> A rich man with a new life > by applejack2357 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > To Equestria we go > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “I hate the cold weather.” I walked into the castle dour, the red carpet nice and soft on my hooves. I looked around at the paneled windows that were stained with the adventure of the six ponies that had saved Equestria many times before. Nightmare Moon… Discord… Sombra… I walked up to the princess that sat on her throne. I stopped before her, and bowed a deep bow. “It is now time to make a choice,” the princess said, reading a scroll that stayed lazily in front of her face, “You can stay, or you can go back.” *** It all started a while ago, in my home in New York. I wasn’t always a pony; as a matter of fact, I used to be human. I used to be quite rich, too. I owned a company called BLI, or Bionic Legs, Incorporated. I was considered a nice person. A lot of people loved talking with me. However, I always felt lonely, like something inside me was missing. I wasn’t very outspoken, like most people in my position would be. When I was younger, I was put up for adoption. If I can remember correctly, I was there for about three years before I was finally adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Johansen. That’s the last name I stuck with. My first name is Robert. Everyone calls me RJ, though, even my foster parents. They were a very kind family. They always treated me right. Even spoiled me a little. When I was 18, I went looking for my biological parents. After months of searching, I found my father in Alcona County Jail in Michigan, and my mother in Augusta Cemetery in Texas. My father was on death row for killing my mother. His time came a week before. Staying with my foster parents until I was twenty, I finally got my own place. It was a small one-room apartment with everything a normal house had in sight. The job I had really didn’t pay well, so that was all I could afford. However, I started getting really in to robotics during this time, and I started working on human robotic parts. Eventually, after four years of working at this dead-end job, all hell broke loose in the third world war. During this ten year war, everyone started using a new compound chemical only known as C350. This chemical literally ate your flesh and bone until there was nothing left. Millions of people cut off their own limbs to stop this chemical from killing them. I was one of the very few people who did not come in contact with this chemical, but out of this, I made a profit out of selling my bionic arms and legs to those who did. After the war, I started becoming really famous, BLI was born, and I employed a quarter of a million people, most of which had these bionic limbs themselves. For about ten years, I led this company with an iron fist, but a heart of gold. Towards the end of the ninth year, I began watching a television show adorned by many, called My Little Pony. The show really started having an impact on my life, for the ponies in that show, though not real (or at least, so I thought), really taught me to strive to be better everyday. Anyways, one day while I was listening to some music with my two hundred dollar headphones, I decided I was going to go out to eat. After grabbing my car keys, I was about to walk out the door, when suddenly, I felt paralyzed. I began falling over. Unable to stop myself, I hit my face on the floor. After that, I couldn’t remember anything. At least, until I found myself lying in a field of grass. The cold grass tickled my nose a I awoke in a field. Looking around, all I saw was grass, until I had completely turned around. I saw a big red barn with white stripes, with a large grey roof. I had no idea where I was, not even the slightest clue. I reached for my arm to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming. However, I was unable to, considering I was hoofed instead. I started having panic-induced breathing, but with three words, spoken by someone behind me, that all changed. “Hey, you there!” I turned around, and gasped. Walking towards me was another pony. This pony was orange coated with glistening blonde mane and tail, and a light brown cowboy hat on top that came off her head slightly with each galloping step she took towards me. I immediately recognized her as Applejack. That’s when it hit me: That was Applejack, I was at Sweet Apple Acres, and I was in Equestria. With all these thoughts rushing through my mind, I started becoming light-headed, barely managing to stay up. She got close and I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was examining me. After about a minute of silence, she spoke. “Why are you here on my farm?” she said, squinting slightly. I was speechless; standing in front of me was Applejack, element of honesty, and I didn’t know what to say. “I said, why are you on my farm?” she said impatiently. I have to say something to her, I thought, but don’t screw it up. “I’m sorry, I don’t know how I got here,” I said slowly, “I just woke up in your field. Forgive me, Applejack.” “Well, that’s quite alri- wait a second. How did you know my name?” she said. Dammit, I thought, I screwed it up anyways! Now I was stuck. Nothing else I could do. She was going to find out everything about me, where I’m from, all of it. “Well?” I squinted slightly, then took a deep breath. “Hi, Applejack! Who’s that? Can I meet him? Huh, huh, huh?” Saved by Pinkie Pie, I thought as I looked over to her. She stopped a couple meters from us with a large smile. Her curled magenta mane and tail really reminds me of cotton candy, and her pink cat reminds me of taffy. Good thing she’s the candy girl. Her blues eyes were locked on Applejack’s green eyes, and Applejack’s were locked upon me. “What’s your name there, stranger?” Applejack said, looking at me. “Um, RJ.” I said. “Arjay, huh?” she said. She began smiling deviously, then I knew what she was up to. “Of course you can meet him, Pinkie.” She said. Pinkie began bouncing towards me, and I knew I was in trouble. Applejack was going to use Pinkie Pie as a weapon against me to make me talk like an open book. Bitch, I thought. I wasn’t strong enough to handle her. It’s over. I won’t give in, I won’t give in, I thought as Pinkie got closer. > Talking with Pinkie > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just as I thought it was over, I closed my eyes. My mind was racing. I didn’t know what she was going to do or say. After a minute of silence, I opened my eyes slowly. Pinkie Pie was right next to me, while Applejack was behind her, looking at Pinkie. Pinkie was just standing there, head slightly cocked to the left, staring at me, wide-eyed. After an awkward silence that just seemed to drag on for hours, Pinkie piped up. “Hi!” I jumped slightly. Her unexpected ‘hi’ scared the living daylights out of me. “I’m sorry, did I scare you?” I cleared my throat and spoke. “No, no. I’m okay.” “Your name is Arjay, right?” She spoke with a very calm tone. It scares me just thinking about it. “Uh, yes. And you are Pinkie Pie.” “Where you from, Arjay?” I wasn’t sure how to respond to this question. After a moment, I said, “I’m not from here, that’s for sure.” I was very confused. Pinkie never acts like this. Never have I seen her calm, nor have I seen her where there wasn’t a moment where she wasn’t bouncing off the walls. I could tell by the look on Applejack’s face that she felt the same way. “Okey dokey lokey!” She said in a hyper way. She began bouncing away, leaving me and Applejack to watch, confused, as she left. “What in the hay just happened?” Applejack said as we watched her bounce over the hill and disappear. “I wish I knew. I am just as confused as you are.” I said, then realizing I was alone with Applejack again, quickly added, “I’m gonna go, I’ll see you later,” then dashed up the hill in the direction Pinkie left. A couple feet up the hill, I fell on my face, considering I wasn’t used to the four legs. Looking back at Applejack, I could see Applejack rolling around on the ground, laughing her ass off. I stood up and dusted my self off, then grumbled to myself as I ran off again. As I stumbled over the hill going from Sweet Apple Acres, I saw the late Ponyville in the distance. With the sun at my back, Ponyville looked like a small village in the distance, with tannish walls and brown roofs. However, as I got closer, I