12 - Reflections
On the train back to Ponyville, I sat quietly, thinking about the events after my mini-breakdown. The unicorn guards who helped me out of the throne room were kind and compassionate, exactly what I was starting to expect from this place. They sat me down and got me a bowl of water and a cloth to wipe my face. They were puzzled but didn't pry. I never got their names. I made a mental note to find out and send them thank-you letters.
When we were headed for the train station, Dash dropped to the ground and nuzzled her head against me. I put my hand on her neck and gave her a little squeeze. Rarity, then Applejack, and then the rest of the girls followed suit. I smiled. Who wouldn't smile being in the middle of a pony pile? I had only known these ponies for a little over a month, these friends who gave me unqualified support all the time. They didn't pry further than my simple little answer. I'll admit I had to choke back a few tears again. I didn't want to lose it in such a public place.
And now I was back at my cottage, back in my home. I'm lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. I couldn't sleep well with all the emotions still buzzing in my head. I mean, I had hugged a Goddess. How's that for the highlight of your week?
I was tired of trying to sleep and looking at the ceiling, so I got up. It was early, and I didn't have an agenda. I spent most of the day just kicking around the house, drinking tea, and thinking. I called Ann to let her know what had happened. I found myself at a loss for words. I tried to describe my experience, but the words were not strong enough. I finally summarized it by saying it was that occasional little flash of reverence you get during a touching church service but multiplied by a thousand. She said she thought she understood. I hope one day I can find the right words.
Mid-afternoon, I sat at the laptop at the desk in my bedroom and started downloading every episode of 'My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic ' I could find. It would take a few hours, so I decided I needed a nice run to clear my head.
Anyway, I wanted apples.
So, I put on some clean clothes, grabbed some bits, and headed for the Sweet Apple Acres stand in the market. It was a short run, just 20 minutes or so. My feet crunched on the gravel as I ran. I was absorbed in thought when I heard a loud “Are you listening to me?” to my left and above my shoulder. This made me stumble and land face-first in the gravel. This caused a fit of laughter from a certain cyan pegasus. Between laughs, she got out, “Oh my gosh! Are you okay?”
She always manages to cheer me up. I spit out most of the dirt in my mouth, propped my head up and smirked, “Why yes, my darling Dash. I always run on my face. Don't you?” This only caused more laughter.
Her laughter finally wined down, and she asked, with a little concern in her voice, “So, are you okay today? I know the Princess kind of freaked you out yesterday and all. I was just checking up on you.” She quickly added, “Cuz, that's what friends do. They check up on friends, and they share. I did my half. Now spill, ya goof.”
I sort of half smiled, “It will seem silly from your perspective. Promise not to laugh?”
Dash, with that confident smirk, raised an eyebrow, “Only if it's not funny.”
“Heh, fair enough, I guess. First, a question. From what I gather, you don't have much in the way of religion here.”
Dash looked at me strangely and repeated the unfamiliar word, “Religion? I'm not even sure what that is.”
What is religion? Damn good question. How do you explain a concept to someone who has never even heard of the concept? “Imagine having heard stories about Princess Celestia, all the good things She's done, all her suffering, everything, but never having seen her. And, not just you, but no one has physically seen her, ever. Yet you still want to thank her for raising the sun...”
Dash brightened, “Like the 'Summer Sun Celebration'?”
“That's it. But imagine no one has ever seen Her, ever. All you have is stories. Well, that would be like a religion, I guess. Believing in something and having faith without any hard proof.”
Dash looked a little confused, “Okay, so what does that have to do with the Princess and you?”
I smiled sadly, “Where I come from, we don't have a Princess Celestia. Our sun is just a big ball of burning gas. Everything works because the math works, not because someone moves stuff around. Some people claim God speaks to them, but it's their word against the world. Me? I always hoped there was a Princess Celestia, but I never felt it, not really. That, and I don't have any magic.” I gently touched her chest with my fingertips, “You have magic, Rainbow Dash. Applejack, Twilight, all of you,” I waved my arm, “have magic. I think that magic makes you all connected. It makes you closer to the Princess than I could ever be. I just got a face full of all the magic and love the Princess has for you and me, I guess. You must feel like that all the time. To me, it was just... overwhelming. The closer I got to the Princess, the harder it got to move, but I got there.”
