The View from Rock Bottom

by Fickle Wood

Wayward Plans 1.6

Faces were something I was good with, as some of my art would attest to, and I was sure I had met the man that stood in front of me before. The blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin were the most striking thing about him, but the familiarity went right down to his very facial features. He was a handsome man, that I felt either sex would find attractive, and I had to admit I would’ve loved to have some of his good looks. The only thing I found strange about the man was the fact he wore a black business suit, which was odd seeing as it was currently below freezing outside.

“Well?” he said, with a raised eyebrow, which made me aware of the fact I was staring.

What is he… Oh! He asked if he could sit next to me! “Sure, but I have to ask. Have we met before?”

The stranger took the barstool next to me and eyed me up and down. “Can’t say that I remember you. Where exactly do you think we’ve met before?”

Where indeed? Not here, and I haven’t been much of anywhere else in the world aside from California. “Have you ever been to California?”

“My job takes me many places, and I’ve been to California on multiple occasion. Do you remember when this might have been?”

It was crazy to think I would see anyone around here, that I had met in my old life, but this person just seemed so familiar. When would it have been? Definitely before my art career fell through. Oh! “Were you in California ten years ago? Around Easter?”

The stranger seemed to think deeply on the subject, then a look of realization hit him. “Yes! Was it at that art gallery? The one with the Heaven and Hell theme to it?”

Now I remember him, though the name still escapes me. “Well, the theme was actually ‘Heavenly Virtues & Deadly Sins’, but close enough. You won the pride one in the silent auction, right?”

“Yes, but I still don’t remember meeting you there. No offense, but you don’t look like the type of person able to afford the paintings they had.”

“Your name started with a ‘W’, right?” Wilson? Wallus? What was it?

He seemed surprised by my question. “My first name is William actually. And you are?”

I offered a hand and smiled. “Jack Taylor. I was the artist.”

He gave me a hard look, then shook my hand. “I’m sorry to say I don’t remember meeting you, but that is the name of the artist on the painting.”

“Probably the beard.” I used to keep my face shaved, but had taken to trimming it ever I returned home. “So what brings you to Idaho? Definitely doesn’t look like you are here on pleasure.”

“I…” William didn’t seem to know what to say.

I probably should’ve thought about this encounter more, but meeting someone who had liked something I painted was a rare opportunity. ‘Heavenly Virtues & Deadly Sins’ was the last time anyone would host art from me, which I shamefully wished sometimes hadn’t been for charity. Being falsely accused of consorting with terrorist did that do a career.

“Well, I think it’s about time I had a drink.” I turned back to Mike, who had been respectful of the conversation between William and I. “Hit me, and pour a shot for my friend here.” I turned back to William. “That is if he wants it.”

William snapped out of his confusion and seemed more alert. “Well, if you insist, then thank you. As to your question from earlier, I’m just here to survey some real estate. What are you doing here? Not that I couldn’t understand living in a place like this. Such a beautiful place.”

The sound of the whiskey being poured turned my head back to Mike. Once he finished with my shot, he began to pour Williams, but a shocking thing happened. Mike and the liquid he was pouring just stopped in place. I turned back to William to find he had also stopped.

“The hell—”

“Excuse me for the interruption, but I have some questions for you.” A female said.

Confused as to what was going on, I looked toward where the voice had come from and saw a woman. The thing that stood out to me first, that I was ashamed to admit, was the fact she was black, but Idaho was just such a white state. It seemed this woman was one that wanted to be noticed, since she had dyed her long wavy hair a dark blue, had a dark cyan eye color only possible with the use of contacts, and a pale blue eyeshadow on her eyelids.

As if everything else wasn’t strange enough about this woman, she wore a midnight blue satin dress, that went all the way to the floor. The dress had the image of a crescent moon over the dress’s black colored chest, while stars dotted her dress in various constellations, which were strangely only every single constellation I knew.

I stood since it felt like this was someone you should stand for. “Yes?” I said, bewildered by the sight of this woman. I had heard her voice before, but not until after now, which didn’t quite make sense to me.

“Who are you?”

“Jack Taylor…” I stared at her intently. There was something odd about her like she was more real than everything else in the bar. “Who are you?”

“I am Princess Luna, Co-ruler of Equestria, Protector of the Night, and Guardian of Dreamers.” She looked at her hands and seemed very uncomfortable. “What are we?”

Princess? Equestria? “Humans? What is going on?” My world had stopped making sense, which was another thing that felt like it should happen later.

“I’m not familiar with what a human is. Could you explain further?” This woman’s questions were beyond weird.

“How can you not know what a human is? We are humans.” There is something really wrong here.

She looked at herself again, then poked at her breasts with a finger. “Yes, it seems we are.” Her eyes wandered the room, and she became interested in a flat screen TV. “Where are we?” she said, then walked over to the TV.

“Mike’s?” Mentioning the name made me remember Mike and William had stopped moving, so I looked back at them, but they were gone. I knew for certain this wasn’t how things went the first time, but I wasn’t sure what the first time meant.

She began touching the TV with a hand. “In what land does this ‘Mike’s’ reside?”

“Idaho. Lady, you better start explaining what is going on right now!” I had no intention of violence, especially toward a woman, but I needed answers.

“Eye-duh-hoe?” she said, seemingly at a loss with the name. “What are the names of the neighboring kingdoms?”

“Answer me!” The screen of the TV she was inspecting shattered like glass, and she raised a forearm to protect herself.

“Curious…” she said, as she stared into a void of white that now occupied the spot where the TV’s screen had been, then turned back to me. “I’m not certain as to what is going on actually. This seems to be a memory-dream, but it floats in the dreamscape untethered to any creature.”

“Dream?” I looked around at Mike’s bar and saw cracks filled with light spreading.

Luna noticed the cracks and closed her eyes. Everything in the room rippled like it was made of water for a moment, then the cracks spread faster. The look on her face after she opened eyes said that whatever she had tried hadn’t worked as she planned. “What was the last thing you remember before now?”

With the realization I was dreaming, the cracks spread faster. “A light. I remember walking into a light.”

Everything shattered and disappeared.

(0) (0)

The scent and feeling of grass were there when I awoke. I didn’t remember falling asleep, but I must have at some point. William? Luna? The first name was new, but I was sure I had heard the name Luna before. Where I heard Luna before came to mind instantly. At the jail! Due Process mentioned her! Did that really just happen? Was I visited by someone in my dream? The absurdity didn’t last long once I remembered everything else that had happened in the past two days.

I wanted to hit myself for not realizing I was dreaming sooner so that I could’ve said more to Princess Luna, but I knew it wasn’t my fault. The dream had convinced me entirely that it was real, and I lacked any knowledge of after the event I was in to realize it. It almost felt like none of my failures were my fault actually, but I couldn’t think that way, and needed to strive to be better.

With great reluctance, I opened my eyes. All the colors in sight seemed to be so much more vivid like a veil had been lifted from my sight. The air was a joy to breathe, and I didn’t feel like I could get enough of it. I laid in a shade, that covered a large circular grass-covered clearing, with a forest surrounding the clearing.

Something was off, and I felt like I had lost something, though it didn't feel like it was something important. There seemed to be a gap in my memory, but it didn't worry me; there were no worries here. Where here was I didn't know, and that didn't really matter.

I noticed that my ears and tail were responsive here, and I could move them just like any other part of my body. There was a sense of completeness here like I finally had something I had been missing, and it was something I hadn’t had when I first woke up in Equestria. Whatever it was I had now, I didn’t want to lose it, and I knew I would lose it if I left this place.

I stood up and turned around to see a massive oak tree. The oak had to be at least 100 feet tall, with a trunk about half as wide as it was tall, and a canopy that covered nearly the whole clearing in a shade. Right at the base of the tree, where the roots parted unnaturally, was the door I entered this place through, situated in the tree itself. I was sure I could find my way back to the door easily since the oak tree towered above everything around it, but I had no plan of ever leaving this place.

Katherine will be fine without me, and I’m sure Berry is taking good care of her. If nothing else, Rebecca is there for Katherine, just like she was the past eight years. I began to make my way toward the treeline, without a care in the world.

(0) (0)

“Come on… just a little further…” I said, as a McIntosh apple hung from a limb just out of reach of my left forehoof, while I clung to the trunk of the apple tree with my other hooves. Tired of getting nowhere, I decided to deal with this issue as I had done with trying to convince others I was human, which was being bullheaded and reckless. I braced all four hooves on the tree’s trunk, then jumped off the tree with an outstretched hoof toward the apple. My forehoof brushed against the apple, but I was unable to get a grip, then I fell to the ground at the base of the tree.

“Ow…” The pain from the fall receded exceptionally fast, which I was thankful for. It was a time like this that I wished that I had been given the body of a pegasus, unicorn, or even a dragon. It was probably foolish to think I would even be able to use wings or magic, but the possibility would’ve made my current task easier, and a dragon’s hands would’ve made it simple.

I stood up and looked at the apple I had touched still swinging slightly. “All I want is an apple,” I said, then struck the tree with a forehoof, though without any real strength to the strike, since I didn’t really want to damage the tree for my inability to harvest fruit from it. The sound of something snapping was heard above, then I was hit on the head by something.

The strike to the head instinctively made me close my eyes and reach up with both my forehooves, which resulted in me falling forward, due to lack of three hooves on the ground. Pain receded amazingly fast again, and I opened my eyes to stare at the apple I had tried to take from the tree. I reached out with both forehooves, and picked up the apple, then sat up to look at the tree.

