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.

Sitting on a mighty throne of stone, the mighty Ahuizotl stroked his white cat as he gloated over his latest acquisition and victory. Within the vast jungle ruins, his slumbering feline beasts lounged at his side as the roofless throne room comforted these pets to an undisturbed sleep with the warm rays of the sun. "Eheheheheh; With Daring Do out of the way the world will suffer mightily at my hands! I AM VICTORIOUS! MWAHAHAHAH!" The great and mighty Ahuizotls' cackle held just what would be in store for all pony kind now that the powerful ancient artifact known as the Sapphire Statue was in his hands. What he was not suspecting though was the worlds last chance at survival as a blur swung by on a rope before swiping up the statue right under Ahuizotls' nose.

"I'll take that!" declared Daring Do, treasure in hoof as she swung by. Looking down at her long time adversary, Daring held her prize with pride while leaving Ahuizotl to gawk at what actions had taken place during his triumph.

"What? No!" cried her former captor, bereft of his victory and prize at the very same time. In that instant, he knew all that could be done was watch as Daring Do swung to a far off cliff and declare his evident defeat.

Pocketing the statue, Daring called down to her foe. "Better luck next time Ahuizotl," she called from atop the cliff, resettling her hat before galloping out of sight as she could hear Ahuizotl shout:

"CURSE YOU, DARING DO!"

I will admit, Rainbow knew how to project when it came to reading. I may have noticed how loud she was being if I had not been so enticed in the reading material, myself.

'Daring Do, and the Quest for the Sapphire Statue', is what it was called. Apparently only one part of a highly acclaimed series written by a widely renown author. I forget who exactly was the writer, but whoever she was had to at least received a couple fan letters from Rainbow by how the pegasus proclaimed everything that went on in this book with such portrayal.

The book was rather well-written, and managed to keep my attention. It was what a good book needed to be. Decent punctuation and grammar, a decent plot-line with no definite rushing without reason, a likable protagonist, clearly revised more than a few times, and made sure to avoid walls of text. To say the least, the book was great enough of a action adventure novel to keep the attention of a jock like Rainbow; mind you, this very same pegasus was the one that called Twilight an 'Egghead' at one point no doubt to describe her overly apparent love for the written language.

Heh, enough of speaking about such a critically acclaimed best seller though.

Lying in bed had been Fluttersly, Rainbow, and Myself. Somehow, the three of us had managed to squeeze ourselves onto the same mattress. It took having to reduce the recline in my bed, but it was worth it.

Applejack and Pinkie left a while back to return to their hotel to see everyone else. No doubt that Applejack would be revealing what all had happened today. I was not looking forward to hearing about that later on.

Anyways, back to the actually important stuff right now.

Rainbow, sitting in the middle of the trio with her back to the headboard, kept her eyes glued on the pages held in her lap. The way she projected involved her entire upper body. Sometimes even taking the time to thrust a hoof up in the heat of the moment like she just had to exemplify the antagonists' defeat. My, she was quite the actress, was she not?

Fluttershy had taken the time to sleep from all the hustle from this morning. The poor dear looked completely worn out. You mustn't blame her. She works so hard, and without any further pay-off. I was not sure whether to admire such ambitious warmheartedness, or pity her for the lack of kindness she received in return. Fluttershy did not seem to mind either way, as she laid back in a soft slumber. One would wonder how such a timid pony could sleep with Rainbow boasting her lungs out as she had been.

I on the other-hand, was wide awake as I laid with my hands over my chest. My heartbeat picked up the pace, as my mind threw picture after picture through itself to give a clear depiction of everything happening in this story. I did not dare interrupt Rainbows' narration for the fear that she would not continue reading. I had to know what happened next. First Daring Do was coursing through the thicket of the jungle with a pack of ferocious feline enemies ready to pounce and devour her, and avoided the situation with such vigor. Next was the retrieval, loss, and current re-retrieval of the Sapphire Stone! I could actually feel my pulse throbbing in my throat at the part that Daring Do was about to be buried alive with rats, spiders, and snakes surrounding her. -And the escape from all of that lava? Spine tingling was the lowest definition of description. Who even knew that a hat had enough force to pull a lever? Heh, what am I saying? Logically speaking, that was impossible. It was only a book, but I felt so immersed in the story. I genuinely felt concerned when misfortune befell her.

"And so, with Ahuizotl defeated, and the Sapphire Statue secured the world was safe and sound once again – thanks to Daring Do!"

The sound of a closed book left me curious of more stories of this adventurous pegasus named Daring Do. Unfortunately, the small stack of books on my nightstand that had grown to be three thick became four. The fourth was also the last of the books Rainbow had brought with her to read. "Wasn't that an awesome way to end an issue?" Dash asked. Lying back to fully recline on the bed with the novel clutched to her chest, Dash appeared to be ecstatic over the climatic ending. Her feeling toward the prologue however was a little less than the previous. "Well, there was a part when Daring Do went back to her normal life, but that wasn't worth the extra read." Hm, I would have to remember that so I could read it later. Might be worth it, right?

"Yes, you were not fibbing when saying that it was a good series."

While my enthusiasm was not matching Rainbows, I did get the feeling that we were both on the same level of thinking. This was a very captivating series of novels. Dash just seemed to think more of it than I did. "Are you kidding? It was awesome! More than awesome! It was..." Dash paused as if trying to find a proper descriptive term. "-Me-worthy!" What an ego.

Having sat up in bed, I leaned over when pulling both knees to my chest. This story-time like setting made me almost think of a child listening to riveting tales of legend and fables. "So, I wouldn't suppose that you could spare the time to read the prologue, could you?" Glancing at the bed-side table to see the four book high stack, I looked through the individual titles. Meanwhile, Dash stood up in bed before hopping off.

"Sorry Baker-Boy, but that's all the time that I have for today. You do realize that the sun already set, right?"

Looking up from the hardcover novels and to a hanging clock on the wall, I looked on at the nearly still hands of the clock as it was then revealed how the past few hours had been almost an illusion. Had time really flown by that quickly? You would think that I would have noticed something like that, but to my own surprise I looked out my window and on toward a darkened sky with only a small amount of orange lingering on the horizon to signal the end of a setting sun. How time flies by when having fun.

A nervous itch slithered its' way to my face causing me to lightly scratch the cheek it stopped upon. "I suppose that it has." I quietly laughed to myself as Rainbow slid a saddle pack on her back. It was the same that she brought the books in with earlier. A similar cyan color with a rainbow lightening bolt button to seal the top flaps.

Sliding one book after another into her pack, Dash made sure not to bend any of the pages. These were clearly favorite books of hers; if not the only ones that she owned. "You know, if you want I can let you borrow these sometime." An upturned brow made, Dash smirked at me. "If you rip even one page though, I'll clobber you." Violent as it sounded, it was a good deal when coming to what could possibly be someones' prized possessions. It did sound a little risky, so it might be wise to see if Twilight owned a copy for herself. She did live in a library.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Once after securing her pack Dash was sure to be on her way.

"You behave yourself, Baker-Boy."

She lifted a friendly hoof to me which I gently fist-bumped.

"I will try. Trouble seems to have taken a liking to me lately."

I could tell by the look on Rainbows' face that she agreed before turning around to go out the door. Before exiting, she looked back from the doorway only for me to wave goodbye to the mare before she vanished from my sight behind the other side of these hospital walls.

Seeing that there was not much else to do, I thought that it would probably be best to go ahead and prepare for bed. No point in sitting still all night. So for the second time today, I successfully exited my bed. Somehow my movement had been enough to stir Fluttershy from her sleep as she had picked herself up from her pillow by a hoof. "Jacob, what are you doing? Where did Rainbow Dash go?" Reaching my arms upward with my back to the pegasus, I stretched my body out. After hours of lying down, I bet you could imagine how stiff my body had been.

"Mmph? Oh, she just left to go back to ya'lls hotel room."

Finally loosening myself up, I let one arm fall to my side when turning around to Fluttershy. My other hand was partially lifted with my palm towards her in a soft point. "Which reminds me, shouldn't you be heading back? I mean, it is almost completely pitch dark outside." That's when a booming interruption of thunder sounded. Rattling the sky, a flash of light crashed downward in the far distance of my window causing Fluttershy to bolt to an awake state of fearful whimpering.

Surprised to see Fluttershy acting in such a way, I had not even taken the time in noticing the soft tapping of raindrops hitting the outside of the building. Instead, I sat back down on the bed and pulled the sweet little pegasus close in a concerned embrace. "Hey, hey now; what's wrong? What is this all about?" As yet another loud crack thundered across Canterlot, I could feel her body tense up before squeezing me in return of my hug. The pegasus buried her face into my chest, and her body locked up from every sound made from the world outside my room. Letting one hand slip up to Fluttershy's head, I gently brushed a hand through her mane to try and calm her soft cries. "It's alright. It's okay. What's wrong?" She had yet to fully respond, but upon the third flash of light and following blast of noise it became much more clear after feeling Fluttershy gripping me even tighter.

"Fluttershy." I tried to get her attention, but to no avail. "Fluttershy, are you afraid of thunder?"

I both saw her nod and felt it on my chest, and it broke my heart to do so.

As the previous light tapping on my window become much more harsh, I brought myself to gaze out the window to see how quickly the storm had brewed in such a short amount of time. I could not send Fluttershy out into this weather; Especially not in her current condition. Instead, I pulled Fluttershy off of my chest just enough to get a good look at her. Immediately, she tried to go back to latching on my torso, but I managed to grab her attention. "Look, how about you stay another night? It's not a good idea to go out in a storm anyways, you know?" She looked up at me, tears already welling up in those teal eyes.

"W-would you mind if I slept with you tonight?"

I couldn't help but smile at the question.

"Of course you can."

After a quick journey to the light switch, I returned to bed in the dark. Occasionally, a bolt of lightening would flash across the room and allow me to view any surroundings on my way back. Fluttershy had curled up under the covers, quivering at the once again re-occurring sound of thunder. This was bound to be a mighty storm with the current activity among the clouds.

"Alright, how about we get some shut-eye?" I pulled back enough covers so that I could squeeze myself in bed to join my friend.

Barely having the time to lie down, I was instead yanked downward onto the bed; Luckily, I was at least able to cover myself with the blanket.

Admittedly, it is a bit of a bummer that I will not have time to change out of my day clothes, but I have already been sleeping in them for a long while. It actually might not make the difference even if I did change into a robe at this point. Anyways, back to the Pegasus that had me held down on the bed with her.

Squeezing my torso, Fluttershy had her front legs wrapped around my chest. We faced each other as we laid on our sides. I had no idea that Fluttershy was this afraid, but it became very apparent in a matter of seconds. It was concerning, if not more. It might actually take more than a hug just to quell this kind of fear. "Everything will be alright, just come a little closer." Wrapping my arms around her, I brought Fluttershy close enough to where her head rested itself upon my ear. "It's just thunder. It can't hurt you." Though it was said, I felt that Fluttershy knew this by now. Maybe she was only afraid of the noise? Maybe the lightening? It was hard to tell, but guessing did not fix this whimpering.

