Waking up in Equestria

~The next morning~

With a jolt, Harry woke up suddenly. Sunlight was pouring in through the windows into the Golden Oaks Library, brightening up the room. Rubbing his eyes and placing on his discarded glasses, Harry popped his back and smacked his lips. His eyes turned upwards as he saw that a piece of paper had stuck to his forehead and was now flopping over into his view. Snatching it, he removed the paper to see that there was a message on said paper.

"Dear Harry,

I'm sorry my questioning kept you up until four-thirty in the morning. If it helps at all, I too am exhausted. But! It was all in the name of science! Your home is such an interesting place! Anyway, if you are hungry when you wake up, there are some muffins in the pantry. Help yourself to them, and there is orange juice in the ice box.

If you need me, I'll be asleep in my room.

I advise you that you do not, under any circumstance, awaken me.

Things may end badly for you.

Yours truly,

Twilight."

With a sigh, Harry crumbled the paper in his fist and glanced to the clock, which was nearing eleven-thirty. With a grumble, Harry stood up from his seated position against the wall and shuffled into the kitchen, his stomach demanding food with a tremendous roar.

He wasn't one for mornings.

Or, afternoons. Whatever time it was, he didn't care for it when he woke up.

Entering the kitchen, Harry made a beeline for the pantry closet, opening it and looking for the muffins he was promised. Spotting them, he snatched up a brown sugar one and devoured the treat in a single bite.

One simple muffin isn't going to tame the beast that was raging in Harry's stomach.

Glancing around to make sure he was alone, Harry grabbed all the muffins he could and quickly stashed them into his cargo pants pockets. Afterwards, he realized his stomach was now sending demands for fluids to his brain.

"Coffee..." he muttered. Taking a look around the kitchen, Harry looked for any form of coffee making.

Eventually, nothing came up and he stood in the middle of the kitchen, his eye slightly twitching.

"I. Want. Coffee..." he growled as he exited the kitchen and approached the staircase. His gaze followed it up to a small hallway, that lead to his target. "Twilight..." he growled savagely.

One hoof on the base stair.

Then the other hoof on the next stair.

In a matter of seconds, Harry rushed up the wooden staircase and darted down the hall to Twilight's bedroom door. His hand gripped the doorknob tightly, and he turned it, taking care not to make a sound as he opened the door and entered the mare's room.

"I don't care if she said not to wake her. I want my damn coffee."

Tip-hoofing over to her bed, Harry watched as she rolled over, her sleeping face present to him. A sinister smile came across Harry's lips as a horrible idea came across his mind. Approaching her quietly, Harry extended one finger in a flashy style, placed it behind Twilight's exposed ear, and proceeded to give it a light scratch.

A mutter came from the sleeping unicorn.

Harry continued to scratch her ear, bringing a small smile to Twilight's lips. Soon, she had lifted her head to where Harry was giving her a really good scratch.

Harry's smile became a sneer of malicious intent.

Ever so quietly, he spoke to the sleeping mare.

"Twilight...~" he said in a sing-song tone.

"Hmmm...?" she responded.

"Wake up...your prince is here..." Harry continued. With a small, cute grunt, Twilight's eyes fluttered open and looked at Harry lazily.

"My prince..." she said. Immediately, Harry stopped scratching her ear and stared at her.

"I want my coffee." he said in a grim tone. Twilight's tired face slightly scrunched up into a look of confusion, and she blinked the sleep from her eyes. Opening them fully, Twilight gasped in surprise and sat up immediately, her face quickly going to one of anger.

"HARRY! I TOLD YOU NOT TO WAKE ME" she screeched. Harry's ears simply laid back against his head as her voice pierced the air. "I SPECIFICALLY TOLD YOU NOT TO WAKE ME UP IN THE NOTE I LEFT YOU! DID YOU NOT EVEN READ IT!?" she continued.

"Yes, I read it. But I want coffee. And you don't have any. This is a serious problem." Harry replied calmly as he looked at the angry mare.

"A SERIOUS PROBLEM!? A. SERIOUS. PROBLEM!? WHAT IS COFFEE ANYWAY!?" she yelled.

Silence immediately fell upon the room. Harry stood up and turned his back to her.

"You are dead to me, as of this moment." he simply replied.

