"Johnathan," I heard a voice call out to me as I began to wake up, "Johnathan. Wake up Johnathan. It's time for school."
"I don't want to go to school Mom," I said as I lifted my blanket over my head.
"You have to; after all it is your first day."
"But I don't know anypony."
"And you never will if you don't go to school."
"Let me rephrase that, I don't want to know anypony. Besides I already know everything they teach."
"Well then it should be easy for you."
My mom lifted the blanket off my head and the light from the window began to blind me. I closed my eyes but the sun was still too bright. I grabbed my blanket and pulled it over me again.
“Ok then,” my mom said as she began to leave, “Your dad and I will just have to eat all of the pancakes I made by ourselves.”
I threw my blanket off of me, “Did you say pancakes?” I asked excitedly.
“Yes,” she replied.
“Are they chocolate chip pancakes?”
“Yes again,”
“Awesome!”
I jumped out of my bed and began to run downstairs to get my chocolate chip pancakes. It was true that I absolutely love pancakes, especially chocolate chip pancakes, so I would even do some things I hated doing. Going to school was one of those things. I had just moved to Ponyville and this was my first day here. I didn’t want to go to school but I had to if I wanted pancakes. The walk over to school was a bit awkward since none of the ponies I saw knew me and they were constantly saying hello. I was the last one to enter the door to school and as I did the bell rang.
The teacher looked over at me and said, “Could you please come to the front of the class Johnathan.”
“No thanks,” I said as I sat in one of the empty desks.
“Well it wasn’t really a question,” the teacher said in a commanding voice.
“It’s just that I would feel uncomfortable standing in front of the class explaining that my name is Johnathan and I came from Trottingham while each student silently judged every physical aspect of me such as why I don’t have a cutie mark or why my wings are bigger than the regular Pegasus of my age. And furthermore I have just said everything I would have said had I stood in front of the class so it is now pointless for me to get up.”
Each student and the teacher looked at me in disbelief of what I said. The other kids began to whisper among them, thought I could hear every word.
“You’re going to have to stay after school Johnathan,” the teacher said as she silenced the whispering.
“Very well,” I said.
The day continued on with the teacher “teaching” me things that I already knew. About half way through the day things got interesting again. The teacher had just handed out the math test for us to take. I looked over it and in less than a minute I flipped my test over and said, “Done.”
Every other kid in the class dropped their pencils in shock as the teacher walked towards me. She picked up my test expecting every answer to be wrong, quickly looked over it and gave it a grade. She set the test face-down on my desk. I flipped it over as she walked back to her desk. 100% as I expected. Then the rest of the school day settled down. I was kept after school like the teacher said and, as my punishment, I had to write ‘I will not talk back to my teacher’ until I filled up the chalkboard. To the teacher’s surprise I finished in mere minutes and left earlier than was planned.
I had just left and waiting for me were two ponies, a pink one and a gray one. They walked in front of me to block my path.
“Hey you got out pretty fast,” the gray one said.
“What did they realize you were too dumb to be in school,” the pink one got in on the insult.
I knew that these two would be a constant bore if I didn’t do something now. I looked down and saw a small rock near my left hoof. I say a small frog jump next to the gray pony, though it was still a good distance away. It clicked.
“Probability of success, ninety-nine percent,” I said to myself.
“What did you say?” the pink pony said.
I kicked the rock right behind the frog and it jumped out of fear on to the gray pony.
“Aaahh,” the gray pony screamed and shook when she saw the frog on her back.
“Aaahh,” the pink pony screamed as the frog jumped from the gray one on to her.
I couldn’t help but fall on my back and laugh at them. It was just hilarious to see them going crazy over nothing. I stopped laughing after they ran off and I began to hear snickers coming from a nearby bush. I walked over to the bush and parted the branches. Inside were three ponies. I recognized them immediately as kids from my class. I stepped back as they each jumped out.
“That was pretty awesome teaching those two a lesson,” the orange Pegasus said.
“Yeah those two are always gettin’ on mah nerves,” said the yellow earth pony.