found that the roofs were, in fact, made of straw. With brown finishing on the buildings, each one looked like a barn with faded colorings, with brown instead of white finish. The streets were bustling about normally: the ponies were running some stalls on the side, while others were just bustling about to go wherever they were headed. At the thought of the pony stalls, I remembered I hadn’t eaten anything for two days. I walked up to one of the pony stalls, and the pony at the stall gave me a warm greeting. The pony was a dark gold on the coat with a black mane and tail. The pony also happened to be wearing shades. The pony was also a pegasii. “The name’s Dust Storm. How can I help you?” He said with a smile. I looked at what he had at his stand. There was a variety of fruit: strawberries, cantaloupe, and watermelons. Pretty much everything except apples. “Hi, Dust Storm. I’m RJ. I happen to be new to Ponyville. Do you think I could get some strawberries?” I say, fidgeting with my back pocket to try and pull my wallet out. “Yeah, sure. So you’re new to Ponyville?” He said putting some strawberries in a paper bag. “Yeah, I just got here.” “That’s cool. Maybe we could hang out some time?” “Yeah, sounds great,” I said, putting a dollar on the table and grabbing the paper bag, “Could you point me towards Sugarcube Corner?” “Uh, yeah, but…” He was holding the dollar in hoof. “What is this?” “Oh, yeah, I forgot the currency is different here…” After a moment of thinking, I said, “One bit is like one cent, so that would be one hundred bits.” “Really? A hundred bits? That’s really nice of you.” “Heh. Thanks.” “I think you and me will be great friends.” Really? I thought, a real friend? I’ve never had a real friend before… After Dust Storm points me in the way of Sugarcube Corner, I begin my trek to the cupcake-shaped place. Considering he told me it was just around the corner, it wasn’t long before I was standing in front of the multiple colored building. As I walked in, I was engulfed by the smell of freshly baked goods. The walls were lined with all kinds of sweets: cakes, cupcakes, lollipops; you name it, it was there. It was difficult to count how many things were there, considering there literally three large shelves going around the room lined with sweets. When I looked over at the only thing that was lacking a vibrant color, which was the front counter, I saw Derpy talking with Pinkie. Oh, Derpy. I felt bad for her for a moment, remembering all the shit she has really gone through. However, that all changed when I saw how truly happy she really was. I was surprised to see how good her coat, mane, and tail looked, considering how wall-eyed she usually was. “Hello, Pinkie!” She said with a large smile. “I’m here for my weekly muffins!” “I know Derpy!” She said in her normal hyper way. “You come here every Thursday at exactly ten o’ clock in the morning. Why else would you be here right now?” “To deliver mail?” Derpy said in an annoyed tone. Pinkie smile sheepishly. “Oh. Right…” She turned around and grabbed the box off the shelf. When she turned around and was right about to hand the box to Derpy, when she looked at me and froze for a second. She cleared her throat then handed the box to Derpy. “Are you okay, Pinkie?” Derpy asked, clearly worried. “Uh, yes. Yes, I’m fine.” There was a drastic change in her personality. Was it me? I sure hope not. After Derpy left, I walked up to the counter where Pinkie sat. “Welcome to Sugarcube Corner, Arjay. What can I get for you?” “Uhh… I don’t know…” I was gazing around the room at the masses of sweets that were in the room. Then I spotted it: a purple frosted cake with blueberries on top. It was perfect. “That one. That one right there.” I said, pointing at the cake. “Okay. Allow me to get it.” She said, walking over to the shelf on the far side of the room. “How much will it cost?” I said as Pinkie reached up to grab the cake. She turned around with the cake in her hoof and smiled. “First time customers always get their first item free.” “Really, that’s great!” I said with a smile. She set the cake on the counter in a box then closed it. I was about to grab the cake and leave, but Pinkie said something first. “Hey, uh, Arjay?” “Yes, Pinkie?” “I was wondering if we could, uh, get to know each other a little better.” Something wasn’t right here. Pinkie isn’t usually this calm when meeting new people. “Sure. What do you have in mind?” “A picnic!” She said in a hyper tone, but cleared her throat and said, “A picnic” in a much softer tone. We gathered the basic essentials for a nice picnic. The quilted blanket, some fresh apple juice, which Pinkie said that she and Applejack made it this morning, which is what she was doing before she met me. We made some sandwiches of bread, grass, mayo and alfalfa. After we were packed and ready to go, I followed Pinkie to where we were going. *** I have always loved picnics since I was a little boy. I remember how my family and I would always go to the park, sit under a large tree, sit down on a sheet, because at that time, we were a quite poor family, and eat some homemade burgers my mom had made the night before. The reason I bring this up is because the location of where Pinkie was setting up reminded me quite a bit of that. We were under a large tree, I think at the outskirts of Sweet Apple Acres, though I wasn’t sure, we were on a red and white quilt, and she and I had made sandwiches back at the Corner. So, I was a little reluctant to be there, the location bringing up some old memories, and I didn’t want to start crying in front of a pink pony. I don’t know who would. “Arjay, are you okay?” She asked me. I then realized I was just standing there, staring at the tree. “Uh, y-yeah. I’m fine.” I replied, clearing my throat and sitting down on the quilt. For a little bit, we sat there eating the sandwiches in silence. They were surprisingly really good. Although, I was a pony now, so I guess they would taste better anyways. After I finished half the sandwich, the silence was killing me, so I spoke. “So, uh, Pinkie. How is Sugarcube Corner doing?” “Oh, it’s doing okay.” She said, finishing her first half as well. “How are the Cakes?” “Well, the twins are a handful, but other than that, they’re good, too.” I don’t think this conversation is going to go anywhere, I thought to myself as I picked up another half of a sandwich. Just then, Pinkie pipes up. “Well, what about you?” “Well, what do you want to know?” I take a bite of the sandwich. “Absolutely everything.” I choke slightly on the sandwich, but nothing too serious. Everything? I thought. Well, better get started. “Where to start?” “How about you just tell me what brought you to Ponyville?” “Actually, I just woke up at Sweet Apple Acres. I have no idea how I got here.” “Huh.” She looks at a watch she had on. Never seen that before. “Ohmigosh! We need to get back! The super pie is almost done!” Within a matter of seconds, she had everything packed and she was running back towards Sugarcube Corner. I ran after her best I could, but I lost her after we got back to town. Out of breath, I fell on the ground. Looking around me, I saw I was drawing a crowd, so I got back up and dusted myself off. A gold-colored mare with a brown and blue mane and tail approached me. “Are you okay?” She asked me softly. “Yeah,” I started, “I’m just… tired from… running… after Pinkie…” I was so tired I could hardly speak. That pink pony moves fast! She chuckled. “I know. She moves way too fast. Oh, allow me to introduce myself. Name’s Traily. I don’t think we’ve met before.” “No, we haven’t. I’m RJ. Pleasure to meet you Traily.” “Are you just arriving in Ponyville?” “Yeah, I just got here this morning.” “Oh, okay. Well, I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later!” She waves goodbye. “Okay, see you!” I walk back to Sugarcube Corner to see Pinkie Pie cleaning up a giant mess. “What happened?” I say. “I didn’t get back in time. I have to start over now.” I could tell she was upset. Her ears had fallen, and she sighed a heavy sigh. “Hey, I’ll help you.” I said reassuringly. “Really? You’ll do that?” “Of course. It doesn’t look that hard.” “She smiles. “Let’s do it!” *** I was SOOO wrong. That was quite possibly some of the hardest work I have ever done. The dough got everywhere. I don’t know how it got on every single dish in the closed cupboard, but it did. After we