Equivalence of Two Worldsby MuranuseChapters1 The Trip There2 First day (or minutes)3 Waking Up4 The Events Before 'The Trip There'5 Breakfast and Discovery6 Back to Ponyville7 I can't do Applebucking1 The Trip ThereMy name is Jonah Carswell. I used to be what you would consider a nerd – although I wouldn't necessarily class myself as one. But anyway, enough about me. I was returning from the competition in a tech conference. In that competition I had won 3rd place with a prize of a solar charging station and a laser. But it wasn't announced that the laser would be part of the prize. Apparently it was donated by an anonymous donor which was to be given to the winner of the 3rd place in the competition. Unfortunately, it didn't work. I was pondering over the intent of the donor when a man ran into me. For a second I wanted to ask the man what he was doing, before I was overcome by a wave of intense fear – like the kind you get in a very bad nightmare. Then I realised that the man who ran into me was actually a teenage girl. Then for some reason I started to chase her. Sure, I was curious, but I never would chase anyone, for any reason. I had this strange feeling which words can barely describe. I felt like I wasn't in control of my body - like I was acting purely on instinct. The only explanation I could come up with was dark magic, and I didn't like it. As a scientific person, I liked having a logical explanation for everything. Like if the front door suddenly slams shut, some would say it was a ghost, but I would say that the wind was causing a difference in the air pressure, therefore moving the door at a sufficient velocity to shut it. Or if you rubbed a balloon on your head and put it on a wall, you would find it stuck. Some would say it was magic, I would say it was the static electricity built up on the balloon after you rubbed it on your head, which was attracted to the wall thus causing it to stick. Or even... Well, I think you get the picture; I don't believe in the super-natural, or magic. Especially magic. I continued to chase her. She weaved expertly through the alleyways and buildings. After a few minutes, I felt myself tire, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not slow myself down. It felt like a scene out of "Nanny McPhee". I saw that the she was tiring and slowing down too. She then started heading to the bridge. "Maybe the whole incident has something to do with all the lights I've seen?" I thought to myself. A few days ago, I was walking from school back home, taking a detour to avoid some people who kept trying to invite to the park. I never understood this concept of "Hanging Out". It seemed like a waste of time when you could be studying or working on a project. I saw that there were strange flashes of light coming from the bridge. It creeped me out, as I didn't have a logical explanation. She stopped in the middle of the bridge, panting for breath. The thing which happened next was probably the most humiliating thing I have ever done in my entire life. I tackled her over the bridge. That's right, I tackled her over the bridge. But the strange thing is that I don't think anyone saw me do it. You see, there when I went onto the bridge, I saw a strange, black for encase the bridge. But it happened the second I put my foot onto it. "Must be some sort of cloak..." I thought to myself Then it happened. I would have hit myself for doing that if I was still in control of my body. As soon as we went over, I felt time slow down. With that I also felt like something big was going to happen, but not that I was going to die. Why I thought that, I didn't know A bright flash blinded me temporarily. Then I felt time speed up again. "Oh no!" *SPLASH! * The air got knocked out of my lungs. I landed on the sharp rocks on the river bed. I took a deep breath to yell for help, but instead I got my lungs full of water. I already felt my thoughts get blurry. While I could still think, I made a mental list of the injuries I sustained that day. My logic, possibly damaged beyond repair. My dignity, also possibly damaged beyond repair. Bruised my body. Cut my body . My lungs, drowned in water. "Yup, definitely a good way to end the day (!)" I thought sarcastically. All that I remembered before I completely passed out was being lifted out the water, and all the water being pushed out of my lungs. All went black. 2 First day (or minutes)When I woke up, I was greeted to a battered body, and a rather light head. "I must have bled quite a lot…" I thought out loud. Someone – or something – must have heard me, as I heard footsteps coming up a set of stairs. However, something wasn't quite right with the footsteps. I wasn't able put my finger on it though, since my brain wasn't exactly working at full efficiency. Before I had a chance to puzzle over it for too long, I heard a young, female voice say "I see you've woken up." I opened my eyes for a split second before I closed them again from sheer pain. "Oww…" I exclaimed. From the tiny, blurred glimpse I got, there were 3 figures. One pink, one lavender and one blue and rainbow coloured. I also noticed that the colours were more vivid, more cartoonish. It just didn't seem real. I tried to sit up, but I was interrupted. "Don't sit up! You need to rest, you were bleeding for quite a while." "At least that answers one question!" I thought to myself. "Where am I?" I asked. "You are in the 'Golden Oak Library'." The voice answered. I didn't recognise that place. Yet, for some reason, it seemed familiar. Maybe I had visited this place in a dream? I don't know. "Where is that?" "In Ponyville." "Ponyville?" I scoffed. "You're having a laugh!" "Nope…" said another female voice."You are in the one and only, Ponyville! Guarded by yours truly." She said proudly. "You definitely are!" said another voice, full of excitement and glee. Then the truth smacked me in the face like a fish. "You mean I am in a land full of talking Ponies?" "And Pegasi and Unicorns and Alicorns…" The third female continued. I chuckled. "Of all the weird dreams I've had lately, this is by far, the weirdest." I fell asleep with no recollection of this encounter. When I woke up again, it was already night. I could open my eyes again, and my head didn't feel as light, but I still felt fatigued. I subconsciously recognised this place and knew this was not a dream. I saw light shining from the stairs, and still half asleep, started to walk down them. I fully awoke to a bunch of feathers in my face from an owl. "AAAHH!" I yelled. "WHOO!" The owl hooted. "Owlowiscious!" said a worried female voice "Owlowiscious? I never haven't heard that one before!" I thought to myself. A lavender coloured unicorn came to the bottom of the stairs. "You are a-a unicorn?" I said in shock. "Yes, why is that surprising?" the unicorn asked. "A talking unicorn?!" I couldn't believe what was happening. I had fallen off a bridge, and suddenly I saw everyone as a pony. "Well, yes. I am." She said in an irritated tone. "And you're a talking earth pony". "I'm a WHAT?!" I exclaimed. Never in my entire life had I heard anything a preposterous as that. "If you don't believe me, go look in the mirror." She said in a surprisingly calm voice. I continued down the stairs, apparently on all fours, but at the minute, I couldn't care less. At the landing, there was a mirror. The second I looked at it, my jaw nearly hit the floor. Inside the mirror, there was a charcoal black pony, with dragon green eyes. He also had a navy blue mane with a lightning yellow stripe, and a matching tail. This disproved everything I believed in for the whole of the 13 years of my life. "Tell me this is not happening…" I asked, depressed at just how crazy everything was "Sorry?" the unicorn said. "Tell me I'm just going mad…" "Well, this is definitely happening, and I'm pretty sure that you are not going mad." I groaned. "What's wrong? Are you disappointed that you are an earth pony, or that you are a pony in general." "The latter…" I replied in a sad voice. "Come…" she invited me. "I am sure you have a lot of questions." She then cleared the table of her books. But it's how she cleared the table. All the books and scrolls started to get a shimmering lavender glow around them, before they started to levitate to where they came from. "How- how did you do that?" I stammered. "Magic." "But magic doesn't exist!" She turned around, looked like she was deep in thought, them started grinning. "Magic doesn't exist, does it?" She asked me rhetorically. "Well then, how do you explain this?" Her horn started to glow with a lavender tint, before me myself started to glow. "Oh no…" I said quietly before I started to levitate. I wouldn't have minded that, but when I started to turn upside down, then I minded. "AAHHHH!" I yelled, in surprise "Ok, ok! I admit. Magic seems to exist!" I yelled, in hope that she would put it down. Apparently, that was enough for her, and she slowly put me down. "First of…" I asked. "Who are you?" "My name is Twilight Sparkle, and the little dragon over there is Spike." She said pointing to a basket with a purple dragon with green spikes, snoring peacefully away. "Spike helps me during the day, and Owlowiscious helps me during the night. I think you accidentally met her." "Indeed I did." I replied. "Anyway, what happened back there?" I asked "Back where? Oh yes, 5 days ago." "5 – days?" I asked "Have I really been out that long? "Yes, or 6, in 3 hours." "I wonder if they started searching for me yet?" I wondered. "I wish I could just be human again…" I saw a bright flash. Then came a wave of extreme weakness, before I collapsed. "What in Equestria?!" I heard Twilight shout, before I passed out. Again. 3 Waking UpI woke up (again) feeling better than last time. However, I still had a pile of questions, considering the hour I was actually awake during the week. My main question being: "What am I doing in this 'Equestria' and how did I get here?" I deduced the fact that I am in Equestria from when Twilight the night before said: "What in Equestria?" instead of "What on earth?" before I passed out from exhaustion. I smiled to myself, knowing that I had recovered enough to think properly again. When I opened my eyes, I noticed that the room I was in was more decorated, more exquisite. I saw that I was lying in a four poster bed, with velvet draping down its sides. Beside it was a bedside table, with an alarm and candle holder. By the door was a wardrobe; made of a wood I didn't recognise. ("Maybe this 'Equestria' is another name for Narnia?"). Before I had a chance to observe my surroundings, I heard hoof steps coming quickly. Out of the door burst a pink pony. "AAAAHH!" I yelled, nearly jumping out of my bed. In the space of 30 seconds I went from wondering where I was to having a largely overexited pony to jump onto my bed. The pony had frizzy pink hair with a matching tail, and a strange mark with party balloons and streamers on (I hate it when I use stereotypes) her flank. "Did you actually do it?" she asked me really quickly. "Did you actually morph?" Without giving me a chance to reply, she continued on relentlessly. "How did it feel? How did you do it? Can you do it again? Can you morph into anything? Can you morph into ME?" The somewhat distant yell of "PINKIE!" mercifully ended her interrogation. "Pinkie…" said a soft voice coming from the staircase beyond the door. A yellow Pegasus flew up and landed. "He has only really been awake for less than 10 minutes here. Give him a chance to recover." "Oops!" Pinkie said sheepishly "Sorry!" She apologised. "Thank you." I thanked the yellow Pegasus. Another Pegasus flew up the stairs, shortly followed by 3 other tired ponies. "I hope Pinkie didn't wake you up." Twilight asked. "Not really, I was about to get out anyway" I answered. "Seeing as we are all together now, I think we should introduce ourselves" Twilight suggested. The rest of the ponies nodded in agreement. "My name is Rainbow Dash." Said a light blue Pegasus, with a rainbow coloured mane and matching tail. Her mark was a cloud with a rainbow coloured lightning bolt. "My name is Applejack" said an orange pony with a southern accent. She had white freckles on her face and a stetson hat covering her pale mane. Her mark was 3 apples. "My name is Rarity" said a white unicorn in a semi-posh voice. She had a curly, indigo mane. Her mark was 3 diamonds. "My name is Fluttershy" said a Pegasus in a quiet voice. She had a curly pink mane, and mark with 3 butterflies on it. "My name is Pinkie Pie!" said Pinkie excitedly, bouncing up and down. "My name is Spike" said a purple dragon with green spikes, jumping down from Twilight's back. "My name is Princess Celestia…" said one of the… Well, I don't really know what she was! She was a sort of Pegasus-Unicorn hybrid. Either way, I didn't hear them coming. She was pale white, with a light shimmering mane. Her mark was a stylised sun. "Princess of the sun and day…" I thought. "And my name is Princess Luna" said the other. She was navy blue. She also had the same shimmering mane as Princess Celestia, but it was also blue. "…and Princess of the moon and night." I instinctively jumped out of bed and kneeled on one knee. "Your majesties…" I said respectfully. Princess Celestia giggled. "At ease…" She commanded. "In the 'Guest Room', we are all equals". I stood back up. "Thank you" I replied. "Although there are a few things which confuse me." "What are they?" Celestia asked. "The last thing I remembered was that I was on the ground floor of the 'Golden Oak Library', then there was a bright flash and I collapsed. What happened there?" Luna replied "I think Twilight has the answer to your question." "While you're at it, can you tell me what happened at the bridge?" Twilight paused for a bit to order her thoughts, then answered "Okay, here is what happened..." 4 The Events Before 'The Trip There'Twilights Point of View. …"The last thing I remember is that I was on the ground floor of the 'Golden Oak Library', then there was a bright flash and I collapsed. What happened there?" asked the – well, Being (for lack of a better word). At the moment, he was a male earth pony. Luna answered "I think Twilight has the answer to your question." She was partially right. I do have an idea to how it may have happened, but I wasn't too sure. "While you are at it, Twilight, can you please tell me what happened at the bridge?" Asked the Being I paused for a while to order my thoughts, then said. "Ok, this is what happened…" "6 months ago, I was sent to the human world by Celestia to see how much it had changed in the last 30 years. Apparently, I was not the first one to arrive there, but I didn't know it then. That person started attacking me with magic and I retaliated. Before I knew it, we were in a magic duel. That duel had attracted that worlds police force's attention, so I had to use all the magic I had left to close the bridge. Unfortunately that spell, especially when you are tired, has side effects. It had turned me into a human. When I woke up, I was in a sort of prison cell. My magic had recovered a bit. However, I was still a human. I didn't know whether I could use magic or not, but I didn't want to find out at the present time. The majority of humans are not ready to find out about us. Although sometimes you end up finding out before you are fully ready..." Everybody looked at the Being, who smiled sheepishly in return. "A short while later, a guard unlocked the cell and said 'The director will see you now'. I was about to ask the guard who the Director was. Almost in answer, a man in a suit came into view. I stood up to greet him. When I stood up, his jaw dropped. 