"EXCUSE ME!? IF YOU DON'T GET OUT NOW AND LET ME SLEEP, YOU'RE GOING TO END UP DEAD IN THE RIVER!" Twilight screamed, throwing a pillow at the back of Harry's head. The fluffy object simply bounced off him, not even bothering him.

"Is there a cafe nearby?" he asked calmly.

"DOWN THE STREET AND TO THE RIGHT!" Twilight yelled in a casual tone. "YOU GOT MONEY?"

"I'll just borrow some from you. I'll pay you back when I get a job." Harry said.

"DARN RIGHT YOU WILL! HAVE FUN AT THE CAFE! AND BRING ME BACK A CROISSANT!" replied the unicorn as she angrily grabbed her covers and rolled over, huffing as she laid back down. With a smile, Harry reached into a nearby coin bag, grabbed a handful of bits, then exited Twilight's room.

*     *     *

The skies above were shinning happily, but in the distance, a snow front was being built up by the Cloudsdale Weather Team. The grey clouds hung ominously in the blue skies, like a outcast at a really populated party; everyone can see them, but they're not making a move, just holding a red plastic cup filled with water.

Hands in his pockets, Harry strolled down the brightly decorated streets as he made his way to the cafe. As he walked, ponies around him gave him a smile, a nod, or a simple 'Hello'. Word must have gotten around that since he was with Celestia's prize student, then he must be alright. Giving a small wave or nod of his head, Harry returned the greetings to those he passed, some giving a curious, yet interested look at his hands.

In a nearby bush, a pair of binoculars were sticking out of the leaves, its' owner biting her lower lip as she watched her prey move his hands as he gave small waves.

Harry couldn't help the feeling that...

ROAR!

...That he was still incredibly hungry. Quickening his pace, Harry lightly jogged to the nearby cafe and entered the establishment. As he entered, his senses were assaulted by the smell of freshly ground coffee, baked goods, and the sounds of ponies happily chatting with friends. After waiting in line for a bit, Harry approached the counter.

"Hello! And welcome to Doughnut Joe's!" said the unicorn mare. Her smile seemed to brighten up the whole room. On her apron, a nametag read Sunny Fields. "Of course, nothing can beat the original Doughnut Joe's in Canterlot. How may I help you sir?" she asked.

"I'll take a medium and small coffee, and one croissant please." he replied, placing the required amount of payment on the counter.

"Coming right up sir! And may I please get your name?" Sunny asked happily.

"Harry." he replied, and in a flourish of magic, Sunny produced a black marker, wrote his name on both cups, and put the marker away.

"Alright, just step off to the side and wait for your order, and thank you for stopping by!" Sunny said happily as Harry gave a nod, stepped aside, and attended to the next customer. As Harry stood and waited for his order to be finished, a stallion with the cutie mark of a bottle of rum appeared from the back room to help with the orders. Taking a look at Harry, he watched as Harry looked about the room, mouthing various orders as he watched the ponies sip their coffees and teas.

"Oi, would ye'  like a job 'ere?" he asked, his accent heavy on the Scoltish side. Snapping out of his trance, Harry looked at the stallion.

"What? Me?" he asked.

"No, ye' daft fool, yer' mother. Of course you! Ye' seem to kno' how a cafe runs." the stallion continued.

"Depends, what's the pay like? I'm new here and wanna get started on a new life immediately." Harry said. The stallion chuckled.

"Of course ye' new 'ere! We ne'ar saw te' likes of ye' before. As for the pay, I'll charge ye' a pound o' bits weekly."

"And how much is in a pound?" Harry asked.

"Oh, roughly three'undred an' seventy-five bits." replied the stallion. "An' tha' be minimum wage, laddie. So, wha'cha say? ye' in?"

"When can I start?" Harry asked. The stallion gave a hearty laugh now.

"Nex' week, if tha' be fine with you. Name's Scrumpy." said the stallion as he held out a hoof for a hoofshake. Harry immediately took it and gave it a firm shake.

"I'm Harry. Thanks for the job sir." he said. Scrumpy nodded and handed Harry his order.

"Take this, and be 'ere early Monday." Scrumpy said as Harry nodded and departed the shop. As he walked, one thought was on his mind:

"Job secured. Now, gotta pay Twilight back and start house hunting."