finished cleaning it up, we started another batch for the super pie. It was just like a regular pie, except ten times more ingredients. After we threw it in the oven, I looked at her with a smile. “Well, I best be going.” I grabbed the cake in the box and walked for the door. “Okay. Thank you, Arjay!” She waved goodbye. I waved goodbye, but then I was in a hurry. I had a purple pony to meet. > Meeting the rest of the Mane 6..... Kind of > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- When I left Sugarcube Corner, the first pony I saw was Fluttershy. Her pink mane and tail were dragging on the ground slightly as she went down the street. My first reaction was to go say hi. Of course, her being Fluttershy, got terrified. “Dammit.” I said to myself as she flew away. What happened next happened very quickly. I turned around, and then I was on my back, with an angry Fluttershy in my face. “Who are you? What do you want from me?” Fluttershy yelled in my face. Now I, being absolutely fucking terrified, just sat there quivering. “Answer me!” She yelled again. I then slowly answered. “I- I’m R-RJ and I w- was just s- s- saying hi.” I said. At this point, she returned to her normal self. She jumped off me with a squeak. I got up, groaning from the slight pain in my back, and looked over at Fluttershy. She was looking at me with tears in her eyes. This could not end well. “Oh, my. I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. You just startled me, and I reacted, and…..” a tear drop started rolling down her cheek. The only thing I was thinking was that if she starts crying, then I am going to cry, too. I had to think of something fast. “Hey, now.” I said, slowly walking over to her. “It’s all right. It’s all right.” I put my hoof on her shoulder. Big mistake. She flipped me over her shoulder, and she was standing over me. “Don’t. Ever. Touch. Me.” She said, and then squeaked again. “Damn. This girl has problems.” I said to myself, standing up. “Fluttershy, dear.” I heard from behind me. Almost immediately I turned around to see Rarity. Her pearly-white body was mostly covered by the outfit she wore to the Gala, its maroon and red shades of color really going with her coat. Her purple mane, being styled the way it usually is, bobbed slightly as she walked over to Fluttershy. “What is the problem?” She asks Fluttershy softly, who was bawling her eyes out. “I- I attacked him. I’m a bad pony!” Fluttershy said. I really hated this moment. Even though she was the one who attacked me, I couldn’t help but feel extremely guilty. How the hell does that even work?! Rarity looked over at me, something about her stare and complete calm tone just tore through me, made me feel very nervous. “Why did Fluttershy attack you, dear?” She said softly. God fucking dammit. This is going to turn out to be my fault, I thought. “Well, I saw her, and just wanted to say hi. I’m new here.” “That explains a lot. Go. You are free to go.” That was the last thing she said to me. She then attended to Fluttershy. I sighed as I picked up my cake, which, surprisingly, wasn’t destroyed, and started walking. “Don’t jinx your cake now,” I said, and then went back to searching for the tree house. It took quite a while to find the library. Searching the town for an overgrown tree should not have been that hard. It is one of the only trees in town, so why it was so hard, I will never know. Anyways I finally found it, and next thing I know, I am on my back, holding my side in pain. My first guess is that it was Pinkie Pie, finally returning to her normal way, but, to my surprise, it wasn’t. I looked over at the pony who tackled me. “Heh heh. Sorry about that.” said the cyan pony. Her Rainbow-colored mane was blowing slightly in the wind as she put on an awkward smile. “Of course it was Rainbow Dash”, I said to myself, “Who else could it have been?” I start to try and stand up, but a sharp pain goes through my side, causing me to yelp and fall down. Rainbow Dash’s face went from an awkward smile to a more concerned look. “Are you okay? Oh, no. I must have hurt him. Hold on, I’ll get Twilight. She’ll know what to do!” She said, and then dashed off to the tree house. I looked over at the destroyed cake that I had previously bought for Twilight. “Waste of ten dollars”, I said weakly. The last thing I saw was Twilight running towards me and Rainbow flying above her. > Through the eyes of the ponies > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Spike?” Spike felt a light nudge on his arm. He awoke to see Twilight over him. He looked at the clock. “3 AM? Come on, Twilight….” Spike said to himself as he crawled out of bed. He looked over at Arjay. He was still asleep, though he has been for about several hours. Spike looked at Twilight, who’s horn was glowing slightly, indicating she was using some kind of spell. Twilight looked very tired; she must have been up this entire time tending to Arjay. “Spike, could you get me a glass of water? I would really appreciate it.” She said softly. Spike immediately felt bad, considering he was upset for being woke up, so without a second thought, he went downstairs to meet her. Rainbow Dash was pacing in the sky, an extremely worried look on her face. Next thing he knew, Rainbow Dash was in his face, hammering him with questions, and then answering them herself. “Is Arjay ok? Of course he’s not ok. He isn’t dead, is he? No, cause then Spike would have said something already. Has he woke up yet? No, he would have said something about that too. AGH!” Applejack pulled Rainbow out of Spike’s face by her tail. Rainbow groaned and glared at Applejack. Spike snickered slightly. Everyone knew how much Rainbow hated that. Applejack knew, too. Now everyone thinks she either isn’t paying any attention to what she is doing, or she is screwing with her. “Look, Rainbow,” She said, spitting out Dash’s tail, “If Spike knew the answers to these questions, he would have told you already.” “I know, I know. I just can’t stand the fact that I may have killed somepony. How could I live with myself?” Rainbow said on the verge of tears. “How did you run into him, anyways?” Applejack asked. Rainbow begins to blush. “Um, I’ll tell you later.” Rainbow doesn’t blush very often, so when she does, it’s usually because of something very embarrassing. By the look on Applejack’s face, Spike knew she would find out, whatever it takes. “I just came down to get Twilight a glass of water,” Spike said, looking at Rainbow. Rainbow just sat there in the sky, looking around the room. Then, within a split second, she was up the stairs in Twilight’s room. Spike immediately ran up the stairs to stop her, but it was too late. “Is he ok?” She asked Twilight She looks over to Rainbow, yawns, then picks up a clipboard that was sitting next to her. “Your impact with him broke three of his ribs,” Twilight began slowly, “And punctured his lung. I don’t think he’s okay.” “Well, can’t you fix him?! You’re an egghead, remember? You have the magic!” Rainbow was on the verge of tears. “I’m not a doctor, Rainbow; I may have the magic, but I don’t know the first thing about being a doctor.” Twilight then put the clipboard down and saw a teardrop hit the ground. She looked up to see the now-crying Rainbow, who was sniveling. “Hey, now,” Twilight said, “Be happy you got me when you did. As it stands, he is stabilized. If he would’ve been out there another second, he would have died out there. I’m using my magic to seal his lung, though I called Nurse Redheart. She will be able to help him. She should be here very soon.” “Are you sure?” Rainbow said through her tears. “I’m positive.” Twilight said, yawning again. She then looked over at Spike. “I can really use some water now, Spike.” “Hey, I’ll get it Spike.” Rainbow said. She then dashed down the stairs as Applejack came up. “Is everything okay up here?” Applejack asked. “Yes. Everything’s fine. Thank you.” Twilight said. She then looked up at Arjay, studying him. “Are you okay, sugarcube?” Applejack asked. Twilight looked at the ground, then at Applejack. Applejack knew something was wrong, but she couldn’t put her hoof on it. Rainbow then comes up the stairs with a glass of water, and Twilight grabs it, and drinks it slowly. After drinking it, She looks at Applejack again. “There is something… off about him.” Twilight started, “I have never seen him before. I don’t think anyone has seen him before