Chapter 7 : The Epic Marathon
Twilight felt herself awaken from the dream and began flailing on instinct.
I can't breathe, I can't breathe! Twilight's thoughts continued over and over again. She began to scrabble at her face with both of her topmost limbs as she finally woke up.
A thick, squishy object began to fight against her strange human hands as she wrestled it off from covering her face. The sound of a cat yowling made her jump as she continued to gain lucidity.
Twilight stared around the midnight dark room with wide eyes. Loud, deep breaths escaped her as she tried to gain her bearings. "Hah-ah, dream," she swallowed hard, trying as hard as she could to calm the shaking she noticed in her limbs. "It was... all just a nightmare. Just a..." A sniff escaped her while her hand went up to cover her mouth. "Spike, are you still asleep?"
The silence that answered her was deafening.
After a moment, Twilight curled up and hugged her strange legs to herself, much like when she had first arrived here on... Earth. A name for the entire world. It was an absent thought, welcome for the distraction it offered, which was brief. Her mind wandered back to her friends quickly, the sensation of tears running down her face made colder and more noticeable by the lack of her coat.
While sitting there, Twilight noticed that two other cats were also sharing the bed with her. The bedroom door was pushed open, they must have come in and taken up roost with her for the night, including the one that had decided to sleep on her face of all places... I guess Jo is right, human animals are different.
Twilight reached out and scratched the head of the closest cat, a striped feline with a white tummy. With sadness in her voice, she questioned it. "You can't understand me, can you?"
The cat chirped a meow and rubbed the pony turned human's hand vigorously with its head.
Well, that doesn't tell me anything. If only I could speak with animals like Fluttershy, I could run some tests. Twilight took in a shuddering breath and swung her legs over the side of the bed. I'll investigate that later. Right now, I don't want to be anywhere near a bed. The idea of sleeping anymore... unsettled her. Her legs slid and slid off the side of the ridiculously tall, human sleeping arrangement, until finally her feet hit the cold hardwood floor. It was a small thing, but she sorely missed the sound and feeling her hooves would make from touching such a surface. Gah, it's cold! Not to mention she didn't appreciate the added sensitivity she was now victim to.
One of Twilight's hands scrubbed at her face while she clumsily walked along the wall, using anything she could for support. She didn't really know where she was going, walking and moving just helped right now. A hiccup escaped her when the image of her friends' smiling faces appeared in her mind's eye again. Not the distant, creepy smiles they had worn in the dream, but a memory of hers.
The days and nights spent with her friends, the adventures they had undertaken together, the simple joys of friendship they had shared... She couldn't imagine losing that, couldn't even fathom what she would do if they were lost to her. I'll always have books, and studying... but nothing can replace them. Her footsteps stopped when she heard the faint sound of music. There was also light coming from the top of the house's staircase.
Twilight looked up at it, just looking, for several minutes.
The light was different than any she had seen in Equestria. It wasn't the warm glow of fireflies, nor the pristine, bright light of magic. It was something a little different.
Finally, Twilight began moving up the stairs, not entirely sure of what she was doing. It was a little difficult walking on her own, much less up the steep staircase. Luckily though, it had railings, which made climbing them a little easier, and doable for her shaky legs. In just a few moments, the top of the staircase came into view.
Twilight looked to the source of light, a partially cracked door at the other end of the hall. Likely, it was Jo's bedroom.
The lost mare took her time going down the hallway, mostly just curious to investigate the midnight noises. I wonder why Jo's still awake, did she say she was staying up? I guess she could be studying or something. It made sense, she would be doing that, after all.
Upon reaching the end of the hall, she heard Jo's voice. Surprisingly enough the strange human was more than just awake, she was laughing and unmistakably talking to someone, too.
I suppose that rules out studying... Twilight thought calculatingly. Who else could be here at this hour though? She was quite sure it was still somewhere around midnight.
Twilight held back from knocking, thinking things over. There is apparently nothing to distinguish me from being just another human, so I suppose I needn't worry about showing myself in there, despite what Jo said about other humans... Although, Jo hadn't insinuated that being a pony wasn't a problem, either, not really. Still, humans probably eat ponies. I can't imagine how they feed eight billion meat-eaters, but it can't be easy... She shuddered at the thought, and cringed from the reminder of her dream, then held a thoughtful hand up to her chin slowly. Then again, she did say they can choose to not eat meat, even if it isn't very healthy. Perhaps most of them subside off of hay and oats or something more normal?
A big, exasperated sigh escaped Twilight's lips, and she wiped her slowly drying cheeks one last time with a hand. Just go in Twilight, you aren't going back to bed and you know it. That much, her thoughts were clear on. She had never had a nightmare... like the one she had just lived through, before. Or at all really; that's what it was, her first nightmare.
Hesitantly, Twilight knocked on her host's bedroom door, seeing as she was obviously not asleep. She didn't want to interrupt Jo or her friends, but she didn't want to be alone either.
The music in the room stopped a moment later. Then came Jo's voice. "Twilight? That you?"
Taking in another breath first, Twilight's nerves making everything difficult at the moment, she responded. "Y-yes, I, uhm, hope I'm not interrupting anything. I just... couldn't sleep any longer and then heard you were awake and I- Could I come in?"
The sound of Jo getting up came next. "Yeah, sure thing Twilight. Hey guys hold up a minute alright? Take ten."
