> We'll figure it out somehow > by Techy > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > The Beginning > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- On a Saturday afternoon a man named Jim was walking home from work. Jim was like any other guy. He wasn’t too tall, had dark brown hair and was still in his early twenties. He worked at a factory that made many types of toys for kids, sometimes he even got to bring some home as a little souvenir. As he walked back home he saw a storm starting up. He tried to hurry as to not get caught in any rain. Soon he reached his house only a few minutes after the rain started, so he luckily wasn’t soaked. He lived on the outskirts of a nice neighborhood in a cozy little house. Today was finally the last day he had to work before he had a much needed two week break. It may seem easy to put toys together, but when you need to do it nearly all day and for six days a week, just like any other job, it gets pretty tiring. Now that Jim was home he could get some food into his belly and watch some TV before going to bed. As he stepped inside and closed his door his cat Milo ran up to him meowing like crazy. “Yeah, I know you’re hungry,” Jim said, “But you don’t need to make such a racket about it.” Jim then walked to the kitchen after taking his shoes off and grabbed some cat food. “Why do you always make me get you the expensive kind? I bet the cheaper cat food taste just the same,” He said a bit grouchily, “Whatever, you always know that I would do anything for you.” Jim then put a hefty amount into a bowl for Milo and then proceeded to take a shower and put some more comfortable clothes on. He walked over to the couch to sit down and get comfortable. He reached for the remote and turned his TV on, then started channel surfing looking for something good to watch. As he was flipping through channels he saw something and stopped on it. Luckily for him it was his favorite show. He was now excited and continued to watch, but needed to turn the volume up a few times because of the raging storm outside. Suddenly a huge flash came out of nowhere, and at the same time there was the biggest crack sound Jim ever heard. ‘Was that lightning?!’ He thought after he regained his senses. The blast of light and sound blew Jim out of his chair and slammed him into the wall behind him. Jim slowly tried to get up, but his whole body started aching. ‘I should probably make sure I’m ok.’ Soon after Jim got himself off the ground he walked to his kitchen, which thankfully was next to him, and grabbed his first aid kit. “I knew this would come in handy,” He said to himself, “I was just hoping I would never need to use it.” Then a startling thought came to mind, ‘Is Milo alright?’ As soon as he had that thought he heard a meow from behind him, and when he turned around he saw his cat in a startled state. Milo was hiding in a corner and was shaking with hairs all over him standing on end. Jim then bent down and checked all over his cat, but luckily he seemed fine. “Thank goodness that you’re alright,” Jim said with a breath of relief, “I was worried there for a second, but it looks like you just got the scare of a lifetime.” Jim then checked himself and was happy to see that he wasn’t too badly hurt besides some bruises. Then another thought came to mind, ‘If lightning just struck in my house, then how does my living room look?’ After Jim put his First aid kit away he braced himself and walked out of his kitchen to see… everything looking seemingly alright for a place that was just struck by lightning. Except for all the turned over furniture. His couch had fallen backwards, his comfy chair that was normally on the left of his couch, was now upside down and his little table in-between the TV and couch was across the room. Everything seemed to be ok and none of his stuff was broken, except for a dent in the wall where he landed. There was also some dust and smoke near the middle, enough to where he couldn’t see into it but he could also tell that there was no fire. He decided to wait for it to settle by picking up his things and putting them back in the right spots. Once that was finished Jim saw that the smoke had cleared, but what he saw was quite the sight to see. There was a large dark ring burned into his carpet, but the surprising thing was what was in the middle of it. A light yellow Pegasus with long pink hair was in the middle of the dark ring knocked out cold. “Is that… a Pegasus? But… how is that even possible? They don’t exist… right?” After examining it he realized it was a girl, and kind of small. ‘A horse would be bigger. Maybe she’s a pony? A Pegasus pony… What is happening to my life? And what would she be doing here?’ Jim decided to get her onto his bed and wait until she woke up. Maybe he could find something tomorrow, but for now he needed to rest. ‘Maybe this is just a dream?’ Jim doubts it, but if this is real then his life is going to get a lot more interesting. > It just keeps getting weirder... > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jim sat there and waited for the mystery mare to awaken. He waited for a while but got tired and went to bed on the couch. When he awoke he checked his bed and she was still sleeping. Jim decided to wait until she awakens. He had kept pinching himself and gently poking her just to make sure this is real. Jim knew that eventually she would wake up and that he just had to wait, but this was getting ridiculous. Luckily He didn’t need to wait anymore, because she started shuffling around and groggily opened her eyes… And then she screamed. ‘She can scream? But, why is she so quiet?’ He wondered. Jim was so distracted with having her in front of him that he didn’t even consider what would happen when she woke up. ‘At least no one will knock at the door because they heard a scream. So that’s good luck, I guess.’ Jim thought while staring at the yellow pony in front of him. He quietly waited with a bit of concern as she finished her nearly silent scream. She was now backed up into a corner, trying to hide behind her flowing pink hair. ‘Wow, she must be terrified.’ Jim thought grimly. “Hey, don’t worry,” He said, “You’re ok.” She peaked out from behind her hair at that, but quickly hid again. ‘Well, it’s progress.’ “I’m not going to hurt you.” Jim said. A moment after he said that she looked at him again. Jim smiled at that, finally he was getting somewhere. ‘If she can scream, then maybe she can talk. She did seem to understand me, and it wouldn't be the weirdest thing that's happened lately.’ Jim thought. He then said, “Do you have any idea how you got here?” She had a look of what seemed like confusion on her face for a moment, but then shakes her head no. “Well I don’t know how you got here exactly, but what I do know is that some lightning somehow struck in my house,” She started to get concerned, “And after the smoke cleared I found you lying there unconscious.” That did it for her. She gasped and started to look guilty. “I’m sorry.” She said in a small quivering voice. ‘Whoa, so she can talk? Well that would probably help in finding where she came from.’ “Hey, hey, it’s ok. My home is, for some crazy reason, perfectly fine. Well except for a big burn mark in my carpet, but I covered that up with a towel for now,” That seemed to calm her down somewhat, but she still had a guilty expression on, “Hey stop worrying about it. We’re both ok, as far as I can tell, and I can get my carpet fixed. You were asleep for a while though. I was wondering if you wanted a snack, or maybe some breakfast.” ‘If she talks and acts like any other person then I’m going to treat her like one.’ “Ok… if that’s alright with you.” She still had a quiet voice, but Jim could tell she was warming up to him. “I’ll be right back then. Oh, I just remembered, do you want to meet my cat Milo?” “Sure, if that’s ok.” She said with a tiny smile. ‘This is crazy, or I’m going crazy. Did I hit my head harder than I thought?’ Jim then got up and walked out of the room in search of his cat. He found Milo sleeping on the couch. “You’re such a lazy cat.” Jim said to him. He only got a meow in return once he picked his cat up and walked back to the bedroom. “Here he is, just let me now if you need anything while I make some breakfast for the both of us. Would you like some pancakes?” “Oh, yes please.” The Pegasus said as she started petting Milo. “I’ll be back in a few minutes with the food then. Like I said before, come let me know if you need anything else.” He said as he left. Jim left his bedroom door cracked open so she could open it easier. He proceeded to the kitchen and grabbed the pancake mix. He would always make himself pancakes for breakfast whenever he could. He cooked everything perfectly and made a small stack of pancakes. Once that was finished with, he set the table for two and walked back to his room. “Hey, breakfast is done. It’s set up in the dining room. Just follow me.” Jim said as he watched the pony get up and follow. He only now got to see her stand at full height, but she only came to Jim’s stomach. He watched her look around in fascination at his home as they walked to the table. Soon they sat down and started on their meal, which she loved. “Do you like it?” Jim asked. “Yes, this is wonderful. Thank you.” She said with a smile. “You’re welcome, and I’m glad you like it. My mom is the one that taught me how to cook almost everything I know, and how to make it perfect,” He replied, “But what are we going to do after this?” She looked confused and said, “What do you mean?” “I mean how we are going to get you back home?” “Well, can’t you cast some type of spell to send me back?” She said with a bit of concern. Jim gave a little laugh at that, “Sorry, but I don’t think it’s that simple. I don’t think magic exists here, and if it does exist then I don’t think anyone knows how to use it.” Jim said sadly. “So