Secrets of a Wanderer

by Nero_Nova

The Pre-Welcome

Author's Note:

This chapter was hard to make seeing as how hard it is to pair up pinkie and jax right now. Let me know what you guys thought of it.

Cover art for chapter linked here : http://neronova00.deviantart.com/art/Nightmare-s-552326323

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// The Pre-Welcome// Story: Adventures of Jax, Wandering soul// by Nero_Nova//------------------------------//

Chapter 5

The view was breathtaking from the balcony of Jax’s room. The sun was just peeking over the mountains in the distance. A gentle breeze washed over the land as if waking all with the promise of a new day of adventure and new experiences. But the look of the landscape was not Jax’s concern this morning. Instead, it was how high a climb it would be from his guest room to the ground.

“It's not that high,” He thought to himself, “Just four stories, nothing I haven't seen before. Could be on the ground in no time, to the train station just as fast. I'd be out of town before they even knew I was gone.” This, as well as other plans to sneak away, had pledged Jax mind most of the morning. One plan after another, he even thought of a way to just walk out the door. Not much of a plan seeing as no one would stop him.

“Ancients damn it...” escaped his lips as he dropped his head on the stone railing, his mind coming to the same conclusion as before. These ponies had been good to him, true kindness, and above all, have yet to ask him for anything in return. Instead, they offered him a place to stay and work. “Maybe I'm over thinking all this... maybe they really are just genuinely good ponies.” A smile appeared across the young stallion's muzzle at the thought. “Yeah, because I'm just that lucky... I come to a brand new land I've never seen before and just happen to come across ponies that just want to help. Yeah, right.”

The idea, however, was just as haunting as the thought of sneaking away. Other than a personal question or two, no pony has tried to get anything out of him. “If I leave now, I could find work... somewhere... I could survive on the streets, after all I've done it... before...” Jax pauses on his last word as the memories bring an uneasy and sharp pain in his stomach. A hoof attempts to comfort his belly but is held in place, reminding Jax of his injury. He looks at his leg, cared for without question by a princess of a land he had never been to. “Why did they help me... why do they care?” This question above all echoed in his head threatening to drive Jax mad.

One last look to the horizon would help ease his troubled mind, and a calming breath would steady him to walk back inside. “Regardless of what I may feel, I should give them the benefit of the doubt... I owe them that much for all they've done for me.” Donning his cloak and saddlebag Jax pulls himself together and prepares for the day. “Besides, this isn't permanent...” he thinks as he walks out of the room and down the hall. “I'll stay long enough to make some money to get back...” With each step Jax became more sure of himself. “They are just being helpful to somepony they think needs it, it's not like I'm anything special to them. I'll head to the station with them and eat on the train. Get no closer than I have to just like always...” Jax came to the dining room where he expected everypony would be finishing their breakfast. “After all, what's the worst that could happen?”

The door lights up with the glow of unicorn magic just before it swings wide open. Paired with this unexpected movement was the sudden bang of confetti poppers and shouting from everypony. Laughter followed soon after, also followed by silence as the mares notice that Jax had vanished. Pinkie, knowing where he went, hops over to the door to find Jax breathing heavily, eyes open wide and teeth clutched, trying to hold it together after what he almost took as an attack.

“Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm...” Jax repeated to himself in his mind.

“Morning!” Pinkie shouted, making the already panicking stallion jump back a good two feet. “Were you surprised? I hope you were surprised, after all it's a surprise party! Well, it's a surprise pre-party. Your Pre-Welcome To Ponyville Breakfast Party! So were you surprised? Were you? Were you? Were you?”

Jax shoved a hoof in the crazy, chattering mare's mouth in a desperate attempt to silence her. “Yes, Pinkie... yes, I was surprised.” He forced himself to say through his heavy breaths, trying to keep himself calm and reclaim his composure. By now the others were looking from the doorway, Rarity whispering how she knew the poppers were a bad idea. A few more deep breaths and Jax could talk again. “Now what is all this?” He questioned the hyper mare who, for some reason, was hopping up and down in front of him.

“I told you, it's a Pre-Welcome to Ponyville Breakfast Party!” Pinkie repeated.

“We thought a party would make you feel more at home,” Applejack started, joining Pinkie in the hall.

“Then we thought, why not two?!” said Rainbow Dash who followed soon after.

“Two?” was all Jax could say in regards to the situation at hand.

Twilight could see their new friend was not very comfortable about the plan, instead he looked worried and uneasy as if being backed into a corner. Despite the clear difference in reaction, the memories of Twilight’s first day in Ponyville came to mind, and she knew what to say. “I know this may seem strange, but this is what the girls did for me my first day in Ponyville too. Pinkie planned the party before she even knew my name. It's just our way of welcoming you.”

