Adrift, Alone and Appreciated
They say that anything can happen to anyone. They claim that nothing is impossible, simply improbable.
They also say that true love is a myth. They say that success is fleeting.
Frankly, ‘they’ say a lot of things.
They were also all, at some point, wrong.
John checked his watch as his foot kept a constant beat on the elevator floor. A tune had popped into his head and his lipped puckered and readied themselves to sing when the door to his floor finally opened. He gave a single chuckle to himself as he stepped out.
A rosy smile greeted him from the nearby desk. “Goodmorning, sir. How was the meeting?”
“Great! We may be getting that expansion soon after all,” he high-fived an employee as he returned to his office.
He checked and confirmed that the investment went through. His company now had more than enough to truly blossom. He burst into the main office—it was a small company of just twenty employees, but they were his employees—and shouted, “Looks like we’ll be partying tonight guys!”
John’s week zoomed by in a flurry of growth, betterment, and improvement. The company was on the look out for more employees as the orders piled up.
Finally the weekend came and he got a chance to spend sometime with someone very special to him.
Marie greeted him at the door to their apartment. “Hey, darling. I’ve been hearing nothing but good news from you lately.”
John smiled like the cherubs on high and brought her into a tender embrace. “Yup. Nothing but good news.”
He cut the meat while she prepared the vegetables.
“My mom loved what you did with their place,” said John.
Marie smiled. “She really did?”
“Yup. You’re a natural at it, interior design.”
“I never thought I would be though.”
“I guess all I’m gonna say is I told you so,” he teased as he stuck his tongue out at her.
Whilst he wasn’t looking, she grabbed a can of whipped cream and did what any sensible person would do in such a situation.
A few hours later, after dinner and after a short binge of their favorite show, the couple changed and got into bed. They lay there for a little while enjoying nothing more than each other’s sweet company.
“Goodnight, darling.”
“Goodnight.”
Multiple things entered his mind as he lay there with the lights of, the love of his life in his arms. He thought of the flower of their relationship. His growing company. Everything else that was sure to come next. In that moment of tranquil recollection, John found the gentle embrace of sleep.
His eyes opened. The light flooded into them and caused him to wince. His eyes shut. With his eyes closed, he focused on his ears. A bird tweeting and the distinct sound of a stream in the distance.
He tried his eyes again, slowly this time. A clear, immaculate sky greeted him. A hand was raised to help shield from the gentle, yet still sharp, rays of the sun.
The fragrance of lilies and dew began apparent as he sniffed the air around him. As more of his senses came to, he suddenly felt a strange, sweet taste on his tongue.
He sat up and let the warm sunlight flow across him. A moment later, a cool breeze passed him by and brought with it a refreshing and exuberant sensation.
His eyes opened some more as the memory of a soft silk robe asserted itself as he noticed himself wearing his favorite green shirt, a dark pair of jeans, and a pair of brown loafers.
There was nothing but green rolling fields for miles in any direction from wherever he was. The landscape was dotted with the occasional mighty tree. A few forests sat neatly in the distance as did several mountains. He squinted at one particular mountain that looked like it had some sort of man-made outcropping near the top. He could have sworn it had spires and towers.
He climbed to the top of the closest hill to get a better view of everything. The tree at the top felt like it beckoned him closer as a few members of the local bird population gathered and had taken it upon themselves to observe this new arrival.
As he crested the hill he found stream he was hearing and, more importantly, some semblance of civilization. Not too far away was what looked like a small village, old-timey village. It had thatched roofs with large brick chimneys sticking out of them.
A few tall tents stuck out here and there as a conical roof dominated whatever skyline the settlement had and served as a good landmark. Farther away, a bright red barn sat neatly at the top of another hill. A deja vu-like sensation tugged at him from the inside as he stared at the farm building, as if he should know exactly where he was.
He took a deep breath and looked around. He didn’t feel in any particular danger. If anything, he felt calm and relaxed, as if he knew deep inside that everything would work out OK. A bird’s particularly cheerful chirp got his attention.
It was a plump little bluejay that looked at him with a discerning eye. He let out his hand as, to his surprise, it perched on his finger. It tilted its head as it looked at him up and down, as if to appraise him. When it was satisfied, it chirped to its companions as they flew off in the direction that would take them to the outskirts of the town, just about there the stream faded out of view.
“Huh.” He looked at the birds for a little longer before turning his focus onto the town again. With nothing else nearly as promising in sight, he took a step forward and made his way.