"Oh come now, if you keep this up you won't be able to hear the lullaby my mother sung to me as a boy."

There we go. Although she did not move, I could already feel Fluttershy's body loosen up. "A... Lullaby?" I knew that would get her. She seemed like the musical type.

"Of course. My mother loved singing. She had a real knack for it, if you'd believe me." It was difficult not to be caught up in reminiscing. "-And she had one lullaby that could calm even a hurricane, I bet."

Another bolt of lightening and a boom of thunder, and the pegasus in my embrace flinched.

"Would you like to hear it?"

I Could feel her nodding on my cheek, and smirked in turn. "Very well, I will do my best. Keep in mind though, I am not the best singer in the world." It had been a while since I sung this, so I hoped that I remembered the words completely.

~Back in my hometown,
back very long ago.
A simple song was sung to me,
so jaunty, sweet, and low.
Just a lovely little tune,
one that nothing could hide.
I did not even care,
that there was no-one by my side.~

~La-La-Loo-La-La-Loo.
La-La-Loo-La-La.
La-La-Loo-La-La-Loo.
That's my lullaby.~

~La-La-Loo-La-La-Loo.
La-La-Loo-La-La.
La-La-Loo-La-La-Loo.
Hush, don't you cry.~

~La-La-Loo-La-La-Loo.
La-La-Loo-La-La.
Give it time, and the clouds will pass.
The sun will shine upon you one day.~

~A few towns o'ver,
many years since then.
A familiar song was sung to me,
so jaunty, sweet, and low.
It reminded me of a song
I heard many years ago.
Joining in the song, I sung for my loved ones-
a song I'd come to know.~

~La-La-Loo-La-La-Loo.
La-La-Loo-La-La.
La-La-Loo-La-La-Loo.
That's my lullaby.~

~La-La-Loo-La-La-Loo.
La-La-Loo-La-La.
La-La-Loo-La-La-Loo.
Hush now, don't you cry.~

~La-La-Loo-La-La-Loo.
La-La-Loo-La-La.
Give it time, and the clouds will pass.
The sun shines upon me this day.~

Finding it difficult to keep my eyes open, it was not long before I drifted off at my own causes. Little did I know that Fluttershy had already fallen asleep just moments before I had.

Without a doubt, today was going by much better than it had yesterday. Sure, I was unable to eat sugar on the hospital premises any longer, but that did not keep me from enjoying the tea Rarity had prepared. I enjoyed it even more so while wearing the clean clothes she had taken the time to make for me the prior night. They looked the same as my old ones, right down to the insignia on the over-sized blue t-shirt. I enjoyed that symbol though. It told me that Rarity was experimenting with her painting skills.

Since there had not been any available means of brewing the tea in my room, of course, we had to either go to the cafeteria or the lounge to use the only available brewing devices we could use in the building. Coffee makers. Eventually, we just chose the lounge over the cafeteria for... Reasons.

The lounge was better than the cafeteria anyways. I got to get a better look outside and everything. I could watch Ponies walking by on the sidewalk when they passed the entrance. Occasionally the automatic doors would slide open for an unanswered courtesy. With the building so close to the street, it struck me as odd when trying to figure out if ponies had a place to park? Wait, did ponies have automobiles? Guessing that these ponies usually get pulled around in a carriage like Celestia did when retrieving me, I would not guess it went further than that. Since flight was also possible with such transportation, airplanes would most likely be rendered inferior on some level.

Admittedly, the chairs were a lot more comfortable than a lot of things in this place. Rivaling a good chunk of this buildings' tan or white colors, the lobby had a toffee brown carpet with walls painted a creamy coffee-like color. The help desk just a little bit beyond where one would walk in had a lime-green pony receptionist that sat at the counter with her hooves on a keyboard to a desktop computer. She was not a unicorn, so it escaped me how she could even type with those big, clunky hooves of hers. Oh my, that sounded awfully rude. Good thing I did not say that out loud. Moving on, just beyond that had been the lounge the four of us sat in.

Oh yes, I nearly forgot to mention who all was with me.

Along with Rarity and myself, both Fluttershy and Twilight accompanied me during this time.

We sat in a small cluster of chairs that positioned themselves around a square coffee table in a two-by-two sort of format. It was strange to see ponies sit down. They didn't sit like humans would, but more like a cat or a dog. Not that I am complaining, but I just never thought I would see a person sitting like this.

Sitting with my cup of tea, I looked down at the styrofoam container with a smirk. It did not matter to me if there were no porcelain tea cups to use; these would do just fine. Rarity however seemed to not much care for them. Huffing out a breath from her nostrils, she leered down at the cup with dissatisfaction as smoke floated upward within its' walls from where it quietly stood on the table. If she did not hurry, it would get cold. This was not cold-brew, mind you. It was green tea. Granted, it was all the hospital could spare, but still much appreciated. "Do they really expect me to drink from something like this?" Her condescending tone made me think the cup would soon sprout diamonds just to boost its' self esteem. "Did they not even have any proper glassware for us to borrow?" I tried not to pay much mind to such belittlement of styrofoam appliances. I was not the richest fellow back home, so styrofoam plates and cups were a cornerstone of my survival second only to bread, water and other cheap food. Mostly potatoes.

Don't judge me, I'm Irish. -And just because I'm a chef does not exactly mean I eat well. There were a lot of fast food restaurants before I tried planting my indoor vegetable garden.

Having already crossed my legs, I tried not to pay mind to such ramblings. Now was time for tea. It was my tea time, and no-one would take that from me. Fluttershy seemed to understand that; well, that or she just tried to avoid talking to Rarity. Maybe a little bit of both? Still, I could respect a lady that knew how to slow down and relax every now and then. Twilight was the one of us that tried to convince Rarity that the points in her one-sided argument were indeed pointless. Her cup floated magically in the air space just to her left while trying to reason with her friend. "I don't really believe that it is that bad. Who knows, you might enjoy it." Rarity was too stubborn to budge on her own opinion. In her eyes, the cup was too poor for her.

With a smirk, Twilight rolled her eyes away from Rarity and over to me and Fluttershy. I will admit, the pegasus has been rather clingy as of late. She even took the seat directly beside me just to get a little closer while everyone else had their own side of the table to themselves. Not that I have a problem with that. Fluttershy's company is something I welcome with open arms and an open mind. After taking another sip of tea, I glazed my eyes over to look at Twilight when noticing her glance. I could see that she was just as used to Rarities upper-class behavior as Fluttershy was. "So, Rainbow informed us that Fluttershy had stayed the night. How exactly did that work out?" Unbeknownst to me, Fluttershy jumped in her seat somewhat; almost spilling her drink on the floor. I however, sat still in my chair with both eyes closed.

"Well..." Not moving my head, I opened an eye just enough to see Fluttershy sitting nervously. The drink rattled in her shaking hooves. She must have been embarrassed about something. Probably the fear of thunder. Taking a sip of tea again, I lowered the cup before closing my eye just as before. "Other than I enjoyed it, I have no definite comment." Opening both eyes now, I turned my head to Twilight after confirming that Fluttershy calmed down at least a little.

"It was quite the storm. I am surprised to see that the weather is so sunny today."

I knew what I said must have sounded odd, but I meant every word. For such a storm to take place and then everything just clear up after the night was over did not normally happen where I was from. Sure, things like that have happened before, but this was a whole other world. There were things that I had yet to understand; much like how ponies can make clouds shoot lightening. "Well, Rainbow Dash did manage to change her working area to Canterlot last night." I am uncertain to how that exactly included the storm. What did Dash even do? No doubt something sports like. Maybe she worked as a coach? "Being a captain of the weather team is challenging. Controlling the weather is not an easy task." A bit of tea slipped down the wrong tube when hearing this, causing me to cough uncontrollably.

"Jacob, are you alright?" Fluttershy patted my back, wanting to assist me in the only way she guessed how to.

Choking on liquid was indeed something to cause my lungs to spasm, but after giving Fluttershy a thumbs up I pounded a fist against my chest in hopes to clear anything that may cause another cough. It was necessary for me to place my tea down at this moment so that I could keep my fullest attention on the current conversation. "Are you alright, Jacob? I didn't say anything to offend, did I?" I wagged a finger to Twilight with a spare hand before feeling to be able to speak once more.

"Nah..." One last cough from my itching throat burned its' way up to interrupt my speaking. "Just surprised me. Didn't know that ponies could do that."

Feeling some tea covering my lips, I wiped it away with an arm. Relieved to see that my reaction was simply out of shock, Twilight smiled.

"Oh yes, Pegasi are very skilled with a subconscious magic pertaining to the sky. They are more than able to easily change the weather, walk on clouds, and much more."

Amazing.

"As much as I hate to abruptly end the conversation, Darling; somepony such as myself cannot simply be shut inside a hospital all day." Hopping down from her seat, Rarity completely disregarded her tea with a upturn of her chin. I could see she was eager to leave. "Please, do not think ill of me for it. I merely cannot bare to be around such things as..." She stared at her cup once more and leaned away from it with disgust. "...This." Hey, it was better than those paper cone cups you use for water coolers. Directing herself away from it in the blink of an eye, Rarity brought her attention to Twilight. "I also believe we need to hurry or we will miss that new bookstores' grand opening."

Seeming to come to the exact conclusion herself, Twilight tapped a hoof below her horn almost as if jogging her memory with the light knock on her forehead. I knew that look. Twilight had just remembered something that was worth looking forward to. "Oh Duh,-" Looking back at me, Twilight seemed apologetic for their apparent sudden departure. "-Sorry to cut the visit short, but Canterlot is opening a new book store just downtown." She did love books, and who was I to refuse such a connection to reading? Sometimes, I wished that I liked to do so that much. School would have been a breeze.

Understanding the reason, I smiled at Twilight before giving her a light shoo-ing with my hands.

"Do not think it bothers me. You have your' own lives to live, and I'm not going to keep anyone from that."

The two of us exchanged a mutual glance of friendliness before Twilight hopped down from her chair. Doing so, the lavender unicorn stopped before completely leaving the table. "Wow, I really am forgetful today." She said with a laugh before looking to me. "I had some books delivered to your' room. Spike picked out some good ones for you to read." Spike? The little dragon boy? My, its' been days since I've seen him. It felt like months.

Adjusting my glasses with a thumb as a sort of gentlemans' obeisance, I was grateful for the thoughtful action. Sleeping would get rather boring if that was all I did today. "Well, thank you very much, Twilight. I'll be sure to give them a look when I get back upstairs." Twilight returned my gesture with a nod before moving on to Fluttershy.

"Would you like to come along, Fluttershy? I'm sure that you feel a bit stir crazy from being cooped up here all day."

Half of me was expecting Fluttershy to accept the offer and leave me be in the hospital, but the other feared the thought. I'm not sure why, but my gut was wrenching in on itself from the suspense I felt. If she did, it could not be helped. Fluttershy was a independent mare. She did not need to be sticking around me all the time, and was bound to be growing bored of someone such as myself. This being said, I was not sure what to think when seeing the pegasus shaking her head to refuse the offer.

"No, I think that I will stay."