'H-how? You shouldn't be walking for at least 3 months! How can you walk with such a badly fractured leg?!' My guess was that my unicorn magic had something to do with it, but I thought it was better not to say much. I sighed and said 'I don't think humans are ready to know yet.' 'Wait, by saying that, are you implying you are not a human? But that would not make sense, all the X-rays and medical test checked out fine, apart from the leg... But that's beside the point. Are you an alien- or extra-terrestrial of some sort?' 'No, I am not from space. All I will say is that I am from another dimension.' 'Which is?' I gave a smile 'Narnia'. 'You are not actually from Narnia, are you?' he deadpanned 'No, I am not, and I told you, I won't say much more.' 'Very well, at least, what's your name?' I debated whether to lie or not, but in the end I decided to tell the truth. 'My name is Twilight Sparkle.' When I said that, he seemed to jump up a little. 'Well, Miss Sparkle, looks like my little interrogation has ended. Sorry that I can't return the favour and tell you my name.' He promptly left I overheard the Director say 'I want 24/7 surveillance on the prisoner'. The guard opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted. 'I don't care. Just make it done. Something doesn't sit right with me about her…' What the guard was about to say: "Did you actually believe her name? It's from My Little Pony for crying out loud!" *gets cut off* "Okay, so you did believe it… I don't know what to think now…" *realises I am reading his thoughts* "Author, CAN YOU PLEASE GET OUT MY PRIVATE THOUGHTS?!" Oops, sorry. I should have asked. Don't worry, this will be just between the both of us (and the other readers of this story). "Wait, what?" Time to leave! Back to 'Reality' "After a couple of days, I heard the Director approach my cell. "We know barely anything about Twilight. We don't even know for sure what she actually is!" There was a brief pause. "I cannot dissuade your Majesty, can I? 'You cannot' replied a really posh voice. Probably the Queen of England. 'Very well Your Majesty. You do this at your own risk.' The Queen walked into my cell. 'Good morning, Miss. Twilight Sparkle.' 'Good morning. What is your name, if I may ask?' I knew she was a member of royalty, but I was still a bit curious. 'My name is Queen Elizabeth the Second of England. If you would like to follow me.' The Queen asked the director 'Is there anywhere where one may talk privately with Miss. Twilight Sparkle? He paused for a while, before replying 'Yes, Your Majesty, please follow me.' And we did. We walked down through several corridors before we arrived to a door which was marked: 'Conference Room A'. The Queen told the Director 'Should the conversation I am about to have with Miss. Twilight Sparkle be recorded, or in any other way stored, one shall not be too pleased.' 'Very well, please wait a couple of moments…' The Director spoke into a little box with a small antenna sticking out of it 'Control Room, please disengage recording equipment in 'Conference Room A'. Authentication code: Alfa Papa – 9 8- Zulu Kilo –November 1 – Beta Beta'. A tinny voice came from the box 'Authentication code accepted. Recording equipment has been disengaged. Is there anything else?' 'No, that will be all.' Queen Elizabeth entered the room, with me following. 'So, how is Celestia's faithful student?' she asked, in a less posh voice 'How - how did you know?' I stammered. 'When I became Queen, Princess Celestia visited me. At first, I thought that I was just hallucinating from the stress of the coronation, but she was real. Anyway, how did you end up here?' I told her about how I was sent to the human dimension, the duel with the unknown person and how I had to close the bridge, which transformed me into a human. 'How did that person look like?' Queen Elizabeth asked, clearly looking woried. 'I don't really remember. I think he was about 1 and a half meters tall. I can't really describe him. Sorry. I just wish I could tell Celestia about this. She would know what to do…' 'It's alright. I don't know too much about Equestrian magic, but when you go back to Equestria, you should turn back to your normal self. Also, even in your human form, you can still use your magic.' 'So I can teleport back to where the bridge was?' 'Yes, but back in your cell, you couldn't. It was lined with a magic inhibiting material, in case any rouge Equestrians somehow came here. It was sheer luck that you ended up in that specific cell.' 'Well, thank you for all you have done. I think I should get going.' I thanked her Before I teleported, a worrying thought popped into my head. 'But what will the Director say when I am gone?' 'Don't worry, I am the Queen, am I not?' She re-assured me. And so, I teleported away. When I arrived at the bridge, I noticed that nearly all the magic in it previously had faded away. I cast the spell to re-activate it. However, it would take an hour for the magic to saturate it. To prevent it attracting any attention, I also cast a cloak over it. That had nearly exhaust my magic. Because I had nothing better to do, I decided to walk around a bit, to explore. I found that the buildings were a lot smaller and more densely built, suggesting that the population had grown since the last report was made on the Human dimension. When the hour was nearly up, I was heading back to the bridge. I saw that person who attacked me, and immediately started running away. I didn't want another duel; I was too weak. He cast a weak, but dangerous spell on me. It was a Mental Erosion spell, which as the name suggests, made you lose your mind. Normally, I would have easily been able to resist that spell, but me being in the Human dimension, along with having very little magic left, meant that it was slowly eating away at my mind. It started making me lose control over my magic. Because of that, I also lost control over my Mist, which could disguised into another being. In this case, it was a male human. Since I wasn't watching where I was going in my panic, I bumped into you." I said. Partially to tell the story, partially to apologise to the Being. "Unfortunately, that rubbed part of the spell onto you. Since you didn't have any magical resistance, it acted a lot quicker on you, but fortunately not as fast as it normally would. Normally it would fry your mind in seconds. After that, for some reason, you started chasing me. I don't really know why, but I would guess it was the spell influencing you. Then we arrived at the bridge. The magic had not yet fully saturated, so it would be a one-way trip. I was so glad to have arrived and so out of breath, that I didn't notice you behind me. When I got tackled, I realised that I had to activate the bridge, whether it was ready or not. And I did The moment I returned, I felt my magic replenish, immediately countering the Mental Erosion spell. I teleported to the mud on the riverbank to take the force of the fall. I saw you in the river, choking on the water and suddenly felt really angry that you had nearly killed me. I was going to leave you there. But, I couldn't. When you were in the river, I don't know how to describe it. It was like something was being torn off me. I used my magic to take you out and to get the water out of your lungs. Then for some reason, that tearing feeling stopped. Shortly after I took you out of the river, you started to turn into a substance, which I don't know how to describe. You kept your shape, but you changed. Your colour became a dark blue, with white dots on it – like the night sky. You then started - melting into what you are right now. It was a bit like how Luna changes into Nightmare Moon. When I remembered that your condition was still critical, I immediately took you to hospital. I told Doctor Horse that you that you were a Human, and that you managed to come to Equestria because of a spell which made you lose your mind. He didn't ask any questions, and immediately took you to the Accident and Emergency department. After the examination, and an operation, Doctor Horse told me you had a lucky escape. You brain had a build-up of lactic acid - an effect of the spell-, you broke 3 ribs and you lost a quarter of your blood. He told me if I hadn't brought you there, you would have almost certainly died. The next day, I felt like something had leached off my magic during the night. It was probably effects of returning to Equestria. The torn feeling I had was also gone aswell. I was preparing going to the hospital to check up on you, when Doctor Horse came. I invited him in. 'How is the patient?' I asked him 'That's the reason why I am here.' He replied. 'Is he alright?' 'He has made an unbelievable recovery! All the lactic acid has been neutralised, his ribs have healed and all the cuts have healed without any scars! The only thing is that his blood hasn't regenerated…' 'How is it even possible to heal that fast?' I asked. 'That's why I came to you. This obviously involves some magic, and you know more than I do on that.' 'Well, he is an earth pony, so he couldn't have done that himself. The only reasonable explanation is that a third party is involved.' 'Do you have any clue to as what it may be?' 'Sorry…' I replied. 'None what so ever.' 'However…' I asked. 'Is he stable enough for him to be transferred here, so I can, well, study him? I want to see whether there are any magical residues on him, and if there are, where they came from.' 'I believe so. All you need to do is to sign the release papers.' And so I did. The physical examination showed that you were in every way, an earth pony. However, your magic is more of a unicorns. Instead of it being a low frequency, it was a high one. That shouldn't happen, but it was one of the wonders of magic. And then the next day, you shortly woke up, before falling asleep again. Then four days later, you had woken up again, and that's when you passed out. What I think happened is that you had used a morph spell. That is a very difficult spell to use, one which I think took too much out of you." "O-kay…" said the Being. "I got a lot more than I bargained for. I think now would be the best time tell you my name. My name is Jonah Carswell." "Jonah Carswell… Where have I heard that before?" I thought out loud. I honestly think I knew him. But where from? That is a question that will bug me for a long time. "I get that a lot." He answered, shruging. "But at least tell me, why did you tell me that much? And how did you memorise the conversations?" "Come to think of it, how did I do it?." As soon as I said that, a projectile flew through the window and impaled itself into the wall, making us all jump. It was a pencil with a piece of parchment wrapped around it. I used my magic to take the parchment and I read it. "She said all that because I wanted her to. -Muranuse" "Who is this 'Muranuse', and why did he want me to say all that?" I asked. Pinkie said in a loud whisper "Don't question the writer." "What? Never mind…" I said remembering that Pinkie was Pinkie. "Anyway..." said Jonah "When is breakfast? I mean, I haven't eaten for a week now!" Celestia answered "I was wondering when you would ask that. Follow me." 5 Breakfast and Discovery"So…" I asked. "Where are we headed?" "The Royal Kitchens" Celestia answered. "Our knowledge on Humans is extremely limited, this includes their diet." "Ah… Well, humans –unlike Equines – are Omnivores…" Celestia, Luna and the Mane Six shifted uncomfortably. I was expecting this reaction, seeing as they were Herbivores and not used to butchery. "However…" I continued. "Many Humans survive by getting protein from other sources: such as fish or dairy." They were clearly relieved. "What did you honestly think I was going to eat you?" "Well…" began Rainbow Dash, but didn't finish. "I guess you did. Besides, I find that meat takes too long to digest, especially in the morning. I prefer to eat something like cereals with milk, or porridge." "So humans eat similar food to us?" Celestia asked "Yeah, pretty much…" I answered. "Although Humans can't digest fibre, so grass and hay is out." "That should not be a problem, I run Sweet Apple Acres – a farm which grows mainly apples." Said Apple Jack. "Who is for blueberry pancakes?" asked Pinkie randomly in usual exited self. "Blueberry pancakes? Oh man, I haven't had those in absolutely AGES!" I exclaimed, my stomach growling in agreement. "Blueberry pancakes it shall be." Concluded Celestia. "Those were – The. Best. Pancakes. EVER!" I said contently. "I'm glad you thought so, dear…" Replied Rarity "Those were Pinkies favourite recipe." "They were!" said the overexcited pink pony. "Well, now that breakfast is over, there any tests you would like to run on me?" I asked, remembering all the sci-fi novels I read, where the humans would run countless tests on aliens. "All the tests were run when you were asleep." Said Twilight. "Luna managed to run the mental tests while you were dreaming." "Your dreams were – well, a bit random." Continued Luna "So I wasn't able to run the verbal tests." Then it occurred to me. "Wait, I am not speaking in English. How did I learn to speak, whatever this language is?" "Good question. To be honest, I was hoping you would know" said Twilight. I sighed, putting that question on my ever-growing stack of questions. I know I would probably never find the answer half of those questions, but I am curious and want to find as many as possible. Then came a white unicorn with a blond mane and tail. As soon as he saw me, he said "Auntie, what is this beast doing in our palace" in an irritated tone. "This 'Beast' is sentient and can very well hear you." I retorted The unicorn snorted and replied "The likes of you should be thrown into the dungeon." That just did it. I walked up angrily to him. "I may be alien to this world, and you may be a member of Royalty. But listen to me Blueblood; that does not let you treat me with prejudice." I replied in a dangerously soft voice. The unicorn seemed to have taken my point, and continued down the corridor, looking back only once. After a brief pause, Celestia spoke "Jonah, how did you know that was my nephew?" "I – don't know. I just seemed to know it." I answered Fluttershy also asked "Also, how did you manage to make your point to him, he hardly ever listens to anyone, especially strangers." Twilight answered "On the first day of Primary school, something like this happened to him." I looked confused. "How did you know that?" I asked. "I – don't know. I just seemed to know it." She answered. "Weird…" we both said in perfect unison. We both looked at each other in surprise, with everyone looking at us. I was the first to speak "Let's move on from that, shall we?" "This is extremely awkward. If she knows that, then she could know everything about me!" "Agreed" they all said. After a while, I asked "Is there anywhere where I can get a job? I mean, I have to pull my weight." Apple Jack answered "Well, I could use some help on the farm." "I am not sure how much help I can be, I am not exactly good at physical labour." "I'm pretty sure I can find something for you to do." "So, when can I see your farm?" "First, you need to get permission from the Princesses." "May I?" I asked the Princesses. "Ya' know..." joked Applejack."