I probably should’ve thought that I knocked the apple loose when I touched it, but that didn’t feel right at all, so I did what felt right. “Thank you!” I said, joyously, to the tree, then began to eat the apple, which was without a doubt the best thing I had ever tasted.

The forest was a strange place, since it didn’t feel like an actual forest at all, and more like a massive orchard. Tree types were all organized together, and then seemed to be grouped by family, since this part of the forest only had apple trees, while I had seen peaches close to where the apples ended. It was also strangely immaculate, without a single piece of fruit rotting on the ground beneath any trees, nor any fallen leaves. Not even my recently responsive ears had picked up the sound of any animal life, with only the occasional sound of the breeze through the leaves of the trees.

I could get used to this place. Finished with the apple, I stood and chose a direction at random. It was strange to be carefree, like I was a child again, and was actually able to spend my time doing normal things. Not that my childhood was bad, but I would’ve preferred survival training to not be a routine family weekend activity.

My mind wandered back to my parents, but for once in a long time it was a subject that didn’t bring anger or sadness. Sure, they were wrong to get mad about my pursuit of an art career, but if I had listened to them, then I would’ve avoided all the trouble I got into. It wasn’t like I couldn’t have gone somewhere locally, then worked things out with them.

I had gone over all of this countless times, but I felt like what I was thinking was absolute. All of it is in the past anyway. The best way to say I’m sorry to my parents is just to take care of Katherine, don’t drink, and be happy. The realization of the fact I wasn’t doing one of those stopped my stride instantly.

The fact I just wrote off leaving here scared me and realized I should’ve listened to Greed, or even just trusted the feeling I had about the door to this place. Something was influencing my very way of thinking, which was something I hadn’t thought this assumed force of good would do. If good relied on changing the way the beings here behaved, then it was no better than The Seven.

Can I even leave here now? The apple trees around me were filled with yellow apples, which I strangely knew were called Golden Delicious, and just looking at them made my mouth water. It was time to test just how much danger I was in. The giant oak tree would be easy to get back to since I knew it was behind me, but I had no clue how this place would react to me trying to leave.

The plants attacking me seemed possible, but I didn’t get that feeling from this place. I was more likely just to forget why I wanted to leave here, so that meant I needed to at least run back toward the giant oak tree, and hope I would remember to keep going toward it. There was a good chance the double doors might be locked, but they were the only way I knew out of here.

Hooves braced to the ground, I took in a deep breath, then turned back toward the direction of the giant oak tree. I began a gallop, but after only a moment into my gallop, the world changed entirely around me. Apple trees were replaced with blooming magnolia trees, and the sound of a waterfall filled the air. My gallop continued forward, but the magnolia trees prevented me from seeing where the giant oak tree was.

Damn it! Good and evil aren’t as black and white as I thought! Nothing else beyond the instantaneous relocation seemed to happen, and my mind hadn’t changed as far as I could tell. The sound of a waterfall increased as I drove forward, and trees began to thin out. With luck, I could spot the giant oak again, but if this place could just move me again, then it wouldn’t really matter.

Upon reaching the shore of a pond, that poured out into a river, I searched for the giant oak. It didn’t take long to notice it above the waterfall that filled the pond with water, but something else drew my attention to the base of the waterfall, and that something wasn’t a thing at all. Sitting on a ledge of a cave entrance, at the base of the waterfall, with water pouring down upon him, was Spike seemingly meditating, since he had his eyes closed.

The sight of Spike was so unexpected that my mind went blank. I knew I had been doing something, but what that was eluded me. What was I doing? One word came to mind, but I didn’t understand why. Help? With what? I looked around, then at myself, but nothing seemed amiss. Oh well, Spike will be nice to talk to.

Getting to Spike was my new goal, and it was an easy task to accomplish. I approached the water, and got ready to dive in, but stopped for a moment to think about my overwear. The magical clothing was something I had just forgotten about, since it didn’t feel like I was wearing anything at all. The question of if it was waterproof crossed my mind, but a better question of why I was wearing them at all came to mind. With the decision I didn’t need my overwear anymore, I stripped them from myself and dove into the water.

The water was cool, but not too cold as to be uncomfortable, and it was in the water I found out just how flexible my pony body was. I chose to swim the breaststroke, since I wasn’t in any hurry, and was able to do the swim much easier. With my realization of how flexible I really was, I decided at some point I would see if I could learn to walk bipedally in this body.

Spike hadn’t noticed me yet, judging by his closed eyes, and continued to sit cross-legged. The waterfall that poured down on him was a gentle one, which was about three pony lengths wide, and barely added much of a current to swim against. I stopped in the water in front of him, paddling slightly to keep the pouring water’s current from pushing me away, and was enthralled by the sight of him.

I had looked at Spike before but felt different about him here in this place. The way the water poured down upon him made his scales sparkle in the sun. All four sets of his claws looked much duller compared to earlier, which was an improvement in my opinion. Even the pair of small fangs that stuck out on the sides of his muzzle seemed less intimidating, and more alluring in a fake danger way. Rarity had been right in that one malformed memory, he was a handsome drake.

“Spike!” I said, as loud as I possibly could.

His eyes shot open at my shout, then he clambered backward into the cave behind the waterfall. I pulled myself out of the water through the waterfall and looked at Spike a few feet away, who was still on the ground, with wide eyes. It seemed that overwear was waterproof since I saw nothing where there should’ve been something, which raised the question of how overwear worked for guys.

The cave itself was fairly normal, but there were a couple things that stood out to me. First, there weren’t any stalactites or stalagmites, which was odd seeing as a river flowed above and in front of it, which would increase their formation, due to increased precipitation. Another thing was that it was far too round and too smooth to be naturally formed, which I didn’t mind, and hoped Spike hadn’t called dibs yet.

“How did you get here?!” Spike said, still in shock over my intrusion.

“I walked through the door.” The urge to dry myself off overcame me, so I shook myself like a dog. Spike raised a hand to shield his eyes from the water I scattered everywhere. After I was done, I realized how rude I had been. “Sorry…” I gave him a sheepish smile.

He scrambled to all four. “Impossible! Only my friends and I are able to open the door! You shouldn’t have even been able to see the door!” The certainty these beings had in a world of uncertainty was bewildering to me.

I didn’t feel like arguing and had much more important things to ask. “Are dragons cold or warm blooded?” It was probably the single most important question that I had ever asked, if not by anyone in all of this reality.

He looked at me like I had grown a second head, so I checked but saw nothing there. “Warm…” It seemed like I had derailed the conversation, but in actuality, my questions were the difference between life and death, though it really had nothing to do with death at all.

After sitting down, I worked on wringing the water from my mane. “Is it true ponies can mate with gryphons and dragons?”

“Yes…” He looked like he regained his train of thought, which was the only type of train I could think of that could bounce back from a derailment so quickly. “That doesn’t matter! Tell me how you got here! How did you even find me?!”

My tail was next to be wrung. Why do Berry’s mane and tail have to be so curly when dry? I bet I can make them straight with magic. “Well, like I said, I walked through the door, but some stuff happened before the door. See, your castle had me going in circles with magic.”

“What? The castle?” Spike at least seemed to be open to the truth, which was good, since I didn’t feel like I could lie.

“Yeah, Greed said it was ‘spatial distortion’. Anyway, for some reason, I couldn’t see the stairwell the castle wanted me to go down, which was really strange since Greed pointed the stairwell out.” The reason as to why the stairwell had been hidden from my sight was a good question, but there were an insurmountable amount of more important questions above it. “What is the age of consent in Ponyville?

The look on his face was one of puzzlement. “16. Why?”

“Just respecting all that is good and orderly.” I stood, and was still wet, but not dripping at least. “After hearing everything Lust said earlier, it got me thinking.”

He gave me a hard look. “There is nothing that monster could’ve said that could lead to anything good.”

"But there is," I closed the distance between Spike and me in a single stride, then placed a forehoof on his chest, with the pad of it fully extended, and felt the smoothness of the pale green scales on his chest were. "Would you like to have sex with me?"

Spike's answer was swatting my forehoof away, then a shoulder bash to my chest, which sent me flying into the wall of the cave. I felt a sharp pain from the impact, but the pain dissipated quickly, just like falling from the tree and apple to the head had. As I laid on my back, the fact a teenager had just turned away sex confused to me to no end.

“What is wrong with you?! I know The Seven couldn’t possibly be influencing you here!” Spike said, clearly mad at me for some reason. “You…” He went quiet suddenly.

I propped myself up with my forelegs to see why Spike had gone quiet. He was looking at me wide-eyed, and his gaze was on my groin. “The offer still stands.”

He quickly looked away and covered his eyes with a hand. “Why aren’t you wearing overwear?!”

He clearly seemed uncomfortable with sex, so I decided to stop that line of thought. With a roll to my side, I was able to get back on my hooves, then faced Spike. “I wasn’t sure if overwear was waterproof, so I took it off before I swam to you. By the way, I’m modest now, so you can stop looking away.”

He turned his head and peeked at me from between his claws, then took the hand away. “Why did you do that to me?”

“The flash? I didn’t mean to do that. You were the one who overreacted and knocked me on my back.” I wasn’t mad at Spike for assaulting me since I had been too forward.

“No! Trying to have sex with me!” His eyes began to grow wet, and it wasn’t due to any of the drops of water that still clung to his scale from the waterfall.

