Chapter 9: Too Much Attention

The ponies all blinked at once in shock, the butter yellow pegasus pulling back slightly and letting her hair to fall in front of her face.

Jake let out an anxious smirk, looking between each pony. "… something I said?"

The white unicorn was the first to speak, clearing her throat and stepping off the couch. "Well, you caught us… off guard. Ponies don’t swear so casually, if at all. It's seen as very uncouth." She finished with a flustered glance.

At that the rainbow maned pegasus chipped in. "Well, in that case I'm fine with it."

Jake blinked once, rubbing the back of his head. "Oh uh... okay, sorry. I'm used to talking like this back where I come from, but still... what are those for?" Jake asked again, glancing at the marks in question. “If it’s okay to ask.”

"They’re our cutie marks." The tan pony began, tilting her hat a bit to get a better look at the human. "A pony get's em' when they figure out their special talent.”

Jake nodded along slowly to her explanation. "So… like initiation rights? Kind of like a gang tattoo or somethin'?" Jake shot back, even more confused as to why a whole species would use such barbaric means of enforcing work.

"What's a 'Ta-two'? Is it like a tutu, but with two ta’s?" Asked the pink pony, electing an even more confused look from Jake.

Shaking his head, he furrowed his brow. "H-Huh? No, no a T-a-t-t-o-o...” He spelled out, getting a vacant stare from the pink equine. “…if you don't know what that is, how did you get those?" Jake asked again, pointing at the balloons on her flank.

"Well it's-" The white pony began, before falling silent at a sudden barrage of approaching hoof-steps.

'What the...' Jake thought to himself, turning around only to be tackled by his midsection and pushed to the ground, landing hard on the wooden floor.

"GAH, WHAT THE HELL?" Jake shot out as he looked at the bundle of fur and feathers above him.

Standing atop him was the same mare, Twilight, as she stared down with wide eyes, a glowing horn and outstretched wings.

"Tell.. me... EVERYTHING!" Her face inched closer with each word until they were practically touching nose to muzzle.

"W-Wait, like-“ Jake began as Twilight jumped off and surrounded him in a purple glow.

He felt himself go weightless for a moment as he lift off the ground, is eyes going wide. “W-Woah! Hey, wait!”

Twilight stopped as she moved towards a nearby stool, turning to meet his gaze. “Hm, yes? What is it?” She asked impatiently, oblivious to Jake’s panicked expression as Dash sighed loudly.

“I can stand on my own!” He yelled back, causing the pony’s ears to flick back a bit

“O-OH, sorry!" Twilight replied sheepishly, setting the human down who was now white as a ghost.

Coughing once, Jake quickly brushed himself off before pointing at the alicorn. “First things first, do not touch me with that ‘magic’ of yours again." He stated, getting the purple equine to nod rapidly.

“I’m really sorry! I just get so…” She started to explain, before many from the nearby group threw in their own descriptors.

“Excited?” The orange pony offered.
“Eager?” The white one added.
“Ooo, what about ‘hungry’, because I am!” The pink equine butted in, earning looks from the whole room.

Twilight rolled her eyes, smirking slightly. “…I was thinking more like ‘enthusiastic’!”

“About what?” Jake asked back.

Twilight practically had her jaw hit the floor after that sentence was uttered, as if the question itself was an insult.

“A-About WHAT?! YOU, thats what! You're a completely new, sapient species... and apparently a HUMAN! This is HUGE. You have no idea how much we could learn from you! The things pony kind could create! The-"

Jake brought his hand up, silencing the pony. "Twilight, I know this is probably an amazing discovery for you, and I'm sorry I have to be the one to tell you this but... I can't stay here and discuss all that with you. I'm on a very strict schedule, one that can mean the end of... a lot more than you could imagine."

Twilight's face dropped like he’d just ripped apart her favorite childhood toy. It was just a little more than Jake could handle.

Sighing, Jake pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright look... If you can help me, I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

Perking up she looked back with renewed vigor. "Anything?"

"Anything." Jake punctuated with a nod. "...if you're gonna help me, that is."

That was it. The last straw, broken… the final string, cut. She hopped up and down shouting 'YES!' over and over as she hopped in a circle. It hurt Jake's pride a bit to admit this, but it was pretty damn adorable. These creatures seemed to have a profoundly powerful effect over Jake, one of the strongest known powers in the universe. Cuteness.

At least one of those yesses, he hoped, was an agreement to help.

When she stopped hopping she turned to Jake and spoke incredibly fast. "Alright good, follow me! This way!" Her movements were a blur as she started toward the stairs.

Jake motioned to the group that’d been watching the exchange nearby. "But.. I don't even know your friend’s names."

"Fluttershy..."
"Applejack.”
"Pinkie Pie!"
"Rarity, dear."

Most of them spoke in unison, as if they were used to these kinds of introductions.

The only pony that waited for her turn was hovering impatiently nearby, an annoyed look on her face. "It’s Rainbow Dash to you!" The rainbow pony ordered at Jake, before zipping across the room towards Twilight. “Cmon Twi… you said we’d stay with you.” She finished in a low tone, glancing back at Jake as he crossed his arms.

Twilight waved her worry away. “It’s ok Rainbow, he took off his armor so the least we can do is give him some space, right?”

“Says you, after that hoofball move you just pulled.” Rainbow said with a groan as Twilight sheepishly looked away. “But… if you think it’s the best way, then okay. But I’ll be checking in!” Rainbow relented, moving away from the stairway and allowing Twilight past.

