Sunshine

A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction

By Mr.Sandman

DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit fanbased work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro, and the reinvention of Lauren Faust. No copyright infringement is intended.

"A-Are you sure that this is okay? I don't wish to cause any trouble."

Flipping on the light of the hospital room neighboring mine, a flickering fixture slowly lit up a dark room similar to my own. The same furniture, and positions. The only thing different was really the fact that this room had a door leading to a personal bathroom next to the beds. Those stingy doctors didn't even originally give me a room with a shower at first? That's a load of bull, right there.

The window had a few nice sights to see. It wasn't the same view that I remembered from the other room, but it would do. The clouds outside made it appear that it was about to rain, but I could just ever so slightly catch a piece of the moon poking its' side from one of the night-time sky tufts to give them a silver glow.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy. We already talked to Doctor Stable about you staying the night with me, remember? Redheart getting all huffy about it, and everything?" I could still see how red in the face that nurse got when the Doc sided with me. Hell hath no fry like a woman scorned, I suppose. "At any rate it's getting late, and I won't have you wandering about the streets at this hour."

Maybe it was my paranoia that convinced me to have Fluttershy stay with me this night. Remembering my old home, the mental images of being mugged and beaten down to a state of near unconsciousness floated to the top of my mind. The city I lived in wasn't the safest in the world, but it was still my home, you know? Maybe I was just too lazy to do so, but there was never the urge to move out of my apartment. It was kind of like a chunk of the world that I owned. Something that I could say that I was proud to have. The crime rate was horrible either way you looked at it, and just trying to imagine Fluttershy being put in a similar situation to what I had been in...

That wasn't important. That was not going to happen. She was staying here in the hospital with me until morning. Then she can do whatever she wanted.

I pulled back the sheets to one of the rooms' beds before looking to Fluttershy. All the time that I had prepped her bed, she watched me with a somewhat sad tilt of the head. Apparently, I had accidentally let a couple worried expressions slip onto my face that the little pegasus noticed rather quickly. "Jacob, are you alright?" Knowing that I had been caught showing genuine worried emotion on a private thought, I stared at Fluttershy blankly for a spit second before standing up straight the moment I finished pulling back her covers. In an attempt to pretend ignorance, I dusted my shirt off to try and distract Fluttershy from the matter.

"It's nothing to be concerned about. Your' bed is ready, and you need to sleep."

Seeming to take the hint that I wanted nothing to do with talking about my feelings, Fluttershy moved toward her temporary bed in a watchful manner towards me. Nothing was said during the interval between Fluttershy hopping into bed and tucking herself in, but as I made my way to turn off the light I could hear her speak. "Um, Jacob-" I didn't stop my walk to the light switch; instead, a slight hum left me to confirm to her that I was indeed listening. "-What is it like where you are from? You've told me about some of the people, but what about the others?" Reaching the light switch, I was hesitant to cutting off the flow of electricity that this little nub of plastic provided.

That question wasn't easy to answer.

Turning to Fluttershy, I looked to her to see that little butter yellow head of hers laying itself on a pillow. A couple hooves poked from the top of the covers before folding on the fabric just below her chin. That pink mane seemed so relaxed that it almost appeared to be asleep. "Well, Fluttershy... that's a bit complicated." The feeling of the switch underneath my right index finger came to exist only when I placed my hand onto the little plastic stub on the wall.

"I guess that you can say that it's kind of like this world, but also kind of not."

My answer only seemed to confuse her.

"There are good people, but there are also bad. My world was a tough place to live in, but that much will never change no matter where you go or what world you live in. Even in a peaceful-looking world like this one, my life has only become even more difficult than before."

I could see Fluttershy coming to see my statement being mostly derogatory, but I was yet to finish.

"Even so, there are good things about our worlds as well. Very similar things that I only just now realized. Sure, the world will beat you down mercilessly, that much is for certain. That doesn't mean that there are not people that will help you back up to your' feet sometimes. Those people are rare where I'm from, but I hope one day that it becomes more common. People that stick by your side and help you out in life no matter what's thrown your way. The people that we feel that we can call 'friends' or 'family'. The only things that make life really worth living, I suppose."

As stirring words that these might have been, I brought attention back at the light switch ready to shut off the lights. Applying pressure to the top of the switch, my hand twitched at a shout from Fluttershy.

"W-wait!"

I froze in place when looking back to see Fluttershy sitting up in bed, and gripping her blankets tightly. In silence, I watched her. We stared at one another for a short while before Fluttershy found the nerve to continue. "Jacob... We're... Friends... Right?" Hearing this, I could feel a warm joy coming over me.

"Yes, Fluttershy. Very good friends."

My words brought comfort to the yellow pegasus before laying back down to nestle herself in bed. Turning on her side before closing her eyes, I could hear Fluttershy beginning to yawn. "I'm glad to hear that." It seemed that sleep deprivation was finally getting to her. "Goodnight, Jacob." Cracking a smile, I finally brought down my finger to flick off the lights.

"Goodnight, Fluttershy. See you in the morning."

I dreamt of my family that night.

I was at my grandparents house in their small town. It was a simple home for two people in their early to mid-sixties. Sandy beige bricks stacked themselves into burly walls that I remembered perfectly. Walking beside their empty cement driveway large enough to hold a two by two group of four cars, I made my way up the red bricked sidewalk my grandfather built before even i was born. Even in his old age, that grandfather of mine never knew when to quit. The green grass opposite to the drive way stretched into a well decorated lawn that showed me both his green thumb and his wives taste in lawn ornaments.

Even though there was no breeze, that did not stop a small rusty windmill that stood firmly on the front grounds from spinning itself. Only for show, I remembered helping my grandparents putting that there in the first place by having made a stone barricade around the four aged legs so that it could not be overpowered by the wind and topple over. Beside it was the pecan tree that I spent a small majority of summer under with my grandfather when we were done with a hard days work in his vegetable garden out back. Funny looking back on it, but I can remember how we would take the ripe pecans that fell from the tree and ate them before anything else had the chance. Those squirrels still held a grudge towards us.

Turning off toward the front door of the humble abode, a faint yet familiar sound lightly caressed my ears. It was a sound that caused me to flinch in my own walk cycle just so that I could really confirm what was being listened to at that exact moment in time. It was...

It was my family.

Just as happy as ever, I could hear everyone. My mother, sister, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and my little cousin. All laughing; all happy. A stirring feeling within me actually brought tears to my eyes when able to know with absolute certainty what was being picked up on within the walls of this house.

I wanted to be in there with them. To laugh at their jokes, and listen to everyones' stories of times that had come to pass. Hopefully, you would understand why I would hurry to the front door.

Wasting no time at all, I picked up speed to a light running to so that I could close the distance gap between me and the front door.

Swinging the front door open in a rush, I expected to see my family waiting for me. Instead, I was greeted by a blinding light that caused me to stumble back.

-and then I woke up.

I woke up knowing that everything that I just dreamt was a lie. That my family was farther away from me than I could possibly imagine.

Sitting up in bed, what I witnessed left me without the desire to return to my previously slumbering state. The blurred vision I had only revealed that my tears had not been contained within my dream. I had to wipe them away before anything else could be done.

A cool blue light came in through the window and hit the wall opposite from it while managing to light up the room the best that it could. I could only guess that it was around six in the morning by how the sun had yet to make it's appearance over the horizon. Taking in my fill of the cool blue hue, I brought my gaze upon the bed that Fluttershy had been sleeping in. Still resting peacefully, I dared not wake her. Instead, I left my bed the quietest that I could.

Removing the covers from my body, my actions had come to reveal that I had worn yet another hospital robe to bed. They were not the most comfortable things to wear, but still the closest things that I had to pajamas. There was no point in letting my clean clothes become dirtied by sleeping, because let us be truthful; that's a thing. Clothes get dirty while you sleep in them.

Having laid my clothes out neatly on the floor just beside my bed, I took my time while changing to ponder over my dream. To hear my family, and not even see them did hurt a little. I missed them all so much, and I dreaded the possibility that I may never reunite with them.

When dressed fully, I walked to the window to peer out into the city below, feeling the need to distract my thoughts.

By the height my room was from ground level, I knew already that the lowest floor that I could have possibly been on was the third. However, this did not matter to me in the least. My focus was more on what was going on in the streets outside the hospital. A near absence of anything but a few early risers had been out at this time of the morning. The whistle of a train blared off in the distance as I could see a plume of smoke that gave away the locomotives location. A group of construction workers had yet to begin their work as they spoke to one another while sipping their morning joe. There was also a kempt mare in a business suit that passed by the group only for them to whistle and one of them to call her over. That one got quite the good magical zap from that unicorn mares' horn. Meh, he could walk it off.