“Your names are Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle and you three are part of a group called the Cutie Mark Crusaders,” I said.
“How did ya know all that?” Apple Bloom asked me.
“That was just mah analysis of y’all,” I said mimicking Apple Bloom’s dialect.
“Hey are you makin’ fun of me?” Apple Bloom asked in an accusatory tone.
“No I was just finishing my analysis,”
“Huh?”
“Nothing,” I said, “My name’s Johnathan.”
“You mentioned that you didn’t have a cutie mark,” Sweetie Belle piped up, “Maybe you could be a Cutie Mark Crusader with us.”
“That’s a great idea Sweetie Belle,” Apple Bloom said rather enthusiastically.
I could see that Scootaloo wasn’t the happiest about Sweetie Belle’s offer.
“I’ll have to think about it,” I said.
“Ok,” said Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle simultaneously.
“Hey is this your first day in Ponyville?” Scootaloo asked.
“Yeah,” I replied with a bit of sadness in my voice that could only be detected by somepony like me.
“Then you have to meet Rainbow Dash. She’s only the most awesomest pony in all of Ponyville.”
“Maybe tomorrow,” I said.
“Ok then we’ll see you tomorrow Johnathan,” Sweetie Belle said as we went separate ways.
‘What did I get myself into’ I thought as I got home.
“How was your day Johnathan?” my dad asked as I entered the house.
I was still trying to sleep but I felt hooves trying to shove me out of bed. I opened my eyes and saw Scootaloo pushing me.
“Mom!” I called to her, “How did they get in here?”
“I let them in. Oh and I am so glad you already made some friends.”
“C’mon get up Johnathan,” Scootaloo said as she kept pushing me.
“I’m too tired,” I said as I pulled my blanket over my head.
I heard my mom call up to me again, “Johnathan, come downstairs and get you breakfast.”
“What is it?” I asked her.
“Pancakes,” she replied.
“Are they chocolate chip pancakes?”
“Yes.”
“Awesome!”
I leaped out of bed and flew past Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell who were by the door. They came down the stairs as I was already eating.
“Wow,” Scootaloo remarked, “You can already fly.”
“Yeah,” I said after swallowing down my third pancake, “Can’t you?”
“Well no not yet… but one day I’m gonna be the best flyer just like Rainbow Dash.”
Sweetie Belle began to speak, “Don’t forget you said you wanted to meet Rainbow Dash today.”
“I said maybe tomorrow.”
“Well it’s tomorrow today,” said Scootaloo, “And you NEED to meet Rainbow Dash.”
“I will if you tell me how you found my house.”
“Mah sister told me that this was where the new family moved in,” said Apple Bloom.
“Ok, now I’ll go meet Rainbow Dash,” I said after finishing all of my pancakes.
The whole walk to Rainbow Dash we had to listen to Scootaloo go on and on about how awesome Rainbow Dash is and what amazing things she did. We were finally saved when we arrived at Rainbow Dash’s cloud house.
“Hey Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo called up to her, “There’s somepony who wants to meet you.”
I saw a cyan Pegasus with a rainbow mane come out of the house. She flew down at an incredible speed with a rainbow streak following her.
“So where’s the pony that wants to meet the amazing Rainbow Dash?” she asked.
She looked over at me.
“So you’re the pony who wants to meet me,” she began again, “Hey aren’t you the new kid in town?”
“Yes I am new in town,” I replied, “I hear you’re the fastest flyer in Ponyville.”
“I’m not just the fastest flyer in Ponyville. I’m the fastest flyer in the whole world.”
“Well somepony is self absorbed.”
“What?! Me self absorbed. No way. I’m the least self absorbed pony ever.”
“Whatever.”
This pony was interesting to say the least. And when something interests me I just have to test it.
“You wanna race Rainbow Dash?” I asked her.
“Sure, I’ve got a few seconds to spare,” she replied in an overconfident tone.
“Oh but can I pick the track we race on?”
“Sure, I can win on any track we race on.”
We walked over to a track I spotted on the way over to Rainbow Dash. It was a rather long track with very tight turns at each end. It was the perfect track for me. I had to get things set up perfectly for me to win.
