> Equestrian Battle Tendency
>  by luckyboys121
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> I've seen some crazy stuff, but this!!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

JoJo stared up in horror as the monster before him shifted his arms into wings while smugly saying, "Did you really think a little eruption was enough to conquer the likes of me? I'll just fly my way to safety."

As his mind went into overtime to try and find a way out of this he thought, "Bugger all, I know this wasn't much of a plan to begin with, but it still couldn't have gone worse. Now I'm about to die helpless while Kars goes to finish off Von Stroheim, and then everyone else on Earth!"

Just as JoJo was about to fall into a pit of despair at the idea of all his friends and his last remaining family member dieing, Kars began to flap away as he said, "ENJOY THE FRUITS OF YOUR FOLLY JOJO!"

Suddenly something no one could of possible expected happened, the very arm that Kars had sliced off JoJo a few moments ago had somehow launched itself right into Kars's throat. As JoJo chuckled at seeing this smug bastard suddenly coughing  up blood, he said, "Who's laughing now?" 

Seeing that Kars could do little more then cough up more blood as a response, his confidence became fully restored as he pointed at him saying, "LET ME GUESS! You're gonna say, 'did you plan this too JoJo, tell me?!'"

Kars turned his attention back to JoJo as his throat started to heal and he struggled to say, "How-how do you always know?" It appeared his pain wasn't over yet though as while his focus was turned to JoJo, rocks suddenly shot into his body both wounding him and launching much higher and faster. He screamed from the pain before yelling, "DID YOU PLAN THIS TOO JOJO, TELL ME?!"

JoJo smiled at this, not just because he was right but because he could see more rocks rocketing towards Kars that he couldn't possible dodge. He decided now was the best time to add insult to injury as he yelled, "WHY ARE YOU EVEN ASKING, I SET THE TRAP AND YOU WALKED RIGHT INTO IT! ALL OF THIS WENT DOWN LIKE CLOCKWORK!" He then pumped his fist into the air to make it look as though he was somehow controlling the rocks that now pummeled Kars's body as he once again screamed in pain.

It was at that moment Kars realized what exactly was happening as he could feel the air disappear around him and gravity lose it's hold as he screamed, "NO DAMN YOU!" before dissapearing into the vacuum of space.

JoJo now had the biggest smile of his life as he watched Kars drift further and further away until he couldn't see him anymore and he thought to himself, "I know I should be upset I couldn't actually kill you, but having you live forever thinking I outsmarted you is even better." It was at that point he felt the rock he was on come to its apex before it started tumbling down.

He knew he was probably going to die, but his smile never faded as he took comfort in the fact that everyone else would be OK. "It's over granny and Strohiem. Old Speedwagon, Smokey, and... Lisa Lisa, everyone... goodbye," he thought before he closed his eyes accepting his fate as he soon passed out from a combination of the G force on his body and his severe blood loss, expecting never to wake up again. 

Meanwhile in the Golden Oaks Library

As Spike dusted the shelf thinking, "I don't know why I have to do this so often. It's not like Twilight lets these books sit long enough to actually get dusty." He then glanced over to see Twilight reading her latest book from Celestia as he said, "Well I guess I can complain out loud if I want, I doubt she's gonna hear me anytime soon."

He had every reason to believe this as Twilight had been reading this book nonstop last night, he would have criticized her for pulling an all nighter like this, but  given all the times she had caught him staying up reading comics he didn't have much room to talk. 

He simply shook his head before he suddenly heard a scream from her as he ran up in concern saying, "OH MY GOSH TWILIGHT! WHAT'S WRONG!"

The mare quickly turned to him with bloodshot eyes filled with horror as she stammered, "It smu-smu-"

"It what Twilight?" asked Spike as he placed his claw on her in concern. 

Twilight then turned her eyes down to Spike, further showing the horror in them as she said, "It's smudged."

At hearing this Spike's concern suddenly turned to confusion as he said, "What?"

Twilight then levitated the book in front of him as she said, "The last page of Starwirl's Unabridged Guide to Arcane Energy Fields is smudged to the point that I CAN'T READ IT!" 

While Twilight had a look on her face as if this was the end of the world, Spike simply face clawed as he said, "Is that all?"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IS THAT ALL!?" said Twilight offended at how lightly he was taking this.

"Well I mean, can't you just ask Celestia for another copy or something?" asked Spike casually as he got back to work.

"No I can't, this is the only copy and it came from her personal library, it's unknown if there is even another copy in all of Equestria," said Twilight in fear that she would never see how this tome ended.

Spike looked at her and sighed as he said, "Well that was the only copy from Celestia's library in Canterlot Castle, but maybe she or Luna had one in their old castle."

At this Twilight's fear suddenly melted to excitement as she said, "OF COURSE! The Castle of the Two Sisters, we were so busy looking for the Elements of Harmony last time we where there that I didn't even think to check the library."

Spike smiled at Twilight's sudden joy as he got to work dusting and said, "We can check it out after I finish the chores, and I'm sure some of other friends wouldn't mind a trip there we should ask them along the way."

Unfortunately for Spike Twilight couldn't contain her excitement and had grabbed a map of the Everfree Forest and her saddlebag and had left as soon as he turned his back. 


Meanwhile in the Everfree forest

JoJo groaned as he began to regain consciousness. He opened his eyes and instantly regretted it as the sudden light began to disorient him. "Damn it all, this pounding headache almost makes me wish I had died," he said before he forced himself to reopen his eyes and let them adjust. "Though, I haven't the foggiest idea how I didn't die," he said before he finally got a clear look around and continued saying, "or how I ended up in a forest of all places."

He then tried to get on his feet, only to have his balance feel completely wrong as he immediately fell back down. He chuckled as he said, "Well I suppose it was naive of me to think that I would suddenly be unscathed, even if I don't feel anywhere as bad as I should. I suppose I must have been Hamon breathing in my sleep to heal some of it." He then turned his gaze down saying, "Now what's see what the damage is EH!" He stammered as he couldn't exactly tell what he was looking at, as he saw his green tank top and scarf but beyond that nothing looked recognizable.

"Wha-WHAT THE HELL!" he yelled as he brought his front hooves in front of his face, "WHA-WHAT HAPPENED TO MY HANDS!? There like hooves, and," he then got up on all fours and looked back as he said, "and so do my feet and... why the hell do I have tattoo of a magnifying glass on my ass!" He went from confusion to anger as he said, "Wha- OH I GET IT! This must have been some kind of final revenge from Kars! He could change his own body after all, so it stands to reason he might have been able to change the bodies of others as well." 

He groaned before saying, "Well I suppose there are worse things then being turned into... I want to say horse but given my size relative to these trees pony seems more fitting, albeit a little emasculating." He then got to his hooves and began walking as he said, "Well I suppose it can't be helped, all I can do is get back to Lisa Lisa and hope she has some kind of Hamon technique to change me back." 

As he began walking noticing something shiny nearby and moved towards it. Once he got close he smiled as said, "Oh what luck, the Red Stone of Aja landed here too!" He picked it up and tucked it into his shirt before he paused as he said, "Wait... how did I just pick that up with hooves?"

In another part of the Everfree

Twilight giddily looked at her saddle bag full of books as she said, "I can't believe how much was in just the one library I found, not just the book I needed, but all kinds of others from the Pre-Equestrian Era! I just wish I had grabbed a bigger saddle bag." 

As she walked she began to stumble a little bit as she said, "Woah, guess I was a bit more tired then I thought, maybe I should have waited for Spike after all."

Then as if to answer that yes she should have, Twilight began to hear growls as several yellow glowing eyes began to appear around her."

"Tim-timber wolves," stammered Twilight as she ignited her horn to defend herself, or at least tried to her as she soon discovered her mind was too fatigued to do even the most basic of combat spells. Upon seeing just how helpless their prey was, the timber wolves exited their hiding places and began approaching her as she nervously chuckled saying, "Yup, definitely should have waited for Spike." 

She looked for an opening, and as soon as she found she took off running, not knowing where she was headed as long as it was away from them. Unfortunately in her haste she didn't notice several low hanging vines and soon found herself tripped and tangled up in them. She struggled to try and break free of them as she heard the wolves approaching. It didn't take long to for her to realize she wouldn't be able to get out in time, and after weighing her options she realized she couldn't hide as they where tracking her by smell. So even though noise could lead to her being found faster she screamed, "SOMEPONY PLEASE HELP! HELP!!"

JoJo's ears perked up at the shrill call as he made his way towards it saying, "That, that sounded like a woman in danger... damn, I really wish I had my old body right now, even if this one can fight I think the woman would be more appreciative if a muscular and are I share deviously handsome man saved her instead of some horse. I suppose it can't be helped though, horse body or no horse body Joseph Joestar isn't the type to run away from someone who needs help."

"HELP SOMEPONY! ANYPONY!" yelled Twilight as she saw the wolves getting closer and closer. Just when she started to lose a hope, her calls where answered as suddenly a muscular earth pony stallion came rushing from forest and now stood between her and the wolves.

The stallion glanced back and smiled as he said, "Hmm, well looks like the Kars revenge theory didn't pan out unless he somehow turned the whole world into ponies."

"Wha-," stammered Twilight in confusion as she couldn't make a lick of sense out of what her "savior" was saying.

He only smiled at this as he said, "Don't worry about it mademoiselle, just sit tight and let Joseph Joestar do his thing."

He then turned his sights to the timber wolves and with a look of determination took in a Hamon breath.



He felt the energy flow into his hoof and while he still wasn't sure about his fighting ability in this body, he charged forward and struck the nearest timber wolf saying, "Hamon Overdrive!" only to receive an instant surprise as it cracked apart from this one hit. "Wha-what the," he glanced at the remains in confusion before looking at the other creatures standing before him as he said, "You- you guys are made of sticks?" 

He then paused with a smirk as he got back into his fighting stance saying, "Well I guess I've seen more bizarre things then this, and at least this makes my job here easier." 

Twilight began yelling at him, "WAIT THEY-"

But her words fell on deaf ears as JoJo happily began smacking the wolves as he said, "Say this is actually kind of fun, it's like fighting paper mache dolls." 

Soon JoJo had cracked apart all of them and confidently swaggered over to Twilight as he said, "No need to thank me, just doing what any gentleman would."

He soon reached her and began to untie her as she said, "Hurry, we have to get out of here."

"Oh hoh, well if you insist on thanking me I suppose I wouldn't object to having dinner with you tonight, you know you're actually kind of cute for a pony girl," said JoJo as he took his sweet time untangling the vines.

"What, no," said Twilight blushing as she tried to continue only to be interrupted again.

"Don't worry, it doesn't have to be anywhere fancy, heck after all the Italian food I've been having to eat recently I could go for some classic fish and chips," said JoJo before finally getting the vines untied.

Twilight instantly leaped to her hooves embarrassed as she said, "I'M NOT FLIRTING WITH YOU YOU IDIOT! LOOK BEHIND YOU!"

JoJo did as he was told and turned to see the wolves where now coming back together as he said, "Huh, they can regenerate."

"YES! That is what I was trying to tell you, timber wolves aren't particular durable but they never give up when they've found prey and that's what makes them dangerous," said Twilight.

"I see," said JoJo as he turned back to wolves with a huge smile saying, "Well then I guess it's time for my secret technique."

"Se-secret technique, what kind of secret technique?" asked Twilight.

JoJo only smiled wider before doing a sharp one 180 turn and taking off as he said, "RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" 

"Wha-what kind of technique is that!?" asked Twilight in agitation as she followed after him. 

"I'd say it's a pretty good one when dealing with immortal creatures like these," said JoJo as he quickly made his way forward.

"Well.. I guess," said Twilight as she couldn't argue his point, and honestly would have done the same thing after blasting them herself if she could, but something about the way this stallion did it just seemed to rub her the wrong way.

And so they kept running and running until they got past the tree line and saw there was nowhere left to run as they reached a cliffs edge.

As they sat at the edge and saw the creatures making there way towards them, Twilight turned to JoJo annoyed as she said, "Great plan."

JoJo simply smiled at this as he said, "Thanks but it's not over yet."

"Wha-wha," said Twilight as her annoyance melted into surprise and confusion.



"You see it is not mere coincidence that we have ended up at this cliff, I could tell by the incline of the ground and the way the wind was flowing that there had to be one here," said JoJo confidently. 

"OK, but how is that going to help us?" asked Twilight even more curious.

JoJo's smile turned more smug as he pointed in front of them and said, "Why don't you take a look at the ground in front of us."

Twilight did and gasped in shock as she said, "Wha- are, are those the vines I was tied up in... formed into a web?"

"Indeed they are," said JoJo as the timber wolves finally made there way in front of them, and just as they where about to reach them he placed his hooves onto the edge of the vines saying, "The're the perfect conductor for my Hamon Overdrive!"

He pumped the vines full of Hamon causing the Timberwolves to break apart again, only this time due to their momentum the pieces kept going afterwards. The wolves had all been running at full speed, excited that their prey had finally been cornered, but that excitement was there undoing as their speed carried all their remains past Twilight and JoJo and over the cliff edge.

The two of them watched as the pile of the sticks that had been chasing them now tumbled away. 

"Wow," said Twilight as she looked over embarrassed saying, "I'm sorry I doubted you."

"Eh, you're not the first," said JoJo with a casual shrug. 

Twilight smiled this as she thought, "That was actually really clever of him, I guess this stallion is smarter then he looks." She then reached out her hoof as she said, "Well thank you for saving me, my names Twilight Sparkle and... what did you say your name was again?"

He took her hoof as he said, "Joseph Joestar, but please... call me JoJo." 




> New Pony In Town
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight was somewhat confused as she thought to herself, "Is it just me, or did he say JoJo like it was supposed to be a big deal or something." She then shrugged it off and finished shaking his hoof as she thought, "Well between that and the way he's dressed I guess this guy is just a little odd."

She smiled as she said, "Well again thank you, and if you don't mind could you walk the rest of the way out of the forest with me?"

"Of course," replied JoJo. "If I'm being honest I was just about to ask the same of you since you seem to know more about this place then I do."

"Oh, did you wander into the forest by accident?" asked Twilight as the two made their way.

"You could say that.... I'm what you might call a foreigner to this place and I guess I got turned around," said JoJo. He thought to himself, "I better choice my words carefully here, sure this girl seems nice enough but I think suddenly telling her that I used to be a human who just woke up here could be bad, she might think I escaped from some kind of pony nut house... of course if I tell her almost any story from my life she might think that right now... damn why is my life so bizarre? Regardless I have to feel her out, find out what is and isn't normal to her before I go too far into detail."

"Oh, welcome to Equestria then, and I'm sorry your visit here hasn't exactly gotten off on the right hoof," said Twilight. 

"Eh, it's not the worst welcome I've ever had," said JoJo, resulting in a slight giggle from Twilight. As JoJo looked back he noticed two things as he smiled and thought, "Damn she really is cute... don't know what that says about me that I've been a pony for what five minutes? And already I'm thinking about pony girls that way, but hey when in Rome as they say." The second thing he noticed though caused his smile to fade as he stopped dead in his tracks.

Twilight became concerned at this as she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Your leg," said JoJo as he pointed at a cut on her front right leg that causing her to limp.

"Oh... don't worry about it, it's just a little cut I got when I was trying to untangle myself from the vines earlier. Once I get home and get some bandages on it I'll be fine," said Twilight with a reassuring smile. 

JoJo on the other hand walked up to her saying, "That may be, but I'd hate for it to get a nasty infection, so I think it would be best if I just closed the wound now if you don't mind."

Without another word JoJo bent down and grabbed her hoof, briefly scraping the wound and causing Twilight to wince as she said, "Hey what are you-"

She stopped though as she saw JoJo take in a very deep breath and begin to glow as she thought, "He did this kind of thing before with the timber wolves, but it can't be magic since he's an Earth Pony so what is it?"

Meanwhile JoJo was busy clearing his mind as he thought, "Just gotta deliver a steady dose of positive Hamon just like with Suzie Q," suddenly Twilight's hoof began to glow as well as she stared in awe as the wound close itself and the blood instantly dried up. Once the glowing stopped JoJo let go of her hoof with a smile as he said, "There we are, good as new."

Twilight tentatively placed her hoof on the ground and put weight on it as she said, "It really does feel fine," she then started up a slight trot as she smiled saying, "In fact... I feel better then I did all day, my fatigue is gone, I feel well rested, even the soreness in my flanks from sitting up all night reading is gone!" 

Her smile grew wider as she made her way over to JoJo who leaned forward expecting maybe a kiss on the cheek as thanks, what he got instead was Twilight over excitedly grabbing him by the shoulders and berating him with questions saying, "What was that? Some kind of strange energy field? How did you learn how to use it? Can you teach me?"

JoJo nervously stammered "Um well," as he thought to himself, "Damn, I just had to show off and help her, and just when I was trying not to look out of the ordinary too! Well... I suppose she had already seen me use Hamon against those wolf things so she would have asked these questions eventually anyway, and refusing to answer them would just look even more suspicious." 

JoJo sighed as he looked at Twilight, who somehow had a notepad and pencil now as he said, "To answer your questions, that was Hamon and it is a form of life energy that I can generate through a special breathing technique. As for how I learned to use it, I was technically born with it since my grandfather could also use it, but I've had various instructors who helped me refine it to this point."

As JoJo watched Twilight eagerly copy all this down he thought to himself, "So she's bookish hungry for knowledge type then. Hmmm, I suppose I could use that to my advantage to help me get by here and figure out what exactly is going on."



He put on a casual smile as he rubbed his chin with his hoof saying, "As for teaching I'm not sure exactly... I mean I never taught anyone before so it would probably take a while, and," he then patted his tank top and feigned concern as he said, "OH NO! It looks I lost my wallet in that little scuffle back there, so I guess a hotel is out of the question."

Twilight quickly picked up on what he was getting at as she said, "Oh, if that's the case you can stay with me until you figure something out."

"Oh, I couldn't POSSIBLE impose like that," said Joseph faking humility.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all, I mean I only have the one bed room, but I live in a loft above a library and if I'm being honest... no one ever really comes into the library anyway, so it would be no trouble moving a spare bed down to the lobby at night,"  said Twilight with a smile.

JoJo shrugged and said, "Well, if you insist."

As the two continued walking JoJo smiled that his gamble appeared to pay off, that smile faded though as Twilight leaned towards him saying, "By the way, you could have just asked for a place to stay, you didn't need to put on that over dramatic act."

"Wha-what act," said JoJo feigning ignorance, while blushing from being caught.

"Oh please, next time you want to fool someone don't go yelling 'OH NO' in such a cheesy over the top way," said Twilight with a giggle.

JoJo humphed saying, "I don't know what you're talking about, that's how I always say that."

Twilight giggled even more at that as she said, "Jeez you must be terrible at poker if that's the best you can come up with."

JoJo groaned at that before they finally exited the forest and Twilight said, "Well anyway JoJo, welcome to Ponyville." 

JoJo took in the sights and sounds all around him, the building that seemed to range from simple and rustic to explicitly modern ones including one that looked like it came straight out of a sugar coated nightmare, as well as the various ponies around him as he noticed that some of them had wings and where flying and others, including Twilight he now noticed, had horns on their heads. "Sugary building, talking ponies, and now unicorns and pegasi, what did I get thrown into a child's story book or something?" thought JoJo.

"Here we are," said Twilight as she gestured towards a tree that had somehow been hollowed out and turned into a building, "home sweet home, the Golden Oaks Library. Oh, I'm sure Spike will like having another guy around."

"Spike?" asked JoJo.

"Oh, me and him have been living together for years now, but because of that he pretty much only gets to hang out with my friends and doesn't have many guy ones so he's probably gonna be excited to meet you and ask you to join his game night and stuff," said Twilight with a smile.