...you sound just like Applebloom, my sister." "Well…" said Celestia "I don't see any harm in that." "Although, if it's possible, you might want to change into your Pony form before getting into any densely populated area." Said Luna. "You saw how Prince Blueblood reacted, there is not telling how others like him will." "Okay…" I answered I will try. I concentrated, getting a picture of myself as a pony into my mind; but that didn't work. I also thought "Beaponybeaponybeapony…" but that was all in vain. "I don't think I can do it…" I reported sadly. "Don't worry…" said Luna. "I know how hard it is sometimes to control your magic. Just read the legend about 'The Mare in the Moon'." "I remember I was once teaching a stallion whose name was DB." Twilight continued. "When he tried to teleport, he moved the entire library instead of himself." That made me laugh, cheering me up. "Maybe I can teach to morph some other time." Said Luna. "But now, we have Royal duties to attend to." "That's alright. Just before you go, what am I to expect in Ponyville?" "Well…" said Celestia."It is a rural town. It borders the Everfree Forest, which you would want to steer clear from. Overall, it is a really friendly place. You are sure to make friends there really quickly." "Friends, I have never had a friend before…" "How does one make a friend?" I asked. Then I realised just what I asked. "Didn't mean to ask that!" Celestia smiled. "If there is one person who can teach you that, it is Twilight. Now if you will excuse us…" And so, they flew away. "So, how will we get there?" I asked. "We will get there by a train!" said Pinky. "Chuga, Chuga, CHOO CHOO!" She bounced over to the exit. "Come on, what are you waiting for?" We all shrugged, and followed her. "Is she always this hyper?" I asked no-one in particular. "Just roll with it…" replied Rainbow Dash. The trip to the Train station was relatively uneventful, only a few ponies looking at us confused. Although most of them just minded their own business. When we arrived at the Train station, I realised I had no money. "Girls, I just realised – I don't have any money." "Don't worry…" said Rarity. "I will pay for you." "How much will I owe you?" "Nothing, you are a friend, just don't get used to it!" That struck me quite deep. I had barely known them for a day, and they already considered me a friend? Aren't they worried I might backstab them? I was still pondering over that when we arrived at the ticket office. "7 tickets please. One way." Said Rarity. "That will be 10 bits each." They all got their saddle-bags and got out 10 gold coins, except from Rarity, who got out 20. He gave them the tickets. We waited at the station for 10 minutes, before we heard the conductor. "All aboard for Ponyville!" We all boarded, giving the conductor our tickets. The trip to Ponyville was also uneventful. I was looking out the window, watching the scenery go by. The empty fields separated by the ancient stone walls who were losing the battle against the elements. Then came Twilight, who sat down next to me, but I didn't realise. "So…" she asked, making me jump. "Whoa… You nearly made me jump out of my skin!" "Sorry…" she replied. "I was just thinking about the event in the palace." "Same…" I replied. "It actually kind of scares me." "How?" "Well, if you knew that, then you could know my entire life…" I remembered a bad memory, quickly shaking it out of my head. Twilight just sat there, with a emotionless expression. "Are you ok? You look like you have seen a ghost." "What I saw was just as bad…" she replied. "What was it?" "I saw you, a younger you, sitting against a wall clutching your stomach, and a person pulled a knife from it. I – I didn't recognise them, their faces were so blurred." She replied, in a traumatised voice. "Strange, that's exactly what I was remembering..." I replied. "It seems we can read each other's memories…" "…if they surface…" "…and their thoughts too." "Weird…" We both said simultaneously. We looked at each other in surprise. Again. After a brief pause, Twilight said "We really should stop doing that." "Agreed." I replied. We sat there, looking out the window for about a minute before I spoke. "Do you think we should keep this a secret?" "I'm pretty sure that they already worked it out." Judging by her voice, it seemed she still hadn't recovered after seeing part of my history. I looked to see what the others were doing. Fluttershy was also looking out the window, Applejack was napping with her trademark hat bowed over her head, Rarity was sewing, Pinky was jumping in circles with audible 'Boing' (how on earth does she have that much energy?) and Rainbow Dash was reading a book. I decided to see what she was reading. "Hiah Rainbow!" She looked up. "Hi Jonah!" "What are you reading?" "Daring Do." She said happily. "Haven't really heard of it…" "What?!" she exclaimed, attracting the attention of everyone, but Applejack (who was still dozing) and Twilight (who seemed to be deep in thought). "You haven't heard of the most awesome book series in the world?!" Everybody sighed with relief. "Only just came here" I deadpanned. "Oops…" she replied nervously. "Sorry…" "Anyway, mind if I read the blurb?" "Sure, go ahead" she said, putting a bookmark in her book. "How do they hold things with their hooves?" I read the blurb and replied "That sounds a lot like 'Indiana Jones' from back home." "Indiana who?" "Jones." "Still, I bet he isn't nearly as cool as Daring Do!" "He'd still give her a pretty good run for her money." "No-one's cooler than Daring Do!" I shrugged "I guess we can only speculate, seeing as Indiana Jones is only fictional." "Ha! Daring Do is actually real!" I raised an eyebrow. "Really?" "Yeah, that makes her about 20% cooler!" "Touché…" "Sorry?" "It means 'You have a point'." "Oh, ok." she replied. I could have sworn I heard her mutter "Egghead..." "Anyway, enjoy your book! "Thanks!" and she continued reading. I decided to walk back to my seat next to Twilight. She didn't react. I sat there, bored, until I had a brainwave. I concentrated on Twilight and thought, like I was speaking, "Twilight?" Her ears perked up, and she asked "Did you say something?" I grinned at the success of my experiment. "Not out loud, I didn't!" "Wait, you mean that you spoke through…" After a short moment, I heard her voice in my head. "…telepathy?" "I did!" I answered. "I didn't know that was possible." "Neither did I. I just thought 'If we can read each other's thoughts and memories, then why can we not use telepathy?'." "That is pretty nice! Imagine how useful that could be? Either way, I feel like the princesses need to know about this." She looked at me, as if expecting a response. "I won't stop you." I replied. She took a quill and a piece of parchment from her saddlebag and began writing. I felt a bit tired, and decided go and join Applejack in the land of nod. While I was drifting off to sleep, questions were buzzing around my head like flies. "How are we able to share each other's thoughts? Why am I here? Am I even meant to be here? What is going on back home?" Then sleep mercifully took hold. 6 Back to PonyvilleI was walking to my house. I was 8 years old and still in the human world. I rang the doorbell of the old brick house, with my mother opening it. I ran into her arms, and gave her a hug. Suddenly, her grip on her right arm loosened, the right side of her face went dead. I immediately ran to the phone and called for an ambulance. While waiting for the ambulance to arrive, I knelt down beside my mother, who had sat down, and eventually started crying. After I had lost my father, I didn't want to lose the only member of my family. Weakly, she said "Don't worry, I'll be all right…" "But what if you won't?" I asked between sobs. She barely managed a full smile. "I will be in a better place. Just remember, God will always be watching over you. Always…" she slipped into unconsciousness. I started crying uncontrollably. Just 30 seconds later, an ambulance arrived. Then the Mane Six jumped out and said "Jonah, time to wake up!" I opened my eyes and reality came back. My vision was blurred from the tears from the dream. I quickly blinked them out, and saw I was on the train to Ponyville. "Are you alright?" asked Fluttershy's soothing voice. "I'm alright…" I replied before I hiccupped. "It was just a very sad dream." "Could you tell us your dream?" asked Twilight. "Must I?" "A problem shared is a problem halved." I let out a mental sigh. "Are you sure? You won't believe how many times I have had this exact conversation, and every time it ended badly…" "We can take it." I sighed in defeat. "Alright, brace yourself." I went on to tell them about my dream. By the end, they were all sad. Fluttershy was letting out silent tears, and Pinkie's mane somehow partially deflated (I could have also sworn it turned a darker shade of pink). Twilight had gotten the worst of it, seeing as she could feel what I felt. Fluttershy was the first to speak. "How have you managed to live like this?" "I barely did…" I replied. "I suffered from chronic depression. I could barely concentrate on my school work, and was nearly sent to an Asylum." They all winced at that. "Once I nearly…" I realized that I simply couldn't continue, partially because I doubted whether they could take much more of my history, partially because I didn't want to delve further myself. "…But that doesn't matter anymore. After that, I dedicated my life to science – understanding how the world works, and how to improve it. It gave me something to think about, and what's more, I really enjoyed the success of experiments. When you haven't felt joy for 6 months, it's really an amazing feeling. When I went back to school, my grades immediately shot up. However, I was not able to make any friends, since everybody considered me a 'nerd', or an 'egghead'." Rainbow Dash smiled nervously and scratched the back of her head (were Ponies double-jointed or something?). Twilight said, "You know, I was a bit like you before I came to Ponyville. I didn't have many friends and I was a study-freak. Rainbow Dash also occasionally calls me an egghead." "That would explain Rainbow's embarrassment." "Trust me, friends are quite something." That again struck me quite deep. "I – don't know what to say to that." For the first time in ages, I was speechless. "Also, you dedicated your life to studying science, and I dedicated mine to studying the magic of friendship." "Magic doesn't exist." I said instinctively. Twilight smiled mischievously and I saw the familiar purple glow of her horn. "Oh no..." I thought as I began to levitate. "Okay, magic does exist" I mentally yelled. "Say it out loud" she said playfully. "Not a chance!" I replied stubbornly. I started turning upside down. "Not going to work this time!" I saw her smile fade while the cogs turned in her head, before she adopted a new, more sinister smile. I sensed her thoughts, and suddenly, a picture of a merry-go-round popped into my head. "Oh sugar…" I cursed in dread. I started spinning like a top, which wasn't too bad. Except I was upside down, which was enough to make even the most strong stomached feel disorientated. "OKAY! OKAY!" I yelled. "Magic does exist!" Mercifully, the ordeal ended and I was back on my feet. However, I was still feeling the side-effects. I was walking around dizzily. Everybody giggled – including Fluttershy, who I knew from Twilight to be very kind. Then the train started slowing down, causing me to stumble and… [Cue ASDF Movie "Everybody do the flop!"] …faceplant. Everyone tried to suppress a full scale laugh- and miraculously succeeded. Just when I thought that things couldn't get worse – surprise, surprise - they did. All 22 of Rarity's suitcase fell on me. "Ouch…" I complained *THUMP* Correction: All 23 of Rarity's suitcases fell on me. Pinkie gave up and laughed out loud, followed by everyone else. When everyone calmed down, I asked Rarity "I suppose you would like me to help you carry all your stuff (?)" sarcastically The sarcasm sailed right over her head. "If you would be so kind, my dear." She replied, with several sniggers. I suddenly chuckled when I realized the irony of the situation. "I guess this would be repayment for the ticket?" I asked, remembering her generosity at the ticket booth. "You don't owe me anything for the ticket, but if you so wish." "First off, can someone get me out of my suitcasey tomb? I can't feel my hands!" "Sure!" said Rainbow Dash, pulling the suitcases off me. When she finished, she looked confused and asked "Hold on, weren't you a human a few moments ago?" I looked down and realised that once again, my hands became hooves. "Well, that would explain the lack of feeling in my han- hooves. But can we first get off the train? I will explain everything a bit later." We each carried our suitcases (except me and Spike, who didn't have any) and shared out Rarity's. Unfortunately, I was not used to this kind of exertion, making it quite a journey. "Who - *pant* - knew - *pant* - that - *pant* - clothes - *pant* - were - *pant* - so - *pant* - HEAVY!"I collapsed. When I woke up, I found that I was in a boutique. "Man, this whole passing out thing is getting old!" I looked around, seeing several finished and half-finished set of clothes on marble white pony-shaped models, with fabric, thread and assorted gems cluttering the area. "That's quite an establishment you have here!" I complimented. "Thanks, although it is the only one in Ponyville, so really, I don't have anything to compare it to." She replied. "Figures, seeing as this is a rural town." "So, now can you explain?" asked Rainbow Dash. "What?" I replied. "Oh, the train! Well, to be perfectly honest, I don't know WHY it happened. Guess I can't morph if people are watching." I saw that Rainbow Dash was mildly disappointed at that feeble answer. "On the bright side, at least everyone won't freak out when they see me as a human. By the way, do you know what time it is?" Rainbow Dash looked at the, admittedly, beautiful sunset. "Celestia and Luna really outdone themselves!" I thought, before I realised what I just thought. "Wait, the Royal Sisters raise the sun and moon? I will need to ask Twilight about that." "By the looks of it, it seems to be around 8 o'clock." Replied Rainbow Dash. I yawned. I just realized just how tired I was, despite my disturbing nap on the train. "Is there anywhere where I can sleep while I'm in Ponyville?" "Well…" said Rarity."Sweetie Bell and her friends are having a sleepover, so my spare room is being used." "Oh dear…" continued Fluttershy."My cottage is completely full. I'm still looking after the animals after that forest fire." "Forest fire?" "It's still ah mystery how it happened..." replied Applejack."Unfortunately, our farm is also full." "The bakery doesn't have any spare rooms either." Said Pinkie. "I DO have some spare rooms in my cloud-house, but only Pegasi and Alicorns can walk on clouds, sooo, yeah." Said Rainbow Dash "What is this? Bethlehem?! And how are cloud houses possible? Nothing makes sense here." "Well…" started Twilight. "PLEASE have a spare room! And not just a stable! I don't want to sleep in a manger." "I do have spare room in my library, although it is, at the minute, full of junk…" "Don't worry, I've slept in worse… Just as long as I have a roof over my head." I said remembering my times in poverty and homelessness. "Oh no…" I thought. "Twilight is going to experience my past again. Why does she have to go through this? She has done nothing to deserve it!" I sighed. "Twilight, a' you alright sugarcube?" asked Applejack worryingly. "Yes, I – I'm fine" replied Twilight after a brief pause before she walked out. "Does anypony know what the hay happened just there?" "Telepathic connection. I remembered an unpleasant memory and unfortunately she just experienced it. Don't ask me to explain, I am too tired, and besides, I don't fully understand it myself." I replied quickly before I set off after Twilight followed by Spike, leaving the remaining 5 in confusion. "Hey! Wait up!" Me and Spike yelled. When we caught up with Twilight, she was already waiting at the library. "Welcome to the Library." She said, wanting to get it done and over with. "Please come in." I walked cautiously in, with the sight reminding me of when I first came to Equestria. I tried to clear my mind of most of my memories from before I came here. After she levitated the sleeping dragon off my back, and popped him into his bed, she asked me "Jonah, if you don't mind, I would like to talk." "Sure." I replied "I-it's about the memories I've been getting from you, and the story you told us on the train. How is it possible for someone to experience so much pain, and yet… Who are you?" I let out a sympathetic smile. "I have asked myself that question many times before. Unfortunately, I never found an answer. I just try not to think about it too much. If that fails, I occupy myself with something else. If that doesn't work, then I go to bed and think of a fantasy world a bit like this one before I fall asleep. If THAT doesn't work, well, I never got to that stage." "Thanks." She replied, clearly comforted. "Now, if you don't mind, could you show me my room, I would like to skip straight to stage 3." She smiled, clearly comforted "Sure, just follow me." We climbed up the stairs to find a two doors next to each other. "Your room is the one to my right, the one to my left is my room." "Thanks." I replied. "I will be downstairs attempting stage 2." I smiled. "Sure, just don't stay up too late." "I won't." she replied. Somehow, I knew that was an immediate lie. I opened the door and walked over to the bed, sidestepping the various books and boxes. I cleared some of the books and just crashed onto the mattress without bothering to find a blanket, falling asleep with a weird, but nice nonetheless, warm and fuzzy feeling in my chest. 