“Hey Rainbow Dash,” I began to talk as we approached the track, “We should use the same rules the Wonder Bolts use for their races.”
“Ok, this should be good practice to race with the rules.”
“Do you need me to explain them to you?” I asked to set up the mood for the race.
“You. Explain them to me. I should be explaining them to you.”
I could tell it was working. She was getting all riled up which is the attitude that would cause her to lose. We both got on the track when I began to speak.
“Oh and Rainbow Dash,”
“Yeah,” she said.
“I want you to race me like you’re racing the Wonder Bolts, ok”
“Ok if you really want me to beat you that badly.”
“I’ll beat you in ten seconds flat,” I said mimicking her voice.
“Hey!” she said.
“I was just finishing my analysis,” I told her, “Scootaloo start the countdown. Probability of success, ninety-two point seven percent.”
“On your mark. Get set. Go!”
We were both off. I had no chance of keeping up with Rainbow Dash but I still went full speed. She was coming up to the first turn at top speed. She tried to make the sharp turn but I knew what she was capable of. She went flying off the track and crashed into and apple tree. I slowed down so I could watch as apples fell one by one off the tree on to her head. As I approached her she was dazed but she snapped out of it.
“And as per the rules, you Rainbow Dash, are disqualified,” I said to the angry pony.
She flew up to me and said angrily, “You cheated. If you didn’t I would have won that race.”
“How could I have cheated if you agreed to all of the conditions?” I asked her.
“Well I want a rematch,” she demanded.
“No.”
“What do you mean no!”
“I mean I don’t want to have a rematch.”
“That’s because you know you’ll lose to me if you race again.”
“You are correct, but I beat you so now I’m twenty percent cooler.”
“Stop copying me! It’s annoying.”
“But mimicry is the sincerest form of flattery.”
“Really,” she said a bit surprised.
“Or…maybe I’m just trying to annoy you.”
“Hey!”
“I said maybe. Then again… I said maybe I would come and see you today. Well it was fun to race you.”
I woke up this morning to somepony else trying to wake me up. There was a soft tapping on my window that got louder as I pulled my blanket over my head. The tapping continued until I finally got up and saw Rainbow Dash hovering outside. I got up and walked towards the window.
“What do you want?” I asked her.
“Well I thought since you were new in Ponyville I could give you the grand tour.”
I quickly, and effortlessly, analyzed her actions and new she want to get me to like her. She clearly was concerned about what others thought of her so I decided to play along. I walked downstairs and ate breakfast then went outside to get a tour from Rainbow Dash.
“Let’s get started,” I said.
She took me around town to see things that I assume are important parts of the town. A bakery called Sugarcube Corner, a boutique, an apple orchard called Sweet Apple Acres and finally the library. It was rather uneventful but I was able to meet up with The Cutie Mark Crusaders so it wasn’t all bad. I at least had some friends to do something with. Friends. I never thought I would enjoy my life in Ponyville, let alone make friends. But somehow I did it. I made friends. My time with Rainbow Dash was getting a little old and so I found a way to lose her with The Cutie Mark Crusaders.
“Finally,” I began, “I thought I was going to have to listen to her all day.”
“I know. She just kept talkin’ about herself,” said Apple Bloom.
“Now what do we do?”
“We could try to find our cutie marks,” said Sweetie Belle.
“We do that every day,” Scootaloo said, “But we clearly aren’t trying enough because we still don’t have our cutie marks.”
“Hey Johnathan are you coming?” asked Sweetie Belle as they began to walk.
“Um…well…sure why not.”
So we began to do activities in an attempt to get our cutie marks. We tried baseball first which I found easy as it was mainly just angles with power having little impact on whether you do well or not. We then set off to do rock climbing. It was simple and all you had to do was avoid getting stuck. I didn’t have trouble with that either as I stayed on the right path that most ponies would have to learn from experience. The last thing we went to do was the tightrope. It was an odd choice but I was quite good at keeping my balance and so was Scootaloo.