"Oh, that should be fun," said JoJo as he thought, "Only one bedroom and shes lived with a guy for years, damn looks like I'm about to be a third wheel to some sappy relationship, ehh this is why I was glad Lisa Lisa didn't ever let Caesar bring any of his girls to the training island."

Twilight smiled at that, not picking up on JoJo's thoughts, as she opened the door saying, "SPIKE I'M HOME!"

JoJo looked around, expecting to find some buff and suave stallion, but was instead greeted to a small dragon wearing a pink apron with a heart on it as he said, "Twilight! Oh thank Celestia, I saw you had left already and I was worried something might happen to you."

Twilight lifted Spike up in a hug as she said, "Thanks for worrying about me, but I'm fine, thanks to this guy that is." She then turned Spike towards him as she said, "Spike this is JoJo, JoJo this is Spike the dragon."

JoJo chuckled to himself as he thought, "Well they may not be the same species, but I certainly recognize a sibling dynamic when I see one." He then walked over and reached out his hoof saying, "Pleasure to meet you little man, Twilight has told me a lot about you."

Spike grabbed his hoof and shook it saying, "Oh nice to meet you too JoJo, and thanks for looking out for Twilight, she can get kind of reckless when it comes to her studies."

"I could have guessed, I mean not many women would invite a strange man to live with her even if he saved their lives," said JoJo.

"Wait what?" said Spike confused and slightly concerned.

"Oh speaking of which, I better go get the spare bed set up and ready for you," said Twilight as she made her way upstairs.

"Thanks for that, in the meantime I think I'll grab a quick shower if you'd kindly tell me where the bathroom is," said JoJo.

"Oh of course, it's just up stairs here and to the left," said Twilight.

JoJo nodded at that as he followed Twilight up the stairs as Spike soon came after. 

JoJo went left while Twilight went right towards the bedroom and Spike followed her. As Twilight opened her linen closet and used her magic to grab the spare bed she used for sleepovers, thankful that JoJo's Hamon had refreshed her enough to use magic again, Spike listened softly until he heard the shower cut on and knew JoJo couldn't hear them as he asked, "OK, so what's this about him staying with us?"

"Well he had no where else to go and like he said, he saved my life," said Twilight.

"Wait really! I thought he was just exaggerating," said Spike as his concern returned and he began looking Twilight over to make sure she was OK. 

Twilight smiled at the concern as she said, "I told you already Spike I'm fine, in fact I feel great since he used this special energy called Hamon to heal my injuries after it was over."

"Hamon?" asked Spike in confusion.

"Yup, in fact that's another reason he's staying here. He promised to teach me all about it and help me learn to use it if he can," said Twilight excited to learn about something totally new to her. 

"Oh," said Spike as his concern melted away as clearly this stallion was trustworthy. With the concern gone though, he began to shift into teasing little brother mode though as a sly smile came to his face and he said, "So the only reasons he is staying here is so you can repay him and he can teach you this Hamon stuff?"

"Well yeah... why else would he stay?" said Twilight as she tried to find the right sheet and blanket combo for the bed.

"Oh I don't know, why might a quiet bookish mare suddenly bring home a muscular and charming stallion?" said Spike as his smile increased.

Twilight slightly blushed, saying, "It's nothing like that Spike, it's just the right thing to do. Besides you know I'm not one of those mares who swoons over a six pack or anything."

And then as if the universe wanted to join Spike in taunting Twilight, JoJo stepped in with a towel wrapped around himself, and still slightly dripping from the shower as he said, "Sorry to interrupt but you wouldn't happen to have any spare clothes laying around would you? I'm afraid mine need quite the laundering."

Twilight turned to him, and her blush only increased as she saw the water dripping off him and she began saying, "Um s-sorry, I'm afraid that I don't have anything that will fit your pecks, I mean your biceps, I MEAN IN YOUR SIZE!" choked out Twilight.

JoJo smiled at this as he thought, "Yup, even as a pony I still got it," before saying, "That's fine, I suppose wearing them another day or two won't hurt." He then made his way back to the bathroom.

Twilight returned to her task trying to take her mind off the thoughts now flooding it as Spike leaned towards her and smugly said, "Sure you're not that kind of mare." 

Twilight turned to Spike, still blushing but giving her best death stare as she simple said, "Tell this to nopony!"

"Ye-yes mam," said Spike as while teasing was fun, he knew when to back off and when Twilight gave that face, it was time to back off if he wanted all his scales intact. 

As JoJo put his tank top and scarf back on, he looked himself in the mirror with a new swagger as he said, "Yup, I think I'm going to be just fine here."




> Dinner and Day Plans
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the day progresses the three of them eventually sat down to dinner together as JoJo took in the the sight before him saying, "Um, forgive me if this sound rude, but what exactly is this?"

"Oh, the're hay fries and daffodil sandwiches," responded Spike. "If you don't like them you're welcome to try one of ruby cupcakes?"

"Um, no thanks," said JoJo as he made sure that the Red Stone of Aja was totally tucked away as he thought, "Note to self, dragons eat gemstones, keep Red Stone out of reach of dragons."

"Sorry about that, I remembered you saying you wanted fish and chips but unfortunately Ponyville is a small town and doesn't have a specialty meat market," said Twilight apologetically.

"Oh that's quite alright," remarked JoJo as he made a mental note saying, "Ok second note to self, so meat isn't eaten by the average pony but it luckily isn't unheard of. That's good, was a bit worried I'd have to transition to a vegetarian diet for a second there."

His thoughts where interrupted though as Spike said, "Woah, you eat fish? Where exactly are you from?"

JoJo stammered, "Um well," as he tried to come up with an explanation.

Thankfully he had an out as Twilight asked, "It's somewhere in Liverpone right?" 

"Hmm," responded JoJo at the somewhat familiar word.

"Well, it's just your accident reminds me of an exchange student I knew in magic school from Liverpone," said Twilight.

JoJo chuckled at this as he thought, "Further note to self, look's like all I have to do to fit in is change the names of Earth locations to horse puns." He then smiled as he said, "Spot on guess, I grew up and spent of my life in Liverpone with my Granny Erina."

"Oh, you're really close to your grandmother?" asked Twilight.

JoJo smiled somberly at that as he looked down saying, "You could say that, my parents both died when I was rather young so she and old man Speedwagon practically raised me."

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that," said Twilight feeling a little bad about touching onto such a shore subject.

"Eh, not like anything can be done about it," said JoJo with a shrug as he thought for a moment, "I bet those two are worried like crazy about me."

Spike looked at the two of them as he said, "Well on a lighter note, what brings you too Equestria?" 

JoJo perked back to his usual self as tried to come up with the best words to use as he said, "Oh um, nothing too serious. I just had some business to take care of nearby, one thing led to another and here I am with no place to stay and with nothing but the clothes on my back."

He smiled at that trying to make it seem charming, like he was some kind of globetrotting man of adventure, which to be fare he sort of was. This failed however as both Twilight and Spike appeared to be curious for more details. "Damn, I'm not sure if I can come up with a whole story on the fly... Twilight seems reluctant to say anything, most likely worried she might accidentally touch a nerve again, but Spike seems to be seconds away from asking more questions. Come on think Joseph THINK!" He then glanced at his plate for inspiration and soon got it as he wrapped some hay fries around his fork saying, "Hey Twilight, you want to see another Hamon trick?"

"Oh, yes please!" said Twilight as she excitedly clapped her hooves together before leaning on the table in interest.

Spike looked in confusion at Twilight's sudden outburst as he thought, "OK, I get Twilight is always excited to learn something new but this seems... different." He then turned to JoJo in curiosity as he thought, "Let's see exactly what this Hamon stuff is."



With his usual cocky smile back, JoJo moved the fork to his face and let out a Hamon breath on the fries, causing them to all suddenly become rigid and straight as Hamon sparked off them like electricity.

Both the dragon and unicorn now watched in awe as JoJo said, "Haha, I've only ever done that trick with spaghetti, but it looks it works just fine with hay too." He then noticed an ugly old vase a few yards away as he said, "Say, do you particularly care about that vase by the door?" 

"Not really, it was here when we moved in and I keep meaning to replace it with something but it feels like every time I try something comes up," said Twilight.

"I keep telling you, we should just throw it out now and then the empty space will bother us too much to not fill it," said Spike.

"Say no more then," said JoJo as he bent his fork and pumped just a little more Hamon into it, before releasing it causing the hay fries to fly as quick as bullets into the vase and shatter it to bits. He then chuckled as he said, "There we are, I don't think you'll be forgetting to replace it anytime soon."

"Woah... that was pretty cool," said Spike staring at the shattered ceramic in a mix of being impresses, and annoyed as he knew he'd be the one who had to clean it up.

"Cool!? That was amazing! How did you make the hay so hard, and go so fast?" asked Twilight as she mysteriously had the notepad again.

"All in due time," said JoJo, with a slight bead of sweat forming behind his head as he didn't actual know the a lot of the science behind Hamon and couldn't actually answer it all.

"Oh, of course," said Twilight as she blushed at her over eagerness and put the note pad away. "It would probably be best for you to get settled into town before we do any training anyway." 

"Sounds good to me," said JoJo. "Like I said, I need to get some spare clothes and it would be nice to just look around a bit maybe get a souvenir or... bugger all! I still don't have any money, so I guess window shopping is my limit."

"Oh, don't worry I have a friend who'd be more then willing to make an outfit or two for you free of charge, and if you just need a few bits to bum around I'd be more then happy to lend you some," said Twilight.

"You... you really don't have to do that," said JoJo as he was actually starting to feel a little guilty taking advantage of all this kindness.

"Oh it's no trouble at all, after all what's a few bits among friends," said Twilight as she smiled warmly at him.

This caused any shame JoJo felt to entirely melt away as, with a huge grin, he said, "Well if you insist, though I promise I'll pay you back when I can."

"Of course," said Twilight with a nod a light smile of her own. "I was going to run errands tomorrow morning anyway, so that will be the perfect time."

"It's a date then," said JoJo happily, before finally digging into his food as he said, "Say, this is allot better then I thought it would be... in fact it's downright delicious!"

What JoJo failed to notice while he was chowing down though was that Twilight now had a blush and a slight smirk from his words as she turned to Spike saying, "So I guess you can have tomorrow to relax Spike, since JoJo will be helping me."

Spike had a slight smirk of his own as he said, "Of course," and thought to himself, "So that's why she's acting different around this guy." He then turned to watch JoJo wolf down a sandwich as he thought, "Honestly didn't expect this to be her type."


Later that night

JoJo sat up in his bed as Twilight looked at him from the stairs asking, "Is everything comfortable for you?" 

"It's perfection, thank you once again for your hospitality Twilight," said JoJo with a sincere smile.

"Oh, like I said it's not trouble at all," said Twilight with a slight blush before saying, "Well goodnight JoJo," as she turned to go up the stairs.

"Goodnight Twilight, I'll see you in the morning," said JoJo as he watched her walk up before resting his head on the pillow.

He took this time to finally remove the Red Stone of Aja from his tank top and place it in a drawer next to his bed saying, "Better make sure I don't lose you, Lisa Lisa would kill me if she found out I just dropped her greatest treasure somewhere."

He then laid down and shied at that before saying, "That is if I ever see her again... I wonder how everyone is doing right now." He paused for a moment before his smile returned as he said, "Well like I was always say, no point in sitting around moping. The point is I'm fine and so are they, and that's good enough for now." As he rested his head down he took comfort in that knowledge, before eventually drifting off to sleep.

Once Twilight reached the top of the stairs she looked at Spike already curled up in his basket but still awake as he said, "Quite an eventual day wasn't it?"

"I'd say that's an understatement, I mean we are on the verge of learning about a new type of energy technique that no one in Equestria has ever documented before," said Twilight excitedly as she made her way to her bed.

"Yeah, but are you sure JoJo will be able to teach you everything you want to know about it?" said Spike, already knowing what she'd say.

"Of course, I know he seems like kind of a goof but he's actually very intelligent, you should have seen how quickly he came up with a plan to save the both of us in the forest," said Twilight as she pulled the blanket over herself and Spike noticed she had the same blush and smirk from earlier as she yawned and said, "I'll tell you more about it tomorrow." 

As Spike watched Twilight quickly drift off to sleep he quietly said, "I'm sure you will." He then rested his head on his own pillow as he thought, "You know as mature as Twilight can be, she's acting like a school filly with her first crush right now. Well I suppose that might be because between how focused she used to be on her studies and how she pretty much just spends all her free time with her friends now this IS her first crush.... and of course if JoJo is her type that might have something to do with it too, not many stallions like him." He then turned his head towards the stairs as he thought, "Speaking of which, you may seem like a nice guy right now JoJo but if you do anything to hurt Twilight well... let's just say you're gonna learn first hand what dragon fire is like."




> Nightmares Of All Kinds
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ground rumbled around them violently, they both knew that even if Kars wasn't dead yet, he would be soon.

"The shock of his demise triggered an eruption, let's get to safety before we celebrate further," said Von Stroheim.

JoJo smiled as he looked down at the man who sacrificed life and literal limb to save him time and again as he said, "Good call," before he reached down and grabbed hold of him saying, "Hang on tight, all right." 

Once he had a secure grip he began walking away with a grin only to hear a sudden crack and see a slash of light, he turned his head towards the source and what he saw was perhaps one of the most horrifying things he'd ever see. His own arm was now flying free from his body as the stump began to spew blood. He gasped in shock as he thought, This can't... this can't be happening I don't... I don't feel any pain! The cut was so quick that my arm is now tumbling to ground and I still feel fine, the only person who could do that is."



As JoJo crumpled to ground in shock he saw that his fears where correct as a bladed arm he recognized very well was sticking out of the ground, then in a flow of lava Kars came to the surface. He freed himself from some kind of shell, likely what he used to survive the lava, and gave JoJo the most sadistic and disturbing smile he had even seen. 

Whether it be from fear or pain JoJo wasn't sure, but he began to scream at the top of his lungs as Kars simply chuckled saying, "Music to my ears. You perform that aria perfectly, I've so longed to hear you sing it JoJo!"

JoJo barely heard this as his screaming became more and more intense before eventually... he woke up.

Suddenly he was back in the bed Twilight had made for him, panting in a cold sweat as he said, "Well I could have done without having to relive that." He took some time to catch his breath before getting up as he looked around thinking to himself, "I can see faint light coming from the window which means it must be about sunrise. That thankfully means I don't have to go back to sleep and risk seeing that again, or god forbid something more painful," His mind briefly turned to what exactly that would be, before he shook this out of his head and quietly made his way up the stairs. 

He tentatively opened the door to Twilight's bedroom and saw both her and Spike peacefully sleeping. He breathed a sigh of relief before slowly closing the door and making his way down stairs thinking, "Good I didn't accidentally wake them up, I know I'm a bit of smooth talker, but even I don't think I could have come with an excuse for a night terror like that,"

Once he reached the bottom floor, he thought, "Now then... what should I do until they wake up." He glanced around him at the shelf of books as he made his way over to them thinking, "Well I suppose this is a library after all, I could use the time to try and lean a bit about this world so I don't have anymore close calls talking to Twilight."

He approached the nearest shelf and looked at the book titles, quietly saying to himself, "Let's see here... 'From the Three Tribes, Too Celestia and Luna, the Complete History of Equestria' that sounds good." JoJo then began pulling it off the shelf, only to become wide eyed as he realized that rather then this simple being one book on a shelf, this was a meter long book that took the whole shelf. "Yeah... no thanks. Studying isn't really my strong suit anyway," said JoJo as he looked around further. "Hmm," he said as he made his way over to a door he hadn't payed much attention to before and was greeted to a relatively modest kitchen. "Oh, now here's an idea. I could whip a quick breakfast for Twilight and Spike to show how much I appreciate their help." 

He then made his way over the counter and glanced at the fridge as he said, "Now let's see here, eggs, flour, butter, EXCELLENT! Everything I need to make Granny Erina's world famous Flapjacks! I mean, I never actually tried to make them my self but she did let me help occasionaly and it never looked particularly complicated. How hard could it be?"

Sometime later in Twilight's room

Twilight tossed in turned in her sleep and began mumbling, "No, no," before eventually waking up with a scream.

Spike also woke up upon hearing this and bolted out of his basket saying, "Twilight what's wrong!?" 

"I just realized we never sent a letter to Princess Celestia about JoJo or Hamon!" said Twilight.

Spike simply stared at her with a deadpan look on his face for a moment, before saying, "I'm going back to bed," as he returned to his basket and pulled the blanket over his head.

Twilight huffed at this as she levitated a scroll and quill next to him saying, "Come on Spike this is serious, I mean we should have told about JoJo to begin with since he is a new friend, but something as interesting and versatile as Hamon seems to be, that no one else knew about! What could have made me forget to tell her!?"

Spike sighed as he got out of the basket and rolled his eyes as he sarcastically said, "Yeah, I wonder what it could have been," knowing full well what it was.

"Well better late then never I suppose," said Twilight. She then cleared her throat as Spike picked up the quill and she began saying, "Dear Princess Celestia, once again I have been reminded that one can make friends in the most unlikely of ways. While being chased by timber wolves I had my life saved by a earth pony stallion named Joseph Joestar, though he prefers to be called JoJo. He seems rather odd, but is actually very quick witted and quite the gentlestallion once you get to know him." 

Once again, the obvious blush and smirk came to Twilight's face before Spike cleared his throat to get her back on topic. She continued saying, "More importantly though he is able to use an energy technique that I have never heard of called Hamon. Given what he's told me so far it seems to be a sort of life energy that can be generated by breathing in a certain method. He is currently staying with me and has promised to teach me more about it, so I will report to you any new information I learn about it, and of course if you are in fact already aware of it, any information you have on it would be greatly appreciated. Your faithful student Twilight Sparkle."

Spike finished writing the letter and breathed fire on it, sending it off. "Well we sent it," said Spike as he got out of his basket and starting stretching, deciding he might as well start his day now. "Still though, you didn't need to freak out about it. I mean it isn't that big a deal."

Twilight took offense to this as she said, "What could be a bigger deal then telling the ruler of Equestria about all this?"

As if to answer that question, though both suddenly heard the downstairs smoke alarm go off.

Spike briefly deadpanned, "Um... probably that." Before the two ran down stairs in concern.

As they ran Twilight started to panic more as she remembered the new house guest downstairs and yelled out, "JOJO ARE YOU OK!?"

Upon reaching the bottom floor she breathed a sigh of relief as she heard JoJo's voice say, "I'm fine, just trying to," they then heard a sudden crash followed by JoJo yelling, "DAMN IT ALL!" 

"Come on Spike, I think that came from the kitchen," said Twilight as she began galloping towards the door.

"Right behind you," said Spike as he two was worried about the stallion.

They both slammed the door open, and where greeted to a smoking stove top, and a batter covered JoJo trying to make several small black disks that had once been pancakes look presentable. 

Upon seeing them JoJo put on a nervous smile and gestured to the sides with his hooves as he said, "Surprise!"

As Twilight stared at the scene not knowing what to say, Spike simply walked to the side and grabbed the fire extinguisher, spraying both the stove and JoJo who was hadn't moved since his declaration.

As Twilight began approaching concerned, JoJo wiped the fluid off as she said, "Wha-what happened here?"

JoJo groaned as he said, "Sorry about the mess, I was just trying to make you two some of my Granny Erina's famous flapjacks as a way of saying thank you for all you've done for me and well... turns out cooking is harder then I thought."

Spike looked at him surprised saying, "You've never cooked before?"

"Well... I helped granny in the kitchen a few times," said JoJo nervously.

"And by help you mean?" asked Spike.

JoJo paused for a moment before sighing as he said, "She let me lick the spoon."