7 I can't do ApplebuckingI was in the Human world again, walking down a dimly lit street. I was going nowhere in particular, just trying to clear my mind of the traumatising death of my mother, but it wasn't working very well. I just simply couldn't drive my thoughts from her... It was approaching the evening; when gangs started hanging out. The last thing you wanted was to be caught out alone at this time. Unfortunately, I was too deep in thought to realise that. Then I saw a group of boys walking in front of me, immediately slamming the breaks on my train of thought. Fortunately they hadn't seen me. I began panicking. I immediately recognised them. They called themselves the 'Federation' (a terrible insult to 'Star Trek', if you ask me). They were the most feared gang in all of town. Their leader the most. He had been terrorising since 2012 and had accumulated a small army of 50 followers. He and his Elites – the Notorious Nine- were right in front of me. Was the leader born that way, or had something terrible happened to him? No one knew, and no one dared to find out. I felt the urge of the fundamental 'Fight or Flight' response. Fighting was WAY out of the question (they all carried knives, some rumoured that the leader had a disguised pistol!) and running away was just going to get me noticed. I concluded that the best thing to do was to just keep on going until I came across an alleyway or other hiding place and hide. The suspense was metaphorically killing me. I knew that getting noticed was going to get me in hospital, if not beaten black and blue. What is more is that there are so many control variables that could go wrong. If there isn't a hiding place, I will eventually get notice. If a noise goes off behind me, I will get noticed. If someone says "Hi!" to me, I will get noticed. If just one of them decides for whatever reason turn round, I would get noticed. I was walking in the suspense for 10, maybe 20 seconds, but those felt like days. Finally, I saw an alleyway, but precious seconds too late. One of them turned round with a shout of "Hey!" and I pegged it down the alley at speeds that I didn't know I could achieve. Three seconds later and I came to the end. The gang was still catching up. My heart was racing and I was breathing rapidly and deeply. I looked around me and saw that there was no weapon I could use. I was trapped. "Well hello, little mouse!" taunted one of the members "Trapped in the corner, are we?" said another. I saw an escape ladder from a balcony, but there was no way I could reach it. Unless… A plan formulated in my mind. It was reckless, un-orthodox, unlikely to work and perhaps even a bit stupid! But it might just save me my skin. I grabbed a discarded garden rake and used it to pull down the ladder. I jumped up, heaving myself up. Still holding onto the rake that saved my life, I swung myself over the fence, panting as I recovered from the adrenalin rush. I heard the gang swear with such profanity that it would have made a sailor blush. They yelled insults of me being a coward, etcetera, etcetera, and left "Come on, let that [BLEEP] hide in its [BLEEP] hole." I saw a bright light which made me close my eyes. I shielded my eyes while I got used to the light. When I opened my eyes, I saw that the light the sun, peeking over the mountains, coming through the window. I was no longer in an alleyway, or a balcony, but I room full of old books and boxes. What I just experienced was another dream. "Why am I getting all these dreams all of a sudden? And why of my past? I hardly remember any of my dreams…" I stretched and yawned, before climbing out of bed. I walked downstairs, and saw Twilight sleeping on a book. "Why was I expecting this?" I asked myself, smiling. I debated whether to wake her or not, but eventually decided against it. "Nah, she looks cute like that... Wait, why did I just think that? I am probably still tired…" I was going to leave for 'Sweet Apple Acres', but then thought it would be a good idea to leave a note. "Wait, I can't write, I should probably wake her up then..." "Twilight!" I said in a loud whisper. She mumbled something which sounded like "mushroom". I chuckled at the randomness and again said "Twi-light!" She blinked, then yawned. "Good morning Jonah…" she said sluggishly "Good morning Twilight. Sorry I woke you. I was going to leave you a note saying I was going to go to 'Sweet Apple Acres' instead, but I realised I didn't know how to write as a Pony." She smiled "I will need to teach you how to do so, then". "Anyway, I need to get going." "Sure, I needed to go to the 'Sugar Cube Corner' to – umm… - help Pinkie with something." I immediately felt a wave deception coming from her. I frowned "You do realise that I know when you try to deceive me." She smiled sheepishly. I paused for a couple of seconds while I attempted to deduce what she was actually going to do. "You and Pinkie are planning a surprise?" I guessed. She gave an innocent smile. "Maybe." I sighed. "Well, I am not going to push you to spoil it. Anyway, I don't know about your world, but in mine farmers are known to get early in the morning, and I don't want to be late on my first day." "Alright, just when you are finished, meet me at the 'Sugar Cube Corner'." "For the surprise?" I enquired. "Maybe!" she replied. I facehoofed in frustration with a groan. "Well, see you then." "Bye!" she waved back. I began walking instinctively to 'Sweet Apple Acres', wondering what 'Surprise' Twilight and Pinkie were brewing. I was walking down the dirt road, when I finally saw the 'Sweet Apple Acres' creep over the horizon, which was quite a sight to behold. It certainly held up 'Acres' (note the plural) part of its name. It was positively huge! Next to the plantation of apple trees, there was a red farmhouse. "This must be where Applejack and her family lives." Applejacks POV "My, Granny Smith! Ya' never fail to surprise with ya' baking" Ah' complimented, before digging into my fourth slice of pie. "There are something which ya' don't lose with age. That reminds me of the time when…" But Ah' tuned out at that point. To some folks readin' this (thanks, by the way Muranuse, for letting me write this myself), this might seem ah' bit rude. However, Ah' had heard that story +301 times. She does have a habit of going off on a tangent, if Ah' am being honest… But Ah' am being as hypocritical as a bull herdin' a bunch of cows, so let's get back to the story. While she continued on about her diving into a small tin tub, which for those of ya' who don't know, ended up with… Redacted to prevent spoilers …then the doorbell rang. "Ah'll get it!" Ah' announced (Granny Smith completely oblivious). When Ah' opened the door, Ah' saw Jonah standing outside. "Good mornin', Jonah! Ah' didn't think you would be up this early." "Eh! I have been doing it for 5 years now. I'm used to it." he replied "Would you like to join us for breakfast? Granny Smith has baked some of her delicious pie!" "Don't mind if I do!" he answered with his stomach growling in agreement. "You know…" he chuckled. "…One problem with becoming a Pony is that you have re-learn just about everything: writing, cooking, how NOT to bump into a tree (due to a minor lack of depth perception), life in general!" "The longer you make that list, the more of the pie will have disappeared!" "Right… Well, then lead the way, AJ!" he replied with ah' hint of wit in his voice. "Follow me, JC!" Ah' retorted with a smirk. When we approached the kitchen, Ah' announced "We have ah guest for breakfast!" "…and Ah' leapt off the board like a majestic..." said Granny Smith. Ah' could see that Jonah was confused, so Ah' explained. "She kind of loses touch with reality when she is tellin' one of her stories." He nodded in comprehension just as she finished. "… and that is why Ah' never swum again…" she replied rather solemnly, but she brightened up as soon as she noticed that Jonah was in the room. "Oh! We have ah guest for breakfast?" Ah' resisted the urge to facehoof, instead saying "Yes, we do. Ah' thought that he might enjoy your famous pie!" "Well, Applebloom and Big Mac finished it off…" pointing towards my two siblings. "Ah' might have had a couple of slices…" said the little Filly. "'Eeyup!" was the Stallions reply. "…But Ah' always bake a spare!" she announced triumphantly. Jonah smiled. "Back from where I come from, there is an old saying which goes: 'The proof of the pudding is in the eating'…" he said rubbing his hooves together. "…or in this case, the pie!" After breakfast – Jonah's POV I was still smiling from the wonderful breakfast I just had. Was it just me, or was Equestrian food better than Human food? "So, what should I do?" I asked as we entered the apple plantation. "Well, Ah' suppose we could see how good you are at applebucking…" she replied. "Just let me get the baskets." After a few moments, she returned with several woven baskets on her back. "How did those get there?" I asked myself, but it was pointless to try to find any logic in that. When I snapped out of my confusion, I noticed that the baskets somehow moved underneath two of the apple trees. "What… the… Okay, goodbye logic! Nice knowing you." "Applebucking is pretty simple, you simply buck the tree at the centre to shake all the apples off." Apple Jack instructed. "You need to hit it hard enough for the apples to get shaken off, but not so hard that you injure yourself. Like this…" She proceeded to demonstrate. She turned around and bucked the tree. It shook, with all the apples gracefully landing in the baskets. "Now you try." I approached the towering tree, holding its red appley prizes. I turned around before bucking it with moderate strength. The tree barely even shook, and didn't yield its prize. "Well, this is a bit embarrassing!" I thought to myself. "Well, your technique was perfect! Impressive for a beginner. But it just lacked ah' bit of strength." She said. "Alright then." I replied with iron determination. I went and bucked the tree as hard as I could, but the tree – again – barely even shook. "Right! This is seriously getting to me now!" I said, exasperated. I thought how to hit it with the most impact. I could take a run up, but most of the power came from my back legs, so that would be counter-productive. After a few moments thinking, a plan formulated in my mind. I backed up about 10 paces. "Jonah, what are you doing?" Asked a worried Apple Jack Ignoring her question, I galloped towards it. When I was two paces away from it, I took off from my front hooves into a somersault. When I was upside down, I twisted so I was the right way up – a manoeuvre which Olympic swimmers did in water, except I did it in the air. With the added momentum from the run up, my back hooves made contact with tremendous force. Then, gravity decided to pay a visit. *Thump* I landed in a basket. Above me, the apples were still swinging from the 'tremendous' force I hit the tree with. The stalk of one apple was particularly thin, which eventually snapped. The mass of red started falling down, until… *Thump* …it landed on my head. I looked up and saw loads of red dots which were apples, almost taunting me. "Of course, the only apple I actually manage to get down lands on my head. 'Cause how else will it comply to this worlds already crazy logic(?!)" I thought sarcastically. A light blue Pegasus landed a couple metres away from the tree. "That was a pretty cool move you pulled off! Where did you learn that?" Rainbow Dash asked suspiciously. "Are you a spy?" she continued, a little less subtle than last time. "Actually…" I replied, getting up. "I just made it up, to get those apples down." pointing to the tree. If it was sentient, I bet it would be laughing its apples off. "And no, I am not a spy. I am just a human who ended up here due to a freak magical accident." I continued with a hint of irritation in my voice. "Seriously?" Rainbow Dash asked, approaching the tree. "Why didn't you just do this?" she proceeded to buck the tree, releasing all the apples. "Right, this is no longer embarrassing, this is borderline HUMILIATING!" I thought to myself angrily. "Don't you think I just tried that?" I replied in a dangerously soft voice "Well, if Applebucking isn't your thing, I suppose you could help with carrying the baskets to the cart. It isn't as demanding, and it is actually more helpful than you think!" suggested Rainbow Dash. "Well, I suppose I could try that…" I replied. I went on and bit the one of the handles, Rainbow Dash taking another. It was a bit heavy, but not too much to handle. We carried it over before depositing it into the cart. "That wasn't too bad! Thanks Rainbow Dash." I thanked. "You're welcome!" she replied. "Normally, Big Mac or somepony else helps carry the baskets, seeing as it is a two pony job. With you helping it gives AJ more time to rest, so we can get the harvest done earlier." We continued the process, with Apple Jack bucking the trees and me and Rainbow Dash transferring the baskets. It was tedious at worst, but it was something I could get used to. At the end of the day "Whew! Thanks for the help today, Jonah" thanked Apple Jack. "Yeah, well I need to be going." said Rainbow Dash rather suddenly. When we arrived at the farmhouse, Apple Jack detached herself from the cart, and headed in. "Mind waiting here, Ah' need to get something." She told me. A few seconds later, she returned with a small pouch. "Here are your wages." I opened the bag, and inside was a number of golden coins. "Just out of curiosity, how much will this buy me?" I asked, curious as to the value of the currency. "Enough for 3 meals, rent and a bit extra for savings." She replied. "Enough to live a decent life." "Thanks!" I replied, popping it into my saddlebag. "I need to get to the 'Sugar Cube Corner' for a surprise." Her eyes widened as she just remembered something. "Aw, shoot! Ah' just remembered something! A- Ah' need to go!" She rapidly moved the cart with the apples to the barn, before taking off to Ponyville. "I wonder where she is off to!" I thought to myself. I began heading to Ponyville myself, except not in a full gallop. If you looked at me now, there would be no way you could tell I was worried, but inside, I really was. Seeing as I didn't spend much time with people, I wasn't exactly used to surprises. I hoped that I wouldn't take it too badly.