The sensation of tranquility and peace, of harmony, built up inside him with each step he took. He looked around as his memories tried to make sense of the fields and mountains that, by all means, should be joggin something.. He had yet to see another living soul. The thought of his girlfriend waking up alone in the morning made its ugly appearance.
Yet, despite all that, something inside of him kept telling him that it would be all right.
Another thought crept into his head as he stepped over a large log that had a pair of bunny ears and beady eyes peeping out of one end.
It’s all a dream.
The log found itself serving as a seat as John had taken the much needed sit down. He leaned on his knees and took in his surroundings one more time. A rabbit had come out of its hole and had begun inspecting his shoe.
He felt his face curling into a smile at the sight of it. “I suppose that would explain it, wouldn’t it little guy,” he said to the rabbit as it sniffed his ankle. “No wonder I don’t recognize anything here.”
He looked up as an eagle cawed from on high. “This is the most vivid dream I’ve ever had, though. Almost like an out-of-body experience.” He looked at the rabbit. “What do you think I should do, little guy?”
The rabbit looked at him and twitched its nose before returning to its warren. John chuckled to himself and got back up. “I might as well see this to the end.” The town wasn’t too far; around an hours walk.
With a feeling of self-awareness, John noticed that everything had a fluorescent glow to it. It was faint, and only seemed to appear when you knew it was there. Colors were also more vivid to the point that they almost seemed pastel. The sensation of deja vu built up in him again.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed several clouds way up high were popping into nothingness. A rainbow moving around in the sky preceded each pop, almost as if they were—
“No way.” His eyes were the size of saucers as he finally noticed the source of the rainbow. She was a blur and, because of her similar color, nearly undetectable in the cerulean sky.
He suppressed another chuckle. And did so again. The third time he couldn’t hold it in and broke into a fit of laughter. His roarous guffaws ended up getting the flyer’s attention.
Rainbow Dash steadied her wings to a flap and slowly approached the next cloud. Her eyes were locked on the strange new creature on the edge of town. She thrust a hoof and effortlessly diffused the clump of vapor. She glided down and towards the thing that looked like it was, laughing?
With a burst from her wings she slammed onto the ground with an audible thump.
John jumped at her sudden appearance. He noticed that, standing on all fours, her head came up to about the middle of his chest. Then he immediately broke into an ear-to-ear grin.
Rainbow tilted her head and eyed the creature cautiously, carefully observing for even the slightest twitch in it’s lanky limbs. “What the hay are you supposed be?”
The grin didn’t falter in the slightest. “Hi, Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow glared at the creature in surprise, and positioned her hooves vigilantly, just in case. “OK, so you can talk. Care to explain how you know who I am?”
“Well, duh. You’re the greatest flyer,” he raised his arms in the air, “in all of Equestria, right?”
Rainbow coughed as a similar grin found its way to her muzzle. “Heck yeah, I am! You’re lookin’ at the greatest flyer ever and the future captain of the Wonderbolts, buddy.”
“Of course, of course. So if I’m not mistaken this is you town, right? Ponyville?” asked John as his eyes bounced around the buildings he could see. Town Hall and the library were visible between some of the cottages. The feeling of deja vu found its place.
“Yup! This place is—” Realization hit Rainbow like the tree she crashed into the other day. The bruises she had on her side felt fresh again. “Hey, wait a sec. You still haven’t answered who the hay you are!”
John stared at her for moment in astonishment. Normally everyone already knew who he was in his dreams. It helped remove the ever asinine activity of introductions. Then he realized that her glare returned in full force and was directed right at him. He cleared his throat and said, “Right, sorry about that. My name’s John and I’m a human.”
“Human?” asked Rainbow as she trotted around him. “You from the Hanumalayas or something? Way across the Empyrean Ocean?”
John considered this a moment. That definitely wasn’t in any of the episodes. “Yeah. We’re a bit of a minority there.” He smiled the best he could at the blue pony, which wasn’t that hard. It was like smiling at a litter of puppies running around a field of dandelions.
Rainbow held eye contact in the time she could have gone to Canterlot and back. She relaxed her guard a bit at his sincerity. ‘All right, nice to meet you, John. Sorry about that. You can’t be too careful, you know what I mean?”
He nodded in solemnity.
“You’re obviously new in town so why don’t I show you around.”
“Sure! That’d be great. Thanks, Rainbow.” He would have jumped up and down in delight had he not known it would have weirded her out.
“No problem, it’s the least I can do.” The two of them set off for town square. “So what brings you all the way out here?”