Spike chuckled at that as he said, "I guess that's technically helping."

JoJo looked down embarrassed at that, before looking up as Twilight approached him. Her blush and smile returned as she said, "JoJo that's so sweet that you tried to make us breakfast, but you know you didn't have to do that."

At seeing this JoJo had a bit of a blush of his own as he said, "Yeah I know I just.... well you know how it is. When someone does something nice for you want to do something nice back, even when they tell you not too."

"I know, trust me if anyone knows the ins and outs of friendship interactions it's me," said Twilight. "But REALLY you're already doing enough as is, I mean not only have you offered to teach me about Hamon, but you're gonna help in my errands today."

"Oh right," said JoJo as he nervously smiled thinking, "I guess I'm not quite taking advantage of Twilight's hospitality... but I still have this nagging feeling that I should be doing more for her for some reason, I can't rightly figure out why though." He then chuckled those thoughts away before saying, "So what time do you want to head out?" 

"Well," said Twilight as she glanced at the mess of the kitchen, "Since it looks like we might need to pick up a bite to eat somewhere, we can leave now."

"Really?" asked JoJo.

"Sure, just let me grab my saddle bag and we'll be ready to go," said Twilight as she exited the kitchen with JoJo following soon behind. She then briefly turned around saying, "Oh Spike, you don't mind cleaning this up do you?"

Spike opened his mouth, about to say something about how the one who made this mess should be the one to clean it up, but then he sighed as he remembered all the time Twilight had to clean the library alone so he could hang out with Rarity. "Yeah it's fine, you two have a good day," said Spike with a reassuring smile.

"Thanks, you too," said Twilight excitedly before exiting the kitchen.  

Spike then looked back at the mess before him, that somehow looked to have grown while his back was turned and groaned saying, "Whelp so much for a day off."

Meanwhile in Canterlot Castle.

Princess Celestia gazed happily at her work as she made the final adjustments to the sunrise before returning to her office ready to move on with the day. It was then her smile grew as she noticed the letter now sitting on her desk as she said, "Oh look Luna, a new letter from Twilight."

"Meh," was the only response Luna offered as she sat in the corner sipping coffee in a vain effort to regain her strength after spending the night wandering the dream realm.

Celestia simply smirked at this as she approached the desk saying, "Only a sound today sister, not even gonna muster up a proper word?"

Luna groaned before saying, "Forgive me dear sister, but I saw a particularly odd dream last night that unfortunately scared the dreamer awake before I could find out who they are or try and help them."

Celestia's curiosity was somewhat peaked as she absentmindedly began to remove the ribbon from the letter saying, "What kind of dream was it?"

"I'm not sure, something about a volcano and some rather strange bipedal creatures," said Luna as she struggled to recall the exact details in her tired state. 

"Hmm, that does sound interesting," said Celestia, before she glanced down at the letter and began reading it.

"Indeed, I'll tell you more about it later sister. In the mean time what did Twilight have to say?" asked Luna.

Celestia offered no response as she had suddenly turned completely still while looking at the letter.

"Celestia," said Luna as she approached her sister concerned. "Is something the matter with Twilight?"

As Luna approached she saw that Celestia had the widest smile Luna had ever seen on her face before she pulled Luna into a bear hug saying, "OH MY GOSH LUNA! TWILIGHT MET A STALLION! I'M GOING TO BE A GRANDMOTHER!" 

Luna struggled to breath against the hug saying, "Sister please... I'm happy for you but if you want your grandfoals to have an aunt Luna you need to let go."

"Oh... sorry," said Celestia as she blushed in embarrassment and released her grip. 

Luna sighed as she picked up the letter saying, "Well putting aside the fact that you are not actually Twilight's mother for a moment."

"Please, you try reading a filly to sleep for hours every night for years and tell me you don't think of her as a daughter. Of course first you'd need to find another filly who likes being read text book chapters instead of fairy tales," said Celestia as she smiled at those fond memories.

"Never the less, I agree that Twilight seems to have feelings for this stallion, but aren't you jumping the gun a bit. Going by what she said it doesn't even seem like she knows she has feeling for him yet," said Luna.

"Hey, a mare can dream can't see," responded Celestia with a huff. 

"Very well then, playing Discord's Advocate for a moment and assuming they would get married, isn't it your responsibility as her 'mother' to determine if this stallion is actually good enough for her or not?" said Luna.

Celestia's ears perked up at this as she said, "You know what sister you're right! I've never met this Joseph Joestar before, who knows what he is like. Why I bet he's some delinquent who just had his buddies dress up as timber wolves and has made up this Hamon thing to trick poor Twilight into going to bed with him!" 

Luna looked at the tirade regretting her actions as she said, "Now calm down sister, I doubt Twilight would actually fall for such a ruse, moreover she seems to think this JoJo character is rather trustworthy."

"OHHH! That's just what he wants you to think! That's it, Luna clear me schedule, I need to make a visit to Ponyville!" said Celestia before bursting out the door.

Luna sighed as she said, "Lord help this JoJo stallion he's going to need it," it was then her still kind of cloudy mind started to recall something as she thought, "Hmm, JoJo..... why does that name sound familiar?" She thought about this for a moment before shrugging saying, "Meh, it will come to me later."




> A Breakfast "Date"
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As JoJo and Twilight walked through the town together, Twilight still had somewhat of a slight blush and smirk.

JoJo didn't seem to notice though as he asked, "So Twilight, where do you want to eat?"

"Oh, there's a great place up ahead," said Twilight as she pointed forward with her hoof.

JoJo turned to where she was pointed, and instantly shuttered as it was the same sugar coated nightmare building he saw yesterday. "Um... not that I'm ungrateful about a free meal or anything but can you really get a proper breakfast at a place like that?"

"Oh trust me, I know it looks like your standard sweet shop, but any place with Pinkie Pie behind the counter is never standard," said Twilight with a smile.

"Well Ok... if you say so? So I'm guessing this Pinkie Pie is one of your friends then. What is she like?" asked JoJo.

"Well she's," began Twilight before she stopped to think on that question. As they reached the door she finally said, "I think it will be best if you just find that out for yourself."

JoJo was somewhat unnerved by this, but decided to trust Twilight as he followed her through the door. Once inside they where greeted to a nice large lobby with plenty of seating options. Thankfully due to the early hour there where only two other customers who had already ordered leaving no line at the counter.

As JoJo approached he saw the pink mare icing cupcakes with a cheerful grin as he thought to himself, "Hmm, she honestly doesn't look as odd as Twilight implied. That homely grin as she does her job makes me think that she is the bubbly upbeat type, probably gonna be so excited to see her friend that she doesn't notice me at first."

As they approached the counter Pinkie looked over at them as she said, "Oh hi Twilight what can I get for you and," as she caught sight of JoJo she let out a large gasp before running in back.

This through JoJo for a loop as he asked, "Is this normal?"

Twilight chuckled before saying, "Give it a minute."

As if in on cue Pinkie then burst back into the lobby now pulling a small wagon as she pushed a button on it and began to sing.



"Oh I..." said JoJo, not sure how to respond to this.

Twilight chuckled saying, "Pinkie Pie this is my new friend JoJo, JoJo meet one of my closest friends, Pinkie Pie." 

Pinkie then fired off another round of confetti as she grinned ear to ear. 

"See what did I tell you, no one can properly describe Pinkie or predict her beyond a few things like this... believe me I tried," said Twilight with a sigh and slight smile. 

JoJo took this as a challenge as he leaned to her with a smirk and whispered, "We'll see about that." He then put his mind into overdrive as he thought, "Let's see, my initial prediction was right, she did say hi to Twilight and not notice me first. So it wasn't her personality I got wrong, just the intensity... she actually reminds me a little of Esidisi. Unassuming at first, but with intense bouts of emotion... if that's the case then.

As Pinkie was just about to open her mouth JoJo pointed at her with a smirk as he said, "Next you'll say, 'sorry if I startled you, it's just I've never seen you before and if I've never seen you before that must mean you're new, and if you're new then I HAVE to give you a welcome!'" he then took a deep breath thinking, "Damn, I think my prediction actually might be off this time, I mean who could say all THAT in a single breath without Hamon training?!"

To his surprise though she opened her mouth and said, "Sorry if I startled you, it's just I've never seen you before and if I've never seen you before that must mean you're new, and if you're new then I HAVE to give you a welcome!" She smiled for a moment before she realized what just happened and gasped in shock.

Meanwhile Twilight's mouth had pretty much touched the floor as she dropped her jaw in shock thinking, "In just two seconds he just did what I couldn't do after several hours of scientific observation! He... he really is amazing," as her blush now returned more intense and her mind began to wander. 

"Oh my gosh are you psychic!" asked Pinkie excitedly.

JoJo chuckled and with a cocky smile he said, "I don't think so no... reading people is just one of my special talents."

At this Twilight snapped out her slight daze as she said, "Oh so that's what your cutie mark means."

JoJo was confused by the statement, but didn't let it show hoping Twilight would continue, which thankfully she did as she pointed to the magnifying glass tattoo he noticed before as she said, "You notice things that other ponies don't and can make prediction based off them."

"So these tattoos are called 'cutie marks', once again a somewhat emasculating term but whatever, and they tell what a ponies special talents are. In that case I'd assume they appear naturally, likely around adolescence when a pony is staring to figure out who they are," thought JoJo. He then smiled as he said, "Spot on guess Twilight. Out of curiosity what does your cutie mark mean?"

Twilight chuckled as she said, "Are you sure you don't want to try and guess first?"

JoJo thought for a moment before smiling as he said, "Well I suppose I can give it a go." He then moved over and took a look saying, "Hmm, let's see it is one large sparkle, I'm guessing that would be you for... obvious reasons, with five smaller ones around it. Are you perhaps the leader of a group of six?"

At this Twilight had a look of shock and realization as she said, "Wow!"

JoJo smiled at this as he said, "I take it I guessed right?"

"WOW TWI! I didn't know your cutie mark was that detailed," said Pinkie as she excitedly looked at Twilight's flank.

"Neither did I," said Twilight as she now looked at her own flank in a new light.

"Hmm?" said JoJo confused.

"Don't get me wrong, that is right JoJo... well kind of. I don't know if I'd call myself the leader," said Twilight somewhat nervously.

"I WOULD!" said Pinkie happily.

"But yes that is right though, the large sparkle does represent me and my Element, magic,... and I guess that the other five sparkles would represent my friends and their Elements then," said Twilight as she looked back at JoJo, happy to learn something new about herself.

"Elements?" asked JoJo curiously.

"Well you see-" began Twilight only to stop as she saw more ponies coming in. "We should order, then we can talk." She then turned to Pinkie saying, "I'll have just milk and cereal, I'm not really feeling too hungry."

"Okie dokie lokie," said Pinkie before turning to JoJo saying, "and what would you like?" 

"Well I would like flapjacks, eggs, and bacon but-" began JoJo but he was quickly interrupted.

"Okie dokie lokie, you two can take a seat over there and I'll have your food out in a minute," said Pinkie before suddenly disappearing into the kitchen. 

As they walked JoJo confusedly said, "Wait, I thought you said you couldn't get meat in this town?"

"The average pony can't no, but Pinkie is not average," said Twilight with a smile as the two of them sat at the table.

"Right then... so what are these Elements you where talking about?" asked JoJo.

"Oh well... OK this might be a little hard to believe but... basically me and my friends are connected to these magical gemstones called the Elements of Harmony and we've used them to defeat ancient evils," said Twilight somewhat nervously as she thought, "Shoot, I never thought I'd have to explain this to someone so out of the loop. I mean no one outside of Ponyville heard about Nightmare Moon until after it was said and done, most of them just thought their clocks where off and that's why the sun rose an hour late. And sure, Discord may have been well known but he hadn't touched anywhere outside of Equestria so unless you read the paper every day, there is no way someone in Liverpone could have heard about it."

To Twilight's surprise JoJo flatly said, "I find no part of that hard to believe."

"Really?" asked Twilight.

"Well... let's just say I've seen some weirder things," said JoJo.

"Oh, like what?" asked Twilight with a newfound curiosity.

JoJo wasn't sure how to answer that as he simply stammered, "Well you see..."

Thankfully he didn't have to say more as Pinkie arrived with their food saying, "Here you two are! Enjoy!"

As quickly as she came she then went away as JoJo looked down at his plate saying, "Hmm, well I'll be damned. She really did have bacon and eggs."

"I told you," said Twilight with a slight chuckle as she put a bit of cereal in her mouth. "So what are some of the odder things you've seen?"

JoJo flinched at that as Twilight chuckled saying, "What, do you think I'm some kind of ditz who forgets a question just because of a distraction?"

"Well...," said JoJo as he trailed off. He thought to himself, "I'm honestly not sure what you are anymore. One minute you're the quite bookish type I pegged you for, the next you're a giggling happy go luck and possible overly trusting girl. And now I find out you've had your own bizarre adventures... perhaps there is more to this girl then meets the eye, even for someone like me." This caused a slight blush to form on his face as he thought on this.

"Well don't keep me waiting, I already told you stuff about my life knowing you might think I'm crazy," said Twilight as she continued eating.

This snapped JoJo back to reality as he thought, "Right then. OK, I gotta pick something weird but not to insane, so the Pillar Men and Vampires are out of the question.... perhaps something Hamon related to get her curiosity peaked about that... I GOT IT!" "I once knew a Hamon user who's primary techniques involved being covered in a layer of soap 24/7!"

"I'm sorry what?!" asked Twilight confused by such a statement.


Meanwhile back at the Golden Oaks library.

As Spike took one last look at the kitchen floor, he smiled with pride as he picked up the mop and bucket and moved towards the door.

Before he could make it though it burst open, knocking several items down as Spike heard a booming Canterlot voice yell, "WHERE IS MY DARLING TWILIGHT AND THE SCOUNDREL CALLED JOJO!?" 

Spike looked to see the princess of the sun as he had never seen her before as he stammered, "They-they went out to get something to eat."

Celestia then seemed to appear in front of Spike in the blink of an eye, the only evidence that it wasn't teleportation being that the cabinets where blown open by the wind generated from her speed. She bent down to Spike with pure glowing white eyes as she said, "WHERE!?"

"AH- SUGAR CUBE CORNER!" said Spike, somewhat fearing for his life.

This seemed to satisfy her though as her expression softened slightly before she said, "Thank you."

She then left as quickly as she came as Spike took a few moments to calm down before looking at the once again ruined kitchen as he sighed saying, "Whelp today is just not my day," before picking the mop back up and getting to work again.


> "Mom" Meets JoJo
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Twilight stared down at what was left of her cereal bowl she struggled for words, only getting out, "Oh JoJo I..."

"No need to apologize, after all I'm the one who brought Caesar up after all," said JoJo as he finished his own food and sighed. He thought to himself, "Now old lad, gotta keep it together right now... don't want Twilight feeling bad again... though it looks like I might be a little late for that."

Twilight looked up as she sadly said, "I'm so sorry for your loss... and I understand if you don't want to tell me what happened." 

JoJo took a moment to compose himself before returning to his trademark smile as he said, "Maybe some other time, but for now we should get on with the day. After all the dead want us to live in their stead, not mope about them."

"Ri-right," said Twilight as she did her best to smile thinking, "His parents... his best friend... this poor stallion has lost so much and yet he's still able to put on a happy face like this... I suppose his true strength runs deeper then muscles of Hamon."

The two of them then got up as they made their way to leave... only to be stopped as they heard the door slam and where greeted by a tall white alicorn stepping through.

JoJo flinched at seeing her as she was the first pony he saw that was bigger then himself, she also had both wings and a horn which he had not seen, indicating she might be special in some way, and finally and most importantly she seemed to be radiating poor hatred that for some reason seemed to intensify when she turned and saw him.

Twilight didn't seem to notice though as she smiled and approached the mare saying, "Princess Celestia, it's so good to see you," she then bowed before she continued saying, "You must have been very eager to meet JoJo and learn about Hamon if you came all this way."

Celestia glanced down at the smiling mare as her expression softened and she said, "Yes of course, I'm grateful you made me aware of all this." She put on a slight smile seeing Twilight grin as she thought to herself, "]Oh my poor sweet little girl. Please tell me this JoJo hasn't done anything to you."

JoJo warily approached as he thought, "Hmm, well she has visible calmed down, but at the same time still seems to have anger boiling below the surface... though given her attire, if you can call a crown, necklace, and shoes alone attire, and the fact that Twilight called her Princess she is a royal figure... perhaps she is always like this. Always putting on a brave face for her subjects but still feeling the pressures of her position... in which case she would just need someone to treat her like an average Joe... or I guess it would be average Jolyne since she is a woman... though that doesn't particularly sound like an average name. Regardless Twilight seems to trust her and I should too."

JoJo shook off his fear as he approached saying, "My my, it is quite the honor to have a princess come all this way to meet me, though I can see why you would," he then did a pose pointing his hoof at Celestia with a large smile. 

Celestia didn't look amused by this, slightly unnerving JoJo, as she though, "YOU! Just as I thought, a muscle bound smooth talking egotistical jackass!"

Twilight once again failed to notice the tension in the air as she chuckled at JoJo's antics saying, "Princess Celestia, this is JoJo, JoJo this is my mentor and one of the members of the royal diarchy, Princess Celestia."

"Charmed to meet you JoJo," said Celestia as she reached a hoof out. 

"Uh-likewise," said JoJo as he nervously stepped forward and shook her hoof thinking, "What is wrong with me... I've faced down death countless times and yet this woman who seems to be pissed at me for some unknown reason wants to make me run for the hills... I have to try and figure out what this is all about and remedy it quickly."

As he went to move he flinched slightly as he felt a pain in his hoof before getting it away as he thought, "OK firstly, HOW THE HELL DID SHE JUST HAVE A TIGHT GRIP WITH A HOOF!? Secondly... yup definitely gotta figure this out soon."

"Well princess, me and JoJo where just about to run errands, but if you want we could go back to the library," said Twilight with a smile.

"Oh that won't be necessary, I'd be happy to accompany you and JoJo on these errands," said Celestia as she briefly glared at him thinking, "Gotta make sure he doesn't try anything!" She then softened her expression again as she said, "I'm sure you and Twilight can explain everything as we walk." 

Twilight smiled at this as she and Celestia made there way to the door with JoJo soon following after. He had a smile and slight chuckle of his own though as he thought, "Well that was easier then expected. Wanting to tag along, glaring daggers at me specifically. The exact same things granny did to that neighborhood girl I used to play with. So she is simply a mother figure worried about her daughter's new 'boyfriend'. A rather humorous assumption... though I suppose not totally out of the question, she is cute after all, and it is rather rare that I meet anyone I can't figure out too easily... those are thoughts for later though. Back on track, all I need to do then is act like my normal charming self and Celestia will see I'm nothing to worry about."

As they all walked Celestia asked, "So Twilight where are we heading first?"

"Well first we're heading to Carousel Boutique so Rarity can take JoJo's input and start making a couple outfits for him," said Twilight.

"Hold on now, I don't think we need to go as far as a custom outfit, just something off the rack should be fine," said JoJo as he dreaded the idea of being treated like a dress up doll.

"Oh trust me, it's no trouble at all for Rarity, plus.... I don't think any of her default sizes will fit you," said Twilight as her blush and smile returned.

"Well if you insist," said JoJo.

Celestia slightly groaned as she thought, "Well he has the decency to FEIGN reluctance to accept Twilight's generosity. Though if Twilight's face is anything to go by she truly has just fallen for this muscle bound stranger hard. I knew I should have given her dating advice, I could have even asked Cadence to help, but I just could never even think about her dating." She then glanced at Twilight as she smiled thinking, "Every time I look at her I see that sweet little filly who read countless history books just so she could find out my birthday and make me a hoof painted card."