today. Where is he from? What does he want from us? Rainbow said he was heading right for the tree house. I’m just very confused...” “It might have just been a coincidence, Twilight.” Applejack said. “I don’t think so, Applejack. Not this time…” Twilight said. Twilight started to fall over, but luckily, Rainbow was right there, and caught her. That’s not what scared her, though; she had stopped using her magic. Arjay started gasping for breath. After hearing that horrible sound, Twilight quickly used that spell again. Eventually, Arjay calmed down, and everyone sighed in relief. The other three soon joined them, after being awoken by that sound. “Wha- What happened?” Fluttershy asked. “Pinkie, please take Fluttershy back downstairs” Twilight said. Pinkie nodded, then took Fluttershy back downstairs. “Rainbow Dash, could you go and let me know when Nurse Redheart shows up?” Twilight said looking up to Rainbow. She was still a little teary, but she nodded. And flew out of the room. The only ones left were Spike, Rarity, Applejack, and Twilight. Rarity looks over at Spike. “Spike, could you be a dear and help me get ready to make some food?” Rarity asked. “Would I?!” Spike said, following Rarity down the stairs. Applejack looks to Twilight, then walks over to her and puts a hoof around her. Twilight looks up to her and smiles. “Thanks, Applejack. You’re a great friend.” Twilight said. “Twilight, she’s here.” Rainbow said. Both Applejack and Twilight look over to see Nurse Redheart walking toward them. They both sigh. “I’ll take over from here, everypony,” She said. “Not quite, Nurse. His lung is punctured,” Twilight said, yawning once more, “I’m using my magic to keep it sealed.” “I see. Well, let’s get to work then.” She said, putting down her tools. > RJ's reawakening > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I awoke with a gasp. I started breathing heavily. I started thinking that it was a dream. I was in a cold sweat, looking at my hooves. Then I knew: it wasn’t a dream, and I just had surgery to save my life. It was dark; I could hardly see a thing. Then I heard a very loud snore. It scared the crap out of me. I look to where it came from to see Spike in that tiny-ass bed that Twilight had for him. That’s when I realized I was in Twilight’s bed. I got up, my side hurting from the surgery I just had making it hard to stand, and I walked over to the mirror that was across from me for the first real look of myself. I was a unicorn; I was light brown with a reddish-brown mane and tail. My eyes were bright green, kind of like the Changelings. I also had a bandage on, but that was pretty much a ‘no durr’. I thought I looked pretty decent, though I had no Cutie Mark. Wait, no Cutie Mark?! How is that possible? How can I be an adult without a Cutie Mark? That’s just embarrassing! I could only wonder what the others thought of me if they noticed at all! Then I remembered I had clothes on and I sighed in relief. I looked over at the pile of clothes next to Twilight’s bed. They were all solid black; my favorite color. Not a single speck of white in sight. Looking up at the clock, I realized it was five o’ clock in the morning. I heaved a long sigh, and then was going to get back in bed, and talk to the rest of the ponies in the morning. Then I heard a shuffling downstairs. I got back out of bed and went to the top of the stairs, but I got down so no one could see me. Nurse Redheart was there talking with Twilight I was just close enough to hear them. “So, will he be ok, then?” Twilight asked. “Well….” She said in an unsure way. “What do you mean, ‘well’?” “If he doesn’t wake up soon…” Twilight stared at her. “… I’m gonna call it.” Then I realized what was going on. They thought I was dead. Something must have happened during the surgery. What, I don’t know. I started thinking: what should I do? Should I just walk out and say that I’m ok? Or should I try and prank them? Though pranking them would be absolutely fucking hilarious, it wouldn’t be right of me, considering they think I’m dying or am dead. I then decided what to do. I was gonna- “SPIKE!” Oh shit. Oh fuck. Twilight is calling for Spike. I crawled back into bed as fast as I could as to not be swarmed with ponies when they find out I’m ok. Right as I got in bed, Twilight comes running up the stairs. Looking over at me, she sighs then looks to Spike. “Spike, wake up. We got some digging to do.” She started getting tears in her eyes. Then it hit me: Redheart had called it on me. I had to do something. “Twilight?” I said softly. She looked up at me, unsure if I was the one who spoke or not. So I spoke again. “What do you need to dig for?” She smiled. She wiped the tears from her eyes, and then spoke. “It’s nice to know you’re ok.” She looked back at Spike, who never woke up in the first place, and just sat there smiling. That was highly unexpected, though. I thought she would run over here, making who knows how much noise, attracting everyone else in here, and then I wouldn’t be able to get some rest. Maybe I need to stop watching so many movies. I slowly crawled out of bed, and walked over to her. She looked up to me with that big smile, tears still in her eyes. I slowly wiped the tears from her eyes, and spoke. “There is no need to be upset. I’m ok. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to walk over here.” “I know, it’s just…” She stopped for a second. “You were very injured. Rainbow broke three of your ribs and punctured your lung. During the surgery, you had massive blood loss from your chest, and then had a seizure. Redheart wasn’t even sure you would survive through the surgery.” “Holy crap.” I said. “Hey, watch your language,” She said softly, “That started the Equestrian Revolution back in the 1800’s” Wow, I thought, a whole war caused by some language? That’s crazy. “We were all so worried about you, Arjay, especially Pinkie. We thought it was a little strange, but it was probably just her Hyperactive Compulsive Disorder kicking in.” She said. “Well, that wouldn’t be a first.” I said. She giggled, and then she spoke again. “Well, you should probably get some rest. I’ll tell the others you are ok, and you go ahead and-“ “Hold on, Twilight.” I already knew what she was trying to do, and I wasn’t going to let her do it. “This is your bed Twilight. You need to sleep in it.” “Well, where will you sleep?” “I don’t mind sleeping on the floor. I used to do it all the time when I was younger. Then again, there’s always Spike’s bed. I’ll bunk with him if I have to.” We both looked over at Spike, then at each other. We both laughed at the thought of me sleeping in Spike’s bed. After we stopped laughing, she looked at me and smiled. “Thank you, Arjay.” “Hey, it’s what I do.” She gave me a hug, and then crawled into her bed. I couldn’t believe it. It was like a dream come true. I have always wanted to hug her, considering she is my favorite, but her hugging me is close enough. I then went downstairs. Everyone was asleep, but Nurse Redheart was still there. “Hmm…” She said then walked out the door. I looked over at the others. They were all asleep next to each other, except for Pinkie, who happened to be sprawled out on top of them. I giggled, and then walked into the kitchen. After getting myself a glass of water, I went back upstairs, and laid down on the floor. It took me a while to fall back asleep, for the floor was a lot harder than I remembered, but I wasn’t going to complain about it. Letting a lady sleep on the floor in her own house? Not gonna happen. I eventually fell asleep, thinking about all the fun I was going to have tomorrow. > The first day > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I woke up with a beam of light in my face. I stretched and yawned, then turned over, pulling the covers over my head. Wait, covers? I pulled them off then saw I was in Twilight’s bed again. I sighed as I got out of bed. I put my clothes on, and then started looking around the room. I saw nopony there. Looking at the clock, it was ten thirty, so I guessed everyone was up already. I walked down the stairs and was engulfed by the smell of eggs, and where there are eggs, there’s bacon. I walked into the kitchen to see Spike and Twilight. Spike was at the stove, and Twilight was setting up the table for three. Looking back into the main room, I saw nopony there, so I guessed they all left already. I could already tell