"Good morning, Jacob."

The softest yawn that could ever be heard came from behind me just as I felt the need to turn around. Waiting for me to do so was Fluttershy, still snug in her bed. Turned on her side to watch my actions, I looked back at her. A weak smile showed itself to the pegasus when I folded both arms behind my back in embarrassment. "My apologies; I did not mean to wake you." Already sitting up in her bed, Fluttershy stretched to alleviate any soreness that was received from her somewhat uncomfortable mattress. Her wings stuck out straight back as a light popping emanated from their bones.

After rubbing her eyes to help her vision clear, Fluttershy hopped down from her bed. I could see how her pink hair had come to be a little messier than it had been before she lied herself down to rest. "Do not worry. I usually need to be awake by this time, so it has more or less scheduled itself on my biological clock." Well, didn't she just sound like a smarty when speaking like that?

Taking a little bit of staring from me, I think that Fluttershy could tell that I had been staring at her mane. Coming to be aware of her current hairdo herself, I couldn't avoid letting out a small laugh when seeing the shocked look on that pegasi's face. Placing a hoof on top of her head to confirm her current hair style, she could feel the stray hairs that had either stuck up in the air or tangled into each other. "O-oh my..." Now, I will admit that my hair was normally messy. I thought it made my hair look nice, but it seemed that Fluttershy did not think the same about hers by how she covered face up with both wings and a foreleg. "Oh dear, I wouldn't suppose that it would be too much to ask if I could use your' shower, would it?" I cracked a smirk before pointing a finger to the bathroom door. You would think that ponies considered that a sort of indecency by how Fluttershy covered herself up. On the way over, Fluttershy did not even feel relaxed enough to uncover her hair until she had to close the bathroom door behind her. Then again, maybe she was just a little embarrassed to be around someone while appearing as such.

Well, now would be a good time to relax a little before things got crazy today. Something in my gut told me that it would get that way pretty soon. In the meantime, the only thing I needed to do was take a load-off and be lost in my thoughts. Always one to have my head up in the clouds, it felt nice to imagine to think about things that weren't so dire to my current situation. To do so was wonderful, but to ease my senses completely I found myself lying back in bed.

Hands behind my head, I could feel where the metal plate was inserted directly in the back of my cranium. My hair covered it up pretty well, but if one were to touch the spot, they would feel where my skull ended and the plate began. Taking note of the feeling, I blankly stared at the ceiling as I crossed one leg over the other. "Huh, what do you know; the stinging's gone." Propping myself up by an elbow, I took the remaining hand and patted the plate cautiously. "Seems durable enough. By how everyone and everything has been hitting me there, I hope it holds." You had to admit, it was true. Somehow, my head has suffered the most damage since my arrival here. It was a miracle that I didn't have brain damage.

"Um, Jacob?"

Looking from the ceiling to the bathroom, I blinked once or twice when seeing Fluttershy poking her head out of the door. Her hair was still in a mess, but I feel that's why she had yet to emerge from the nearly closed door. That innocent smile showed me good enough reason to give her my undivided attention. "I'm sorry to jump in the shower so suddenly. I'm sure that you must be hungry, so why don't the two of us go to the cafeteria after I'm done in here?" The sudden growling of my stomach sided with Fluttershy as she widened her smile upon noticing. "I see that you think it's a good idea." My sudden embarrassed silence said it all while Fluttershy pulled her head back into the bathroom before closing the door.

"I'll try not to take long."

Pushing myself to sit up in bed, I cluelessly stared at the door before my stomach gurgled with hunger. In response, I glared down at the patch of flesh that hid it from me before giving it a rough pat.

"Quiet you."

The cafeteria was nice enough. It was just like what you would expect it to be.

White walls. White chairs. White tables. White everything.

I guess it was about keeping everything sterile, or something. Not like I was complaining. The chairs were more comfortable than they looked, so that was a plus.

Early morning workers eyed Fluttershy and myself as we sat at a small table on the other side of the room. Almost as if they were studying my form, doctors, nurses, and patients alike stopped themselves to get a good look at the strange creature that was taken in by the Canterlot Hospital. Choosing not to acknowledge their occasional glances was easy, but ignoring them was much more difficult. Every so often, a group of workers would pass by before whispering to each other about what I could have been. Bets were placed on miscellaneous subjects, and a small few numbers just sneered at me with disgust. It appeared that I was just a little too different looking for some to bare.

The food, although gave me a good idea of what ponies ate, made me a little hesitant to explore their culinary diversities any further. On the table in front of me had been two slices of bread on a styrofoam plate. This wasn't the problem though. If it had just been two pieces of bread on my plate things would be different, but it was what had been in between the slices that made me somewhat uncomfortable.

Hands in my lap while I awkwardly stared at the dish, I felt unsure of what I was gazing at on the table. Smack dab in the middle of the bread had been something that I would have never expected to see as a sandwich ingredient. By the yellow flower blossoms that poked from all sides of my sandwich, I wasn't sure if I should eat this garden variety creation. Believe it or not, but there were dandelions on my sandwich! Not a thing else either. A weed sandwich; that was what I had been staring at ever since Fluttershy was kind enough to share her knowledge on Equestrian cuisine with me; if I can even call it that.

While I had stared into the flower filled sandwich, Fluttershy showed no hesitation when beginning to eat her own. Seeming to enjoy the creation, it felt almost weird watching someone consume such a thing. Were dandelions even safe to eat?

"Jacob, is anything wrong? You haven't touched your food at all."

Jumping at the question, I could feel my stomach already emptying itself out. It growled at me almost as if it was begging me to eat anything.

Right about now, I was hating myself for finishing off those cookies last night.

Putting up my hands in defense, I nearly banged them against the underside of our table from the quickened action. That fake smile could only mask my uncertainty for so long. "N-nope! Everything's great!" The beaded sweat on my brow, and nervous shaking said otherwise. "I'm just... Wondering where to start!" From this, I only received a cocked head in return. Seeming to have begun catching onto my actions, Fluttershy put down the remainder of her sandwich before lifting a hoof to me in a soft informal point.

"-But... You're only eating a sandwich."

Fluttershy having made me jump once more, I was left holding my arms up even more defensively without any rhyme or reason. It was like someone waiting for a criticism that would never come. Having no such retort to Fluttershys' derailing facts, I simply gave up with trying to make any such excuses. "Are you not comfortable with eating this?" My back stiffened in its' chair after being found out, but slacked when knowing I would have to explain myself. It felt ungrateful to be saying what I did. Ungrateful and gross.

"I-I'm very sorry, Fluttershy. I've just never eaten a flower before. I'm kind of uncertain if it is even safe for humans to eat at all."

Watching me poke at the top of my sandwich, Fluttershy giggled at my suspicion. Letting her hooves rest on the table, I could hear them softly clack against the surface. "Well, in moderation it is very healthy for you. Only in high doses can it become toxic." Oh, so it was kind of like eating tuna? You just can't eat too much of it. "Even if it seems a little odd, I would like to ask you to give it a try, if you wouldn't mind. It's always best to open your mind to new experiences." Much as I hated to say it, you just can't argue with that kind of logic. So swallowing my pride, I looked back down to my sandwich. Eyeing it before picking up the strange food combination, I shook my head before taking a bite.

It had a much greener taste than what I would have expected. Not bad, but nothing like I had ever had before. The flowers actually had a taste that was rather bitter causing me to stick my tongue out after swallowing. A yellow stain covered the skin atop of my taste buds while I let out a soft 'bleh'-like noise. "...Bitter..." Comical as my actions were, they seemed to be enough to make Fluttershy feel contempt.

"I do suppose that this type of food will desire an acquired taste."

Now she tells me.

Pulling my tongue back in my mouth, I looked back down at my sandwich like the oddity it was. I know that I'm going to hate myself for saying this, but- "You know, that actually wasn't all that bad..." Sure, it was the most bitter thing that I ever tasted, but it certainly wasn't the worst. Then again, I haven't eaten anything but cookies since I got to Equestria so maybe my tastes are adjusting to the first few things that I could eat here.

Pleased by the result of my experimentation with foods, Fluttershy watched me continue with my meal. Having already picked hers back up, she joined me. "I'm glad that you like it. It might not seem like much, but it means a lot to me and the girls that you would try new things. I'm certain it must be difficult considering your omnivorous diet." Stopping myself from taking another bite, I lowered the sandwich from my mouth but not out of hand. Instead, I rested half of it on its plate while the other was gripped a little tighter than before.

