Helping Hand: Battle of the bands

Jake and the girls all sat around the portal, waiting for Twilight. They were all doing various things to pass the time. Pinkie and Applejack sat on top of the Wonder Colt's statue, playing Poker or some other card game. Dash sat tossing her ball back and forth between her hands, looking clearly bored out of her mind. Sunset sat quietly, just waiting. Rarity was doing Fluttershy's nails, And Jack was telling shitty jokes.

"Two guys walk into waffle house and sit in a booth. A waiter walks up to them and says "Hi, welcome to waffle house. what would you like today?". One of the two men speak up and ask "Do you got any blue waffles?". The waiter looks at him with a big smile and says "We used to, but your mom stopped working here."." Jake said. The girls didn't budge. Rainbow dash sighed.

"It's not really that funny dude." Rainbow dash said.

"Maybe you should try making jokes about what you see around you, darling." Rarity said, temporarily looking up from Fluttershy's nails.

"I tried that once. I ended up waddling my way into the ER with someone's foot up my ass." Jake said.

"You gave it your best shot. That counts for something." Sunset said with a smile. Jake smiled back, and Rainbow dash sighed.

"I'm starting to think she's not coming." Just as Rainbow dash finished her sentence, a figure came shooting out of the portal. The girls stood up with glee and shouted "Twilight!" before the figure groaned and turned around.

"I'm back." The she said. Sunset walked over with a smile. She offered to help her up, which made Twilight hesitant. But eventually she gave Sunset a smile and took her hand. Once she had gotten to her feet, the other girls ran up and gave her a group hug. A group hug that Jake realized that Sunset wasn't a part of. This concerned him a bit, but he didn't think much of it. After all, he had just met them all. The girls broke off their hug and Twilight's face grew a look of seriousness. "And I have some bad news about those new girls." She said. The other let out their own noise of frustration.

"We can talk about it at Sugarcube corner. Besides, I'm really in the mood for a smoothie right now. Sound like a plan?" the girls nodded in uniscene and Rainbow smiled. "Then come on! Let's get going!" Rainbow dash said as they all began to walk, Jake just sat there.

"I guess i'll just stay here and keep an eye on the Dazzlings." Jake said. Sunset turned around and smiled at him.

"Probably not the best idea. You might end up under their spell too." She said. "Come with us. I'm sure one extra wouldn't hurt." Sunset said. Jake smiled.

"Alright, I'm always in the mood for a chocolate milkshake." Jake said. "I'm paying for my own though. I don't like having others pay for my things when I have money to buy it myself."

"I'll keep that in mind." Sunset said. They started walking when Jake stopped and hit himself in the head over what he'd almost forgotten.

"Hold on, just let me grab my bike really quick." Jake said.

During the walk, Sunset frequently looked over at Jake, who was pushing the bike around by the handle bars. She was curious as to whether the bike was hard to push or not. After a few minutes of contemplation, she finally just got up the nerve and asked him.

"Isn't that thing kinda heavy? I mean, It looks like it would be hard to push." Sunset asked. Jake looked over at her.

"The bike itself is heavy, yeah. It weighs five hundred pounds. But it's resting on two, free coasting wheels. So it's not really that hard to push." Jake said. "Come here, you can feel for yourself." Sunset shrugged and approached the bike. "Just put your hands on the bars and lean your bodyweight forward." Jake said. Sunset nodded and followed his instructions. She began to push it forward, and realized he was right. The bike wasn't that hard to push.

"Huh? That's interesting." She said, letting Jake take over again. another wave of silence fell over them. They followed the group in relative silence, until Sunset decided to yet it yet again. "So... How's your life at home?" she asked. Jake sighed.

"Well, I mostly live alone. Except for my cat. My mom isn't home very often because of work, and my father left when I was young." Jake said.

"What does your mom do for a living?" Sunset asked.

"My mom works for a travel agency. She's the one who does the research for the travel brochures. So she often out of the country. But it pays well." Jake said.

"Do you know how to cook? Or do you just order out?" Sunset asked. Jake chuckled.

"I used to order out a lot. But I got tired of eating pizza and Chinese food, so I took a cooking class." Jake said. "My mother sent me some money a few months back, thinking that I was still taking the cooking course, which I had already finished. So I told her i'd already finished the course, and she just told me to use the money to get myself something nice. That's how this bike came to be."

"I was wondering about that. Out of the hundred of bikes out there, you chose this one. Why?" Sunset asked. Jake looked at her and her pupils grew small. "I didn't mean that to be rude! I was just... Curious is all." Jake chuckled.

"Relax, I know you weren't trying to be rude. I just like to make eye contact every so often so you don't think I'm bored with the conversation." Jake said. "To answer your question, i'd heard a few good things about this bike. I took one out on a test ride and I liked the feel, that combined with the constant positive feedback about the torque, and I was hooked. I bought one and the rest is history." Jake said.

"what does the torque feel like?" Sunset asked.

"Don't know, haven't tested it yet. I decided to break the engine in before getting on the throttle. I think it's pretty close to the end of the 500 mile break in period, actually." Jake said. The group finally came to Sugarcube corner. "Well, i'll just park my bike really quick. I'll meet you all inside." Jake said. Sunset nodded and stepped through the doors with her friends. As Jake was putting the side stand down, he mumbled something to himself.

"Man, she seems pretty high strung."