Parallel

Chapter 15: Mentor (Part 1)

I wish I could say that the few hours after the incident with Pinkie Pie were productive, but I would be lying. The pink pony did everything but leave us alone. She prodded Twilight and I with endless questions about what we liked about the other, what we thought our first date would be like, and other increasingly embarrassing inquiries. Luckily she was too busy jumping to new questions to give us any chance to really give her an answer.

Eventually Twilight managed to drive her away, but the battle left us haggard and broken.

I could hardly look at Twilight without blushing, and so far as I could tell she was in the exact same state. She kept fidgeting back and forth with her front hooves, and couldn't look me in the eyes at all. I cleared my throat, "So... since we can't find much, then what's the plan?"

Twilight looked like she was off in a different world, and it wasn't until Spike marched up to her and kicked her in one of her hooves that she snapped out of it, "Huh wha..."

Spike glared up at her, "If you go crazy again I'm sending a letter to Princess Celestia right away."

Twilight's eyes widened in what I could only describe as pure horror, "NO! No there's no need for that Spike!" She rubbed his head softly with her hoof and let out a sigh, "I was just... thinking. I need to rewrite several checklists."

Spike raised an eyebrow at this, "What? Why would you need to do that?"

Twilight gritted her teeth, her face wasn't getting any less red either, "Erm... I uh... because I... just... I'll need more free time!"

Spike nodded in understanding, "Ooooohh, okay. So you wanna..."

Twilight lurched forward and plugged his mouth, turning to me and tossing me a nervous grin as she did so, "HAHAHA SPIKE YOU SILLY DRAGON! You couldn't possibly know what I'd want to do with ALL THAT FREE TIME! I think it's bed time for you now!"

I raised a hoof to stop her, "Twi, it's like... lunch time."

"Baby Dragons need their rest! Not to mention we have a lot to do William! We have to go see Rainbow Dash and Applejack. You need to learn how to fly, and you need a job and..."

"Alright alright I get it."

I thought it was better not to ask questions, especially with Spike's muffled screaming echoing through the library as Twilight forcefully dragged him upstairs.

We grabbed a quick lunch before actually heading out to meet Dash.

Our meeting spot was the same hill she dragged me to during my first day in Equestria. Really, there was nowhere else more fitting for learning how to fly.

As Twilight and I approached the hill I saw Dash at the very top, grass blowing around her hooves as the pegasus grinned down at us, "'Bout time you two showed up, I was starting to get a little worried."

I smirked, "Well, it'd be a shame if I let down the most badass pegasus in all of Equestria."

"I love love loooooove that word! C'mon, let's get started!"

Twilight smiled and sat down on the grass at the foot of the hill, "I'll watch from down here."

"Alright."

I made my way up the hill and took position next to Dash, who was still grinning, "So, you ready to try and actually fly? You know... get a taste of the sky?"

"Depends on whether I'll crash or not."

"You'll be fine."

Little did I know that fine meant constantly looking down in fear and being reassured by Twilight that I was doing just great. Twilight's cheering did wonders, but I still felt like I could drop at any second. I had to give Dash credit, she knew what she was doing. Instead of tossing me into the pool, as it were, she was taking it slow and letting me work on flying around without any fancy tricks or crazy maneuvers.

For all my complaining though, it was really one of the most amazing feelings in my life.

Here I was, flying under my own power, accomplishing the one dream that lead to the invention of the airplane and an industry of travel centered around flying in air tight tubes with wings.

By the time we landed back on the hill it was already around two in the afternoon if the sun in the sky was any indication, which I hoped it was.

"You're doing great," said Dash, and just by looking at her I could tell she was being sincere.

"Thanks."

Twilight ran up to both of us with a wide smile, "You can fly!" she shouted excitedly.

Twilight being excited about it boosted my confidence a little...

Just a little...

Okay, a lot.

There was a moment where Dash looked between Twilight and I, then a small smile formed. She stomped her front hooves in the grass as her smile turned to a grin, "You know what?!" she shouted, "The three of us should go out and grab drinks some time."

Twilight frowned, "I'm not sure Rainbow, I'd have to rewrite my schedule and..."

Dash shook her head, "Nah, I don't mean today Twi, just sometime soon. I mean, William's hardly had any down time at all since he's been here, right William?" She nudged my shoulder, and at that moment I realized exactly why she was grinning.

Dash had just become my wingman.

This was an opportunity that I would make sure not to squander.

"I don't have a problem with it Dash, you up to it Twi?"

Twilight smiled, "Yeah, sure."

Dash jumped up in the air and pumped her hooves, "Woo hoo! Alright, lemme know when you guys have free time!"

Rainbow Dash, professional bro.

Bro Rainbow Dash.

Rainbro Dash.

"Why are you laughing, William?" asked Twilight.

"... No reason."

Sweet Apple Acres was a sight to behold. I knew Applejack lived and worked on some type of farm but I had no idea that it would be an Apple Orchard, or that I should be taking her name so literally. The place stretched as far as the eye could see, and was twice the size of the largest orchard I'd ever laid eyes on.