“Well, when I was your age, that was what I did. Sex is just sex after all, and I’m not someone that believes in love.” I felt strange. There was something I had forgotten and needed to remember.

“How can you dismiss love?!”

“Wait, love is real here?” Here? Where else is there?

“What kind of awful world do you come from, Jack?”

My eyes went wide. I come from another world! I ran at Spike and pounced on him, which knocked him onto his back. “Spike! I need your help!” I said, with my forelegs wrapped around his midsection.

“Get off!” He tried to pry me off, but I had a good grip on him.

“No! I need you to promise you will get me out of here! Please!” Tears began to fall from my eyes onto Spike’s chest.

The sounds of my sobbing and the waterfall pouring down nearby were the only sounds I heard for at least a minute, then I felt Spike stroke my head with a hand. I looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

He had a kind smile on his muzzle. “Okay, I promise to get you out of here, but I need you to tell me what the problem is, and I would like for you to let go of me.”

I let go of him, then backed away to stand. “I’m forgetting myself here, and this place moved me when I tried to run back to the door. What is this place called anyway?”

Spike sat up straight, then stood up on just his legs, and towered over me. “Well, Twilight decided to call it the ‘Harmony Sphere’. I still think it could use a cooler name like ‘The Garden of Harmony’, or ‘Harmonia’, but she wants a name that describes it exactly. Anyway, it is a pocket dimension created entirely by Harmony. What do you mean you are forgetting yourself?”

It really hit me why he would walk around on his arms and legs, since being a dragon alone was probably intimidating enough to most ponies, without the added intimidation of height. “After I woke up, I—”

“Woke up? When did you fall asleep? It hasn’t been that long since I saw you and Twilight in the library.”

“After I walked through the white light getting here.”

“White light? Jack, all this talk of spatial distortion, hidden stairwells, and now white lights is getting a little farfetched. Harmony has never done any of that before.” He crossed his arms, with a look of doubt on his face.

“Please, Spike. I Surprise Swear I’m telling the truth. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a muffin in my—” In my haste, I forgot to close my eye. “Ow!”

“Heh,” He barely contained his laughter over my accident. “Jack? Did Surprise even tell you what a Surprise Swear was, or what happens when you make one?”

“No…” I’m going to have some strong words for Surprise if I don’t like what he says next.

“Of course not.” He uncrossed his arms and seemed to relax. “Typically she tells every new pony she meets about this, but I guess she thinks you are still Berry. A Surprise Swear is a promise, as you probably understand already, but it has some anomalous effects on those that make them.”

“And what are these anomalous effects?” If this is more mind altering stuff, then I’m going to seriously doubt why I thought accepting a gift from Greed was such a bad idea.

“First, you aren’t going to be very willing to break a Surprise Swear once you make one. It’s possible to break one, but not without some effort, and whoever you made it with somehow knows you broke it instantly. Don’t ask me how it works, since Twilight couldn’t figure it out.

Seriously? More mind altering forces? “What is with your world, Spike? Evil I understand altering the minds of others, but what about good, or Harmony as you called it? What about Surprise? You can’t possibly be fine with ponies going around and making pacts that alter their minds!” I threw both forehooves up in the air out of frustration, which I realized was a terrible idea, when my face met the cave’s floor.

“Are you okay?” Spike said, sounding at least somewhat concerned for me.

The pain from the fall was already gone, and I pushed myself back up to all fours. “Could you not stand on your legs like that? I don’t like having to look up that far at you.” I didn’t actually have a problem looking up at him but was just jealous of his ability to stand bipedally.

He looked down at himself, seemingly unaware of how he had been standing. “Sorry…” He plopped down on his hands, which still left him a head taller, but at least he wasn’t towering over me.

“Thank you. What were the other effects of a Surprise Swear?” Am I still under the effects of the one I made with Surprise yesterday? Wait, how does a Surprise Swear like my claim to be telling the truth work? Would it have automatically nullified and told Spike instantly if my claim had been false?

“There isn’t much more to it really. Surprise somehow knows where someone is after they break a Surprise Swear, which Twilight decided to set up an emergency response system between my friends and me with. Wait, has Surprise asked you to Surprise Swear not to forget her yet?” He had realized something, and it seemed to be something important.

“No? Why? Does she have some sort of insecurity?”

Spike moved a hand up to his muzzle and looked like he was pondering something. “And yet you remembered her and was able to make a Surprise Swear.” He didn’t seem to be talking to me now, and more like he was thinking out loud. “Guess it could be Berry’s Surprise Swear carries over to you since I’m sure Berry made that Surprise Swear at some point, but then that means the effects of the Surprise Swear are actually physical and not mental…”

I felt odd for some reason but couldn’t place what it was. A look down at my forehooves didn’t tell me what it was, nor was the source of strangeness found when I looked back toward my rear, which was missing my saddlebags. When did I last have those? I was fairly certain that I hadn’t even seen them since I awoke. Need to find them, otherwise Spike or Twilight is going to be mad at me for losing that children’s book.

Spike was lost in thought over something we had been talking about, though I couldn’t quite remember what it had been. I didn’t want to interrupt him, so I quietly moved away from him, and toward the waterfall. I can go look for my saddlebags, and he’ll never have to know I lost them or the book. Oh! I can put on my overwear while I’m at it! Spike will be happier with me if I do.

I dove into the water, and this time, I went with the much faster front crawl swim. My destination was where I was fairly certain I had dove into the pond the first time, and that was where I would find my overwear. Did I take my saddlebags off with my overwear? My memory failed me when it came to the saddlebags, and for some reason, the very subject of remembering seemed like something I should delve into at some point, but that could wait until after I got my overwear and saddlebags back.

My memory hadn’t entirely failed me, since when I pulled myself up on the pond’s bank I saw my overwear exactly where I had left it. I tried my best to dry off again, and this time, I dried off better and quicker, which I decided was due to the sun above shining down on me. Overwear seemed like a very silly thing to me now, but Spike would like me more for putting them on, and that was worth doing silly things for. As I got on my back to put on my overwear, the sound of water being displaced was heard behind me and back toward the waterfall.

Quickly, I finished putting on the pair of overwear. Why are pants and underwear called a pair anyway? The internet would’ve answered my question instantly, and I missed the ability to do that. Up above I saw Spike flying on his wings for the first time and had almost forgotten he had wings at all. I stood back up as he landed on all four, and saw a displeased look on his face, with water still dripping all over him.

“Here you are. You really shouldn’t run off like that.” He let out a sigh. “Come on let’s get out of here,” he said, then made to walk in the direction of the giant oak.

Before he could get far, I had to ask a question that was bugging me. “Why would I ever want to leave here?”

Spike stopped in his tracks, then turned toward me. “You were serious…” He was shocked by something, but I couldn’t tell what. “Harmony is causing you memory loss, maybe even changing the way you think.”

Memory loss? Way I think? Spike was acting weird and needed something else to think about. “Why don’t you stay here with me, Spike? We could be just like Adam and Eve.”

“How would we be like Applejack and Fluttershy’s parents?”

I couldn’t contain my laughter. “Are you,” I stopped to finish laughing. “telling me that their names are Adam and Eve?” A couple more snickers came out of my mouth.

“Yes? Their father’s name is Adamant Apple, and their mother’s name is Evening Primrose. What’s so funny?” Spike was out of the loop with the joke, and it was probably best left that way.

“Just something from a story. Nothing more.” Hmm… Spike’s wings would be useful for finding my saddlebags, and he doesn’t have to know one of his books is in them. “Could you help me find my saddlebags? I seem to have misplaced them somewhere.” I looked around but didn’t expect to see them anywhere nearby.

“We are leaving. Now.” He reached forward and grabbed a forehoof. I went along with him, at least until I ran out of questions.

“Why do you want me to leave here? Wouldn’t my being here and out of your life be the best thing possible for you?” We made our way toward a cliff face next to the waterfall, and he let go of my forehoof.

Spike lifted off the ground with his wings, then hovered above me. Reaching down, he hooked his arms under my barrel, and amazingly lifted us both up in the air, though I could tell he had difficulty with me along for the ride. It wouldn’t be much of an aerial climb since the cliff face was only about 15 feet. Is it more than 15 feet? A pony’s hoof would probably be what they use as a foot, and they are definitely not as long as a human foot… The world is right, America should finally teach the metric system as the only measurement system, then I wouldn’t be thinking about this.

“How would leaving,” He stopped to catch his breath, while he continued our upward climb. “you here in any way be good for me?”

We reached the top, then Spike brought me over to ground, and dropped me. Wish I had wings. Oh well, life isn’t fair. “By leaving me here nobody has to know about the fact The Seven can speak to you, or at least the six you’ve heard. Is Wrath the one you haven’t heard? I haven’t heard him yet and was wondering if it was because you couldn’t as well. Oh! Are you hearing them right now? Say hello from me if you can, since I stopped hearing them ever since I got here.”

Spike reached out a hand to grab one of my forehooves again but stopped before he touched me. “I come here sometimes when I don’t want to hear them and do some training I hope will eventually block them out. Are you threatening me with the fact you are going to tell someone about the fact I can hear them?”

Did it come out that way?! I need to fix this now or he’ll hate me! “No! I don’t want to destroy your life! I just thought you might not have thought about that!” I didn’t want him to hate me, and I didn’t want everypony else I had met to hate me either.

