Dream Sequence:
Long Beach, California
11:15 P.M.
“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MAKE SOME NOISE FOR MY F##KING HOMEBOY, NICKYD!” Snoop Dogg shouts into his mic. I walk out onto the stage with my right fist in the air and my microphone in my left hand. That’s my performing name, NickyD. Sometimes, instead of Nick, people will call me Nicky and the begging of my last name ends with a D. Just put the two together and there’s my performing name.
“WHAT THE F#### IS UP LONG BEACH!?” I shout into my microphone. Hundreds beyond hundreds of people are shouting off the top of their lungs. Their roaring and screaming practically makes the area rumble. “I am honored to be with the legendary motha' f##king Snoop Dogg!”
“So you and I did a cover of one of my songs a little while ago, and it blew up online.”
“Oh, I know which one you’re talking about.”
“Should we drop it?”
“I think we should drop it like it’s hot!” The DJ drops my track version of ‘Drop it Like it’s Hot’. The crowd cheers wildly, almost ear peircing. “Come on ‘yall!”
The audience roars with applause and cheers. Their screaming pierce my ears and quite frankly, I like it. “MAKE SOME MOTHA-F##KING NOISE FOR MY HOMEBOY-" The rest of Snoop's sentence is replaced with trumpet music. That was weird. It sounds like the trumpet tune you hear to wake up soldiers in the armed forces. Snoop pounds his chest a little and clears his throat.
“Ay yo Snoop, you good?”
“Yeah, must’ve been something I-" And there it is again, louder!
Dream Sequence Interrupted
Ponyville, Equestria
Monday 8:30 A.M.
(No more adult language)
I sit up straight in bed and put my hand to my forehead to salute. “YES SERGEANT!” I shout. Then, I realize something: I’m not a marine. I hear some laughing and turn my head to where I hear it. I see a small, purple and green dragon on the ground, holding his stomach, laughing with a trumpet near by. I would (and should) question why the Hell a small dragon is here, but then again, I am in a world of talking horses, I shouldn't question it. This is probably a reoccurring thing, maybe. “DUDE! Not cool!” I just decide to play this off casually. It would probably be the best approach.
“Sorry, I wanted to make the first impression with a prank!” The little guys says, still laughing a little. “Good one right?” I do have to give him credit for making a somewhat good first impression, but I had to be during one of the best dreams ever?
“It was good, but I was having the best dream of my life. I was on stage with Snoop Dogg!”
“Who?” ...HOW COULD HE HAVE NOT HEARD OF SNOOP DOGG! Okay, time for a very quick crash course.
“Snoop Dogg. You know, 'Drop it Like It’s Hot', 'Gin and Juice', friends with Dr. Dre, the biggest rapper ever.” The little dude has the look of confusion on his face. Then I remember... “I forgot that I’m not on my home planet." Whoops. "Forget I said that."
“Noted...So, well, I’m Spike. Nice to meet you” He extends his hand, er claw, and I shake it. It feels a bit rough and scaly, but it isn't uncomfortable. So this is Spike. Huh, he seems like a guy who would have a good sense of humor. I mean, he just pranked me. He has to have a good sense of humor.
“The name's Nick.” He still shake for a second or two and then we let go.
“So Twilight says because of some spells and being at the wrong place at the wrong time, is why you’re here, right?” I nod my head. “Ah. She also said that you met the other girls too?”
“Yes, I did meet the others.”
“What’cha think?”
“They were good company to be around. Pinkie Pie though…”
“You’ll get used to it after a while. Just her being her.”
“Breakfast is ready boys! Get it while it’s hot!” Spike and I hear Twilight call from downstairs.
“Awesome, I’m starving!” Spike says. I throw off the sheets off of me and hop out of bed. Spike and I walk downstairs and head into the kitchen too see Twilight magically placing two, cooked eggs on a plate and then setting them on the table.
“Good morning boys,” She says very chippy. Clearly she’s a morning person. “Did you sleep well for your first night Nick?”
“I did actually, until someone decided to wake me up with a trumpet.” I playfully glare at Spike. The little dragon lets out a couple snickers.
“Spike!” Twilight gently scolds.
“Hey, he said it was a good prank,” Spike says defensively.
“I did said that it was,” I say. Twilight gives off one of those sighing groans and continues to talk.
“Well, breakfast is ready.” The three of us sit around the table and the contents of the breakfast consist of warm, over easy eggs with lightly toasted toast. The three of us dig into our food. “Spike, I have a couple of errands I need you to run later today. I have some work that needs to be done and I don’t have too much time on my hoofs at the moment to get through everything I need done.”
“No problem, just give me a list,” Spike says with a mouth full of eggs. Twilight giggles at that and then looks to me.
“Would you like some coffee Nick?” Twilight asks, magically holding a coffee mug and a coffee pot with a purple aura around both items.
“Sure. Thank you,” I say.
“How do you like it?”