The sound of footsteps coming towards the door gave Twilight a little time to think about what Jo had said. Guys? As in stallions? And more than one? She blinked confusedly for a moment and listened as the other voices began chattering excitedly once more. Twilight thought she heard them say her name to one another. Why on Equestria would Jo be having a slumber party with a bunch of boys?
"So, what's up." The door opened a moment later, filling the darkened hallway with more light. "Anything wro- TWILIGHT! Would you put on some clothes? You can't walk around naked like that, even indoors, geez." Jo reeled back from the door and laid a hand over her face almost instantly.
Twilight's eyes—still sad from her rough night—widened a little and looked down at her lack of clothing in surprise. "Oh, right, human social taboos. Sorry Jo, I forgot... I'm- What are they talking about?"
In the background, the sound of the strangers' voices had exploded into laughing and talking.
"Pics or it didn't happen!"
"I KNEW IT! She's a lesbian!"
"Yolo Jo, YOLO!"
Curious, Twilight poked her head into the room; Jo still had her eyes covered. Strangely enough to her, there was no one there. The room was a bit odd, glowing lights and more strange human's devices sat on every available surface. The source of the sound seemed to be something similar to the 'laptop', but larger.
Suddenly, another set of clothing was shoved into Twilight's arms. She became aware that Jo had been shouting at the mystery voices. Oh wow, those aren't recordings! Is she friends with ghosts?
"Go put that on. Guys, I'm only going to say it one more time. Shut up!" Twilight looked from the clothes to Jo with a bewildered expression. Oddly enough, the other girl's face was beet red.
While the purple haired girl left to dress, Jo settled matters with her clan. "Alright scrub-lords, I'm calling it a night. If any of you ever mention this again I'm team killing you into oblivion, got it?"
Amidst the various plethora of responses Jo caught 'You get 'im tiger!' and she closed the voice chat. Groaning, she pressed her palms into her eyes.
In the hallway, Twilight tried to listen to the strange banter and voices coming from the room. Huh, they seem friendly, a bit like Rainbow Dash's 'sports buddies'. They certainly weren't playing sports in there though.
Dressed reasonably enough for Jo—she hoped—Twilight walked into the room where her friend was shouting back at the machine on her desk. The noise coming from it cut off abruptly. "So who was that? Your friends?" She asked with a curious tone. "Long distance communication of some sort?" The desk was filled with interesting looking gadgets, but she ignored those and leaned forward, almost pressing her face to the computer's screen.
"Yeah, sort of—Twilight get away from the screen. I'm just playing video games with some friends." Jo sat down at the other end of the room on her bed, which was a couch, and relaxed fully. "You alright?"
Twilight stood upright and her eyes widened, she moved quick enough that she almost fell. "Alrigh-T!? Hem, y-yes, I'm fine." She gave what she hoped was her best convincing smile to her host.
"Well alright, your eyes are bloodshot is all, that's why I asked." Jo sighed leaned over onto her hand, which rested on the shoulder of the couch. "...Did you get any sleep?"
"Yes..." Twilight unsteadily finished navigating her way across the room and fell back on the couch with a loud pomph.
An awkward silence entered the room for a moment. Both girls were aware they were still new to interacting and being friendly to one another. On top that, they lacked the momentum the questions had given their conversations earlier. Jo could sense there was a very distinct uneasiness in Twilight, and Twilight could sense that Jo wasn't as comfortable with being around her as her friends back home were.
"I had a nightmare." Twilight said simply, then quickly added, "I- I'm sorry, I can go." She moved her eyes to the floor and began to get back up. Maybe I should have stayed downstairs, it was selfish of me to come up here and try to lean on her-
"Hey Twilight," Jo answered, grabbing Twilight's attention. "If you need to talk about anything feel free. I'm not Pinkie Pie or Applejack, or even Rainbow Dash, I guess." She couldn't keep the chuckle out of her voice as she said the names, but they brought what was hopefully a helpful smile to her face too. "I don't mind filling in though." She looked over briefly at the other girl while scratching the side of her head nonchalantly.
A little bit of emotion welled up inside of Twilight, then a lot did. "I- Heh, y-yeah, true. S-still, you're at least on par with Rainbow Dash." She had to sniff loudly before continuing. "Dashie's pretty lousy when it comes to being sensitive t-too."
It was a low blow, and a good joke, but Jo picked up on Twilight's fight to hold back putting on the water works. So, when the other girl fell into her hands to cry, Jo didn't say anything to interrupt her. Sometimes you just need to. She patted a hand on Twilight's back, deciding not to say anything. The other girl reacted to her hand by falling over into her lap. Sigh. Her thoughts said aloud to herself. At a loss for what to do, she just rode it out, a sad look on her face, mimicking the emotions of her new tenant.
"I-I just miss them, so much." Twilight managed to get out. "What if I never see them again, Jo? You've already told me there's no way back. Humans don't e-e-even control the weather."
Unable to sit still for long, Jo managed to grab a box of tissues from nearby the couch. She stayed silent still, but combed the other girl's hair back once.
Twilight looked up when a hand tapped her shoulder, and spotted another one of the thin paper napkins she had used earlier. "Oh, thanks." She murmured, took the napkin, and tried to dry her face. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry it- It was just a bad dream. I'm fine." After a deep breath she managed to compose herself some. And now I have a headache...
"It's okay, Twi'." Jo said simply, watching her strange new friend with a distant look. It had felt silly to basically hold another grown woman who was in tears, at least to her. No one's ever really cried around me. The thought helped nudge forward the initiative to try and do something to actively help. Yeah, but what? "So, how old are you?" She blinked at the bluntness of the question, how off topic it was, and the fact that it might be seen as rude, too. Smooth. It had seemed like a good idea though, working off her curiosity.