Several stories built up in John’s head. Business man seemed far fetched since he only had the clothes on his back. Jester was out of the question, he couldn’t tell a joke to save his life. Assassin was just inappropriate. Perhaps something magical would work. “I’m here to research the magic of somnambulism. I was hoping to talk to Twilight Sparkle. I hear she’s quite the sorceress here in Equestria.”
“Somnamawhat?” Rainbow looked at him with a raised brow and a bad taste in her mouth. Big words usually meant bigger egg head. “Bit of a problem there, though. Twilight’s not in town. She had to go to Canterlot on account of something the princess wants her to get done.”
“Oh,” said John as he kicked a pebble along their path. “That’s a shame. You think I’ll get to meet the others, though?”
“Others?”
“You know, the other bearers?”
Rainbow stopped dead in her tracks. “How do you know about that?” The edge in her voice could cut steel.
John raised his open palms. “The stories of what you six have been able to do are pretty popular where I come from. The way you girls defeated Nightmare Moon—”
“Princess Luna.”
“—Princess Luna, right, right, and Discord is just amazing. You girls are practically worshipped where I come from.” In a sense, and a bit literally in some cases, it was true.
Rainbow resumed her trot but kept an eye on the new guy as they walked through the rest of town. The trip was uneventful until…
“Ooof!” An orange pegasus filly with a rough fuschia mane landed with a thud as she fell from the lowest branch of a wild apple tree.
A yellow earth filly with a red mane and giant red bow and a white unicorn filly with a two-toned pink and purple mane appeared from behind the tree clutching a thin pink rope that was frayed and snapped on one end.
“You okay, Scootaloo?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Well, so much for that idea,” said Sweetie Belle she kicked the rope away.
The rest of the it looked to be tied around the Scootaloo’s barrel.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders, thought John. What luck. He nearly squeaked with delight.
“What are you fillies up to?” asked Rainbow.
Scootaloo shot up right at the voice and turned to face them. “Oh hey Rainbow! We were just, you know, climbing trees and stuff.” She said as she put on the biggest grin she could muster at the moment.
Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “Hi, Rainbow. We were flyin’ a kite when the wind picked up all of a sudden and, well, there was this tree right here.” She started to paw at the ground before she noticed John standing off to the side. “Who’s yer friend?”
“This is John, he’s visiting. Anyway, kite flying cutie mark?”
The three shook their heads.
“We were honestly just flying it for fun,” said Sweetie with an equally sweet smile.
“Where’d you even get that rope?” asked Rainbow as she picked up the frayed fibers. “Not the best choice for lifting up a pony. A pinata maybe.”
The fillies suddenly took great notice of the ground. “That’s kinda what it was actually for. We were in a real rush to find a way up there and that was the best that Pinkie had,” said Apple Bloom.
“It was pretty much the extra from the party she said she was gonna be hosting down by the Southern Streams,” added Sweetie.
“Darn it,” said said John and Rainbow. They looked at each other, one with delight, the other suspicion.
Rainbow looked into the bush of the tree. She could see it practically at the center of all the leaves and branches. “Hey, don’t worry. I’ll go get—”
“No,” said John as he blocked Rainbow with his arm. “Allow me.”
Rainbow gave him another look before folding her wings. “Alright. You macaques are supposed to be good at climbing, right?”
He ignored her comment as he found the first foothold near the base of the tree. His hand grasped the next branch as he gave a quick jump for momentum. The next three branches looked promising and he found himself even closer to the kite. He leaned over and hole in the trunk as he stepped over to the next branch. He stretched his body out, almost there. He lifted one leg to allow for more bend when finally, he got it.
Unfortunately, that was all the branch he was standing could take. The vibration from the cracks ran up his spine line lightning as he felt the distinct pull of gravity on himself. The next few moments were a blur. He felt his vision plummet and his arms and legs slam against various parts of the tree. He grazed his cheek and scratched up his arm on the way down. Finally, he landed with a solid thud at the bottom of the tree.
He sat up and looked the kite in his left hand. It was perfectly fine. Unfortunately he couldn’t quite say the same about himself. He winced as his inflamed cheek. Several parts of him were sore, maybe bruised, but otherwise still whole. No dream ever felt this painful before.
The fillies took up places around him. “You okay, mister?” asked Sweetie.
John smiled at them. “Yup. Trust me, I’ve had much worse. Here’s your kite.”
Scootaloo grabbed it in her mouth and said a muffled, “Thanks.”