1 The Trip ThereMy name is Jonah Carswell. I used to be what you would consider a nerd – although I wouldn't necessarily class myself as one. But anyway, enough about me. I was returning from the competition in a tech conference. In that competition I had won 3rd place with a prize of a solar charging station and a laser. But it wasn't announced that the laser would be part of the prize. Apparently it was donated by an anonymous donor which was to be given to the winner of the 3rd place in the competition. Unfortunately, it didn't work. I was pondering over the intent of the donor when a man ran into me. For a second I wanted to ask the man what he was doing, before I was overcome by a wave of intense fear – like the kind you get in a very bad nightmare. Then I realised that the man who ran into me was actually a teenage girl. Then for some reason I started to chase her. Sure, I was curious, but I never would chase anyone, for any reason. I had this strange feeling which words can barely describe. I felt like I wasn't in control of my body - like I was acting purely on instinct. The only explanation I could come up with was dark magic, and I didn't like it. As a scientific person, I liked having a logical explanation for everything. Like if the front door suddenly slams shut, some would say it was a ghost, but I would say that the wind was causing a difference in the air pressure, therefore moving the door at a sufficient velocity to shut it. Or if you rubbed a balloon on your head and put it on a wall, you would find it stuck. Some would say it was magic, I would say it was the static electricity built up on the balloon after you rubbed it on your head, which was attracted to the wall thus causing it to stick. Or even... Well, I think you get the picture; I don't believe in the super-natural, or magic. Especially magic. I continued to chase her. She weaved expertly through the alleyways and buildings. After a few minutes, I felt myself tire, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not slow myself down. It felt like a scene out of "Nanny McPhee". I saw that the she was tiring and slowing down too. She then started heading to the bridge. "Maybe the whole incident has something to do with all the lights I've seen?" I thought to myself. A few days ago, I was walking from school back home, taking a detour to avoid some people who kept trying to invite to the park. I never understood this concept of "Hanging Out". It seemed like a waste of time when you could be studying or working on a project. I saw that there were strange flashes of light coming from the bridge. It creeped me out, as I didn't have a logical explanation. She stopped in the middle of the bridge, panting for breath. The thing which happened next was probably the most humiliating thing I have ever done in my entire life. I tackled her over the bridge. That's right, I tackled her over the bridge. But the strange thing is that I don't think anyone saw me do it. You see, there when I went onto the bridge, I saw a strange, black for encase the bridge. But it happened the second I put my foot onto it. "Must be some sort of cloak..." I thought to myself Then it happened. I would have hit myself for doing that if I was still in control of my body. As soon as we went over, I felt time slow down. With that I also felt like something big was going to happen, but not that I was going to die. Why I thought that, I didn't know A bright flash blinded me temporarily. Then I felt time speed up again. "Oh no!" *SPLASH! * The air got knocked out of my lungs. I landed on the sharp rocks on the river bed. I took a deep breath to yell for help, but instead I got my lungs full of water. I already felt my thoughts get blurry. While I could still think, I made a mental list of the injuries I sustained that day. My logic, possibly damaged beyond repair. My dignity, also possibly damaged beyond repair. Bruised my body. Cut my body . My lungs, drowned in water. "Yup, definitely a good way to end the day (!)" I thought sarcastically. All that I remembered before I completely passed out was being lifted out the water, and all the water being pushed out of my lungs. All went black.
2 First day (or minutes)When I woke up, I was greeted to a battered body, and a rather light head. "I must have bled quite a lot…" I thought out loud. Someone – or something – must have heard me, as I heard footsteps coming up a set of stairs. However, something wasn't quite right with the footsteps. I wasn't able put my finger on it though, since my brain wasn't exactly working at full efficiency. Before I had a chance to puzzle over it for too long, I heard a young, female voice say "I see you've woken up." I opened my eyes for a split second before I closed them again from sheer pain. "Oww…" I exclaimed. From the tiny, blurred glimpse I got, there were 3 figures. One pink, one lavender and one blue and rainbow coloured. I also noticed that the colours were more vivid, more cartoonish. It just didn't seem real. I tried to sit up, but I was interrupted. "Don't sit up! You need to rest, you were bleeding for quite a while." "At least that answers one question!" I thought to myself. "Where am I?" I asked. "You are in the 'Golden Oak Library'." The voice answered. I didn't recognise that place. Yet, for some reason, it seemed familiar. Maybe I had visited this place in a dream? I don't know. "Where is that?" "In Ponyville." "Ponyville?" I scoffed. "You're having a laugh!" "Nope…" said another female voice."You are in the one and only, Ponyville! Guarded by yours truly." She said proudly. "You definitely are!" said another voice, full of excitement and glee. Then the truth smacked me in the face like a fish. "You mean I am in a land full of talking Ponies?" "And Pegasi and Unicorns and Alicorns…" The third female continued. I chuckled. "Of all the weird dreams I've had lately, this is by far, the weirdest." I fell asleep with no recollection of this encounter. When I woke up again, it was already night. I could open my eyes again, and my head didn't feel as light, but I still felt fatigued. I subconsciously recognised this place and knew this was not a dream. I saw light shining from the stairs, and still half asleep, started to walk down them. I fully awoke to a bunch of feathers in my face from an owl. "AAAHH!" I yelled. "WHOO!" The owl hooted. "Owlowiscious!" said a worried female voice "Owlowiscious? I never haven't heard that one before!" I thought to myself. A lavender coloured unicorn came to the bottom of the stairs. "You are a-a unicorn?" I said in shock. "Yes, why is that surprising?" the unicorn asked. "A talking unicorn?!" I couldn't believe what was happening. I had fallen off a bridge, and suddenly I saw everyone as a pony. "Well, yes. I am." She said in an irritated tone. "And you're a talking earth pony". "I'm a WHAT?!" I exclaimed. Never in my entire life had I heard anything a preposterous as that. "If you don't believe me, go look in the mirror." She said in a surprisingly calm voice. I continued down the stairs, apparently on all fours, but at the minute, I couldn't care less. At the landing, there was a mirror. The second I looked at it, my jaw nearly hit the floor. Inside the mirror, there was a charcoal black pony, with dragon green eyes. He also had a navy blue mane with a lightning yellow stripe, and a matching tail. This disproved everything I believed in for the whole of the 13 years of my life. "Tell me this is not happening…" I asked, depressed at just how crazy everything was "Sorry?" the unicorn said. "Tell me I'm just going mad…" "Well, this is definitely happening, and I'm pretty sure that you are not going mad." I groaned. "What's wrong? Are you disappointed that you are an earth pony, or that you are a pony in general." "The latter…" I replied in a sad voice. "Come…" she invited me. "I am sure you have a lot of questions." She then cleared the table of her books. But it's how she cleared the table. All the books and scrolls started to get a shimmering lavender glow around them, before they started to levitate to where they came from. "How- how did you do that?" I stammered. "Magic." "But magic doesn't exist!" She turned around, looked like she was deep in thought, them started grinning. "Magic doesn't exist, does it?" She asked me rhetorically. "Well then, how do you explain this?" Her horn started to glow with a lavender tint, before me myself started to glow. "Oh no…" I said quietly before I started to levitate. I wouldn't have minded that, but when I started to turn upside down, then I minded. "AAHHHH!" I yelled, in surprise "Ok, ok! I admit. Magic seems to exist!" I yelled, in hope that she would put it down. Apparently, that was enough for her, and she slowly put me down. "First of…" I asked. "Who are you?" "My name is Twilight Sparkle, and the little dragon over there is Spike." She said pointing to a basket with a purple dragon with green spikes, snoring peacefully away. "Spike helps me during the day, and Owlowiscious helps me during the night. I think you accidentally met her." "Indeed I did." I replied. "Anyway, what happened back there?" I asked "Back where? Oh yes, 5 days ago." "5 – days?" I asked "Have I really been out that long? "Yes, or 6, in 3 hours." "I wonder if they started searching for me yet?" I wondered. "I wish I could just be human again…" I saw a bright flash. Then came a wave of extreme weakness, before I collapsed. "What in Equestria?!" I heard Twilight shout, before I passed out. Again.
3 Waking UpI woke up (again) feeling better than last time. However, I still had a pile of questions, considering the hour I was actually awake during the week. My main question being: "What am I doing in this 'Equestria' and how did I get here?" I deduced the fact that I am in Equestria from when Twilight the night before said: "What in Equestria?" instead of "What on earth?" before I passed out from exhaustion. I smiled to myself, knowing that I had recovered enough to think properly again. When I opened my eyes, I noticed that the room I was in was more decorated, more exquisite. I saw that I was lying in a four poster bed, with velvet draping down its sides. Beside it was a bedside table, with an alarm and candle holder. By the door was a wardrobe; made of a wood I didn't recognise. ("Maybe this 'Equestria' is another name for Narnia?"). Before I had a chance to observe my surroundings, I heard hoof steps coming quickly. Out of the door burst a pink pony. "AAAAHH!" I yelled, nearly jumping out of my bed. In the space of 30 seconds I went from wondering where I was to having a largely overexited pony to jump onto my bed. The pony had frizzy pink hair with a matching tail, and a strange mark with party balloons and streamers on (I hate it when I use stereotypes) her flank. "Did you actually do it?" she asked me really quickly. "Did you actually morph?" Without giving me a chance to reply, she continued on relentlessly. "How did it feel? How did you do it? Can you do it again? Can you morph into anything? Can you morph into ME?" The somewhat distant yell of "PINKIE!" mercifully ended her interrogation. "Pinkie…" said a soft voice coming from the staircase beyond the door. A yellow Pegasus flew up and landed. "He has only really been awake for less than 10 minutes here. Give him a chance to recover." "Oops!" Pinkie said sheepishly "Sorry!" She apologised. "Thank you." I thanked the yellow Pegasus. Another Pegasus flew up the stairs, shortly followed by 3 other tired ponies. "I hope Pinkie didn't wake you up." Twilight asked. "Not really, I was about to get out anyway" I answered. "Seeing as we are all together now, I think we should introduce ourselves" Twilight suggested. The rest of the ponies nodded in agreement. "My name is Rainbow Dash." Said a light blue Pegasus, with a rainbow coloured mane and matching tail. Her mark was a cloud with a rainbow coloured lightning bolt. "My name is Applejack" said an orange pony with a southern accent. She had white freckles on her face and a stetson hat covering her pale mane. Her mark was 3 apples. "My name is Rarity" said a white unicorn in a semi-posh voice. She had a curly, indigo mane. Her mark was 3 diamonds. "My name is Fluttershy" said a Pegasus in a quiet voice. She had a curly pink mane, and mark with 3 butterflies on it. "My name is Pinkie Pie!" said Pinkie excitedly, bouncing up and down. "My name is Spike" said a purple dragon with green spikes, jumping down from Twilight's back. "My name is Princess Celestia…" said one of the… Well, I don't really know what she was! She was a sort of Pegasus-Unicorn hybrid. Either way, I didn't hear them coming. She was pale white, with a light shimmering mane. Her mark was a stylised sun. "Princess of the sun and day…" I thought. "And my name is Princess Luna" said the other. She was navy blue. She also had the same shimmering mane as Princess Celestia, but it was also blue. "…and Princess of the moon and night." I instinctively jumped out of bed and kneeled on one knee. "Your majesties…" I said respectfully. Princess Celestia giggled. "At ease…" She commanded. "In the 'Guest Room', we are all equals". I stood back up. "Thank you" I replied. "Although there are a few things which confuse me." "What are they?" Celestia asked. "The last thing I remembered was that I was on the ground floor of the 'Golden Oak Library', then there was a bright flash and I collapsed. What happened there?" Luna replied "I think Twilight has the answer to your question." "While you're at it, can you tell me what happened at the bridge?" Twilight paused for a bit to order her thoughts, then answered "Okay, here is what happened..."