I might be stuck here?” She said with worry, “You don’t know any way to help?” “I’ll help you in any way that I can, and maybe we can find something that can help, but I can’t guarantee anything yet. Where do you come from anyway?” “I’m from a place called Equestria. Have you heard of it?” “Sorry, but I’ve never heard of it. I don’t think that’s even on this planet.” “Oh my goodness, that’s pretty far isn’t it?” She said with worry. “Don’t worry, if you could come here, than there should be a way to send you back too.” Jim said reassuringly. “Oh… I don’t even know you’re name, but you would still do so much for me?” “Of course I would help. And in case you’re still wondering my name is Jim.” “My name is Fluttershy. There is something that I’m still wondering though.” “What would that be?” Jim said confused. “Are you going to eat that?” She says as she points to the left overs of Jim’s food. When Jim looked at Fluttershy’s plate there was nothing left but some syrup and a few crumbs. “Wow, you really liked those pancakes. Here, you can have the rest.” Jim says, as he passes his plate to the eager Fluttershy’s hooves. “Thank you.” She says, as she gobbles up the pancakes. “You’re very welcome.” Jim says with a laugh. He then got off of his chair and grabbed Fluttershy’s empty plate while she ate Jim’s leftovers and walked to the sink to let it soak along with the pan he used to make the pancakes. Once Fluttershy was done eating, Jim grabbed the plate along with the utensils and put them all in the sink to soak. “Hey Fluttershy, you don’t have anywhere to stay, so I was wondering if you wanted to live here until you can go home?” “Oh, my goodness, I don’t want to be a bother or anything.” “Actually, you might have to stay here. A lot of people might freak out if they see you and probably call the cops or something. Pegasi only exist in mythology here,” Fluttershy was now getting concerned, “I don’t want to worry you though, because there’s a small chance that something like that would happen unless we did something really stupid,” That seemed to calm her down a bit, “I would never let that happen in the first place though, especially to a friend.” “Thank you, so much.” She said with a thankful smile. Suddenly there was a knock at the door that made them jump. “Hey Jim, It’s Zach, I brought some extra movies for our movie watching tournament tonight. And I swear I saw some lightning strike near here. Did you see it?” Zach said from behind the door. “Oh, no…” > Adding to the group > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Go find someplace to hide, just in case.” Jim whispered to Fluttershy. She nodded, then quickly walked over to hide while Jim carefully moved to the door and opened it just enough to see Zach standing there waiting. “Well, are you going to let me in or let me stand here all day?” “Yeah, about that, we may have to reschedule movie night.” Jim said hesitantly. “What? Dude, we’ve been planning this for days. Why the sudden change?” Zach said confused, but then got a thoughtful look for a moment, “Are you being robbed right now?” He said in a hushed tone. “What?! No, why would… ugh you can be really weird sometimes.” “Hey man, it never hurts to check. So if it’s not that then why won’t you let me in, and why are you barely opening the door?” “Um, let’s just say that it’s a bit of a personal matter.” Jim said getting more and more nervous. “Aw, so then when should we have the movie night?” “How does next week sound?” “That’s ok I guess, and just one other thing?” Zach said mischievously. “What would that be?” Jim said knowing he would regret it. “Surprise bust in!” Zach yelled as he started running at Jim. “Wait, what?!” Was the last thing Jim said before being tackled down by Zach. He then watched him look around the house. “What the heck was that for?” ‘I’m glad I had Fluttershy hide.’ “Sorry man, just had to be sure that you weren’t being robbed or something.” Zach said as he helped Jim get back up. “Well… ok, I forgive you. At least I know I have a friend crazy enough to bust in on a robbery now.” “Hey, I’m not that crazy, I just wanted to make sure you’re alright,” Zach said, but a moment afterward he got a worried expression, “My movies!” “Oh come on, are you serious right now?” Jim said while closing his front door. “Hey, don’t dis the movies! These movies are awesome.” Zach replies while he continues to pick up his scattered movies. Jim tried to help by picking up movies too. ‘Man, he really brought a lot of them.’ Jim thought to himself as he picked up his fourth movie. “I think that’s all of them. Let me count them,” Zach said as Jim handed him his stack of movies, “Let’s see… that’s nine altogether, but I brought ten. So where’s the other one at?” “Is that it?” Jim said as he pointed down the hall that leads to his bedroom, a bathroom on the right and a closet on the left. “Oh yeah, I see it, in front of the closet. Thanks.” Zach then walked to the hallway and picked up the movie. “Sorry again about busting in like that. It was rude and-” “Ah-choo” Both Jim and Zach then stood stalk still and looked at each other. “Um… I can explain.” Jim says nervously. Zach all of a sudden got the most devious smile Jim has ever seen him have. “I knew you were hiding something! And it sounds like you have a girl in there.” “I’ll tell you everything as long as you don’t freak out and call the cops or something.” “Why would I call the cops? Whatever, can you just tell me?” “Alright well, remember the lightning you said you saw yesterday?” “Yeah, what about it?” “Well, that lightning struck in my house and…” Jim then opened the closet to show a scared Fluttershy hiding halfway under a shirt, “When the smoke cleared I found Fluttershy here unconscious on the ground.” Zach’s eyes were so big as soon as he saw her that Jim was surprised his eyes didn’t fall out. He just stood there looking at her for a moment and then nearly yelled, “That is the cutest thing I have ever seen!” Now it was Jims turn to be surprised as Zach started to roll around on the ground smiling like a lunatic and kept repeating “So cute, so cute.” Fluttershy then started to blush profusely and tried to hide under the shirt even more, which just re-ignited Zach’s ‘cute-attack’. “That is just degrading,” Jim said as he stared at the craziness in front of him, “So you’re not going to call the cops or anything?” “What?! Why would anyone ever do something like that to something so cute?” He replied, which made Fluttershy blush even harder. “Ok then, well if you’re done with your ‘cute-attack’ then maybe you could help us.” “I’ll do anything you need me to.” Zach said, after getting off the ground and giving Jim a salute. “You are so weird, but I guess that’s just one of the reasons having you as a friend is always interesting. Anyway we need help finding a way to send her back to where she came from.” “Well, you did say she got here by lightning so maybe if we have her get struck by lightning she’ll go back,” Zach said, and then Jim just gave him a deadpan look, “Ok, sorry, I get it. No time for joking around. Well, I can see if I find something, but it will probably be awhile before we actually find anything.” “Well, it’s a start,” Jim then leaned down to Fluttershy, “Are you sure you don’t remember anything that could help?” “Well, the last thing I remember is that there was some weird storm in the Everfree forest. That forest has always been the weirdest, but that was the biggest storm that’s come out of there before.” “Do you think the storm somehow sent you here?” Jim asked. “I don't know, the rest is still hazy. I’m sorry.” Fluttershy replied. “D’AAAWWWW. SHE’S SO CUTE!” Zach blurted out, making Fluttershy Start blushing again. “It’s alright Fluttershy. We’ll figure the rest out eventually.” “I hope we can soon. I miss my friends and Angel bunny.” Fluttershy said sadly. “Don’t worry, I promise that we’ll get you home.” Jim replied. “Thank you, both of you.” Fluttershy said with a smile. “You’re welcome.” Both Jim and Zach say simultaneously. “That was weird... anyway, for now you can stay with me, but you can’t go outside unless I’m with you keeping watch. Is that alright with you?” “Of course it is.” Fluttershy says with a smile. She then realizes that she’s still under a shirt and starts blushing as she tries to tumble out of the closet… This then sends Zach into another ‘cute-attack’. > The next day > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Later that day all three of them watched movies into the night, but didn’t watch any that would scare Fluttershy. They ate popcorn, drank soda and had a few good laughs, but sadly it would need to end soon so all of them could get a good night’s sleep. “Hey guys,” Zach said groggily, “It’s getting pretty late. I think I’m going to head home and meet up with you two tomorrow.” “Alright, well we should get some rest to. I think Fluttershy is already asleep,” Jim says as they both look over to the little comfy chair where Fluttershy is fast asleep while cuddling Milo, “You better not go into one of your ‘cute attacks’ again.” “But, she’s so-” “No. just head home and stop acting like a kid.” “Alright fine, just remember though that if you need anything then just call me and I’ll come over.” “I’ll try to remember that. Have a safe trip home.” “See you later.” Zach said before finally leaving. ‘Well, now that that’s over with I should get some sleep,’ Jim thought tiredly, ‘but should I leave Fluttershy to sleep on the couch? No, I should probably let her sleep on my bed. I would feel bad if I didn’t let her.’ Jim then walked to Fluttershy and gently lifted her and Milo up and carried them to his bed. ‘Man, she’s kind of heavy for something so cute.’ She started to toss around a bit and reached out. “What do you want? You have Milo and a cozy blanket,” Jim quietly pondered to himself, “Do you need something else?” Suddenly Fluttershy’s hoof grabbed Jims arm and pulled him, with an amazing amount of strength, down onto the bed. “Whoa, you’re strong.” Jim said with some astonishment. He tried to get out of her death grip as she snuggled him, but couldn’t budge. “I’m not getting out of this, am I?” Jim questioned, which seemed to get Fluttershy to give a little subconscious shake of her head, “Well, at least it’s comfy,” Jim said as he pulled the blanket over himself, “Goodnight Fluttershy.” The next morning Jim woke up and found that he was still in Fluttershy’s death grip. “Hey, Fluttershy, are you up yet?” “Huh?” Fluttershy mumbles as she slowly awakens, but as she notices who she has in her grip she lets go and starts scrambling backwards, “I’m so sorry, I- I just-” “Hey, hey, it’s alright, you’re ok,” Jim says to try to calm her down, “You were asleep, and didn’t know what you were doing.” That seemed to calm her down somewhat. Jim gets out of bed and stretches his arms and legs, while Fluttershy slowly crawls out of the covers. She then does a little hop to get off of the bed. “Are you sure that what I did was ok?” “Fluttershy, you snuggled me. I’m pretty certain that it would be fine with nearly anyone,” Jim replied with a small smile, “So then, I think I should take a shower. If you want you can take one first while I make some breakfast.” “Oh, well alright, but can you show me how to use it?” She said with some blush. “Of course, follow me.” Jim said as they walked out of Jim’s bedroom and into his bathroom. When they got in there Jim pointed out a knob, “Turn this right to make it hotter and left to make it colder. Just turn it right to start the shower and get it to the right temperature for you. There are a few different shampoos and conditioners that you can use. I don’t know how you would normally shower yourself so the rest is up to you.” “Wow, thank you.” Fluttershy said to him with a quickly growing blush. “You’re welcome. Here, I’ll get you a towel.” Jim walked away and returned with a large towel for Fluttershy. He then left and proceeded to make breakfast for the both of them. ‘Let’s see, should we have some more pancakes, or maybe just some salad? I’ll just make some fruit salad and hope for the best.’ As he gathered what he needed he heard the shower running and wondered if Fluttershy was doing ok. ‘I’m sure she’s fine. Besides, I don’t want to walk in on her showering.’ Soon Jim made fruit salad with some orange juice as Fluttershy came out of the bathroom with the towel Jim gave her wrapped around her head. “Hey there, so did you enjoy your shower?” “Yes, it was great. What did you make for breakfast?” Fluttershy said curiously. “I made some fruit salad with orange juice. What do you think?” “That sounds wonderful.” She said with a smile as she sat down. “Alright, well after we eat I need to take a shower too,” Jim said as they started their breakfast, "I wonder if Zach found anything yet?" "I hope he did, but it's unlikely." Fluttershy said sadly. "Hey, don't worry. I promise that we'll get you home." Jim said reassuringly. They ate the rest of the salad in silence and when they were finished Jim brought the dishes to the sink and left them to soak. He then gathered some fresh cloths and stepped into the bathroom to shower. After taking a nice long soak in the shower and changing, Jim stepped out of his bathroom to see Fluttershy doing the dishes. "Fluttershy? What are you doing?" Jim asked. "I'm doing the dishes for you, because you've helped me so much already." Fluttershy said with a small smile. "Oh, Fluttershy, you don't need to do that. I'm happy to help without you needing to repay me." Jim reassures her. "Ok, if you're sure, at least let me finish these last few plates." She says as she continues washing the dishes. "Alright, well I'm going to be right back. I'm going to get Zach and come back here. Can you watch Milo while I'm gone?" "Of course, but try to hurry, because I don't want to be all alone for too long." "Don't worry, Milo can keep you company and Zach's house is only a few houses down the road, so I'll be back quick." Jim reassures her as he puts on his shoes. He then makes sure he has everything and walks out the door. He starts walking to Zach's house because he doesn't have a car to drive there yet. After a few minutes he reached his destination and knocked on the door. To his surprise Zach was already standing at the door and opened it right after Jim knocked. "Oh, hey dude what's up? I was just about to go to your house." Zach said. "Actually, I came to get you. I was hoping we could try to do some research back at my house." Jim replied. "Oh sweet, then let's go." Zach then started literally marching off towards Jims house. They walked back towards Jim's house but got a strange look or two from other people on the sidewalk. Jim was a bit confused until he noticed that Zach was still marching. He just gave a little chuckle and decided not to say anything about it. As they