Twilight did not question her friends decision, instead nodded with approval. "Okay then, just make sure that Jacob stays in bed. He checks out of the hospital tomorrow, so let's make sure he does in one piece." Letting her eyes trail over to me, I already knew Applejack told her about yesterday by the look she gave me. "So let's make today 'Sugar-Free', okay?" Yep, I knew it, and she knew that I knew it. Twilight did not seem to care much of it, but laughed a little at my shock before walking away while Rarity followed at her side to do what she and her friend had planned for the day.

Maybe it was just me, but things got really quiet when those two left. Not in a bad way, but not in a good way either. I was just glad to have Fluttershy here, but also felt somewhat guilty for it. She had been looking after me so closely these past few days, but had not even left the hospital since the first night she stayed. Fluttershy was sure to have some sort of social life, so what was I doing taking that away from her?

"Hey, Fluttershy-"

Neutral as it was, I wished that I could at least speak a little bit more cheerfully. It was a difficult task to do, but with a little time I should be able to. Taking my tea back off the table, I looked down at the green liquid. "Are you sure that you want to stay here in a drab hospital with someone like me?" Finally faking a happy expression, I laughed. "I mean, you've kind of been spending the past day or so with a hideous monster." Saying this, I trailed my vision down the sides of my cup to the fingers that grasped it. Those things that had to of been so different from anything Fluttershy had ever seen before. So much different from hooves. So ugly. So disgusting looking. Like wriggling grubs sprouting from my flesh. I could feel sorrow building within when drinking the last of my tea. Doing so, I could feel the cup touch the tip of my nose. It wasn't like the muzzle Fluttershy had. These ponies' muzzles weren't large in the slightest, but just imagining how strange my nose must have seemed bothered me. These small beady eyes of mine. Small patches of hair while the remainder appeared to be bald spaces of skin. I've seen the ways some of these ponies look at me. I was a freak show to them. "I would not blame you if you wish to leave." Inside my mind, it could not be helped that I would feel embarrassed and ashamed of my own body. Even so, I still forced my smile. If I frowned then that would worry Fluttershy, and I did not want that. Not after all that she has done for me. She deserved to be happy all the time. Not to be sad and concerned.

It was inconceivable what happened next. Something that I would have never expected in all my years of living.

She leaned on me.

From the chair beside me, she rested her head on my shoulder. "You should not say such things." I could hear the plain tone in her voice when speaking. Did I... Did I make her sad? "Just because you look a little different does not make you a monster." It was a never ending battle just for me to keep on smiling as I was right now. It had to me maintained though.

"Fluttershy, I think that I'm more than just a little different."

She paused at my words.

"Maybe, but... I'm just as different as you, aren't I?"

"I would suppose so." What was she getting at with this?

"Am I a hideous monster?"

The words brought me to gasp as I turned to Fluttershy. Holding one of her hooves, my brain scrambled for proper words in its' panic.

"What? N-no. You are kind, and wonderful, a-an-and angelic."

Finding myself to be lightly stroking her hoof, it had not yet registered what exactly my mouth had spoken out until it was too late. At that point, I had all but become unfrozen from holding my friends hoof until I found the will to place it back down in its' respectful place. Going back to staring at my cup, I pondered what had come over me just now. "My apologies. I don't normally become this excited while talking." How could I act so stupid? I must have scared her with my idiotic words. Now she was bound to leave!

Fluttershy did not leave though. She only watched me from her seat.

"Then maybe you are not a monster either."

I gripped my cup. It felt so good to hear this. For someone to say that I wasn't some sort of freak of nature; it felt really nice, but for some reason... It got even harder to smile.

"Well,-"

Slapping my knees in a haste, I stood up straight. With a cheerful grin, I looked down to Fluttershy as she watched me. "What do you say that we get up and walk around?" Tossing the cup from my hand, I looked down the nearest hall. "This place could use an exploration, and I'm not ready to sleep yet." Putting both hands on my sides, I could see a couple ponies walking out of a hall not too far from it. My grin faded when seeing them snickering after they noted my existence in the foyer. I tried ignoring the word they whispered when passing me by.

'Freak'.

The word burned me.

My chest ached when hearing it. It was time to pretend though. Pretend like it didn't hurt. Put on a happy face and move on, right? It just... Would take a little while, okay? Just give me a second.

"Jacob, you're crying. Are you alright?"

Standing in place from where I heard my new label be spoken, Fluttershy had already hopped from her chair and stood by my side. Funny that she would notice something like that before me. Pressing a hand against my face, I could already feel the wetness upon it. "S... So I am..." Hushed, I tried to speak calmly when pulling my hand away to look at the water marks reflecting the ceiling lamps' light. So wiping my eyes with an arm, I let out a laugh. "W-well, I don't know what that's all about." Fluttershy was about to say something, but I already began walking toward the hall. "Anyways, let's get a move-on. We're burning daylight." Laughing once more, I stopped at the halls' entrance to look back at Fluttershy.

She had not yet moved from where she last stood. A saddened expression on her face.

"Hey, what's wrong, Fluttershy? Aren't you coming?"

She looked at the floor as if contemplating something before returning her gaze to me with a smile.

"Of course." She spoke softly before lightly trotting after.

As light from the setting sun shone itself into my hospital room, the tranquility worked together with the quiet to build a serine environment. Although it was such a warm, orange glow, it was impossible to do anything but kick back and enjoy the time we had. There was no need to use the florescent lighting. The sun provided more than enough.

Rather than keeping bed-ridden all day, I instead had made myself comfortable in a chair settled beside the door. One leg crossing the other as I sat, a finger flipped through the pages of one of the books Twilight had brought for me to lessen boredom while Fluttershy looked out the window to the city below. The sights seemed to bring some enjoyment to her stay with me. I would certainly hope it did, at least. I dreaded the thought of leaving Fluttershy without anything to occupy her own time.

It's confusing. Lately, I've only been thinking of ways to make that yellow pony happy. Why was I so concerned about that? Sure, I sort of acted like that around her friends, but with her-

It felt different.

Like she was someone that actually wanted to understand, and hang out with me. Back home, no-one would give me the time of day. They would smile, nod, and be on their way. Fluttershy though; she stood, watched, and listened. She wasn't just pretending though, right? No. No, I'm certain that she wasn't. Fluttershy wanted me to move in with her a few nights back, so maybe this was how she adjusted to new people? Spend a few days with them, and see how compatible we were for each other? I guess we were going to be kind of like roommates... Except I was living in her house.

I hope that I made some sort of positive impression. I can be a total idiot sometimes, and I didn't want to push Fluttershy away.

"Jacob, come look over here." The pegasus beckoned. "Canterlot looks so beautiful during the sunset."

Looking up from the novel, I closed the book and picked myself up so that I could see just what about the view could have appealed so greatly to Fluttershy. Without a word, I stepped up to the window to view glimmering buildings colored in a glamorous sun-burnt orange. The way the sunset had caused the spires atop of some buildings in the distance to reflect the warm color across the city and its' sky... It was strange to say, but this was more like staring into a painting rather than out a window.

"It's beautiful."

Taken back by Canterlot during its' sunset, I leaned an arm forward on the glass separating me from it. Times like these made me wish that I had skills with a paintbrush rather than a whisk.

"I always love watching the sunset. No-one ever really pays attention since the day is ending, but it makes you feel warm inside." Somewhat backing off from her statement, Fluttershy tried to recover if she had said something wrong. "I hope that makes sense."

It did. That sensation sort of came over me as well. A warm feeling in my chest that I could not help but try and grab. In turn, all I could hold on to was the blue fabric of my shirt. "Don't worry. It makes complete sense." It was... What was the word? Heartwarming.

Taking more than my fill of the sights before me, I probably would have kept staring out into the city if not for Fluttershy snapping me to my senses. "Um, excuse me..." Blinking once in a daze, I redirected my attention to Fluttershy. I must have been a little too entranced at Canterlots' stunning appearance. In turn, I quietly laughed as a faint pink flushed my cheeks. Letting herself laugh along, Fluttershy looked up at me with a soft smile on her face. Her smile did not last however as she fell into curiosity. "Jacob, can I ask you something?" Seeing how she slowly turned a even the slightest bit serious, I pocketing my book-less hand and awaited the next question.

"Are you afraid of what will happen after you leave here? Being the Vanguard, I mean."

That... That was a good question. Was I ready for the world outside of the hospital after everything that I have witnessed? This world is so much more different from mine, and the last time that I was outside it nearly killed multiple times. It was a frightening thing to think about. To roam with beings that could probably annihilate my existence without any effort given. Could I really survive in a world like that? Better yet; could I manage to fight for them, or just die trying? These thoughts brought forth possibly the most accurate claim I could have on the matter.

"To be honest, I'm terrified." Adjusting my glasses, I could not help but fidget with them.

"I am to live in a world that was never meant to house someone like myself. Although I feel privileged to exist in such a place, I know that my only purpose now is to fight in a war that will most likely be the end of my own life." A sigh spaced out my words. "I will be honest Fluttershy; compared to your people, I am a weakling. Back home however, I could manage myself against most threats. A mugger here and there. Maybe even some random lunatic that starts shooting a pistol in a crowd. All easily taken care of if thrown in the way of my normal daily routine. This world however has nearly cut my life short time and time again in a single day where all I could do was run like a coward."

Saying this rattled all of my hope to be able to survive whatever battles would be thrown my way. Pressing my forehead on the glass in front of me, I tried to close my eyes and imagine my life back home. How I used to wake up, go to school, work, and go home to continue the recycling events the very next day. Compared to this, I begged for my old boring life to return to me. I missed my family. I missed my job. I missed it all.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy stood beside me. She watched my woeful actions and grew a little more sullen with every movement I made. The touch of her hoof on my side told me that she was trying to comfort me. "That's why you have us, right? Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and me. We're here to make sure that everything will be fine." Yes, that was right. I had them to help me. My new friends.

Seeing how the conversation had been plummeting quickly, Fluttershy watched me pull myself off the window and closed their curtains behind me. "Maybe it's about time that we go to bed? We have a pretty big day ahead of us, and it might be best to go to bed early." Watching me grab the symbol on my shirt, Fluttershy knew I was trying to find some form of support. My lost expression only further explained my thoughts and uncertainty for the future.

"Fluttershy, could you spend the night again?"

"Of course."

The Canterlot Train Station was near exactly what I had been expecting. The inside was very clean, with well polished tile floors. I did not even know tile could really mirror ones' reflection, but I could not help but stare downward as if what had been peered into was an upside down universe. The inside was well furnished with couches, chairs, and decorative ferns. Not to mention that large clock in the center of the foyer. It only reminded me of how difficult it was to arise from my slumber earlier.

The ticket patron was... Less than charming towards Fluttershy and myself while we paid our fairs to ride the first train on its' way to Ponyville before the break of dawn. An older mare, she was a bit snooty but backed away from the sight of me. It was for this reason that I allowed Fluttershy to do the talking here. No need for me to go and scare everyone, lest I wish an angry mob to be upon me.