“Sweet and creamy please.” She pours in the cream, sugar into the mug first (she does that too!?) and then pours the warm, delicious, light brown liquid. When all the ingredients are in the mug, she gives it a stir with a spoon and magically hands it to me. I take a sip, and it is so good. I can feel my taste buds doing the cha cha. “This is some good coffee.”
“Thanks."
11:27 A.M.
Twilight is working on, what appears to be, some sort of chemistry work. She's adding liquids and solids and a bunch of other stuff into a beaker. She says this concoction is an enhancer that can help bring me back to my home planet. Says its part of the spell. I would love to help her, but chemistry is not really my strong suit. Besides, she looks like she knows what she is doing, best not to interfere. So I'm just laying down on an available table, listening to the music from my phone.
You know, the minute I pulled out my phone, Twilight was asking me a hundred questions a second. She was all like: "What is that thing?", "What's it do?", "Are all of them like that?". After telling her to relax, I calmly told her that it is a cellphone. I just simply explained that it is my source of entertainment and a way to contact friends and family from long distances. I couldn't get too technical with it because I just know that it only makes calls, displays things on a screen and plays music; nothing about those weird green plates on the inside. She did get most of the questions she wanted answered and thought the information given very informal.
Come to think of it, I doubt my service provider would reach out as far as fictional worlds. So I can't call home from here, but I'm not surprised since Equestria doesn't seem to have the technology to create satellites or cellphone towers. Anyway, back to what's going on right now.
“Alright, this is just a step closer to getting you home," Twilight says after a purple puff cloud comes out of the beaker. "I just need some other materials and components, but that's going to take a while to get."
"Some progress is better than none," I say putting my phone and ear buds away.
"I guess so." She starts walking to a different table and notices something. "Oh no," Twilight says in a dreadful tone.
"What's wrong?"
"This book. Applejack told me the other day that she needs it for today, but I don't have the time at the moment to give it to her." Twilight face palms, or face hooves in this case, out of frustration.
"I could give it to her," I quickly suggest out.
"What?" She brings her gaze to me.
"I can give it to her no problem. I remember the way to her house when you snuck me into town."
"Are you sure? There's no doubt that others will stare and look at you funny."
"So what? It's something that they're going to have to deal with for the week since I am stuck here." There is a pause while Twilight thinks. It won't hurt to stretch my legs, and I'd love to see the down in the daylight.
"Are you absolutely sure?"
"Of course. You're busy with your work and Spike is taking care of things for you. Plus, I can't stay cooped up in this library for seven days." Twilight lets out a a long 'hmm' and puts a hoof to her chin to think. After a couple seconds of thought, she reaches her verdict.
"Okay Nick, you can deliver the delivery. Applejack needs this book on old fashioned farming and agriculture." Twilight magically floats the book in front of me and I take hold of it.
"Alright, consider it done."
"Thanks Nick."
"No problem. I'll be back in a bit." I step out of the library with the book in my right hand, taking a deep breath of fresh air before I go on this walk. As I stroll through the streets Ponyville, I get stares and side whispers from the other residents, just like what Twilight said. I don't let them bother me, I just smile. It's just something they need to get used to, even though the stay here isn't going to be for long.
Sweet Apple Acres, 11:52 A.M.
I stand in front of the farm with the remembrance of this being Applejack’s property. Her all livid and up in my face, meeting her and Twilight, good times. “This is her place,” I say aloud as I walk through the entrance. Yesterday, I didn't really take in the surroundings of the farm. It looks pretty typical with some pens for animals, a red barn not to far off from a larger red house that looks like a barn itself and apple trees as far as the eye could see. It's a pretty sweet place really.
As I further myself into the property, I see a small, young, yellow pony with a red bow in her hair running with a dog, laughing to her hearts content. The little pony is probably playing with the canine. Maybe she can help me with Applejack’s whereabouts. “Excuse me, can you help me out?” She stops running looks toward my direction. The very instant her orange eyes see me, she gives off the loudest shriek I have ever heard.
“MONSTER!” She shouts and hides behind a nearby barrel, and the dog follows in suit. “APPLEJACK, OUR FARM HAS A MONSTER!”
“What in tarnation is going on here?” I hear Applejack voice coming out from a short distance. I turn my head and see the orange pony trotting up to us. “Oh, howdy Nick, nice seein’ ya’ again.”
“Nice to see you too.”
“Wait,” the yellow pony says coming out from behind the barrel, shaking and still a little scared. “You know the monster?”
“Nick? A monster? Apple Bloom, he ain't no monster. Far from it. He’s a...a...what did you say you were again?”
“Human," I answer.
“That's it.”
“Never heard of a human. Sounds like a monster," The presumed Apple Bloom says, shaken and still scared.
“He’s nothing but a nice guy. Say hi to him. Nick,” she shifts her attention to me, “this is my sister, Apple Bloom.” I gingerly place the book down on the ground and get on one knee so I would look less intimidating.