"So you know, huh?" Finally setting my sandwich down completely, I ran a hand through my hair. "I suppose that it was impossible to hide forever."

I could see there being some displeasure in Fluttershy when I chose to stay on this point in the conversation. Choosing to avoid looking at me for the time being, the pegasus tried not to express how uncomfortable she felt about my diet. "Yes, I know that you eat-" She stopped for a second to regain some composure. "-meat." I almost felt like I was on trial by how Fluttershy treated this matter, but I suppose that I could understand. For all I knew, everything that I could have possibly ate back home like cows, pigs, or chicken could have been just like Fluttershy. All sentient, and people in some way. "I've dabbled in Dentition, and it was difficult for me not to see the assortment of teeth you had when I brought you home with me." The urge to hide my mouth was present, but I refrained. "Ponies previously sold fake meat at one point, but I'm afraid that business went bankrupt about five years ago." No matter. I wouldn't think that ponies would have been the most comfortable with eating that stuff anyways. Crossing my arms before leaning back in my chair, I raised a brow to Fluttershy.

"So eating meat makes you feel uncomfortable?"

By her constant fidgeting, I already knew the answer. Hearing it was just much more concrete. "I'm afraid so, but I understand if you do not wish to change the way you eat." Finally managing to look at me, Fluttershy could only see me lost in thought. Eyes closed and a hand lightly gripping my chin, I hummed when tilting my head to the side.

"Consider it done."

I can't tell you how hard it was to say that.

Staring at me a little surprised by my words, Fluttershy wasn't quite sure what to say at that very instant. Instead, she darted her eyes from left to right while trying to find at least one; only looking back to me when successful. "P-pardon?" Opening my eyes to Fluttershy with a smile, our near polar opposite expressions only began to tell me how differently she thought my reaction would have been to this.

"You want me to stop eating meat, right? If it makes you feel uncomfortable then I won't do it anymore."

Left yet again in silence, Fluttershy watched as I eased myself back into a normal sitting position before picking back up my sandwich. Laughing through a bared grin, I gave the pegasus a little wink. Left a little dumbstruck for the first couple seconds, it was not long before I was given a cheerful smile from Fluttershy. Sitting in silence was something nice, but unfortunately enough for me I wasn't even given the time of day to finish my sandwich.

'BLAM!'

'KRSH!'

'PA-PA-PANG!!!'

The crashing noises that came from just outside the cafeteria made my hands spasm on themselves as the sandwich lodged between their fingers flew away from my grasp. Not wanting to see my newly-enjoyed food ruined, I made an effort to trying to recover the morsel. "No, wait! That's my sandwich!" My pleas to no-one went unheard. Standing from my seat, I made a mad grab at the food only for my reach to not be long enough to rescue my prize. Instead, I watched as it fell to the floor with a 'slap'.

As if that wasn't enough to put a damper on my spirits, it seemed that I had become completely unaware of what effects that these noises could have had on Fluttershy. Causing her quite the scare, my heart nearly stopped when seeing how the crashes caused the mare to fall from her seat. Directing all my focus from the sandwich to Fluttershy, I scrambled to try and move around the table to catch her. My first step in doing so was rather unlucky, however.

I'm still unsure if it was just unfortunate coincidence or otherwise, but the single step that I took toward Fluttershy was directly on my sandwich. The sickening squashing noise made from under my foot was followed by my shoe jetting back in one long slip forcing me to both knock over the table and fall directly over Fluttershy.

The two of us both expected the worst to happen. Fluttershy would hit the floor, and I would flatten the poor mare under my weight when it came to be my turn to land. It was going to be terrible...

Well, it would have been.

Almost like it was a miracle itself, in the blink of an eye I could feel my free leg shoving a knee into my chest while the other kept itself planted on whatever remained of my sandwich and refused to give way to slipping again. An arm slipped its' way behind Fluttershys' back to keep the mare from hitting the cold floor beneath her while my other arm pushed itself outward toward the cafeterias' double doors. Slamming down onto the floor, my spare foot smacked down onto the tiles beneath us to leave we two up with decent stability.

Only her rear hooves and tail touching the floor, Fluttershy looked up at me moderately surprised by how things had taken such a turn of events. Her front hooves pulled up to her chest, she kept still. I will admit that neither had I been expecting such actions coming from myself. We weren't sure what exactly happened, nor did we have anything to say about it. We only stayed perfectly still while staying in our poses until a certain rainbow maned pegasus flew into the hospitals' own quaint lunchroom followed two others. All three were ones that I could recognize clearly.

The first of which, being the rainbow pegasus pony, pulled up in the flight she burst through the doors with to perform a single flip before slamming her hooves down on the floor as a declaration of sorts.

"-And first place! Oh yeah, who's awesome?"

Rainbow Dash...

"Consarn it, Rainbow! Ah told ya that we weren't racing in the first place!"

Applejack...

"Whoo-whoo! Party train, coming through!"

-And Pinkie Pie.

All three of them just barged right on in to the cafeteria like they owned the place. Of course, I did not have the time to question such an entrance as theirs as the group just began bickering.

Straightening her posture, Rainbow shot a smart look to Applejack. Her arrogance was more than showing. "Sure, you say that when you lost." Cocky as ever, Dash snidely looked away from her friend only to hear the rather blunt sound of Applejack slamming a hoof onto the hard tile floor.

"Ah say that 'cause you and Pinkie almost trampled four patients in the hall! It's a miracle that we ain't bein' arrested yet!"

With a roll of her eyes, Dashes' look of overconfidence turned annoyed.

"They got out of the way, didn't they?"

Even I felt that was besides the point.

About to scold Rainbow Dash even more, Applejack raised a hoof and took a deep breath like what she was about to say would be just as disciplinary as it would be tedious. Freezing mid-breath, Applejack couldn't help but catch a glimpse of what stood just a head of them. Her eyes only glazing while they slid in mine and Fluttershys' direction, Applejack lifted her jaw a little lost to herself when fully bringing herself to look upon us. Following the orange earth pony's actions had been Dash in her own curiosity about what could have prevented such a chewing session, and Pinkie with a smile that only described true obliviousness followed suit.

Fluttershy and I were locked in our stances while the three onlooking ponies stared at us; Two of them were completely unsure about what they were looking at while the third seemed to be in her own little world. I'll just let you picture in your' mind which ones were which by now. I'll just say that Applejack was the one to speak up about what the three had just walked in on.

"Uh... Are we... Er, interruptin' somethin'?"

Hair standing on end, Fluttershy and I jolted somewhat in our current poses to Applejacks' suspicion. Now, I'm not sure why, but for a moment there, it literally felt like my hair shot up like the back hair on a cat. That was impossible though, right? That stuff only happened in cartoons, right?

I don't know if it was the infinite embarrassment that I felt at the time but for whatever reason that there was, my rather 'sandwiched' foot finally finished slipping to cause me to flip onto my back with Fluttershy following suit. Of course, while I landed on my back Fluttershy landed atop of my stomach. There was no distress, but at the time I did still feel a burning redness in my cheeks. Instead, the yellow pegasus soon listened as a breath exited my lungs while keeping her head on my chest. Little did I know how tightly she clung to my body. "No, you really are not interrupting anything." Hard as it would be to believe, it was worth a shot see if these ponies understood the truth. "I'm just big and clumsy. Nothing really else that needs mentioning." If I had even noticed Fluttershy holding onto me in the first place, I may have taken the time to feel that my lungs did not feel as constricted that they were previously.

"Th-That's not true!"

Oh boy, I could already feel the hate stares coming from Applejack.

How Fluttershy stood over me, it almost felt like I was about to be pinned down. I'm not sure anymore; did I deserve that? To be hogtied like some livestock?

Okay, that might have been a little racist if I said that out loud.

Looking over to the others in silence, I could see Rainbow Dash giving me a squinted eye of fazed uncertainty. In response, I could only shrug with the same nature. All in all, I was just as confused as they were.

"I could have busted my head open. We were so scared when all that noise was made. I fell out of my seat, and Jacob kept me safe."