The outside, I should mention, was just as clean as the inside. If it weren't for the loading area being made from wooden planks, I would have thought it to be able to reflect my image as well. It could have been useful knowing we would be waiting for the others to show up. Originally, Fluttershy and I were to meet the girls outside the train, but it seems that for whatever reason that there was... They were substantially late. Being left with this single option of waiting, I blankly stared at the steel train only meters away from me.

Odd as it was, this train was like none other than I had seen before. The front engine appearing to be a royal blue, the remainder of cars were a wooden brown but did not appear to be made of wood. The roofs of these boxcars were a cotton candy pink which made me wonder if I was really staring at a train or an over-sized toy. One would not push the thought out of way too far if they knew what kind of trains were from my world. It seemed fully operational though and even though it was toy-like in appearance, it was the exact size of one of my worlds' trains. Being as child-like that it looked; it seemed reliable enough, so that was enough for me.

As I had thrown my spare clothes over a shoulder, I carried Twilights' books with an underarm while my train ticket had been grasped in the thumb of the same arm. Fluttershy stood beside me with her ticket held in a hoof. I would have questioned how she could perform this task without fingers, but any relevance to such a thing was rendered just the opposite. At any rate, just as it had been my first day in Ponyville, quite a few troubling topics floated to mind.

I hate to carry foreboding thoughts over from one day to the next, but this could not be helped. To wonder if you could even survive in a social environment was not a normal thing to consider. Knowing that the pony people were far more powerful than I was, it was like I could end up being a bug underneath one of their hooves; awaiting its' inevitable end.

"Oh, there you two are."

The call out to us had been from Twilight as she and her friends entered the boarding area with a plus one being a stallion bellhop of sorts that had been carrying all the girls luggage in a overstuffed wagon. An abnormally large gem poked from the top of his collared-shirts' pocket, and the word 'bribe' came to mind, and I knew exactly who it was that made it. Being a hefty amount as it was, I pitied the stallion as he struggled to pull what I already knew was a majority of Rarities' possessions. "Sorry for making you wait. Has the train begun boarding yet?" The sound of steam hissing from the trains underside swiftly interrupted Twilight. Looking up at the smokestack of the train, I paused during my observation of the gray plume rising to the sky.

"Passengers have been boarding, but there is another fifteen minutes at the least before our departure." I looked back down at Twilight, letting out a small yawn in the action.

This early in the morning, I was not the most keen on quickened movement. The girls however seemed more than able. "Well, we're here so there ain't no point in just standin' 'round no more." Applejack chimed in as she marched herself and her friends toward the train and its' ever vigilant ticket puncher while I followed behind with yet another yawn. The bellhop, in-turn heaved a low grunt as he slowly struggled to pull the heavy cart of suitcases and personal belongings to be loaded onto the train.

Not like I had much of choice in the matter, but Twilight took the fullest priority of the matter when deciding where the seven of us would be seated. The moment she stepped into the cart, her eyes scanned around to look at every double-sided seat for the perfect spot. Now, I had never been on a train before, but the places to sit looked a little too fancy for my tastes. Aside from being more like cushioned benches, the first thing I took notice of was how low the seats were to the floor. Without a doubt, I would feel like a toddler sitting in one. Second of all was the somewhat transparent plexiglas border that separated one side of the double benches from the other. It's design was also somewhat uncomfortable to look at as it seemed to appear to try and portray a small gust of wind with one side having an abundance of back support while the other barely had any for a tailbone. I could already find myself hating this ride to town.

Eventually having us seated in the rear of our train car, Twilight paired each of us in groups of two. Rarity and Fluttershy had their own seat. Pinkie and Rainbow had their own, with Twilight and Applejack sitting together as well. This of course left me to being the odd-man-out of the situation on my own bench. Not that it bothered me. The four seats we had faced each other in a two by two fashion, so there was no real separation between anyone.

Being up this early to ride a train had some upsides to it at least. Aside from having the entire boxcar to ourselves, there was also the refreshments cart which I fully took advantage of the free choices of caffeinated drinks. All of the coffee helped me deal with having to wait for the train to start, but eventually it was all I could do once we got moving besides read the books Twilight let me borrow. While the girls talked with one another I felt sort of like an outsider by how I was unable to contribute in any way, so I just kept quiet and waited for the waitress to come by every half hour to refill my complimentary coffee mug.

Coffee and books could only get one man so far though.

Boredom eventually settling in after a few hours, I tuned out any conversation that the girls could have been having at the time to lie back and relax on my designated bench. Both legs hung over the edge as I reclined back on the wall. There was a slight metallic noise when the back of my head touched the glass window behind it. It really was a kind favor of Stable to put that in for me. Heaven knows I needed it.

Looking out the window across from me, I had already noticed the drastic change in scenery since our departure. What once was a regal morning mountainside turned into a humble field of sunshine, green grass, and cat-tails that waggled themselves around in the wind. The evergreen trees further beyond the field stood like an ironclad force; unmovable, and unable to be overpowered in the slightest of ways. It was truly a praiseworthy thing to behold. "Admiring the Everfree Forest, I see." Now I wanted to burn those trees.

Staring at me from the seat across from mine, Twilight smiled upon me. Letting myself look out at Everfree, I scornfully watched the trees beyond the peaceful field. "So that's Everfree, huh?" Taking whatever remained of my coffee and chugging it, I sneered the moment the mug lowered. "It would be a dirty, dirty lie if I said that I would like to visit that place again." Showing some disdain for the area, an arched brow was all I showed aside from a rather unamused look pointed out the window which brought upon me a questionable stare from a few of the ponies near me. Easing the expression with a sigh, I lifted my arms before giving my hands a nonchalant roll of their wrists. "Then again, it would also be a dirty, dirty lie if I said appearing in that god forsaken place was not a life-changing experience." Pinkie lifted a hoof at me from her seat with Rainbow. The way she held out her hoof in an underhanded movement, it looked to be that she was trying to relate to my sour feelings toward the forest.

"Oh, come-on Jakey. It couldn't have been that bad. I've been in there plenty of times, and made it out fine."

"I nearly got eaten." My tone going flat, I raised two fingers to the mare. "Twice."

Rubbing a hoof under her chin, Applejack eyed me carefully for my statement before bringing the same hoof back down to its' place. "Ya know, Ah haven't really heard much about yer little marathon through Everfree." Being the initial spark to a powder keg, interest had appeared in the subject. One would be able to tell that even Fluttershy wouldn't shy away from desiring to know what could have happened within those trees.

Hoping to hear a little more about my currently on-going venture of survival herself, Rarity began seeking an explanation. "It would be enthralling to listen to somepony else's visit into such a rigorous environment for once." Lady-like as she had been, I could see right through every polite smile she sent my way. She did the exact thing my sister did when wanting something. Try to act polite as possible so that she could get her way. If I refused, I was suddenly the bad guy. I could also never believe Rarity would even set foot in a place like Everfree. She seemed more like the type to pay someone to go in there for her.

Where could I even start when it came to telling them all about this? Should I start at the beginning, or work my ways backwards? Never really one to really be a professional at storytelling, it was a gambit for me to really decide on a place to start at. Pulling a knee to my chest, I set an elbow upon it so that I could rest my chin within its' palm to ponder.

"Well, I suppose it all started when I first woke up. I am unaware how it happened, but when I did it was underneath this big grand oak. I tried to use my cell phone, but-"

"Wait a second there, Baker Boy-" Rainbow cut me off with a flat hoof held out to me. "Let me get this straight..." Her hoof movement soon went to a point. "-You had a cell phone?"

Unaware to just why Rainbow had decided to call me out on such a matter, I could not help but feel like Rainbow was criticizing me somehow. "Well yeah, but why does that matter? Nearly everyone back where I'm from has a cell phone." My reasoning was all but reasonable as everything that I knew about my old life was rendered completely invalid in this one. Twilight had to fill me in on the major details.

"Jacob, mobile phones are a very rare thing to see even in places such as Canterlot. For pony-kind, cellular technology is something that has been introduced to the public only in the past few years so it is not something that will be necessarily open to those of us that are not extremely wealthy. One would have to come from vast wealth to even afford such a device. Sure, gaming systems are a great extent cheaper, but only because they have been around much longer. Thankfully the only thing that most ponies need are radio devices or newsprint, and maybe even the occasional turn dial telephone."

So ponies weren't really familiar with a lot of technology? Well, I guess that they were, but it must have been something introduced more within the previous generation.

This new life was going to take some serious adjusting to get the hang of.

"Hey, do you think that we can see it?"

Eagerly leaning off her seat, Rainbow earnestly awaited some sort of physical evidence to prove my claims. In turn, all I could do was awkwardly stare at the floor. "Well, that's just the thing." I could already see Dashes' expression turn somewhat sour from my peripherals. "Celestia sort of confiscated it. I don't even think that she knew what it was. She just called something like a 'small black device'." This did not surprise many; in fact, some of the girls got a good chuckle from it. Being completely out of the loop, it once again took an explanation from Twilight Sparkle to give me any clue to what was so funny.

"Well, while Celestia is aware of technology, it does not exactly mean that she is the most skilled in the department. She actually had to send me quite a few letters just for directions on setting up certain appliances."

Great, so the most inexperienced being in possibly the entire world has my only connection to home. God forbid, I ponder over just what she could have done to it. Probably broke the thing the first time she touched it. The realization of this followed up with a rough face palm perfectly describing how I felt about all of this. "Great... Just great." Sliding the hand down, I let out a loud groan before falling into a momentary silence. "Whatever... Let's move on..." Just go on with the story. Don't focus on the phone for now.

"I suppose the next thing to happen after losing my phone was my search for it. If I knew just how dark it would get, it would have been nice to have a flashlight. I could hardly walk around in that pitch darkness, and with it only being around noon it was not a comfortable nature walk. Then I ran into it."

I still got goosebumps at the thought of the monster that chased me though Everfree.

"I had to run, swim, and barrel through thickets just to get some ground on the thing. It was behind me every step of the way. I can still remember the loud thudding footprints and blasting roar perfectly. Then there were those flowers. The snap dragons, right?" I had to get a nod from Fluttershy just so I knew I wasn't messing up with the name. "The manticore fell in, and I kicked up some dust. After that, I was out cold just outside the forest, and the rest is history."

Leaning my head back against the window, I let my eyes stare out the window across from me. For how wild and crazy my story may have been if I went into detail, I did not want that. I just wanted to be calm and think. "How did I even wind up in that forest though? It makes no sense why it would happen. How am I supposed to get back home, anyways?" I mean, think about it for a second. One moment, I'm dozing off at home and when I wake up I'm in crazy-pony-land. What part of that could possibly be explained in any manner?

Sliding a hand up over my eyes, I hoped that it would somehow assist in trying to find the ever elusive answer to such a question. While I did so, I was unable to see how dismal everyone had become. Sharing an expression with one another, the girls kept to themselves as my words hovered out in the open. Fluttershy took a breath to speak, but was effectively silenced by Rarity when placing a hoof upon the pegasi's chest to hold her back. The two exchanged silent glances while the fashionista shook her head to dismiss whatever Fluttershy could have wanted to say. In turn, Fluttershy watched the floor to avoid seeing me.

'Wham!'