“Hey there Apple Bloom,” I say in a calm tone that one would use to talk to a young child. “I’m Nick. Believe me, I’m no monster. Far from it.” She approaches me slowly. “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.” She gets a little closer to to me and looks me in the eyes. I love kids. They’re always kind and meaning well. Whenever I see a kid, a smile is always plastered on my face, and right now, I'm wearing a nice one. After calming down a little, Apple Bloom has a smile on her face as well. She suddenly went from scared to freaking adorable!
“There ya’ go,” Applejack says. “See, Nick is nothing but a gentle soul.” She walks up next to me now. “So, what brings you to the farm?”
“Oh, right.” I grab the book from the ground and stand up. “Twilight said you wanted to see this book.”
“Oh yes, thank ya’. Just leave it on the barrel for the time being. I'll take care of it later" I place it on the barrel and see the dog still behind it. I smile at the doggy and turn back to Applejack.
“Well, I think I should get going. I'll see you guys around.” I'm just about to leave but then…
“Actually, I, or we, need your help with something?”
“With what?”
“Tell me, ya' got a sweet tooth?”
In the kitchen of the Apple family's house
“We’ve been tryin’ a new recipe, but we feel like it’s missing something,” Applejack says cutting a piece of cake. How does she do that with just her hoof? “It’s an applesauce cake. Me, Apple Bloom, Bic Mac, and Granny Smith tried it multiple times. It’s great and all, but we feel like it’s missing somethin’. We may need a fifth party decision. Care to be that fifth party?”
“Sure,” I say. Applejack hands me a piece of the brown applesauce cake that lays on a white dessert plate. I take hold of the plate in my right hand and the cake slice in the left. I lift the dessert to my mouth and take a bite, taking in the flavors. It is really good, but Applejack is right! It is missing something. “How much applesauce did you use?”
“A cup and a half. We didn't want the cake to get too soggy.” Seems like a fair amount of applesauce to use. I take another bite, chew, think, then swallow.
“What about cinnamon? How much did you use there?”
“Just a teaspoon,” Apple Bloom says. Seems like a good amount there. I take another bite with a thoughtful look on my face. After a few chews, allowing the flavors to move around my mouth, I think I have an idea to improve this cake.
“What about adding some small apple chunks?”
“Hmm," Applejack places a hoof to her chin to think. Her face brightens up in just a few seconds. "That sounds like an interesting idea. Granny Smith! I think we might have our breakthrough!”
One baked cake, with meeting Bic Mac and Granny Smith, later
“Alright kids,” Granny Smith (took me a while to see that the name is a play on words) says. “Let’s see if this young colt's idea is a breakthrough.” She cuts each of us a slice and gives it to us on some dessert plates.
“Cheers,” I say holding up my slice and then bringing it to my mouth. As we chew, all five of our mouths water with delight. Now that is what I call an applesauce cake. That's what their calling it, right? Well, it doesn't matter. Everything is perfect. The softness of the cake is perfect, the sweetness of the cinnamon brings out the true flavor of the applesauce, and the apple chunks give the cake an extra kick to the flavor.
“Yep, that is definitely a breakthrough,” Applejack says.
“Eeyup,” Big Mac agrees. Upon meeting this guy, I notice he only says two things most of the time: "Eeyup" or "Nope", and that was within only couple minutes of meeting him. His vocabulary has such variety.
“Oh yeah,” Apple Bloom says delightfully.
“I couldn't figure it out for weeks. It just needed apple chunks! Thank you deary,” Granny Smith says with that southern-old folk accent of hers.
“It’s no trouble at all. When it comes to desserts, I know how to critique,” I say a bit bashful, yet egotistical.
“You did good today sonny. How would you like to take some slices home?” Granny Smith asks.
“You sure?”
“Why of course. It’s the least I could do.”
A few minutes later
“Thanks for the cake. It was very nice meeting all of ya’,” I say as I walk and wave from Sweet Apple Acres. I have a brown paper bag of some cake slices in my left hand to take home.
“Don’t be a stranger!” Applejack says with her and her family waving back at me. “Feel free to visit us whenever you like.”
“Will do. See ‘ya!” And with that, I leave the property. As I am walking back to the library and returning to the main part of Ponyville, I put my ear-buds in and listen to my music. I don't know what it is, but I don't just hear the music, but feel it. It's like a surge emotions rushing through my body and I love it. Just something about music makes me fell that way. I guess that's why I love performing.
Anyway, I start to groove when “Suit and Tie” comes on. But, because of my grooving, it causes me to bump into someone. I look down to see its Rarity. “Oh, sorry Rarity. I didn't see where I was going.”
“It’s quite alright darling,” she says with her eyes closed. “At least it was a friendly face that-” She opens her eyes and looks at me with her head moving up and down. “You. My boutique. Now!”
“What?”
“No time. Fashion waits for no one.” She gets behind me and jabs my back with her horn. That actually hurts. It's like a needle. Her horn doesn't look like it would hurt, but it does!
“OW!” I say, rubbing my back to ease the pain throbbing in my back. “What gives?!”
“Now’s not the time for questions! Now is the time for fashion!” She pokes my back again.
“OWCH!”
“To the boutique!”