“So… what do you think?”

“It’s not bad. I think it’s nice.”

“But…” he urged on, despite not entirely wanting to know her answer.

“Well… if I had to give it critique, I’d say it is a little jarring…” she sheepishly replied.

Taking a breath as his head hung down in preparation to hear his faults, he asked, “Okay. And why is that?”

Taking a few moments to rifle through the papers encased in a purple glow, she gathered her thoughts as to what to address first. “Well to start off, it’s a little odd to begin your story with the character already in this new world and having a rapport with the others. We have no idea how he got there or how he even managed to become friends with his hosts. I imagine that would be kind of important.”

“I felt like starting off where I did just because,” he replied defensively. “It’s not like I’m expecting it to be read by a lot of people anyways.”

“Ponies,” she corrected.

Groaning at forgetting he replied, “For the record, I’m not doing any of that in my story. Just because I’ve been trying to change what I say in real life doesn’t mean I’m going to go the extra mile to do it in my writing.”

“And we’re all thankful you were willing to do at least that,” she replied with a smile.

Shifting his eye’s to the side of the room he muttered, “Yeah, well I’d feel weird if I was one the only one who didn’t do it. It’s not like I need anything else to separate me.”

She giggled lightly at his reluctant agreement to try and incorporate their sayings into his speech. Maybe I’m developing Celestia’s humor? she idly thought. “Even so, I’d thought I like to say thank you, James. Even if it’s been a few months I’m sure you’re probably still having difficulty adjusting.”

“Guess I should be grateful then for you, Twilight, and the rest of the girls. Speaking of, how are you all doing? I’m sure you’re probably getting tired of seeing me nearly everyday.”

“Did we do something wrong?” Twilight asked, her brow creasing slightly in worry.

Smirking at her slight misunderstanding he responded, “No it’s not that. I’ve already told you all that you’ve been really great. I’m just still a little confused as to why you would devote so much time to me instead of, I don’t know… putting me up with somepony else whose job isn’t saving the world. I know you guys are my ‘secret’ rater for my citizenship, but you must get tired of having to put up with me all the time.”

“James, it really is no problem for us to watch over you. And after a year has passed the trial period will be over, and then you’ll be completely out of our hooves, able to do whatever you want, even move if you desire.” Twilight then lowered her ears and lifted the papers in front of her. “But if you do decide to stay in Ponyville, I don’t think us not longer being your raters is going to change the amount of times we see you.”

“While I wouldn’t mind seeing the rest of Equestria, I don’t think I’ll be moving anytime soon. But I promise to give you girls some space that you all are probably craving.”

“Like I said, it probably wouldn’t change much,” Twilight said. “Ahem, if you wish, we can get back to the review of your story,” she cautiously asked at having realized he had become lost in his thoughts again. It seemed like something he often did whenever he thought over his predicament of being in Equestria. He was getting less taken aback by it each time the topic came up, now only gazing off for a moment or two. But she still never liked seeing him get stuck on the fact and wanted to do anything possible to cheer him up, which was in this case, with more critiquing on his story. What pony doesn’t like finding all their grammatical and plot errors?

“Sorry,” he mumbled while blinking his eyes at his returned focus. Resting his back against the couch. “I just felt like that was a good place to start, the story I mean. I only wanted to write a few things down at first, but I guess it just kept growing. I honestly wasn’t expecting it to be this long.”

“You could always rewrite it with a more informative beginning,” Twilight recommended. “Maybe even starting with how you got here?”

“Hmm… no, I think want to keep going where it’s at. Besides, there’s no way I will ever want anyone else knowing my embarrassing first few days in Ponyville.”

“Still… hung up, on the fact AJ had to chase you with her rope?” Twilight teased.

Groaning at the memory James put his head into his palms. “Applejack, the rope, or anything else that you girls did to me. I would rather not want to be reminded of that. Awkward and embarrassing stuff like that in public makes me just cringe from thinking about it. I could never watch video back home with awkward stuff in public, let alone write what I did.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have run like you did.”