“Thank you.” said Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle as they all ran off to a more empty section of Ponyville, laughing and skipping all the way.
John stood up and rubbed his neck. He looked at Rainbow. “So, what now?”
Rainbow lowered her brow and smiled as she shook her head at the newcomer. “I am trying to show you around, where do you wanna go next?”
John considered this. “I have always wanted to see Sweet Apple Acres.” He rubbed and rolled his shoulder. “Why does this hurt so much?”
Rainbow began to walk to the orchard. “What did you expect? You fell, like, seven feet down. Plus there were all those hard branches in the way.”
“Dreams never hurt like this before.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing.”
“No, you said something about, dreams?”
“It’s not important, Don’t worry about it.” He gave her a pained—physically—smile.
They walked a bit further before realization hit Rainbow once more. And the bruises flared up again. “I get it. Yeah, meeting and hanging out with somepony can seem like a dream. You’ll get over it, don’t worry.” Her head bobbed up a good inch as she put on her trademark, overconfident smirk.
The sun was nearly at its peak by the time they reached the orchard. John and Rainbow crossed the threshold of Sweet Apple Acres when they felt the ground beneath them rumble. The sounds of heavy rolling and shouting echoed and mixed through the farm. As they neared the crest of a hill, the reasons for the ruckus became clear. A small of herd of cows barreled down the narrow pathway.
“Not good!” cried Rainbow as she immediately took to the sky.
John, having no wings of his own, retreated back down the path. The fences on either side were too high for a human to jump leaving him with just his legs and and an increasingly narrow gap between him and the cows.
A voice in his head told him it would be OK. You couldn’t really get hurt in dreams, after all.
A voice in the air was unintelligible as was the reply from somewhere up the path.
The frantic moos and grunts of the beastly bovines behind him became louder as they got ever closer. He could feel the warmth and pressure of their breath on the back of his neck. His own breath started to shorten as the heat in his legs built up to near breaking point. His already sore muscles began to cry but were overwhelmed by the screams of his flight instincts.
Several fallen posts along the fence signalled his only chance. Diving with all the grace of a drunken cat, he narrowly escaped the barreling bundles of beef.
The unmistakable sounds of galloping made him jump to his feet, ready to break into another run. He looked and sighed with relief as he laid his eyes on an every familiar stetson being worn by a blonde, orange earth pony.
“Hey, ya’ll okay there?” she shouted as she closed the distance between them.
“I’m… I’m okay.” John took a few more breaths before looking Applejack in the eye. “What was that?! I mean, I know some dreams are supposed to feel life threatening but I didn;t they they could actually feel life threatening!”
Applejack took a step back as the newcomer emoted by waving his arms around him. “Pardon?”
“This is one crazy dream,” he said before chuckling to himself.
“Ah’m not too sure you’re goin’ about partner, but this ain’t no dream.”
The mental equivalent of 500 tons came crashing into his mentality as he hear those five words. More than something broke as the weight of those words came bearing down on him. “I’m sorry?” His expression was a veneer of calm as he tilted his head at Applejack.
“This ain’t a dream,” she repeated. “Your arms startin’ to get mighty twitchy there, pal.”
This isn’t a dream, he thought. This wasn’t even just any pony telling him this. This was Applejack. Honest Applejack. The one pony that, no matter what, would never ever lie. Not even in his dreams. This was something he had come to accept as fact. Nothing less.
He dropped to his knees and directed his glassy eyes towards Applejack. “I’m not dreaming?”
“No. What made ya’ll think you were?” asked Applejack as she took a step towards him.
Rainbow had landed and kept her eyes locked onto John.
“I… I remember going to sleep with my girlfriend in my arms. We just finished watching an episode of,” a bitter laugh escaped his lips, “My Little Pony.” He shook his head and buried it between his arms and legs. A massive migraine made itself known as he tried his best to work out what he was doing here. “No.”
“Umm, hey now, why don’t cha take it easy?” She bucked a nearby tree and got the best of the bunch. She poked his side. His head popped out a bit. “Apple?” She offered it with a sweet apple smile.
A shaky hand unclasped itself from the rest of him as he reached out and took the apple. “Thank you.”
“So you’re sayin’ you went to bed last night in your home and you woke up in the middle of a field just outside of Ponyville?”
John had relaxed and was now sitting against one of the orchards mightier trees. “Yes.” His face was blank as he stared at a point between the two ponies, far, far off in the distance.