"Twenty years, or winters if you prefer. Do humans even use years... Why?" Twilight looked up expectantly, thankful for the change of subject.
Jo quirked an eyebrow to the ground when Twilight said 'winters'. "Twenty? Huh, I'm twenty five, in case you ever wonder about it. Neat, I dunno, just wondering I suppose. Yeah, we use years. Anyway, I used to watch... well, a representation of you with my cousins, friends and nieces. It's a bit like having a celebrity in my own home. So I'm just curious about you in general..." What she was saying was starting to sound stupid, even to herself, especially to herself. Dangit, I'm no good at- She was taken aback when Twilight replied to her as soon as she began to trail off.
"Could I see them?" Twilight asked quickly.
"What? See who?" Jo turned to face her, then realization spread across her face. "Them- The show? You want to watch the Friendship is Magic series?" Sure, why not. Watch Lesson Zero first, she'll love that. Her mind thought sarcastically to itself.
Twilight answered back timidly. Her arms moved to hold one another, her eyes staring off towards the far wall. "I... I just want to see them, my friends, if- pictures would be fine I guess, if you can't play the show-"
Jo shook her head and waved off the other girl's early surrender. "Twilight, if you need to see them then I'd be happy to show the series to you." She gave her a smile before getting up and moving to turn on her big screen TV. "Let's make a quick deal though, if I show you this, you'll cheer up and laugh at all the jokes we humans have put together in this thing."
Twilight perked up as if on cue. She looked over and nodded happily to the human, "Deal." Her smile was pitiful compared to Jo's, but it suddenly became a massive grin a moment after she spoke. "Ooooh! Ohohoh! Slumber party, we're having a slumber party, this is going to be ssso great!" A slightly worried look appeared on her face, mimicked by Jo who already wasn't keen on the sound of things. "Oh no, but we'll need to do everything on the checklist! But I don't have the checklist... What was it again? Scary stories, truth or dare and... Hm, what else was there?"
Jo glanced back from setting up the UHDMI to her desktop and deadpanned at the younger woman. "Seriously?" Her face had become serious in ten microseconds flat. "Alright, yeah, sure." She shook her head and fought the urge to oppose the girly enthusiasm she was being faced with. I don't believe it, she's practically an adult and she's actually like... that. She counted herself lucky that her desire to gag wasn't too strong she couldn't fight it.
"Well, it is a slumber party!" Twilight sobered up a little, still affected by her earlier situation, but also making a concerted effort to cheer up now. "Don't tell me you've never had a slumber party before?" She tilted her head questioningly, still smiling.
"Of course I've-" Jo paused for a moment. I've been to lots of parties and slept at other people's homes... I never had a slumber party though. Don't just kids have those? Even being generous with the definition, she couldn't really come up with a time when she had just invited friends, girls or guys, over to have what one might call a slumber party. She must have kept silent too long, staring in thought at the door, because Twilight audibly gasped and held a hand to her mouth.
"You've never had a slumber party!?" Twilight's face was aghast with surprise. "But you're twenty five! Well, I had my first at eighteen. I mean, sure I guess some ponies never have one but... oh." She grimaced a little at realizing once again where she was.
Jo stepped out into the hall, but stopped to pick up what she detected as a mood breaker. "No, I've never had a slumber party before Twi'. I don't mind having a small one with you, either. No makeovers though." And with that, she ducked out and went to get herself something stiff to drink, as well as snacks, she supposed.
Twilight—despite already having reminded herself of home yet again—was... cheering up, somehow. She smiled and yelled after the retreating human. "Pinkie would lose her mind if she knew Jo! It was bad when she found out I had one without her, so it's best you get yours out of the way while you still have an excuse to!" Twilight smiled warmly and sighed. "Well, humans have slumber parties too, so I guess they're alright in my book." She giggled at having managed a joke. I wonder what kind of snacks humans have... Her face paled a little at the line of thought.
Twilight was more than a little relieved that her fears revealed themselves to be unfounded, as Jo walked into the room with two bowls, and some drinks. The bowls held popcorn and potato chips respectfully, and not... the other thing. Annoyingly enough, Jo wouldn't share the drink she had with her though, something she had called 'liquor'.
"So why can't I have any, exactly?" Twilight leaned over and asked, looking at the interesting bottle. Anything with a design that intricate must be delicious.
Jo sighed back at her and responded. "Two reasons, you don't know what it is, one, and two, you're technically underage..."
Twilight frowned. "Underage? Underage for what?" She didn't understand why something would have an age requirement.
"For drinking alcohol!" Jo looked back at Twi' for a moment, then fixated again on starting the show.
"Alco- Jo! Alcohol's a poison, you can't drink that!" Twilight's eyes bulged at the very thought, and jumped up from the couch. "That stuff could kill you, it's an antiseptic! Not... or, is it actually normal for humans to drink it?" Her mouth twisted in a half confused, half disgusted look at the idea.
Jo snorted a laugh and walked casually back to the couch. "Yeah, we drink it. It's only a little bad for us though, the mixture's diluted. Come on, let's just watch the... your, I mean, show, Twilight." She smiled, gesturing to the television.
Twilight smiled weakly back at Jo's warm expression, the human hadn't worn one quite like it since she had met her... Well, she's right, I'll hold off on trying to acclimate to humans untiiii- Oh wow.