4 The Events Before 'The Trip There'Twilights Point of View. …"The last thing I remember is that I was on the ground floor of the 'Golden Oak Library', then there was a bright flash and I collapsed. What happened there?" asked the – well, Being (for lack of a better word). At the moment, he was a male earth pony. Luna answered "I think Twilight has the answer to your question." She was partially right. I do have an idea to how it may have happened, but I wasn't too sure. "While you are at it, Twilight, can you please tell me what happened at the bridge?" Asked the Being I paused for a while to order my thoughts, then said. "Ok, this is what happened…" "6 months ago, I was sent to the human world by Celestia to see how much it had changed in the last 30 years. Apparently, I was not the first one to arrive there, but I didn't know it then. That person started attacking me with magic and I retaliated. Before I knew it, we were in a magic duel. That duel had attracted that worlds police force's attention, so I had to use all the magic I had left to close the bridge. Unfortunately that spell, especially when you are tired, has side effects. It had turned me into a human. When I woke up, I was in a sort of prison cell. My magic had recovered a bit. However, I was still a human. I didn't know whether I could use magic or not, but I didn't want to find out at the present time. The majority of humans are not ready to find out about us. Although sometimes you end up finding out before you are fully ready..." Everybody looked at the Being, who smiled sheepishly in return. "A short while later, a guard unlocked the cell and said 'The director will see you now'. I was about to ask the guard who the Director was. Almost in answer, a man in a suit came into view. I stood up to greet him. When I stood up, his jaw dropped. 'H-how? You shouldn't be walking for at least 3 months! How can you walk with such a badly fractured leg?!' My guess was that my unicorn magic had something to do with it, but I thought it was better not to say much. I sighed and said 'I don't think humans are ready to know yet.' 'Wait, by saying that, are you implying you are not a human? But that would not make sense, all the X-rays and medical test checked out fine, apart from the leg... But that's beside the point. Are you an alien- or extra-terrestrial of some sort?' 'No, I am not from space. All I will say is that I am from another dimension.' 'Which is?' I gave a smile 'Narnia'. 'You are not actually from Narnia, are you?' he deadpanned 'No, I am not, and I told you, I won't say much more.' 'Very well, at least, what's your name?' I debated whether to lie or not, but in the end I decided to tell the truth. 'My name is Twilight Sparkle.' When I said that, he seemed to jump up a little. 'Well, Miss Sparkle, looks like my little interrogation has ended. Sorry that I can't return the favour and tell you my name.' He promptly left I overheard the Director say 'I want 24/7 surveillance on the prisoner'. The guard opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted. 'I don't care. Just make it done. Something doesn't sit right with me about her…' What the guard was about to say: "Did you actually believe her name? It's from My Little Pony for crying out loud!" *gets cut off* "Okay, so you did believe it… I don't know what to think now…" *realises I am reading his thoughts* "Author, CAN YOU PLEASE GET OUT MY PRIVATE THOUGHTS?!" Oops, sorry. I should have asked. Don't worry, this will be just between the both of us (and the other readers of this story). "Wait, what?" Time to leave! Back to 'Reality' "After a couple of days, I heard the Director approach my cell. "We know barely anything about Twilight. We don't even know for sure what she actually is!" There was a brief pause. "I cannot dissuade your Majesty, can I? 'You cannot' replied a really posh voice. Probably the Queen of England. 'Very well Your Majesty. You do this at your own risk.' The Queen walked into my cell. 'Good morning, Miss. Twilight Sparkle.' 'Good morning. What is your name, if I may ask?' I knew she was a member of royalty, but I was still a bit curious. 'My name is Queen Elizabeth the Second of England. If you would like to follow me.' The Queen asked the director 'Is there anywhere where one may talk privately with Miss. Twilight Sparkle? He paused for a while, before replying 'Yes, Your Majesty, please follow me.' And we did. We walked down through several corridors before we arrived to a door which was marked: 'Conference Room A'. The Queen told the Director 'Should the conversation I am about to have with Miss. Twilight Sparkle be recorded, or in any other way stored, one shall not be too pleased.' 'Very well, please wait a couple of moments…' The Director spoke into a little box with a small antenna sticking out of it 'Control Room, please disengage recording equipment in 'Conference Room A'. Authentication code: Alfa Papa – 9 8- Zulu Kilo –November 1 – Beta Beta'. A tinny voice came from the box 'Authentication code accepted. Recording equipment has been disengaged. Is there anything else?' 'No, that will be all.' Queen Elizabeth entered the room, with me following. 'So, how is Celestia's faithful student?' she asked, in a less posh voice 'How - how did you know?' I stammered. 'When I became Queen, Princess Celestia visited me. At first, I thought that I was just hallucinating from the stress of the coronation, but she was real. Anyway, how did you end up here?' I told her about how I was sent to the human dimension, the duel with the unknown person and how I had to close the bridge, which transformed me into a human. 'How did that person look like?' Queen Elizabeth asked, clearly looking woried. 'I don't really remember. I think he was about 1 and a half meters tall. I can't really describe him. Sorry. I just wish I could tell Celestia about this. She would know what to do…' 'It's alright. I don't know too much about Equestrian magic, but when you go back to Equestria, you should turn back to your normal self. Also, even in your human form, you can still use your magic.' 'So I can teleport back to where the bridge was?' 'Yes, but back in your cell, you couldn't. It was lined with a magic inhibiting material, in case any rouge Equestrians somehow came here. It was sheer luck that you ended up in that specific cell.' 'Well, thank you for all you have done. I think I should get going.' I thanked her Before I teleported, a worrying thought popped into my head. 'But what will the Director say when I am gone?' 'Don't worry, I am the Queen, am I not?' She re-assured me. And so, I teleported away. When I arrived at the bridge, I noticed that nearly all the magic in it previously had faded away. I cast the spell to re-activate it. However, it would take an hour for the magic to saturate it. To prevent it attracting any attention, I also cast a cloak over it. That had nearly exhaust my magic. Because I had nothing better to do, I decided to walk around a bit, to explore. I found that the buildings were a lot smaller and more densely built, suggesting that the population had grown since the last report was made on the Human dimension. When the hour was nearly up, I was heading back to the bridge. I saw that person who attacked me, and immediately started running away. I didn't want another duel; I was too weak. He cast a weak, but dangerous spell on me. It was a Mental Erosion spell, which as the name suggests, made you lose your mind. Normally, I would have easily been able to resist that spell, but me being in the Human dimension, along with having very little magic left, meant that it was slowly eating away at my mind. It started making me lose control over my magic. Because of that, I also lost control over my Mist, which could disguised into another being. In this case, it was a male human. Since I wasn't watching where I was going in my panic, I bumped into you." I said. Partially to tell the story, partially to apologise to the Being. "Unfortunately, that rubbed part of the spell onto you. Since you didn't have any magical resistance, it acted a lot quicker on you, but fortunately not as fast as it normally would. Normally it would fry your mind in seconds. After that, for some reason, you started chasing me. I don't really know why, but I would guess it was the spell influencing you. Then we arrived at the bridge. The magic had not yet fully saturated, so it would be a one-way trip. I was so glad to have arrived and so out of breath, that I didn't notice you behind me. When I got tackled, I realised that I had to activate the bridge, whether it was ready or not. And I did The moment I returned, I felt my magic replenish, immediately countering the Mental Erosion spell. I teleported to the mud on the riverbank to take the force of the fall. I saw you in the river, choking on the water and suddenly felt really angry that you had nearly killed me. I was going to leave you there. But, I couldn't. When you were in the river, I don't know how to describe it. It was like something was being torn off me. I used my magic to take you out and to get the water out of your lungs. Then for some reason, that tearing feeling stopped. Shortly after I took you out of the river, you started to turn into a substance, which I don't know how to describe. You kept your shape, but you changed. Your colour became a dark blue, with white dots on it – like the night sky. You then started - melting into what you are right now. It was a bit like how Luna changes into Nightmare Moon. When I remembered that your condition was still critical, I immediately took you to hospital. I told Doctor Horse that you that you were a Human, and that you managed to come to Equestria because of a spell which made you lose your mind. He didn't ask any questions, and immediately took you to the Accident and Emergency department. After the examination, and an operation, Doctor Horse told me you had a lucky escape. You brain had a build-up of lactic acid - an effect of the spell-, you broke 3 ribs and you lost a quarter of your blood. He told me if I hadn't brought you there, you would have almost certainly died. The next day, I felt like something had leached off my magic during the night. It was probably effects of returning to Equestria. The torn feeling I had was also gone aswell. I was preparing going to the hospital to check up on you, when Doctor Horse came. I invited him in. 'How is the patient?' I asked him 'That's the reason why I am here.' He replied. 'Is he alright?' 'He has made an unbelievable recovery! All the lactic acid has been neutralised, his ribs have healed and all the cuts have healed without any scars! The only thing is that his blood hasn't regenerated…' 'How is it even possible to heal that fast?' I asked. 'That's why I came to you. This obviously involves some magic, and you know more than I do on that.' 'Well, he is an earth pony, so he couldn't have done that himself. The only reasonable explanation is that a third party is involved.' 'Do you have any clue to as what it may be?' 'Sorry…' I replied. 'None what so ever.' 'However…' I asked. 'Is he stable enough for him to be transferred here, so I can, well, study him? I want to see whether there are any magical residues on him, and if there are, where they came from.' 'I believe so. All you need to do is to sign the release papers.' And so I did. The physical examination showed that you were in every way, an earth pony. However, your magic is more of a unicorns. Instead of it being a low frequency, it was a high one. That shouldn't happen, but it was one of the wonders of magic. And then the next day, you shortly woke up, before falling asleep again. Then four days later, you had woken up again, and that's when you passed out. What I think happened is that you had used a morph spell. That is a very difficult spell to use, one which I think took too much out of you." "O-kay…" said the Being. "I got a lot more than I bargained for. I think now would be the best time tell you my name. My name is Jonah Carswell." "Jonah Carswell… Where have I heard that before?" I thought out loud. I honestly think I knew him. But where from? That is a question that will bug me for a long time. "I get that a lot." He answered, shruging. "But at least tell me, why did you tell me that much? And how did you memorise the conversations?" "Come to think of it, how did I do it?." As soon as I said that, a projectile flew through the window and impaled itself into the wall, making us all jump. It was a pencil with a piece of parchment wrapped around it. I used my magic to take the parchment and I read it. "She said all that because I wanted her to. -Muranuse" "Who is this 'Muranuse', and why did he want me to say all that?" I asked. Pinkie said in a loud whisper "Don't question the writer." "What? Never mind…" I said remembering that Pinkie was Pinkie. "Anyway..." said Jonah "When is breakfast? I mean, I haven't eaten for a week now!" Celestia answered "I was wondering when you would ask that. Follow me."
5 Breakfast and Discovery"So…" I asked. "Where are we headed?" "The Royal Kitchens" Celestia answered. "Our knowledge on Humans is extremely limited, this includes their diet." "Ah… Well, humans –unlike Equines – are Omnivores…" Celestia, Luna and the Mane Six shifted uncomfortably. I was expecting this reaction, seeing as they were Herbivores and not used to butchery. "However…" I continued. "Many Humans survive by getting protein from other sources: such as fish or dairy." They were clearly relieved. "What did you honestly think I was going to eat you?" "Well…" began Rainbow Dash, but didn't finish. "I guess you did. Besides, I find that meat takes too long to digest, especially in the morning. I prefer to eat something like cereals with milk, or porridge." "So humans eat similar food to us?" Celestia asked "Yeah, pretty much…" I answered. "Although Humans can't digest fibre, so grass and hay is out." "That should not be a problem, I run Sweet Apple Acres – a farm which grows mainly apples." Said Apple Jack. "Who is for blueberry pancakes?" asked Pinkie randomly in usual exited self. "Blueberry pancakes? Oh man, I haven't had those in absolutely AGES!" I exclaimed, my stomach growling in agreement. "Blueberry pancakes it shall be." Concluded Celestia. "Those were – The. Best. Pancakes. EVER!" I said contently. "I'm glad you thought so, dear…" Replied Rarity "Those were Pinkies favourite recipe." "They were!" said the overexcited pink pony. "Well, now that breakfast is over, there any tests you would like to run on me?" I asked, remembering all the sci-fi novels I read, where the humans would run countless tests on aliens. "All the tests were run when you were asleep." Said Twilight. "Luna managed to run the mental tests while you were dreaming." "Your dreams were – well, a bit random." Continued Luna "So I wasn't able to run the verbal tests." Then it occurred to me. "Wait, I am not speaking in English. How did I learn to speak, whatever this language is?" "Good question. To be honest, I was hoping you would know" said Twilight. I sighed, putting that question on my ever-growing stack of questions. I know I would probably never find the answer half of those questions, but I am curious and want to find as many as possible. Then came a white unicorn with a blond mane and tail. As soon as he saw me, he said "Auntie, what is this beast doing in our palace" in an irritated tone. "This 'Beast' is sentient and can very well hear you." I retorted The unicorn snorted and replied "The likes of you should be thrown into the dungeon." That just did it. I walked up angrily to him. "I may be alien to this world, and you may be a member of Royalty. But listen to me Blueblood; that does not let you treat me with prejudice." I replied in a dangerously soft voice. The unicorn seemed to have taken my point, and continued down the corridor, looking back only once. After a brief pause, Celestia spoke "Jonah, how did you know that was my nephew?" "I – don't know. I just seemed to know it." I answered Fluttershy also asked "Also, how did you manage to make your point to him, he hardly ever listens to anyone, especially strangers." Twilight answered "On the first day of Primary school, something like this happened to him." I looked confused. "How did you know that?" I asked. "I – don't know. I just seemed to know it." She answered. "Weird…" we both said in perfect unison. We both looked at each other in surprise, with everyone looking at us. I was the first to speak "Let's move on from that, shall we?" "This is extremely awkward. If she knows that, then she could know everything about me!" "Agreed" they all said. After a while, I asked "Is there anywhere where I can get a job? I mean, I have to pull my weight." Apple Jack answered "Well, I could use some help on the farm." "I am not sure how much help I can be, I am not exactly good at physical labour." "I'm pretty sure I can find something for you to do." "So, when can I see your farm?" "First, you need to get permission from the Princesses." "May I?" I asked the Princesses. "Ya' know..." joked Applejack."