“Well, chances are somethin’ magical happened. Twilight’s yer best bet here in Ponyville but she’s in Canterlot now.” She smiled at the newcomer. “Lucky for you, I gotta get goin’ to Canterlot too to deliver somethin’ fer the princess.”
Rainbow stood and stared at Applejack. “Wait, are you telling me you actually believe his story?!”
Applejack calmly turned her head and stared back with her emerald eyes. “Yes, Rainbow. I do believe him.”
Rainbow leaned back as her face went slack. “Oh.” She knew that look. Applejack could see something more. “Alright then.”
“Do ya think you could just help me get ‘im there. I don’t think he’s in any condition to be walking now.”
The midafternoon sun bathed the white walls of Canterlot and gave it a lovely luminescent glow. Applejack stepped out of the train car and approached the luggage cart. She put on the harness of a smooth, gilded car that bore her family’s traditional apple emblem.
John stepped out of the car and into the light. He straightened himself up and pulled on his shirt to eliminate even just some of the creases, He brushed off his loafers as walk down the station where he met with Applejack.
“You OK, sugarcube?”
He nodded. “Yes. Much better. Thank you.”
“Don’t you worry one bit. I’m sure Twilight can get you sorted right out,” said Applejack. She had a way of saying reassuring things like that that really made you believe you could get things sorted out.
“Plus there's the other Princesses. They’d look into it if it was particularly bad, right?”
Applejack smiled. “As far as I can tell, they’d help you in a heartbeat.”
“I’m sure I could make it worth their while, after all.” He pulled on his shirt again like he would for his business meetings. “There are plenty of things I could offer. Knowledge, especially.”
“Ah don’t think that’ll be necessary, sugarcube.”
“Maybe, but still. I’m sure I could get them to help somehow. How hard could it be, after all.” A confident smile was plastered on his face as they approached the castle. I’ve handled much worse back home.
They approached the large gatehouse of the castle. Two guards on either side eyed John appraisingly.
“It’s alright boys, he’s with me,” said Applejack.
The guards looked to each other for a moment. They looked to John one more time before nodding.
The castle was just as grand inside as it was out. WIndows that dominated the walls were bordered by fine, heavy floor to ceiling satin curtains. The floor was a shiny polished marble with a rich, red carpet neatly running down the middle. Large, ornate vases punctuated the hall they passed through as solid brass chandeliers bent and twisted into mystifying shapes filled up the corners that the sunlight couldn’t reach.
Across the hall, a large pony with a shining white coat approached them. Her mane flowed and swayed in an ethereal breeze as it glowed in the colors of an aurora. She was bedecked with a golden yoke that was embossed with jewels and threaded with bronze and silver in a tongue long since forgotten by all but her. The crown atop her head shined like a beacon without the need for light as her warm, inviting gaze landed on the two.
Applejack bowed and, to her surprise, so did John. “Princess Celestia,” they said in unison.
Celestia smiled at their cordiality as she beckoned them to rise. “Hello there, my little pony.” She looked at John. “And my young guest.”
“John, your highness.”
“A pleasure to meet you.” Her smile could melt continents. They actually probably he could, he considered.
“Here’s your order of the best darn apple fritters you’ve ever tasted, yer highness.”
“Thank you my dear,” she waved a hoof as a guardpony came up and took the cart to the kitchen. “I look forward to enjoying your wonderful creations once more.”
“Aww, shucks. Thank ya kindly, Princess Celestia.” Applejack shuffled her foot slightly as she drifted her gaze from Celestia’s eyes to a point on the wall behind her. “I brought my friend here hopin’ you might be able to help. You see—”
John cleared his throat and gave Applejack a smile and not before mouthing the words, “Thank you” to her. “You see, Princess. I don’t think I am of this world. I’m from somewhere else where everything is significantly different. Through some kind of happenstance, or magic, or whatever I seem to have found myself inexplicably here. And I have no idea how to get back.”
Celestia nodded with the wisdom of the ages. “I understand, my dear human.”
Applejack’s ears stood to attention as John stared at her with his jaw to the floor.
“You know what I am?” he asked, his voice near shaky.
“Yes. You are not the first.”
John’s eyes lit up like Celestia’s sun. “So you know how I can go home?”
“That, I’m afraid, is where the complications begin.” She made her way to a window.
“What do you mean? Can’t you do whatever you did to the last human?”
“Transdimensional magic, without any solid anchors, is very very dangerous, you see. The last human here was, like you, determined to get home. My magical researchers and I performed a number of experiments to try and get her home. After all, such capabilities would have countless benefits for Equestria.”