The opening to episode one, season one of My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic had begun to play.
Jo took a handful of popcorn and curled up her legs onto the couch while she watched. Beside her, Twilight's eyes were widened to their fullest. The day before (as it was past midnight now) she had seen a few pictures of herself and her friends that looked like simple, but uncanny representations of her and her friends. The six vibrant art pieces had been interesting, but they were nothing like the full moving pictures she saw now. These were like the ones of the stars and planet that Jo had shown her, moving, but also bright and colorful...
"That's... Princess Celestia's voice." Twilight's mouth turned up at its corners while the tale of the two sisters played.
Celestia really sounds like that? Guess I can rule out the Molestia theory then, sorry internet. Jo smirked, then watched her friend a moment, afraid that she might burst into crocodile tears again. Oh, I'll get to find out if Gummy's real. She rather liked how odd and out of place Gummy was. She stopped the thoughts short, feeling a little guilty. It was a bit shameful to admit it to herself, but she looked forward to seeing what Twilight thought of the show. Frowning a little, she looked back at the TV. Just keep quiet Jo, enjoy the show. An angry look replaced the guilty one for a split second. When did I become such a crazy cat lady? I'm talking to myself again...
Twilight's voice grabbed Jo's attention. "You said this was made for little fillies, right Jo?"
Jo responded without looking up from show's prologue. "Yep, oh, try not to take it too seriously, it is just a cartoon, not a documentary." She felt a pang of worry, remembering how critical and... obsessive Twilight could get in the show, and even more in the fandom.
"Okay, I can look over a few inconsistencies and errors then." Twilight smiled and demurely folded her hands in front of herself.
Jo peeked out of the corner of her eye, expecting more, then looked back at the show. Huh, maybe this won't be so bad after a-
Twilight abruptly interrupted Jo's self-assurances. "I mean, it's not such a big deal that the princess just said that Luna was only upset over her night being overlooked, ignoring the fact that it extended well beyond that and into the sister's personal lives, as well as-"
"Twilight, please just- TWILIGHT! Watch. The show." Jo stared exasperated across the couch while the other girl smiled sheepishly back at her.
"Sorry..." Twilight apologized, shifting her embarrassed expression back to the TV.
Both women quieted down and attentively watched the show, enraptured both by new fascination and old reverence... for five seconds.
"Wha-" Twilight began to burst out. "That's not my voice! I don't sound like that, Jo. I don't sound like that, why is my voice wrong?" The unicorn turned human looked aghast at her cartoon self as the cartoon imposter read aloud about the Elements of Harmony.
My Little Ponyyy! My Little pooonyy!
"Twilight," Jo did her best to speak over the distracting intro song. "It's just a show, and I hate to break it to you, that is exactly what you sound like."
Until you all shared its magic with me!
"No it isn't!" Twilight became rigid, eyes wide. "My voice is way... way... smoother than that, and not so nasally. And younger!"
Tons of fun! A beautiful heart. Faithful and Strong!
"Nasally!? Did you really just call Tara Strong 'nasally?'" Jo was smiling and laughing as she said the incredulous words. "Ah, wow. This is so incredibly weird, I keep expecting to hear the inception sound."
You know you are my very beeest friiieends.
"What's Incep- Aw, Jo, I missed the song, it sounded nice." Twilight's expression became crestfallen.
"It's just the intro Twi' You'll be sick of it after two episodes, trust..." Jo ceased speaking, because Twilight already looked as though she were a hundred miles... kilometers away. "Me... heh."
Twilight's eyes were glued to the screen, enraptured by the fascinating depiction of herself moving and talking—although that definitely wasn't her voice—in real time art form. Who's Moondancer? I don't think I remember that teal unicorn either... or any of these ponies, actually. Who are they? She was too entranced to ask the questions aloud, and was curious to see more. Oh wow, that's uncanny. I was way more interested in books than friends back the- Oh no, Spike! A grin sprang onto her face at seeing her number one assistant get bowled over by her fantasy-self, which was followed closely by a happy sigh at simply seeing him.
Next, Twilight gasped when Spike fell off of a ladder, or rather, she pulled him off of it. A nervous smile appeared when she saw it was only comical, and he was fine. Thirty seconds later she gasped again when the poor dragon lost his own balance and fell off of another ladder, then let out a breath of relief when he landed safely onto her own back. Or rather, cartoon Twilight. I'm not sure if I can get used to seeing myself like that.
Jo sat contentedly as peace reigned in her bedroom except for the relatively calm sound of MLP : FiM playing. She poured herself a drink in the peace and settled into watching and relieving some quaint old memories. Peeking from time to time, she looked briefly at Twilight. Jo could readily tell that watching the show had been just the ticket for cheering up the misplaced unicorn. Her face was bright and captivated, obviously eager to hear and see everything that-
"Wait, okay," Twilight interrupted the show, speaking over it. "I'm giving this a lot of space here, seeing as you humans fashioned this somehow from across... well, everything, but my mane did not look that bad!" Twilight exclaimed her opposition to Rainbow Dash's drying job loudly and jutted a finger at the ponies on the screen.
Jo looked over openly and gave her as incredulous of a smirk as she could. "Really?"
"Well... it didn't." Twilight tried to frown, but broke out into giggles instead. "Oh, Jo I can't even begin to tell you how nice this is. I mean... I don't know, I would have never guessed something like this existed, or could." Now that she had begun talking, she found she had plenty to say, even when Rarity putting a saddle-corset on her demanded more laughing. They didn't really communicate well enough just how painful of an experience that was...