If you couldn't tell, that little sound effect was right about where Pinkie thought it would be a good idea to body-slam me right in the gut; successfully knocking the wind from my sails. Spasming as Pinkie pulled my face close enough to hers to the point of where our cheeks touched, it did not seem to piece together for her that my gasps and wheezing was because of my everlasting struggle to breathe. "Oh, I almost forgot! When we get back to Ponyville, I want to take you somewhere super special!" After slamming a fist into my chest numerous times, I was finally able to suck in a breath of air; granted that every current exhale I made was a little heavier than I would have preferred.

Being back in Ponyville was a refreshing experience. I got to see some very memorable places I came by during my first visit here, and familiarized myself with quite a few new ones. Stopping in the train station was one experience all of its own however. I got to take in a breath of fresh air, and be glad that the train ride had ended. Getting to visit with some locals at the train station was also nice. While I could see that they weren't too comfortable with something that stood about two times their height, some positive re-enforcement from the girls helped warm some up toward me. Some of the locals however, I wished would have kept a distance. Of course, I speak of my first run-in with the town anthropologist. I will spare you the vast details on the encounter, but I will inform you of it through the only things I can remember saying during that time.

'GET HER OFF ME! WHAT IS SHE DOING!? NO, DON'T PUT YOUR HOOVES THERE! LET GO OF MY HANDS! SOMEONE CALL THE POLICE! FLUTTERSHY, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, GET HELP!'

That was my first encounter with the fiend known as Lyra Heartstrings. Truly, a scaring ordeal that would haunt me for nights to come.

With that ordeal over about half an hour ago, I had now been sitting at a table within the establishment known to most residents as the Sugarcube Corner. One could say that it looked like any other bakery, but they would be telling quite the nasty fib. In all actuality, it was anything but your average bakery. If anything, the building alone looked like someone took a giant gingerbread house and meshed it together with one of the normal homes around the town. What looked to be frosting lined the sides of the gingerbread-looking roof, but that was preposterous to suspect. It had to of been some sort of decorative piece. What also appeared to be a giant cupcake perched itself on top of the second story of the building, making-up a room above the roof like a light house sprouting from the center of a barn, and above that was yet another cupcake floor stacked directly above it! It perplexed me that a building like this could exist. It appeared that the proprietors took their baking very seriously.

The inside was very cozy. Wooden floors and walls. Don't let them deter you though, because the inside of this bakery was just as confectionery-looking as the outside. With how Pinkie told me how she actually lived here, I had to admit I was somewhat envious. The wooden support beams were carved and painted to appear to be peppermint sticks, the colorful palette inside the bakery was of a cheerful variety, and the aroma of fresh baked goods lingered in the air. Yep, this was a bakery alright. An impressive one, at that.

Pinkie had run off so I could be introduced to her employers and landlords, Mr. and Mrs.Cake. I suppose it was only polite. From what Pinkie told me, these ponies were a 'second set of parents' in her own exact wording. It would be like meeting the parents of a new friend of mine, so I suppose now would be a good time to make a decent first impression. In the meantime, what remained of my group of five ponies and one human made ourselves comfortable. Doing exactly that, the six of us had to use a party table just so we could sit in the same area. However... There was one thing at the time that really kept me from enjoying myself.

"So you aren't from Equestria?"

"No."

"Are you a monster?"

"No."

"How much do you weigh?"

"That is none of your business."

"You wear glasses. Did you stare at the sun as a kid?"

"..."

This pretty much described the conversation that I shared with this milkshake slurping, propeller hat wearing colt. While the girls and I had been settled down at our own table with our own conversation started, this kid just came up out of nowhere and blurted out 'what are you?' Ever since then, I've been putting up with the young pony. While the girls seemed to get a jolly good kick out of my minor annoyance, I have to tell you the honest truth that he was starting to grind my patience into dust. Even so, I stuck it out while I waited for him to leave and Pinkie to return. It wouldn't have been as bad if the boy would look up from his handheld gaming system, but no; he seemed too interested in it to just look me in the eye while asking these things. It was almost just as bad as that loud slurping noise he made when drinking his milkshake.

"Young man, is your mother around?"

Narrowing my glance at the boy, it was only seconds before a mare trotted up to the young colt. Her ears flicked back, the last step she took at the boy was a rough stomp which successfully caused the kid to look up from his game and to the mare. "Button Mash,-" Called the mare. "You aren't bothering this kind..." She eyed me curiously as if trying to find a polite word to describe me with. "-Gentleman, are you?" The boy innocently grinned before the woman stepped over to me. "I'm very sorry if my son has been bothering you." So this was the colts' mother? She was polite, at least. In turn of the apology, I kindly smiled at the mare.

"Oh, it's alright." Looking down at the game system, I could not help but feel that it was partially to blame. "You might want to take that away from him after you get home though. He's showing signs of an unhealthy addiction."

Seeing his mother nod at my words, the little colt known as Button Mash shot his eyes open wide before the mare bit down on his ear to drag him away. Effectively dropping his milkshake, the lad put up quite a fuss.

"-BUT MOM-"

"No 'but's, mister."

Hopefully his mother could teach him some manners.

"Kids these days..." I couldn't help but utter when watching the mare pull her son away.

Adjusting my glasses when looking back at everyone, I seriously arched a brow at their more than amused faces; Rainbows' especially. "Kids these days?" She quoted impertinently. "You sound like some sort of old geezer." Okay, I may have sounded a little elderly, but a geezer? Really?

Having a quill safely kept in its' inkwell, Twilight shuffled through the notes she had been taking over our past conversations. She had been taking the most initiative in the topics while the others listened on to what Twilight and I had to tell each other. Having taken a liking to the subject, Twilight kept mostly asking about life back where I was from, what the human diet consisted of, daily routines, and a few other non-mentionable things. "It's nothing bad, Jacob. You just act a lot more mature than you appear to be." That was a compliment, right? Never-the-less, As Twilight searched through her notes, she seemed more than ready to pick up from where she left off. "So tell me again. This Democratic country that you are from; what was it called again?" Magic surrounded the ink quill as it floated out of the well and onto the paper; awaiting Twilight to scribe more information upon the parchment beneath it.

"You mean, America?" She scribbled down the word without a second thought.

"-And your cultures."

Scrunching my face at the follow-up, I looked at Twilight a little lost on the matter. Not that I did not know anything about human culture, but it was a bit dodgy. The best way to imagine it would be like a minefield; if you take one wrong step, then 'boom'. You would make headline news and be subjected to more hate mail than you could possibly imagine. Taking the highroad, I tried to summarize it. "Uh, culture can be a hard to describe subject since it differs in separate areas of the world. Mostly they link up with religion pretty closely so it is sort of hard to explain something outside my own religious culture. It would be rather one-sided, if anything, and I do not wish to bring rise to any religious stirs." Applejack jumped in to speak her own mind on the current topic.

"So, humans connect things like Faustianity, or the Titans of Harmony with culture?" Faust-ianity? "Do ya'll humans do that science thing like Twilight that ya'll think that ponies just evolved from sludge, too?"

It seemed that science has reached into religions even here. How curious.

Laying down her quill, Twilight glanced over to Applejack minor-ly upset before looking back to me with an assuring smile. "It's not that I believe in the Theory of Evolution, but more that I prefer to keep an open mind on the subject. I am more of a Faustian-" Letting her eyes narrow only slightly when letting them go back to Applejack, Twilight spoke a little louder. "-especially since the Titans of Harmony no-longer exist." Ears flicking up, Applejack scoffed.

"Just 'cuz they didn't at one point, don't mean they don't now. Our foul mouthed friend made that perfectly clear, didn't she?"

Foul mouthed friend?

Lifting a hand to question the statement, I was stopped by Twilight when she spoke even sharper than the stare I received. "Don't ask." Jumping at the demand, I forced my hand back down as quickly as possible.

Thankfully, before we could progress any further into discomfort, things took a turn for the better. Sort of.

Pinkie wandered down from a stair case not too far from our table with two ponies following close behind while the girls and I were easily immersed in our little worlds. One of which was a lanky light amber stallion with an under bite. Although his orange hair seemed a little messy, it was was in no way unkempt. His orange-sorbet and white bakers cap matched his candy striped bow-tie in color, but not in design. Along with this, a white powdered apron hung on his chest. The second was a shorter, round cerulean mare with a light crimson mane and tail that looked almost like it was styled by an ice-cream dispenser. The apron on this mare was a yellow one with pink-ish frills along it's left and right sides.

"Here he is!"

Showing the two ponies in my direction, Pinkie spared no time in jumping on the back of my chair almost as if just to alarm me.

Jumping off of me just as quick, Pinkie laughed when I bolted up from my seat and almost fell over completely while managing to only have to take a knee to recover. Clutching my chest, I stared at the pony a little lost while she stood there giggling at my frightened form. "Pinkie, what the actual what!?" Finally falling back on my rear, I leaned back on my arms as my head fell back in shock. "...Think my heart stopped for a second there..." Picking my head back up, it was then that I noticed the two newest ponies in the room.

Skipping into my vision, Pinkie bounced back joyfully. "Jacob, meet Mr. and Mrs. Cake!" Not yet quite breaking eye contact with each other, the three of us did hear Pinkie but didn't react right away.

Lifting a hand awkwardly, I slowly waved. "Hello."

Mr. Cake was the only one to return the wave in the couples stupor.

A steaming stream of tea poured itself from its' porcelain teapot and into the cup I held underneath its' spout. Drawing the teapot back when desired, Mrs. Cake set the china piece on the party table this currently growing group sat at while her husband stared at the hand I held the cup with. While the two did not seem bothered previously by pouring tea for my friends, it appeared they saved my cup for last mostly because of a noticeable disconcertment toward me. I could tell they were somewhat unsettled with my appearance, but it was to be expected. I was something that a majority of people had never seen before, so any first thoughts about what people saw me to be had bound to be mixed. You had to hand it to them that they at least went the extra mile to make small talk. "Do you need anything else? Some cake, perhaps?" Generous as Mrs. Cakes offer was, I waved a hand at the two to politely decline. Holding the teacup under my nose, I let the aroma circle around my nostrils and allowed my mind to wander in search of what kind of tea this could have been.

It smelled of apple spice.

"No, you've treated me with more than enough generosity as it is. I would feel to be imposing if I asked for such a thing."

Taking a sip of the drink, I took time to enjoy my hot beverage. Heavenly as it was, I truly wished to savor it enough to where I restrained myself to only taking in a small amount at a time. "I don't want this to sound rude, but when Pinkie was talking about introducing us to a new friend of hers..." Mrs. Cake paused, trying to keep herself cool enough to speak without her voice cracking under pressure. "-we weren't quite expecting to meet somepony so..." The wife looked to her husband lost in her incapability to finish her own sentence. He had to finish for her.

"-Uh, Different." Catching himself, Mr. Cake added on to his word. "Not like that's a bad thing. I can assure you that we have seen stranger."

Lowering the cup from my lips, a cheerful tone was spoken so that I could try and ease the minds of these two. For them to be so welcoming toward someone as different as me, I was more than grateful towards their generosity. "Don't worry, you aren't the first people to think that." Snickering through a wide grin, my shoulders bounced with every laugh. "As long as we are all being honest, if I were either of you and got a good look at me, I would be running for the hills!" Continuing my chuckling, it was nice to see that the husband and wife smiled at my words.