She smiled tenderly at me, “Alex... I... I didn't know...” If I didn't know any better, I would say Rainbow Dash is speechless. Finally, “Alex, I think you were really brave. You could have run out of there long before you got close. But you didn't. I admire that.” Dash paused for a few heartbeats, “That,” she gave me a rakish grin, “and you face plant funny. Anyway, I just wanted to check up on you, and you're just fine. Got to get back to work! I'll see you later, big guy.” She raised a small cloud of dust and gravel, taking off into the clouds.
I finished brushing myself off and continued my little jog to the market. Dash had taken the edge off my slump, and I was looking forward to chatting with Applejack. I slowed to a quick walk in town. I didn't want to bump into anyone.
“Good afternoon Miss Applejack and Miss Apple Bloom.”
“Well, howdy, Alex. Glad to see you're back to yourself. I t'ant gonna lie, I was a might worried about you.”
Apple Bloom looked at me, concerned, “Y'all didn't say he wasn't okay, sis.”
Applejack flashed an irritated look at her little sister, “Apple Bloom, you just hush now. This is grownups talken'. Sorry ab...”
I put up my hand to interrupt, then I smiled and used my jaunty voice, “Miss Apple Bloom, I am touched by your concern, but I can assure you, it was just silly human stuff. Not to be condescending, but it'll be alright, don't you worry yourself.” Apple Bloom seemed satisfied with my answer, and Applejack let her go off to play with her friends.
Most of the apples had already been sold, but there was still one bushel, “And I see it was a good day for the farm. There's not much left, but I'll take two bags of the Apple Family's finest. I believe that will be twelve bits.”
Applejack gave that little low chuckle, “You got it. I t'ant gonna try to talk ya down.”
“Thank you kindly for that. I like to keep friendship and business separate. Unless business can help a friend, but you know me, Mr Double Standard. Speaking of double standards, is there any chance I could buy some applejack without salt?”
She looked at me, a little surprised, “A big colt like you can't handle his salt? Shoot, I didn't have you pegged for a lightweight.”
“Different biologies, my dear Applejack. I need about a tenth of a teaspoon of salt daily to stay healthy. My giggle juice of choice is ethanol, the kind of alcohol in applejack and apple cider. That's why I was drinking water at the welcome home party. The drinks were too salty. I didn't say anything at the time. I didn't think it was important. But now I'm looking to build my life here, Applejack, a real life, so stuff like that is becoming important. And, with good friends like you, well, I think I can build that life.”
Applejack gave me an odd look, then smiled softly, “I'm mighty pleased to hear that, Alex. Mighty pleased.”
It was early evening, the sun had set, and, feeling a little lazy, I had made some tomato and cheese sandwiches for supper. It was warm, so I opened the balcony window and got comfortable. I wanted to watch those videos, but I wanted to do it alone. I just wanted to compare what I saw and felt with what was on the show. I just had to know how much of this world has gone to mine.
I started right from the beginning. When I heard Twilight in the narration, I held my breath and then saw her on the screen. My heart jumped. Seeing my friend in two dimensions, so... flat, so... un-detailed. They were all like that. I kept watching. I think the worst part was whenever Celestia was on the screen, I felt... nothing.
By watching this, I thought I would learn... what? I really didn't know what I would learn. Maybe gain some insight? I continued watching, totally engrossed, not only seeing the episodes for the first time in a very long time but seeing them with a completely different eye. These were my friends on the screen, not just cute animated ponies.
I was watching the episode with the gryphon Gilda. It was the part where Gilda just arrived when my train of thought was interrupted by something soft resting on my shoulder.
“She was my first... special friend, you know.” Dash was speaking softly, head resting on my shoulder, watching the small screen. I carefully turned my head so I would not disturb her and saw she had a sad expression. I put my hand on the back of her head, just below her ears, gently rubbing with my thumb. She shifted a little closer. Suddenly, this episode got a lot sadder.
Dash must have landed on the balcony quietly. Usually, when I'm engrossed in something, the world around me disappears, so I'm not surprised I didn't hear her.
We watched in silence, her reliving old memories and seeing new perspectives, me trying to understand new ones. As the episode neared its climax at the Pinkie Pie party, she asked me to turn it off. In deference to my friend, I closed the laptop.