Twilight's words did little to calm Jax, instead he forced a smile, hoping to look excepting of Pinkie’s little plan. She must have taken the approving look, as she then pulled Jax to the table where a pancake breakfast was prepared. Pinkie rushed Jax to his seat and sat by him again, grinning like a little filly that just made a new friend. The others joined them each taking roughly the same seat as the night before. Jax was still uneasy as he looked around realizing this breakfast party is only a precursor to the real party to be held in Ponyville. The sight of his wondering eyes made Luna giggle watching him as if he had never had a party thrown for him. She suppresses the action as his eyes turn to her, she smiles at him, causing his light green coat to match his ruby red eyes ever so slightly. “This was not what I had planned,” was all Jax could think to himself.

His sudden shyness was brief and vanished at the sight of six pancakes stacked on the plate before him. The smell was no less intoxicating as the meal from last night, but this time instead of a work of art, it looked as if a foal and filly just threw on any topping that popped into their head.

“You like it? I made them myself.” Pinkie declared.

“That makes sense.” Jax thought to himself as he eyes the stack while Pinkie went on about the crazy processes of deciding what topping to give him. In the end she decided to give him everything. All the while Jax just stared at the stack with its mess of toppings.

Everyone looked on as Pinkie finished talking, Applejack noticed the unmistakable look Jax had. No pony couldn't tell how he was feeling. “Jax, if you don't like pancakes, it's okay, we can whip something else up.”

A loud gasp came from Pinkie as she had the idea of making it a Pre-Welcome cooking party. She leapt into the air to speed off to the kitchen, but was pulled back to her seat by Jax. “It's not that I don't like pancake's, it's just... I haven't had them since... well... a very long time.” A smile appeared across Jax muzzle, the first genuine smile any of the girls had seen from him. He lowered his head to take the first bite, the look of sheer bliss was more than apparent as Jax ate. After clearing his mouth of food he turned to pinkie, “These are really good, thank you Pinkie.”

The complement was simple, but it made Pinkies eyes light up as she hugged Jax, “Your welcome!” she said before releasing him and digging into her own pile of pancakes, almost literally.

Friendly banter began as the girls talked and all the while Jax sat in his chair enjoying his pancakes. A sense of deja vu came over Jax as he realized that this moment was not so different from last night. The meal was clearly at a much lower class then before, delicious none the less, but still lower in class. Yet the behavior of his host and company had not changed, if anything some were still drowsy from their morning. This led Jax to believe they didn't initially care about class, at the very least, not so much so that it could disturb their pleasure of each other’s company.

All of a sudden Pinkie pulled out a notepad and started asking Jax questions, for the second party he suspected.

“What's your favorite flavor?”

“I don't really have one, I like too many.” Jax answered, still wearing the smile from before.

Pinkie was almost shocked by the statement seeing as how Jax did not seem like the type to say such a thing. She asked another, “Favorite color?”

“Blue.”

“Favorite music?”

“I don't really have one, traveling around you hear a lot of different kinds of music, but not as often as you would expect.”

Again Pinkie scribbled down her notes like a student in school, “What about...”

“Pinkie,” Jax spoke cutting Pinkie off as politely as possible. “One thing to know about me is I'm not very picky, and I can see one thing about you is you like parties.” The statement brought back the bright glow in Pinkies eyes from before as if giving confirmation. “I'm not really the party kind of pony, but it's clear you really want to do this, so why not just throw what you think is best.” Jax grew a tad bit worried as he saw the bright glow turn into a raging inferno of joy and excitement. Pinkie Pie hugged him again before returning to her notes, the pen moved so fast Jax feared the paper would catch fire before she finished.

“Oh, I wouldn't have said that if I were you.” Applejack stated in a teasing manner

“Why not?”

“Pinkie is our resident party-pony, when you give her free rein over a party, she really tends to overdo it. In the best of ways, of course, but overdone none the less.”

Jax shrugs as if the say, oh well, and goes back to his pancakes.

It would be another hour before everypony was done eating, after which the maid ponies would clear the table. Not too long after all, would be outside the castle being seen off by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Just as Jax was ready to leave Celestia called out to him, “Jax... I wanted to thank you for your advice, I'll definitely think about it.” Jax bows to the princesses, this time without the tension he had before. With the final goodbyes everypony walks off the train station.

“Hey, what was Celestia talking about back there?” Twilight asked Jax as they walked.

“Sorry, it's private. She just needed the opinion of someone who didn't know her.”

“Yeah, but on what?” Twilight asked, her curiosity growing.

“Sorry Twilight, but I think it's something that you should hear from her.”

Twilight reluctantly accepts Jax’s answer, already familiar with how tight lipped he is, but she was clearly not happy with it.