...you sound just like Applebloom, my sister." "Well…" said Celestia "I don't see any harm in that." "Although, if it's possible, you might want to change into your Pony form before getting into any densely populated area." Said Luna. "You saw how Prince Blueblood reacted, there is not telling how others like him will." "Okay…" I answered I will try. I concentrated, getting a picture of myself as a pony into my mind; but that didn't work. I also thought "Beaponybeaponybeapony…" but that was all in vain. "I don't think I can do it…" I reported sadly. "Don't worry…" said Luna. "I know how hard it is sometimes to control your magic. Just read the legend about 'The Mare in the Moon'." "I remember I was once teaching a stallion whose name was DB." Twilight continued. "When he tried to teleport, he moved the entire library instead of himself." That made me laugh, cheering me up. "Maybe I can teach to morph some other time." Said Luna. "But now, we have Royal duties to attend to." "That's alright. Just before you go, what am I to expect in Ponyville?" "Well…" said Celestia."It is a rural town. It borders the Everfree Forest, which you would want to steer clear from. Overall, it is a really friendly place. You are sure to make friends there really quickly." "Friends, I have never had a friend before…" "How does one make a friend?" I asked. Then I realised just what I asked. "Didn't mean to ask that!" Celestia smiled. "If there is one person who can teach you that, it is Twilight. Now if you will excuse us…" And so, they flew away. "So, how will we get there?" I asked. "We will get there by a train!" said Pinky. "Chuga, Chuga, CHOO CHOO!" She bounced over to the exit. "Come on, what are you waiting for?" We all shrugged, and followed her. "Is she always this hyper?" I asked no-one in particular. "Just roll with it…" replied Rainbow Dash. The trip to the Train station was relatively uneventful, only a few ponies looking at us confused. Although most of them just minded their own business. When we arrived at the Train station, I realised I had no money. "Girls, I just realised – I don't have any money." "Don't worry…" said Rarity. "I will pay for you." "How much will I owe you?" "Nothing, you are a friend, just don't get used to it!" That struck me quite deep. I had barely known them for a day, and they already considered me a friend? Aren't they worried I might backstab them? I was still pondering over that when we arrived at the ticket office. "7 tickets please. One way." Said Rarity. "That will be 10 bits each." They all got their saddle-bags and got out 10 gold coins, except from Rarity, who got out 20. He gave them the tickets. We waited at the station for 10 minutes, before we heard the conductor. "All aboard for Ponyville!" We all boarded, giving the conductor our tickets. The trip to Ponyville was also uneventful. I was looking out the window, watching the scenery go by. The empty fields separated by the ancient stone walls who were losing the battle against the elements. Then came Twilight, who sat down next to me, but I didn't realise. "So…" she asked, making me jump. "Whoa… You nearly made me jump out of my skin!" "Sorry…" she replied. "I was just thinking about the event in the palace." "Same…" I replied. "It actually kind of scares me." "How?" "Well, if you knew that, then you could know my entire life…" I remembered a bad memory, quickly shaking it out of my head. Twilight just sat there, with a emotionless expression. "Are you ok? You look like you have seen a ghost." "What I saw was just as bad…" she replied. "What was it?" "I saw you, a younger you, sitting against a wall clutching your stomach, and a person pulled a knife from it. I – I didn't recognise them, their faces were so blurred." She replied, in a traumatised voice. "Strange, that's exactly what I was remembering..." I replied. "It seems we can read each other's memories…" "…if they surface…" "…and their thoughts too." "Weird…" We both said simultaneously. We looked at each other in surprise. Again. After a brief pause, Twilight said "We really should stop doing that." "Agreed." I replied. We sat there, looking out the window for about a minute before I spoke. "Do you think we should keep this a secret?" "I'm pretty sure that they already worked it out." Judging by her voice, it seemed she still hadn't recovered after seeing part of my history. I looked to see what the others were doing. Fluttershy was also looking out the window, Applejack was napping with her trademark hat bowed over her head, Rarity was sewing, Pinky was jumping in circles with audible 'Boing' (how on earth does she have that much energy?) and Rainbow Dash was reading a book. I decided to see what she was reading. "Hiah Rainbow!" She looked up. "Hi Jonah!" "What are you reading?" "Daring Do." She said happily. "Haven't really heard of it…" "What?!" she exclaimed, attracting the attention of everyone, but Applejack (who was still dozing) and Twilight (who seemed to be deep in thought). "You haven't heard of the most awesome book series in the world?!" Everybody sighed with relief. "Only just came here" I deadpanned. "Oops…" she replied nervously. "Sorry…" "Anyway, mind if I read the blurb?" "Sure, go ahead" she said, putting a bookmark in her book. "How do they hold things with their hooves?" I read the blurb and replied "That sounds a lot like 'Indiana Jones' from back home." "Indiana who?" "Jones." "Still, I bet he isn't nearly as cool as Daring Do!" "He'd still give her a pretty good run for her money." "No-one's cooler than Daring Do!" I shrugged "I guess we can only speculate, seeing as Indiana Jones is only fictional." "Ha! Daring Do is actually real!" I raised an eyebrow. "Really?" "Yeah, that makes her about 20% cooler!" "Touché…" "Sorry?" "It means 'You have a point'." "Oh, ok." she replied. I could have sworn I heard her mutter "Egghead..." "Anyway, enjoy your book! "Thanks!" and she continued reading. I decided to walk back to my seat next to Twilight. She didn't react. I sat there, bored, until I had a brainwave. I concentrated on Twilight and thought, like I was speaking, "Twilight?" Her ears perked up, and she asked "Did you say something?" I grinned at the success of my experiment. "Not out loud, I didn't!" "Wait, you mean that you spoke through…" After a short moment, I heard her voice in my head. "…telepathy?" "I did!" I answered. "I didn't know that was possible." "Neither did I. I just thought 'If we can read each other's thoughts and memories, then why can we not use telepathy?'." "That is pretty nice! Imagine how useful that could be? Either way, I feel like the princesses need to know about this." She looked at me, as if expecting a response. "I won't stop you." I replied. She took a quill and a piece of parchment from her saddlebag and began writing. I felt a bit tired, and decided go and join Applejack in the land of nod. While I was drifting off to sleep, questions were buzzing around my head like flies. "How are we able to share each other's thoughts? Why am I here? Am I even meant to be here? What is going on back home?" Then sleep mercifully took hold.
6 Back to PonyvilleI was walking to my house. I was 8 years old and still in the human world. I rang the doorbell of the old brick house, with my mother opening it. I ran into her arms, and gave her a hug. Suddenly, her grip on her right arm loosened, the right side of her face went dead. I immediately ran to the phone and called for an ambulance. While waiting for the ambulance to arrive, I knelt down beside my mother, who had sat down, and eventually started crying. After I had lost my father, I didn't want to lose the only member of my family. Weakly, she said "Don't worry, I'll be all right…" "But what if you won't?" I asked between sobs. She barely managed a full smile. "I will be in a better place. Just remember, God will always be watching over you. Always…" she slipped into unconsciousness. I started crying uncontrollably. Just 30 seconds later, an ambulance arrived. Then the Mane Six jumped out and said "Jonah, time to wake up!" I opened my eyes and reality came back. My vision was blurred from the tears from the dream. I quickly blinked them out, and saw I was on the train to Ponyville. "Are you alright?" asked Fluttershy's soothing voice. "I'm alright…" I replied before I hiccupped. "It was just a very sad dream." "Could you tell us your dream?" asked Twilight. "Must I?" "A problem shared is a problem halved." I let out a mental sigh. "Are you sure? You won't believe how many times I have had this exact conversation, and every time it ended badly…" "We can take it." I sighed in defeat. "Alright, brace yourself." I went on to tell them about my dream. By the end, they were all sad. Fluttershy was letting out silent tears, and Pinkie's mane somehow partially deflated (I could have also sworn it turned a darker shade of pink). Twilight had gotten the worst of it, seeing as she could feel what I felt. Fluttershy was the first to speak. "How have you managed to live like this?" "I barely did…" I replied. "I suffered from chronic depression. I could barely concentrate on my school work, and was nearly sent to an Asylum." They all winced at that. "Once I nearly…" I realized that I simply couldn't continue, partially because I doubted whether they could take much more of my history, partially because I didn't want to delve further myself. "…But that doesn't matter anymore. After that, I dedicated my life to science – understanding how the world works, and how to improve it. It gave me something to think about, and what's more, I really enjoyed the success of experiments. When you haven't felt joy for 6 months, it's really an amazing feeling. When I went back to school, my grades immediately shot up. However, I was not able to make any friends, since everybody considered me a 'nerd', or an 'egghead'." Rainbow Dash smiled nervously and scratched the back of her head (were Ponies double-jointed or something?). Twilight said, "You know, I was a bit like you before I came to Ponyville. I didn't have many friends and I was a study-freak. Rainbow Dash also occasionally calls me an egghead." "That would explain Rainbow's embarrassment." "Trust me, friends are quite something." That again struck me quite deep. "I – don't know what to say to that." For the first time in ages, I was speechless. "Also, you dedicated your life to studying science, and I dedicated mine to studying the magic of friendship." "Magic doesn't exist." I said instinctively. Twilight smiled mischievously and I saw the familiar purple glow of her horn. "Oh no..." I thought as I began to levitate. "Okay, magic does exist" I mentally yelled. "Say it out loud" she said playfully. "Not a chance!" I replied stubbornly. I started turning upside down. "Not going to work this time!" I saw her smile fade while the cogs turned in her head, before she adopted a new, more sinister smile. I sensed her thoughts, and suddenly, a picture of a merry-go-round popped into my head. "Oh sugar…" I cursed in dread. I started spinning like a top, which wasn't too bad. Except I was upside down, which was enough to make even the most strong stomached feel disorientated. "OKAY! OKAY!" I yelled. "Magic does exist!" Mercifully, the ordeal ended and I was back on my feet. However, I was still feeling the side-effects. I was walking around dizzily. Everybody giggled – including Fluttershy, who I knew from Twilight to be very kind. Then the train started slowing down, causing me to stumble and… [Cue ASDF Movie "Everybody do the flop!"] …faceplant. Everyone tried to suppress a full scale laugh- and miraculously succeeded. Just when I thought that things couldn't get worse – surprise, surprise - they did. All 22 of Rarity's suitcase fell on me. "Ouch…" I complained *THUMP* Correction: All 23 of Rarity's suitcases fell on me. Pinkie gave up and laughed out loud, followed by everyone else. When everyone calmed down, I asked Rarity "I suppose you would like me to help you carry all your stuff (?)" sarcastically The sarcasm sailed right over her head. "If you would be so kind, my dear." She replied, with several sniggers. I suddenly chuckled when I realized the irony of the situation. "I guess this would be repayment for the ticket?" I asked, remembering her generosity at the ticket booth. "You don't owe me anything for the ticket, but if you so wish." "First off, can someone get me out of my suitcasey tomb? I can't feel my hands!" "Sure!" said Rainbow Dash, pulling the suitcases off me. When she finished, she looked confused and asked "Hold on, weren't you a human a few moments ago?" I looked down and realised that once again, my hands became hooves. "Well, that would explain the lack of feeling in my han- hooves. But can we first get off the train? I will explain everything a bit later." We each carried our suitcases (except me and Spike, who didn't have any) and shared out Rarity's. Unfortunately, I was not used to this kind of exertion, making it quite a journey. "Who - *pant* - knew - *pant* - that - *pant* - clothes - *pant* - were - *pant* - so - *pant* - HEAVY!"I collapsed. When I woke up, I found that I was in a boutique. "Man, this whole passing out thing is getting old!" I looked around, seeing several finished and half-finished set of clothes on marble white pony-shaped models, with fabric, thread and assorted gems cluttering the area. "That's quite an establishment you have here!" I complimented. "Thanks, although it is the only one in Ponyville, so really, I don't have anything to compare it to." She replied. "Figures, seeing as this is a rural town." "So, now can you explain?" asked Rainbow Dash. "What?" I replied. "Oh, the train! Well, to be perfectly honest, I don't know WHY it happened. Guess I can't morph if people are watching." I saw that Rainbow Dash was mildly disappointed at that feeble answer. "On the bright side, at least everyone won't freak out when they see me as a human. By the way, do you know what time it is?" Rainbow Dash looked at the, admittedly, beautiful sunset. "Celestia and Luna really outdone themselves!" I thought, before I realised what I just thought. "Wait, the Royal Sisters raise the sun and moon? I will need to ask Twilight about that." "By the looks of it, it seems to be around 8 o'clock." Replied Rainbow Dash. I yawned. I just realized just how tired I was, despite my disturbing nap on the train. "Is there anywhere where I can sleep while I'm in Ponyville?" "Well…" said Rarity."Sweetie Bell and her friends are having a sleepover, so my spare room is being used." "Oh dear…" continued Fluttershy."My cottage is completely full. I'm still looking after the animals after that forest fire." "Forest fire?" "It's still ah mystery how it happened..." replied Applejack."Unfortunately, our farm is also full." "The bakery doesn't have any spare rooms either." Said Pinkie. "I DO have some spare rooms in my cloud-house, but only Pegasi and Alicorns can walk on clouds, sooo, yeah." Said Rainbow Dash "What is this? Bethlehem?! And how are cloud houses possible? Nothing makes sense here." "Well…" started Twilight. "PLEASE have a spare room! And not just a stable! I don't want to sleep in a manger." "I do have spare room in my library, although it is, at the minute, full of junk…" "Don't worry, I've slept in worse… Just as long as I have a roof over my head." I said remembering my times in poverty and homelessness. "Oh no…" I thought. "Twilight is going to experience my past again. Why does she have to go through this? She has done nothing to deserve it!" I sighed. "Twilight, a' you alright sugarcube?" asked Applejack worryingly. "Yes, I – I'm fine" replied Twilight after a brief pause before she walked out. "Does anypony know what the hay happened just there?" "Telepathic connection. I remembered an unpleasant memory and unfortunately she just experienced it. Don't ask me to explain, I am too tired, and besides, I don't fully understand it myself." I replied quickly before I set off after Twilight followed by Spike, leaving the remaining 5 in confusion. "Hey! Wait up!" Me and Spike yelled. When we caught up with Twilight, she was already waiting at the library. "Welcome to the Library." She said, wanting to get it done and over with. "Please come in." I walked cautiously in, with the sight reminding me of when I first came to Equestria. I tried to clear my mind of most of my memories from before I came here. After she levitated the sleeping dragon off my back, and popped him into his bed, she asked me "Jonah, if you don't mind, I would like to talk." "Sure." I replied "I-it's about the memories I've been getting from you, and the story you told us on the train. How is it possible for someone to experience so much pain, and yet… Who are you?" I let out a sympathetic smile. "I have asked myself that question many times before. Unfortunately, I never found an answer. I just try not to think about it too much. If that fails, I occupy myself with something else. If that doesn't work, then I go to bed and think of a fantasy world a bit like this one before I fall asleep. If THAT doesn't work, well, I never got to that stage." "Thanks." She replied, clearly comforted. "Now, if you don't mind, could you show me my room, I would like to skip straight to stage 3." She smiled, clearly comforted "Sure, just follow me." We climbed up the stairs to find a two doors next to each other. "Your room is the one to my right, the one to my left is my room." "Thanks." I replied. "I will be downstairs attempting stage 2." I smiled. "Sure, just don't stay up too late." "I won't." she replied. Somehow, I knew that was an immediate lie. I opened the door and walked over to the bed, sidestepping the various books and boxes. I cleared some of the books and just crashed onto the mattress without bothering to find a blanket, falling asleep with a weird, but nice nonetheless, warm and fuzzy feeling in my chest.