Lightening in her gaze toward me for a second, Applejack gave me a tilt of her stetson that I could only guess was a sort of apology for the dirty looks that had given before giving Dash the exact same stare as I received. A snort of hot air shot from her nostrils while the Earth Pony successfully obtained the attention of her friend once more. "Ya see Dash? Ya just can't be zoomin' through a hospital like that. What if Jake wasn't here to help Fluttershy right then? Fluttershy could have been knocked plum out like a light with a bump the size of a bit on the top of her head." While Applejack took the liberty of finishing up whatever needed to be said to Dash, Fluttershy had been able to step off of me and help me sit up. It was a kind gesture; not to mention, a well appreciated one.

"Are you alright? Any light-headed-ness?"

Letting myself lean back on an arm, I was able to stretch out my back to work through any kinks that might have been caused by the fall. The light popping of bone confirmed my suspicions while I let out a soft humming to establish my content with the relaxed feeling that soon followed these actions. "Mmm? Me? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Not like this is the worst thing that has happened to me over the past few days." Letting out a good natured laugh to comfort the mare, I looked to Applejack and Rainbow Dash somewhat unsettled by the argument that had already come to be a reality. By now, Rainbow wasn't too keen on sitting through another chew-out session from Applejack as the two just started busting each others chops. Looking to Fluttershy a little worried, I pointed at the two.

"Do they, uh... Normally fight this much?"

Not bothered by what was going on in the least, Fluttershy hummed to herself before looking back to me.

"Don't worry about them. They fight like siblings. They will raise their voices all they want, but I know how these arguments usually end. They will get so angry that they forget why they were so angry at each other in the first place. They will remember after they calm down, but after that they will have already apologized and made amends."

Sounded like how it used to be with my sister. If one of us royally screwed up, the other would point out the flaw like it was some sort of act against God before we would be butting heads like a couple stubborn old goats. Eventually we would feel bad for what we said, apologize, and hug to get everything over with. After that we would have a good laugh and watch some television before we had to do anything else.

I wonder how my big sis was is doing. It's been a year since we moved out of our two bedroom rent house, and now I'm stuck in some magical pony world. I really hope she's keeping up with bills. She was always bad with money.

"Surprise!"

Pouncing between us, Pinkie made good on startling the be-geebus out of me. Feeling my heart skip a beat, I was quick to let a hand latch onto my chest as if the organ would have burst from its' cavity if not done immediately. Fluttershy, not quite taken back as I was simply stepped to the side to make room for the pink mare that now wrapped her forearms behind our shoulders and pulling us closer to her.

"Good morning~!"

That bubbly laughter was just as I remembered it.

Chiming her welcome happily, Pinkie Pie squeezed Fluttershy and me even tighter in her hold until pressing our faces into her cheeks. It didn't quite help that she had her fore legs wrapped themselves around our throats as I could feel my breath running low. We were just lucky that Pinkie released us before our faces turned a different color.

Gasping for air, I pounded a fist against my chest before clearing my throat with a cough. Geeze, these ponies were stronger than they looked. "Good morning, Pinkie." I replied in an attempt to appear cheerful. Forcing on a nonchalant smile, there was an effort made to conceal any questionable stares toward the pink pony. "It's definitely a pleasant surprise to see you up so early." What were these three doing here at this time of day; In such a manner, no less? Doing my best to cast aside all of these interruptions to mine and Fluttershy's casual morning, I coughed weakly into the thumb of a balled up fist. It seemed more than able to catch Pinkies' attention.

"Um, Pinkie?" I tried to make this sound as least rude as possible. "Might I ask why you're here? In the cafeteria? So early in the morning?"

My only reply was a large dish landing in my lap with a light clatter.

It was a silver eastern service plate. A well polished, mirrored dome plate cover revealed my own distorted reflection as if one were to look into the back of a stainless steel spoon. I had come into contact with a good number of these in my career as a well-seasoned chef. The only thing different about this dish was that on the handle of the silver dome was a pink ribbon tied neatly into a bow. I will admit that I was a little lost by how Pinkie just plopped it into my lap.

Dancing with glee, I could see Pinkie hoping on one foot to the other eagerly.

"I brought you a super special present!"

A... Present? How odd.

Freezing up from sheer excitement I could hear the baker pony laughing to herself as I looked on at the platter. A hand lifted itself up, hesitant to revealing what had been hidden just out of plain sight from me. What could have been under that dome? Finally finding myself gripping the domes' bow, my head tilted as if to try and get a sneak peak before my hand could reveal what mysteries I had yet to know to the world.

I lifted up the dome to reveal...

Cupcakes.

An entire platter of cupcakes.

"I know that I wanted to make cupcakes with you, but we can do that when you get out of the hospital. In the meantime, I wanted to give you something to look forward to."

Holding the platters dome over the baked delights, I couldn't help but stare at them. They were all so wondrous. Expertly crafted, it was almost incomprehensible just how perfect that these were made. The unique uses of color in every last one of these confections was a masterpiece. Even the cupcakes themselves were expertly colored with multiple shades limited only by my own comprehension! It was like art! No, it was art! Not a single one of them were alike, but still perfection down to the last detail! Any one of these could put anything that I could make to shame. I almost felt unworthy to look upon them. In my constant starring toward the goods, I had yet to notice Pinkie looking at me a little confused by my expression. Her gaze appearing a little nervous, Pinkies ears drooped while trying to force a smile.

"D-do you like them?"

I could only stare back at Pinkie, completely awestruck.

"Pinkie... They're beautiful."

Anxiety turning to nothing, Pinkie looked at me with a neutral expression before quickly snapping to a flattered appearance. She waved a hoof at me to pass along the compliment. "Oh Jake-y, that's nice to say, but it was really nothing special. I'm just happy that you like them." Like them? No. I loved them. For Pinkie to pass these creations as 'nothing special' only made me wonder what this little pony was truly capable of.

"Pinkie, you don't understand. These-" I paused to look back at the cupcakes, finally placing the platter dome on the floor to free the hand.

"These are remarkably well crafted. The colors compliment each other phenomenally; such a diversity that it would leave even the finest deserts only green with envy, The interlocking patterns of those said colors in the pastry themselves leave me to ponder just what flavors are hidden from me. Even the icing is swirled to perfection as there is not even a single drop littering the shining platter below!"

Having become a tad bit over-eccentric by this, a breath was needed to recover. Doing so, I looked on at Pinkie. She was watching me with an overly-flattered expression that only said to me, 'Oh stop it, you'. Not quite done, I stared at her through widened eyes.

"Pinkie, what are you? A deity?"

Joyfully letting out a snort of a laugh, Pinkie covered a hoof over her mouth. "Me? Of course not, silly-billy. I'm just a pony that has one hay of a sweet-tooth!" Rolling her eyes playfully while her head mimicked the roll to an exact, Pinkie looked back to see Rainbow and Applejack still arguing away. "Speaking of which..." Being just what Pinkie wanted to see, she looked back to her cupcakes and then up at me with a wink. "How about we have a cupcake eating contest?" The idea in general sounded fun, but it did cause a negative stir in me for some reason. Rubbing the back of my head, my smile disappeared when hearing Pinkies' offer. How I could explain this? It was rather embarrassing.

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to turn down that offer." I flinched at the thought of appearing ungrateful. Looking back at Pinkie, I could see her already wondering why I had begun acting so oddly. "You see, I have this problem with sugar, and-"

A hoof placing itself upon my mouth, Pinkie shushed me quietly while her hoof refused to remove itself from my lips.

"Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh... Say no more-" Just as instructed, I fell quiet. "-Don't worry. I wasn't able to put my usual measurement of sugar in these, so it should be fine."

Pulling her hoof away slowly, in one swift circular turn of her body Pinkie was able to use her tail alone to sit mine and Fluttershy's fallen table back in an upright position. Completing the turn, Pinkie stood on her hind legs and baited me to place the cupcake platter on the table top with a couple light taps on the furniture pieces' surface.

I wasn't quite sure what to make of these actions, nor did Fluttershy as we gave one another quite the stare of confusion just to try and see if the other could comprehend what we just bore witness to. "Come on! I've been waiting all morning for this!" That constant baiting was eventually what made me give in. Giving up rather easily on my part, I brushed off Pinkies weirdness with a smirk. Standing up with the center of the platter held level with my neck, the regal pose I took was one of a waiters'.

Pinkie said there was no reason to be worried, right?

Sliding the plate off my hand and on the table, I let out a snicker at how I was so calmly going along with this. A cupcake eating contest, of all things? Sounded sort of immature, but who was I to turn down a chance like this? A chance to let loose, and compete with a baker that was clearly beyond my own skill? One would have to surpass idiocy to pass this up.