Finally her glance turned back to a sour one as she thought, "And if you do ANYTHING to make that filly cry, I swear you will feel the weight of the sun itself crashing upon your head!"

JoJo noticed this glare as he only smiled and thought, "Now that I know that this anger is harmless, might as well have some fun with it, let's see... Twilight thinks she's hear to learn about Hamon." 

"So princess, or do prefer Celestia, or perhaps a nickname like Celie or Tia?" asked JoJo.

Celestia briefly allowed her rage to come to the surface as she thought, "Such a brazen attitude before a royal figure of all things! Why this stallion is too foolish to even be a royal jester!" ignoring the fact that in any other circumstance she would revel in this treatment and find it refreshing. 

She then put on her usual happy face for Twilight as she said, "Just Celestia is fine for now."

JoJo briefly grinned as he saw her lose her cool and he said, "Well then Celestia, is there anything in particular you would like to know about Hamon, or is there perhaps anything you know about it yourself?"

Celestia was somewhat taken aback by the sudden change to a serious subject as she said, "Well not really. Twilight has already informed me of the basics you told her, beyond that I had never heard of it before."

"Hmm, that's actually kind of surprising," said JoJo.

"How so?" asked Celestia.

"Well I couldn't help but notice that your cutie mark is the sun and from what I've been told Hamon energy is the same type of life energy that the sun bathes our planet in daily," said JoJo as he gestured towards the sun.

"Fascinating," said Twilight as she once again had her pad and paper and was making notes on it.

"Indeed," said Celestia as she rolled her eyes thinking, "Generating the life energy of the sun through a breathing technique, what kind of obvious lie is that!? Next he's gonna tell us that he can manifest his 'fighting spirit' or something as a physical entity who fights with him and stands by him or some nonsense like that."

She sighed before saying, "So Twilight what else do you want to do?"

"Well after that is done we can head over to Barnyard Bargains to pick up a few things and that should be it," said Twilight as she smiled and pointed towards the aforementioned outlet store. She then put the pad back in her saddle bag. She then pulled out a scroll and said, "I have a list of everything we need, so it shouldn't take long."

"That's good," said Celestia. 

"Indeed," said JoJo.

Twilight smiled at her two compatriots approval as she put the scroll away and said, "I'm glad you agree, especially because we're already at Carousel Boutique," as she gestured to the business in front of her.

JoJo looked up at it as he thought, "Well the name is certainly apt, it looks like a carousel alright... wait wouldn't a carousel be kind of odd to ponies? I mean it's not like we humans ride statues of other humans around... more questions for later I suppose."

Outwardly JoJo simply said, "Looks nice," as the three of them entered.

As they walked in they where greeted by the usual bell followed by Rarity saying, "Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, I'll be with you in-" she stopped and gasped as she caught sight of one of the three who just entered.

She rushed towards the princess and bowed saying, "Oh Princess Celestia, why.... it is such an honor to have you in my store."

"As always the honor is mine Rarity," said Celestia as she moved her hoof for Rarity to stand back up.

Rarity did so saying, "Oh you're too much," with a nervous laugh. "To what do I owe this prestigious honor?" 

"Oh it's nothing really. I'm just accompanying Twilight and her new friend today," said Celestia as she gestured towards the two ponies whom have seemed to slip Rarity's notice. 

She turned her attention to the two of them as she said, "Oh sorry Twilight I didn't seem to notice you there, and oh my," she then had a slight blush of her own as she said, "And who is this with you?"

"Oh, Rarity this is JoJo, JoJo this is my good friend Rarity," said Twilight.

"Nice to meet another friend of Twilights," said JoJo as he reached his hoof out towards her.

"Likewise," said Rarity as she took it with a grin. After shaking it, she leaned towards Twilight and whispered, "Nice work darling, he is quite the catch."

As Twilight formed a blush of her own she was about to respond to that, but could not as Rarity quickly turned towards JoJo and asked, "So what brings you all here?"

"Well I'm afraid there was a bit of a mishap, resulting in the outfit I am currently wearing being my only one and well... while I can see that is not the case for all of you I feel more comfortable with a little something on," said JoJo.

"Oh I totally understand dear, honestly I would wear one of my dresses every day if I could but sadly, as much it pains me to admit it, Applejack is right about them not being practical to move around in," said Rarity with a humph as she levitated a measuring tape around JoJo taking a few quick notes before she moved over her design notebook saying, "Now what exactly did you have in mind?"

"Just the standard stuff tight jeans and shirts, leather boots and gloves, and maybe a jacket or two," said JoJo.

"I see," said Rarity as she began sketching a few outfits thinking, "I don't know where he's from, but if these kind of clothes are usual there then sign me up for a visit!"

As JoJo looked at the sketches approvingly he thought about the mare sketching them. "Hmm, the accent makes me think she might also be from this worlds England. Perhaps London given how much more posch it is. But, given her personality and reaction to the princess I doubt she actually is from there. Likely she is a young fashion designer, explaining why she jumped at the possibility for designing for Celestia, who is merely trying to look sophisticated like some fashion idles she has. Regardless she seems to know her stuff, already I'm seeing pony versions of outfits I wore back home... which reminds me."

"Oh, and if it's not too much trouble I'd like to have two headbands commissioned as well," said JoJo.

"Oh of course dear," said Rarity. "What kind would you like?"

"Both should have triangle patterns with one being green and yellow and the other purple and yellow," said JoJo. 

"Well... if you say so, though if I'm being honest dear purple and yellow doesn't seem like it would really fit you," said Rarity.

JoJo simply smiled as he said, "Maybe not, but I'd still like it if you don't mind." He then thought, "Caesar I'm sorry I had to destroy the head band you gave me, but I promise to wear this replica in your stead."

"Of course dear," said Rarity as she finished up her sketches before saying, "I actually just recently got in some new fabric and was wanting a project to help warm up the creative muscles for today. So if you don't mind waiting I should be able to finish one of these in just about twenty minutes." 

"Oh we don't mind waiting, do we?" asked Twilight.

"I have no problem with it," said Celestia.

"I... actually would prefer to keep moving," said JoJo as an idea struck him.

"Oh?" said Twilight.

"Tell you what, how about you give me the list and some money and I'll pick up the groceries while you and Celestia wait. Have a little student mentor time and all," said JoJo.

"Oh good idea," said Twilight with a smile as she reached into her saddle bag. "Thanks JoJo, oh and if you see something you like feel free to buy it for yourself, what's mine is yours after all." 

"Thank you, and I promise not to spend too much," said JoJo as he made his way out the door and towards the store Twilight had pointed out.

Soon after JoJo had walked out as Rarity spoke up saying, "Now shame on you Twilight."

"Excuse me?" asked Twilight confused.

"When where you going to tell us you had such a handsome coltfriend," said Rarity as she began sewing a piece of fabric.

"WHAT!?" said Twilight as she blushed once again as she said, "OK, I tried to tell you this earlier, but JoJo and I are just friends."

"Oh please darling, I know you're friendly but anyone can see that your feelings for him are more then just that," said Rarity.

"That-that's ridiculous," stammered Twilight. "Sure... maybe I treated him a little differently then I usually treat you, but friendship comes in all kind of forms, right princess?"

Twilight gazed up at her mentor for reassurance, only to see a mare who's rage had finally boiled over as she said, "YOU SERIOUSLY GAVE HIM YOUR WALLET!"

"Wha-what?" said Twilight even more nervous.

Celestia then sighed as she said, "Look Twilight, I get it, your first love can be new and exciting and you think that whoever you've fallen in love with is perfect. And there are plenty of stallions out there who know that too and will take advantage of it!"

"But I-" said Twilight unsure what to say as she had never seen Celestia like this.

"I don't know princess, he seemed trustworthy enough, and certainly handsome. Though not the kind of stallion I would ever go for," said Rarity.

"And what's that supposed to mean!?' said Twilight as she inexplicably found herself suddenly angry at that comment.

"Nothing darling, I just like my guys with a little more charm," said Rarity as she briefly glanced at Twilight's face.

"And you don't think JoJo has charm!?" asked Twilight.

"Well not that I've seen," said Rarity.

"I CAN ASSURE YOU HE DOES!" said Twilight as her anger suddenly intensified.

Rarity simple looked at Twilight and smiled smugly as she said, "Are you sure you don't like him?"

Twiight's anger suddenly turned to blush and realization as she said, "Oh my Celesita."

Celestia meanwhile was pouting as she quietly said, "Don't look at me, I'm just waiting for that idiot to come back and say he blew all your money away on something stupid."


Meanwhile at Barnyard Bargains

As JoJo watched the annoyed mare before him finish ringing up the items she asked, "Is their anything else I can help you with today?"

"Yes, I was wondering if that sculpture in the window is perhaps for sale?" asked JoJo.

The mare glanced to what he pointed at saying, "My that's an antique. Been in this shop for generations.... though I suppose I could give it to you for five thousand bits."

"Five thousand bits, that's outrageous," said JoJo, despite having no idea how this worlds currency worked. He wasn't going to let trivial details like that stop him though as he laughed saying, "Don't take me for a fool, that's way too much for just one statue, antique or not." 

"Oh then, how much would do you think it's worth then?" asked the mare as her annoyance turned to anger.

"I'd say it's only worth about three hundred bits," said JoJo.

This caused the mare to laugh as she said, "If I sold stuff for that cheap I wouldn't be able to make my usual charitable donations, and my poor daughter Diamond Tiara's school needs a new window after what happened with that horrid Discord character." 

"I see... well it's just as well then, I'm pretty sure I saw a statue like it in a shop down the street anyway," said JoJo as he grabbed the groceries and pretended to walk away. 

This resulted in the mare stopping him as she said, "Well... I suppose I can let it go for only three thousand bits. You do have good taste if you like it after all."

"How about for five hundred bits instead," said JoJo.

"Two thousand five hundred!" 

"Seven hundred and fifty!" 

"Two thousand!" 

"Eight hundred!"

"One thousand five hundred!"

JoJo then looked around at this latest offer in thought before noticing something familiar in a nearby discount bin as he grabbed it and said,"One thousand even and you throw in these!"

"Deal," said the mare as she wrung up the new item and made her way to the window to get the statue.

JoJo smiled to himself thinking, "Haha, I got it for less then half her original price, and a little favorite of mine to boot!"

Meanwhile as Spoiled Rich put the statue in the box she had a smile of her own as she thought, "Haha, I actually got someone to pay for this tacky window decoration and one of those toys that where recalled for being too dangerous!"

As they approached each other they both thought, "I won!"


> Advice and Gifts
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH!" stammered Twilight as she panted across Carousel Boutique. "I have a crush on JoJo, I've never liked anypony like that before, do I say something, or will that be weird, or will it be even weirder not so say something!?" 

As Twilight continued to ramble Rarity worked on the outfit as she gently levitated a paper bag over to Twilight saying, "Remember to breath dear."

Celestia was more actively attempting to comfort her as she ran up to her and began patting her back as she said, "It's OK Twilight, you don't need to worry about this at all."

"I don't?" asked Twilight in between stressed breaths into the bag.

"Of course, because clearly you are not ready to date," said Celestia before pulling Twilight into a full on cradling wing hug as if she was rocking a baby and she excitedly said, "How about you just let this JoJo character stay in the library with Spike and come back with me to Canterlot, we can stay up late eating popcorn, building blanket forts, and I can read you your favorite books just like we used too."

Before Twilight could respond Rarity suddenly spoke up saying, "Hold on now... 'not ready to date'!? Twilight... have you seriously never dated anyone before... or at least asked someone out before?"

"Well... no," said Twilight nervously.

Rarity's jaw dropped in disbelief at this as Celestia then grabbed her into a pulled her further and stroked her mane saying, "Of course she hasn't... she's just my sweet little filly."

Rarity stared at the spectacle in disbelief before saying, "SHE'S TWENTY!"

"Just because some mares are quick to go gallivanting about with the nearest stallion, doesn't mean my little Twilight should," said Celestia.

Rarity puffed her cheeks in rage at this as any sense of decorum she would normally have when talking to a princess was gone and she now saw Celestia for what she really was in that moment... an over protective mother. "Well then Celestia, how old where you when you went on your first date!?"

Celestia only blushed at this before she two got angry saying, "That's neither here nor there!"

"Really?! Perhaps I should go ask Luna about that," said Rarity.

"Don't you dare!" stated Celestia as she gave Rarity a death stare.

Rarity only gave one back in response as Twilight suddenly spoke up saying, "Um Princess... do you think you can put me down now?"

"Oh of course," said Celestia as she released Twilight from the hug saying, "Now then Twilight, don't you think it would be best to put off dating for awhile and just forget about this guy?"

"Well I-" began Twilight before being interrupted.

"Now Twilight, I know this is scary but don't you think it would be better to face your fear rather then run from it?" said Rarity.

"That is-" started Twilight before once again being cut off.

"Oh please, you see how she freaked out there. She's clearly not ready for any of this," said Celestia.

"And when will she be ready, when she's an old mare who couldn't have foals even if she wanted too?!" responded Rarity.

"Well what makes you think you know what's best for her?!" responded Celestia.

"Well I..." began Rarity before realization struck her as as she said, "I don't."

Celestia smiled smugly at this before Rarity said, "And neither do you. Look.... we are clearly both trying to do what we both think is best for Twilight, but it doesn't really matter what WE think is best for her... what matters is what Twilight thinks is best."

"Well I..." began Celestia before she sighed and crossed her hooves in defeat saying, "Suppose you're right."

Rarity smiled at this before looking at Twilight saying, "Sorry for that little tif darling, I know that isn't what you need right now. OK, be honest with yourself here... you have a crush on this JoJo fellow, what do you want to do about it?"

Twilight began thinking about this as she said, "I don't know... you both made some good points that sure most ponies I know have already dated someone, but that doesn't necessarily mean I need to as well... but I think I should."

"Really?" asked Rarity.

"Are-are you sure?" asked Celestia in worry.

"Well... yeah. I mean sure I am scared... honestly just trying to picture talking to JoJo about this is more scary then trying to fight Nightmare Moon and Discord combined but it's gonna be scary no matter when I do it," she turned to Princess Celestia as she said, "And you're right Princess, we never have talked about me dating or anything but... because of that I never told you that as much as I mainly focused on studying and now friendship... I always did imagine that one day I'd be married and have foals." She then got nervous again as she said, "I suppose I just never thought about how I'd go about doing that."

Celestia sighed as she said, "I understand Twilight it's just... I just always want to look at you and see the little filly who hopped around me excited to be my student."

Twilight smiled at this as she said, "I'm still just as excited to be your student... I just can't stay a filly forever."

"I know and... I shouldn't expect you to," said Celestia as she went over and gave Twilight a proper big girl hug this time. 

Rarity joined in on the hug as she said, "I know this is scary Twilight but always remember that the two of us and all your other friends will always be here for you if you ever need advice."

"Or if JoJo crosses a line and you need someone to teach him a lesson," added Celestia.

Twilight was about to speak up in protest at that, but was interrupted as Rarity said, "Well that goes without saying, I don't care how strong that stallion is mace and tasers always hurt." 

Twilight thought for a moment before saying, "That is particular violent and uncalled for... yet strangely comforting," before leaning further into the hug with a smile. 

They where soon interrupted by a bell ringing as JoJo entered carrying several bags as he smiled said, "Well, it looks like you three had a good time while I was out." 

"Oh JoJo," said Twilight as she suddenly broke from the hug with a blush and a smile saying, "So... how was the store?" Her smile turned even more awkward as she thought, "Damn it! Now that I know how I feel I'm struggling to just talk to him, how in Equestria can I ask him out like this!?"

JoJo noticed how awkward Twilight looked as he thought, "Hmm, she must have been talking about something rather personal before I came in and might be worried I could have overheard... whelp. I suppose nothing to do but to talk normally and let her know I didn't."

He smiled reassuringly at her saying, "It went fine, got everything you wanted and then some."

Celestia humphed at that as she thought, "'And then some!' AHH, I just knew he'd buy something stupid! I bet those bags are filled with toys and bubble gum or something!"

"Oh... that's good," said Twilight as she struggled to think of something else to say.

Rarity thankfully noticed this and came to her aid saying, "Oh by the way JoJo, I finished one of your outfits if you want to try it on," before levitating the clothing in front of him.

JoJo looked at it with a smile as he said, "OH YES!! I was hoping it would be this one," He then turned to Twilight as he said, "I actually have a few things I wanted to show you and I actually was wearing and outfit just like this one when I did it so this works perfectly!"

"Oh really?" said Twilight as her curiosity thankfully allowed her to form words again. 

JoJo nodded at that as he grabbed one of the smaller bags and the outfit before entering the changing room.

The three mares looked at each other wondering what this could be before they suddenly heard JoJo's voice saying, "Get ready for my..."

He paused before bursting out of the changing room.

"HAMON CLACKER VOLLEY!" he yelled as he swung the steel balls around in a spectacle as the Hamon crackled around them.

The three mares watched in awe before JoJo finally stopped saying, "I suppose that is enough of a demonstration, I could do more but I'd hate to accidentally break something or heaven forbid hurt one of you."

Rarity smiled at this as she thought, "I should have known this stallion would know some sort of weird magic technique or something if he could capture Twilight's attention."

Celestia thought, "Well, I was right about him buying toys but I must admit I was wrong about some other things. This Hamon stuff is certainly real and... it did feel allot like the solar energy I channel in my horn when raising or lowering the sun. I suppose at the very least it would be good to learn more about this stuff at the very least."

Meanwhile Twilight simply smiled giddily at this in a mix of scientific curiosity about the Hamon and her newly realized feelings bubbling up at seeing the object of her affection working so hard to impress her. "That was amazing JoJo," said Twilight as she slowly approached him.

"I'm glad you like it, but it's not all I got for you," said JoJo as he walked up to the bags.

"You do?" asked Twilight.

"Indeed," said JoJo as he approached the bag and pulled out this statue.



"Oh JoJo it's beautiful but-" began Twilight in confusion only for him to raise his hoof in interruption.

"Let me explain, you see this is a statue of the Joestar family guardian angel, can't imagine how it ended up in a shop like this but that's not important. Anyway, the home my grandfather lived in had a large statue just like this, sadly though it was destroyed along with the rest of his home in a tragic fire," said JoJo.

"Oh my," said Rarity as she approached with concern.

"Indeed, thankfully though old Speedwagon, a good friend of our family who might as well be a member of it, thankfully got a good look at it before it was destroyed and between his unwavering loyalty and seemingly endless wallet he was able to track down another for my home back in Liverpone," said JoJo as he smiled thinking back on how happy his grandmother was when Speedwagon first unveiled the statue in their living room. 

"Apparently she is called Charmeine the angel of harmony and well... as soon as you told me about the Elements of Harmony you and your friends wield I thought perhaps you have a connection to her as well... maybe that is why fate brought us together like this," said JoJo with a smile.

"Oh my... thank you," said Twilight as she made her way over to the statue and smiled with a much greater blush. "Thank you so much."

JoJo chuckled at that as he said, "Well it will certainly look better in the library then that ghastly vase you had."

Twilight chuckled at this too as she thought, "This has to be one of the kindest sweetest gifts I've ever received in my whole live I... I have to ask him out right now!" Twilight let out a deep breath as she began saying, "Listen JoJo I..."

"Come on Twilight, now's the perfect time!" thought Twilight.

"I..." she stammered again.

"Come on Twilight just say it already, you don't have anything to lose!" she thought as she looked at JoJo's smiling face. A few seconds went by but to Twilight they felt like hours as she thought, "Dear Celestia just say something to him you idiot!" She stared further before thinking, "IT'S JUST A FEW WORDS WILL YOU GO OUT WITH ME!? SAYING THEM COULDN'T POSSIBLE BE WORSE THEN THIS SILENCE!"