The look on Spike’s face was one of stark realization, and he pulled his hand back. “I…” He took a moment, which I guessed was to figure out which words he wanted to say next. “You wanted help finding your saddlebags?” The fact he sounded so uncertain about his words said he was more likely to be the one with memory problems.

“Yep!” I said, happy he had decided to drop the nonsense of me leaving here.

He looked away from me and didn’t want to meet my eyes. “Um… I can go look for them… while you just stay here. You must be tired from all the walking and swimming, right?”

“Yeah, I feel exhausted.” In truth, I felt like I could run a marathon, but I didn’t want Spike to feel bad about his own body. To further make my claim believable, I sat down and started to breathe like I was out of breath.

“Good…” He lifted off the ground and began to fly toward the faraway oak tree.

Spike seemed to think I would move since he looked back several times, but I just waved at him each time, to reassure him I would do as he said. After the third time he looked back at me, he stopped then flew back. He must've seen my saddlebags already from up there, and wanted me to know right away.

Alighting back on the ground in front of me, he grabbed one of my forelegs, then led me again toward where the giant oak was. “Did you see my saddlebags from up there?” I said, while the thought of being reunited with the canvas bags delighted me. When I get them back, I can draw Spike a picture with my pen and notebook.

“No, I’m getting you out of here.” Spike words weren’t the ones I wanted to hear.

I stopped in place, which caused Spike to be pulled backward suddenly. “You can’t make me leave.” Only I would decide to leave here, and that would never happen.

“Come on.” He jerked me forward violently, and I didn’t appreciate it one bit.

After pulling my foreleg out of his hand, I planted my hooves on the ground, and I felt something weird on my forehooves. Grassroots had sprouted out of the ground and snared around each of my hooves, which were just tight enough to keep me firmly planted on the ground, but not too tight as to be uncomfortable, and I felt like I was in control of them. “Neat.”

Spike looked at my hooves with disbelief, then pointed at them. “How?! You’ve only been here two days! Berry’s talent isn’t even in magic!”

“I win.” I blew a raspberry at Spike. “Now you can’t make me be mean again.”

Confusion swept over Spike quickly. “Be mean again? What are you talking about?”

“Well, I was mean to you when I said I would let Rarity’s secret out, which I don’t actually know by the way, and was just as mean to Twilight after we left you in the library. It just felt like I had to do it for some reason. Like something was making me be mean.” What I said to Twilight still weighed heavy on my mind.

“Something making you be mean?” He mulled the question over. “I know Lust was connected to you when you were mean to me but were any of them there when you were mean to Twilight?”

“Yes! Envy was there!” I had no idea what he was going on about, but I loved answering his questions.

“And Harmony is having this effect on you…” A smile formed on Spike’s face. “Jack, I want you to make a Surprise Swear.”

“Sure!” The grass roots receded from my hooves so that I could do the movement since a Surprise Swear didn’t count without the movements.

“Repeat after me. I, Jack Taylor, Surprise Swear to do everything in my power to resist forces that want to affect my mind, without my consent.”

“I, Jack Taylor, Surprise Swear to do everything in my power to resist forces that want to affect my mind, without my consent!”

“Cross my—”

“Cross my heart! Hope to fly! Stick a muffin in my eye!” I said, in quick succession, while doing the movements. Spike was going way too slow for my tastes.

“Well?” His tone was hopeful.

“Nothin—” It was like I had suddenly woken up from a dream. Everything that was important to me was just there instantly. Katherine. Home. Rebecca? The fact Rebecca came to mind so quickly was a little confusing, but it was understandable, since she was a good friend, and someone I wished was more than a friend.

“Jack? Are you all there now?”

“We are leaving here. Right now.” I said, and took one step toward the direction of the giant oak. Everything changed instantly around us from magnolia trees to a large field bathed in shade, with the crystal double doors out of here a short walk away. At my forehooves were my saddlebags, which I began to look through to make sure everything was still there, and just ignored the relocation. Magic was something I had finally accepted entirely and didn’t feel like magic could ever surprise me again since I knew anything could happen at any time.

“Instantaneous teleportation?!” I heard Spike say, and hoped someday he would become as enlightened as I was to the very nature of his universe, but doubted it was possible for him to ever achieve.

Everything that had been in the saddlebags was still there, but something new caught my eye, which was a necklace, and I pulled it out of the saddlebag it was in to take a closer look. The necklace chain was silver, and felt like it flowed between my forehoof pad’s grip. Hung from the chain was a silver bow pendant, with a silver arrow, that was tipped with a ruby heart, along with more ruby at the back of the arrow for its fletching. I felt like I should wear the necklace, but didn’t feel like anything was forcing me to do so. Eh, it’ll look nice. I put the necklace on, then followed it with the saddlebags.

I focused on Spike, who was still amazed something happened in a world where anything could happen at any time. “If we figured it out, then we would enter an entirely new age of civilization!” Spike’s dreams would have to wait until I was gone.

A sigh escaped my lips, then I reached back with my head to pull out the children’s book Twilight had given me yesterday. After walking up next to Spike, I prodded him with a forehoof, to get his attention. He looked at me, then at the book in my mouth.

“Why do you have a copy of ‘The Colt Who Cried Timberwolf’?”

I looked at Spike, and waited until he figured out why I hadn’t responded to his question. Silence drew out between us, and I felt like giving him a quick whack with a forehoof, but restrained myself. Spike’s eyes showed the signs of realization, then he promptly removed the book from my mouth.

“Because it belongs in your library. Let’s go.” I walked toward the crystal double doors.

“That’s nice, but my library already has…” Spike went silent.

There was no need to look back at him. I knew what he had figured out. Three, two, one.

“This is from my library! And it wasn’t checked out to you!” I heard Spike say, and heard him begin to move.

I pushed open the crystal doors, which had the crystal hallways of the castle on the other side, instead of a bright light. “Blame Twilight. She practically shoved it on me yesterday.” I said, then walked through the doorway.

“Argh!” Spike and Twilight’s groans were quite similar now that I paid closer attention, which didn’t surprise me in the least. “She is always taking books out of the library, then leaving them around the castle, without even bothering to check them out properly!”

With a turn, I watched Spike enter through the doorway, then saw the doors close behind him. In an instant, the doors were gone, and left behind an empty wall. “So, is that door still there, or does it—”

I felt a sharp pain in my head, then there was nothing.

(0) (0)

Everything felt wrong. No, it didn’t feel wrong, but right beyond belief. The eyes were closed, but I felt the familiar sensation of hands and feet, that I finally knew had five fingers or toes respectively. Everything was almost as it should be, but there was one issue, and that was I couldn’t move anything. Did I accidentally use my ability on Spike? No, this feels human. Is this a dream? I thought, hopeful it wasn’t a dream.

The eyes opened slowly, to the view of a hospital room. It was a typical patient’s room in a hospital, but I knew from just looking at the brown walls and accents of green everywhere it was the county hospital, which had been the one my mother worked at as a nurse so many years ago. The eyes looked down at the chest, and a hand moved to feel the wires attached underneath the patient gown. I knew without a doubt that hand was my own.

Still human… A female thought, and it was the very same voice I had become accustomed to hearing whenever I spoke in Berry’s body. Berry sat up, and looked around the room, then noticed the call button on the bed. Hopefully, the humans know what happened. I felt so alone and empty before I passed out. She pushed the button, and it made a small beep.

If this was actually happening, then the possibility I died or was crazy were gone entirely. She’d better not have done anything to screw up my life. I hadn’t been gone long enough for her to cause liver damage, but she could’ve done multiple things that were irreparable already.

The sound of footsteps was heard in the hall outside, then a female nurse appeared in the doorway. It had been some time since I had come to the county hospital, since Katherine and I stayed generally healthy, so this nurse was someone I didn’t know. She was white, with dirty blond hair, blue eyes, and had to be somewhere in her early 20’s. A stethoscope and blood pressure gauge hung from her neck, and she wore pink scrubs, with dark pink butterflies on them, which made her seem even younger. The joy at the sight of me, or at least Berry in my body, put a smile on her face.

“You’re awake! The doctor is going to be so surprised you woke up from the coma he diagnosed you with already! How are you feeling?” The nurse said, and was full of youthful energy.

“Fine. How long have I been out? Do you know what happened to me?” Berry said, and the sound of my own voice was comforting to me. Coma has to mean something bad, but if I woke up already, then maybe it isn’t life threatening.

She walked into, and took the blood pressure gauge into her hands. “Only about four hours. You just missed your sister and friend actually, but they only went down to the hospital cafeteria for something to eat. We still don’t know what happened to you yet, but you collapsed in the kitchen at your workplace. Now, I need to take your blood pressure. Are you fine with this arm?” She pointed to the left arm. “I’m Zofia by the way.”

“Yeah.” Ponyville Hospital would already know by now. These humans may have some advanced technology, but it can’t beat magic. What kind of name is Zofia anyway? Wish I had the knowledge slab.

Berry’s calmness and level-headedness were strange. The way she acted seemed more like the memory I saw than any of her recent behavior in Ponyville. She even seemed to have figured out how to use my personal tablet, which only had a fingerprint lock on it. Has she even said anything to anyone? Is she just living my life? Well, all things considered, that is probably the best outcome. I thought, then mulled over the idea of being less aggressive about getting home. I do have access to a library, and alternatives to Twilight.

Zofia finished taking my blood pressure, then hung the blood pressure gauge from her neck again. She reached into her breast pocket, and pulled out a thermometer, then applied a sanitation guard. “Say ‘Ah.’.” She said, then moved the thermometer forward.