arrived back at Jim's home, they walked inside to see that Fluttershy was nowhere to be found. "Fluttershy? Are you here?" Jim questioned. "Jim, is that you?" Fluttershy replied while hiding in the hallway closet again, "I heard some noises and I didn't know if it was you or not." "That is some good thinking," Zach said, "Alright, I got some mythology books, and books on alternate dimensional theories. I could start on them while you guys just hang out somewhere." "What, why would we just let you do all the work?" Jim asked. "Well you two could use some time to just relax. I'm sure everything will be fine as long as you don't go somewhere public," Zach said while grabbing his books, "Maybe you could have a picnic at the park." "That sounds like it could be fun." Fluttershy said with a smile. "Well if it's ok with the two of you then let's do it." Jim replied. They then grabbed some apples, made sandwiches, got water bottles and grabbed a backpack to carry it all in. Jim grabbed a picnic blanket for them to lie down on, and after double-checking everything, Jim and Zach checked the area outside to make sure no one was there. Once they were satisfied with their observation, Jim called Fluttershy out and Zach went back inside. They all said their goodbyes and Jim and Fluttershy started their journey to the park. 'Maybe something crazy won't happen today.' Jim thought to himself. Then as they arrived at the park Jim noticed a bit of smoke and upon further inspection found that a patch of trees was on fire. 'And there's the crazy thing of the day.' > The park > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I-Is that a forest fire?!" Fluttershy yelled. "Don't worry, it hasn't grown big enough to be unstoppable. I'll call the fire department and you try to find a pond or something." Jim responded. "Why do I need to find a pond?" "Because if the fire starts getting out of control before the fire department gets here then we need to make it go down." "Oh, alright, I'll let you know if I find one." She said as she left. "Just be careful!" Jim shouted after her, "Ok, we can do this." Jim reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He dialed 911 and waited for them to pick up. "Hello, this is nine-one-one, what is your emergency?" The lady one the phone said. "I need the fire department." "Where is the fire at sir?" "It is at the southwest corner of the local park, and it doesn't seem to have gotten out of control yet." "Thank you for keeping calm, a fire truck should be on it's way. Just try to stay away from the fire until the fire truck arrives." "Thank you, I'll try to stay away." Jim finally hung up and saw Fluttershy running back towards him. "I found a little river and a pond not too far from here." She said. "The fire department should be here very soon, so we should get you hidden." Jim replied. "Alright, let's go." They ran towards the pond and into a different patch of trees that was far away enough from the fire to be safe. they stopped a few trees in and turned around to see a fire truck arriving and putting out the fire with a hose. "Whoa, what is that thing?" Fluttershy asked. "That, is a fire truck. the way it works is a bit too complicated for me to remember." "But how did it get here without somepony pulling it?" "Well it has a thing in it called an engine and that does a lot more complicated things, that I don't think I'll ever figure out, and it makes the truck go by its self." "Oh... do you think any animals got hurt by the fire?" She said with a very sad expression. When Jim looked at her he could tell that she was genuinely worried about the animals, "I'm sure that all the animals made it out of the way of the fire," Jim said to reassure her, "It was only a little fire and they could probably sense it, so they got away." Now that Fluttershy was happy again they watched the firemen put out the fire and drive off. Jim soon remembered why they came here and opened up the picnic basket that he was still holding. Inside was all the food that they had packed but it was a bit jumbled up. He started pulling everything out and setting it up when he heard a rustle in the bushes. "Did you hear that?" Jim whispered to Fluttershy. She nodded and said, "Do you think it was an animal?" "I'm not sure but I don't want to take any chances. You stay here while I go check it out." Jim got up and slowly walked towards the bushes. As he got closer he started to hear whispering, but it sounded like whoever was talking was just talking to themselves. He crept slowly forward and moved the bush to find... "Another pony?!" "Aaahhhh!" It screamed. "Aaahhhh!" Jim screamed. "Aaahhhh!" Fluttershy quietly screamed from a few feet away. The pony, which by the scream Jim could tell was a girl, started having its horn glow. "What the..." Suddenly a small beam shot out of the pony's horn and hit him in the head, and the next thing Jim saw was darkness. As Jim started waking up he heard distant