Letting myself look around the bakery's dining area once more from my seat, I let my head fall back to give me a perfect upside-down view of everything behind me. It might have been hard to tell by how I was moving around, but I was not just acting like some sort of moron. I just wanted to admire the Sugarcube Corner just a little more. "You know, you two have a beautiful business here. It's so warm and friendly." Getting more than my fill of the promising sights, I sat upright. "If you two bake anything like Pinkie, I bet you two could have a lot to teach someone like me." Standing up in her seat, Pinkie slammed her hooves on the table in a excited outburst.

"Are you kidding? Mr. and Mrs. Cake taught me almost everything I know! They're like..." Looking at a front hoof, Pinkie stared at it for a split second before looking to me. "-Okay, I don't have fingers to count and show you with, but they're like... A buh-zillion times better than me!"

Adjusting the collar of my shirt, I could feel my skill set becoming even more inferior by the second. If Pinkie was able to craft confectioneries like she had, and claim that her landlords could bake as such a level... It made me wonder what these two were truly capable of. "Great Greens..." Having to scratch my head to relieve a nervous itch, I could not help but feel even more worthless compared to the pony race. Lowering my voice to a worried whisper, I tried not to seem tense about this news. "...I guess that I'm really out of the pan and into the fryer now, aren't I?" It appeared so.

Things seeming to have not quite clicked together for the Cakes, the Missus cocked her head at us. What had been being said, though appreciated also seemed to confuse the couple. "Pinkie, while we are flattered, it would be nice to know why we are being flattered, ya know?" Nodding along, Mr. Cake agreed.

Bounding from her seat, it took Pinkie a hop, skip, cartwheel, and jump to be standing behind my chair with her front hooves playfully wrapped around my neck like she was giving a loose backwards hug. Though I did not break my smile, I did have to hold onto one of her hooves in case she decided to give my throat a good tug. "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that Jacob is a baker too!" Taking one of the forelegs from my neck, Pinkie held it up in the air before flexing it's muscles like a bodybuilder would in a self-righteous pose. "We are Bakers United!" I'll tell you, I was actually coming to enjoy hearing Pinkie say that we were united as bakers. Aside from the warm glow I could feel it gave me, it sort of felt right.

Pinkies' news flash was an unexpected one to the Cakes. The two had to get a good look at me just to really confirm what they heard to be true. Examining me both up and down, the Mister of the two rubbed his chin. His light judging lasted no longer than a few seconds, but he still seemed unable to truly believe what he was told. "I'm sorry, but you're a baker?" Rubbing the chin of his under-bite, Mr. Cake eyed me carefully again. Humming, only a moment later, he clopped a hoof on the table top. "Quick, what's the proper baking procedure for an altitude of three-thousand five-hundred and thirty-seven feet?" Meeting the challenge, I leaned a hand on the table all the while keeping one hand on the appendage wrapping itself around my neck.

"Increase the average oven temperature to three-hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit and add two teaspoons of all liquids for each cup used. Subtract each cup of sugar by one tablespoon, each teaspoon of baking powder by an eighth of a teaspoon, and decrease baking time by five minutes."

Even though I did not see it, Twilight took the chance to scribble this into her notes as well; confused on the current matter, as was her friends.

Pulling his hoof back off the table, the husband Cake perked his ears a little surprised at my answer. Having to take the time to give a couple nods to himself, he smirked. "Really now? I was just asking a random question." The response successfully scrambling my thoughts, I was not for certain what kind of trickery took place. I knew what happened, but my brain was still trying to find out why. So he was just asking a question? Here I thought he was challenging me. My expression sliding into a lost dumbfoundment, the baker turned up the corners of his mouth before letting a few teeth lightly show from his under-bite. "It was impressive that you know that though. You must be pretty handy with a eggbeater, aren't you?" Taking the compliment as something like a high honor of sorts, I tried to play things off cool but just made the happiness I felt from it even more obvious.

"Well, I would hope so. My boss taught me everything he knew."

Then shaking my chair back and forth from behind me, Pinkies' efforts at both interrupting the conversation and gaining my attention were fruitful. To put it in the simplest way possible, she shook the joy right out of me. "Oh my gosh! I almost forgot!" Finding that Pinkie had the ability to use her forelegs like a pair of arms even more than previously thought, the pink earth pony was somehow strong enough to spin my chair around to where I stared at the mare as she only then continued to shake me by the shoulders. "We still haven't made cupcakes yet!" Had we? It was rather difficult to remember when being shaken like a rattle. I could almost feel my pupils pinging around my eyes like maddened pinballs when Pinkie found enough mercy to stop.

"Did we not? I can't remember much right now, but I'll trust you..."

"Well, you're always welcome to use the kitchen." Pinkies eyes twinkled at Mr. Cakes offer. Her gasp of rising joy frightened me a little. "Maybe you can even drop by here and help us with some orders once in a while?"

A promising offer. I was going to have to find a job at some point, right? If I was going to live with Fluttershy, I wanted to be useful to her. Help pay the bills, grocery shopping; anything that I can help with. Plus, a little extra coin in the pocket never hurt anyone. Regaining some of my wit, I replied with a nod of my head to accept the offer. Turning the seat of my chair around, I graciously accepted the couples' offer. "Sounds like a good deal so don't be surprised to see me come in every once in a while." Thinking about it, my still somewhat muddled thoughts could not prevent me from wondering what kind of culinary discoveries could await me in this new land. In fact, the thought was the only thing that completely snapped me back to my senses. Could it be so much different from my own knowledge? What if there were ingredients I had not even heard of yet? How much potential was there here?

It would not take much more to convince me to get to the kitchen and see what awaited me, but the way Pinkie pulled me out of my chair by an arm did get things started. Continuously yanking on my arm like an impatient child, Pinkie did not slow down when impatiently jerking me back to the bakery's kitchen. "C'mon, Jake! Hurry up!" Not much of a fight was put up on my end, as her efforts managed to amuse me to a gratuitous extent.

I laughed as Pinkie continued to forcefully guide me past the stairs she had only just recently climbed down and over to a counter at the northwestern side of the bakery. "Okay, okay. Just settle down." Looking back at the ponies still sitting at the table, I waved to them to be at least somewhat polite about my leaving. "Okay, I guess that I'll see you all in a little while, alright?" I could see Fluttershy waving to me before Pinkie pulled me through a set of wooden double doors just behind the counter and into the Sugarcube Corners' kitchen.

Stumbling in through the double doors after Pinkie gave my arm one last good tug to end her constant pulling, I luckily caught myself on a kitchen counter that had been built into the wall just right of the doorway. Not quite realizing what I had latched myself onto at first, I picked myself up before looking down at its' well polished surface. It was a pearly white counter top that had been built into the wall behind me. The formation of it all was in a large L-shape as the shorter horizontal line ran along the back wall and away from the door, while the longer vertical portion I had managed to support myself with stretched inward toward the center of the room. It was a rather fitting design as the two areas had different uses. The longer portion was just a flat counter accessible from both its' front and back. It sounded strange, but by how the room almost appeared to be halved into two separate parts thanks to this counter-top it almost reminded me of all those math questions asking you about finding the radius to a circle. Except this room was probably more like a rectangle. The smaller part, unlike the last area was built into the wall to connect with its' other half. It ran only a couple meters along the wall, and had a stove built into its' center. Other than this, these counters held spice racks and a cutlery set upon them. Sights such as these were common in many different cooking establishments due to it being much easier to have plenty of space, but at the same time not have your stove or oven taken up by clutter.

Already coming to be familiar with the colorful layout of the building, the assortment of hues in the kitchen did not surprise me. Wood stylized vinyl had been placed upon the lower section of the wall as the upper remainder was covered in a pale pink wallpaper. To be honest, it was always difficult for me to know what was vinyl and what was really wood. The only reason I had been able to this time was because of the wood floors directly under my feet. From what I could see, the ceiling curved downward at an angle moving from one side to the other. On the right side of the room was a yet another kitchen counter that almost ran along nearly the entirety what had to of been a six meter wall. Unlike the one I had caught myself on, this seemed to be used for more practical purposes like washing dishes and storage. It was quite spacious between different appliances as the only thing other than drawers built into the long line of wooden cabinets was a sink placed directly in its center, and a dishwasher at the far left edge.

A window in the wall just over the manual water pump of the sink allowed those rinsing off glassware or even their hooves to look past the floral decorated curtains and outside the Sugarcube Corner to see the occasional pony walking past the glass pane. On both the left and right sides of this window had been two hanging cabinets on the wall that matched their counter-top with dead accuracy. Big, burly, and constructed of a wood painted in a faded green. No doubt the size of these things told how there were a hefty amount of cups, bowls, and plates hidden within them.

Standing at the far right of the wall, a metal fire oven stood above the floor on four stubby legs. It was an antique, and an admirable device to still have in the kitchen. Most chefs and bakers would solely depend on electric or gas stoves for cooking, but alas doing such a thing hindered any respectable culinary connoisseur greatly. Noting the pans dangling from the kitchen rack built onto the stove, I scoffed at how this oven had to be the only thing that matched my height when taking the backboard into account.

The wall across from me, while these details did not mainly pertain to cooking outside of gathering ingredients, was a refrigerator and a pantry. These were standard utilities, but needed possibly more any any other thing in the kitchen. Where would a good chef be without these? Nowhere, that's where. Other than this was a rose colored door that I could already guess was a rear exit of sorts. Guessing by its' width, it was probably just some way that it could be easier to bring in shipments rather than through the front to inconvenience customers.

I grimaced when noting how I was too tall to be able to normally walk through.

I swear, it's like almost everything it toy-sized.

Moving on...

The left wall was much more interesting than a majority of the remaining kitchen combined. Only having to turn my head in the walls direction, a large, bolted, metal door stood a few good steps to my left. Its' single frost-covered window told me that this was the location of the bakeries' freezer. Taking only a step toward the door, the chilling sensation carried upon the air felt almost soothing. The suggestion to go and explore the freezer had risen itself from the back of my mind, but before I could take another step something else was able to distract my ever-roaming attention.

I almost could not believe my own eyes when looking just a little further down from the freezer door. There was a cube-like indention into the kitchen wall lined with shelves. These were not what compelled me to gaze into the cubical though. What did was the large mechanical tub that sat within it.

It was a large taffy puller.

Moving toward the miraculous device, I needed to get a better look at what now stood in my presence. I had heard about things such as these, but never had the chance to see one up close. To view such a wondrous device was nostalgic for someone such as myself. Comprised of a top and bottom half, the puller looked much like a tin can that had its' middle removed. Since this was a model on a much grander scale, the stretching device seemed a little more complex that first suspected.

While the outside of the bottom half was smooth and simple looking, the inside had shown itself to have a cooking mechanism built into the bottom. Curious as it was, I could already guess that this vat could be used as a multitask item as a mixer, boiler, and a stretcher. The three rods jolting downward from the upper half were attached to a rotary device that spun the trio in a circular clockwise motion around the tub as two of them would stick themselves in a thick clot of taffy while the remaining pole would be pressed into the glob to give it proper pulling. Each pole would then cycle their roles until the taffy appeared more like a ribbon or even a rope of sorts.