“Yeah, I’ll remember that the next time I somehow end up in a world that’s full of strange and colorful creatures.” Lifting his head up, he turned his attention back to his story. “Maybe I can salvage it if I come up with some stuff that aren’t journal entries from what has happened to me. You know, add something interesting here and there.”

“That was actually another thing I wanted to touch on,” Twilight interrupted as her eyes scanned the floating pages again. “There isn’t really any story here. It’s just kind of jumbled things happening that are meshed together. There’s no overarching plot, antagonist, or even a recurring villain. And there is a lot of exposition.”

Furrowing his brow as he returned to his defensive attitude he countered, “Maybe I’m just an informative author writing a slice of life story.”

“A what?”

“You know, just tidbits of someone’s life being highlighted.”

“… Why would anypony want to read that?”

Tempted to snatch the papers from her magical hold right there and then, James sat back forward with his elbows on his knees. “Like I said, I wasn’t expecting anyone to read it. You’re lucky you even managed to convince me to bring it with me tonight and agree to this.”

“I still think you should consider forming into some kind of story,” Twilight replied as she neatly stacked the pages together.

“Moving on,” James replied a bit louder than he intended. “What did you want to do tonight? You know, besides bash my work in progress story?”

“Work in progress is no excuse for not having a good base in your story,” Twilight said matter-of-factly. “And as to why you’re here tonight, I actually wanted to see if you would be willing to test your reactions on Ember Shade some point in the future.”

James stared at the alicorn for nearly ten second straight before exclaiming loudly, “WHAT!?”

“James… lets be grown up here,” Twilight said in a serious tone. “You already agreed that it would be best to carefully study how all of our consumables in our world would affect you, and Ember Shade is one of those things. Granted, it was last on the list due to the nature of its effects, but I’d say it has the option of anytime now that you are aware of our… well, tendency to have sex. Anything we don’t already know is outright poisonous needs to be checked if you can safely digest it. If you’re going to live on your own eventually, maybe even out of Ponyville, then we need to know what you can and can’t have.”

James stared at the alicorn for another ten seconds before repeating, “WHAT!?”

“Ugh, James I-“

“No, just… no,” he replied while standing up. Putting a hand behind his head in frustration he moved towards one of the windows. “Look, Twilight, I don’t really want deal with those kind of issues right now.”

“I understand if you’re hesitant,” she said as calmly as she could. “And there’s no problem putting it aside until some other day. But ignoring it isn’t going to make it go away.” When he did not responded back Twilight got off her cushioned recliner and took a few steps towards him. “James… we’re doing this for your sake. We need to know if it’s safe for you or not.”

“And what makes you think I will take it!?” he snapped back at her.

Twilight flinched at his voice and expression, not having seen such a reaction from his before. Her ears flattened instinctively as he continued to glare at her, causing him to immediately change his mood when he saw how she was reacting to him. “Twilight…” he said softly before sighing heavily. “I’m sorry, I’ve just… there’s been a lot on my mind lately.” He walked past her and sat back down on the couch, still tempted to just leave the library then and there as to not have to explain anything which he knew full well she would eventually coax from him.

“What’s been bothering you?” she asked in concern, deciding to hop up and take a seat next to him, resting one of her hooves on his arm in comfort.

Turning his head towards her, he felt a tug in his chest from her large eyes that were so close to him, filled with worry at whatever was bothering him. Godammit… I should have just left when I had the chance.

“What’s wrong?”

Tilting his head back so he wouldn’t have to look at her, he stared up at the knotted ceiling while he took a breath in. After a few times of heaving breathing and a gentle tug on his arm, he eventually built the will to speak. “Look, it’s really hard for me to say… but… it involves Applejack and Granny Smith when I was over at the apples the other day…”

It was Twilight’s turn to be silent for a while, removing her hoof from him and scooting away slightly to give him some more personal space. After she received a quick glance from James as to why she moved, she coughed politely into her hoof and tentatively asked, ”Did you… have sex with them?”