this was going to be a great breakfast. “Hey, Arjay! I was just about to come get you!” Twilight said with a smile, “Spike is a great cook, so you won’t be disappointed.” “This smells great! I can’t wait,” I said, “But I’m a little confused at how I got into your bed." Twilight didn’t say anything. All she did was tap on her horn twice. “Oh. Right…” I felt very stupid for asking that question. How could I have forgotten that Twilight is one of the most skilled ponies when it comes to magic? Feeling slightly embarrassed, I sat down on of the pillows set up at the table Spike then takes the pan he was cooking with and puts its contents on a plate that Twilight had to get for him, considering he was too short, then put it on the table. At first, I thought it was bacon, but it wasn’t. It kind of looked like hash browns shaped into a giant egg, but it didn’t smell like it. “Um, what is this, exactly?” I asked, morally confused. “Oh, don’t worry if you don’t know what it is.” Spike said reassuringly, “It’s just something I made up. I’ve been making it for quite a while now. It’s almost perfected.” “You know, you are actually the first other pony to try it, Arjay.” Twilight said, “Spike, you should listen to what he has to say about it.” At this point, I was nervous. Spike wanted me to try something he created, and that is all fine and well, but now, I have to give him a verdict on what I thought of it. I had a feeling in the pit of my gut this would not end well. “Well, could you at least tell me what it is, what it’s made of, you know. The details?” I said with a nervous smile. “Ok.” Spike said. “I call it the dragon egg. The outside is a mixture of hay, grass, and alfalfa, and stuffed inside is a few dozen eggs. Some secret seasoning here and there, cook the eggs while I mold the outside, then put the eggs inside and cook it whole, like so. Interesting is it not?” “Yyyeah. Very interesting” I said slowly. I may be a horse, but even the sandwhiches me and Pinkie made didn’t go so well. I mean, they tasted great, but they didn’t stay down… I almost didn’t keep it from Pinkie, which would have upset her if she saw me throw up. She may have thought she did something wrong, which she didn’t. It was just my stomach. Spike looked at me with a big smile, waiting for me to respond. I smiled back. “I… can’t wait to try it.” “Great! Let me give you some. You’ve been out for almost twelve hours. At that thought of me being asleep for twelve hours, my stomach roared loudly. I felt very embarrassed. “Guess you need more than some!” Spike said chuckling. He took a knife out of a drawer and cut it thickly, then put a piece of it on my plate, then did the same for himself and Twilight. The dish reminded me of eggs in a nest, but instead of bread, it was… well, horse feed. I expected them to start eating but Spike insisted I take the first bite. “I want to know what he thinks.” He said. “He doesn’t have to take the first bite, though. You are making him nervous, Spike.” Twilight said. “No, it’s fine, Twilight. I don’t mind.” Why the hell did I say that?! “Well, ok. Go ahead then. Using my hoof, I picked up a fork, which is harder than these ponies make it look, then cut a piece and took a bite. Immediately my mouth was bursting with flavor, like you were hit by a semi-truck, but not in a deadly sort of way. It tasted exactly like eggs in a nest, except… something he put in it made it ten times better. “It’s… it’s amazing!” I said, swallowing the bite I took, “This has got to be one of the best things I have ever eaten. Thanks Spike.” “I’m glad you like it! I may have a chance, Twilight!” Spike said, excited. “A chance at what?” I asked Twilight. “Well, Spike has this dream of selling his recipe to Stacks o’ Hay in town here. Considering how good it is, I think he does have a chance.” Twilight said. “How interesting…” As we ate the rest of breakfast, we talked about last night. Though I didn’t really want to talk about it, they wanted to tell me what happened during the surgery, down to the last detail. Every last detail. I didn’t think this was the kind of thing to talk about at breakfast, but I guess I didn’t have a choice in the matter. Eventually, we all finished breakfast, and I helped Spike clean up. I watched him as he put his recipe sheet away… After cleaning up, I decided to go check out the town. Before I left, though, I grabbed my music and headphones, and turned them on. After a while, I started to feel sick to my stomach again, so I started searching franticly for a garbage can. Eventually, I found one. I bumped into a few ponies, quickly apologized, and then ran for the can. I took my headphones off, stuck my head in the can and puked. It smelled exactly like it did in the kitchen… so gross. Don’t know if I’ll be able to eat Spike’s meal again. “Are you ok?” Are you fucking kidding me?! Can’t a guy puke in piece? I look up to see Rainbow Dash. “Why are you standing there, exactly?” I said. “Well, I was walking down here, and you jumped right in front of me and started puking. I was just asking if you were ok.” She said. “Yeah, I’m ok.” I got out of the can, wiped my face off, and looked at her. After realizing it was me, she smiled. “Hey! It’s nice to know you are ok.” “Thanks. I w-“ We were interrupted by my music. It just so happened to be a pony song, more specifically, Winter Wrap-Up. I turned it off as fast as I could. She was looking at my MP3 player. “What is that?” She asked, pointing at my MP3 player. “Oh, this? It’s an MP3 player. You can put music on it and listen to it anywhere.” I said. She was fascinated by it, looking at it like she was mesmerized. “Do you think…?” She started, “No, never mind.” “What?” I asked. “No, don’t worry about it.” “Come on, Rainbow, spit it out.” She looked at me for a second. “Do you think I could try them? I’ve never seen anything like it.” I looked at my device then looked at her. She was smiling. I don’t know if I could have said no. I deleted everything that had to do with ponies on it, and then handed it to her. She looked at me. “Be careful with them, and bring them back to Twilight’s tree house when you’re done.” I said. She nodded. After showing her how to use them, I carefully put the headphones on over her ears, and then put on Through the Fire and the Flames. I could tell she thought this song was strange. She just sat there listening. However, after a minute, she was rocking out to it. I tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. She looked at me, and I spoke. “You have fun now, ok?” “What?” I took the headphones off one ear. “I said, you have fun now, ok?” “Got it.” She put it back on and flew off. I knew she already like the fact that you couldn’t hear anything else when you have them on, and that it was going to cause problems, but I’ll worry about them when they happen. I walked around a little more, and then started walking towards Sweet Apple Acres. It took a while to find it, but I did eventually, and saw Applejack resting by the barn. I walked up to her, and she tilted her hat up to look at me. “Howdy, partner. Glad you’re ok. What brings you here?” She said. “I wanted to apologize. We got off on the wrong hoof.” It felt weird to say that, but hey, it was true. “It’s no problem, sugarcube. Don’t worry about it.” “Thanks. Hey, would you happen to need any help? I need to find some kind of work, repay Twilight in some way for being so hospitable.” “Well, don’t you think you are rushing things? You just had surgery there last night.” “Oh, yeah… Right…” “Why don’t you come back later when you’ve healed a little more, then maybe I’ll reconsider” She winked at me. “Alright. Well, thanks anyways.” I then started to head towards Twilight’s tree house. It was starting to get late. When I got back, Rainbow happened to be there in the main room listening to music, and Spike and Twilight were in the kitchen making dinner. When Rainbow saw me, she took the headphones off and smiled at me. “These are so awesome! I’ve gotta do this again tomorrow.” She said, kicking at the air. Luckily, I carry my charger with me everywhere I go, so I do have it. It’s just the matter of finding a power outlet… “Yeah, sure.” She handed it back to me and was about to leave, when Twilight stopped her. “Aren’t you gonna stay for dinner? Spike makes some mean hay and daffodil sandwiches.” “Eh, what the hay.” She said, walking towards the kitchen. I followed