Her mind then went blank as she suddenly said the first thing that came to her mind. "Will.. will you teach me Hamon soon?!" 

Meanwhile Rarity face hoofed at this while Celestia slightly smiled thinking, "Well it looks like I might not have to worry about her dating any time soon after all."

"Oh," said JoJo as he thought, "Once again this mare surprises me, I certainly did not expect her to ask about Hamon training with that look on her face. Why she almost looked like she wanted to ask me out... no. She couldn't want to do that.. could she? Honestly I'm starting to doubt if I can read her at all right now." JoJo then had a nervous smile of his own as he said, "Well I suppose I've gotten everything I needed," before glancing down at his outfit, which now had a bit of nervous sweat on it. JoJo then looked at the clock as he said, "It's still kind of early but I feel like it would be better to dedicate a full day to this. How about we just go back home and relax for the rest of the day and we can start training tomorrow?"

Twilight nervously smiled and nodded as she said, "Of course that.. that will be great."

"Happy to hear it," said JoJo with his own smile and blush.

Rarity groaned at this as she thought, "Dear lord it's going to take quite a lot of help to get these two together."

Celestia simply glanced at the two of them awkwardly getting ready to leave before briefly eyeing the statue as she grinned and thought, "Maybe this stallion isn't so bad... he still better look out though. One wrong move and he gets a SEVERE sun burn!."


Meanwhile back at Barnyard Bargains 

"Spoiled dear, have you seen the statue that was in the window?" asked Filthy Rich.

"No, maybe Diamond took it for one of her games with that girl Gold Fork or whatever her name is," said Spoiled RIch as she thought, "I finally got rid of that tacky thing."

"Hmm, well just tell her to be careful with it. It's from the preequestrian era you know," said Filthy.

"Wha-what!?" asked Spoiled in alarm.

"Oh I never told you about this? Supposedly an Earth Pony artisan carved it when the famine first started in order to try and bring  luck to the tribe," said Filthy as he thought about the story.

"Um darling, how much was the statue worth exactly!?" asked Spoiled.

"Oh I wouldn't be so crash as to sell it. If anything it should be given as a gift as it's meant to bring good fortune to whoever has it," said Filthy with a smile.

He prepared to tell the story of exactly how his family acquired it only for Spoiled to interrupt saying, "Just for arguments sake though?" 

"Well... I suppose it could go for about... 1.3 million bits," said Filthy with a smile.

Spoiled jaw dropped as she thought, "I... I gotta get that thing back form that idiot!" As she thought about this she briefly glanced out the window and saw him as she gritted her teeth in anger.

Filthy followed her gaze and noticed Twilight holding the very statue he was talking about as he smiled saying, "Aww Spoiled  dear you know you didn't need to lie to me."

"What!?" said Spoiled as she turned her anger to the stallion she viewed as less then a life partner and more as an ATM.

"Giving the statue to Twilight was a marvelous idea. She certainly deserves it and more after all she's done for Ponyville," he then hugged her with a smile saying, "That's the generous mare I fell in love with."

Meanwhile Spoiled fumed as she thought, "I don't know how but I am getting that money back one way or another!"


> Everyone Has A Plan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike breathed a sigh of relief as he once again finished cleaning the kitchen. That sigh quickly turned to one of concern as he dreaded the idea that something else would come up and make him have to clean it again. He hung up his apron and began to back away slowly fearing another such catastrophe.

This unfortunately was his undoing since as soon as he entered the door way he was startled by Twilight yelling, "Spike, we're home!" and he ended up breathing fire onto the very apron he just hung up. 

Immediately he ran to grab the fire extinguisher as he muttered, "Why couldn't this have been the type of fire that just sends stuff to Celestia!?" He finally reached the extinguisher and fired it at the apron... only to have nothing happen. He then began shaking and poking at it in frustration saying, "Come on don't be empty now! This is the last time I'm gonna use you today... hopefully."

At hearing the commotion Twilight and JoJo ran towards the kitchen, only to get caught in the crossfire as Spike's tampering caused the extinguisher to go haywire dossing them, the apron, and finally several surfaces of the kitchen itself... basically making it look exactly as it did this morning.

"Oh my, Spike what happened?!" asked Twilight in a mix of concern, surprise, and just a touch of annoyance at the foam now embedded in her coat. 

"Ehh, where do I start?" asked Spike sarcastically.

"Let me guess, you've been trying to clean all day only to have something ruin it again as soon as it looks like you're done," said JoJo.

"How'd you guess?" said Spike.

"Meh, it's what I do," said JoJo with a smile. "Speaking of which," he then turned to Twilight who was trying to get some of the extinguisher foam out of her mane as he said, "Why don't you go up stairs and take a shower and I'll help Spike clean up."

"Oh, are you sure?" asked Twilight.

"Absolutely, like I said even though you said you don't need me to help out more I'm still happy to do it, besides most of this stuff got on my tang top that I was going to throw in the wash anyway," he then chuckled before he continued saying, "Lucky for me that I changed back into my old clothes before coming back here."

Twilight smirked with a slight blush as she said, "Well OK, thanks once again JoJo," before exiting the room.

JoJo then smiled as he turned to Spike saying, "Right then, let's get to work little fellow."

"Thanks for the help," said Spike as he once again grabbed a towel thinking, "With all the rags and towels I've used today there might not be enough room in the wash for JoJo's stuff without doing multiple loads." before handing it to him.

"Oh it's no trouble at all, after all I'm the one who made the mess that started this all this in the first place... speaking of which what exactly happened because given your disheveled state I'd assume it's been quite the long day," asked JoJo.

Spike simply groaned saying, "EHHH! I don't want to talk about it... how about you tell me about your day instead? What happened with you and Twilight?"

JoJo had a slight blush of his own as he thought for a moment before saying, "Oh not much, Celestia stopped by and talked to us a bit but I was getting groceries throughout the majority of her visit so I'm sure Twilight will tell you more about that."

"Yeah.. I'll ask her about it," said Spike as he remembered his encounter with the mare earlier today and though, "Well JoJo's in one piece so it looks like he made a good first impression."

"Beyond that we simply got the clothes and stuff like we said and... OH! I got a statue of my families guardian angel to replace the vase in the lobby and hopefully bring a little luck," said JoJo.

"Wow! I bet Twilight liked that," said Spike excitedly.

"Yeah, about that... how would you describe Twilight?" asked JoJo.

"Hmm," said Spike as he thought about the question for a moment. "I suppose I'd call her the bookish type."

"That's what I though at first too but... she doesn't seem like that all the time," said JoJo.

"Well you wouldn't have said that if you met her a year ago, she was a regular purple hermit back then," said Spike.

"The tarot card?" asked JoJo in slight confusion.

"What? No, I just meant that she's purple and she spent most of her time alone... what's a tarot card?" asked Spike.

"Never mind just... please continue," said JoJo.

"Oh, well I just meant that her new friends and the experiences they've gone through have really helped her unwind... honestly I never thought it would happen but then again I never thought we'd be doing the half the stuff we do now," said Spike as the thought about how so much had changed in this past year.

"Hmm, I suppose that explains it," said JoJo as he leaned back in thought.

"What do you mean?" asked Spike.

"I've been having a few issues figuring her out lately and I'm starting to think the reason for that is because she's... like me. She's had experiences that changed her in ways no one thought possible and... it's just interesting. It's not often I meet someone who I can't immediately figure out, let alone because they have so much in common with myself," his blush then increased as he smiled saying, "I wonder if I ever could figure out someone like that."

Spike thought, "Looks like Twilight isn't the only one here with their first crush, as smart as this guy he seems just as clueless as she is." He was about to comment on this only to be interrupted as he heard a knock at the door. This resulted in JoJo saying, "Oh that must be Rarity, she said she'd stop by tonight to drop off the other outfits she made for me. Would you please answer it while I finish cleaning up in here?" 

"Sure!" said Spike as he excitedly exited the room upon hearing who was at the door. He ran to it before pausing to make sure his scales where clean and checking his breath before opening it.

Upon seeing the little dragon Rarity smiled as she said, "Oh good Spike, I was hoping it would be you."

"You where!?" asked Spike excitedly.

"Yes... would you mind stepping outside for a minute so we can talk?" asked Rarity.

"Of course," said Spike grinning ear to ear as he thought "Oh Celestia this is a dream come true!"

As the two stepped out Rarity glanced around to make sure no one was ease dropping as she said, "Now then, don't think I haven't noticed that someone seems to have quite the big crush."

"You have!?" said Spike in a mix of excitement and concern.

"Well of course I have darling, I mean how could I not?" asked Rarity, not noticing Spike's sudden nervousness. 

"Oh well," said Spike scratching his head as he though, "So Twilight was right about it being obvious." He then looked up saying, "Well.. what do you think?"

"Well obviously we should try and help poor Twilight confess to JoJo before some other mare tries instead," said Rarity.

"Eh, right... Twilight and JoJo," said Spike now disheartened.

Rarity didn't seem to notice this though as she continued saying, "Honestly, how has JoJo not noticed it himself yet, I mean what kind of pony is that oblivious to somepony else so obviously liking them!?"

Spike snapped back to reality at the irony of that as he said, "Yeah well... I was talking to him and it looks like he has his own crush on Twilight and is just as clueless about it."

"Oh dear, that could make things trickier. If they are both to shy to confess we'll have to work double time to create the right situation... though at the very least that means they both want to date each other I suppose," said Rarity. She then turned back to Spike as said, "OK, I already talked to the other girls and we came up with a plan to invite Twilight out for a girls night after there training session tomorrow where we'll help her relax, get her talking, and just try to pepper in advice to help her, you know very casually. Do you think you and Big Macintosh could have one of your little game nights and invite JoJo to do the same for him?"

Spike perked up at this as he said, "Oh heck yeah! I've been working on a new campaign idea but I need someone with a rogue class to really make it work."

Rarity glared at him as he then nervously scratched his head saying, "And of course give him advice like you said."

"Excellent, well you better get back in before they start to get suspicious, here are the clothes I brought," said Rarity.

"Oh, thanks," said Spike as he took the bags she was levitating.

"Well goodnight Spikey Wikey, and good luck with JoJo tomorrow," said Rarity with a smile.

"Oh," said Spike with a blush at hearing his nickname. "Thanks and good luck with Twilight."

As the two parted ways Spike reentered and gave the clothes to JoJo.

The rest of the evening went by very quickly and somewhat awkwardly as each of them had there own things on there mind.

As the night winded down JoJo laid in bed saying, "Well then I guess I become a Hamon coach tomorrow... wait how exactly do I do that?" He thought for a moment as he said, "I could probably teach her how to channel it once she unlocks it but how exactly do I unlock it for her... I know I heard how at one point." He laid there as slowly the memory came back to him.


Several weeks ago, just after overcoming Hell Climb Pillar.

Caesar sat on his bed trying to read as JoJo groaned and fumbled in the bed next to him. He sighed before closing the book saying, "You do realize you can't get that mask off right?"

As JoJo continued to pull on it he said, "Well then you help me get it off then because there is no way in hell I can actually sleep in this thing!"

"I will not, sleeping with it on is part of the training. Why is it bothering you so much anyway? All it does is make it so you can only Hamon breath, witch if you ask me is better then regular breathing anyway as each breath I take reinvigorates me and fills me with determinazione," said Caesar proudly.

"Easy for you to say," said JoJo as he continued to struggle with the mask before eventually falling back into bed and giving up. He sighed before saying, "Can I tell you a secret?"

Caesar was somewhat taken aback by how serious JoJo suddenly looked as he said, "Um sure."

JoJo sighed once more as he said, "I... I don't actually know how to Hamon breath."

"Che chosa.... wha- what do you mean you don't know how to Hamon breath!? I've seen you do it, you've overcome Hell Climb pillar for god's sake! That's something even some of the finest Hamon users can't say!" said Caesar in a mix of confusion and concern.

"I know that! I didn't say I couldn't Hamon breath just that I didn't know how!" said JoJo which only resulted in Caesar looking more confused as he continued saying, "Look, up until now I've pretty much only Hamon breathed on instinct, in the heat of the moment. I have no idea how it's actually technically done or how to consciously do it!"

JoJo shut his eyes ready for a verbal assault from Caesar about how everything until now had just been dump luck, but instead he heard a slight chuckle as Caesar said, "Is that all?"

"Eh, yeah," said JoJo as he looked up at a now bemused Caesar.

"Mama mia, you had me worried for a moment there JoJo," said Caesar.

"Wha- you mean this is normal?" said JoJo.

"Of course, it's a common problem among children and grandchildren of Hamon users. In fact I myself had the same issue when I first came here," said Caesar.

"Wait, does that mean you know how to fix it then!?" asked JoJo excitedly. 

"Of course," said Caesar, "Sit up for a moment."

JoJo excitedly got up as he closed his eyes expecting Caesar to walk him throw a meditation technique. What he got instead was sharp intense pain as Caesar struck him in the chest and knocked all the air out of him.

JoJo tried to say, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!?' but couldn't as getting air back into his lungs was a battle, as soon as he did it though he noticed that familiar yellow glow begin to radiate from his chest as it began to heal the newly acquired bruise.

"That's it, focus on how you're breathing right now. Remember exactly how it feels to take in air this way relative to taking it normally," said Caeasar.

JoJo did as instructed and began memorizing this breathing pattern, to the point where he was able to continue it even after his wound was all healed "Tha-thanks, what was that exactly?" he asked

Caeasar smiled as he said, "A simple test to identify new Hamon users, though used in a different context of course. A hard strike to the solar plexus will force the air out of anyone and if they are able to Hamon breath they will instantly start doing so."


Back to the present.

"Alright then one quick strike solar plexus and... wait do ponies have those?" asked JoJo as he began quickly and quietly looking around the lobby for a biology book.


Meanwhile in Canterlot

As Luna finished raising the moon she saw a tired Celestia enter as she said, "So how was your little excursion to Ponyville."

Celestia humphed as she said, "OK I guess."

"You guess?" asked Luna.

"Well JoJo seems nice enough... I suppose, and Twilight does intend to date him, though it might be some time before it actually happens," said Celestia.

"So, what happened to the enthusiastic soon to be grandmother who greeted me this morning?" said Luna with a smile.

"Ehhhh, I don't know. I mean when I think of Twilight handing me her newborn foal I feel a joy beyond compare but thinking about... all that would need to happen to get to that point," said Celestia dejectedly.

"Ah, I believe this falls under the modern metaphor, 'you like eating the sausage but don't want to see how it's made'," said Luna.

"I wouldn't quite put it like that but... yes. I just can't bare the ideas of the thousands of bad things that could happen to my poor little girl," said Celestia.

Luna placed an assuring hoof on her shoulder as she said, "I may not have walked the path of romance in some time, but I do indeed remember how it is rot with pain and misery, but you have to also remember that if one is brave enough to reach the end it has the promise of joy beyond compare as I'm sure your joy at seeing that newborn foal will pail in comparison at Twilight's joy at seeing it."  

"I suppose you are right," said Celestia as she made her way to bed. "Thank you for the kind words sister and as always good luck with the night."

"Thank you sister, sleep well," said Luna.

Celestia chuckled at that as she said, "Isn't it your job to make sure we all sleep well, miss 'walker of the dream realm'?"

"Fair point," said Luna with her own chuckle as she watched her sister leave. She then thought to herself, "I best not tell Celestia that the odd dream I saw was JoJo's, she seems to have a very basic trust of him as is. Besides it was simply a bad dream, what's the worst that could happen?"


> Training and Planning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Twilight looked up at the glowing moon, she thought that there could only be one thing more breathtaking... well more accurately two things as she turned her attention to the calming blue of JoJo's eyes. 

As she stared into those oases she couldn't help but smile as she noticed JoJo do the same as he began to say, "Twilight, the time I spent with you has been the best time of my life.... and there's something I need to ask you." 

He then reached into his pocket as Twilight thought, "Oh Celestia, is he doing what I think he is doing?!"

He continued to fumble through his pocket as he said, "Twilight Sparkle, would you do me the honor..."

"HE IS!" thought Twilight as her mind began to race as she pictured there lives together from here on out. 

A picture that was shattered as from out of JoJo's pocket came his clackers as he excitedly continued saying, "Of becoming my full time Hamon student and learning all of my techniques!?"

"Wha-what!?" said Twilight in other shock.

"Well what did you think I would ask, I mean you always seem more interested in Hamon then in me anyway," said JoJo.

"No no no," stammered Twilight as the images of the thousands of times Twilight failed to ask JoJo out only to change the subject to Hamon played before her. As she watched the stallion begin to describe how his clackers worked she realized she would never get another chance as she screamed out, "NOOOO!!!" before she suddenly woke up.

She began to pant as she now found herself in bed in a cold sweat.

Spike barely opened his eyes as he yawned saying, "Let me guess, forget to send a follow up to Celestia thanking her for visiting yesterday?"

Twilight slowly calmed her breathing as she lied saying, "Something like that." She thought to herself, "I seriously need to ask out JoJo,"she then pictured doing this and caused her nerves to flair back up again as she added on "Soon."


Meanwhile in Canterlot

As Luna exited the dream realm she chuckled saying, "I always feel bad using my magic to read ponies still sleepy minds after they wake up since it feels like spying, but that was honestly worth it. If 'soon' is the best she can muster after a nightmare like that I can see why Celestia said she and JoJo won't go out for some time.... speaking of JoJo it's odd that I didn't see a dream from him last night, I wonder what he was doing."


The lobby of Golden Oaks library.

JoJo took one final glance at the anatomy book before throwing out another practice strike. This seemed to satisfy him as he smiled and said, "All right, it took staying up most of the night, which considering the dream I had before isn't necessarily a bad thing, but not only did I find out where the Solar Plexus is on a pony, but I'm confident I can hit it on the first try. I'd hate to do this only to miss and have to try again.... especially since I honestly have no idea if Twilight can Hamon breath or not... the idea of doing this in general is somewhat unsettling but doing it several times with no results is even more so."

As he thought on this he glanced down at his hoof as he chuckled saying, "I never thought about this before but I'm glad Kars cutting off my arm didn't transfer over to me only having three hooves.... makes me wonder if perhaps I am turned back into a human by one thing or another would I have both arms or still be missing one?" 

His thoughts on this where interrupted though as he heard  movement upstairs and saw Twilight and Spike descend as he said, "Oh good, you two are up."

Spike yawned as he said, "Barely."

Twilight, who was thankfully more alert, smiled at this before saying, "So should we start the training now or have breakfast first?"

"Hmmm, it would be best to start now," said JoJo as he thought, "On the off chance I slip and strike your stomach I wouldn't want anything to come back up." He then glanced over to Spike saying, "In the meantime, could you do us a favor and make breakfast while we train, something hearty if you don't mind."

Spike yawned again saying, "Sure why not, it beats cleaning up after you trying to make breakfast anyway."

Twilight chuckled at this comment as JoJo scratched his head embarrassed saying, "Fair point." 

As Spike entered the kitchen Twilight looked at JoJo and thought, "OK, the dream was ironically a bit of a wake up call. I don't want to use my desire to learn Hamon to take my mind off my feeling too often.... but I suppose it will be OK to do for now." She then let her nerves melt into her desire to learn as she smiled saying, "Alright, so how do we start?"

JoJo's smile briefly faltered at this as he looked down saying, "About that... Twilight... do you trust me?"

"Of course," said Twilight just a little too quickly as seeing him look so down heartened briefly made her feelings bubble back up. 

JoJo briefly perked up at this before going back down as he continued saying, "I mean it do you.... do you trust that I would never hurt you out of cruelty or anything like that?"