Almost distracted by looking on at the mixer, I was nearly too enraptured by the machine to get a good look at the shelves surrounding this little mixing area. Once I did however, I was able to properly see that the Cakes had been putting this tool to good use.

Candy. Row after row of candy lined these shelves. Not just taffy, either. Lollipops, hard candy, licorice, chocolate, toffee; you name it and it was bound to be on these shelves. It's shameful to say, but I actually caught myself drooling. I was envious, in fact.

"Pretty cool place, huh?" Pinkie called to me from behind the white counter.

My mind was a complete fuzz from the sheer euphoria I got from on-looking at the potential this bakery had. Never in my life had I the liberty of viewing a bakery such as this one. It was clean, well kept, and had the faint aroma of oatmeal cookies. There were not any signs of needed repair, no signs of infestation; in fact, this place was top-notch! I felt honored, no, privileged to have been in the presence of those that took baking so seriously.

Faintly nodding with a cheery outlook, I pocketed both hands before taking a couple steps back out from the cubicle. "It is." Laxly agreeing, I turned back to look over to see Pinkie throwing a large sack of flour up on top of the prep-counter with a hefty heave.

Pinkie, wiping a couple droplets of sweat from her brow, sighed in relief. I didn't blame her for doing so by how abnormally large the flour bag was, and could only imagine the strain it would have taken for me to perform the task. It almost seemed a little excessive by how much of the white powder was inside. "Whew,-" she whimsically exhaled. "This place is always so much fun. I can make people feel happy by doing what I love to do." I could imagine.

Watching Pinkie walk to the fridge, most likely to obtain anything else we may need, I took the time to admire the joy Pinkie got from such a simple task. Was she happy because she was baking, or that the two of us were finally going to get to make something together? Maybe it was both? Who knows, maybe this was just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie? Either way, it did not change how I enjoyed being where I was right then.

As she dug through the refrigerator, the constant clinking of different items in the fridge being brushed aside in Pinkies search for anything she could have possibly wanted continued for a good while. Hanging the entire front half of her body in standing cooler, it looked more as if Pinkie was excavating the fridge entirely. "Hey Jakey, I just noticed something." Hearing Pinkie from within the fridge, I stepped over to the prep-counter. "We don't really know that much about each other." I suppose that she was right, in a sense. "I mean, I know some things about you. Like how you are nice, but that's about it other than how much you get hurt on a daily basis." The fact struck me as no big surprise as such a thing had become evident the moment I got stuck in Equestria. Deciding to humor the topic, I kindly motioned an unseen hand to try and figure out what I could do to help Pinkie pertaining to it.

"Alright then, what kind of things would you like to know?"

Finally pulling herself from the bowels of the fridge Pinkie shut the door behind her empty handed... Hoofed? Empty-hoofed? Was that right? What was the proper pronunciation of that anyways? handed or hoofed? I still can't tell. Meh, it's too much of a tumor-inducing mental-crash to think too much about. Let's just say that Pinkie wasn't holding anything in her arms... Legs? Darn it, I did it again! Anyways, casting aside that Pinkie had not been holding anything in her hooves, it became quickly apparent that the pink pony had other means of carrying what she pulled from her fridge.

"You know, normal things like what's your favorite thing about baking?" Having a one-track mind, it was clear that Pinkie wasn't quite sure how to carry the conversation. It was an A for effort attempt since she kept that ditsy smile.

Trotting back to the prep-counter with a spring in her step and the previously described smile on her face, Pinkie stood on the other end of the white counter as me while I could not help but look at the pink pony absolutely clueless at what was taking place before me. Not because of how she returned without carrying anything in her hooves, because she did in fact return with everything in her hair!

All scattered about in Pinkies mane were the ingredients she had left to the fridge to obtain. Apparently, Pinkie did not seem to wish to take more than one trip to gather them. Whole eggs scattered themselves about her mane as an unwrapped stick of butter had become tangled in Pinkie's wild, curvy locks. An entire gallon of milk sat unmovable and half hidden within the poofy hair as well while a small bag of sugar, a box of baking powder, as well as a box of baking soda rested within a red bowl nestled in the center of the cotton-candy hair.

Left aghast and mouth agape, I stared at the crazed mare already fearing that her actions would bring a mess to the kitchen I had just come to adore. The shock struck me so hard that I could not help but raise my voice. "P-Pinkie, what in Great Greens are you doing!?" No verbal response was given from Pinkie as she tilted her head to the side in attempt to understand what must have been an over-exaggeration to her. The crazed ponies actions only brought me to silently scream while waiting for everything to fall out of her mane in one loud splat.

"Jakey, why are you acting so freaky? I was just getting stuff from the fridge."

Managing to reclaim some of my wit, panic still gripped my thoughts enough to lead my eyes to take the occasional glance back up at Pinkies' hair after every few of words. "-but why your' hair? Why not your hooves, or...or-" I was soon cut short by the pink earth pony lifting a front hoof to put it on display with a showy wiggle. Her eye lids drooped to a dry satire to explain the obvious hindrance I had not taken the time to notice.

"No thumbs, Jake. No thumbs."

Oh... Oh yes. I must have forgotten.

Going back to her usual perky self, Pinkie tried to put my concerns to rest with a wink. "Don't worry, Jake. It's not like I don't wash my hair." That was the least of my worries, but it comforted me to see Pinkie taking everything out of her hair and placing it on the counter-top. "See? It's just easier to carry everything like this sometimes." I suppose that was true, but I still did not approve of these methods.

In the meantime it was probably best for me to take the time to calm myself. Turning my back to Pinkie before leaning back to let my waist rest on the prep-counter, the nervous thumping in my chest only now began to slow. A hand running through my hair was all I could really think of doing at first to try and put this all out of mind. "You sure do get really jumpy sometimes, don't you Jakey?" Turning my head around to see Pinkie fishing the remainder of the eggs from her hair, she looked right back at me with a playful smirk.

"I don't know..." As I ran a hand through my hair once more, it slid to the back of my head before scratching the metal plate that now resided there. "... I guess so."

"You should calm down, and do what Rainbow Dash always says." I knew she was fishing for me to ask her 'what does Rainbow Dash say', but it was probably better to just bite the hook for now.

"What does Rainbow Dash say?"

"Just take a chill-pill!"

That did sound like something she would say.

"Ooo, hey Jakey! Do you like pink cupcakes?"

"I like cupcakes in general, Pinkie."

"Good answer!"

Lifting the last of the ingredients from her mane and onto the prep-counter, Pinkie looked down at all that was placed before her before going back to me. "So Jakey,-" The pony began. "I've been wondering... How old are you?" A strange question, but someone had to ask it.

"I'm nineteen."

With this new information, Pinkie froze in place. Currently, she was busy scooping flour out of its' bag and into a bowl. Once hearing what I had to say however, the pink mare stopped everything she was doing to give me a look of disbelief. Not quite sure what to think of this at first, Pinkie circled around the counter to scan my body up and down. A constant, puzzled hum came from her every second she approached. All the while, I stood where I was; trying to find out what exactly Pinkie was trying to accomplish. "That's weird. I thought you would be older than that." I was going to ask Pinkie how old she thought I was, but there was no right answer to that question. "I wasn't expecting you to be older than Fluttershy, but I never thought you would be younger than me..." Did the irrelevant fact that I was younger than Pinkie bother her this much?

Not as much as I once thought as her bewilderment transformed into glee.

"This is so awesome! It's like I have another little brother now!"

A little brother? Another? How could Pinkie consider me as family after such little time had been spent between the two of us. I was going to object, but once again, Pinkie cut me off. "No arguments, it is decided. You are now my little brother." Well, I have to admit; Pinkie was very direct with what she wanted, and did not even allow 'no' to become a refusable answer.

"Okay, fine then. I guess that I'm your little brother then."

Hearing this, Pinkie bounced in place to express her state of rejoice.

"Ooo, Can I call you Jakey Pie?"

"No."

"I'm going to call you Jakey Pie."

"No, Pinkie."

"Sorry, it has already been decided."

Forget direct, this girl was stubborn as a mule!

The frustration I got from this pink menace was not so easily shakable as the feeling lingered in my gut for quite some time. Now, I was fine with Pinkie wanting me to be her little brother, it was a sweet gesture, but going and giving me a nickname like 'Jakey Pie?' I could easily deal with Baker-Boy, but this? Not like it mattered. Pinkie made it seem like every decision she made was set in stone. It was best just to give the girl what she wants so we can hurry up and get to baking. So begrudgingly, I crossed my arms before swallowing my pride and gave into Pinkies' demands.

"Fine, call me whatever you want. Just know that you get one nickname for every sibling you have."

My limitation did not even phase the cheerful pony before she gave me a cheerful wink. "Whatever you say, Jakey Pie." Uhg, I already regretted agreeing to this.

A low grunt sounded as I leaned back against the kitchen counter again. My arms were still tightly crossed, but were able to loosen up after a couple of seconds. "So..." Letting my irked emotions vanish, I chose to direct my focus on the trivial matters at hand. "How old are you girls anyways?" By how they all acted, I wouldn't expect them to be that much older than I was.

"Well,-" Pinkie began. "Fluttershy and Rarity had their twenty-first birthday half a year ago, Applejack had hers' a couple months back, Twilight turned twenty-one just last month, and Rainbow Dash will be having her twenty-first birthday in a few weeks." She spoke as if she had written this down in a little book somewhere. "-Oh, and I'll be turning twenty-one next year."

So I really was younger than the girls, eh? I'll admit, I wasn't expecting that. Maybe I could have been younger than a couple, but being younger than Pinkie?

"What do you mean 'another hour'!?! I demand my order to be prepared post haste!!!"

In one fatal swoop, this blasting yell rung through the Sugarcube Corner. I knew this kind of yell. It was the exact kind of yell that could kill any good mood. My gaze slowly becoming all the more steely with every passing second, Pinkie and I stared at the double doors leading toward the bakeries dining area from which this uproar originated from. "Wow, someone is really angry out there." I kept quiet and stared toward the door while Pinkie lifted a hoof over her mouth in some concern. I wanted to hear what was going on.

"Now, just hold on." That was Mr. Cake. "Let's try not to make a scene."

He sounded nervous.

"You don't have my order ready, and now you're ordering me around!?!" This was the unfamiliar voice. Male. Possibly in his mid twenties. A rough, low, and very angry tone. "If you would have just had my stuff ready when I wanted then we wouldn't be in this mess, now would we!?!"

This wasn't good. By the way it sounded, Mr. Cake was facing this customer with admirable bravery. A noble sacrifice, but for a customer like this I feared that things may turn a little extreme. My expectations turned even worse when seeing the Missus backing into the kitchen. A hoof upon her cheek, she stood in the door way to is shock at everything taking place before her. "Oh dear... I hope Carrot will be alright." Approaching the cerulean mare, I took a knee beside her while trying to get a view of what was happening outside the kitchen as well.