James’ eyes shut tight as he clenched his jaw at the sheer absurdity of the question, barely able to contain himself from hopping up from the couch and leaving at that exact moment. But stomaching the awkwardness of that question and his own butterflies of having yet another discussion that would probably turn into something emotional, he answered with gritted teeth, “No… I did not.”

“Okay…” Twilight said blankly, her expression still remaining neutral. “So what did you do?”

“Talk,” James replied quickly. “All we did was talk. One talk with Applejack, and one talk with Granny Smith.”

“What did you discuss if you don’t mind me asking,” Twilight replied curiously, her behavior returning to a more natural and familiar state.

Sighing yet again, James forced himself to speak despite the squirms inside him. “Applejack and I talked about what’s wrong with me. On how she… saw me crying a few times when I broke down. And I guess a few things about my childhood. While Granny Smith enlightened me on how you ponies love to have sex.”

“Granny Smith… gave you a sex talk?” Twilight said in disbelief.

“Eeyup,” James replied sarcastically.

Twilight was silent for a few moments before she promptly got off the couch and headed to the kitchen. “Hold on, I’ll be right back.”

Puzzled as to what she was up to, James followed her with his eyes and stared off into the kitchen entrance way, listening intently as the sound of glasses clinking and some kind of liquid being poured was heard. Shortly after the alicorn returned back into the living room with two floating glasses. Taking back her original spot in her chair, she floated a drink to James and grabbed hers with a hoof.

“What’s this?” he asked cautiously, paranoid ideas of Ember Shade being slipped into his drink passing his mind.

“Cider. Alcoholic, cider,” she simply stated.

“Um… why? I thought ponies only drank during the Summer Sun Celebration?”

“A, that was a lie. And B, because I don’t care who you are, having a conversation about sex with a grandma is probably one of the worst things anypony or person could experience,” she said flatly. “I don’t know if it’s a common thing for ponies who lived in the countryside all their life, but that is certainly not something that is okay in Canterlot or any other city for that matter.”

James stared dumbfounded at the mare being turning his eyes back to the drink in his hands. “Wow, wasn’t expecting that.”

“Come on, let’s take the first drink together,” Twilight ordered as she dipped her head back and took a large gulp. Not entirely sure of exactly why this was happening, James just reacted to the command and took a large gulp himself, both of them sticking their tongues out afterward and shuddering as they said in unison, “Bleeeehhh.”

Trying to smack the taste away from his mouth, James looked at her with a new sense of awe, wondering exactly what she was trying to do. He would be lying if he said he hadn’t been looking at everything ponies were doing lately was secretly some ploy to get him in bed, but he felt at least seventy-percent sure that Twilight was just simply sharing a drink with him at a still awkward conversation he held with the senior pony.

“As Princess and Librarian of this town,” Twilight spoke sarcastically, “I offer you sincerest apologies you had to go through with that.”

“Thanks, but I guess nothing can be done about it now,” he replied. When Twilight nodded in agreement and took another but much more moderate swig of the drink, James commented in disbelief, “Have to say, I never thought you had a side like this to you.”

“Well, since you said that we apparently exist in your world as a cartoon show for fillies and colts, and explained what kind of content and behaviors it displayed, I figured acting similar to it would be the most easing thing we could do,” Twilight explained with a smile, not entirely sure if she was imagining the tingle that was building in her head or if the drink had already begun to buzz her. “If we behaved how you already imagined we would, then it would be easier to gain your trust and get your cooperation.”

Thinking on what she said for a bit, James shrugged his shoulders as he replied, “Guess I can’t argue with that.” Taking another sip himself, he waited until the taste departed somewhat before speaking, “So besides sex and apparently alcoholism, what else have you ponies been hiding from me?”