Twilight became concerned as she thought, "Why is he so worried about me all of the sudden? I mean, I suppose I always kind of thought Hamon training could be a little dangerous but it can't be much more so then magic training was... could it?" She then looked at JoJo's face and without even thinking said, "Absolutely."

JoJo's smile briefly returned before he suddenly rushed up to her and swung his hoof only to stop mid way as he jumped back saying, "AHH! I just can't do it!" 

Twilight briefly blinked at the sudden turn of events before gathering herself as she said, "What exactly are you trying to do?"

JoJo sat up sighing as he said, "To see if someone can use Hamon all one has to do is strike them in the Solar Plexus. If they are capable of using Hamon they will instantly start Hamon breathing and if not then not."

"Oh, well that sounds simple enough," said Twilight.

"Indeed, the only problem is.... well I had it done to me and I remember it hurts like hell and that's with Hamon breathing making me start to heal instantly," said JoJo.

"Oh," replied Twilight as she began to understand.

"Moreover I've never actually done it before so it's possible I could slip and have to try it multiple times. Add that to the fact that again you may not even be able to use Hamon and... it's just something I'd rather not do to you," said JoJo as he sighed and laid on his back. "I thought that if I quickly surprised you with it I could do it but no such luck."

Twilight approached him in concern as she said, "I can't believe I'm saying this but I want you to hit me."

"What?!" asked JoJo.

Twilight shrugged as she said, "Well like I said, I trust that you wouldn't hurt me out of anger or anything and if I need to do this for Hamon training then so be it," before looking down at him with a smile.

JoJo blushed at seeing that warm smile as he sat back up saying, "Are you absolutely sure about this?"

"Of course," nodded Twilight as she stepped back and spread her front hooves to give him a clear shot.

JoJo chuckled as he thought, "Damn, this reminds me of when Von Stroheim asked me to cut off his leg... though I suppose it isn't quite as dire... then why is it giving me the same feeling? Regardless Twilight wants me to do this and I should!" 

He then got on his hooves and sighed saying, "Well then I hope you can forgive me for this!" Before Twilight could respond he struck her Solar Plexus dead on as her eyes bulged from the sudden hit, her chest flared from the lack of air, and finally she partially crumpled onto the floor.

Now logically JoJo knew he should wait a bit to see what happened but upon seeing the pained look on her face he couldn't help himself as he began running forward to heal her, only to have her hold her hoof to keep him back. As he stood back in concern watching her struggle to breathe as every part of him wanted to help her and then suddenly it happened. As Twilight took in her first breath that familiar yellow glow spread across her chest and began healing the newly formed bruise. 

JoJo grinned ear to ear as he laughed in relief and said, "That's it Twilight! Now just focus on how you are breathing right now and memorize it. This is how you Hamon breath!" 

Twilight smiled at this, in spite of her breaths still being labored, as she did as instructed, taking a mental note of exactly how this felt relative to normal breathing. Once she finally got a hold of herself she stood back up proper and did a few more of the breaths before she had her own ear to grin as she asked in disbelief, "I really did it!?"

"Indeed," said JoJo proudly.

"That easily!?" asked Twilight.

"Well what can I say, Hamon is just one of those things you either can or can't do and it looks like you can," said JoJo.

Twilight clapped her hooves in excitement as she said, "Alright then what's next!?" 

JoJo laughed at this as he said, "Eager for more I see, well then next you need to know how to channel the Hamon energy into various parts of your body so you can properly use it deliver a good strike, imbue it in some objects, or even channel it into your hoof tips to walk on water."

"Wait, walk on water!?" said Twilight as her excitement perked up even higher.

"I knew you'd like that new bit of information, yes we can-" said JoJo before being interrupted by a knock at the door.

Twilight looked over in confusion as she said, "Now who could that be this early in the morning?"

JoJo shrugged as Twilight opened the door and greeted the unicorn on the other side saying, "Oh hey Rarity is everything OK?" 

"Well... not exactly dear," said Rarity looking concerned.

"Oh dear, do you want to come in and talk about it?" asked Twilight.

"Oh no, it's nothing like that dear, it's just... I was going through my drawers when I found this spa voucher good for a day of full treatments for six and to my dismay it expires today," said Rarity.

"Oh," said Twilight now seeing where this is going. "Well believe me Rarity, I'm grateful that you considered me but this is kind of last minute and I was in the middle of that training session I mentioned to you yesterday." 

"Well yes of course dear, and I don't expect you to leave this very second. The appointment isn't until this afternoon, I'm just stopping by to make sure you and the others are free then is all," said Rarity with a only somewhat convincing smile as she thought, "Please don't ask how I could have an appointment with a voucher I just found today!"

Thankfully Twilight didn't pick up and that small inconsistency as she said, "Oh, well then of course I'll join you and the other girls," she then turned to JoJo saying, "If you think the training will be done by then that is?" 

JoJo smiled saying, "Of course, we're just covering the basics today after all." 

Rarity's smile turned somewhat devious as she thought about how her plan was coming together before saying, "Wonderful, I'll see you then darling," before walking away. 

As soon as Twilight shut the front door, the kitchen door swung open as Spike called out, "Alright every things ready." 

"Just in time too," said JoJo with a smile.

As they all began walking towards the kitchen Spike looked back saying, "Oh, I couldn't help but over hear that you're having a spa day with the others Twi and I figured me and JoJo should have our own day, so would it be alright if the two us went over to Sweet Apple Acres for a game night with Big Mac?"

"Of course," said Twilight. "That is, as long as JoJo is OK with it."

JoJo smiled as he said, "I don't see why not, a game night sounds like fun."

Soon they all sat down for breakfast with Twilight and JoJo totally unaware of the plan they where now caught in.


Meanwhile in a nearby back alley a darker plan was taking root.

As Bloody Butterfly absent mindedly spun the butterfly knife she got her name from with her magic, she glanced at her partner saying, "Any good looking marks out today Wing Blade?" 

The pegasus stallion groaned at this statement as he said, "Negatory, nothing but chump change out there. Same as always in this little backwoods town."

"True, but at least the closest thing we have to worry about to cops here is just the one sheriff," said Bloody Butterfly as she once again had to remind her more simple minded companion why they worked here instead of a richer place.

"I guess.... I just wish we could have one big score you know. Just one hustle that could set us up with enough cash to make any Manehatton or Canterlot cop look the other way while we do whatever we want," said Wing Blade. 

"PERHAPS I CAN HELP WITH THAT!" said a voice from just beyond the alley.

As the two looked towards the source they saw what appeared to be a cloaked mare approaching them, Bloody Butterfly stepped forward with her knife saying "Oh yeah, and who the hell are you?"

As if to answer the mare simple threw a fairly large bag of bits in front of them as she said, "Just a mare with more of that stuff then she knows what to do with and a dirty job that needs to be done."

Upon picking up the money and seeing that it was real, Wing Blade smiled saying, "So what kind of job is it?"

"Oh nothing special, I just need you to break into a library tonight and steal a statue," said the mare.

"That all! You got a deal lady," said Wing Blade excited.

Bloody Butterfly on the other hoof simply nodded as she thought, "There's definitely more to this then this mare is letting on.... if she's got this kind of money though we should go along with this at least for now."

Meanwhile the mare didn't seem to notice this as she laughed thinking, "These idiots can have whatever they want, once I get that statue back I can leave this po dunk town and my soft hearted ATM of a husband behind and relax on a beach in Hoofaii!"


> Girls Night, Guys Night, and Thieves Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight breathed in deeply as she focused and moved the crackling energy to her right front hoof. She then struck forwards with it as she yelled, "HAMON OVERDRIVE!" 

JoJo watched her with a smile saying, "Very nice though... you know you don't actually need to yell Hamon Overdrive right?"

"Really, then why do you do it?" asked Twilight.

"Well... I suppose I just have a flair for the dramatic is all," said JoJo as he somewhat blushed in embarrassment.

Twilight chuckled at that as she said, "In the heat of battle though?"

"Eh, what I can say. I like to think fighting is just as much about style as it is strategy or strength," said JoJo with a smile.

Twilight only giggled into her hoof in response as JoJo looked away and blushed further saying, "Moving on though. You're actually picking up things really well."

Twilight's giggling ceased as she blushed at the slight praise saying, "Thanks, what's next?"

"Well... we've pretty much covered most of the basics. You've learned how to reliable produce Hamon and channel it into a general part of your body... you could try and focus it into a more specific and smaller part to let it flow better, but that's a more advanced move." He then thought, "And since you don't have finger tips to channel it into I'm not sure how to teach that yet," before he continued saying, "I suppose I could tell you about Sendō Hamon," said JoJo.

"Sendō? What's that?" asked Twilight as she snapped back to reality.

"Honestly... it's nothing special. It's simply what one calls it when they channel Hamon through an object that can't store it. Like metal or stone and typically this will change the color the Hamon appears to be," said JoJo before a smile came to his face as he said, "Actually thinking about it I'm not the only one with this little fighting quirk as most Hamon users like to give names to each type of Sendō they use."

"Really, like what?" asked Twilight.

"Let's see... some of the ones I heard in my training are Metal Silver Overdrive for when it's channeled into... well metal, or Scarlet Overdrive when it's channeled through fire," said JoJo.

"So... it's just-" began to ask Twilight.

"Yes, the color the Hamon appears to be and sometimes the material it is channeled through... look I said they had names, I never said the names where creative," said JoJo with a smile and a chuckle.

Twilight smiled herself as he said, "Oh and your incredible creative Mr. Clacker Volley."

JoJo blushed as he said, "Fair point," before the two of them both let out a little laugh.

As Twilight felt herself melt into the moment she thought, "OK girl, now is the moment. You're both cool comfortable and relaxed, there isn't gonna be a better time to tell him how you feel then now!" As the seconds ticked by Twilight thought, "Come on Twi! Just... OK tell him how you feel and ask him out in three... two... o," before she could finish the countdown though she heard a knock at the door as she instantly thought, "OH THANK CELESTIA! I can do it another time."

"I suppose that's Rarity," said JoJo as Twilight seemed to bolt for the door. 

Indeed it was as once Twilight opened the door the door she was greeted by the startled white mare as her hoof was raised in mid knock. Twilight didn't seem to notice as she had a huge smile and said, "Ready to go when you are!"

"Oh um... alright then, we can head out now and the other girls will meet us there," said Rarity confused at how sudden all this was. 

"Great let's go!" said Twilight as she quickly made her way out the door.

"Oh, um be right there," said Rarity before turning as she said, "Well goodbye JoJo, we should be home around eight."

"Righto," said JoJo as he too looked nervous at the sudden transition, "You all have fun."

The two smiled at each other before Rarity headed at the door and JoJo thought, "Well that was peculiar, why was Twilight in such a rush? Could it just be that she is excited for a spa day with her friends... or perhaps she wanted to end our training session for some reason?"

His thoughts where interrupted as he heard Spike come from up stairs saying, "Did Twilight leave?"

"Yeah... kind of quickly actually," said JoJo.

"Hmm, well maybe she just was eager to hang out with her friends at the spa," offered Spike.

"Maybe," said JoJo as thought, "That is a distinct possibility.... meh. Perhaps now is the time to come to terms with the fact that I can't figure her out as easily as others and try not to analyze her for a bit... besides I do have other things to do."

JoJo looked at Spike saying, "So you want to head out for this game night?"

Spike smiled eagerly as he said, "HECK YEAH!"

JoJo chuckled at his enthusiasm before saying, "Twilight should be back at eight."

Spike nodded at that as he said, "Works for me, games probably gonna go to eight thirty or nine."

"Sounds good, gives her a bit of time to settle in by herself before we get back," said JoJo as the two prepared to head out the door.


Meanwhile back at the alley

Bloody Butterfly looked at the mysterious mare saying, "Alright Ms. Moneybags, let's say we do this job for you."

"Why wouldn't we do this job!?" asked Wing Blade in protest.

Bloody simply raised her hoof in annoyance at him as she thought, "How exactly do you manage to not get arrested when I'm away if you're this clueless when something seems fishy!?" She then sighed before she continued saying, "Say we do it... what exactly are the details?"

"Well like I said it's fairly straight forward, I need you to break into the Golden Oaks Library tonight and steal this statue," said the mare before pulling a picture out of her cloak and showing it the two.

"Hmm, looks like one of those humans that Lyra mare is always talking about," said Wing Blade.

"Ahh, don't remind me," said Bloody Butterfly as she thought, "If I had five bits for every time I had to smile and pretend to be interested in that mares stupid speeches about made up creatures while Blade swiped something from her bag I wouldn't even need to be a thief!" She rolled her eyes at the thought before she continued saying, "So if it's so simple why can't you just get it yourself?"

"Let's just say I'd rather not dirty my hooves," said the mare.

"Hmm... you mind if me and Blade talk about this for a bit?" asked Bloody.

"Go on ahead, though I advice you to take the job as if you don't I can't guarantee that whoever I do hire will like having others who know about the plan," said the mare as they briefly saw a sadistic smile from under the hood.

This unnerved Bloody as despite her name... murder was a line she never planned to cross, and yet she knew for a fact there where more then a few criminals around who either would or already had. As she did her best to hide her nerves she gestured for Blade to follow her.

Once they did she whispered to him, "I'm not sure about this mare."

"What do you mean?! This is the ticket out of here we've been talking about! Besides you heard what will happen to us if we don't take the job," said Blade as he nervously swallowed at the thought as he too had never crossed that particular line.

"Yes, but did you see that smile she had! I don't think she's gonna want any loose ends either way," said Bloody as she looked back at the mare before turning back to her partner with renewed fear.

"Hmm, well I say we take the statue but we don't give it to her," said Blade.

"WHAT!?" said Bloody in the loudest whisper she could manage. "Why in the name of Celestia would we do something like that?!"

"Think about it, if she is willing to do all this for that statue it must be worth quite allot of bits... look we have enough from out stolen goods here for two one way tickets to Manehattan. We go there, sell the damn thing on the black market and if it's worth as much as it seems we could probably make it to somewhere like Griffonstone where if you got enough money you can literally write the laws," said Blade with renewed confidence.

"Hmm... I doubt anypony she could hire could even find us in all that... let alone contend with any griffon bruisers we hire to protect us," said Bloody as she thought about all this.

"Exactly, it's even better then what we talked about," said Blade.

Bloody smiled at this as she said, "See this is why I keep you around, you may not be the best at thinking but when you do do it, it's very outside the box."

"Hey," said Blade taking offense at the slight jab before his partner playfully nudged him and he smiled in return before they went back to the mare in question.

"Alright, we're in. So when do you want this all to go down?" asked Bloody.

"About seven forty five would be best, I'll be in a cafe near by for you to perform the drop off and we wouldn't want it to look suspicious by having it be too late," said the mare.

"Isn't that kind of early thought?" asked Blade.

"Don't worry about it, the mare who runs that library is very strict about schedules. There is no doubt in my mind she'll be in bed by then," said the mare with a smile.


Meanwhile on the way to the spa

"Once again, I'm grateful for you deciding to come with us to this impromptu girls night," said Rarity, "Especially given that it's kind of late and I know you usually like to be in bed as soon as the sun goes down."

"You know I'm always happy to spend time with you and the others, besides I haven't been that strict about schedules since that whole future me stuff happened," said Twilight with a laugh.

"Indeed," said Rarity before thinking "Too bad that couldn't have happened later, then maybe the other her could have told her to ask JoJo out or told her how she did it... the former seems more likely though."

As the two soon entered the Spa they where greeted by Lotus Blossom as she said, "Ah, Ms. Rarity and Twilight good to see you both."

"Same to you Lotus," said Rarity with a smile.

Lotus then gestured with her hoof saying, "Your other friends are waiting in the steam roam for you, if you'll grab a towel and head that may please."

The two nodded before doing as instructed and heading into the steam room where the other four mares where waiting for them. 

As they sat down Applejack said, "Finally the gangs all here."

"Terrible sorry for the delay dears, Celestia knows Twilight tried to get here quickly," said Rarity looking at the mare somewhat annoyed that she had to run here.

"Sorry girls, I would have met up with you all earlier but I was training with JoJo," said Twilight.

"Oh that's fine, Rarity and Pinkie told us all about you and him," said Fluttershy. 

"Oh.... oh," said Twilight with a blush as she started to realize where this was going.

"Speaking of which, just pony up already and ask him out!" said Rainbow Dash as she casually ate from a bowl of cucumber slices she took from the facial counter.

"RAINBOW DASH!" said Rarity annoyed.

"What!?" said Rainbow as she looked around at the others.

"We where supposed to be subtle about this," said Applejack as she rolled her eyes.

"Pffth, subtly is slow and boring, besides I'm sure Twilight wants to get this over with as much as I do, right Twi?" asked Rainbow only to see that the mare in question was as red as a tomato and curled up into a ball of embarrassment. "Or.... maybe subtle would have been better," said Rainbow with a nervous smile.


Meanwhile approaching Sweet Apple Acres

As JoJo looked at the farm he thought, "The name is certainly apt, allot of apple themes in the decor and roughly 80% of the fields are covered in apple trees.... don't know how that could possible lead to a proper diet though."

Spike smiled as he pointed ahead saying, "Oh there's Big Mac in front of the barn."

JoJo turned to see a fairly muscular stallion waving at them as he and Spike waved in return and he thought, "Judging by the physique I'm guessing this is more of a strong from working in the fields rather then strong for working in the fields situation. Regardless he looks nice enough."

"Big Mac this is JoJo," said Spike as he introduced the two.

Big Mac reached his hoof forward saying, "Good to meet you partner."

JoJo took it with a smile as he said, "Likewise."

As they lowered there hooves Spike asked excitedly, "So did you finish setting up the game?"

"Yup!" said Big Mac equally excited.

JoJo smiled as he said, "Alright what are we playing then gentlemen? Poker, Blackjack, if you want I know a kinda nifty game that you can play with just a shot glass and some coins."

"Oh trust me it's better then all those combined!" said Spike excitedly.

"Yup!" added Big Mac.

"Hmm, well whatever it is I warn you lady luck has always been on my side so place your bets wisely," said JoJo.

"Oh don't worry we won't be risking money... but we will be risking," said Spike before flinging the barn door open and revealing a table with a large hand drawn map on it, several cardboard figures, a few books and several odd dice with far more sides then any JoJo had seen before. Spike then excitedly continued saying, "The fate of the world of Ogres and Oubliettes!" 


Back at the spa

As Twilight hyper ventilated into a bag Rarity tried to comfort her saying, "Now it will be OK dear... we only want to help you."

"HELP!" yelled Twilight, "How is telling all of our friends and forcing me into basically a relationship intervention helping!?"

"Well... it seemed like a good idea at the time," said Rarity as she looked down ashamed. 

This only resulted in a groan from Twilight before she began breathing into the bag again.

"Well if it helps, we think of this less as a relationship intervention and more as pre asking a pony out party!" said Pinkie excitedly before adding party hats to them all... a change that did nothing to lighten the mood.

Rainbow crossed her hooves in front of herself as she said, "I still don't see why this is a big deal. How hard is it to tell somepony you have feelings for them?"

"Says the pony who's now met famous Wonderbolt Spitfire several times and each time failed to mention that she doesn't just feel admiration for her," said Applejack.

This only caused Rainbow to blush as she nervously and unconvincingly said, "Whhhaaat, who told you that?"

"The same pony who told me that you asked her to help you buy up every Sports Illustrated magazine in both Cloudsdale and Ponyville to try and get the rare fold out swim suit poster of her," said Applejack with a devious smile.

This only caused Rainbow's blush to increase as she yelled, "Fluttershy!"

"I um... just thought our friends should know is all... maybe help you out like we're trying to do with Twilight," said Fluttershy meekly.