"Yeah," Jo replied absently, looking back at the colorful ponies. "Life has a funny way of surprising you sometimes."
"I can tell that this is made to entertain though, things aren't half as silly as this most of the time." Twilight nodded to herself confidently, then frowned and looked over at Jo.
The other girl was snickering.
"You sure?" Jo paused in her laughter to grin smugly. "Because so far you sound like that, act like that, have all of those mannerisms, and on top of it, you're even as excitable as that. Why, I wouldn't be surprised if all of your friends just about match their depictions in this to the letter."
"What!? Well, okay, maybe they have my friends right so far..." Twilight rubbed her chin in thought, a smile on her face as Spike swooned once again over Rarity. "They certainly have Spike done about right." An idea poked at her suddenly. "I'm curious Jo, who are they. Who made this?" She turned to face her new friend, who was busy taking a drink from her oddly fashioned mug.
Jo thought for a moment how to put it. "Just artists and voice actors, a few writers. Some were better than others. Keep in mind, a lot of these episodes were made by different people and vary in quality." She smirked when Fluttershy headbutted Twilight out of the way to get at Spike suddenly on the TV.
Twilight's eyes widened at the rough treatment she received. "Oh, I see- Fluttershy never did that!" She looked over quickly at Jo and back to the screen. "Well, she didn't!" Jo was staring back at her like she was nuts.
"Twi', we've already concluded that this is probably more the makers of the show than what actually happened. Are you going to bring up everything that's even a little bit off, or enjoy how we humans have accidentally spied on your world for the last ten years?" Jo crossed her arms and tilted her head questioningly at the other girl.
Twilight's mouth worked for a moment, before she felt an abashed look on her face and replied. "No, I guess not, I do just want to enjoy- Wait... wait, ten years? Jo, ten years? I moved to Ponyville less than two years ago." The expression of the girl across from her paled.
"I... what?" Jo began to think about it carefully, or kinda drunkenly given circumstances. Holy crap, that makes no sense. Time Dilation? "Time Dilation?" She said aloud, echoing her thoughts in the same time.
"Time what?" Twilight repeated back.
Jo stared, then spoke slowly. "My excuse to explain it I guess, maybe time works differently between our worlds, or maybe we don't understand time at all."
After a sort laugh, Jo went on. "Then again, what is time, really?" She raised her glass to take a sip, chuckling more. When Twilight looked at her like she was crazy she coughed and put her drink down.
"Sorry, I guess I don't know, Twilight," she muttered, then added lazily, "Don't you have time travel magic and stuff, though? Starswirl the Bearded invented it or something, right?"
Twilight's face changed from slightly confused by Jo's behavior, to thoughtful over the ideas that were presented. "That... I take it that's in the show too, hm? How else could you know about Starswirl... Yes, time travel is quite the conundrum, even Princess Celestia has never worked out how it works exactly, on a magical level or even in theory. I guess it might be possible that time doesn't correlate between worlds, or maybe that..." She drifted off when she realized she had no idea where she was going with that thought, which surprised and drove her to wanting to study the subject immediately.
"Ooh, the great Twilight Sparkle, at a loss for words?" Jo grinned and jeered back at her. "Well, it's probably just as well. That topic certainly isn't drinking conversation, so it's way over my head." She hopped up smoothly off of the couch and walked over to the computer.
Twilight tried to refocus on the show, realizing she'd missed several minutes of it. Currently, everypony was gathered in a very disorderly looking Summer Sun Celebration... Suddenly, it was back to Fluttershy speaking to Spike. "Huh?"
"I rewound it." Jo said walking back to the couch. "I won't keep doing that though if you don't pay attention. We can talk about stuff after it's finished, okay?"
That is so incredibly awesome. Twilight thought with her best impression of Rainbow. She grinned and nodded at Jo. Pinkie Pie had made her reappearance then, and was busy doing what Pinkie did best at the moment. Pinkie Pie's pretty accurate alright, I think she's a little more hyper than this though.
Twilight's eyes widened when her mane and tail suddenly burst into fire. "AAH! What!?" She kept watching, and a moment later it was apparent that she was not hurt in any serious way from the flames. "Jo, what was that!?"
"Huh, what was wha- Oh," Jo caught on to what she had freaked out about easily. "It's a cartoon, Twilight. They use a lot of over-exaggerated visuals to try and make people laugh."
"Why is my poor mane being on fire funny? How did hot sauce even do that?" Twilight asked back and frowned sadly, still watching.
"Aaah, I couldn't really say, I guess over the top stuff that's so ridiculous and impossible is considered funny. It loses its literal meaning becaushe of how silly it is." Jo looked over and managed to grab Twilight's still shocked attention after a moment. "Make shense?" She took a couple chips and smiled while popping them into her mouth.
Twilight nodded, a light smile reappearing as she continued to watch. "Yeah, I can see how that could be funny, I guess." The scene changed again, and now it was again of the town hall and the Summer Sun Celebration itself. It was odd for the unicorn, following the speed at which things happened. In her memory, she could recall almost every single minute of that day with the strangely drawn show as a reference.
Twilight leaned over and tugged on Jo's shirt, something huge beginning to really bother her. "Jo, why do all of the ponies look the same-"
"Twilight... it's just a cartoon. As in, it isn't real?" Jo laughed and shook her head, smiling. "Please save the questions for the end." The other girl sighed and looked back at the TV with a frown.