“That’s pretty much it,” Twilight said casually. “From what little I’ve gleamed of your world, adults are adults no matter where you are.”

“Guess here’s another sip then to something in common,” James replied. They both drank together, shortly shuddering again at the taste and speaking in unison, “Bleeeehhh.”

They sat there in silence for a minute, just letting the mood the room take its place and be lost in their own thoughts before James decided to break the ice. “So… I hear from a well-seasoned source that ponies will sleep with other ponies, even if they are in a relationship. That true?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow as she floated a pillow behind her back for extra comfort, confident that the buzz forming in her head was for real this time. “Yeah, so?”

Seeing the confused expression on James’ face Twilight began to explain. “Oh, oh my, I’m sorry. I completely forgot how a non-monogamous relationship is the standard on your world.”

“It’s alright,” James said idly as his attention was shifting to the alcohol set in his gut. “One question though before we get into this discussion, how did this kind of thing start for ponies?”

Twilight’s eyes and focus sparked immediately at a chance for a history lesson. “My theory is that back then it wasn’t uncommon for a pony be gone for days or even months at a time to conduct business or trade in another town. This was especially true in towns that had just formed as they still required a lot of supplies and assistance from a more well established settlement or city. Magic and technology hadn’t improved to the point that those kind of things could be done in a short amount of time and well… a pony can get kind of lonely while they’re loved one is gone.”

“So you cheat?” James pointed out casually, having decided to let the conversation reach its full potential and not care as much about the direction it might go.

“This is Equestria remember?” Twilight said with a knowing smile. “If you hadn’t caught on now, a pony doesn’t define their relationship with another pony with sex alone. It only matters how they feel for you.”

“That must be nice,” James sorely responded as he took another sip, briefly observing he was already halfway through the glass and deciding it would probably be smart to slow down.

“Well, deal with it, that’s who ponies are,” Twilight countered smartly. “As I was saying, it wasn’t uncommon for the other ponies you were close to help keep your bed warm at night and have a good time with. Over time, it was found out to actually be helpful in making one closer to the ponies around them. However, I will say that it is probably a little less frequent than it was back in the day.”

“And that’s because?”

Shrugging her shoulders, Twilight responded, “Most likely that travellers rarely stuck around long enough to get a friendship started before parting ways. These days it is considered a little uncouth to hook up with a pony at random considering how easy it is to stay in contact with friends thanks to larger towns and easier modes of travel.” Twilight stared into her cup for a moment before she giggled slightly. “I’m going to go out on a limb, but I bet there are some in your world who do the same thing, albeit not very many.”

“Yeah, you’re right on that one,” James said admittingly.

Twilight grinned hazily at being predicting something right again about his world, something she enjoyed to no end during their discussions. The more he revealed about his world, the more she was able to figure out the gaps of knowledge and even accurately guess what something may be, almost like a game of crossword.

“So you also had a talk with AJ?” Twilight said aloud, as if suddenly remembering the fact.

James sat back in the couch, resting the drink on his belt while he reflected that night in the orchard. “Yeah, we did. But it’s not something I really want to get into. Getting torn open once is enough for me for a while” He felt the small sensation of a tear beginning to build up in his eye at the memory of opening up to Applejack on the back of the wagon, actually having the chance to confide to another person or in this case, a pony. Godammit, don’t cry. It’s just the drink.

Twilight wasn’t sure if it was she actually beginning to understand his way of talking that slipped out now and then when he wasn’t trying to be polite, or if it was the alcohol giving her a new perception, but she had a pretty good idea of what had happened. Knowing Applejack, she probably got him to spill a few things he didn’t want to. She reminisced her own times with the farm pony she had spent late nights with, wondering how she was so good at being able to wiggle her way in getting Twilight to open with her own issues.

“Whatever you two talked about, it’s between you and her. I won’t pry into it,” Twilight announced as she took another sip, relieved that the bitter taste was starting to lessen the more she drank.