She kept her head on my shoulder. “I've never really cared what others thought about me. I like who I like. I've always tried to look at the pony inside, you know? I don't care about the outside. She was my first special friend. She was totally awesome, fearless, strong, she did what she wanted when she wanted, you know? We had shared so much. And that day was a total buck up. A total complete buck up. It was really hard to tell her to go away. I really miss her.”
Wow, Cast Iron Rainbow Dash was opening up to me. “Well, Dash, I would love to meet her one day. I figure everyone deserves a second chance or two. As far as I can tell, she just had some dumb bad luck that day and needs to exercise a little better... prank target selection. Anyway, it would be fun to talk to another predator.” I hope this distracts her.
She pulled her head off my shoulder and in a sceptical tone, “What do you mean? No offence Alex, but you don't look like predator material. No claws, fangs, pointy spikes, nothing, And you're weak and a bit of a wimp. I know I could take you right now.”
I stood, a predatory smile on my face, “Oh, you don't think I could mess you up? As I am now, you're right. Not much of a threat. You wait right here.” I made my way downstairs, grabbed my knife, and came back up.
See, I don't actually have to say 'Change of subject' to change the subject. I was happy to change her thoughts to more fun ones. That's what friends do, right?
Once back up, I stood near the door and dropped to a combat stance, knees and elbows slightly bent, and said, “Knife—sparring mode. Okay, Dash, now I'm a threat. I don't need claws and beaks and stuff. I use technology, in this case, my trusty knife and my mind. Dash, humans are bastards. We're sneaky, underhanded, dishonourable, sleazy scumbags. Fair fights are for games and suckers. For example, if I were in a situation like this, I would...” I quickly hit the light switch with my left hand. I could still see fairly well in the room, but I knew she was more or less blind. I quickly dived to the right, rolled over the bed, and had the tip of the now dull and soft blade right between her shoulder blades. I said in her ear, “Not a predator, huh?”
She was stunned for a few seconds. “Whoa... I mean, I let you do that. But I'm glad you're on my side. And maybe you're not the marshmallow I thought you were. But you are on my side, right?”
“I... Dash, if anyone ever hurt a hair on your head or any of my new friends, they had better hope the royal guard or a manticore finds them first. I take friends and family seriously.” I walked past her and turned the light back on. She gave me that overconfident smirk of hers. I toss the knife on the bed and sit. If Iron Dash can open up, maybe Alex Roberts can spill the beans. “Dash, that experience with Celestia really hit me. Before, I was just surviving, just killing time until the next jump. Don't rock the boat, don't stand out, don't be a target. Oh, sure, I had made friends, but, and I'm not going to lie to you, it was just more marks on the wall until I got moved to the next cell. But now... I hate to use the word, but meeting Princess Celestia was a religious experience. Now, I want to use all my smarts, wealth, and everything I have and am to make this world a better place. Just surviving until the next jump isn't enough, Dash. I want a life, and I can see it happening with awesome friends like you.”
Dash's confident smirk came back, “All I heard was 'blah blah blah I finally took my head out from under my tail blah blah blah I smartened up blah blah blah Dash is awesome.'” We both laughed, “Good enough for me butt head.”
I chuckled and shook my head, “Yes, Dash, that's exactly what I said.”
I wanted to throw a little dinner party for my friends to thank them and to test my culinary skills. This would be the first time since I started this crazy adventure I've had a home to invite friends to. Come to think of it, it was the first time I've had friends I wanted to spend time with. I think I spent most of the day with a half grin after this thought.
I went straight to Sugar Cube Corners. I walked in and smiled warmly, “Mrs Cake, that coffee smells wonderful. I'll take a cup. Oh, how are the twins?”
Mrs Cake looked a little tired, “Oh, they're a handful, dear.”
I chuckled, “I know what you mean. I've been there and done that twice.”
“Now that they've started crawling, it's been very exciting.”
“Wait, they're crawling? After a month? That's amazing! Human babies take about 8 months before they crawl.”
Mrs Cake looked a little concerned, “Oh dear. That seems like a long time just to crawl.”