“I can’t believe it,” said an exasperated Apple Bloom, “After all that we still didn’t get our cutie marks.”
“But we did have fun right,” I said trying to lift their spirits, “And after all if you’re not having fun you’re just wasting your time.”
“I guess you’re right but…I still want my cutie mark.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll get it eventually.”
“But I want it now.”
“But sometimes you just have to wait. I always wait and work things out in my head so they go just right. If I rush I wouldn’t be able to do all the things I can do.”
There was a bit of a silence that was broke by a strange pink pony.
“Hi,” she shouted as she approached us, “Guess what.”
I quickly took my analysis and began to speak, “You just left your birthday party.”
“Wow how did you know that? Can you see into the future, or maybe you can see into the past, or maybe you can read my mind.”
“The answer is none of the above. I could tell because of your enthusiasm which indicated you were the focal point of something, the smell of an array of foods and the fact that you have some confetti in your mane.”
“Wow. That was amazing!”
“It’s nothing really.”
“Hey you’re new in town aren’t you?”
“Yes my name’s Johnathan.”
“My name’s Pinkie Pie and I throw the best parties ever. Hey, when’s your birthday. I need to know if I’m going to throw you a birthday party.”
“It’s tomorrow but I don’t want a party.”
“You don’t want a party!” Pinkie Pie said in disbelief, “How could you not want a party I mean they are so much fun.”
“I just don’t want to be the center of attention.”
“Oh I see,” she said as she looked at Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.
“And I definitely don’t want a surprise party,” I added on.
“Ok well I gotta go,” said Apple Bloom.
“Me too,” Sweetie Belle followed.
“Me three,” Scootaloo finished.
“Me four or is it me last oh well bye,” said Pinkie Pie.
This was by far the easiest situation to analyze. They were throwing me a surprise party. It was unfortunate for them because my plans had changed to sleep all day tomorrow so I don’t have to go to my party.
I woke up the next morning as I did every morning since I got to Ponyville by trying to fall back to sleep. I pulled my blanket over my head and began to drift of but then I smelled something. It was a pleasant aroma that came from the kitchen. I recognize it as pancakes. But not just any pancakes. No they were of course my favorite, chocolate chip pancakes.
“Johnathan,” my mom called up to me, “Come down and get your breakfast. I made chocolate chip pancakes.”
“I don’t want any,” I told her from my room.
I knew she would be worried as I would do just about anything for chocolate chip pancakes. I heard footsteps coming towards my room and then my door opened.
“Johnathan are you ok,” my mom said as she walked towards me.
“Yes,” I said, still hidden under my blanket.
“Now don’t lie to me I know something’s wrong.”
“Today’s my birthday,” I began to explain to her, “And if I get up I’m going to have to go to a surprise party for me.”
She didn’t question how I knew and instead got straight to the party part, “Why don’t you want to go.”
“I hate being the center of attention.”
“Look Johnathan life is full of situations we don’t like but still have to deal with so you might as well make the best of it.”
I came out from underneath my blanket.
“Fine. Do I still get the pancakes?”
“Well actually your father ate them all.”
“Seriously mom, I know you’re lying and that’s not even funny. You know how I feel about chocolate chip pancakes.”
I guess I would have to at least try to enjoy my party. It was around noon that everypony stopped ignoring me and avoiding me because of my “surprise” party and instead they all just disappeared. All but Rainbow Dash. She followed me for awhile. I knew she was there but I didn’t want to break it to her too soon. It was after about an hour of this that I finally decided to end it.
“I know you’re there Rainbow Dash,” I turned around and told her.
“Hey, no fair,” she came out from behind some garbage cans, “How did ou know I was there.”
“You’re a loud walker.”
“Hey do you want to go to Sugarcube Corner?” she asked me to quickly change the subject.
I wanted to have a little fun on my birthday so I said, “No thanks. I’d much rather have a rematch race against you.”
I knew this would make her a little annoyed as it was clearly her job to get me to my party.
“A rematch,” she said excitedly, “Ok…actually…you know on second thought you would probably win again.”