*     *     *

Entering the library in a flourish and a smile, Harry closed the door behind himself and entered the kitchen to see Twilight sitting there, sipping at a cup of tea as she read the newspaper. Seeing that her guest was home, Twilight rolled the paper up with her magic and sat there, watching Harry as he placed the croissant on the table with the small coffee.

"As you requested, your croissant. And, seeing as how you have never heard of it, a small coffee for you to try." Harry recited in a crisp, and sophisticated tone. Twilight simply rolled her eyes and levitated the pastry and drink to herself. Taking the croissant out of the bag, she took a bite out of the flaky treat and eyed the coffee.

"In all honesty, I know what coffee is. It's just that, in my rudely awakened state, my mind didn't register what it was at the moment. But thank you either way, I'll just stick with my tea." she said, making the small coffee vanish into thin air. Smiling, she took another bite of the croissant and sipped her tea once more.

"Well, there goes two bits." Harry said taking a seat, pulling out one of his stashed muffins, and proceeded to eat it. "Got good news." he told Twilight. The mare raised an eyebrow and tilted her head a bit.

"Oh? And that would be?" she asked.

"Got myself a job." Harry replied with a bite of muffin.

"Already? You have only been here a day! Where did you get one?" Twilight asked.

"The cafe. The owner, Scrumpy, saw me making guesses at what the other customers had. He asked if I wanted a job there, and I accepted. I get paid minimum wage and start next Monday." Harry said, popping the rest of the muffin into his mouth.

"Well, that's great to hear!  Glad to hear things are going great for you!" Twilight chirped with a smile. "I'm guessing you're free the rest of the day?" she asked. Harry nodded and Twilight clapped her hooves. "Good! The girls and I are getting together around five for dinner at Applejack's. Would you like to tag along? I'm sure Granny Smith would love to meet you."

Harry mulled the question over in his mind and gave a shrug. "Eh, why not? Be nice to meet more of the folks around here." he said.

"Great! I'll let Applejack know to make room for one more at the table. In the meantime, I have some anatomy questions I'd like to ask you!" she said producing a long list of questions from thin air. Harry let his head slam face first into the table, and audible crack was head.

"I'm pretty sure that was my nose..." he said. Twilight let out a small giggle and gave a content sigh.

*     *     *

Celestia's sun hung low on the horizon, the skies above Ponyville being painted into oranges, purples, and the dark blues of Luna's approaching night. On the ground below, Twilight and Harry walked side by side, Twilight humming a small tune, and Harry was carrying the side-dish Twilight had cooked for the dinner. On the bridge of Harry's snout was a bandage, covering the place where he cracked his nose.

"How much further?" he asked. Twilight ceased her humming immediately and gave an aggravated snort.

"You asked me that five minutes ago, and what was the answer then?" she asked, casting a small glare at him.

"You said we will get there, when we get there." Harry replied with annoyance. "I'm just tired of walking and carrying...whatever this is..." he said, gesturing to the casserole dish he held.

"It's a keish! It's my mom's recipe!" Twilight retorted.

"Did the recipe call for it to scream at us and try to devour our faces when the oven was opened?"

~Flashback~

"Twilight, the keish is done!"

"Can you get it out of the oven for me? I'm busy in here."

"No problem." -Harry whistles a happy tune as he puts on the oven glove and opens the oven front-

ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

"AH! KILL IT! KILL IT WITH FIRE!"

"Harry, what is- WHAT IN CELESTIA'S NAME IS THAT!?"

"IT'S YOUR KIESH, AND IT'S TRYING TO EAT MY FACE!"

~Present time~

"And besides, I think this thing is still moving..." Harry said as he slightly opening the lid, a low growl coming from within. "Yup, it's still breathing." Twilight simply sighed and let her head hang low.

"Toss it. We don't need a culinary mishap gnawing off everypony's hooves from under the table." Twilight said in a defeated tone. With a pleased scoff, Harry threw the offending casserole dish far into the orchard, a tiny scream following it as it flew through the air.

"Audios."

It was at that time that the duo came upon the walking path that lead to the main house. On the porch steps, Applejack sat there, watching Apple Bloom and her friends run around the yard a bit. Noticing the approaching guests, she waved hoof and smiled.

"Howdy ya'll! Glad ya' could make it!"