She looked out the window and at the maze garden. John walked up to her and saw what she was staring at.
Celestia’s voice cracked slightly. “She didn’t last too long. We were close and she was so adamant with the fatal experiment. We checked everything more than ten times to make sure it was safe.” She looked away from the garden. “The results were not ideal. We learned we weren’t even close to our goal that day.”
“But.” John shook his head. “But you can’t just give up. Not like that. You’re Princess Celestia. Bringer of the sun and grand diarch of Equestria. The light of your ponies lives, you can’t just say you gave up.”
Celestia gaze went beyond steel and into some otherworldly metal. “I did not just give up, young human. I already told, you are not the first, and neither was she.”
“Then continue where you left off. Please.” He got on his knees and grasped the Princess’ fetlocks. “I have too much to lose.”
Celestia herself knelt and brought her eyes to be level with his. “I understand what you are going through, my dear human. But some things simply cannot be done.” Too many names, too many faces flashed before the royal’s eyes.
John shot to his feet. “No. There must be something out there! Some kind of magical artifact or doohickey or whatever!” He turned and ran straight out the door of the hall.
“John!” shouted Applejack as she watched the doors swing closed. “Princess?”
Celestia sighed as a yellow aura enveloped her horn. In a flash, she and Applejack stood in John’s way. “John.”
“Come on, Princess, I know something is out there. Maybe its another mirror, or maybe some kind of forgotten magic, or maybe—”
“There is no other. I have had far more time than necessary to find that out. I have searched every corner of the world yet I never found a way to reverse whatever it is that brings you humans here.”
John shook his head vigorously. “No no no no no no.” There has to be something I just have to go out there and—”
“I’m sorry,” said the Princess as she touched the poor being with her horn.
John shook and convulsed as the spell took effect on him. A moment later, he was an unconscious heap on the floor.
“I think it may be best to bring him back to Ponyville,” said Celestia as she nudged the poor being with her hoof. “Perhaps Fluttershy may be able to help ease him.”
Applejack nodded as she stared at the human.
John felt softness underneath him and a calm, femenin humming coming from the other room. His eyes opened as he vaguely recognized the room he was in. Did he finally wake up from that bizarre dream. He sat up and look past the couch and noticed a yellow pegasus pony preparing something on a stove.
Nope, he thought. Wasn’t a dream, after all.
The pink-maned pegasus noticed the two new eyes that were looking at her. She looked back at them. When the pancakes were placed and the syrup poured, she trotted over to the couch and observed her new charge. “Good morning,” she said as sweet as the syrup.
John didn’t answer. His brows were scrunched up and his lips were frowning. “I expected you to be shier.”
Fluttershy tilted her head. “It’s usually just ponies I get shy around.”
He scoffed. “But not people? Riiight.”
“Would you like something to eat?” she asked with a smile.
The flatness of his looked would have beaten paper. “Fine.” With particularly heavy steps, he made his way to the table and sat on the chair. It felt weird and was obviously not created with a biped in mind. He grabbed a fork and ate. It tasted like hay and molasses. They’re ponies. What else could I have possibly expected.
“Um.” Fluttershy trotted a bit closer. “So Applejack told me about you and your, uh, mysterious circumstances.”
Without facing her, he said, “Did she? And what did honest ol’ Applejack have to say about me?”
“Well,” she said as she started running her hoof across the floor, “she told me how you woke up in the middle of a field. And how you’re from some other world. And about your meeting with the Princess.”
He placed the fork firmly back on the table as he leaned on the meager backrest.
“So, ummm, do you think you’ll ever go home?” Fluttershy hazarded.
“I doubt it.”
“Couldn’t the Princess—”
“No. The pathetically puny princess of your refused to help. Apparently I wasn’t the first and she had given up on my cause long before I even showed up here.”
“Oh, well I’m sure she’ll—”
His head turned and the heat of his gaze bore right into Fluttershy. “She’ll what? She’ll wave her magic horn an everything’ll be all better? Some kind of magic mirror is just gonna fall out of the sky and it’ll just so happen to lead where I need to go?”
Fluttershy cleared her throat. “Well, no, what I meant was that—”
“Apparently I should just give up. Just like that! It doesn’t matter about the friends or family I’ll never see again. It doesn’t matter about the life I’m losing. Nope. Just because some fancy schmancy royal doesn’t feel like it?! HUH?! IS THAT—”
Fluttershy did something she did not like. Her glare intensified like a supernova funneled into a pinprick. She used the stare. “That is not what I am trying to say. I’m sure the Princess has a perfectly good reason for why she can’t do it. Now if you wouldn’t mind behaving, you are scaring the other animals.”