“Ah.” Berry said, then closed her mouth after the thermometer was under the tongue.

After a few moments, the thermometer beeped continuously, and Zofia pulled it out. “The doctor will be with you soon, and I’ll tell your sister and friend you are awake pronto.” She walked out through the door and back in the direction she came from. If happiness were a treatment option, then Zofia’s attitude could probably cure cancer.

Berry’s gaze drifted to the foot of the bed, and seemed to fixate intently on the brown wall beyond. She let out a sigh, then rolled her eyes, but her gaze returned to the exact same spot as before. Her odd behavior carried on for a while, with the biggest thing being her throwing both arms up in the air, and a burst of anger, which all seemed to be directed at the empty space. It was as if a conversation was going on that I wasn’t aware of.

Is she… hallucinating? It seemed I did have something to worry about after all. At no point had anyone said she was outright crazy. Did they have too though? The alcoholism was already a sign something was wrong with her.

Berry broke eye contact with whatever she believed was there, then fell back onto the bed and continued to be angry about something. It isn’t my fault magic isn’t commonplace, or portals to other worlds only exist in stories here! I can’t just tear a hole in space to another reality like Discord! Berry’s breathing became more relaxed, and her anger receded. Sure, I could abandon Jack’s life, then go looking for magic, but I can’t destroy someone’s life like that… not like my own. The eyes grew damp, and a tear escaped to roll a cheek. Is this some kind of punishment? I’m trapped in a world I can’t escape unless I destroy someone else’s life, and even then I can’t be sure I will get home if I do.

My fears about Berry were somewhat dissuaded, but the apparent hallucination couldn’t be dismissed either. She cared about my life at the very least, so it was only right to do the same with her life. There wasn’t much to care for in Berry’s life, but I at least could not tell anyone else about Berry’s sexual orientation beyond Twilight, and apologize to Corona for the assault. The only question left was what this entire experience meant. Are Berry and I connected somehow? Probably magic…

The sound of sneakers running on linoleum broke me from my thoughts, and drew Berry’s attention to the door. Within a few moments, the owner of the sneakers was at the door, and braced one hand on the doorframe, due to the fact she was out of breath. I almost didn’t recognize her, since she had dyed her brown hair a dark red, which was something we were going to talk about soon, and it seemed Berry had just let her. Her new hair color looked alright with her green eyes and fair skin, but it made her stand out far too much in my opinion, though I didn’t expect anything to come of it at twelve years old.

Katherine. Berry and I thought, at the exact same time.

“Jack!” Katherine said, then rushed to the bed to give a tight hug.

I miss Piña. Berry thought, as she returned the hug.

Guess I’ll have to remember to repay the favor if I see Piña. Wish I knew if this was happening right now, or if it is a memory. There is no way to tell… or is there? Hope this works. I thought, then attempted to do the telepathy thing The Seven did. Berry?

Berry reacted, with widened eyes, and a quick look around the room. It had worked, and I knew this was happening now. I decided to act quickly, just in case this wasn’t permanent.

Be—

“I was so worried! The hospital called the school after you were brought in, and Rebecca picked me up. The doctor didn’t know what was wrong with you, and you wouldn’t wake up, then Rebecca talked about me staying with her. Nothing was making sense anymore, then that nice nurse told us you were awake, so I ran here in case you fell asleep again. I love you! Don’t leave me alone!” Katherine said, while not letting go of Berry. I had to listen to Katherine, but it looked like she had said all she needed to say.

“Um… it’ll be alright. I’m sure the doctor will have me on my hooves in no time.” Berry said, then her attention shot to the empty foot of the bed again.

Katherine loosened the hug, but kept both hands on Berry. “Hooves? What?”

“Feet! I… um… had ponies on my mind again!” Berry’s lie made me seem crazy, but at least it was Katherine she was saying it to and not a psychiatrist.

Berry! This is Jack! No clue how this is happening, but I can’t be sure this will not end at any moment! You should be able to communicate with me if you think toward me, though I can hear your thoughts as well, or the important ones at least. I thought, toward Berry.

Berry looked around, while Katherine eyed her with confusion. Berry seemed to understand what I had said, then stopped to apparently think, though I couldn’t hear her thoughts. The only reason I could guess as to why I couldn’t hear her thoughts now was the fact most just thought out loud in their own head, but could control what someone else heard if they were conscious of someone else.

Jack? Is that really you? Berry thought, toward me.

“Jack? What has been up with you the past four days?” Katherine said, and the number she said alarmed me.

Yes! Four days?! Have you really been in my body that long?!

Berry seemed to debate between answering Katherine or me first. “Just been overworked is all.” Yeah. Are you in my head? Please tell me you’ve been in my body in Ponyville. If magic isn’t in the equation, then we are both bucked.

“See, I told you that you work too much. Oh! That’s probably what made you collapse!” It seemed Katherine had decided to diagnose Berry’s condition.

Well, I’ve been in Ponyville, but unless I’ve been out for two days after I lost consciousness, then time is moving differently for us. Also, I’ve been having issues convincing anyone I’m not you, but I had Spike convinced the last time I saw him, so I’m hopeful things will be moving along soon. You know, if this whole me being stuck in your head isn’t permanent, but at least they know the issue.

Berry’s eyes drifted back to the same empty spot at the base of her bed, which I didn’t know what to say about. It just seemed like the best thing was not to upset her with the fact whatever she was seeing wasn’t there. How is Cor—

“Jack?” A familiar female someone said, and it wasn’t Berry or Katherine. For the third time, Berry’s attention was turned to the doorway, and it was exactly who I expected. Rebecca was dressed in her forest ranger uniform, with her black hair tied back in a ponytail, and dark brown eyes tinted behind her sunglasses. It was good to know she was there for Katherine in case something did happen to me, and the entire reason I had asked her to be Katherine’s godparent.

“Hey.” That is Rebecca, right? She has the same skin tone as Rebecca, but I can’t tell with all the clothes you humans wear, and how similar you all look.

Yes, and don’t point out she is Asian to anyone, especially her. For that matter, don’t be surprised when you see a black or brown person, then say something to them about it. I don’t want you to start a reputation of me being racist. It wouldn’t be the worst thing that could happen, but I’d rather my life was exactly how I left it.

“What took you so long? I’ve been here at least five minutes. Weren’t you worried about Jack?” Katherine said, in an accusatory way, with a finger pointed at Rebecca.

“Some of us know not to run in a hospital.” Rebecca looked at Katherine's pointed finger. “Or point at others for that matter.”

Katherine looked at what she was doing and stopped. “Sorry…”

“It’s alright.” Rebecca walked into the room and stood next to Katherine by the bed. “How are you doing?” She reached out a hand, and touched Berry on the left hand.

(0) (0)

I awoke to the feeling of being in motion, with my head and rear legs propped up. Am I… being cradle carried? My confusion led to me opening my eyes to the sight of Spike’s lower muzzle, who was looking straight ahead.

“What are you doing, Spike?” My mind was still waking up, so figuring out why anyone did anything was beyond my ability.

Spike stopped in his tracks, then looked down at me. It was somewhat surreal to see him from against his chest, and straight up at him. “Jack! You’re awake!” The wide smile on his face was unnerving, due to all of his very sharp teeth.

My eyes went wide at the sight of his terrifying smile, but I tried to keep calm. “Could you…” Not eat me?! “put me down?” My fear of Spike wasn’t going to go away anytime soon, especially with that grin bearing down upon me.

“I…” He tried to put me down, but seemed to have trouble deciding just how to do it. “Um…”

“Just lay me down…” I didn’t have time for this, and needed to discuss my options since I wasn’t sure if I should pursue Twilight anymore.

He laid me down on my side, then I reoriented myself to stand, while he went down on all four. “So what happened earlier? You were just talking, then collapsed suddenly. You aren’t a narcoleptic, are you? Pretty sure you can’t carry a condition like that between bodies, but I didn’t think an eye magic ability could be transferred either.”

“I went home…” The sudden sense of loss weighed on me, but I knew it wouldn’t be permanent. Hopefully not…

“You went home? Are you saying you were back in your world just like that? Dimensional travel isn’t that effortless, or at least it isn’t normally. What happened over there?” Spike’s interest was understandable, but I decided to choose my words carefully, just in case one of The Seven was listening.

“Well, Berry was in my body, so the fear I was a delusion of Berry’s mind, or that I might be dead are gone. I—”

“Wait, you didn’t know if you were real until now, and were worried you might be dead?” Spike’s inability to consider all possibilities would be very detrimental one day if he ever found himself trapped in another world as someone else, but at least he had me to prepare him for it.

“In the words of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, ‘Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.’. Seeing as I’m already—”

“But Surelock Homes said that in one of his books…” Spike’s interruption was able to interrupt my entire mental process, and left me speechless.

One of his? But… What? I thought I was able to accept anything, but I clearly wasn’t as free of reality as I thought. “Are you telling me this ‘Surelock Homes’ is an actual being here?” I waited with an open mouth and a raised eyebrow.

“Yes?” Spike clearly noticed something was wrong. “Don’t get too stressed over it. They are probably just parallels of each other. It happens, or at least in theory it does.”

I laughed, then I giggled, and made a wide smile. “I never gave creationism much thought until now, but with your world, I could believe it.” I calmed down a little, and tried not to think too hard about life, the universe, and everything. “Spike, I hate to ask, but could we get something to eat and drink? I need to figure out what I should do, and having someone to help me work out what those things are would help.” A spike of pain emanated from my forehead, and made me flinch, with gritted teeth.