after and sat at the table. As we ate, everyone started talking about their day. Twilight talked about this book she was reading, which she said was about myths and legends. She said she just started the ‘H’ section. Spike said he didn’t really do anything except what he was told. Poor guy. Rainbow went on about this trick she created and succeeded at doing, thanks to me and the music. I told her I would like to see it tomorrow, and she agreed to show me. I told everyone that I explored the town, considering I was new here and didn’t really know where anything was. Twilight offered to give me a tour tomorrow, and I agreed. “I want to see Rainbow’s trick first” I say, looking over at her. Twilight smiled. “Me too. So, it’s settled then.” Twilight said. She quickly drew up a planner for tomorrow and put it on her fridge. She was ready for tomorrow. After helping Spike clean up, we said goodbye to Rainbow then went upstairs. Spike fell asleep instantly; he is very young, though, so I don’t blame him. Twilight and I stayed up a little longer, though, just talking about random shit. At first we were talking about science, and then we ended up talking about races, animals, then finally the pinkie sense. It was strange, though, but memorable, considering I did this with my younger brother almost every night. We eventually talked ourselves to sleep at around two o’ clock in the morning, ready to have more fun tomorrow. > A 'Dash' of disaster > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I woke up the next day, once again, in Twilight’s bed. Slowly getting up, I made her bed and walked down the stairs. I smelled Spike’s cooking, and, considering he made the same thing as he did yesterday, I came close to puking. My stomach is just too weak. However, I decided to man up and go for it. I walked into the kitchen and sat down, though I did not expect Rainbow to be here. She looked at me with a smile. “Hey, Arjay! After breakfast, you ready to see that stunt I made?” She said. Of course, I have the memory of a brick, so of course I didn’t remember, until she said something. That is how my brain works, unfortunately. It’s a nuisance. “Of course I remember!” I said slowly, “Why wouldn’t I?” “Don’t forget about our tour of the town, either!” Twilight piped up, “At exactly 11:00, the tour will commence, but until then, I will be reading that book that I have been reading.” “I thought you were going to come watch Rainbow, too” I said. “We rescheduled it for later.” She said, putting down a fourth plate for Rainbow. “Got it.” I said, watching a Spike serve up the dragon’s egg. After everyone was served, Spike insisted Rainbow takes the first bite, just like he did with me. Of course, she fucking loved it, and was already asking for more before anypony else was even halfway done. Spike considered it a compliment and gave her more. For the rest of breakfast, we sat in silence, except for Rainbow, who ate rather noisily. After a third serving she was ready to go. “You ready to go, Arjay?” she said, wings extended and a grin on her face. “Let’s do it!” I say. As we were walking out the door, she stopped and looked at me. “Could I use your MP3 player again?” She asked. “Of course! I don’t see any reason not to.” I say, grabbing them and following her out. I followed her to the park, where she took me to an area where nopony else goes. I could tell by the fact that there were various plants growing on the path, and the brush was very thick. “Uh, Rainbow, are you sure this is safe for you to fly around in?” I ask, unsure of where we were even going. “Of course it’s safe! I fly around out here all the time!” She said proudly. Obviously to her, flying out here is a big deal. Eventually we come to a small clearing, where the trees were tall enough to barely see the sky above. I did not trust this at all. “Does anypony else know where this is?” I asked, a little nervous. “No, you are the first person I’ve told about this awesome place.” She looked at me. “You won’t tell anyone, will you?” “No, no. Of course not.” I said, looking at our surroundings. Guessing by the thickness of the trees, I could tell that we were in a completely soundproof location. I bit my lower lip as Rainbow walked over to me. I handed her the MP3 player and headphones. She put them on, and the first song she played happens to be one of my favorites, When I’m Gone by 3 Doors Down. She took off, doing dozens of barrel rolls, and at one point, a Sonic Rainboom. It was magnificent; beautifully colored, and… loud. If I wouldn’t have covered my ears, I probably would have gone deaf. She then told me she was going to do her trick that she made, and started flying upwards. She started flying in a circle towards the top of the trees, which she was dangerously close to. Once again, I started feeling sick to my stomach. I went over by one of the trees and threw up, again. I really needed to find some way to eat, but not puke. I looked up, and noticed Rainbow was looking at me, but still flying at a circle. She was getting closer to the trees, which made me nervous. When she saw me looking, she started going faster and faster. I could tell this was going to be great. Soon, she became a blur. I started to feel dizzy, but I kept watching her- CRACK! I heard a yelp, and she was gone. I looked franticly around, and then I spotted her. She was hanging onto one of the branches about a hundred yards up, one wing flapping and the other hanging lazily. She broke her right wing. My MP3 player and headphones fell to the ground, shattering instantly. I looked back up at her. “Arjay, help me!” she yelled. “Hang on Rainbow. I’ll go get help!” I heard a faint snapping. The tree branch she was hanging on to was breaking under her weight. I had no time to go get help. The branch started falling. She was having trouble staying on the branch. What was I going to do? Then I heard a loud snap. The branch gave way. She started falling. She was screaming bloody murder. I had to think of something, and I had to think of something fast. And I only had ten seconds to do so. > Some past in the present > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbow is falling to her death… ten seconds on the clock… Ten. “What should I do? What should I do?!” I said. Nine. “Wait, I’m a unicorn! I could save her with my magic!” Eight. “No, that wouldn’t work. I have no training on the matter.” Seven. “I could try and catch her with my hooves.” I look at my hooves. Six. “That wouldn’t work either.” Five. I then remembered mine and Twilight’s conversation from the night before. She told me the way to use magic was to concentrate on what you wanted to do. She even offered me lessons. Guess I’ll have to take her up on that. Four. I concentrate with all my might, trying to focus on levitating Rainbow. This was my absolute first time trying to use magic. I didn’t know if I was going to succeed. Her screaming had become loud, almost ear-splitting. “Stay focused, RJ. You can do it.” Three. I bite my lower lip. Hard. I feel a warm liquid flowing down my chin. Whether it was saliva or blood, I did not know, and I didn’t care. All I cared about was saving Rainbow. Two. I… I felt something weird… Like a small click in my brain… I stayed focused. It almost felt like nothing else… existed… Like I was the only one in the universe… One. “GAH!” … I awoke in my house. In my own bed. Looking around the room, I saw my MP3 player, sitting on its charger, my headphones sitting right next to it. “It… it was all a dream?” I say looking around. I get up, and look at myself. I was human again. I was confused. I walked out of my bedroom, and then I realized where I was. I wasn’t in my mansion. I was in my old house. My parents’ house. I look at myself again. I was a child; about 10, wearing SpongeBob pajamas. I smelled eggs and bacon. I ran into the kitchen. My mother was there. I teared up almost instantly, for seeing my mother again brought up an emotion that I thought I had lost long ago: love. She looked at me with her signature smile. She wiped her hands on her apron, then walked over to me and picked me up. “Hey, honey, are you okay?” she said, a more concerned look on her face, “You’re never up this early. Did you have that dream again?” “Yes, mommy,” I said, “Can I stay up with you?” “Of course you can. You can stay with me as long as you want.” Then it hit me: I was dying. Something must have happened, whether