"I DON'T NEED HELP!" yelled back Rainbow.

As Rarity glanced at how this was all falling apart and seemed to not even involve Twilight anymore she groaned as she thought, "I hope Spike is having better look with JoJo."


Meanwhile at Sweet Apple Acres

"Fascinating, I've never heard of a game like this before but it does sound rather fun," said JoJo as he thought "A game where you can virtually do anything as long as you can think of it, where has this been all my life!?"

"Oh trust us it is," said Spike as Big Mac nodded in conformation. "OK so now that you know the basics let's get down to this game in particularly. The evil Squid Wizard has learned of an ancient gem stone that will amplify his power exponentially and has revived three powerful stone golems to help him get it, and it's our job to stop him."

"Sounds interesting," said JoJo before thinking, "And oddly familiar."

"As always I will be playing as Garbuckle the magician and Big Mac will be the knight Sir McBiggun. We took the liberty of drawing up a character for you, a rogue who's mainly skill, stealth, and deception based," said Spike

"Sounds good to me," said JoJo.

"Good, then all that's left is to give the character a name then," said Spike.

"Hmm," said JoJo before thinking, "Let's see I need a name that sounds cool.... perhaps one to honor a fellow warrior!" He then smiled saying, "How about Wamuu?"

Spike smiled as he said, "Sounds good to me."

"Yup," added Big Mac.

"Hmm, stallion of few words... very few words," thought JoJo.

"Now then we start our adventure sitting in a tavern together when we suddenly notice a mysterious figure looking at us from outside, what do you do?" asked Spike.

"Hmm, what weapons do I have on me?" asked JoJo.

"Just a small dagger," said Spike.

"Who is sitting in the tavern near us?" asked JoJo.

"Several other warriors are around but they all seem to be law breakers and can't be trusted," said Spike.

"In that case I take the weapons from the bag of nearest one," said JoJo with a smile as he picked up the dice and started rolling.

Spike chuckled at this as he said, "Good luck, even with your stealth skills you would need to roll a-"

Before Spike could finish JoJo let go of the dice and said, "Next you'll say 'a perfect 20 on the first try, UNBELIEVABLE!"

As Spike watched the dice hit the table he dropped his pencil in shock saying, "A perfect 20 on the first try, UNBELIEVABLE!" JoJo simply smiled at this as Spike consulted the book saying, "Somehow you managed to take a crossbow and several fire bombs from their bags without being noticed."

JoJo's smile only increased as he said, "Good, now I tuck these weapons into my clothes and go out to have a nice chat with our visitor."


Back at the spa

As the group moved from the sauna to the massage room, only a few of them had there tension relieved.

"Look Spitfire is different, she's a celebrity... there are dozens ponies who feel this way about her," said Rainbow.

"True but how many of those ponies are actually going to be on the Wonderbolts with her?" asked Pinkie excitedly.

"Well I mean... it's not for sure that I'm gonna join the Wonderbolts yet," said Rainbow.

Applejack chuckled at this as she said, "You choose now to be humble and doubt yourself."

"Fair," said Rainbow Dash with her own chuckle. "Well... I suppose when I actually get into the Wonderbolts and see her everyday I could tell her... but not before then or anything! I don't want her to think I'm trying to flirt with her to get on the team or anything."

"That sounds like a very good plan," said Fluttershy with a smile.

"OH YES VERY GOOD!" shouted an annoyed Rarity. "I'm so glad we've gotten Rainbow's love life figured out, aren't you Twilight?" asked Rarity sarcastically as she gestured towards the literal ball of stress the masseuse was trying and failing to work on.

"Oh," the four mares collectively said as they suddenly remembered why they where here and Rarity face hooved at it all.


Sweet Apple Acres

"OK the golem has shrugged off all of our strongest attacks and is now preparing to strike the killing blow," said Spike nervously as despite how well the campaign had gone until now, it looked like it was about to end.

Meanwhile the smile still hadn't left JoJo's face as he said, "Well then I simple tell the golem, 'you know if you want a real challenge you would let us go to finish our training.'"

Spike looked at this confused as he said, "Um, the golem is almost entirely loyal to the Squid Wizard, the only way that bluff would work is if you rolled."

"Another 20!" said JoJo excitedly.

"Damn Spike, I don't know where you found this guy but you should invite him more often!" said Big Mac as he became excited to see how this would all end.


Back at the Spa

As the girls now sat in the hot tub together Twilight was thankfully slightly better as she said, "Look I understand you girls are only trying to help me and... honestly I might need it, but I still would have liked for you all too have asked first before springing this on me."

"I'm truly sorry about all this dear, I may have had the best of intentions but I suppose it doesn't matter whether ones intentions are good or bad if the're being forced on others," said Rarity. 

"We're all really sorry about this sugarcube," said Applejack.

"Yeah, and I'm sorry for kinda taking the attention away from you," said Rainbow.

Twilight chuckled saying, "It's fine... at least one of us is confident enough to ask their crush out now." 

The mares looked down briefly in awkwardness before the one they least expected came forward.

As Fluttershy now stood in front of Twilight she said, "Look... I know more then anypony how hard it is to talk to other ponies and be confident... it was only about a year ago I could barely get a whisper out to anypony new. But that all changed one day when I met a brave strong pony who was trying to save all of Equestria by herself and decided to help her."

"I... you're right!" said Twilight as she was filled with a renewed sense of confidence. "I was so scared of all these new feelings that I forgot about all the other times I acted even though I was scared... what time is it girls?"

"Um, about seven forty," said Pinkie confused.

"Good, that means if we leave now I'll be home at around eight like we said, and then I can ask out JoJo tonight!" said Twilight as she got out of the tub and started drying off.

The girls all smiled and cheered as Rarity thought, "Well, this didn't get off to the smoothest start but it still went better then expected."


The back door of the Golden Oaks Library.

"How much longer is this going to take?" asked an impatient Wing Blade.

"Shut up! I'd like to see you try and use magic to move the tumblers of a lock in just the right way to open it without breaking any of them or leaving a trace behind!" said Bloody as she tried to focus her magic.

"Eh, whatever," responded Blade.

Soon there after though the lock clicked open as Bloody pulled the door with a smile saying, "And this is what happens when you let me work in peace," and as the two entered in she continued saying, "Now you check downstairs and I'll look upstairs."


Just in front of the library that very same moment. 

"OK Twi you got this," said a confident Twilight as she approached her front door. Meanwhile the five mares whom she thought had went to their own homes were watching her from a cafe to see how this all went.

Once she got through the door she saw a stallion standing in the back of the dark room as she said, "JoJo, I'm glad your home."

The stallion seemed to stiffen up nervously as Twilight said, "Look I know this may seem sudden but.... I think I'm really staring to like you.. like like you that is," she said with a giggle and a groan before saying, "Sorry that sounded like something a school filly would say I'm just new to all this and... I guess what I'm trying to say is, will you go out on a date with me?" Twilight looked at the stallion who only offered a nervous twitch as a response. As Twilight began to worry she may have made a big mistake she noticed something that shouldn't be there, that being wings twitching on the stallions back. As she turned the light on and got a good luck she saw that this certainly wasn't JoJo.


At the cafe.

"What do you think is happening in there?" asked Applejack in a whisper.

"How should I know?!" responded Rarity.

"Don't you know some kind of like x-ray spell or something to take ponies measurements while the're wearing baggy clothes?" asked Rainbow.

"Of course not... though it's not a bad idea," said Rarity as she made a mental note to borrow one of Twilight's magic books later.

As they conversed they were suddenly interrupted by a voice saying, "Ah, I see you girls decided to have lunch after your spa day."

"Not now JoJo we... wait JoJo!" said Rarity as she looked at the stallion in question.

"What the, what are you doing here!?" asked Fluttershy as a sense of worry flooded her.

"We finished our game night a little early, thanks to me that is," said JoJo with a cocky smile.

"IT WAS INCREDIBLE! I've never seen anyone get so many perfect rolls in a game!" said Spike excitedly as already he was planning for the next game night with him.

"Wait but... if you're here then who is Twilight-" said Rarity before being interrupted by a scream from library as they all rushed towards it in panic.

Once they got there though they where greeted by a pony cowering in fear while another threatened them... and honestly they weren't sure who to help.

"PLEASE I'M SORRY JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" said Blade as he tried to blow out the magical burns on his wings.

"YOU'RE SORRY!? I POUR MY HEART OUT TO YOU THINKING YOU WHERE SOMEONE ELSE AND YOU'RE SORRY!" said Twilight as she prepared her horn for another blast.

Thankfully for Blade, Bloody choose this moment to intervene as she tackled the stallion out of the way saying, "Come on, let's get away from this crazy bitch!" 

Without thinking the assembled crowd moved away from the door to clear a path for the thieves as Twilight followed behind saying, "I don't think so," before something odd happened. She took in a huge breath which caused that familiar crackling energy to form on her horn and mix with her magic in a bright array before yelling, "LAVENDER STASIS OVERDRIVE!" and letting the Hamon infused beam go. 

The two thieves looked back in horror as the beam hit them, but they where soon filled with relief as aside from a slight lavender glow on them the beam didn't seem to do anything. That relief was short lived as they saw the mare as well several other ponies approaching them at seemingly blinding speed. As they started to turn and resume running they soon came to realize it was no use as somehow their top speed couldn't get away, "WHAT IS HAPPENING!?" yelled Bloody.

Meanwhile the ponies all looked at what was going on in confusion as Rainbow was the fist to ask, "OK, what's up with them?"

As before them the would be thieves seemed to be moving at a snails pace. A thankfully calmer Twilight approached saying, "I.. I'm not exactly sure." She along with the others all moved forward to get a look at whatever this was as they all noticed it looked like the unicorn mare was trying to say something but all they heard was a dragged out w sound. 

Twilight thought about this as she said, "I tried to cast a stasis spell to hold them still but at the last minute I channeled Hamon into it. Somehow the stasis spell must have mixed with the life energy of the Hamon to put their minds and bodies into some kind of slow motion state."

As the group looked at all this, JoJo couldn't help but turn to Twilight as he blushed thinking, "Now she's using Hamon on instinct and coming up with new moves on the fly.... not to mention that fighting spirit she showed... she's... she's," and then something happened that never happened before. The brilliant tactician suddenly stopped thinking and gave way to instinct as he said, "Twilight will you go on a date with me!?" 

"WHAT!? asked Twilight

"WHAT!?" repeated the group in collective confusion.

JoJo's brain suddenly started back up again as he blushed and nervously said, "I know this may seem sudden but seeing you fight, I know now more then ever that we are two of a kind and that I would be a fool if I didn't at least try and go out with you so again... would you like to go on a date with me?" 

"I... YES!" said Twilight excitedly as she suddenly jumped forward and hugged onto JoJo.

The two simply embraced with a smile as the group around them suddenly started to feel awkward. "Um... I guess we'll just go and get the sheriff for these guys," said Rainbow gesturing towards the thieves who had to move an inch despite their best efforts.

Twilight and JoJo didn't seem to hear them as they started going over the finer details of their first date. As the others walked away Rarity smiled down at Spike saying, "Good job on your end. It looks like you worked wonders with JoJo."

"Oh yeah it was nothing," said Spike as he smiled awkwardly thinking, "I knew there was something I forgot about."


> The Date
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rarity shied as she thought, "AHH! If I'd known making a date outfit would be this difficult I wouldn't have tried to get the two of them together!"

"AHH! Careful with that!" said a pony who was slowly becoming Rarity's most difficult client yet.

"Come now dear, you're the one who said you wanted to have a perfectly flawless fit for your first date," said Rarity as she rolled her eyes.

"I know but I didn't think it would be this tight!" said the customer.

"I'd think you'd be used to it, after all that tang top you walked in here wearing might as well have been painted on with how much of ab detail is visible," said Rarity.

JoJo paused for a moment before saying, "Fair point.... I suppose I'm just nervous is all."

He looked in the mirror and straightened his bow tie as he thought, "This replica of the suit Granny Erina gave me all those years ago was definitely the right choice but... I honestly have no clue what else to do.  The closest thing I have to dating experience is watching Caesar flirt and there's no way I'm using any of that mozzarella cheese balls pickup lines!"

Thankfully Rarity snapped him back to reality as she said, "Don't worry dear, you like Twilight and she likes you and that's what's important."

"I... suppose," said JoJo.

"Besides she's just as new to this as you are so it's not like she's expecting anything huge," said Rarity as he mind drifted off thinking, "Speaking of which I wonder how things are going for Twilight on her end?"


Meanwhile at the Golden Oaks library

"GO THROUGH IT AGAIN SPIKE!" said Twilight as she paced back and forth on the floor.

"Come on Twi, we've been over it 20 times already," said Spike exasperated. 

"And JoJo will be here in 20 minutes which means we can go over it ANOTHER 20 times, or 25 if you would stop complaining," said Twilight.

Spike simply groaned before he looked at the top of the checklist again saying, "OK."

Twilight smiled as she said, "Alright, number one, the dress Rarity made me for my birthday."

"Check," remarked Spike as he thought, "Even if we hadn't already confirmed it, you could just look down and see your wearing it."

"Number two, reservations made at a three hooves rated cafe," said Twilight.

"Check," replied Spike.

"And finally, a list of talking points in case I get nervous," said Twilight.

Spike then glanced at the list that threatened to put every check list Twilight had ever made to shame as he replied, "Check, but I still don't think you need that."

"Perhaps... but better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it, besides you know how cool and confident JoJo is, I bet he's gonna be able to talk no problem," said Twilight.


As JoJo nervously marched to the library he thought, "Bugger all, I have no clue what to say or do when I see her. I should have Rarity for advice, Big Mac, or hell, even Spike could probably have provided something useful!" JoJo looked around nervously with these thought before taking a deep breath as he thought, "Steady yourself man, remember your Joseph Joestar, you don't even know the meaning of the word panic... I just need something calm my nerves." He looked around before noticing an old stallion leaning against a building and smoking a cigarette as he thought, "Hmm, there's an idea, never tried cigarettes myself but they did always seem to help Lisa Lisa relax."

JoJo soon approached the stallion as he said, "Hate to bother you sir but do think you could spare a smoke?"

The stallion looked at JoJo before saying, "Sure kid," before reaching down and hoofing JoJo a cigarette. 

JoJo grabbed it in his mouth as the stallion reached out with a lighter saying, "Let me get that for you."

Once it was lit JoJo took in a big puff before immediately regretting it as he entered into a huge coughing fit.

The stallion simply smirked at this as he said, "First time?"

JoJo soon regained his composure as he said, "Yeah, and I don't really think it's for me," before tossing the cigarette away.

The stallion once again chuckled saying, "I'd have to agree with that."

JoJo's cheeks glowed slightly from embarrassment as he began to walk away and muttered to himself, "Smoking's only for high school delinquents anyway." 


Back at the library.

"And finally my list of talking points," said Twilight.

"And the fortieth time, CHECK!" replied Spike finally sick of this as he took in a deep breath to fully speak his mind, only to be interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Oh Celestia he's here!" said Twilight as she quickly stuffed the list of talking points into her dress.

Spike sighed at this as he thought, "Well I guess I shouldn't ruin her big night by saying how irrational she's being about it."

Twilight quickly opened the door as she said, "Hi JoJo it's great to see yoouuuu-," before trailing off as she caught sight of JoJo in his red vest and white shirt. "Wow... you look."

"Amazing," finished JoJo as he was equally stunned by Twilight's plain yellow dress.

The two simply stared at each other for a moment before snapping back to reality as Twilight said, "So um, we should probably head out if we want to make it in time for dinner."

"R-right, lead the way," said JoJo as he nervously reached out for Twilight's hoof.

She blushed before taking it as the two of them made there way. "Good luck you two," called out Spike before mumbling to himself, "You're gonna need it."

As the two of them continued walking their blushes increased significantly before they let go of each others hooves and kept walking somewhat awkwardly. JoJo tried to break the tension with small talk saying, "So, what kind of restaurant is this?" 

"Oh it's this great cafe, great food, great atmosphere, great reviews," stammered Twilight nervously.

"Sounds... great," said JoJo with a slight smirk.

Twilight chuckled at that as she said, "It should be just around this corner. She looked over at JoJo smiling as she thought, "Alright things are going good so far," but that thought was quickly proven wrong as she was greeted to the cafe's entryway being on fire as the staff and several near by ponies struggled trying to put it out.

Twilight turned to a nearby mare and asked, "What's going on?"

"Some idiot threw a lit cigarette on the ground and it ignited some leaves," said the mare. 

"Oh dear, who would do something like that?" said Twilight.

"The nerve of some people," added JoJo, failing to put two and two together.

"Yeah, it's just lucky everypony was able to get out in time," said the mare before the fire carriages pulled up.

Soon a line of fireponies separated the civilians from the fire as one of them said, "CLEAR OUT EVERYPONY! WE'LL TAKE IT FROM HERE!"

As everypony made their exit JoJo said, "So where should we go now?"

When he turned to Twilight for an answer he was greeting to her hyperventilating as she said, "I.. I DON'T KNOW! We can't go to any other cafes since the're all booked up this time of day... we can't even go to Sugar Cube Corner because it's rented out for a birthday party!" 

As JoJo watched this he thought, "Alright time to calm down for real, Twilight is starting to lose it and she needs someone level headed to help her out of this." As he took a deep breath and began to look around for an answer he found one as he said, "How about we just sit in that park over there and talk for a bit?"

This seemed to produce a manic smile from Twilight as she remembered the list in her dress and said, "Talking yes, talking's good!" before heading off towards the park.

JoJo remained still for a moment, startled by the sudden change, but soon smirked as he said, "Well at least she's not freaking out now," before following after her. 

Soon they both found themselves sitting in the grass by a lake and taking in the sights. Twilight soon began thinking, "OK Twi, things may not have started off like I expected but there's still time to turn this around. The park is nice and I got my list of talking points... yeah, this is all gonna be fine."

She reached into her dress and tried to pull the list slightly out to avoid JoJo seeing it, sadly that was ruined as Twilight suddenly found a soccer ball striking her hoof and knocking her list into the lake.

A little colt soon approached her saying, "Sorry mam," but was unnerved by Twilight's blank stare at the list who's ink was now all smeared as it started floating away.

JoJo noticed this as he thought, "Hmm, that paper was most likely a list a talking points, given how she seemed so eager to come here, but it's gone now... I gotta try and show her every things alright." He then stood back up with his trademark smile as he picked up the soccer ball and said, "It's no problem lad, just be more careful next time," before kicking the ball clear across the park as the colt chased after it.

He then glanced over at the still frozen Twilight as he said, "So since I've already told you a bit about my life growing up, why don't you tell me about yours?"

"Ri-right," said Twilight as she snapped back to reality upon being given a topic. "Well... I suppose there isn't much to tell, I lived with my parents and me brother for a little bit, but moved out pretty quickly when I became Celestia's student. After that it was pretty much study study study until I came here and met my friends."

"Didn't you have any friend back in Canterlot?" asked JoJo.

"Not really... there where a hoofful of mares I hung out with after school while I did some light reading but that's pretty much it... the only one I was really close with was my brother and I haven't heard from him in a while," said Twilight.

"You didn't have a falling out did you?" asked JoJo in sudden concern.

"No.. nothing like that, it's just he's got his life and I've got mine and we just haven't really had the time to get together you know," said Twilight.

"Ahh, well maybe you should look into it, I'd love to meet him," said JoJo.

"I suppose so, I mean it's not like he'd date anyone and not tell me," said Twilight as she thought on that.

"Well maybe," said JoJo as despite knowing nothing about her brother, he seemed to doubt that statement for some reason. "Regardless, he's gotta do the whole big brother thing, sit me down, tell me how important his little sister is to him, try and kick my ass... key word being try," said JoJo with a cocky smirk.