"Alright, fine." Twilight crossed her arms and sulked, but quickly became re-immersed. "I swear that teal one... or is it mint green? Anyway, I swear I see her everywhere... I could... She seems familiar. Hm, at least I recognized a couple cutie marks, like Bon Bon."
Pinkie Pie began rambling again on the TV, then Fluttershy's bird choir began to announce something, afterwards it was revealed to be the Mayor. Twilight watched eagerly, remembering the eerily familiar moments as they happened. Princess Celestia was then announced, and she knew what was going to happen next. A tightness came into her chest as she recalled the despairing memory. A voice suddenly tore her away from the one of the darkest moments in her life.
"So, Twilight, sorry to interrupt... But I've always wondered, what happened to Princess Celestia?"
Twilight glanced over for a moment, then re-transfixed herself on the cartoon. "Hm? Oh, I don't know, she never told me." As dark as the thought of losing the princess was, she debated, the reality of losing everypony together was far worse. She realized that her life had taken the worst turn it ever had with the events she was currently living. Being trapped away from Equestria was far worse than anything she had ever dealt with before.
"What?" Jo began to reply. "Aw, so you don't know anything? Come on, Twilight, I've been wondering this stuff my whole life! Gimme some back story here-"
"Hey," Twilight interrupted. "How come when I ask questions I get chided, but you can ask questions during the part where-" Just then, the first episode of the show ended, Nightmare Moon's entrance and threats already over.
Twilight jerked her head back towards the TV, her friend's hypocrisy already forgotten. The credits for the show's first episode began, and immediately the main character of that episode reacted in turn. "What!? No! There's more! There's way way way more! Where's the re-"
"Eeeasy, girl, that was just the first episode." Jo chuckled and leaned back, hands tucked behind her head. "The premiere takes place over two of these, and there are four seasons for the show. Plenty more for us to watch, just let me know when you get your fill and I'll put a stop to it, okay?" She glanced over, smiling, then nearly died of a heart attack.
Twilight had shot across the couch and was squeezing the smaller woman in the tightest hug that she had ever received in her life. "OhthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouJo!" This went on for about thirty seconds, as Jo's cries for her to stop and get off fell on deaf ears. Eventually, she managed to squirm through the other girl's grip and fell onto the floor beside her couch.
"You're welcome already! Crap on a stick Twilight, chill!" Jo panted from the adrenaline her body had released from so much movement induced panic. "Hey, you okay?"
Twilight was staring at the ground in a daze. "I never really thought of just how much I depended on them, you know? They were the first real friends I ever had. Now that they're gone I..." She looked away quickly, then brought her face back up and tried to help Jo up. "Can I see more now? Please?" Her expression was calm and collected.
Jo stood up with her help and found her seat again, after Twilight scooted back to her own spot that is. "Yeah Twilight, the other one should play any second."
"Yay." Twilight grinned and clapped her hands with a childlike happiness.
If she's this cartoonishly adorable as a human, Equestria is deadly to humans then. Jo could feel her heart surprisingly clench at being reintroduced to the character, and in the flesh too. The idea of a herd of ponies acting like this was almost too much for her normally dark expressions to handle.
"It took me hours to research the Elements of Harmony book, I didn't just read a single page and know it all!"
"There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known. Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery. It is said, the last known location of-" The FiM version of Twilight was quickly interrupted by yet another groan of disgust from the real Twilight.
"Now wait, how could the last element be a mystery? Princess Celestia herself used the elements and detailed in dozens of references everything about them! Granted they were ancient, unused tools that hadn't been needed in centuries, but why would the reference guide for them not know the identity of one particular element. Namely, the one that the main character of course ends up with!" Twilight again pointed an accusatory finger at the screen from where she sat, glaring angrily. "It's just a poor excuse for a literary tool in this farce of a story! It-!"
Jo sloshed her cup and leaned over across at Twilight, tilting her head in a mocking fashion. "Twilight, please, if you're going to keep watching this, like you want, just turn your brain off—yes that'sh a figure of speech, no humans can't actually do that—and just pay attention to the dang show, would you?"
"You interrupt it as much as I do!" Twilight held her mouth open in an expression of shock, then scowled when Jo burst out into a strange kind of giggling.
"Heh, yeah, I shorta do." Jo kept laughing and was overall proving to be as big a distraction as all of the strange inconsistencies, visuals, and incorrect lines of the moving play itself.
I wonder what's gotten into her, she seems so carefree right now. Twilight ignored the cackling mare beside her and refocused on the show, a content smile growing from having someone friendly there with her. Tonight turned out to be alright. She reflected briefly on how badly things had seemed just an hour ago, now they were akin to a distant, bad dream.
The show continued, and Twilight and Jo watched the mane six's journey through the Everfree forest with vested interest. The latter hadn't seen the show in a decade, and the former was reliving the events that had made her who she was today.
"But we were in the Everfree for a few days, this show makes it seem like it was a walk in the park to find the Elements of Harmony!"
Jo sighed. "Twilight, I'm starting to feel like a broken record over here."
"Just listen a second, I've been quiet for forever. So another thing, I get that the show wants to give everyone a chance to demonstrate how they achieved synchronization with their Element, but those situations were just silly! Also, those trees did not sit still like that, those were dangerous! Although Pinkie Pie did giggle at them while we ran away..." Twilight looked back and forth between Jo, who lazily listened from her side of the couch, and the still playing season one premiere, episode two.