voices, but one sounded familiar. "Twilight you didn't have to do that." "But it might be dangerous!" "His name is Jim, and he has been helping me." "But... but... ok, I might have overreacted, but I was worried about you." "Ugh, well at least you didn't kill me." Jim mumbled just loud enough for them to hear. "You're awake!" Fluttershy said as she rushed over to Jim, "I was getting really worried." "it's gonna take more than a laser to the face to keep me down," He said groggily as he sat up, "Just don't do that again." "Sorry, but I still have my eye on you." The pony said. She was a light violet with a dark purple, short cut mane. Her mane also had a light pink strip going through it that was also in her tail. "Jim, this is Twilight," Fluttershy introduced, "She's one of my friends." Jim now stood at his full height which intimidated Twilight by just a little, "Wait, so if she's here, then can she bring you back home?" he said with a hopeful smile. "Well..." She said with a sheepish smile, "I haven't mastered that spell yet." "You have got to be kidding me!" Jim exclaimed while throwing his hands up in the air, "Ok, can you master it if we give you time?" "Well, if I study, practice in a safe area and have enough time then I could probably master it. Do you have any books on advanced teleportation and magic concentration?" "Um... no. This world doesn't have any known magic. Magic is only in mythology." Jim replied. Twilight just sat there with her mouth hanging and her right eye twitching, "Ho do you not have magic!" She screamed, "How do you survive?!" "Well, humans just make machines to do tasks that would take tons of people to do by hand," Jim said slowly, "And we have technology that can do what we need it to." "I need to study this," She said as she paced back and forth, "But I need to master the spell, but the studies, but the spell, studies, spell..." She then continued to mumble and pace. Jim and Fluttershy just stared at her and gave each other a sideways glance. As Twilight started trying to plan everything out, Jim just continued setting the picnic up. After it was set up Fluttershy and Jim sat down and started eating some sandwiches. Halfway through their sandwiches, Twilight snapped out of what she was doing to see them eating. "Did... did I go into 'planning mode' again." She asked with a blush. "Yeah," Fluttershy nonchalantly said, "Want a sandwich?" "Sure," Twilight replied as she sat down, "I'm sorry about that, it's just so fascinating to think about a world without magic." "Hey, now that I think about it, how did you get here?" Jim asked. "Oh, well there was a large storm coming towards our town so I tried a new spell that would make it disappear, but Fluttershy somehow got caught in it and was teleported away with it. I cast a tracking spell on Fluttershy and then recast the spell to send me to her." "Well if you got here the same way she did, then that would explain the fire. But why wasn't there the loud crack of lightning?" Jim pondered. "Maybe since I had a target location and because of me using the spell before, it made a more controlled entrance." Twilight replied. "Alright then, well let's enjoy this picnic and get back home. Who knows, maybe Zach found something that could help us." They ate in silence after that, but enjoyed the meal very much... Fluttershy then gave a tiny burp and they all laughed together. > Running out of time > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- After eating their picnic and getting to know each other a bit more, Twilight, Fluttershy and Jim all started to head back home. They had to hide in an alleyway whenever a car passed by and sometimes behind a few trashcans. Jim grew a smile when he saw that the house was in sight, but as they all rushed to it a gasp was heard behind them. When the group turned to see who it was they froze. Standing infront of them was a news team and one of the camera men was recording Twilight and Fluttershy. "Run," Jim whispered, "Run to the house and hide." "Why?" Fluttershy asked timidly. "They're recording us and if I don't get that camera, then the whole world might know that you're here." After hearing Jim say that, Fluttershy took off flying towards the house while Twilight teleported to the front door. After the ponies left, Jim started rushing towards the news team. "Guards!" The female reporter called out, "This man is going to try to take our property!" After that outburst, two muscly looking guys climbed out of a nearby parked van. Jim just continued to run at them while the reporter and the camera man ran back to the van, but the reporter told the camera man to wait so he could record the soon-to-be fight. Jim soon reached the two men and instantly punched one right in the face before he had the chance to attack. The second guard grabbed Jim and held him down, but let go after getting a backwards kick to the crotch and the first guard that was about to hit Jim had missed