This resulted in a smirk and giggle from Twilight as she said, "I don't know, they don't just make any pony Captain of the Royal Guard."

"True, but I'm not just any pony am I," said JoJo with a smile and as he watched Twilight giggle at that he suddenly felt a pang of guilt as he thought, "I'm not really a pony at all am I."

Twilight seem to notice though as he said, "Hey... thanks."

This confused JoJo as he said, "For what?"

"Well... nothing about tonight thus far has gone to plan and as you probably noticed I wasn't really handling it well, but you... you kept your cool and helped me relax no matter what," said Twilight.

"Well... I'm good at keeping calm under pressure," said JoJo as his mind continued to nag him at the fact he couldn't tell her about all the times he was good under pressure.

"I know... which is something I really like... no really love about you," said Twilight as JoJo began to blush both from the comment and from the guilt now mounting. Twilight had a slight blush of her own as she continued saying, "I know it's way too early to say stuff like that but I just couldn't help feeling that way. I love how calm you seem but yet at the same time how quick on your hooves you are... you said before when you look at me you see a mirror of yourself, but when I look at you I see the me I want to be... the me I'm going to try and be right now."

Before JoJo could respond to any of that he suddenly found Twilight's lips pressed against his own. For a moment he could not think of anything and simply closed his eyes and leaned into it all as the moment seemed to last forever. Which made the next moment seem like even more of a shock as his mind restarted and he was flooded with nothing but the guilt ridden thoughts of, "You're lying to her, you're lying to her, SHE LOVES YOU AND YOU'RE LYING TO HER!" As those thoughts echoed seemingly endlessly in his mind, JoJo took his face away and began to breath heavily.

Twilight became very concerned as she leaned towards him saying, "Oh JoJo I'm sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you like-"

JoJo soon raised a hoof to interrupt her though as he said, "No Twilight... you didn't do anything wrong it's me."

"What do you mean?" asked Twilight as her concern mounted.

JoJo sat for a moment as he simply thought, "You have to tell her everything right here and now! Even if she doesn't believe you, even if it breaks her heart, it's better then knowing your lying to her everyday of your life." He sighed before saying, "I wasn't entirely honest with you about how I got to Ponyville and where I came from." 

Twilight's mind began to race with the possibilities of what he would say next, but it never could have predicted any of it as he asked, "Have you heard of a creature called a human?"

Several hours later

"-and then I woke up in the Everyfree forest and well... you know the rest," said JoJo as he wearily smiled at Twilight who was staring off into the distance taking all this in.

"Wow," she simply muttered.

"I understand if you don't believe me," said JoJo as he looked down sadly.

"No, I believe you... mainly because I don't think any sane pony could make up a story like that," said Twilight before turning to JoJo as she asked, "Why exactly did he turn his hand into a squirrel?"

JoJo simply shrugged as he said, "To prove he could I suppose."

"Who would wonder if he could do that!?" asked Twilight as she raised her hooves in confusion.

"Well... me probably... honestly if the fight had gone on for longer I probably would have joked around asking if he could make spinnerets in his wrists and swing around like Spider-man," said JoJo with a smile.

Twilight giggled at this as she said, "I bet you would have." For a moment the two simply sat in silence before Twilight took a breath and asked a question she'd been dreading since the story ended. "Do you miss your world?"

JoJo thought about that for a moment as he said, "Well... not really the world itself, some of the gadgets maybe. Riding in an automobile certainly beats walking and despite my poor experience with them I still think planes are a fine way to travel." 

Twilight chuckled at that but then watched as JoJo turned serious and he said, "More then that though I do miss my friend and family, I know the're fine but I can't help but think about how the're worrying about me, or god forbid have already had given up hope and had a funeral for me."

"Oh..." said Twilight as she looked down in sadness and fear at the idea that he would leave at the first chance he got... and the knowledge that as the premiere magic user around she would be the one to have to help him leave.

Those thoughts where stomped out though as JoJo looked over towards her with a smile saying, "If you're asking if I'd leave this world to go back the answers no." 

"Wha-what!?" asked Twilight as she looked up in shock.

JoJo simply smiled as he said, "Don't get me wrong, I do want to try and contact everyone and let them know I'm OK but actually going back isn't something I need to do. I've always been kind of a world traveler so what better thing for me then a whole new world to travel... especially now that I have someone to travel with."

Before Twilight could respond to this she found that JoJo had now taken his turn to lean over and kiss her and this time the moment was absolutely perfect for them, as the two were content in the knowledge that they both knew who the other was and loved them wholeheartedly for it.


> Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the sun came over the horizon the assembled crowd watched in horror as the figure before them simple chuckled as he bathed in the warm glow of the sun for the first time he's time in his life.

"HE'S FEELING FINE!" cried out Smokey as his face contorted in sheer horror.

"HE'S STANDING IN THE MORNING SUN... AND HE COULDN'T CARE LESS ABOUT IT!" called out Speedwagon.

Kars's chuckle grow to a full laugh at this development as Speedwagon backed away in fear saying, "JoJo... this is a horrible nightmare! We're doomed, this is the day all of us die, humanity is done for!"

Finally Kars's laughter came to an apex at hearing this statement as he turned his face to a simple smirk saying, "Alpha and Omega both, I am the pinacle of all life that has ever walked the Earth, all of their forms are mine to take." He then pointed towards JoJo as he pulled the unconscious Lisa Lisa closer to his body for fear of what Kars would do. "And you, my old nemesis I see how entrancing you are, yours is a beauty the likes of which I've never seen." He raised his hand smiling as he continued saying, "I once feared you," before clenching his hand to a fist as he said, "But now I fear you no more," as he once again stated laughing.

Something about those red eyes staring at him with pure murderous intent while simultaneously letting out the most innocent giggle terrified JoJo beyond belief as he began to hyper ventilate before suddenly... he woke up.


Once again he found himself sitting up in a bed in the Golden Oaks library drenched in sweat as his breath was ragged. This time there was a notable different though, as he quickly found two hooves reach over his shoulders and hug him from behind as he felt the warmth of Twilight's face nuzzle next to his as she said, "Another nightmare."

Instantly Jojo's breathing began to relax as he laid back down and found himself being spooned by Twilight as he said, "Yup... this time it was when he first became perfect."

"That Kars guy really messed with your head didn't he?" asked Twilight.

"Indeed he did... in a way I pray you will never understand," said JoJo as he thought, "The mere concept of fighting a being absolutely incapable of death is beyond comprehension. Can the mind ever really accept something that every single fact and instinct within it says is without a doubt impossible... or am I doomed to have this fear lingering in me forever?"

Twilight could feel how deep in thought he was as she buried her face in the fur of his back saying, "Well at least Luna was able to use those nightmares to help convince everyone else you where telling the truth."

JoJo smiled at that as he said, "Quite right," before thinking, It's been about two months since Twilight and I officially became an item, and just about one month since she had convinced me to tell her friends and the Princesses where I really came from." He remembered seeing how their faces ranged from skeptical to full on rage on Celestia's as she began accusing of him of lieing to lure in Twilight. He shuttered as he thought, "I hate to think what would have happened if Luna hadn't come in when she did and showed everyone my dreams backing up the story... even if looking into my dreams does feel like an invasion of privacy."

As the pair simple laid in bed together for a moment, Twilight briefly glanced at her clock as she bolted up saying, "Oh, there is actually some more good news here! I was going to get you up in a little bit anyway so we could get in line for the first day of Cider Season."

JoJo sat up looking at her as he said in confusion, "Cider Season? But can't you get cider year round?" 

Twilight hopped off the bed as she went over to get her saddle bags saying, "Normal cider yes, but this is the only time of year the Apple family makes their special cider recipe in mass quantities. They usually only make a barrel or two for special occasions, and even then it just goes to members of the family or close friends. But this time of year they want to celebrate with all of Ponyville."

"What for?" asked JoJo as he got out of the bed, confused but ready to follow anyway.

"It's basically to celebrate the end of a good harvest and use up the last of the apples before the cold would kill them," said Twilight.

"I see," said JoJo as he thought, "So a special event that serves as both reward for hard work, and clearing out the last of the crop... I should have expected no less given how practical that family is."

He chuckled as he said, "Sounds like a fun time, let's head out," as he grabbed his tank top, scarf, gloves, and boots and got into them seemingly effortless despite how form fitting they where.

"I mean... yeah it will be fun if we can get cider," said Twilight.

"If we get cider?" asked JoJo as he cocked his head in confusion. "I mean, I get that it's being made from spare apples and most likely takes a lot for this special recipe, but do THAT many ponies seriously wait for it?"

Twilight chuckled as she said, "You have NO idea, we're probably gonna be spending at least an hour waiting in line," as she picked up a book to move to her saddle bag.

The two soon got down stares as they found Spike still sleeping in his basket, him having moved down stares after the young couple started sharing a bed.

Twilight lightly shook him saying, "Hey Spike, it's the first day of Cider Season."

Spike lightly grunted as he rolled over saying, "Meh go without me, I don't really want to get up right now."

Twilight chuckled as she said, "Alright sleep tight," before turning to JoJo as she continued saying, "Looks like it's just you and me today."

"Well then," said JoJo before he moved over to the door with a smirk saying, "I suppose their are worse things then spending a day standing next to you."

Spike groaned once again as he mumbled, "Oh give me a break."

"Aww," said Twilight oblivious to the little dragons comment as she put down the book and moved next to him saying, "That was really cheesy you know."

"True... but it worked didn't it?" said JoJo.

Twilight chuckled at that as she leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek saying, "This time, but don't press your luck," before heading out the door.

"Wouldn't dream of it," responded JoJo as he followed after her.


Several minutes later

"WOAH! You weren't kidding about the line," said JoJo as what appeared to be the entire population of Ponyville and then some stood between him and the cider stand.

"Yup," said Twilight before she pouted saying, "Why'd you have to talk me out of bringing a book?"

JoJo laughed at that saying, "Fret not my dear, for I have lived a life more interesting then any book and can simply recount stories from that."

"Hmm, and what stories pray tell have you not already told me?" asked Twilight skeptically.

"Ahh," stammered JoJo as he thought, "Shoot what haven't I told her... I suppose I kind of glossed over most of the fight against Esidisi... YEAH! I could tell her about how it started when I was looking at Lisa Lisa and NOPE NOPE CAN'T TELL HER THAT!" As JoJo looked around he thankfully got a distraction as two familiar ponies where entering the line behind them. "OH LOOK RAINBOW DASH AND FLUTTERSHY! How are you two doing?" asked JoJo far too enthusiastically. 

Twilight rolled her eyes at the obvious ploy to change the subject but turned to the newcomers anyway as Dash grumbled saying, "How do you think I'm doing!?" 

Fluttershy placed a hoof on her comfortingly as she said, "It will be OK, I'm sure we'll be able to get some, if not today then we'll get up even earlier tomorrow."

JoJo leaned into Twilight as he whispered, "Let me guess, every year she has the worst luck and it's a miracle if she can get one cup of cider."

Twilight whispered back, "Yup, and more often then not the pony directly in front of her gets cider and they run out right as she gets up there."

"That is some terrible luck... I suppose if that happens though I'll just give her my cup, I'm sure the cider can't be that good," said JoJo.

Before they could continue this conversation though Pinkie walked by carrying a totally obscene amount of cider as JoJo jokingly said, "Wow Pinkie, save some for the rest of us."

Pinkie turned to them at hearing that and smiled as she said, "Oh, do you want some JoJo?"

Rainbow's jaw dropped at the casual statement. 

"Um sure... actually if you don't mind, I'm sure Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow would like a cup while we wait if you don't mind," said JoJo as he looked at her with a smirk as he realized what happened.

Pinkie continued to smile as she gave each of them a mug saying, "Sure, I mean I obviously have more then enough."

Rainbow blinked in disbelief at the mug in front of her before downing it all in one gulp for fear that it would dissapear if she didn't drink it now. She let out a satisfied moan before returning to reality as she said, "Wait Pinkie, what gives? Every Cider Season you walk past of us with a huge amount of mugs and you never gave us one before."

Before Pinkie could respond JoJo pointed his hoof at her while his smirk grew wider and he said, "Next you'll say 'well you never asked silly.'"

Pinkie smiled as she said, "Well you never asked silly," before pausing for a moment as she gasped and her smile only grew wider as she said, "OH MAN! I love it when he does that!"

Rainbow just stared in disbelief before turning back to JoJo as she said, "How'd you do that?"

JoJo simply chuckled as he said, "Please, that one was child's play," before taking a ship from the cider mug. Upon tasting the golden liquid JoJo's smirk grew wider as he said, "Say, this stuff is really good... sorry Rainbow but from here on out it's everypony for themselves."

Rainbow looked at him confused before shrugging it off as she was in a much better mood at having gotten some cider.

As the four waited in line they soon got towards the front but didn't have much time to celebrate that since as soon as they where close enough to see Applejack they where greeted to her looking disappointed as she tried in vain to get more cider to come out of the tap before yelling out, "SORRY EVERYPONY, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE OUT FOR THE DAY!"

This resulted in several groans from the assembled crowd, groans that where soon interrupted by the sound of an engine as the crowd turned to see a strange carriage approaching.

JoJo glanced at it saying, "Hum, so you do have automobiles here?"

Twilight shrugged as she said, "Sort of, though the're not very common. The engine is powered by magic as opposed to the fossil fuels of your world, so only unicorns can use them."

As the carriage pulled to a stop two tall unicorns in striped blue and white vests hopped out as Twilight gestured to them saying, "Case in point."

Before JoJo could respond the one without a mustache began to belt out in rhythm, "Well lookie what he got here brother of mine, it's the same in every town."

"Wait... is he?" asked JoJo in disbelief.

"Ponies with thirsty throats, dry tongues, and not a drop of cider to be found," continued the pony as he did some gestures with a purple mare in order to make his point.

"He couldn't be?" said JoJo.

"Maybe the're not aware that's really no need for this teary despair," continued the stallion as he moved back next to his brother.

"Then the key that they need to solve sad cider shortage, you and I will shaaaareeee," said the mustached brother dragging it out and squashing any doubt JoJo had.

He quietly leaned over to Twilight as he asked, "Um... why are they singing?" 

"Oh, that's pretty normal here," said Twilight.

"Wait really... do you break out in musical numbers too?" asked JoJo.

Twilight simply shrugged as she said, "Sometimes, if you're going to live in Equestria you better get used to it... heck it wouldn't surprise me if you break out into your own song soon."

"Yeah right, like that would happen," said JoJo as he rolled his eyes.

Twilight chuckled at that as they simply listened to song for a bit before JoJo said, "Wait... did they just say their names are Flim and Flam?"

"Apparently," said Twilight.

"Like literal Flim Flam salesmen... what do they also sell snake oil?" asked JoJo only half joking as Twilight let out another chuckle at that.

As the song continued the brothers used an apparatus on their carriage and began to suck up apples and turn them into cider as Granny Smith briefly joined in for a verse. As JoJo thought, "I suppose this is common then, given how seamlessly she joined the song as well as everyone's reaction, or rather lack there of."

As the song wrapped up the two brothers looked at Applejack as Flam said, "So what do you say Apples, with us supplying our machine and you supplying the... well apples, we could quench this whole towns thirst in a matter of minutes."

Flim then spoke us saying, "With the profits shared between us of course... I'd say 75% us and 25% you?"

Before Applejack had a chance to respond JoJo stepped forward saying, "Well that's a terrible deal."

Flim looked at him somewhat annoyed as he said, "I don't think this involves you friend."

"I suppose not, but the least you can do is tell the Apples what you're REALLY after," said JoJo as he stepped right in front of them with a smirk.

"Why good sir I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about," said Flam as he already looked somewhat nervous.

JoJo chuckled as he said, "Please, it's fairly obvious you want to do more then just help the Apples, even if it's at a rather high profit to you both."

Flim twitched for a moment as he said, "Alright friend I'll bite, what pray tell do you think we're after?"

"Well it's simply, you where likely aware of the local Cider Season and how they never have enough cider available, how else would you explain you arriving just as they ran out?" said JoJo as his smirk only increased. 

The crowd began to murmur at that as Flam said, "Um... just luck I guess?"

Unperturbed JoJo kept going saying, "You would swoop in at the last moment and make enough cider as the ponies could want establishing yourselves as heroes, then come next year you buy apples at whole sale or grow your own and sell cider completely independently, undercutting Sweet Apple Acres."

Applejack got red faced at this statement as she approached the two saying, "Is that true!?"

"Well... I mean, it's not like there's any harm in friendly competition among businesses," said Flam.

"Exactly," said Flim as he straightened his tie saying, "In fact how about we take that literally with a competition tomorrow. Whoever can make the most cider wins, what do you say?"

JoJo chuckled at that again as he said, "What would be the point in that?"

"Why proving we don't need to cheat to be better then the Apples and we where legitimately trying to help them of course," said Flim with a smirk.

JoJo simply smiled back saying, "Please, you've already proven you can make more cider faster, what matters is how it tastes. Which brings me to the other reason you wanted to work with the Apples, that being you wanted to learn and copy their family recipe."

"WHAT!" said Granny Smith as she stepped forward saying, "That recipe has stayed in Apple family since before we even settled in Ponyville and I sure as spit aint letting it fall into the hooves of some no good con ponies!"

"Tha-that's absurd," said Flam as he tried to wipe sweat from his brow.

JoJo simply smirked as he said, "Nest you'll say, 'we'll gladly prove our cider tastes better then yours'."

"We'll gladly prove our cider tastes better then yours," said Flim before gasping as he realized what just happened.

JoJo's smirk grew wider as he said, "Which brings us to the REAL competition, a simple taste test. Three judges each being given a mug of each cider without being told which is which and asked to pick which one they like better... that is if the Apples are OK with it of course."

"OF COURSE WE'RE OK WITH IT! OUR CIDER IS BETTER THEN ANYTHING THESE HORNSWAGLERS CAN COOK UP!" said an irate Granny Smith.

The two brother looked at each other for a moment before Flim said, "And what do we get if we win this little contest of yours?"

JoJo chuckled as he said, "What more do you need? If you win you'll prove that your cider is not only faster and cheaper to make but unequivocally better."

The two brothers whispered to each other before Flam spoke up saying, "Alright then, we'll agree to your little contest, but then who will be the judges?"

JoJo stroked his chin as he said, "Well I'm obviously out since I came up with this... as are the Apple family and of course you two since that would a conflict of interest... well Rainbow Dash would be good, I know she wouldn't object to guaranteed cider."

"OH HECK YEAH!" said Rainbow excitedly.

"Hmm... how about you Twilight?" asked JoJo.

"Wait me?!" asked Twilight startled.

"Well why not? I'm sure you've read plenty about the proper making of cider and how it is rightly supposed to taste if it is high quality," said JoJo.

Twilight blushed and scratched her head nervously as she said, "Well I suppose that is true... I could probably come up with good commentary on the overall ratio of flavors..." she then looked back smiling as she said, "If you think I can do it then I will."

"Excellent and... I suppose it would only be fair to let you two pick the third judge, but I warn you try any funny business and I'll pick up on it in a second," said JoJo as he eyed the pair up and down.

The two put on their best innocent smiles as Flam said, "Wouldn't dream of it," as he got back in the carriage.

"Indeed, and might I add those terms sound very reasonable, you are a very savvy business pony my friend, " said Flim as he hopped back into the carriage saying, "So then, see you tomorrow morning at dawn, we'll bring out judge and our cider and you have yours ready, agreed?"

JoJo briefly glanced at Applejack as she nodded to him, before he smiled and said, "Agreed."

As the pair soon drove away JoJo smirked to himself as he thought, "Well this will be rather interesting"