‘Jack? Are you okay?” The worry in his voice was welcomed since it was good to know someone didn’t hate me here

“Yeah,” I held a forehoof up to my forehead. “Just a headache, or something. I’ve been having them today. You have some aspirin I could take?”

“Jack, I really think we should go find Twilight, or even take you to the hospital.” He reached forward with a hand, but I took a quick step backward to get out of his reach. “Jack?”

Damn it! What is wrong with me?! I wasn’t this skittish around him earlier! “Twilight and the hospital both couldn’t tell I am what I am. If something else happens, then we’ll do whatever you want, but I would really like to just think things out with you. Anyway, I think you should know what I said to Twilight before we talk to her.” My head began to hurt, but I didn’t let Spike notice.

“Alright…” He didn’t seem happy with it. “Come on, let’s go to the kitchen.” He turned and walked away.

I followed, but stopped after a moment. “Spike…” I had realized something.

He looked back over his shoulder. “Yes?”

The glare I gave him was one of fury, but I kept my tone leveled. “You were going to leave me in the Harmony Sphere earlier when you said you were going to go looking for my saddlebags.”

His eyes lit up with fear. He may have been a dragon, but he was also a guy, and I was currently a woman giving him the look all guys who had ever wronged a woman knew. “You know what?!” He turned his head away from. “I think we could use a good run! It’ll help digestion!” Spike said, then took off running.

“We are going to talk about this!” I said, then pursued him.

(0) (0)

The Harmony Sphere had done something to me, but it didn’t seem bad. It was like I was more open minded, and less driven toward Twilight. I wasn’t giving up on getting home, but thinking everything through more carefully. If I had to say exactly what was different about me, then it would be I felt more like myself, than when I first woke up in Ponyville.

It was nice to just stop and think things over with someone, which was made better by the fact that someone was making you a late lunch as an apology. Really, it was time for dinner, and Spike had offered, but I wanted something quick, so I could pick his brain. The subject of what I could and couldn’t eat was interesting, though I found the subject of Spike’s diet much more interesting.

“Are you kidding me? Gemstones?” I said, as I set at a crystal table in a crystal kitchen. It was a kitchen that could feed an entire castle, with multiple aisles for a team of cooks to work simultaneously in. Nearly everything was made of crystal in various shades of purple, except for the things that made sense; such as the metal cookware. The crystal appliances looked closer to modern human ones compared to Berry’s somewhat dated ones; such as the side-by-side refrigerator here and the classic top freezer model at Berry’s.

“Yes, and I don’t eat meat either,” Spike said, as he fixed me a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich, along with some slices of apples he insisted were the best in all of Equestria, though I wondered how they compared to the Harmony Sphere’s apples, or if they were the ones he was talking about.

“But you could get nutrition from it?” I watched Spike finish the sandwich, then he sliced up a red delicious apple and a golden delicious apple. My knowledge of apples was another oddity in this world, but it was a mystery that could wait.

“Yes… and so could you.” He finished with cutting the apples, then laid them alongside the PB&J on a plate. “What did you want to drink? Got orange juice, apple juice, grape juice, milk—”

“Milk?” Should I even ask?

“Alright.” Spike missed the confusion it seemed, then opened the nearby fridge, to pull out a glass milk bottle. With milk in hand, he sidestepped to a nearby cupboard to retrieve a glass, then poured the milk in. He stowed the milk back in the fridge, then brought over the simple meal. “Enjoy.” He gave me a smile, and it was thankfully a closed mouth one.

I eyed the milk. I’m going to regret this. “What kind of milk is this?”

“Cow? Do you have cows where you are from?” He raised an eyebrow at me.

“Yes… How does that business work?”

“You go down to the market and buy it from them… what are you getting at here?”

It was time to end this line of thought. Hope Berry is able to deal with everything humanity has to offer. “No reason, just checking to see if it was the same.”

“Okay… Are you sure this is enough for… thinking about abandoning you when you needed my help?” The shame he felt was punishment enough, so I didn’t see a need to make him feel any worse, and I had important things discuss. He took the chair across from my side of the rectangle table, and relaxed enough that I was comfortable talking to him.

“How would I go about contacting this Discord I keep hearing about?” My headache came back with a sharp pain, but I didn’t let Spike notice. The sandwich drew my attention, so I took it in both forehooves, then bit into it. The explosion of flavor was like nothing I had ever tasted, and my eyes went wide with delight. Sure, the McIntosh apple I had in the Harmony Sphere was tasty, but this felt so much more satisfying.

Spike noticed my elation over the simple sandwich. “Wait until you try the apples. As for Discord… he just sort of shows up out of nowhere for no reason. He does have weekly tea parties with Fluttershy, but I wouldn’t try to bother him when it comes to time with Fluttershy. Twilight has a summoning spell for him, but she is only supposed to use it in emergencies.”

I put the sandwich down, then picked up the glass of milk to take a drink. The milk was another awe-inspiring experience, and I felt invigorated after only a couple sips. The thought of what the apple slices would taste like filled my imagination, but sadly there was an important conversation to continue.

“Of course it comes back to Twilight…” My headache had ended at some point, though I hadn’t noticed during my tastes of heaven. “What about the E.P.A.? Anyone in this town from there I could contact?”

“There is this one weird stallion in town who is a researcher for them, but I don’t think he would be much help. We don’t have an E.P.A. branch in Ponyville, which I’ve always thought we could use, but Twilight, I, and our friends are able to deal with most threats anyway. We’ve only ever dealt with two agents of The Seven because of me actually…” He didn’t seem happy about that last bit.

“Why—”

“Jack, I know I don’t have a right to ask, but—”

It was like a lightbulb turned on in my head, and I instantly knew what he was going to ask. “I, Jack Taylor, Surprise Swear not to let anyone know about the fact you can hear The Seven, to the best of my ability. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a muffin in my eye.” I was pretty sure that was what he was worried about, and I found out I was right when I saw him grin at me, while I held my left forehoof over my left eye.

“Thanks. I can’t even begin to tell you how much of a relief that is to me.” Spike laid both hands down on the table, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then exhaled at the same time he opened his eyes. “The Seven haven’t gone after any of my friends or Twilight because they want me. They know if they do anything to anyone I care about then I will confess I can hear them, but if I confess without cause they promise they’ll hurt my friends.” He folded both arms, then laid his head down on its side on top of them.

There were many words I could have strung together in various ways, but there was one word in my dictionary that summed up exactly what I was feeling. It was a magic word really, with how it could mean so many different things depending on how and when it was used. It wasn’t as nice as ‘please’. ‘thanks’, and ‘welcome’, but sometimes life didn’t call for nice words. “Fuck…” I said, and debated if I should take a bite of either kind of apple slices in front of me, but a third option came to mind. “Want some apple slices?”

“No, but thanks,” Spike said, then he sat up. “Just being able to talk about this with someone is nice.”

“Do you want my opinion on your situation?” I grabbed a slice of golden delicious off my plate, then ate it. The sweetness of the apple shocked me, and made my mind speed up a notch.

“I know what you are going to say, but sure.”

“Yes, I am going to say you should just come clean, but I’m going to say more than you just should. The problem I see here is fear, and you need to get over it.”

‘Jack, it isn’t that—”

“It is a simple matter of weighing variables. You and your friends are capable in dangerous situations, aren’t you? You did say Twilight puts you through training of some sort.”

“Well, yes, but—”

“How did you do against either agent? You and your friends are still alive, so they must’ve gone somewhat decently.”

Spike stood up out of his chair on his feet, and hit the table with his hands. “Nightmare Moon and Tirek weren’t willing to kill, Jack! There are agents of The Seven out there that are willing to kill! I wouldn’t even be there for my friends! Only Twilight is likely to forgive me for keeping this from her, and that is because I don’t think she could bear to lose me, but she would still insist I go away to undergo training!”

I looked at Spike, and ate my lunch at the same time. There didn’t seem to be much to mull over, but I really wanted to eat more of the food. There seemed to be some information I was missing, but Spike would fill me in. The minutes stretched on as I ate and looked at him, while I waited for his anger to subside.

Spike sat back down in his chair, and didn’t seem to know what to do with my silence. “Are we done talking?” he said, while I drank another gulp of milk.

“Nope, I just wanted you to calm down. Spike, is being capable of murder a rare thing in your world?” Does the good guy never kill anyone here? Hate stories with heroes that aren’t willing to do what is necessary.

“Yes…” It looked like he was afraid to ask the question on his mind, but I knew what that would be.

“I come from a world without good and evil being real forces.” I finished my PB&J, while Spike mulled over what I said.

“What about order and chaos?” I could tell he was curious.

“No, they aren’t real either.”

The look on his face was one I was sure I had made when I was introduced to magic. “Are you saying you and your kind are neutral beings?”

“Unless neutral is being able to go anywhere on the spectrum of good, evil, order, or chaos at will, then we aren’t neutral either.” I savored the last few apple slices, while I tried to figure out how to get this conversation on some sort of track.

“I don’t think you understand what chaos is Jack since your kind sounds exactly like creatures of chaos.”

My food was gone, but I wouldn’t soon forget it. If that was what a quick and easy meal tastes like, then I can only imagine what a real meal would be like. “Maybe so, but we have come to the point of this divergence in the conversation. I am capable of anything, Spike. I define what is good, evil, orderly, or chaotic. I could kill if the situation called for it, but I would hesitate, to make sure it was the only option.”