“…Thanks,” James replied, not entirely sure how he felt about it. Twilight merely hummed in response as her muzzle was currently dipped into her glass.

Suddenly feeling a strong sense of déjà vu from the situation of sharing a drink with the mare, James’ suddenly remembered a few points they had discussed the last time he spoke with her. “Okay, hang on now,” he said slightly slurred, drawing the attention of the mare. With a slightly confused expression he asked, “Didn’t… didn’t we already talk about sex the last time I was here? And that you said ponies find it a very recreational activity?”

“I recall that,” Twilight replied, her head tilting lazily to the side just slightly.

“Okay, then answer me this. How come you said that it’s like a stones throw away from a pony that will do it with you, but I’m also hearing to only do it with friends?”

“Most ponies have lots of friends,” Twilight simply answered. Seeing the look of confusion on the human’s face turn agitation along with a heavy sigh she quickly added, “But I think I understand you’re inability to not notice the subtle signs and differences between the relationships on whether if they are open or not.””

“Of course ponies have that many varying levels to friendship, like Eskimo’s and snow…”

Twilight raised an eyebrow at his changing mood throughout the conversation, realizing that this could be a wonderful time to study in detail the effects of alcohol on humans. But due to the nature of the conversation, such a study would have to be done another night where the mood wasn’t so serious.

“If you want, I could teach you how to recognize all the types of friendships,” Twilight offered with a smile.

Staring at his drink while idly wondering how he managed to almost get to the bottom already, James responded, “There’s no way I could learn all that, but maybe I’ll try another night.”

“Very well,” Twilight said, shifting in her seat for a more comfortable position.

They both remained quiet for a few minutes in their seats, staring into their glasses after a sip now and then while lost in their own thoughts, neither of them sure of what to say next. For Twilight, she was enjoying the evening spent with a friend while becoming slightly buzzed on some cider. She felt like she helped him understand her world better, and gave some corrections on his story. James on the other hand, was starting to silently fume.

He didn’t know if it was because he still felt vulnerable after talking to Applejack, the sheer awkwardness of learning a whole new side to ponies, or if it was the drink that was getting him buzzed more than he thought it would. Or a combination of the three.

Eventually he could hold it anymore and despite his internal warnings to not let it out or make a scene, he slowly got to his feet and gripped the cup tightly.

“James?” Twilight asked curiously at his action. “Something wrong?”

He didn’t know why, but he felt like throwing the glass against the wall as hard as he could. “… Yeah… no… I… I don’t know…”

Hearing the strange edge to his voice, Twilight slowly flared her horn and gently tugged at the glass in his hand, relieved that he let loose of his grasp so she could float it down onto the table and away from him. After setting hers down as well, she asked, “What’s bothering you?”

“Twilight… do you mind if I scream right now?”

“… uh… no, go ahead. Spike isn’t here tonight so it should be fine.”

James remained quiet for a bit, hesitating on whether if he should go through with the random urge or not. But he decided to jump it anyway instead of just standing there quiet any longer, and let loose the loudest yell he could.

With his fists clenched tight her shouted, “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

An eerie silence filled the room as James still stood standing, and Twilight staring in slight shock at the odd behavior from him. His fists were still tightly gripped, apparent on his knuckles as they were beginning to turn white. Before Twilight could ask further on how he felt, or if he wanted to scream again, James went off onto a rant without regard.

“I’m tired of flipping from one thing to the next! Just when I finally think I’m starting to get used to this place, this drops onto my lap! And since then I’ve been just bouncing from one side to the other,” he argued. “First it’s with Rainbow Dash, great sex followed by shitty feelings, then somehow ending on a happy note. But then I still feel awful afterward! Or how about with Applejack! First she gets me to open up and I think I’m starting to feel better afterwards, then it’s back to square one first thing in the morning with me regretting it. Then I get the pep talk from Granny Smith! And I still somehow swing into a good mood after that!”