I smiled, “Well, it is. They start walking by about their first birthday. Before you ask, it's 365 day years and 12 months all about the same length. We develop a lot slower than you.” I shrugged, “just the way it evolved.” I brightened up, “I almost forgot. I need to speak to the one and only Pinkie Pie.”
Mrs Cake nodded, “Of course, dear. Here you go.” She handed me a cardboard cup of her wonderful coffee and called into the kitchen, “Pinkie! Your friend is here.”
I took an appreciative sip, “Mmmm.” Pony coffee is naturally sweet and robust; no cream or sugar is needed. Perfect.
Pinkie bounced in, “Oh! Hi Alex. What's up?”
“Well, I've come to ask one of the best chefs in Ponyville for some help.”
“You're buttering me up? No need to do that.” She took a sudden deep breath, “You want me to set up a...”
“Pinkie.”
“...party? Oh! You're having a party?” Pinkie was getting excited.
“Pinkieeeee...”
“That's great! I'll have to start...” Pinkie was bouncing like a steam-powered pogo stick.
“PINKIE!” She looks bashfully at me. “I'm just having a little dinner party, Just the seven of us. I just want to do this as a thank you for all of you. I wanted to ask you for help. Cooking help.” I noticed Mrs Cakes' eyes got huge, her pupils small. She saw me, her eyes returned to normal and she gave a little embarrassed smile, then continued to her tasks. Ponies are weird.
“Sure! I'd be super duper luper happy to help you. This'll give us a chance to get to know each other better.” She glanced up at the ceiling, smiled warmly, and then smiled at me. I think this was one of those 'Pinkie being Pinkie' moments.
“So, I see you're busy here. How about on your next day off, you come on over, and we'll start a menu plan. Sound good?”
“Next Tuesday?”
“It's a date!”
Pinkie got a slightly worried expression, “Oh... I'm not sure if Dashie would like that. Well, we'll keep it a secret.” I looked, feeling slightly confused. She brightened up, “Okie Dokie Lokie! I'll see you then!”
She bounced off to do whatever she does all day, and I got a second cup of that wonderful coffee to go.
It was the evening after Dash had seen part of the episode, and I heard a knock on the balcony door frame, “Come on in, Dash.”
She walked in, all confidence and swagger. “You watching those stupid shows again? Why do you need that when you have the real deal right here.” She made herself comfortable on the bed.
I closed the laptop and snorted, “Yes, yes, you're a goddess. Every stallion wants you. Every mare wants to be you.” Surprisingly, she blushed a little. “Oh hey, I'm sorry, Dash. I didn't mean to... you know... embarrass you. I was just busting your chops.”
“Naw, don't worry about it. I'm just still a little sore about that reminder I saw last night.” She rolled onto her back, examining the ceiling. “What it didn't show was how Gilda had come to Ponyville to make up with me. She was trying to, I don't know, rekindle what we had.” Dash rolled away from me, “We had something real special, ya know. She was the first one that I, now don't laugh,” she took a deep breath, “she was my first crush.” She waited for what I assume was laughter.
“You know, Dash, you never know who it's going to be until it happens. Love's crazy that way. I met Ann, working at a canning factory. I only worked there so I could get enough money to go back to my girlfriend across the country.”
“Wait, you mean you already had a marefriend, went off halfway across the country to earn enough bits to go back across the country? You're weird.”
“Well, there was a bit more to it than that, but that's basically it. And, according to my friends, it was crazy because my girlfriend was prettier. But you know what, Dash? Ann was much more beautiful.”
Dash turned her head, looked at me for a long moment, and gave me a little smile, “I can respect that.” She chuckled, “You're full of surprises Alex Roberts.”
“That's me, an interdimensional man of mystery. I had realised long before jumping that the outside doesn't mean much. It's not the package; it's the contents. You're lucky; you have both. I'm sure there will be a new person out there for you, and they'll likely pop out of nowhere. Whoever they are, they will be lucky to have found you.”
Dash smiled sadly, “That's a very nice thing to say, but you darn well know I'm not pretty. Not like Rarity or Fluttershy or Applejack.”
I was genuinely confused, “What do you mean? I think you all look equally cute, just different. Am I missing something?”
Dash, now sitting on the bed, said flatly, “Cute. And you think we all look basically the same?” With chagrin in her voice, “Take a closer look, I'm no beauty queen.”