during a dream or if it actually happened. A bright light came up to us. My mother frowned. “I guess duty calls.” She said, tears coming to her eyes. I looked at my mother, her face slowly turning a light purple, and something started coming out of her forehead. It was… a horn. She was slowly turning into Twilight. When my vision cleared, I was in the hospital, looking at Twilight. She was looking at me. She smiled. “Welcome back.” I gasp, and sit up. “Rainbow!” An extremely painful migraine comes to me instantly, causing me to groan in pain. Twilight helps me lay back down, then looks at me. “What happened?” I asked her. She smiled. “Thank you, Arjay.” She then walked out of the room. The next pony I saw made me sigh. It was Rainbow, her right wing all bandaged and tied between two boards, to help fix it. She walked up to me with teary eyes and a frown. “I thought you were gone.” She said, looking at the ground. I lift up her chin, and look her straight in the eyes. “Listen, Rainbow. My memory may be a little sketchy of what happened, but I saved you, and that’s all that matters.” She smiles, then she goes on to tell me what happened. She explains that she was about an inch from the ground when I used my magic to stop her from falling. “You then turned me upright, put me on the ground to where I was standing, and then you passed out. I checked your pulse, and couldn’t find it.” She said. Inside my head, my brain was having a fucking party at the thought of me using magic for the first time, but I kept it inside. I stayed silent, as to not surprise her with my over joyous cheers. “Well, thanks for saving me.” She said, looking me straight in the eyes. Then she did the unthinkable. She kissed me. Rainbow Dash kissed me on my lips, and then walked out of the room. Surprised, I couldn’t say a god damn thing. I closed my mouth, which was gaping, then tried to think of something else. No success. “Well…” I said to no one, “That was something.” Looking out the window, I realized it was close to dark. My guess was that I was spending the night here in the hospital, so I sat there; staring at the ceiling, wondering what the hell was going on, until I finally drifted off. “This is just getting stranger and stranger.” My last thought before falling asleep. > Chapter to be named later > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I woke up the next day, wondering why Celestia had to make the sun so god damn bright. I started thinking that the events of yesterday were a dream, until I saw I was in a hospital bed. I looked at the doctor who happened to be standing at the foot of the bed I was in. He looked at me with smile. “Here’s your release form. You are good to go.” The doctor said, handing me a tan folder. I got up, stuck the form in my mouth and started leaving the hospital. Pinkie Pie happened to be there with Twilight, waiting for me. Pinkie was bouncing around Twilight, who was trying to read a book. When Pinkie saw me, however, she stopped bouncing, and walked up next to Twilight. Twilight notices this, and puts the book down, and sees me. “Hey Arjay. Good to see you.” She said, walking over to me. Pinkie followed behind, not saying a word. “What is up with her?” I thought, looking at Pinkie… not be Pinkie, to summarize. Twilight noticed I was in deep thought, because she said something about it. “Hey, what are you thinking about? Maybe I could help you with it.” She said. I looked at her, and was about to ask her, but then remembered Pinkie was right there, so I stopped myself. “I’ll, uh, ask you later.” I said, and then quickly changed the subject. “Hey, what are you reading?” I said, pointing to the book the floated lazily in front of her in a light purple aura. I’ve never really been into books myself, but knowing Twilight is, I knew that would be the best way to change the subject. Her ears perked up when she heard me say that, and she smiled. “Well, this is going to sound silly…,” she started, “But do you remember that book I was reading before?” “The one about myths and legends?” I asked. “Yeah, that’s the one.” I looked at Pinkie, who was just standing there silently. “What about it?" “Well, I had started the ‘H’ section yesterday, and towards the end of the chapter, I found one with nothing on it.” “Well, what is it? Maybe I could help.” “I don’t know, it’s just mythology. It’s not like you know everything about it.” “Try me.” “Well, ok.” She said. She turned back a couple pages in her book, and levitated it over to me. When I saw what it was, I almost had a heart attack. The myth she wanted to know about was… Well, me. She wanted to know about humans. The book said absolutely nothing about humans. It only had a sentence saying ‘Humans are bipedal creatures that have hands instead of forelegs.’ It wouldn’t do any harm to tell her about humans. Would it? “I actually happen to know a lot about humans,” I started, being careful with what I say, “But I would rather leave before talking about this.” “Oh, yes, of course.” She said, remembering we were in a hospital. Pinkie was silent the entire time, which really creeped me out. Why has she been acting so strangely? After getting back to the tree house, we stopped outside the door, Pinkie still silent, not bouncing, not anything. Twilight knocked on the door, having forgotten her key today, and Spike opened the door. Twilight walked in, and right as I was starting to walk in, I felt a hoof on my shoulder. Turning around, I saw it was Pinkie. “Could I talk to you for a minute?” She said. Twilight had stopped after walking in the door, looking at me. “I’ll be inside in a minute, Twilight.” I said, and then shut the door. Now, it was just me and Pinkie, standing under Twilight’s porch light in the night. She looked down at the ground, and then looked up at me with big blue eyes. “I need to tell you something, but I’m not sure how to say it.” She said slowly, kicking her hoof at the ground. “What is it, Pinkie?” “I… I…” She stopped then looked at the ground. I lifted her head up with my hoof. “You can tell me.” I said. She smiled, then took a deep breath. “I…” she stopped, then spoke again. “… just wanted to say you are a very nice pony.” “Ok. I think you are a very kind and sweet-hearted pony.” I said. She blushes a little, then she tells me good night and I go inside. After eating dinner, I told Twilight goodnight, and went to sleep on the guest bed she had bought for me. For a while, me and Twilight stayed up and talked. After a while, Spike got up and left the room, dragging his bed behind him, complaining about how loud we are. We giggled, and said good night to each other. However, I still couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t help but fell that that was not what Pinkie wanted to say to me. I fell asleep with that thought on my mind. > Chapter to be named later 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I awoke still thinking about Pinkie. It just sat there, in the back of my mind. What was it she really wanted to say to me? I just couldn’t put my hoof on it… My thoughts were interrupted by me noticing Twilight standing over me. I jumped a little from her presence, which made her jump by my sudden movement. “I- is something wrong?” Twilight said with a worried look on her face. “No. No, I’m fine…” I looked up at her. “Why were you standing over me?” “Uh, oh, uh…” Twilight started blushing slightly, “I was just, uh…” Her eyes started dashing around the room. “…Examining my bed frame. Yes, that’s it. I was going to get a new one, and I needed to check how long it was.” She is such a horrible liar, I thought, looking at Twilight smile sheepishly. Although I decided not to say anything about it at that moment, I would bring it up later. “Well,” she said, “We were talking yesterday about the humans. I was hoping you would tell me about them.” “Uh, yeah, just give me a minute to get ready.” I said, slowly getting out of Twilight’s bed. Maybe I should buy my own bed… “Um, Arjay?” she said. “Yes Twilight?” I said as I started putting on my solid black suit. “Why don’t you have a Cutie Mark?” My eyes widened as I heard her ask that question. Now I was screwed. Either I make up something quick, or she would find out the truth. “I, uh…” I said, turning to her, “… never figured out my destiny. That’s why.” Great, I thought, now I’m going to look like an idiot in her eyes. She giggled slightly, and then