Twilight was having difficulty following everything he was saying, not entirely sure what it was he was exactly complaining about. But what she could figure out from it all was that the stress had been building up in him for some time, and perhaps he was now venting it all out.

“I always did that back at home too! And I have no idea why!” he exclaimed.

“What do you mean?”

“Just going along with whatever someone says!” James said with a wave of his hands. “I think I got a handle on something, having my own opinion on the matter and what I should do. But every fucking time I somehow see it from the other person's point of view and just magically switch to their side, only to regret it later when I’m away from them. For godsakes I even thought Granny Smith was onto something after our talk! Why would a human even consider something like that!” James briefly reflected that he had cussed in front Twilight, something he tried very hard not doing since he appeared here.

But at this point he simply just did not care about anything, even going as far as just letting out whatever was on his mind and chest without a second thought. I blame the alcohol, he thought, which was an explanation he liked better than the fact he just might be fed up with everything and finally broke.

“It’s like I expect everything someone says so be some special wisdom that will somehow make my situation better! Maybe it’s because I read too many books or anime where some old guy gives a bit of advice at just the most perfect time.”

“Well… even heroes need a new perspective in their stories to help them figure things out,” Twilight quietly said.

“But this isn’t a story!” James nearly shouted. “People don’t just find some magical insight to a problem at a convenient time and just magically continue on like it solved that problem forever. People’s minds change! Other shit gets in the way and new perspectives pop in your head while you lay awake at night wondering about everything!”

Twilight waiting for his fuming to run its course, watching carefully as he slowly bent himself back down onto the couch. She wasn’t sure how big of a drinker he was, but he hadn’t had any to her knowledge since his time here and it could very well affect would he would handle having some now, especially considering the fact that she didn’t know how quickly humans got drunk. She figured one glass was okay based on what he told her of his previous experiences in drinking, but nonetheless decided to play it cautiously.

Suddenly feeling uncomfortable sitting up, James slowly propped himself to lay down on the couch and stare up at the ceiling, letting his mind work through his stupor at everything he had just spouted.

Maybe he’s going through an identity crisis, caught between what to keep in from his human customs versus what to accept from ours, Twilight reasoned, somewhat surprised she even could despite the haze in her mind.

But her logical view onto the situation quickly gave out when she saw how agitated he looked, quickly changing her scholarly attitude into a worried and caring one. Is it my fault for not noticing how much stress he has inside him? He’s obviously had a lot to get out, and may even have more in him but… how could I not have seen it?

Sadly she reflected on her time with him, trying to see if there was some sign of his unhappiness that he had just recently showcased. But thinking back, she couldn’t remember a single moment that could have indicated such a thing. Am I... am I a bad pony to not have noticed? Applejack apparently saw through it… so why couldn’t I? I thought I was supposed to have studied the magic of friendship enough to see these things… Shifting her eyes to his face, she watched closely as his features noticeably began to soften. The muscles around his mouth that had been held tight in a scowl started to loosen, and his forehead slowly even out from his furrowing. It was almost a complete transformation in moods as she almost literally saw the fire extinguish in his eyes. Or maybe… he’s just good at keeping everything inside, she realized. Watching in interest at his behavior change, a sudden urge to yawn overcame Twilight, forcing her mouth wide open as her soft voice gave out a tiny yawn.

The noise she gave distracted James from his own thoughts, causing him to turn his head to her direction. He watched as her wide mouth was just closing from the tired action, smirking slightly as she smacked her lips and blinked a few times. Then, his face began to grow red as if he had just remembered the mare had been there the entire time during his rant.

Feeling embarrassment wash over him, he shifted about until he completely turned around on the couch, his face buried into the back piece and away from the mare’s eyes. But Twilight had not missed the redness on his face, and lazily smiled at the reaction.