"So let me get this shtraight." Jo straightened up and looked levelly at Twilight, pausing until the other girl met her eyes. "You're telling me, that Rarity didn't cut off her tail and weld it onto a flamboyant sea dragon's face so you could cross a raging river?"
"...No, that one did happen, actually. But Applejack-!"
"Twilight, if you don't pipe down I'm going to go get some salami from the fridge and eat it in front of you." Jo maintained her serious look, until a slight grin snuck onto her face.
Twilight looked confused for a second then frowned and looked back at the TV, realizing what this 'salami' probably was. "Please don't..." She mumbled darkly.
Jo blinked and sat up. "Ah... Sorry, I'm sorry Twilight that was... I wasn't thinking. It was a bad joke, sorry."
"It's alright, Jo." Twilight looked back and gave a reassuring smile, trying to let Jo know no damage was done. "Lets keep watching, we're about to rescue princess Luna!"
Jo pulled her legs up onto the couch again, folding her arms against herself. "Yeah, okay." It was getting cold in the room. Looking around she spotted one of her blankets on the floor and got up to grab it. "Still, I'm really sorry about that." She looked up at Twilight in surprise, who had beaten her to and picked up the blanket.
"It's okay, nopony's perfect." Twilight smiled widely and tossed the blanket over the human's head. "Now I won't say it again, pay attention!"
As the final credits for the show began to roll, and a few more quips over it were traded between the two girls, Jo got up and excused herself for a moment. Twilight watched her curiously, but didn't know what to think about it. The other girl seemed to be having some trouble walking straight.
Maybe my unsteadiness is contagious? Twilight tossed the idea out as silliness, and thought of a far more interesting discrepancy, amongst others. Why in Celestia's name was my Element a tiara? Her head turned and she scratched her mane confusedly, unable to come up with a good reason for the random change. Humans sure are weird, Rarity would've had a tiara if any of us could, I would think.
"Twilight, is there any popcorn left?" Jo poked her head in while the beginning for the next episode began.
"Yeah, plenty, come on you're going to miss the next one! Spike's in it already!" Twilight bounced on the couch excitedly and motioned to the other girl to join her.
"I'll be right back, I'm getting another drink, would you like some water, milk or maybe soda?" Jo listed the items off of one hand as she went down the list.
Twilight thought on the choices for a moment, "Anything's fine, I could try a human drink though, uh, assuming... you know." She made a sickly face at the thought of a meat drink, then looked at the TV again.
Jo's stomach felt queasy thinking of what Twilight had just suggested she had in the fridge. "Right." One drink, hold the meat, coming right up. Rather than confirm or correct the assumption, she simply went to replenish the beverages already.
My Little Ponyyyy, My Little Pooonyyyy
Twilight's eyes widened while she listened to the song she had missed once, but had paid rapt attention to during the second go around. "I used to wonder what friendship could beee." She sang along happily, but once her friends... or, the 'voice actors' chorused in, she had to stop. She just wanted to listen to them. While Jo was still gone, her hand reached up and ran down the smooth screen that her friends were depicted upon again and again, right there for her.
I miss you girls... I'm going to get home, somehow. After a second of consideration, another decision joined her first. This is the best night ever... on Earth. Twilight Sparkle knew she'd only had two nights on Earths so far, but she decided it was a nice day after all.
Human Twilight is just as crazy as pony Twilight : Fact
Can anyone spot the Background Pony Reference?
Well there you have it folks, Twilight and My Little Pony : Friendship is magic. I recommend watching episode one alongside Jo and Twi as you read! 
Stats
Page generated in 0.035 seconds
Total duration
674 users online
995,780 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I'm pretty sure the craziest part of that pic is the bird. Look how chill it is! CRAZY.
Very interesting. So is Twilight going to look like that after they watch a few more episodes and they start getting into future events?
Yes I saw the reference but it was buried in the fact that she didn't know ANY background ponies.
Also you said "season 2 premier". It was part 2 of the S 1 premier.
Also. If she'd only been in Ponyville for 2 years, do the consecutive seasons predict her future?
Oh Twilight Twilight Twilight. . . you have a lot in store for you, dontcha know?
Before long we'll have you going native. . .
2718477
lh6.googleusercontent.com/-th0gP9VNrmY/Ubom8eoWB4I/AAAAAAAAmE0/ujPMRwcdS5c/s650/Gulp.png
Please please please please please write a subchapter, or a chapter involving Twilight watching 'Lesson Zero', and Jo taking it a step further and showing all the fanart of batshitcrazy Twilight.
2718601
I'm considering an off shoot fic where Twilight just watches every episode, that way it won't dig into ATL. ^^
This chapter made me happy in all the best ways
ah yes poor Lyra heart strings from BP, not the human addict Lyra most bronies tend to fantasize about.
2718634
The who?
Lyra would be the background pony from that scene, that Twilight doesn't remember just like in BP.
This chapter made me think of the bacon soda, the drink of the gods.
2718634 Well at least human-addict Lyra doesn't die alone on a hill, forgotten by everyone, forgetting almost everything herself... after being put into the most horrendous inescapable trap scenario ever conceived.
I mean, god, that entire universe was set up for no other purpose than to make sure Lyra had no hope of salvation. EVERYTHING directly worked against her.
Which of course finally blew apart my willing suspension of disbelief, especially once the power of the 10th Elegy, Dawn's Advent was revealed. I was like, "Oh come on! Why the hell would it do that, for real?! That makes no sense! It exists only to trap Lyra! That completely kills all the remaining credibility here!"
