between, they hadn’t seen it yet. Fortunately, right at that moment, an orange mare with a Stetson hat popped her head through the doorway. “Howdie, girls. Hope you don’t mind I sent Will here over to ya.” Sweetie Belle shook her head. “It’s fine. We know what we’re going to do tomorrow, but we still don’t have any ideas for today.” Applejack chanced a glance to Will. Will shrugged at the mare. “Uhuh,” Applejack started. “And Will, you don’t mind hangin’ out with a bunch of little girls?” “Why not? All the older ones are busy. Rainbow Dash said she had to help water a field of rice somewhere, Fluttershy said she had to negotiate with a beaver, and when I walked in on Rarity, she was using her magic to wave around lots and lots of sharp objects.” He winced in fear. “Oh, right. You do kinda risk getting stung or cut if you distract her when she’s busy.” Will shook his head. “Oh, no, I’m fine with that. I have my own magic to deal with that kind of threat. I just didn’t like the idea of her trying a dress out on me. She looked like she had plans.” “Good thinking. Well, if the girls can’t help you out… I forgot to ask, actually: are you a prince or royalty back where you’re from?” Will shrugged. “It’s complicated. Why do you ask?” “Well, I’ve got a lot of apple trees that need harvesting, and I can always do with an extra set of hooves. You wouldn’t have to buck anything or climb, but havin’ somepony pick up the strays and carry the buckets around would help.” “We could do that!” Scootaloo jumped in front of the Filly. “That’s awful kind of you, Scootaloo, but you know just as well as I do that’s too heavy for a little filly like you. You’d be plum tuckered out after three rounds, and I ain’t havin’ that on my conscience. Rainbow Dash would never let me hear the end of it. But what about you, Will? You feel like looking around some more?” Will smiled at the mare. “I think I’ve seen enough of Ponyville for one day, thank you. I’d be happy to help out on the orchard. I’ve never seen so many fruit trees in one place, actually.” Applejack chuckled as she escorted the boy out. “Really? You don’t have fields and orchards where you’re from?” “Umm, actually, now that you mention it, I’m not so sure. Part of my memory isn’t all here, so maybe.” Applejack nodded and led him to the orchard where she working. A good bit of physical work would help, even if it was just for his dream body. If what Twilight had said was true, Will was just as real in their world as Applejack was, which meant he had the same basic needs of food, breath, and exercise. His mental health was what worried her, though. Even as she directed him around the orchard, she noticed the look in his eyes. It was the same look she’d seen in Twilight: worry, shame, panic. Like clockwork, it was that look that preceded Twilight doing something exceptionally silly, exceptionally dumb, sometimes even hurtful. Applejack’s failure to recognise that look had even gotten her and her friends into some hot water. And yet this Will character didn’t seem quite as highly strung as Twilight, just distracted by something. He didn’t strike Applejack as being a worrywort of any kind. She idly wondered if there was anything that separated Fillies from ponies in their outlook on life. Maybe there was a difference in perspective. Twilight rubbed her sore head. Her nose caught the scent of something sweet, doughy, and soft. “Blueberry muffin?” Pinkie Pie offered. Twilight welcomed the sweet treat. Her brain practically cried out in thanks for the hit of sugar. “Thank you, Pinkie Pie. How’s Will doing?” “He’s doing pretty well. How are you doing?” Twilight put the muffin down and returned to her studies. “I’m trying to work on a more advanced teleportation spell, one that can reverse a chaos magic sigil. So far, it’s not going so well.” Part of Pinkie Pie squeed with joy, because that meant her new friend could stay for a little while longer. Another part of her winced in sympathy, because this meant her other friend was going to put herself through a lot of unnecessary stress. “Well, you don’t have to worry about a thing, Twilight. I think I’ve found out why Will is here.” “Really? That’s great. What is it, then? Did he travel here to find a high-level spell he couldn’t find on his homeworld? Is he seeking revenge on a usurper to his throne? Is his world under threat?” Pinkie took a deep breath, mostly to try and get Twilight to do the same. “No, Twilight, nothing like that.” “Then what is it? Why would he risk coming here just to learn something?” Pinkie Pie considered telling Twilight the truth then and there. Given the circumstances, though, it would only cause heartache for everypony, and every Filly, involved. “It’s nothing, Twilight. It’s nothing important. There aren’t any worlds at stake, or super-duper spells. It’s just a silly Filly having fun, that’s all.” Twilight’s ears drooped. “Oh. Well, that’s just dandy.” Pinkie Pie winced. “Maybe you should take a break, Twilight. Next thing you know, you’re gonna send yourself back through time again just to try and relax.” Twilight’s jaw clenched at that. A glimmer of anger flashed through the alicorn’s eyes, but it didn’t last. It didn’t need to. Pinkie Pie knew enough now. Twilight groaned. “You’re right, I do need a break. If you’re sure it’s not important.” Pinkie Pie put up her best smile. “You just enjoy your muffin, Twilight, and I’ll handle Will. It’s not important enough for you to worry about.” Twilight’s expression finally lightened up as she dug into the muffin with full abandon. Pinkie Pie felt her heart sink. This was bigger than cupcakes.