Having picked up my chair and pulled an unused spare at a close by table, it never slipped my mind to be courteous to Fluttershy and allow her a seat to ease herself from this mornings current excitement. With her watching me, I pulled her chair out with a silent smile for a casual invitation to sit next to me. Pinkie, already sitting in Fluttershy's previous chair, took the time to almost arrogantly watch the pegasus climb into her most current. Giving the slightest nod to nothing, the baker watched us until looking out into a space of nothingness. What was she looking at? "Yeah, I'd ship that." Mumbling this to herself, Pinkie allowed us the time to get set up.

Shortly after pushing in Fluttershy's chair, I took the time to get adjusted in my own. Granted, I was a bit more relaxed with my actions; plopping down in the seat wasn't exactly a gentle motion, but that's just how I sat. My second course of action was to lean a forearm on the table. I was locked onto Pinkies' gaze with my mind growing ever more curious of what this contest would revolve around.

"So, what are the rules? First to finish wins, or first to fall out loses?"

I'll admit, there was a little experience within me when it came to this subject. Not like I was a gambler, but I have watched a lot of game shows, and poker tournaments. Not to mention blackjack, chess tournaments, card games; If it's an actual game, I've probably seen it played quite a few times. My skills might be a bit rusty, but there were certain times where I could be a fast learner.

Considering my offer, Pinkie hummed to herself before coming to a decision. Stamping both hooves on the table top as a challenge, Pinkie seemed to have become somewhat daring.

"How about 'Whoever eats the last one first'?"

A quick rubbing of my chin brought me to lightly chuckle at the proposition.

"Well, aren't you saucy?" Slamming my hands down on the table as well, Pinkie and I shared a blazing spark to us at that moment. "Very well. First to eat the very last cupcake wins."

Ever so softly, I could feel Fluttershy placing a hoof onto one of my hands. A smooth adjustment of my glasses brought me to look upon the pegasus beside me. Worried, Fluttershy seemed to bare a grim warning for me with this competition. "Jacob, no-pony has ever been able to compete with Pinkie Pie when it comes to baked goods. Do you really think that this is a good idea?" To think of a reason to talk me out of this, she let her eyes look downward for the slightest bit of time before letting me view her worrisome expression. "You just said that you have a problem with sugar, didn't you?" A hand placed itself at the top of Fluttershy's head before I started tussling that pink mane of hers. There was no reason for her to worry, so I only wanted her to relax.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy. Pinkie even said it herself that she wasn't able to put the correct amount in these. There should be no harm in having a little fun."

Looking back to Pinkie with a raised brow, I extended my reach out and grabbed a cupcake as she had done the same. Both our gazes becoming steely, the two of us were temporarily no longer friends. Right now, we were rivals. We were enemies. Temporarily though, of course. "You ready for this?" A short nod was all Pinkie needed from me to start a countdown.

"Alright-ie then."

Pinkie paused as seriousness filled our very beings at the moment.

"Three..."

We both could feel our arms either flinching or locking up.

"...Two..."

Our first cupcakes inched ever-closer to our mouths as if to try and obtain an upper-hand.

"...One!"

Bringing the cupcakes up to our open maws, we bit down into the tops of the pastries at a gluttons' speed.

Wasting no time to inhale one cupcake after another, Pinkie sped through eating one of the miniature cakes after another. Her focus completely on chewing and swallowing, Pinkie had not even noticed how the number of cupcakes she had at first suspected to eat had grown by nearly a doubled amount.

When it all came down to it, I think we all knew who was going to win this in the end.

Victory came in the form of tossing the last remaining pastry on the platter up in the air so that it could land in Pinkies' mouth with a satisfactory smacking of her lips. Icing almost plastering her mouth, the earth pony licked whatever was left of the treats down her gullet. Finishing the last of her smacking, Pinkie let out a laugh. "Ha! Nopony bests Pinkamena Diane Pie at a cupcake contest!" Throwing out fore hoof to point at me as a form of taunting, she stood up in her chair to be able to get that pointing hoof a little bit closer to my face. "In your face, Jake! In your..." Getting a good look at me though, Pinkie lowered her hoof, uncertain to what was going on before her.

"...Face?"

Sitting as if frozen with a cupcake in hand, I stared forward with circular eyes. The look appearing to gaze through Pinkie and at the far wall behind her, my mental awareness had most certainly come into question by now. One would be able to see the solitary bite taken from the food as it now sat in the grip of my fingers. Fluttershy sat beside me, hooves clasped over her mouth while watching me. Such alarm was indescribable. Almost like it was suspected that someone near you had just dropped dead.

Leaning on the table by this point, Pinkie waved slowly to grab my attention. No such luck, as my continuous stare into nothing seemed endless. "Hello? Jake? Anyone home?" Managing to lean far enough to push on my chest, the pink pony gave me a light shove. Still no response. Having to sit herself back down in her chair, Pinkie studied my stare as if there was something to it that could have been understood. "What happened to him? How many cupcakes did he even eat?" Glancing over to Fluttershy, Pinkie tried to comprehend just what it was that landed me in such a state of absentminded-ness. Lowering the pair of hooves from her mouth, Fluttershy stared at the cupcake in my hand.

"H-he never even finished his first. I hope he didn't have too much sugar..."

Brushing off the assumption entirely, Pinkie scoffed at the idea while reclining in her chair.

"Nah, I didn't even use my usual ten bags of sugar minimum. The hotel only had sugar packets, so I could only get around seven."

It took a moment for Pinkie to notice the slack-jawed stare she got from Fluttershy, but took the shock completely out of context when finally seeing it.

"I know, right? I mean, what kind of hotel doesn't have sugar bags open to the public?"

Disregarding Pinkie entirely at this point, Fluttershy had turned to me to try and snap me from the current trance that had taken over my body. A hoof placing itself on my shoulder, Fluttershy used the other to carefully lower my cupcake holding hand down to the table. "Jacob, can you hear me?" Not receiving a reply, Fluttershy gave my shoulders a light shake. "Please, say something. You're scaring me." Finally, there was a reply. Maybe not a verbal reply, but more like physical movement.

My right eye twitched somewhat as I began taking in a deep breath from my mouth. At this, Pinkie crossed her fore legs almost in an 'I told you so' manner. "See? What did I tell you? He's perfectly fine." Almost like it was cruel timing to Pinkies' words, what would happen next was my head slamming itself onto the table top. The cupcake had gotten a tight squeeze the moment my forehead made impact, so now there was nothing left of the baked delight except what now stuck itself onto my palm while my face planted itself firmly onto the table.

The following shriek from Fluttershy more than attracted the attention of Rainbow and Applejack during mid-arguement. Jolting from the scream, it had not taken long for either of them to at least somewhat make out what had happened. Fluttershy was panicking, I was face down on the table and supposedly unconscious, and Pinkie sat somewhat nervously now that attention had been brought to the matter. Not to mention the silver platter and splattered cupcake remains.

"Pinkie, what the hay happened?"

The pink earth pony swallowed hard upon her friends approach before turning around in her chair to see an upset Applejack. Giving the back of her head a good scratch, Pinkies' guilt was more than clearly stated. "Well... You see..." Pinkie forcibly looked away from Applejack. Clapping her hooves together, she let out a chuckle that only let on more how the mare knew she was in the hot seat. "Now, you're going to laugh at this." She was stalling, but it did not matter. Fluttershy was more than able to reveal what had happened. Nearly driven to sobbing, the pegasus sniffled while desperately trying to keep herself together.

"Pinkie and Jacob were having a cupcake eating contest."

Just at the mention of this, Pinkie broke out into a sweat. She could feel the annoyed silent stare coming from Applejack, but kept that nervous grin on her face in a false endeavor to convince everyone that nothing was wrong.

"He said that he had a problem with sugar, but he wanted to try it anyway."

A hoof placed itself on Applejacks face as she slowly drug it downward with a grieving sigh. After a quick adjustment of her stetson, the Earth pony looked over to my slumped over body before going back to Pinkie. "Ya remember when Ah clearly told ya that 'a cupcake eatin' contest wasn't a good idea'?." Pinkie pulled her hooves up to her chest and shrugged as if there were a chance that it could justify her actions. In turn, Applejack shook her head.

It seemed that it was time for the adults to take control of things.

First things first, a common goal needed to be set. "Alright, everything will be fine. We just need to stay calm, and get a doctor." Going from mature to miffed in half a second, Applejack flicked her ears back. "-And no funny business, ya got that?" Sounding to be more like a demand rather than an option, none of the ponies objected to what was said. Even with the lack of objections toward Applejack, this did not stop a growing laughter to start up. A laughter coming from me.