7 I can't do ApplebuckingI was in the Human world again, walking down a dimly lit street. I was going nowhere in particular, just trying to clear my mind of the traumatising death of my mother, but it wasn't working very well. I just simply couldn't drive my thoughts from her... It was approaching the evening; when gangs started hanging out. The last thing you wanted was to be caught out alone at this time. Unfortunately, I was too deep in thought to realise that. Then I saw a group of boys walking in front of me, immediately slamming the breaks on my train of thought. Fortunately they hadn't seen me. I began panicking. I immediately recognised them. They called themselves the 'Federation' (a terrible insult to 'Star Trek', if you ask me). They were the most feared gang in all of town. Their leader the most. He had been terrorising since 2012 and had accumulated a small army of 50 followers. He and his Elites – the Notorious Nine- were right in front of me. Was the leader born that way, or had something terrible happened to him? No one knew, and no one dared to find out. I felt the urge of the fundamental 'Fight or Flight' response. Fighting was WAY out of the question (they all carried knives, some rumoured that the leader had a disguised pistol!) and running away was just going to get me noticed. I concluded that the best thing to do was to just keep on going until I came across an alleyway or other hiding place and hide. The suspense was metaphorically killing me. I knew that getting noticed was going to get me in hospital, if not beaten black and blue. What is more is that there are so many control variables that could go wrong. If there isn't a hiding place, I will eventually get notice. If a noise goes off behind me, I will get noticed. If someone says "Hi!" to me, I will get noticed. If just one of them decides for whatever reason turn round, I would get noticed. I was walking in the suspense for 10, maybe 20 seconds, but those felt like days. Finally, I saw an alleyway, but precious seconds too late. One of them turned round with a shout of "Hey!" and I pegged it down the alley at speeds that I didn't know I could achieve. Three seconds later and I came to the end. The gang was still catching up. My heart was racing and I was breathing rapidly and deeply. I looked around me and saw that there was no weapon I could use. I was trapped. "Well hello, little mouse!" taunted one of the members "Trapped in the corner, are we?" said another. I saw an escape ladder from a balcony, but there was no way I could reach it. Unless… A plan formulated in my mind. It was reckless, un-orthodox, unlikely to work and perhaps even a bit stupid! But it might just save me my skin. I grabbed a discarded garden rake and used it to pull down the ladder. I jumped up, heaving myself up. Still holding onto the rake that saved my life, I swung myself over the fence, panting as I recovered from the adrenalin rush. I heard the gang swear with such profanity that it would have made a sailor blush. They yelled insults of me being a coward, etcetera, etcetera, and left "Come on, let that [BLEEP] hide in its [BLEEP] hole." I saw a bright light which made me close my eyes. I shielded my eyes while I got used to the light. When I opened my eyes, I saw that the light the sun, peeking over the mountains, coming through the window. I was no longer in an alleyway, or a balcony, but I room full of old books and boxes. What I just experienced was another dream. "Why am I getting all these dreams all of a sudden? And why of my past? I hardly remember any of my dreams…" I stretched and yawned, before climbing out of bed. I walked downstairs, and saw Twilight sleeping on a book. "Why was I expecting this?" I asked myself, smiling. I debated whether to wake her or not, but eventually decided against it. "Nah, she looks cute like that... Wait, why did I just think that? I am probably still tired…" I was going to leave for 'Sweet Apple Acres', but then thought it would be a good idea to leave a note. "Wait, I can't write, I should probably wake her up then..." "Twilight!" I said in a loud whisper. She mumbled something which sounded like "mushroom". I chuckled at the randomness and again said "Twi-light!" She blinked, then yawned. "Good morning Jonah…" she said sluggishly "Good morning Twilight. Sorry I woke you. I was going to leave you a note saying I was going to go to 'Sweet Apple Acres' instead, but I realised I didn't know how to write as a Pony." She smiled "I will need to teach you how to do so, then". "Anyway, I need to get going." "Sure, I needed to go to the 'Sugar Cube Corner' to – umm… - help Pinkie with something." I immediately felt a wave deception coming from her. I frowned "You do realise that I know when you try to deceive me." She smiled sheepishly. I paused for a couple of seconds while I attempted to deduce what she was actually going to do. "You and Pinkie are planning a surprise?" I guessed. She gave an innocent smile. "Maybe." I sighed. "Well, I am not going to push you to spoil it. Anyway, I don't know about your world, but in mine farmers are known to get early in the morning, and I don't want to be late on my first day." "Alright, just when you are finished, meet me at the 'Sugar Cube Corner'." "For the surprise?" I enquired. "Maybe!" she replied. I facehoofed in frustration with a groan. "Well, see you then." "Bye!" she waved back. I began walking instinctively to 'Sweet Apple Acres', wondering what 'Surprise' Twilight and Pinkie were brewing. I was walking down the dirt road, when I finally saw the 'Sweet Apple Acres' creep over the horizon, which was quite a sight to behold. It certainly held up 'Acres' (note the plural) part of its name. It was positively huge! Next to the plantation of apple trees, there was a red farmhouse. "This must be where Applejack and her family lives." Applejacks POV "My, Granny Smith! Ya' never fail to surprise with ya' baking" Ah' complimented, before digging into my fourth slice of pie. "There are something which ya' don't lose with age. That reminds me of the time when…" But Ah' tuned out at that point. To some folks readin' this (thanks, by the way Muranuse, for letting me write this myself), this might seem ah' bit rude. However, Ah' had heard that story +301 times. She does have a habit of going off on a tangent, if Ah' am being honest… But Ah' am being as hypocritical as a bull herdin' a bunch of cows, so let's get back to the story. While she continued on about her diving into a small tin tub, which for those of ya' who don't know, ended up with… Redacted to prevent spoilers …then the doorbell rang. "Ah'll get it!" Ah' announced (Granny Smith completely oblivious). When Ah' opened the door, Ah' saw Jonah standing outside. "Good mornin', Jonah! Ah' didn't think you would be up this early." "Eh! I have been doing it for 5 years now. I'm used to it." he replied "Would you like to join us for breakfast? Granny Smith has baked some of her delicious pie!" "Don't mind if I do!" he answered with his stomach growling in agreement. "You know…" he chuckled. "…One problem with becoming a Pony is that you have re-learn just about everything: writing, cooking, how NOT to bump into a tree (due to a minor lack of depth perception), life in general!" "The longer you make that list, the more of the pie will have disappeared!" "Right… Well, then lead the way, AJ!" he replied with ah' hint of wit in his voice. "Follow me, JC!" Ah' retorted with a smirk. When we approached the kitchen, Ah' announced "We have ah guest for breakfast!" "…and Ah' leapt off the board like a majestic..." said Granny Smith. Ah' could see that Jonah was confused, so Ah' explained. "She kind of loses touch with reality when she is tellin' one of her stories." He nodded in comprehension just as she finished. "… and that is why Ah' never swum again…" she replied rather solemnly, but she brightened up as soon as she noticed that Jonah was in the room. "Oh! We have ah guest for breakfast?" Ah' resisted the urge to facehoof, instead saying "Yes, we do. Ah' thought that he might enjoy your famous pie!" "Well, Applebloom and Big Mac finished it off…" pointing towards my two siblings. "Ah' might have had a couple of slices…" said the little Filly. "'Eeyup!" was the Stallions reply. "…But Ah' always bake a spare!" she announced triumphantly. Jonah smiled. "Back from where I come from, there is an old saying which goes: 'The proof of the pudding is in the eating'…" he said rubbing his hooves together. "…or in this case, the pie!" After breakfast – Jonah's POV I was still smiling from the wonderful breakfast I just had. Was it just me, or was Equestrian food better than Human food? "So, what should I do?" I asked as we entered the apple plantation. "Well, Ah' suppose we could see how good you are at applebucking…" she replied. "Just let me get the baskets." After a few moments, she returned with several woven baskets on her back. "How did those get there?" I asked myself, but it was pointless to try to find any logic in that. When I snapped out of my confusion, I noticed that the baskets somehow moved underneath two of the apple trees. "What… the… Okay, goodbye logic! Nice knowing you." "Applebucking is pretty simple, you simply buck the tree at the centre to shake all the apples off." Apple Jack instructed. "You need to hit it hard enough for the apples to get shaken off, but not so hard that you injure yourself. Like this…" She proceeded to demonstrate. She turned around and bucked the tree. It shook, with all the apples gracefully landing in the baskets. "Now you try." I approached the towering tree, holding its red appley prizes. I turned around before bucking it with moderate strength. The tree barely even shook, and didn't yield its prize. "Well, this is a bit embarrassing!" I thought to myself. "Well, your technique was perfect! Impressive for a beginner. But it just lacked ah' bit of strength." She said. "Alright then." I replied with iron determination. I went and bucked the tree as hard as I could, but the tree – again – barely even shook. "Right! This is seriously getting to me now!" I said, exasperated. I thought how to hit it with the most impact. I could take a run up, but most of the power came from my back legs, so that would be counter-productive. After a few moments thinking, a plan formulated in my mind. I backed up about 10 paces. "Jonah, what are you doing?" Asked a worried Apple Jack Ignoring her question, I galloped towards it. When I was two paces away from it, I took off from my front hooves into a somersault. When I was upside down, I twisted so I was the right way up – a manoeuvre which Olympic swimmers did in water, except I did it in the air. With the added momentum from the run up, my back hooves made contact with tremendous force. Then, gravity decided to pay a visit. *Thump* I landed in a basket. Above me, the apples were still swinging from the 'tremendous' force I hit the tree with. The stalk of one apple was particularly thin, which eventually snapped. The mass of red started falling down, until… *Thump* …it landed on my head. I looked up and saw loads of red dots which were apples, almost taunting me. "Of course, the only apple I actually manage to get down lands on my head. 'Cause how else will it comply to this worlds already crazy logic(?!)" I thought sarcastically. A light blue Pegasus landed a couple metres away from the tree. "That was a pretty cool move you pulled off! Where did you learn that?" Rainbow Dash asked suspiciously. "Are you a spy?" she continued, a little less subtle than last time. "Actually…" I replied, getting up. "I just made it up, to get those apples down." pointing to the tree. If it was sentient, I bet it would be laughing its apples off. "And no, I am not a spy. I am just a human who ended up here due to a freak magical accident." I continued with a hint of irritation in my voice. "Seriously?" Rainbow Dash asked, approaching the tree. "Why didn't you just do this?" she proceeded to buck the tree, releasing all the apples. "Right, this is no longer embarrassing, this is borderline HUMILIATING!" I thought to myself angrily. "Don't you think I just tried that?" I replied in a dangerously soft voice "Well, if Applebucking isn't your thing, I suppose you could help with carrying the baskets to the cart. It isn't as demanding, and it is actually more helpful than you think!" suggested Rainbow Dash. "Well, I suppose I could try that…" I replied. I went on and bit the one of the handles, Rainbow Dash taking another. It was a bit heavy, but not too much to handle. We carried it over before depositing it into the cart. "That wasn't too bad! Thanks Rainbow Dash." I thanked. "You're welcome!" she replied. "Normally, Big Mac or somepony else helps carry the baskets, seeing as it is a two pony job. With you helping it gives AJ more time to rest, so we can get the harvest done earlier." We continued the process, with Apple Jack bucking the trees and me and Rainbow Dash transferring the baskets. It was tedious at worst, but it was something I could get used to. At the end of the day "Whew! Thanks for the help today, Jonah" thanked Apple Jack. "Yeah, well I need to be going." said Rainbow Dash rather suddenly. When we arrived at the farmhouse, Apple Jack detached herself from the cart, and headed in. "Mind waiting here, Ah' need to get something." She told me. A few seconds later, she returned with a small pouch. "Here are your wages." I opened the bag, and inside was a number of golden coins. "Just out of curiosity, how much will this buy me?" I asked, curious as to the value of the currency. "Enough for 3 meals, rent and a bit extra for savings." She replied. "Enough to live a decent life." "Thanks!" I replied, popping it into my saddlebag. "I need to get to the 'Sugar Cube Corner' for a surprise." Her eyes widened as she just remembered something. "Aw, shoot! Ah' just remembered something! A- Ah' need to go!" She rapidly moved the cart with the apples to the barn, before taking off to Ponyville. "I wonder where she is off to!" I thought to myself. I began heading to Ponyville myself, except not in a full gallop. If you looked at me now, there would be no way you could tell I was worried, but inside, I really was. Seeing as I didn't spend much time with people, I wasn't exactly used to surprises. I hoped that I wouldn't take it too badly.