"Mrs. Cake, what's going on out there? Who's making this ruckus?" I spoke in a hushed tone.

Eventually trotting beside us, Pinkie came to our side. Mrs. Cake had become distrait while looking out to see her husband having to speak with such a pony. Being able to spot the pony myself through the crevice Mrs. Cake held the door ajar for, I grimaced toward the stallion. A dark blue coat, and black hair. That attitude he had though. "He's a customer who placed an order earlier this morning for an order of blueberry muffins. We've asked him to be patient, but he continues to demand that we put every other order aside just to make his." So he was that kind of customer, huh? These guys made my blood boil.

"Do you recognize him?" I did not take my eyes off the customer while asking. "Do you know if he lives around town?"

Mrs. Cake did not seem to know whether or not he did, but Pinkie was more than definite with her own answer. "He doesn't live anywhere around here. I know everypony in Ponyville, but I've never met that pony before." Cautiously on-looking as well, Pinkie tried her best to keep quiet. "I don't think I've ever seen somepony that angry before." Pinkie may not, but I certainly have.

By the look in her eyes, Mrs. Cake was afraid for her husband. "We've agreed to start his order, but he won't stop shouting. Carrot decided to stay out there to try and calm him down so he wouldn't wake the kids." An alert instantly flew up in my mind. Looking to Mrs. Cake, I carried a sense of urgency in my voice.

"Wait, you have kids?"

Clasping both hooves on her head, Pinkie gasped. It seemed that I wasn't the only one noticing that little red flag going up. "Oh no, he might wake up Pumpkin and Pound Cake!"

Things were going from bad to worse as I knelt down behind these doors. Mr. Cake was doing good by holding his ground, but this stallion-guy wasn't exactly going anywhere from being calmly and politely asked to wait for his order.

I was going to have to handle this myself before these events escalated any further.

Closing the open door on Mrs. Cake and Pinkie, I looked at the two with a finger over my mouth to shush any words they had to say. Effectively silencing them, I lowered the finger.

"Listen, I've handled a lot of customers like this. If you will let me, I can take care of this guy."

The missus was hesitant toward my offer, but much more concerned about what was happening just outside her kitchen. Mrs. Cake bit her lip as she glanced from me to the door to contemplate her choices. It was not long before she doubtfully agreed. "Okay then, but what are you going to do?" Standing up, I dusted off my pants and straightened my posture. After a quick adjustment of my glasses, I pressed a hand against one of the double doors to view Mr. Cake still putting up with that same insufferable yelling stallion.

"Just go upstairs with your husband to check on the kids. Let them know that I will be out momentarily."

I stood out of the way for Mrs. Cake to exit and do as I asked. I watched her trot over to Mr. Cake only to be yelled at as well by that hateful customer. Closing the door once again, I took a step to the white counter top and eyed the cutlery set sitting just right of the stove. "Jacob, what are you going to do?" Pinkie had been watching me eye the knives as I removed the vegetable cleaver from within the wooden block from which it resided.

"Things could get violent out there, and I don't want it to reach that point."

This was not a lie. Problem customers like this one could turn violent very easily. If I was lucky, I wouldn't have to use this knife. The last thing I wanted was for anyone here to get hurt. "I'm just going to try and get this guy to settle down, so it's probably best that you start on whatever this guy wants." Pressing a hand upon the door, I held the cleaver behind my back to keep it well hidden. "Blueberry muffins, right?" Pinkie gave me a worried nod.

"One last thing." I gave her a brave smile. "Everything is going to be fine, alright Pinkie?"

After exchanging a smile, I exited the kitchen.

Ducking under the doorway, I pushed past the double-doors to enter the dining area of the Sugarcube Corner. Everything appeared to be the same as before except for the excessive shouting going on from the customer pony. Able to glance over at the table I once sat at, I could see the girls preparing to confront this pony for better or worse. As I did so, Twilight noticed my presence in the vicinity. She knew how I was about to confront this customer as I knew they were. Shaking my head, I signaled for Twilight and her friends to stay seated and allow me to handle the pony.

It took a moderately long stare, but Twilight eventually nodded to agree to my recommendation. Soon after, I could see the purple unicorn whispering amongst the girls, no doubt to tell them how I wanted to put this event to an end. It was probably for the best too as Rainbow and Applejack looked like they would have clobbered the customer before I could even get to him. In fact, almost everyone seemed to be ready to lay the smack down on that stallion except for Fluttershy. She just held her head down, and waited for everything to pass. When Twilight said whatever she had however, each of the girls looked toward my direction to see me adjust my specks with a thumb.

It was not long before I saw Mister and Missus Cake trotting by to their stairs in a hurry. No doubt to escape their rude guest and check on their children. "-And what the bloody Tartarus are you?" Speak of the devil. In a hateful stomp, the customer in question spared me no different treatment other than the same he had given the Cake family. "Why did those two idiots send me to a lumbering freakshow for help?" I was not going to miss this guy once he left.

Hiding all the hatred I had for this little welt behind a false smile, I held the vegetable cleaver behind my back while using my spare hand to guide the angry customer toward the display case just a couple feet away from us. "Why, I'm the person that will be taking care you you today." I did well to sound cheerful and polite to this unworthy slug. "If you would just follow me, I will be happy to take care of any problems you have." As luck would have it, the odds were in my favor for now as we were successfully able to travel those three steps without hassle.

I knelt down so that I could use the display properly. Peering down through the glass casing, I stared down at the cookies, cupcakes, and muffins that resided there as my spare hand gripped one of the wooden sides of the display cases' large frame. Looking up at the customer, I raised a curious eyebrow and held up my insincere smile. "So, what seems to be the problem here?" I gripped the cleaver behind my back a little tighter after the problem customer slammed a hoof on the wooden frame beside my hand. Quickly withdrawing my hand, I pressed the blade flat against my back to keep me from revealing it too soon.

"The problem?! I'll tell you what the problem is! The problem is that you and every other worker here is a lazy good-for-nothing slaker!"

My smile fading with every word spoken to me, my patience with this pony was wearing ever thinner. At this rate, nothing would be accomplished as I will have become the newest target for this customers vocal wrath. I can assure you though, I had no intention of letting that happen. Instead, I leaned an elbow on the display case, and toward the snarling stallion facing me. In one last act of civility, I tried to keep myself speaking slowly and calmly. "I'm sorry Sir, but if you continue to act as you are, I will be forced to refuse you service. That being said, please lower your voice and speak respectfully." To reason with the stallion, I tried my best to keep the situation under control. "You see, there are some kids sleeping upstairs. The last they need is to be woken up to hear all this shouting." Ignoring the growing anger in the customers expression, I tried pointing him in the direction of an empty table to wait for his order to be ready.

"Now, if you can sit quietly over at that table, you're order will be ready in-"

"I don't care about some lousy brats!"

That's it. That was the final straw. No more Mister Nice-guy.

Standing up from the display case, I leered down at the stallion as he looked upon me with hatred and scorn. A deathly silence now hung in the air around the two of us. I watched him, as he awaited any rebuttal I could supply. I clinched my teeth behind a frown, and almost showed some teeth at the man. All efforts to do so were effectively restrained. Instead, I chose to keep a neutral expression when speaking again to this pony.

"You know... Where I'm from, chefs have an old saying." Lifting my spare hand to the man, I smirked while letting him examine it with angry yet somewhat confused eyes. "Tell me if you've heard this one, but it goes along the lines of: 'Don't bite the hand that feeds you'."

Before the stallion could interrupt me, I sharply cut him off from doing so. "-but-" I pulled back my hand and placed it at my side. "-did you know that some chefs have secretly added a new piece to it?" Caught off-guard by my current actions, the stallion kept silent if not only until he could think of something else that could be angrily yelled out. When I pulled the large cleaver out from behind my back though, I could see his eyes locking onto the blade with a tinge of both suspicion and fear. Holding the knife in front of me for a couple of seconds, I inspected the blade. All the while, the stallion just beyond it swallowed hard when seeing how I let my eyes skim from the edge of the rectangular hatchet and over to him.

My movement was swift and quick when swinging the utensil down onto the wood beside the customers' hoof, effectively making him recoil the appendage so quickly that the man fell on his back. Holding onto his hoof for dear life, the stallion looked up at me only to see me yank the blade from the display counter with two good pulls. Staring down at the pony, I glared downward at him from where I stood.

"Don't bite the hand that feeds you-" I tightened my grip on the cleaver. "-because there might be a knife in it."

Unfortunately for this customer, he had to learn the hard way about how I was not some kind of person that could be easily pushed around. As the customer clutched his hoof, he laid on the floor as if expecting me to jump the counter and start cutting him apart like some sort of mad butcher. Wagging the knife in his direction though, I made a rough demand. "Get up." He did nothing but stare at my knife. "I said, get up." This time he listened. The stallion slowly got up, and once again watched the knife with widened eyes. "I want you to apologize for your behavior, you got that?" My next demand did not need repeating as the pony cowered where he stood.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Clinching my teeth, I leaned over the display at the stallion.

"Not to me, you idiot. To the owners of this place-" Shaking a fist at the customer, I snarled. "-and I pray to what ever pony god you have around here you do, or I'm going to dot both your I's and cross your' T's so quickly that you'll forget how to write cursive!"

Following this up with an angry point in the direction of the table I did so to earlier, I made one last demand.

"Sit. Now."

To say the least, he sprinted to his seat.

Knife still in hand, I turned from the display case and walked back to the kitchens' double doors. I could already hear that Pinkie had gotten quite a ways into her preparation of the blue berry muffins this man ordered. Even so, I pushed one of the door open before looking inside to see Pinkie already sliding a full muffin tin into the stove to cook. "Hey Pinkie-" The pink pony hopped up to see me sliding the vegetable cleaner back into its' respectful place after stepping inside the room once again. She was alarmed to see me as I was, but it also appeared that she was just as relieved to see that I was alright. "-put the timer on those muffins, and get your bosses down here. There's someone that wants to say he's sorry." Not even waiting for Pinkie to reply I turned away and walked out the kitchen muttering to myself.

Barging out those double-doors one last time, I stomped by the customer again before giving him a good old fashioned 'I'm watching you' sign and made my way back to the party table I was once seated at. Pulling out my seat, I abruptly dropped down into it to somewhat express my current frustrations. I sat somewhat like a rag-doll until I found reason to fix my posture with a heavy grunt. "I hate ungrateful customers..." The words left me as I lifted my head enough to see all of the jaw-dropped expressions that the girls gave me.

"What?" Was all I could ask when giving them all a clueless shrug.

Author's Note

Geeze this one took so long. It stretched on for how many months? A month before finals, then there was finals month so I couldn't work on it then, and then a few weeks. How long ago was it since my last update? Geeze, well I hope this makes up for it.

I'll admit though, it was enjoyable to re-write Jacob's lullaby. I got Gens' permission to do so, so yay!

There was also about two more smaller parts to this chapter, but I figured that my rewriting had taken long enough. They will fit in better with the next chapter anyways.

Again, sorry this chapter took like two months to make. I hope you will enjoy the reading material!