Still confused, “Okay, well, let me put it this way, if you took ten ponies, scrubbed off any makeup, and asked me who the prettiest was, I wouldn't have a clue. Maybe the eyes? The shape of the mouth? The ears? I don't know. But to me, your attitude, how you carry yourself, your confidence, that's what makes you beautiful. And you know what? If they don't see that, screw 'em.”
Her expression didn't change for a few moments. Oh, crap. I hope I haven't stepped over some line, have I? She said to me reservedly, “You really think that?”
“Well, ya. You're my best friend, right? I want to see you happy, and that's what I think. If you don't like it, too bad,” I shrugged.
She turned her head away, “No one other than my mom ever called me that before.”
I was surprised, “Seriously? Surely Gilda must have said something like that at some point. She was your special friend, right? Among humans, something like that is basically a given.”
“Let's just say Gilda wasn't somepony who used mushy words. She was more likely to... Well, it doesn't matter. All that matters is she's not the pony I thought she was.” Dash sat up and started stretching.
I got off my stool and sat on the bed beside Dash. I carefully put my arm around her. Her feathers were so soft. “Blah blah blah Dash is great blah blah blah don't you dare forget it blah blah blah Alex is your buddy” She snorted and laughed.
“You're a goofball.” She pushed me away and then looked at me, “Thanks, Alex. I'll let you get back to your creepy town pony show. I'm tired and, honestly, I don't think I can look at those things right now.”
“Fair enough.” I put my hand on her shoulder and gave her a little smile, “Go get some rest.”
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Amazing chapter and story. I can't wait until the update.
I get confused with your sentence structures: "I want to see you happy but and ya, that's what I think." What?
~Jack
343808
You're right. I rewrote it to:
“Well, ya. You're my best friend, right? I want to see you happy and that's what I think. If you don't like it, too bad,” I shrugged.
“Why yes my darling Dash. I always run on my face. Don't you?”
MADE
MY
WEEK
I'm confused, he bought Applejack with salt?
Hello. Since there is a comments section, I'll tell what I think of the story so far. I hope people can be tolerant of my opinion, and not take this the wrong way: I dislike this fic. And I'll give my detailed reasoning, rather than just say "this shit sucks."
I find it fun that slice-of-life, and adventure tags are put together. Like a tag for things you see every day, and another tag for the more rare, exploration element. Fitting tags for a story in which a Reality jumper would soon live an (almost) normal life among miniature horses.
Not saying that's a bad thing in general, just making a statement, which will fit into my assertions.
Sure there are times when Sad, Dark, and Comedy go together. Authors can work on blending those genres. You can have a story that starts off light-hearted, and gradually change into something tear-jerking. You can have comedic tragedy, and roller-coaster of emotion stories.
The tags fit. Unfortunately, the HiE genre is full of wish-fulfillment junk. This story is just that.
It's nice to know the science behind how things are, as they are, rather than just giving us some detail and saying "just roll with it."
Some things are better left to the imagination. There's too little detail. Not sure if that's intentional, for the reason of revealing more plot later.
The real issue is when you create rules, but don't follow them. Ergo - Plot holes. That's done for Pinkie Pie, but at least there are theories with good reasoning, on why ponies gave up trying to figure her out. None of them included "cause I'm a lazy bastard."
It's jarring when an author can't follow their own set rules. Already, people have pointed out inconsistencies in time scaling between realities. Even if the reality jumps are not an exact science, how could the reader suspend disbelief, if every rule you make, gets broken?
Now who is to say when the eclipse happens, on a ley line, in Equestria? 60 years my buttocks. How would they figure the rules of a new reality, in an instant? What is behind that reasoning? Alex told Fluttershy something very important in chapter 1. He told her about the stars being a constant in his travels. They tie him back to home. The astronomy calculations he runs to find the umbra of an eclipse, would not really matter since he is told about Luna, and he tells Fluttershy about how he travels through realities. Luna sets up celestial bodies on a whim. If it looks nice, she will play Etch-and-Sketch with the night sky, according to canon. As far as I know, Rainbow, and Fluttershy know how he got there. Princess Celestia even says that she knows all that's happened to him, in this chapter! And nobody bothered to say "Oi! We got your ticket home right here!" And there is not an Alternate Universe tag, so I can reasonably assume that these key pieces of information was overlooked by the author.