Yeah, once it got to Undead Alicorn Bitch's infodump, I was really starting to lose interest. It led me all along with clues and hints that seemed to suggest something important about completing the Elegies... all to throw it away on an annoyingly common emo/angst trope of throwing the main character into a situation where everything works against him/her, no matter how implausibly it all happens.
In this case, the very gods themselves seemed to have been created for no other purpose than to screw over Lyra. It was beyond frustrating.
Hm. In my country (the United Kingdom, if you care) Twilight is well above the drinking age. Mind you, I would still be wary of giving any to her. For obvious reasons.
Fun chapter.
I wonder how she'll react to Discord? Is he really the fun loving trickster god he appears to be, or is he something darker.
Ooh, what about the wedding? Wait; does she even have a brother? Is Cadance even real?
There is one thing I feel the need to mention—those fancy line breaks you have? Could you get rid of the white background on them. They don't look nearly as good on darker settings (which I turn on because they are easier for me to read—stupid photosensitivity). Thanks!
No meat drinks? Clearly Jo has never had a Bloody Bull.
Twilight is being really cute, though... I don't think I could resist giving her at least a Mimosa, just to see what happens.
2719336
If you haven't already, I'd suggest reading Mark Twain's "The Mysterious Stranger" for a version of this that actually works and is also terrifying.
That was a nice read through and through. Wonder what's next then.
You made me all warm and fuzzy. Da'wwwwww.
Can't remember the Zecora nightmare, huh?
2718537
YES! YEESS! FEEL THE MEAT FLOW THROUGH YOU!
Come to the Human Side! We have bacon. And as we all know, Bacon is power,
I wonder how Twilight reacts to Party of One. Or the episodes that aren't Twilight-centric. Mm.
MOAR!
Sublime. Also I WANT MORE
Yay!
I've only watched the episode once or twice and I already know it by memory
. episode two is a different story
I'm glad to see that Jo has her priorities straight.
It would probably be a bit much to write a spin-off detailing Purple Head's watching of the entire show, but a few more episodes would certainly be interesting. Especially some of the ones already mentioned by others...
Also, this...
...this is horrifying.
It seems that neither Jo nor her guest will be getting much sleep any time soon, if the chapters already out are anything to go by.
And now I want to read a retelling of the first two episodes in the darker version of events that you hinted at here.
(Do those thoughts look a bit unorganized to you? Oh well, I don't feel like rearranging them right now.)
D'awwww. That's so sweet.
Is Jo just a lightweight? She seemed to be getting fairly tipsy in what must have been under half an hour.
2722224
Heh, she makes drinks like I make drinks.
(The way I envision her is pretty small though.)
If I'm not mistaken the background pony reference is Lyra or at least hope xD
XP and ya its pretty considered for myself anyway that events that happened in the show may have chances to them such as what you written (days in the everfree Ect Ect)
Can't wait for more
2719471 I prefer the darker setting as well ^^ makes it easier on the eyes to read stories while I'm just lying in bed bein lazy xD
What would happen when Twilight sees herself evolving into a Rapidash?
This chapter felt a bit weak to me. Just overall felt like little was achieved or happened in it.
Still pretty decent, it just feels a bit out of place for how the story was moving, and I think it spends a bit too much time over the show and twilights reaction to it.
2724479
Yeah it felt a little forced to me too. I did my best to try and fit it in though. I merely thought that after the nightmare it suited Twi to miss her friends, with that in mind I forgave my misgivings over the idea and went for it.
Thank you for the honest opinion.
2724533
And definitely do not be discouraged, it's still a good story.
That would be me. In a joking manner of course. Yolo is stupid.
Also, Lyra is gonna go apeshit on Twilight with questions about humans when she gets back.
Holy shit that pic scared me!
2734695
lol? Which picture.
Achievement unlocked: Use of Salami to threaten people.
2734868
The one at the end, I assume.
Your mouth should not be able to do that.
2718634
BP? I take it you aren't talking about fuel companies.
I was kind of waiting for them to get to Call of the Cutie, and Jo asking Twilight if she knew of that one mysterious brown stallion.
I thought that was a Background Pony reference! I love that fic.
Well, I'm fairly sure hardly any drinks contain meat... just don't show her the Tequila bottle
One remark:
> Sorry, I guess I don't know Twilight.
That should definitely have a comma before "Twilight". As it is, it says she doesn't know Twilight. As a general rule, addressing terms a sentence should always be separated from the sentence around it with commas.
The fact that Twilight can't remember Lyra except vaguely. Lyra can't be noticed by anypony in Background Pony. I think. I've never actually read it.
Too bad she won't let Twilight drink. I was looking forward to possibly seeing Twilight drunk.
GAH I WANT TO KEEP READING BUT IT'S 1:39 in the morning!!!!
I thought that was Background Pony. That story was one of the longest I had read on this site, and one of my favorites. Nice work, Merlos.
3188472
1:39 for you, and 3:12 A.M. for me.
I know I'm only at the tip of the iceberg of this story so far, but as soon as I saw she was starting to watch the show, I immediately wondered what her reaction to Equestria Girls will be..
First thing that came to my mind
:
this is so good will say had a bit of the feels there when she touch the screen
but the fact you can draw out the feels from that simple act and what was spoken shows talent
That human-Twi pic scared the bajeesus outta me!
F***!