John’s gaze withered like a noodle. He looked away, dejected, and stood up. He growled as a bluejay tried to get near him. The door slammed shut on his way out causing a few knick knacks to get knocked out of place. From out the door, he heard the distinct sound of sobbing from the inside.
His gaze softened slightly as he looked back at the door. His hand was halfway at the knob when he stopped himself. He shook his head and walked away. He walked down the path of the cottage that led to a brook. A hapless frog sa on rock jutting out of the stream.
He brought his foot back and readied himself. He stared at the frog’s backside and its blissful unawareness. His body started shaking as he tried to bring his foot forward.
The loafer made a wooden smack on the cobble pathway. “Whatever,” he said as he made his way farther and farther from the house.
He stomped through the grass and glared at a pair of birds, dutifully guarding a nest. He grabbed a fairly large stick and scared away any small woodland critter that tried to get near him. Occasionally he had to mix it a growl or shout to get them to leave his presence.
He walked and walked and walked. The path behind him was easily marked by thick holes in the fields that he had stepped in.
He found a log near the edge of a forest and took the opportunity to sit down. Thoughts began to invade his mind. An uncaring Celestia. Of useless ponies. A quest, driven hopeless before it could even start. Relationships he would never see again. Opportunities forever lost. A family he would never be able to start.
Fluttershy, silently weeping behind a closed door.
The rage inside of him built up until he fel ready to explode. He was angry at the Princess. He was angry at Equestria. He was angry at the universe for forcing this down his throat. He was angry that he couldn’t do anything about it. He was angry at himself.
The pressure was too much as the dams burst. A tear rolled down his cheek and sparkled as it made its way to the soil below. He held his head as more and more came forth. His breath turned ragged as the sobs came in between.
He raised his head and looked at the forest that stood before him.
The Everfree Forest.
He got up and walked inside.
The inside of the forest was just about as frightening as he expected. The canopy was thick that barely enough light filtered in. Whatever did manage ended up in various colors as gases, fumes and other pheromones coated the air you breathed. The brush undeneath dominated its territory and was so thick it seemed impossible to reach the bottom.
The trees were dark and emitted a maleficent aura as they surrounded you from all side, waiting for you to look away. Every now and again a roar echoed throughout the forest, its source indistinguishable as the acoustics masked it.
John crept carefully through it all. He stepped over weeds, rocks, pointed weeds, pointed rocks, and the occasional carrion. The place was wild and so were his eyes as they scanned everything for even the slightest threat.
A shiver travelled down his spine as we walked over a particular rock.
He went past a tree when he heard a menacing growl from behind. He turned his head and saw two red eyes, their irises focused on him. A lump went down his throat as he stared at the eyes. Something moved in the darkness and so did he.
He panted as he jumped over rock, stone, and fern. He took a left, then a right. The sound of smaller trees being brought down by big, massive claws echoed out and implored him to run faster.
His breath became ragged once more as his head and sides began to suffer spasms. He had no water, no food, and was probably going to be food anytime now. A section of a wall of ferns were bent as he jumped straight through it.
Running, jumping, evading. Those three words kept a constant echo in his head as he heard the heavy footsteps of whatever it was chasing him. He burst through another wall of ferns and quickly grabbed the closest tree branch and held on for dear life.
The predator jumped out, it’s massive furry body gaining one last look at its would be pray as it plummeted down the deep ravine. He let out one last howl of defiance as it starred John in the eye.
He carefully let himself down and leaned against the tree. The chance to relax finally made itself apparent. He scooted over to the ledge and looked down. The sight didn’t bother him. In fact, it seemed to invite him.
He stared down into the deep blackness below. The abyss, in turn, stared back at him through the haze, fog, and darkness. Calling to his most base desires.
Higher thought entered the fray and started to consider. Were they really so base? He thought about his situation.
He was alone.
He was lost.
He had nowhere to go.
He would never see his loved ones ever again.
His life was over.
This wasn’t his choice, and it definitely wasn’t his fault.
Why should take the blame that he quit? It was the universe that brought him to it.
The darkness called to him once again. All he had to do was lean over just a teensy tiny bit more and it would be done. This wasn't his world, after all. Who would even miss him? His world was nothing more than empty words now.