Starting out as a soft chuckle and slowly building up to a normal laugh, my shoulders bounced with each passing chortle. Picking itself up off the table, my head dangled down by its' neck while my meaningless laughter continued. My head lolled backward upon my sitting posture returning to an upright position. By about this time, my laughter had become booming before fading into one final 'ha' as both my hands slid off the table and to my sides.

"What a rush!"

My cupcake splattered hand rising only to smash itself and whatever remained of my cupcake onto my forehead, the mares around me cringed at the smack. Staring directly upward at the ceiling, I bared my teeth in a wide enough grin to show just the smallest amount of pink from my gums. "So much energy!" Bursting out into laughter once more, I slowly drug the hand from my face to leave a trail of icing with an imprint of four fingers pulling themselves out of the goop now covering my forehead entirely. "I love this!" Stunned by my behavior, the four ponies around me watched as I laughed madly to me and myself alone. In the meantime, Applejack did not advert her gaze from me even when needing to blink. Instead, she turned her head only to address the cyan pegasus beside her.

"Dash, Ah'm a gonna need you to get a doctor pretty darn quick. Ah think most of that sugar went to Jakes' head."

"NO!"

My fists slammed themselves onto the table top, making the entire thing shake at the force put upon it. Causing some of the ponies to jump, they could only watch as my hands lazily slid from the surface with a droll laugh leaving my lips. My hands never reached my sides; not this time. Instead, they picked themselves up while their arms lifted their fleshy appendages upward with their palms presenting themselves to everyone through curved fingers. "I like this feeling." My fingers fidgeted with themselves as my head slowly began to pick itself up and over my shoulders. "I-" My grin came into view. "-really-" Then my nose. "-Like it." With the rest of my face came my trembling, dilated eyes. Shaking in their own sockets, the two orbs jiggled themselves in place as if whatever energy I had could not be physically contained. My gaze staring directly into Applejacks', the Earth Pony stood strong towards me. Once again, she gave the same order to Rainbow.

"Get a move-on, Dash. Get the doctor."

Having to back away slowly, it was clear just how Dash felt about what she was looking at. That toothy grin, and the dilated eyes. They frightened her. "Yeah... Sure..." Waiting to turn around until a few more backwards steps, Dash made sure to turn her head back to me every now and then before picking up the pace.

-And just like that, I was left alone.

With these ponies.

With these ponies that wanted to keep me from feeling so great.

To keep me from having so much fun.

I didn't like that.

"Jacob, please calm down."

My eyes pausing their constant shaking for only a second when feeling a hoof on my shoulder, I was somewhat hesitant to see where it was coming from. I knew who the hoof belonged to. The butter yellow pegasus beside me. Oh, what a sweetheart, that one. Always so nice to me.

I'll admit, I was a little unsure why she asked me to calm myself. Not like I was doing anything bad, right? I was just laughing, and talking. Everybody liked that, right? Even so, I did not quite feel like slowing the flow I felt right then and there.

Kindly looking at Fluttershy through closed eyes, I took her hoof in my clean hand. Such a dainty little hoof. So pure. So unable to do wrong. Letting the hand caress the hoof it held, I put the tip of a cupcake covered finger under the pegasi's chin to make her stare into my closed eyes.

"Sorry, Dollface. I just don't feel like it."

Opening my eyes only the tiniest bit when pulling myself away from her, a small speck of icing coated where my finger once kept itself. Swiftly pulling myself from the seat underneath mine, I straightened myself up the best that I could; ignoring the cupcake smeared across my face, entirely. The gunk on my hand had to go though. Didn't want the stuff on my hand all day, did I?

"I wonder why it feels like I'm forgetting something..."

Dragging my tongue up my wrist and to the furthest extent of my middle finger, it was hard to determine if my humming came from general curiosity or at how I was now enjoying myself. Bringing my tongue back within my mouth once overlapping the apex of my finger, it finally hit me. Overcome with the realization, my grin faded to a smirk. "Oh yes, that's right!" Ever so slowly, I turned my head at Pinkie. I could see her just sitting there; watching me, dazed and confused. Poor thing.

"You win, of course." There was a short moment in time where I gave my forehead a light bump from one of my wrists. "How could I have possibly forgotten? In any competition there needs to be a victor,-" Flicking a hand at Pinkie, it's index finger addressed her directly. "-and you fit the bill perfectly."

The moment having past, I already had to count my seconds ever since Rainbow Dash went to retrieve a doctor. If someone could stop what was going on right now, then I wouldn't have time to burn off all this energy, would I? Oh, how much time would be wasted just sitting down until a doctor got back. It was so boring!

Boring! BORING! BORING!

I will not have any of that!

Not that these ponies were going to give me the chance of getting away.

The moment that I even looked at the exit, Applejack stomped herself in my way. The nerve of that pony! Did she just want such a valuable use of my time to be put to waste? "Oh, no you don't, pardner. Ya ain't goin' nowhere 'till a doctor gets here." What a troublesome matter.

"Sit down, Jacob. This is not you talking, it's the sugar. This is wrong!"

Well, that was a rather peculiar thing to say; from Fluttershy, no less. I actually had to turn to her just so I could fully discuss my opinion fully, no matter how much it lacked any sense.

"Wrong? How could this be so wrong if it feels so right?" Taking a brief moment to pause, I tried to catch a glimpse at a clock that hung on the wall. Grabbing my chin to ponder, my head came to have a natural tilt to it. "-And by that logic, I should really have already left."

See? Now that made sense. There was some logic!

Still, that did not stop that apple pony from blocking my path. "Jake, what in sweet Celestia does that mean? Yer actin' like ya lost yer marbles!" Lost my marbles? What a presumptuous thing to say. Well, I wasn't going to stick around any longer to listen to this. "Now, yer gonna sit down, and wait until Dash brings back a doctor." Wait, what? She couldn't be serious. Oh well, I guess I just had to explain this to Applejack the hard way. Some people just needed to be explained things in detail.

Placing one hand behind my back, I pointed toward the door.

"-But why would I sit down if I'm already at the door?"

Left at a loss, Applejack stared at me unsure what to make of my sanity. Though I gave a muddled stare at the mare, she did so right back at me. The whole time however, I was stuck pointing toward the exit. Questioning the entirety of my words, it was much like Applejack had to make sure whatever I was pointing at was in fact the door. Looking where I had been pointing however, Applejack could not believe her eyes.

While her gaze was upon the cafeteria door, it was whom that was now standing in front of it that left Applejack unsure of her own sanity.

"Hey there, wha'cha doin'?"

Leaning against the wall, a jovial wave was made from me to Applejack... From the door.

Forced to double take, Applejack swung her head back to where I once stood to view a patch of air. Fluttershy and Pinkie seemed just as lost as she had been as they stared into the empty space with disbelief. It was almost like magic how I could make it from one place to the other like I did, and without any explanation...

It gave me chills of excitement!

After pocketing my hands, I stood up from the wall and stared at Applejack through profile. A mischievous smile crept up from my current smirk. Not really threatening, but like how you would see a prankster watching someone about to sit on a whoopie-cushion. That smile was then broken when my only clean hand placed itself on the side of my head.

It felt like... The room was spinning.

Eyelidss lazily drooping themselves down down to a near stoner-face, I had not even noticed how my back had leaned itself against the wall without my own command. "Whoa..." My voice had a drowsy slowness to it. "-Something doesn't... Feel right..." Finally realizing how I had my back to the wall, I slid myself down to the floor. "Whoa... My head... Feels..." It was weird. Like having smoke jammed inside your head. It was hard to think.

~'Jaaaaaaaaacoooooooooob'~

An ominous, low, echoing voice called out to me.

Immediately alerted by the unfamiliar voice calling out to me, I jumped up to my feet with some struggle. Unsure the direction the call came from, I was only left to look straight ahead in hopes that the speaker would reveal themselves.

"Yes, that is me; I am the Jacob that you are speaking to."

~'Jaaaaaaaaacoooooooooob'~

The voice called out again, only making me become on edge.

Clinching my fists, I glared angrily out into the space ahead of me that only contained tables and chairs in the cafeteria.

"Who... The Hell... Said that?"

~'Jaaaaaaaaacoooooooooob'~

I... I think I knew where it was coming from now.

Head unmoving, my eyes shifted themselves downward to a chair. A little chair pushed in ever-so neatly into place with its designated table.

A little... White... Chair....