To further kill the overall premise of your story, look to chapter 4. I quote this below. When Alex explained that horses did not talk in the other realities, he said:
Different realities, different rules. This guy is a close-minded idiot isn't he? Why is he so unthinking? Probably better that he does not take his own advice.
I mean I've thought it a few times, if he was sincere when he was apologizing to everyone, or if he was a manipulative bastard, like the old orc killing treasure hunter he was. Perhaps Celestia misjudges him, and fakes her radiance to impress the alien, sort of like how he faked reverence; causing her to see his exaggerated reaction as a lack of magic resistance. Heck, he might have been one to do that to the Pope, if he believed it would save him from his sins, or push him up a social ladder. He does have more bits than Celestia. All according to plan? Author, throw us metaphorical bones early on!
Sometimes, I find myself reprimanding myself for reading, or looking further into such fics, when my down-to earth side of myself manifests. Like a morbid curiosity that introduced me into the scary, and beautiful things on the internet. But, we all have our moments when we would say "just a peek!" Or set aside standards, because we want to indulge. Kind of like an outlet for stress, or boredom, or just because you get a craving when you spot something that seems interesting.
Cartman explaining perseverance during a friend finding session on ChatRoulette to Kyle:
Apply that logic to reading material. Reflections - The Memoirs Of A Reality Jumper is not really original, but that's only part of the turn off. The same story can be told many ways. Tropes used often, can still have value if written well.
Unfortunately, the story's execution is sub-par. I can understand the story well enough grammatically, even though there are a few hiccups. For this story, the characterization is what bothered me the most. You can try imagining Morgan Freeman's voice while reading the Twilight series, but it does not make the story material itself any better. The experience is just slightly more tolerable due to the one who reads it. So if an author actually works hard on something, I could dislike who they are, or what they've done, but sometimes, dedication is respectable.
There are too many stories like this one. I do not say it to rain on other people's parades. Take it as you will, I can't see the story as special, though others might. The back story of Alex, and his ability to jump across Realities, appears to be a small nuance that helps Alex integrate into Equestria. That's it. He has a family he can't go back to, and some already forgiven pains of the last reality he was in, A typical HiE, but with a spin that doesn't matter much, since he claims that he can't jump for 60 more years. He's not quite a brony, but he has knowledge of the show. He is rich from the start. He is humble, meek around his allies, and conflict is not in his nature despite all he went through. Most problems are solved almost as soon as they appear, because he seems to wear his heart on his sleeve. Crisis averted, every time, quite quickly.
The 4th wall breaking Pinkie Pie did early in this fic, along with conversation that directly mentioned "Gary-Stu," gave me hope that the author had some intent, and hopefully good reason to make things the way they are. So, I read up to the end of this chapter. Still Gary Stu.
Does Alex forget that he's human? I don't like misanthropes, I don't like the preachy. I don't like blanket statements. He can level that condescension at Rainbow Dash in that danger demonstration since she doubted his abilities, but being condescending while knocking humans in general, with those stereotypes in an inadequate explanation, was him being an ass.
Too much Gary-Stu in every chapter. It's not so much the choices he made that bother me, but his characterization. It's not uncommon that people lend a helping hand to the needy. Even though Alex performed those selfless acts, and claims that he does not wish to trouble his new friends; opening up at every possible moment gets annoying. Especially the way he does it. If he tells them to mind their own business, that may be out of character, but he could at least tell them he does not want to talk about "it".
The story, in my tastes, would be an enjoyable read if much more dramatic tension were built up first, before the resolutions. I believe more people would relate to him if he kept more secrets, and stood up for himself as much as he did for others. Just my opinion. Some characters are not meant to be related to. Alex is not the worst I've read, but he is far from good.
1421532 It's a cider.
2005713
...Are you part chainsaw? Because you just tore this story apart expressing your thoughts about it.
Very nice story so far, good work.
HEY THATS A NEW ONE NORMALLY ITS THE FRIDGE
Holy mother of shitballs, I feel like I'm being beaten over the head with the romance stick. Just fuck already, Jesus.
Absolute bullshit, forced as hell but ok, I'll humor you