Meaningless in this society, but worth so much in a world he’d never be able to return to.
It was the easiest way out. Past the pain and suffering. Past the tedium and heartbreak. Past all the bad.
It was deliverance.
He felt his muscles relaxing as gravity began to to the rest. It was so easy.
“WHATCHA DOIN?” shouted a voice from above.
His body tensed up as he swung his head around and around, looking for the source of the voice. Finally, on a branch just above him, was a bright pink pony with an even pinker curly mane.
“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie.” Her cerulean eyes glittered as they looked at him like he was the crown jewel. They darted between him and the gorge. She curled her lip and pouted at him. “Please don’t tell me you were…”
John’s eyes shot open as he too looked from the rigging to the pony. “No,” he said while smiling and shaking his head. “Of course not.”
She smiled back. “Good, because that would be terrible.”
He scoffed bitterly. “Yeah.”
“So what are you doing here anyway?”
“I guess I just wanted to be alone.” He looked away from the pink pony as he completed his sentence.
Pinkie tilted her head and looked at him. “Why? Don’t you have any friends?”
John shook his head. “Not here. Back at home.”
“So why don’t you go back home?”
He glared at a plant in front of him. “I can’t. The Princess said so.”
“Oh. Well that’s too bad.”
“Yeah.”
“Hmmm,” PInkie scratched her chin in thought. “Why don’t you make new friends? Oh! I can be your first!” She had a massive grin on as she said that.
John looked at her with a smile. “I wish it was that easy.”
“It is.”
He looked at her incredulously. “ I don’t think you understand, Pinkie. I’ll never see them again. I’m all alone.”
“And I don't think you understand, John. I’m telling you you’re not alone. You can have plenty of friends here too.” she said in mock incredulousness.
“You can’t expect me to just forget about them, can you?”
“I never asked you to forget. I said to make more friends.”
He stared at the mass of pink on the tree. “It’s not that simple. I can’t just keep adding to—”
“Why not?” she interjected.
“What?”
“Why can’t you just keep adding?
“It’ll be too much. No one is capable having that many.”
“I can manage it.”
“You’re different.”
“How?”
“You’re a pony,” he said flatly.
“Pffffft.” Pinkie snorted slightly. “Person, pony it doesn’t matter.”
“Yes it does.”
“Nope. You just think it does. It doesn’t.”
“Alright, explain,” he challenged.
“You believe in true love?”
He smiled wistfully as he thought of her. “Yes.”
“It goes on forever and forever, right?”
He raised his eyebrow at where she seemed to be taking this. “Sure.”
“Friendship is kinda like that too, right? True ones last you way more than a lifetime?”
“Yeah?”
“So why are you putting a limit on something you're saying is infinite?”
He opened his mouth to say something but found himself at a loss for words.
Pinkie continued, “I’m not asking you to forget and I’m not asking you to make room either. You just have to realize that there will always be room because there’ll never not be! Friendship is something you can never have enough of and it’s also something you can never give away enough.”
He looked at his feet for a moment before looking up at the pink pony. She stared back at him with her simple, cerulean eyes. He saw so much more behind them in that moment.
He tilted his head as her pink form slowly seemed to fade until there was nothing more than the grin. After a while, that faded too.
“Oh, Pinkie Pie,” he said to himself as he got up and brushed off his shirt. It was more brown than green and his pants were ripped in all sorts of places. His left shoe had lost its sole somewhere in the jungle. But none of it mattered. He wasn’t lonely after all.
Dear Princess Celestia,
It’s been a while since I last wrote to you. I finally found that ‘human’ named John you mentioned. He was an interesting character to say the least. I got to talk to him a lot, especially about the possibilities of transdimensional travel. The magic and technique is sketchy with plenty of holes and even more room for something to go wrong.
I explained all this to him and he took it much better than I expected. I even got to know more about him from his life and how he found Equestria. He said he wouldn’t stay though, that he would like to wander around for a bit. I understood and gave him a few books to help him understand how things work. I also gave him enough bits to get him started on his journey, wherever it might take him. His train left for Manehattan an hour ago.
As I talked to him, I even managed to learn something. When you’ve lost something you may never get back, it’s only natural for you to dwell on it. But eventually you will have to put it aside. Life doesn’t end with loss.
But moving on isn’t about knowing where to go next. It’s about having the courage to choose to take another step forward. And, despite what we may tend to think, there will always be someone there by your side, you probably just don’t realize it.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.
Author's Note
Here's a bit of an experiment. What did you think?