Slowly approaching, my head tilted with every step I took. Every. Last. Slow. Step. I could hear each sound echoing in my mind. Like I was about to lose myself in the sound.

By the time that I reached the chair, my head had completely turned itself a little bit beyond a ninety degree rotation.

My eyes beginning to widen with rage, the two ocular orbs continued with their past trembling. "You." The word left my mouth, dripping with hatred.

Without a moments notice, I picked the chair up by its arm rests and lifted it in front of my face. I stared into the piece of furniture, bringing it closer. "It was YOU wasn't it, chair?!" I gripped the chair even tighter. "What are you hiding?" My arms delivered a severe shake to the device. "What are you planning!?" I raised my voice. "TELL ME!" The chair and I then exchanged stares during my interrogation.

~'I'm going to cut off your knees.'~

I freaking knew it!

"I freaking knew it."

All during my rants of insanity, the three remaining ponies around me watched my actions. Not even Pinkie could find words to describe what was being observed as she had fully turned around in her chair to listen to these cries from a madman. "Um... Did we break Jacob?" Not feeling comfortable enough to answer, Fluttershy kept to herself while trying to hide behind her mane. Applejack bit her lip at the sight, forcing herself to watch my decent into madness. There was the sound of splitting wood as I smashed the hospital chair against the floor with every last bit of my strength, effectively breaking the chair. She gave a slow nod before answering.

"Ah think so, Pinkie; Ah think so."

Following the noise, it was simply unfortunate timing for Dash to return with Doctor Stable following close behind. Coming after hearing the noise, the two were met with the sight of me standing in a slumped over posture. What remained of the chair was gripped tight in my hands. The shocked look of Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie were also a sure sign about how things were falling to pieces at the moment.

Slapping a hoof to her forehead Rainbow Dash approached me, glancing to the broken chair bits that scattered amongst themselves on the floor. "Whoa, what the Faust happened in here?" From Dashes approach, she had only been able to get a good look at my back. Both my legs had come to be spaced apart while bending down on themselves. My head fallen down past my shoulders, had not been visible at the current time. When Dash lifted her gaze to look at my back, she took her time when grabbing my attention. "Baker-Boy?" Jumping up, Dash slowly took to the air. Wings flapping slowly to keep the current altitude of my shoulders, Dash adjusted herself to be able to look upon my front. That vacant expression in my eyes brought upon a slight knocking on the top of my head from Dash. "Hey, anyone home?" The first knock being effective enough to make me drop the chair remains from my hands, My arms swung themselves up before grabbing a hold of Dashes' forelegs as a deep growl pushed itself up my throat.

Coming to let out an open mouth growl, the sound grew into a bellowing shout with both me and Rainbow shared in.

At her fear, and the insanity that become greater within me as every second passed.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Barreling my body down to the floor in a sharp spin, the two of us landed on our stomachs with a heavy thud. Seeming to be paralyzed from the initial screaming, Dash kept herself on the floor almost expecting the ordeal to be over when it was anything but.

"Dash! Dash! DASH!"

Wrapping an arm around Rainbows' neck, I pulled the pegasus close to me. Pressing the cyan pony to my chest, I now lied on my side. Ironicly, I seemed to be the only one afraid now. Dash was more focused on getting out of the iron hold I had on her at the moment. "Baker-boy! What the buck-?" Pulling the pony even closer, I ignored her constant choking.

"Don't you worry Dash, I'mma save you!"

"Baker-Boy, I can't breathe..."

"Don't worry, I will not let them take your knees..."

"Get off! I can't feel my lungs!"

"There are no such things as lungs!"

"Are you off your rocker?"

Finally releasing Dash from my stronghold, The pegasus gasped for breath. She did not even have time to gather herself before I clasped both sides of her face to take her attention back to me once more. "Dash!" My insanity demanded her attention. "Something..." Letting both of my hands trail down to my leg, I pulled one of my legs up to my head with a flexibility that not even I knew that I had. Holding the pants leg with one hand, the other pointed at the shoe just at its end. "-is afoot!" Dash watched me completely lost in my ramblings.

"Baker-Boy..."

Dash stopped speaking when seeing the burning glare coming from my eyes.

"No..."

Standing to my feet in the blink of an eye, I jumped over dash before tackling a cluster of three more chairs and a table.

"You can't have her knees!"

The impact alone was calamitous, but the rage than ensued was almost endless. Almost.

Sh-whip!

On my knees, I froze when a burning came from the back of my neck. Doing already more than trying to break the pieces of furniture like I did the other, a chair was already lifted above my head by the time this sensation arrived. The chair fell after a numbing sensation took over my hands.

I don't know why... but I was starting to get sort of sleepy. Really sleepy. Really... Really... Sle..ee...epy....

Whump!

My body fell to the floor; a dart sticking out from the back of my neck.

Floating in mid-air with magical aid, Doctor Stable raised blew on the barrel of his tranquilizer gun to extinguish any smoke that may have been lingering. The good doctor looked on at my body with the slightest shake of his head. "Sugar Rampage, just as I thought..." Magic set the trusty tranquilizer on a close by table before finally dissipating into nothingness. Dash had already been steadily recovering from my earlier actions as she stared at my unconscious form in the center of the pieces of furniture that I was so dead-set on destroying, but refused to draw closer lest I awaken.

Having to give the action a bit of thought, Applejack walked to Doctor Stable. She watched me as she moved if not for the same suspicion everyone else had. Was I really down for the count, or would there be a return of insanity? "Doc, mind explainin' just what happened here?" The good doctor looked forward for a second before going back down to me.

"What you just witnessed was what I like to call a 'Sugar Rampage' in its' earliest of active stages. Though I've never seen it before, it was suspected that Mr. Froster had something of the sorts when reading through his blood analysis. A very rare condition, sugar rampages are when somepony technically overdoses on products containing things like glucose. Though once suspected that sugar does not have a link to hyper activity, this mild indisposition has barely ever been documented but has been said to make the victim become nearly mentally unstable with boundless energy." Stable let out a relieved sigh while dabbing his forehead with a handkerchief. "I am just glad that it never got to the next stage of development."

Applejack did not know what that meant, but seemed to share the feeling.

That oh-so-familiar pounding in my head was back.

Why did my head hurt so badly, and why couldn't I remember anything?

Was this what a hang-over felt like? A horrible headache and loss of memory? There was also a sense of light-headed-ness; was that a hangover? If I were to derive this from every movie that has drunk people in it, I can accurately say that it would not be too far off from the truth, if not hitting the nail on the head directly.

Why was it that every time I woke up in this stupid pony world, it was always in pain? Couldn't I just have one time where I wasn't in some sort of physical or emotional distress?

"Oh, he's waking up!"

Fluttershys' familiar voice touched lightly upon my ears as my eyes finally pried themselves open. What had started off as multiple colorful blurs in my line of sight had turned into four individual ponies once my vision cleared. Just as before, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie stood near my bed-side. Well... Fluttershy did. Applejack stood near the foot, while Rainbow and Pinkie were near the window.

Thinking that it could have assisted in alleviating my throbbing head-ache any, a hand rested itself on my forehead while I tried figuring out where I was now.

It seemed that I somehow landed myself back in my hospital bed. Set to recline a ways, the mattress acted like a chair of sorts while still letting me lie back. Not like it was the most luxurious thing in the world, but it suffices to say that it was somewhere I could sleep. "Where... Am I?" Over the throbbing in my head, I managed to at least retain a consciousness similar to an under rested person. "Why am I back in bed?" I could remember waking up, going to the cafeteria, Dash flying into the room, but that was about it. "-and why does it feel like my neck was lit on fire?" Sliding the hospital covers down to my waist, my lightheadedness intensified as it felt almost like I was about to enter an unconscious state of being once more as microscopic specs floated around in my vision.

The girls watched me teeter from left to right before Fluttershy took the time to lie me back down on the mattresses' incline. While doing this did help me somewhat relax, it answered none of my questions. "Please, do not move so quickly. Just lie down and be calm." Be calm? I will admit, that struck me as weird. Why would Fluttershy ask me that, of all things? I was rather calm as it was, wasn't I? Even so, this did not make me fight against the singular hoof pressing down upon my chest to lie my body to down.

"Why would staying calm be a problem? What's going on?"

There was no immediate answer to my question as Fluttershy had to apply just a little more pressure to fight against what little power I used in resisting her hoof. It was a futile effort, but an effort all the same. Head touching pillow once more, I stayed as I was while awaiting some sort of solution to quell my questions.