“Jack! Murder is unacceptable, and you best remember that, or you’ll find yourself locked up in Tartarus! You aren’t in whatever screwed up reality you are from anymore!” Spike was seething, yet he kept himself under control. He removed himself from his chair, then took the dirty dishes to a kitchen sink nearby.

The thing that I was searching for had been reached, so I stood and walked over to Spike, who was trying his best not to look at me. “What would you have done if you had hurt me worse than you did? I noticed you blunted your claws, so I know you thought about what you did.” I drew my tongue over where Lust had healed my muzzle, and noticed an oddity I had missed. The teeth Spike’s claw dug through still carried damage from his claw, and made me wonder if my skull was also marred. Hopefully, Berry can get it fixed. Fixing teeth or bone is probably just a wave of a horn, or potion away.

Spike put the dishes in the dish rack, then turned his head toward me, with tears in his eyes. “I’m not a bad dragon, Jack.”

“No, but you aren’t a good dragon either.” I put a forehoof on his shoulder. “You know what you can be though?”

“No.” Tears rolled down his cheeks.

“A better dragon.” I took both forelegs, and wrapped them around his neck. My heart was pounding in fear from being so close to him, but I couldn’t let my own fear get in the way of this. If he was willing to just share his side of things with Twilight, then my story became believable by association.

“Tha-thanks.” He returned the hug, and my fear went into overdrive.

“Spike! End hug now!” It probably wasn’t very nice to shout in his ear, but I had to get away from him.

He quickly ended the hug, and took flight backward, which I was thankful for. The confusion returned to his face, as he looked around the kitchen and at me frantically. “What’s wrong?!”

I looked away, and was ashamed at letting my emotions get the better of me. “I’m afraid of you… I thought I could get over it quickly, but I don’t think I’m there yet.”

“Oh…” I heard the tapping of his claws touching the wood floor, which drew my attention back to him, and I saw he looked as ashamed as I felt, though I knew his shame had to be far greater than mine.

“Let’s… just go find Twilight. I still need to tell you what I said to her.”

(0) (0)

Spike took everything I told him about what I said to Twilight fairly well. The fact he had the idea that The Seven had been able to manipulate me helped greatly, though I still wasn’t entirely sure about that since my anger had been a problem after I woke up this morning. We stood outside Twilight’s room, while Spike formulated what he was going to say to Twilight, and if he was as good at lying as he was at keeping secrets, then I was practically home already.

“Just… don’t say anything unless I tell you to.” Spike said, quietly.

“Alright, but this would be easier if you just stopped keeping that secret, though I intend to keep to my Surprise Swear,” I said, and matched his volume.

Spike opened the door, and we walked inside. To say Twilight’s room was sparse was an understatement since the room was practically barren. The purple and blue crystal walls had various picture frames and banners hung on them, with a mirror above a small bookcase, while drawn curtains covered the windows. Twilight’s bed and an end table were the only other furniture on the polished glacier blue crystal floor.

Twilight’s four poster bed was a sight, with the mound of mainly purple crystal shaped into a crude tree, which I would be afraid to sleep under, with all that weight. Laying on top of the bed covers was Twilight, with her back to the door, while her ears stood up at attention to our entrance.

“Spike, I am fine, and do not need cheering up from whoever you brought with you. Thank you for coming, and goodbye.” Twilight said, while she kept her back to us, and sounded emotionally distraught.

“Twilight,” Spike looked at me, then back to Twilight. “turn around. We need to talk.”

She began to roll over. “Please just go a—” Her eyes focused on me. The look of surprise on her face was quickly replaced with one of anger, then she stood up quickly on her bed, with unfurled wings, and began to charge her horn.

“Twilight!” Spike stepped in front of me, and extended his wings as well. “No magic! We talk this out like adults!”

Her horned stopped charging, then she jumped off her bed onto the floor. “What is she doing here?! How could you tell her how my memories affect you?! Not even our friends know that about you! You said you forgave me!” Her eyes were tearing up.

“She is here because she is telling the truth! She really is an outsider! All that she was able to tell you about the memories is because she really can look into other’s eyes and relive their memories!”

Will Katherine and I yell this much when she is older? She is a pretty low maintenance kid right now, but the teenage years are coming.

Twilight pointed a forehoof toward us, though I couldn’t tell if it was meant for me, Spike, or both of us. “Why are you playing along with her?! I scanned her from head to tail and didn’t find a single anomaly! She could not even do that eye magic claim when I challenged her!”

Spike turned his head to me. “Why couldn’t you do it with her?”

“Magic reserves were too low, or at least that was what—” I caught myself before I brought up Envy. “Was what I think it was.”

“You know she was low on magic. She couldn’t do it because she didn’t have enough magic to do it.”

“Oh really?” I could tell she wasn’t believing what he said. “Well, if that is true, then step out of the way, so I can fix that problem.”

“You promise not to teleport her away, or do anything else like that to her?”

“Yes, now move out of the way.”

Spike did as she asked, which allowed her a clear line of sight on me. Twilight’s horn glowed again, and a beam of light shot out of it. The beam hit me in the chest, but I wasn’t sure what it was supposed to be doing other than lightly pressing into my chest.

“Um…” My head began to hurt.

“Stop resisting!” The beam intensified, and began to tingle on my chest.

“I’m not—” My head throbbed with pain,

Twilight’s took on an angry expression. “Argh!” The beam went bright.

I gasped in pain, both from a headache that felt like it was going to split my head in two, and the beam that was like a laser burning into my chest.

“Twilight!” Spike jumped in front of the beam, which didn’t seem to faze him at all, and I swore he glowed slightly.

My attention was on my chest where the coat hairs were singed. It had felt like she was burning a hole straight through me, but I was relatively fine aside from tenderness from when I touched the spot. My headache on the other hoof unrelentingly assaulted me with its pain.

“It is her fault! She was resisting the magic transfer! Not having enough magic to do something is the only excuse she has for her lie, so she refuses to take the magic that would disprove her claim! I do not know why you are helping with this lie, but I frankly do not care!”

“Twilight! She is telling the truth about being an outsider! I know because… because—”

“If you read my mind, and find I’m not an outsider, then I Surprise Swear to leave Ponyville and never come back.” I moved forward past Spike, who was looking at me. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a muffin in my eye.” I held my left forehoof over my left eye, and waited for Twilight’s reaction, while my headache strangely stopped instantly.

“Fine, I was already going to bring up banishing you from Ponyville at the next town meeting anyway.” Twilight conjured a quill and piece of parchment, then began to write something down.

“Twilight, you know you don’t need to do that.” It seemed Spike knew what she was doing.

“I am not being the princess that invades other’s minds. If I do it, then I do it by the book.” She finished writing whatever it was she was writing, then rolled up the parchment, and tied it with a string. “Rainbow’s concert is tonight anyway, and I am not missing it because of Berry.” The parchment disappeared in a flash, then she looked at me. “Be back here in the library at noon tomorrow.”

I looked her in the eyes, and barely felt the presence of my ability. “Understood.” With any luck, I would regain enough magic to use my ability by tomorrow.

Twilight’s horn glowed, and a pair of curtains covering a window were pulled open, then the large crystal shutters opened outward. With a flap of her wing she was airborne, then she shot out of the room through the open window, and disappeared from sight.

“I tried my best…” Spike said, and I turned to him. “Sorry.”

“You did a great job. Thanks.” I gave him a smile, and hoped he wouldn’t return it with a sharp-toothed one.

“What… happened with that magical transfusion anyway? You weren’t actually resisting were you?”

“No clue, but it gave me a horrible headache.”

“A headache? That is a weird reaction to a magical transfusion. Might be a side effect of your spirit’s bond with Berry’s body…”

“Spirit? The soul is an actual… Of course it is. Forget I said anything.”

“Do… you want to stay here at the castle tonight? We have plenty of room.”

It would be nice to be that close to Twilight, but I had a feeling she wouldn’t like it. “I better head back to Berry’s.” Surprise! I forgot I asked her to clear out Berry’s kitchen alcohol! She has the keys too… “Actually, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get in. I loaned the keys to Surprise. Will the offer still stand later?”

“Surprise? Why… I’m not even going to ask. Yes, just don’t come back too late. I had better go to Rainbow’s concert as well. Will you be fine finding your way out of the castle on your own?”

“Probably, unless your castle decides to run me in circles again, but I doubt it’ll do that this time.”

“Alright, see you tomorrow, and… thanks for not making me tell Twilight about The Seven.”

“You’re welcome,” I gave him a serious look. “but tell your friends soon. You shouldn’t live your life in terror of… insignificant forces such as The Seven.”

His fin-like ears drooped. “Jack, you really shouldn’t taunt them. They are responsible for the worst monsters in history.”

I turned, and walked away. “I’ll start taking them seriously when they bear their claws.” I stopped in the doorway, and realized how Spike might take that, then looked back at him. “No offense.”

“What—” He stopped, as if interrupted, then looked down at his clawed hands. “Oh…”

Which one of them is in your head? Are you sure they aren’t able to affect you too? I had many questions for Spike, but they were all ones about the very thing he didn’t want to acknowledge, so I decided to go with something simple. “Good night and good luck,” I said, and left Spike to deal with his own problems. Getting home is all that matters.

With any luck, I would be on my way home by tomorrow afternoon, but I knew that was being optimistic.