You know, some girls may not like it when a guy gets wishy washy with his feelings and doesn’t know what to do. But I think it’s kind of cute. She suppressed a giggle that threatened to show her amusement at his shyness, deciding it was better to let him have whatever dignity he thought he was preserving, not realizing that to her he had not lost any from his outburst.

“Is it… is it alright if I just fall asleep here?” James suddenly asked as his nose pushed up against the backside of her couch. He didn’t realize how hard the drink had hit him until he had turned away from her, feeling a large amount of nauseousness build just from the small movement. What the hell was in that cider…

“Yeah… sure…,” Twilight replied sleepily as she herself laid down in her comfy recliner, not even given it a second thought. Glowing her horn, she flipped a hidden lever built within the chair that caused the bottom part to flip up and extend to allow her to rest her back legs on. After wiggling a bit for a comfy position, she rested her head rested on the raised side of the chair and gave out a happy hum in relaxation and grogginess from the cider. Afterwards, Twilight flared her horn to flick up the light and cast the room into darkness, shutting her eyes as she hummed happily again in comfort.

James looked over his shoulder briefly from the lights being turned off, staring dimly at the mare’s dark outline on the chair before turning back and mumbling softly, “So weird how that’s for your whole body to lay down on and not just your legs…”

“Hmmmm,” Twilight simply responded.

The two of them laid down in their improvised beds as their heads still spun lightly in a semi drunken stupor, letting the combination of the alcohol and sleepiness over take them.

“Twilight?”

“Hmm?”

“… Sorry about that…”

“I already said don’t, *yawn* mention it,” she replied sleepily. “I know all of this is tough for you, and I can’t even begin to imagine how it must all seem. But you know, we are here for you. Believe it or not, we actually do consider you as a friend.”

James was silent for sometime before he softly replied, “… Thanks…”

“No problem” Twilight responded, her content grin still plastered on her face.

And with that, the two drifted off to sleep, their minds a blur between everything they talked about, whatever thought was born from the alcohol, and what the future might hold for them. The only last thought, was James’ idle observation of the furniture he was currently laying on. Hmm… this couch is purple…

Author's Note

A few things about this chapter and the direction of the story. This story was original an experiment in clop writing, and was supposed to be a quick stop clop. But due to comments and points people raised, I felt the desire to do more with it. Now I know I haven't been that great going forward with it, and it's kinda getting sloppy, but I want to finish this story someday for the fact that as messed up as it will be, it will inevitably help me improve as a writer. Thus the strangeness of this chapter compared to the other ones in its pacing. I will do some experimenting in writing on this story, and some of it is Slice of Life realism. Stories are often flowing and clear, bringing concise conversations that usually move the plot forward or help character progression. But life isn't like that. It's muddy, confusing, and people's mind change all the time even with all the advice in the world. And I wanted to try and capture some of that. If you all really don't like it, let me know and I will try to stop incorporating it in future chapters in like how I did it in this one.

Additionally, this chapter will still probably be slow to update as I am more heavily invested in another story of mine called Second Princess of the Night. Also, I will admit, it will be difficult continuing this story as what I had envisioned for it has changed so much. Honestly, I can only say thank you for all the criticizing comments because they made me pause and think about my story in a much greater detail than I had originally given it. And it is because of that, that I want to try and provide some meaningful story line. I had also made the comment way earlier on that it was similar to Xenophilla when someone made a comparison. At the time I hadn't read it and just did a skim through the description and answered yes it was. But then I eventually read the story and realized that mine doesn't even hold a candle flame to it. It was actually one of the reasons why I considered abandoning this story a few times due to how good it was and the similarities that I had made with it unintentionally. But I am forcing myself to continue, and I hope I can at least provide something decent for all of you to read. Sorry for the rambles, just wanted to get this out there. Also, I changed the story description and added the Slice of Life tag to reflect all of this.

And one last last note, James will be making mistakes in this story. He might do things that will piss you off, or seem very stupid, but regardless of his problem he will still grown and learn. It's hard to figure out your life when you are stuck in Equestria.