"Ya don't remember anythin', do ya?"

Only giving a question in return, Applejack gave me a look most comparable to someone that judged anothers' sanity. This question only made it even more impossible to really try and know what had happened. "Remember what? I was in the cafeteria with Fluttershy, then you three showed up, then Pinkie gave me..." I slowed in my sentence. Staring up at the ceiling, I clasped both hands over my face to cover it in disbelief. "Oh no... The cupcakes..." Those cupcakes. Now I remember. It wasn't much, but I did. Pinkie and I were having that eating contest, I took a bite, and everything went black.

I tried to imagine that I was some place else. It was too embarrassing to look at the girls after what I could have done. How crazy that I could have acted. What they could have seen. "I did something weird, didn't I?" The words just barely being able to escape the current shielding on my face, I absolutely refused to lower it.

"Well, you went crazy so you got shot with a tranquilizer."

Pinkie only made me keep the hand-mask on my face even tighter when saying this. I should have known. It always ends up like this. I eat too much sugar, and this happens? "What in Great Greens is wrong with me? I should have known this would happen..." What could I possibly say now? Sorry, must have forgot to mention how I need to wear a straitjacket every time I have too much cake? What the girls must have thought of my indeliberate actions. I wanted to cry, but the thought of looking pathetic in front of my friends held back the tears.

Finally pulling both hands from my face, they slacked down at my sides. Shaking my head, the disappointment I had for myself only grew. Fluttershy warned me not to eat those cupcakes, and I ignored her like an idiot. Now here I am, back in a hospital bed. "Man, I'm so stupid..." Watching the ceiling, I longed for a chance to pretend that this never happened. Fat chance, right? A man could dream though.

Sitting up in bed once more, I turned my head at the window in the room. By the light entering the room, one could easily tell that it was sometime around noon. One, perhaps? I was not ever the most precise with that stuff, but at least that much was obvious. Returning my stare back out to the front, my head slowly hung downward. Humiliated, I could not bring myself to look at anyone right now.

Taking in a long inhale, I knew that I would have to remain in contact with the four staying in my room. Not like I had much of a choice in the matter. They seemed to stick to me like superglue.

I just had to swallow my embarrassment and go on with life. Bottle up what I could and just keep going.

"I swear... My life is a wreck." I muttered the words under my breath.

Considering where I once was and where I am now, I really was not wrong.

The hungover sensation finally vanishing, I took the chance to try and get out of bed. At first I did not expect anyone to stop me, but the moment I could even feel the cold tile floor through my socks I was placed back in bed by Fluttershy. Illy amused as I had been, I did not fight back when the same hoof that previously settled me back down in bed repeated its' actions. "Please, we understand that you must be upset about what happened, but the doctor said that the tranquilizer will not completely wear off at least for another hour." The words boiled within me, but I kept any miffed feelings within my gut. Being left with the only choice to lay back in bed was not something I would have wished for, but there was not much I could do about it except return to my suddenly common pastime of staring at the ceiling.

No-one really knew what to do after this point. All that we really did was live in this near-speechlessness. "Ya know, Ah can understand how ya can feel a bit red in the face from all this, but it ain't like this is the most embarrassing thing Ah've ever seen." Hearing this, Applejacks' sentiments were not exactly shared with me. It was highly doubtful that anyone would have been able to witness something even worse than what I had done only earlier. Still, the statement baited me to ask for proof.

"Oh yeah, like what?"

My upturned brow toward Applejack challenged the Earth Pony in silence as she only gave me a look of confidence.

"Try havin' yer brother gallopin' through the streets; towing a house, mind ya. All the while, declarin' his love for his 'Shloopy-doo'."

Uh... That... That one left me stumped. Are we sure that she was not simply exaggerating?

You know that moment in time that you are quite literally so blind-sided that you become a temporary air-head? Well, that was me right now. Nothing to say in return, I could only rub my head to try and understand what kind of nonsense was just stated as fact. "Shloopy-doo?" The very word dripped with pet-naming stupidity, and that alone was what caused the quiver once saying the abomination of a word, myself. "You've..." My own voice slowed as my brain cranked its' gears and pistons in a desperate struggle to regain its proper functioning. "-Got to be... Kidding me." To say the least, Applejack took my challenge and stood triumphant while I lay in thoughtful recoil. Having my burned out brain barely functioning, I was lucky to even be able to say the one word that consumed what little mental capacity I had left.

"How?"

That deadpan expression of mine brought amusement to Applejack.

"Ya see? That's the same look Ah had when seein' Macintosh that day. Ah was jus' mindin' my own business when all of the sudden, Mac starts bouncin' through the streets with a rope around his neck burtin' out absurdities. Ah almost didn't notice the rope, but the house he was pulling sure cleared that up pretty fast. Berry Punch is still angry for Mac wakin' her up durin' a hangover. Heck, it was so outta the blue that Ah was standin' in the same spot for at least half an hour,"

I was too brain-dead to really let anything inch through my eardrums. Surely, it would take the time to reboot after a couple of seconds. It always did. I just never was quite the brightest person in the world, you know? Missing a few educational screws, and such. Made me wonder if I had a learning disorder sometimes.

The headache I had from being able to think straight was worth the lingering pain. Some pain relievers would have been handy, but we all know how my luck usually goes around here by now. I was about to ask what could have driven someone to do such a thing, but at the risk of another mental shut-down I rejected the desire. "I... I don't even want to know how that happened." To think that someone would be so love-struck that they would parade themselves through town in such a manner! I would hope that he got a good smack upside the head to knock some sense into it. Probably by that pony that Applejack mentioned. The one that owned the house her brother yanked along the way. I could only imagine the pluming bills...

Wait...

DID SHE JUST SAY HER BROTHER HAULED A HOUSE ACROSS THEIR VILLAGE!?!

Backtracking through the conversation, I mentally kicked myself for not reacting sooner. A cold sweat dampened my flesh. Surely, I simply misheard what was said.

To try and receive clarification, I cautiously raised a finger to grab the country ponies attention. All the while, it was a struggle for me not to over-react to hearing of such monstrous power. "Um, uh, Applejack?" She awaited my question patiently. "Maybe I did not hear you correctly. Did you just say that your' brother; a pony, pulled a house through your hometown?" Her nod brought a sense of dread upon me.

"Eeeyup, Big Macintosh is the strongest pony in Ponyville. Heck, since that was years ago, Ah could bet that he could even pull more now."

How powerful were these freakish pony monsters? First they use magic, then they can shoot lightening, and now they can literally rival a comic-book superhero in strength? What kind of world was I unlucky enough to be thrown into? "With his help, Ah bet that you'll be doin' the same in no time flat. Ya are the Vanguard, so yer gonna have to surpass even Big Macintosh." I was going to have to what? The impossibilities of such an action was alerting. Taken back, I had no clear way of objecting to such a claim. All I did was lie in bed, stunned. The thought of the training that awaited me outside these hospital walls terrified me.

There was nothing to be done about that though. That stupid horse of a goddess already established that she was not going to let me go anywhere until I was no longer needed. How troubling. What was my life turning into? At least I had some new friends to try and balance this madness out. I can genuinely say that there have never been any humans I've met that were as open minded as these girls were.

As a gesture of goodwill I suppose, Fluttershy did her best to try and alleviate my troubles. Standing with her front hooves on the bed, the pegasus tried to work her way into my vision. Eventually, she had to adjust my head just to hake me look at her. "Do not worry Jacob. Everything will be fine. We will make sure that this does not happen again. We are already making some changes to your diet, so this should not be a problem. There are many sugar substitutes that you can have instead." Oh yes, I nearly forgot how I was on the path of becoming a vegetarian. I was going to miss eating bacon, but it was the least I could do for Fluttershy. She did save my life after all, so this was a small price to pay for my continued existence. "In the meantime, I suggest that you rest for a little while longer." I showed some disdain for the recommendation, but nothing was said in argument. Fluttershy has known what was best for me, so maybe it was best that I just listened from now on?

"You know,-" Dash picked up the subject somewhat hesitantly. "-I've been in situation like these a lot, and I think that I might know a way to pass the time a little quicker than just lying in bed like a lump."

Picking my head up, Fluttershy stood ready to push me back down onto the mattress. She would not have to worry this time however, as it was only curiosity that drove me to movement this time.

"What did you have in mind?"

Author's Note

Wow, I cannot believe that I don't remember how vague Gen was with the chapter. This was definitely due for a rewrite. I actually have to stretch it out into different chapters! Geeze, Gen!