Author's Note:

Proofreaders/Pre-Readers:
Busstop

Decided to just release this. Thought my story might be going too slow, but I guess I'll continue with how it's going. Next chapter diverts from the story a little, but it'll have important things happen, since whatever I write has some significance at some point, even if it doesn't seem like it.

Last Grammar Update: 2016-10-05

Comments

[wlam]

Don’t ask me how it works, since Twilight couldn’t figure it out, beyond theorizing it as some sort of quantum entanglement communication.

Personally, I recommend keeping the science-babble out of the magic. It just ends up sounding silly to anyone who has the slightest understanding of a subject. Quantum entanglement doesn't work anything like that, for example.

Overwear seemed like a very silly thing to me now

It seems like a very silly thing to me also. Then again, I was raised nudist.

Magic was something I had finally accepted entirely, and didn’t feel like magic could ever surprise me again, since I knew anything could happen at any time.

You know, personally, I think this is what being Discord must be like. He has this weird form of reverse enlightenment. Since nothing makes sense anyway, he can do anything. After all, why shouldn't he?

Also, Twilight is being kind of an arbitrarily sceptical ass there. Why would Spike of all people lie to her about something like this? Rather hateful for a princess of friendship.

[Canary In The Coal Mine]

I'm not really sure what I can say about this. The divergent things about the world from canon makes it weird if not impossible to really predict anything.

Twilight is being a major bitch about everything, and there is no guarantee that she will A) discover the truth, ever, and if Berry and Jack swapped positions back, it'll be Berry's life ruined as she is banished from town. Or B) even if she did discover the truth, she'll be apologetic, or even helpful, at all. Her characterization in this story makes it hard to feel any sympathy for her, or most other ponies for that matter. But Twilight gets special attention here for how much she is resisting.

On a related note, I help but wonder if all of Berry's problems are with her own fault or if she routinely switches with other beings, who leave her to face the music.

It's a damn shame in that regard, Jack has absolutely not done her any favors. If Jack got everything he wanted, it would just make Berry's life much worse at the moment. He has to do damage control.

The Harmony Sphere seems like a very scary and disturbing place. The ease of which people's minds are messed with in this story is frankly disturbing, especially since it's considered a 'good' force, though that may be more from the nature of Jack, being so easily manipulated by fundamental forces. As he said, he can be anything. That isn't a good thing if you can also be influenced to be anything so easily.

Surprises' promise having power beyond guilt... is an amazing concept. I never considered that before for Pinkie Promises.

[wlam]

7246774

The ease of which people's minds are messed with in this story is frankly disturbing, especially since it's considered a 'good' force, though that may be more from the nature of Jack, being so easily manipulated by fundamental forces. As he said, he can be anything. That isn't a good thing if you can also be influenced to be anything so easily.

It's actually perfectly internally consistent. Harmony is categorically an absence of conflict and dissonance. Freedom of choice is by definition not something it values for its own sake. If harmony for its own sake is considered good, then enforcing it is both compatible with this and in fact desirable.

I'm kind of amused that Spike went to the idea of chaos from what Jack said. Humans don't just become anything spontaneously, they can just choose to be. Volition is the natural opposite of chaos. It's an imposition of structured cause and effect.

[Snakeskin Ducttape]

7246774 Maybe, but that relation with Corona didn't seem very healthy, and he seems to be well on his way in making Spike into a much needed ally.

7246764

Then again, I was raised nudist.

Like an undead hippie

[wlam]

7246915
It's an East German thing. Nude sports were a big part of popular culture before the wall fell.

[Snakeskin Ducttape]

7246922 I had a toaster from West Germany once

Anyway, it was a pun. Hopefully not a too stretched one.

[wlam]

7246925
Ooh. I thought it was a joke about my user picture. I'm actually not quite sure what that is. It might be dead.

[Queuefka Palazzo]

I like this version of Spike. He's an interesting character.

[Fickle Wood]

7246764

Personally, I recommend keeping the science-babble out of the magic. It just ends up sounding silly to anyone who has the slightest understanding of a subject. Quantum entanglement doesn't work anything like that, for example.

Noted. Feedback like this is one of the good things about not having written all these chapters ahead of time offers... kinda wish I could deliver chapters on a regular basis though.

You know, personally, I think this is what being Discord must be like. He has this weird form of reverse enlightenment. Since nothing makes sense anyway, he can do anything. After all, why shouldn't he?

Discord is going to be fun to write.

Also, Twilight is being kind of an arbitrarily sceptical ass there. Why would Spike of all people lie to her about something like this? Rather hateful for a princess of friendship.

Going with her being too angry at Spike to rationalize that.

7246774

I'm not really sure what I can say about this. The divergent things about the world from canon makes it weird if not impossible to really predict anything.

Sounds about right. It's a very chaotic story, but it does have its plot points developing in there somewhere.

Twilight is being a major bitch about everything, and there is no guarantee that she will A) discover the truth, ever, and if Berry and Jack swapped positions back, it'll be Berry's life ruined as she is banished from town. Or B) even if she did discover the truth, she'll be apologetic, or even helpful, at all. Her characterization in this story makes it hard to feel any sympathy for her, or most other ponies for that matter. But Twilight gets special attention here for how much she is resisting.

I hope I'll be able to end that trend with Twilight soon.

On a related note, I help but wonder if all of Berry's problems are with her own fault or if she routinely switches with other beings, who leave her to face the music.

Sounds like a prompt for a comedy, that is heavy in crossovers. Sadly, I'm not one for such a thing, though someday I plan to delve into a story idea I have written the first chapter to, which is a Rom/Com, and entirely unlike this story in every single way.

It's a damn shame in that regard, Jack has absolutely not done her any favors. If Jack got everything he wanted, it would just make Berry's life much worse at the moment. He has to do damage control.

He'll be doing some damage control, partly out of respect, and the other part out of necessity.

The Harmony Sphere seems like a very scary and disturbing place. The ease of which people's minds are messed with in this story is frankly disturbing, especially since it's considered a 'good' force, though that may be more from the nature of Jack, being so easily manipulated by fundamental forces. As he said, he can be anything. That isn't a good thing if you can also be influenced to be anything so easily.

Never has a pawn been so important.

Surprises' promise having power beyond guilt... is an amazing concept. I never considered that before for Pinkie Promises.

Surprise surprisingly has surprises left to surprise with. Maybe someday I'll do a crossover with a MLP:FiM universe, that follows every single piece of canon I can put together, then I can introduce Pinkie Pie to Surprise, alongside every other Mane 6 meeting their counterpart. Of course, all that is just an idea without any thought put into it, but it would be a nice springboard for that one Rom/Com I have a vague idea for, since it would take place in the very canon Equestria..

7247773
Spike is a pretty blank slate really, so I looked at him as a character I could accomplish a lot with.

[NightmareKnight]

This story is weird. Like... existential crisis type weird. Jeez. I enjoy reading it, but god damn does it confuse me.

[Fickle Wood]

7251313 Yep, that's my story. I set out to do my own thing, and this is what happened.

[VampireVinyl]

I cannot wait for more!!

[Fickle Wood]

7267110 I'm working on it.

[Fickle Wood]

I am failing so hard at writing the next chapter.

[Snakeskin Ducttape]

7350975 No you're not, I've seen it. There are words and everything!

[Fickle Wood]

7351269 I'm just frustrated with myself. Feel like I should have chapter seven in the bag by now, and be working on chapter eight. Still, it is better than releasing a sub-par chapter.

[Snakeskin Ducttape]

7352115 Well, writing is a pretty volatile art.

[lllWarHawklll]

I'm baffled at how this isn't more popular than it currently is, because this story is amazingly good.

And I rarely give out comments like these because I'm generally bad with conveying my feelings/complimenting stories through words.

You actually made me want to comment.

Looking forward to future updates!

[Fickle Wood]

7360799 Thanks.

I'd say the major detriments to my story gaining any popularity would be both the sex and dark tags, but those are there appropriately. There is also my lack of constant updates. Still, I don't really care that much for popularity, and your comment is all I need.

I'm working on the next chapter, but my lack of writing experience constantly throws curve-balls at me. Thankfully I have Busstop to help me out.

[Snakeskin Ducttape]

7360993

Thankfully I have Busstop to help me out.

Thanks, though I'm not very experienced myself

I just like to think I have a pretty good idea of the objective of writing

[VcSaJen]

So. "Terra" and pony world are parallel to each other, with each year on pony world taking 2 years on human world. Therefore, Manhattan Attack is two times far away than Manehattan Attack is (first on previous generations and second on current generation).
Piña Colada and Katherine are somehow connected to each other; they either are somehow able to communicate with each other, or view each other's memories, or both. Piña Colada drawing "nice monsters" and Katherine recoloring her hair to Piña's color.
Wrath disturbed plans of Greed, his motivations unknown. I would presume situation was more complicated than just trying to prevent Greed from gaining more power than other sins. And our hero was more influenced by silent Wrath before Surprise Promise, even before he got powers of Spike (or he is Wrath? Dun-dun-dun!).
And on top of it, Harmony powers are trying nudge him into becoming Spike's coltfriend outside Sphere, and outright force it inside Harmony Sphere.
I wonder if he can talk to animals now (would be cool), or FS "manually" learned all animal languages.

The thing I'm not sure about, is how he knew that Twilight's parents also died? It could be that he just guessed it logically, based on other memories, but throwing it around while not being sure seems strange.

[honeyhoneyhoney]

This is a good chapter.