She could barely get her last words out and so I decided to go a little further, “But we could race on any track you like.”
I could see her mix of emotions on her face, “No no no, I couldn’t…I mean…well…my wing is broken. Yep, my wing is broken so I can’t fly.”
“Really your wing is broken. Too bad. Or maybe… you’re just too scared to race me.”
She was being pushed to her limits of what she could tolerate, “I am NOT chicken. I just have a broken wing.”
“Oh well, I guess you aren’t the fastest flyer,” I said as I began to walk away.
She quickly got up in the air and flew in front of me, “Now listen here Johnathan. I AM THE FASTEST FLYER BUT I DON’T WANT TO RACE!”
“Temper, temper. You really should get some anger management. I mean after all anger is bad for your health.”
“I am not angry now get moving!”
She began pushing me from behind but I placed my hooves in the ground to stop her. She wouldn’t give up and so with much resistance she finally got me to Sugarcube Corner. She went inside ahead of me but I still wanted to have a little more fun before my party. I went around to the back to see if there was another door. Luckily for me there was and so I entered quietly. I could see well in the dark and so I saw everypony hiding and waiting. I looked to my right and saw a light switch.
“Surprise!” I shouted as I turned the lights on.
Everypony turned around and couldn’t believe that I had found out. Surprisingly not much was said about it and my party was beginning. It wasn’t much fun for me but I didn’t mind. There were games and presents and a cake, the usual party things. My favorite part no doubt was the end. As I was leaving out the front door I was stopped by Sweetie Belle.
“Hey Johnathan, have you ever met a zebra?”
“No I haven’t. Why?”
“Well the Cutie Mark Crusaders are going to visit our zebra friend Zecora and we wanted to know if you would come.”
“Meeting a zebra sounds interesting. Sure, why not.”
We met up with the rest of the crusaders and we headed out to the Everfree forest. We had Rainbow Dash with us since we were just little kids and our families would be concerned if we went alone. We had gotten to the forest and then began to travel to Zecora’s home. It was my first time in the forest but the crusaders and Rainbow Dash helped point out the dangers along the way. Nothing much happened until we reached a split in our path.
“I think we need to go the left way,” Apple Bloom said unsurely.
“No way Apple Bloom. We go the right way… I think,” said Scootaloo.
“We’re lost aren’t we?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“I say we go left,” said Sweetie Belle.
So we went left. It wasn’t long until we reached a dead end and so we began to walk the other way. Unfortunately we had discovered that there was a Manticore right behind us. Rainbow Dash Quickly got to work trying to distract the beast so we could run. However the Manticore struck down Rainbow Dash with a quick swing of its claw and began to approach us. I looked to my left and saw a loose vine. To my right was a thorn bush. Above the Manticore were some dead leaves. Next to my hoof was a rock. It clicked.
“I have an idea…but,” I began to say.
“Then do something,” said Scootaloo.
“But the probability of success is only point zero three percent.”
“So just take a chance,” Apple Bloom said, “Everypony has to take a chance and stop playin’ it safe once and a while and your time is now.”
She was right. I had to stop playing it safe and take a chance for once in my life.
“Here I go.”
I kicked the rock over to the vine. The rock hit the vine and caused it to drop. The vine along with the dead leaves fell down on the Manticore. It began flailing about trying to shake of the leaves and in the process crashed into the thorn bush. ‘Please work’ I thought to myself. It did work. The Manticore flew off and we could finally catch our breath.
“Phew,” I said as I fell on my back, “It actually worked. You know what.”
“What,” the Cutie Mark Crusaders asked.
“I will be a crusader with the three of you.”
“Awesome!” Apple Bloom said mimicking my voice.
“Hey,” I said as I stood up.
“I was just finishing my analysis,” she said mimicking my voice again.
“Oh you think that’s funny do you. Well we’ll see how funny it is when you’re pinned to the ground.”
I began to chase after her and she ran away. The other crusaders joined in and so did Rainbow Dash after a little bit. What more can I say really. I lived in Ponyville and enjoyed it. Not what I first thought when I moved here but hey, even I can be surprised.