looked at me. That’s when I noticed something strange. She was taller than me. I thought it was strange, considering she was shorter than me just yesterday. “How did you get taller than me?” I ask her, confused beyond belief. Oh yeah,” she said, “I forgot you’ve been asleep for the past two days.” “TWO DAYS?!” I say, startling her. She jumped back, and then I stood there, mouth agape, looking at her. “What?” she said looking at me. “When did you...” I was speechless. I couldn’t finish the sentence. Twilight looked over at what I was looking at, and then she got it. “Oh, you’re wondering when I got wings.” She said, folding them to her side. “Uh huh.” I mumbled, and then said, “Actually, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know…” There was silence as I got the rest of my clothing on and then followed Twilight to the living room. The silence was becoming extremely awkward. One of us needed to break the ice. However, the silence was broken by a knocking at the door. Twilight jumped up and opened the door with a smile. In walked Spike with armfuls of groceries, followed by Rarity and Rainbow Dash. When I saw Rainbow, my mind began to drift off. What was I going to say to her? The literal five minutes she was in the room with me at the hospital still makes me wonder what happened there. Next came Pinkie Pie and Applejack. Again, my mind drifted elsewhere. What did Pinkie really want to tell me? The night before... her big blue eyes... Then I saw Applejack. She had a large barrel on her back. On the side, it said ‘cider’. Mmm, I thought, apple cider, made by Applejack. Following behind those two were Big Macintosh, who also had a barrel on his back, and Fluttershy. When I saw them walking together, I thought, could the rumors about them be true? Behind all the murmur of the ponies and Spike, Twilight spoke up. “What are you all doing here? I wasn’t planning on anyone coming over today.” “Silly!” Pinkie said, “Parties aren’t meant to be planned!” “Uh, Pinkie,” Applejack said, “You told us Twilight was expecting us.” “Oh well...” She said with a large, quite unsettling smile. She looked over at me sat next to me on the sofa. Her smile had gone down to a small grin. What is with her lately? “Well, if it’s a Pinkie party...” Twilight started, “... no, wait. Can it start later tonight?” “No problem, Twi.” Applejack said, “But can we leave the cider here?” “Of course, just set them in the corner over there. I don’t know why you brought those, though. I hardly ever drink any.” “It was Pinkie’s idea.” Applejack said. After setting down the barrels and saying their goodbyes, some of them left, leaving me, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash. “Well, now what?” Twilight asked. *** “Nonononono. Rainbow, stop!” Rainbow was on a rampage. She was destroying everything in the library, and Twilight couldn’t get her to stop. Rainbow then bucks Spike into a wall, causing him to spit fire and catches some books on fire. Within minutes, most of the library was on fire. I sat there in amazement as I watched this video. I looked around the room. Rainbow was blushing, of course, and Pinkie was laughing her ass off. I looked up at the bookshelf, which looked old, but did not look charred whatsoever. My guess is that Twilight fixed it, but kept the old look of it. After the video was over, I looked at Twilight. “Why was Rainbow on a rampage, exactly?” Twilight giggled. “She had a little too much cider, if you catch my drift.” First thought: Twilight should never ‘speak street’ again. She is NOT good at it. Second thought: How does one get drunk on apple cider? “Well, you did a good job refurbishing the place.” “Thank you, Arjay. I worked really hard on it.” “You mean I worked really hard on it.” Spike said his arms crossed. “Oh, Spike. We worked really hard on it.” Twilight ruffled her wings slightly. “Who is teaching you to fly, Twilight?” “Oh, Rainbow is,” she said, pointing at Rainbow, “She is a great teacher, too.” Rainbow blushed again, and then spoke. “Hey, Arjay, could I talk to you for a minute upstairs? You know, as long as Twilight is okay with it?” “Yeah, go ahead. I don’t mind.” Twilight said, following Spike into the kitchen. I looked at Rainbow, who was already halfway up the steps. After getting up there, I saw her sitting on Twilight’s bed, and then made a motion for me to come sit next to her. I got up on the bed, and looked at Rainbow, staring deep into her eyes. For a few moments, we sat there, in utter silence, our eyes locked upon the other, then as quick as it started, it ended. We both looked at the ground, and then I looked at her again. “Rainbow, we need to talk about what happened in the hospital.” “That’s why I brought you up here. There’s something I need to tell you.” “Okay, what is it?” She took a deep breath. “I…” “PARTY TIME!” We both looked over at Pinkie, who was standing at the top of the stairs. She had a big smile on her face, but with a devious flare to it. Her smile immediately disappeared, and she started to blush. Taking no note of that, I spoke. “Pinkie, just a minute, and we’ll be right down there.” She nodded slightly, and then walked down the stairs. I turned to face Rainbow, and our lips met once more. She caught me completely off guard again. I had a feeling what was going on, but I wasn’t sure. After she stopped kissing me, she smiled, and then walked down the stairs. I followed after to be greeted by the rest of the group. Applejack had poured a couple cups of cider, and she handed me one. Without a second thought, I took a big drink of it, and then almost spit it out. Applejack saw this, and giggled slightly. “Didn’t know it was alcoholic, did you?” Don’t get me wrong, I love alcoholic beverages as much as the next guy, but I’ve never had alcoholic apple cider before. And boy was it strong. “Yeah, not at all.” I said, feeling slightly buzzed. This was going to be my only cup, I told myself. “Who’s up for some truth or dare?” Applejack said, and got murmurs of approval around her. *** “Rarity, truth or dare?” I said, drunk off my ass. I was on my fifth cup. I was not going to remember this night. “Dare.” She said, slurring. All the ponies were drunk, except for Twilight. She was reading a book on the floor, considering the rest of us were on the couch. Big Mac left before the party started, something about work to do. “I dare you to kiss Applejack.” There was a collaborative of ‘oohs’ after I finished talking. “You’re on.” Rarity got up, stumbling, and walked over to Applejack, and gave her a big kiss on the lips. When they separated, there was a large spit string that still connected them, but everyone was too drunk to care. After falling down, she got up and sat down where she was sitting in the first place. “Applejack, truth or dare?” Rarity said. “Dare.” Applejack said, though seemingly less drunk than the rest of us. Rarity whispered something in her ear, and she got a big grin on her face. She started sneaking around until she was behind Twilight. She took a deep breath. “YEEEEHAWWWWW!” Applejack yelled. Twilight jumped up a foot, then ran into the kitchen. Everyone else started laughing, and then Twilight came out, obviously angry. “Rainbow, truth or dare?” Applejack said, sitting down. “Dare.” She said, determined to do whatever it is she said to do. “I dare you to tell us what you were doing when you crashed into Arjay.” The room went silent. “You’re on.” She finished the rest of the drink she was holding, and then spoke. “I crashed into Arjay when I saw a glimpse of Vinyl and Octavia kissing through a window.” There was laughing after Rainbow finished, and when the laughing died down, it was Rainbow’s turn. “Arjay, truth or dare?” “Dare.” “I dare you…,” she paused, “…to kiss me.” This is too easy, I thought. “You’re on.” Without a moment’s pause, I walked over to Rainbow and kissed her. Passionately. After about a ten second kiss, we separated, and I spoke. “You know, this is probably the booze talking, but I think something is going on between you and me, Rainbow.” She gave a light grunt, and then started yawning. I started feeling tired myself. I mean, it was only four in the morning. “Maybe we should hit the hay.” Applejack said. “Finally!” Twilight said, shutting her book. She went upstairs. “Might as well sleep down here with the rest of you.” I said, and then got down on the floor. Too drunk to care. Good night, self.