We started to walk down the trail in between the two fields, and in the distance, past all the trees, I could almost make out their actual property. It appeared they had a large barn as well, but I couldn't see their actual house from where we were.

"Well call me a filly! Ah didn't expect ta see ya'll get outta the library for a while. What with all the research goin' on."

Twilight smiled when Applejack appeared from the left field dragging a large cart full of apples behind her.

'Reiterating note to self: farm girls are dangerous.'

"Hi Applejack!" Twilight gave her friend a short hug and smiled, "I just brought William here because he might be able to help on the orchard."

"I thought he was stayin' with you Twi?"

Twilight sighed, "Well yeah, but... anypony would get tired of freeloading for that long."

I nodded in agreement, "Yeah, Twilight's been great to me, but it's about time I started paying rent. You hiring help?"

Applejack brought a hoof to her chin in thought, "We could always use some help buckin' the trees, and it's gettin' about that time o' year. Tell ya what Bill, we'll take ya on as a bucker for a couple weeks, and we'll teach ya about the rest of the orchard while yer workin' in the fields, how's that sound."

I smiled, "That actually sounds great."

"Show up in a couple days at the crack o' dawn and we'll get ya goin'."

The day had gone better than expected. I looked forward to getting to know Rainbow Dash and Applejack a bit more. It didn't take a genius to see that I was making fast friends in Ponyville, as well as the human world I had come from.

As Twilight and I returned to the library I couldn't help thinking about all that had happened since I first woke up in Equestria.

I was trying to wrap my head around everything that had happened so far, and honestly, it was a bit difficult. I knew there was no use thinking on why I was in Equestria though, at least not until we managed to uncover the secrets of the veil.

We were nearing the library when Twilight smiled at me, "Something on your mind?"

"Yeah, just thinking how crazy all this is."

"Crazy compared to?"

I laughed and shook my head, "Trust me, I've seen crazy before."

"Oh?"

The door was surrounded by Twilight's magic and opened on its own as we approached the library. We made our way inside and I kicked the door shut, "Yeah, real crazy."

The sound of hooves distracted me from continuing the conversation with Twilight. The steps belonged to neither of us, and when we looked up I could have sworn I saw Twilight's jaw hit the floor, "Princess Celestia, but I... you don't... he's... I'm..."

'Princess Celestia' indeed lived up to her name, standing at least twice as tall as any other pony I had seen, including myself. Her coat was white in color, and her mane looked more like magic than hair; it was like a bright light spectrum. Not to mention the fact that her hooves were cupped with some sort of golden horse shoes. Then, to top it all off was the crown on her head.

Celestia smiled down at me, "You must be William Jenkins then, I've heard a lot about you from Twilight's letters."

Twilight laughed awkwardly when the princess leaned down to my ear.

"You know," Celestia whispered, "If you hurt her, there might be some consequences." Then, as if nothing had happened, she pulled back up and once again smiled, "It's so nice to finally meet you," she said cheerfully.

I had the sudden urge to go to the bathroom.

"Nice to meet you too," I managed to grind out.

Twilight stepped forward, "But... Princess, what are you even doing here?"

"Well, in your last letter you mentioned that that the two of you were having trouble finding historical logs on the veil. I thought I'd try to help you out with that. William being here is acceptable, but if our worlds were to cross any more than they already have it might lead to disaster."

I tried not to be nervous at that idea, "They're crossing? What kind of disaster?"

Celestia chuckled, "Now now, calm down. There's no need to panic. When Star Swirl went to your world he discovered things of interest, some of which I'll be sharing with you today."

Twilight fidgeted a little bit, "What kind of things?"

Almost as if on cue, two books floated through the door surrounded by the light of Celestia's magic, and were set at our hooves. "These books are the extent of Star Swirl's research. It's getting kind of late, but there will be plenty of material for you to browse tomorrow, I assure you."

I nodded, "Princess, I have a question."

"Hmm?"

"I'm meeting the same people on both sides of the veil, and I'm sure Twilight's told you about the incident with me having to take medicine to the other side. Do you have any idea why there are counterparts?"

"I'm sorry, I cannot answer that question, but you might be able to."

"Me?"

Celestia chuckled and winked at me, then turned her smile to Twilight, "I should be going. Send me a letter when you discover something new."

"I will Princess."

"Oh, and DO let me know how things turn out between you two."

Celestia's laughter as she left the library only made our blushes deeper.

The sun was on the verge of the horizon.

Before the door closed, the sight of Celestia walking into the sunset was strangely fitting.

Twilight turned to me with a smile when the door shut, "So, dinner then bed?"

"Sounds good to me."

I woke to the sound of very loud knocking at my door.

Stumbling out of bed, I rubbed my eyes and managed to stumble myself into sweat pants and a shirt.

Further stumbling through my apartment and nearly killing Mishmash brought me to my front door.

I opened it, and two men were standing there, both of them wearing police uniforms.

"Hello Mr. Jenkins," said the one on the right, "We're here to ask you a few questions." He flashed his badge, and my throat went dry.

What were they there for?

As soon as I asked myself that question it all came flooding back.

My escape from the warehouse.

"Can we come in?"