In a flurry Twilight scurried forward, her horn igniting once more as Jake glowed momentarily. Suddenly airborne once again, he flew up the stairs and was weaved around the library's various doorways. As he went through the last open door his head smacked off the top of it before he landed on a soft cushion.

"Ahhh... Twilight, what did I just say?" Jake muttered as he rubbed his forehead, looking at the pony as she set up the area.

He was sitting on the edge of a bed, the room two tiered with the bed situated at the highest point after some stairs. Twilight was sitting with her back straight on a stool by the bed, her hind legs crossed slightly as a quill and parchment hovered nearby.

Twilight’s ears drooped slightly as she looked up from her page. “O-Oh right, no magic. Sorry, I get a little-“

“Enthusiastic.” Jake stated bluntly, giving her a deadpan look. “I know, I’ve heard.”

“R-Right… ehh heh…” Twilight replied with an embarrassed smile.

There was an awkward silence as Jake looked around the room, then back to Twilight . "So..." he began, sitting up straighter and rubbing the back of his neck.

This finally kicked Twilight into gear. "W-Whats it like!?" She started, the quill hovering closer to the parchment.

"What's what like?" Jake asked with a raised brow, still rubbing his head.

"To be human!" She spoke again with a raised voice, like a kid growing impatient.

Jake motioned with his hands, trying to explain with a furrowed brow. "Well, uh… it's nice being tall? And well... that's about it. I can't really think of what it's like because it's the norm for me. That's like asking what it's like to be a pony."

“Fair.” She agreed, nodding a bit. "I’ll just have to be more specific. So... you mentioned you're not from this planet. That would make you… an alien? Correct?"

Jake nodded back, deciding to just rip the bandaid off, since they seemed quite friendly overall. "Pretty much. My… ‘kind’ I guess had been expanding into the stars for a long time now, never met anything like you though. I just crash-landed here yesterday." I finished as Twilight furiously scribbled in her notebook.

She let out a small squeal of excitement and went for another question. "Alright, asexual or sexual reproduction?"

"Uh... s-sexual?"

Scribbling down on the notepad further she looked up and prepared to ask again before being stopped by Jake’s raised hand. "Listen, mind if I weave in some of my own questions? Make it easier for the both of us."

Nodding a bit she motioned forward, the notepad drifting to the side slightly. "Alright, ask away."

Smiling a bit, he breathed a sigh of relief at finally getting some answers from this crazy place. "Okay first... is there someone else I can talk to?” He asked, getting a strange look from the alicorn. “N-Not that I don’t mind talking to you, but you must understand I need to speak with someone… powerful. You know?”

Twilight waved off the humans worry. “Oh, don’t worry. I told Rainbow to have Spike send a letter to the princesses. I’m going to be writing a report to her soon as well… I’ll include what we write here in that letter!”

Jake sat for a second, processing her words. Realizing there was much higher to the chain of command than the pony sat in front of him, he’d hoped to get an audience with someone more influential. But if this pony can message them directly… maybe, he figured, he should be as open as he can.

‘But… in her next report? When is that supposed to be? I’ll ask more later…’ Jake thought as he sat on his next question.

“Ok…” Jake paused, thinking more about what he’d seen since coming here. “-what are those marks and how are they obtained." Jake asked, pointing at Twilight's flank.

"Oh, these? They’re cutie marks. They represent a pony's special talent. A pony get's one once they figure out their special talent." Twilight finished as she prepared to ask her question before Jake continued.

"But... no-" He gestured with his hand, further trying to clarify his point. "-there must be a reason for all of this. There's no such thing as magic. All magic is sleight of hand, tricks and illusions."

Twilight shook her head and stood, hopping onto the bed and turning towards Jake, the side of her flank right in his face.

'CHRIST TWILIGHT, PERSONAL SPACE!' Jake screamed in his head as he leaned away out of reflex.

"Touch it, watch what happens." She said in a neutral voice.

"E-Excuse me?" Jake stuttered as he looked between that... and her face.

"Touch it! Don't worry, for science." She added with a small nod.

Before Jake could counter with another remark, something caught his eye. A slight shimmer. He turned to her cutie mark and looked closely as he reached his hand up and brushed some of the fur. To his amazement the fur moved in the direction he brushed while the image stayed in place, any fur pushed out of the boundary turning lavender and any that bent into it becoming like the mark.

While he did this Twilight shivered slightly, before backing away with a bit of red in her cheeks. “The mark is magical you see. It's not exactly part of the coat, but more like a magic that stays just above the skin, changing fur to resemble the cutie mark. That way if, for some reason, the hair was cut and regrew in a different size... the image maintained it's form without distortion. Does it make sense now?"

Jake’s eyes dart back and forth as he processed her words, every single thing she just said sounded downright impossible if he continued to so vehemently appose this… magic of theirs. Closing his eyes for a moment, he pinched his nose and let out a small sigh.

Looking at Twilight as she sat back on the stool, Jake huffed. "Magic... okay. I’ll accept the fact that whatever this is... I don’t fully understand it and won’t for some time. You call it magic, so that’s what we’ll go with... for now."

Nodding happily Twilight flipped to a new page and stared back at him excitedly. "So what’s your home like?" She asked innocently.

'...fuck...'

Author's Note

Hope you all enjoyed my latest chapter I JUST MADE NOW because I'm a bastard and can't update regularly. You may all yell mean things to me in the comments if you wish.

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