because of this and instead hit his friend in the shoulder. The hit was enough to knock the second guard over and caused the first one to stumble. Seeing his chance, Jim ran past them and headed towards the camera man that was still recording, but the second guard that was still on the ground had grabbed his leg and caused him to trip. Suddenly a yell was heard, "YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HURT MY FRIENDS!!!!!!" The one that yelled turned out to be Zach as he hit the first guard in the head with a baseball bat. It seemed to instantly knock the guard out as Zach turned to the second one with a crazed look in his eyes that seemed to scare the guard. Jim just watched as the now standing guard dodged the first attack, but then had the bat broken over his gut. The guard hit Zach directly in the face, which knocked him back a few feet. The guard smiled knowing that nobody could still be standing after a hit like that, but soon got a look of terror as Zach slowly turned to look at him with a smile on his face. "That the best you got?" He asked, before running again and hitting the guard with an upper cut so strong that it launched him into the air. "What the..." Jim muttered under his breath, before getting up and noticing that the camera man and reporter were standing there in shock. Zach turned to look at them while panting heavily and it seemed to knock some sense into the two remaining crew members as they quickly got into the van. Before they could leave, Zach and Jim ran at them, but sadly were a few seconds too late. The two news team members drove as fast as they could away from the crazed Zach as he ran after them and almost caught up to them before running out of breath. "We almost had them!" He yelled, with rage in his eyes, "Did you at least see what their news station was?" "No, I didn't see it." "OH, COME ON!!!" "Look, lets just get call an ambulance and go home. We can figure it out from there." "Fine, fine. just give me a moment." Zach said while he calmed down. "Come on, the girls are probably worried about us." Jim said as he started walking back to his house. Zach started following before asking, "Yeah, who's the new girl?" "That would be Twilight. She's here to help Fluttershy get back home, but needs some time." "Cool," Zach simply said as he stepped over the unconscious guards, "Hold up, let me check these guys for some sort of badge." Zach leaned down by the first guard and checked all his pockets but didn't find anything of importance. He checked the second guard as well, but had the same results as before. With a sigh Zach said, "Nothing. I'll call an ambulance for these brutes." "Alright, meet me back at my house when your done." Jim replied. Jim then continued walking for a few more moments before reaching his house and opening the door. He slowly made his way in, shut the door and then plopped onto the couch. "You can come out now." He said. Instantly Fluttershy and Twilight came out of their hiding spots and gasped when they got a look at him. He didn't blame them, he was a mess. He had scrapes on his legs from tripping, some bruises on his arms from when one of the guards was holding him and his whole body was covered in sweat. "Oh my gosh!" Twilight shouted, "What happened?!" "And where's Zach?" Fluttershy added, before noticing Zach walk in through the door while carrying the broken baseball bat. Zach was a mess too. His nose was bleeding and looked like it might be broken and he too was covered in sweat. "Oh my goodness," Fluttershy said with panic, "Hold on, I'll get the first aid kit." "It's in the kitchen." Jim told her. "Thank you." She quickly said before rushing to the kitchen. Fluttershy returned with the first aid and started to help Zach with his nose while Twilight helped Jim. The ambulance soon showed up and took the two guards to the hospital while also helping Zach and Jim a bit more while the ponies were hiding. After the medical team left, the girls came out of hiding and sat down on some chairs while Jim turned on the TV. He switched to a news channel and instantly a video of him fighting the guards showed up, "...And as you can see, this man that was hiding this new species of animal is now attacking my guards in an attempt to get this footage back. This man tried to hide these animals from the world and even attacked us to try to keep them a secret," The video then showed Twilight teleporting to the front door and Fluttershy flying to the house, "Why wouldn't he want them to be discovered? Are they perhaps a science experiment? Are there more of them? Find out next time as we try to interview this mysterious man along with his crazed companion that chased us as we drove away," The video then skipped to the camera man as he recorded Zach chasing the van with that same crazed look in his eyes, "Come back by this time tomorrow to find out more." "This is bad..." Jim said sorrowfully before hearing a knock at his door.