Second Chance: Fox

(Day before presentation)

“......now does anypony have any questions for me ?” James asked looking at the three mares in front of him clapping their hands Pinkie, Fluttershy and Twilight were giving the fox praise for his presentation. Today James and Pinkie had taken his presentation over to Twilghts so she could look it over, but upon arrival the two saw that she was already in the middle of tea time with Fluttershy. After explaining the reasoning behind their arrival both Twilight and Fluttershy said they’d love to hear it, so after the presentation James took a seat across from the mares and asked “So Twilight do I need to fix anything ?”

“Nothing I can think of James it’s very well done I think the colts and fillies will enjoy it .”

“Really ?”

“I-I-I agree with Twilight James I-I-it’s really good.”Fluttershy whispered looking up at the fox smiling James let out a small sigh and said “Thanks you guys I’m actually really worried about this going well.”

“You’ve got nothing to worry about James it outstanding.” Pinkie said while bounding in her seat a bit smiling at her James said “Thanks Pinkie.........I actually wish my siblings were here.”

“Oh yeah, you mentioned before that you had a sister at your welcome party.” Pinki said cocking her eyebrow a bit peeping up Fluttershy said “Rainbow also said you had an adopted brother.”

“Yup a good friend of mine that my mom adopted.”

“Could you tell us a bit more about them James ?”

“I can, let’s start with my twin sister Grace, she’s bright happy person, she enjoyed challenging herself anychance she got , hell almost everything she did came easy to her.”

“Almost ?”

“Hehehe yeah her dancing is bad it’s like a drunk penguin on stilts absolutely awful BUT one thing you should know about her was that she always dreamed about running her own bar since she was ten.”

“Wow I know you told me she was opening a bar with her husband, but she dreamed about opening a bar since she was ten.” Twilight said remembering James telling her about his sisters bar, chuckling James nodded his head and said “Yeah to this day we still don’t know where it came from.”

“Wow.....so what else could you tell us about her ?”

“Hmmm she loved football, could drink a Russian sailor under the table, enjoyed awful B-movies and met her husband by breaking out of a zoo.”

“Wait back up she met her husband breaking OUT of a zoo, shouldn’t it be breaking in ?” Twilight asked as a confused look appeared on her face giving her a small shrug James responded “Nope, our family does this thing where we either bet or dare someone to break out of zoos and stuff.”

“You didn’t steal did you ?”

“What no C’mon Twilight we would never do that !”

“Ok ok I’m sorry.......so was that hard for her ?”

“Pfffft heck no she got an easy one that time.”

“What do you mean James ?” Pinkie asked trying to hold in some laughter while Twilight and Fluttershy gave James disapproving looks gulping James scratched the back of his neck and said “During our annual trip to Disney World they had dared me to do the same with Magic Kingdom.......almost got caught three times.”

“Wait you said family thing did your parents participate ?”

“PLEASE who do you think came up with the game, hell on that very same trip my mom dared my dad to break outta Epcot.”

“So what are the rules ?” Twilight asked her face now finding a home in her hands while Fluttershy continued to give James a disapproving look seeing this he began coughing into his hand and explained “Oh all you have to do is go to the furthest part of the zoo, park or building from the entrance and make your way back to the entrance and not get caught.”

“Wow......did any of you ever get caught ?” Fluttershy asked he look slowly turning into the dreaded angry mom stink eye James felt a shiver run up his spine and said “Surprisingly no......but that was very very bad to considering we always did It whenever we could.”

“That’s really bad James, so did Pete participate ?”

“Oh yeah he praticpated, on a different trip we had a race where we had to break out of Universal Studios theme park, I got the studio half while he got Islands of Adventure.” James said a small chuckle escaping his lips as he thought back to the past experiences, after his explanation Pinkie was now laughing her flanks off while she held her sides looking at the pink mare Twilight let out a small sigh before saying “Ok how about we get back on track a bit ,so did her husband work for the zoo?”

“Yup he was the veterinarian........when she landed on him they kissed and before she ran off, and this is how he says it, she told him ‘Wow your a great kisser’ and took off.”

“Wait she lands atop of him, accidentally kisses him, then runs off so how did they even start dating ?”

“Oh right, Well apparently she dropped her phone he used the emergency contact button and called my parents.”

“Wait was he going-“

“Nope he actually asked her out and took her to dinner and they’ve been dating ever since.”

“WAIT I have to back track a bit did her husband ever partake in the dares ?” Pinkie suddenly asked giving the fox a serious look smirking at her James began to chuckle and said “Yes, everyone in the family did, for him I guess it was an initiation or something.”

“Ok, so how long did they date before marriage ?”

“Hmm they got married last year and they met when she was twenty-one so about six-seven years.”

“Wow, So what can you tell us about Pete?”

“Pete he’s my best friend in the entire universe, he’s the nicest guy you’d ever meet and has literally given the shirt off his back on multiple occasions, he was always ready to help the community and volunteer his help, but he was self conscious about his height and weight.”

“Wow, so why was he self conscious ?”

“Well he stands at 6’ 8” and weights about 278 pounds.”

“Oh wow that’s big, so when did your mom adopt him.”

“During our sixth grade I found out he was in the foster system so I told my mom about it and like two years later he became family.”

“So what did he do for a living ?”

“He works as a software designer for multiple large companies, from what he says he makes a pretty good living.”

“What else could you tell us about him ?”

“Well from the last time we talked it sounded like he was looking into starting a ice cream shop.”

“Really what was he gonna call it ?” Pinkie asked a small smirk forming on her face James noticed the look shrugging it off he answered “I believed he wanted to name it Polar Beat Pete’s ice cream.”

“Awww that’s cute.” Fluttershy said giggling at the name and cuteness, chuckling with her James said “Yeah.....before all this I was planning on designing the sign and was gonna pay for the next family trip.”

“To this disneigh world ?”

“Uh yes.......well for the tickets at least.”

“Why just for the tickets what about the hotel ?”

“Oh we don’t have to worry about that.”

“Why not ?”

“You remember when I told you guys how my dad ran a business?”

“Yes.” They all said in unison smiling James stood up and began to pace a bit and then said “Well he did it was a small business just a furniture store, BUT a decent amount of our money came from ran investment my great grandfather.”

“What did he invest in ?” Twilight asked with a small quizzical look on her face seeing the look James started chuckling before sayimg “C’mon Twilight I know you’ve researched my world a bit Twilight I know you know what the Disney company is right ?”

“Yes I do.”

“Well my great grandpa helped start the company he was a silent partner at the very beginning and we still have stock or whatever In the company.”

“Wait hold up your great grandfather helped start one of your worlds biggest companies ?”

“Pretty much.”

“Ok.......so why if you own a portion of the company do you pay to get into the parks ?”

“C’mon Twilight you know why.”

“Because your dad raised you to be upstanding citizens and not be spoiled brats.”

“Yup, so each year we switch what we pay for so next year if I draw the short straw I would have to pay for the hotel rooms and the year after that it’s back to paying for tickets.”

“Ahh ok.....so what else could you tell us about Pete.”

“Well he loved to watch tv/movies, always participated in triathlons, volunteered in the community and despite doing all those things Pete was the shyest guy you’d ever meet.”

“Really ?”

“Yeah took a lot to get him out of his shell when I first met him......but once he came out of his shell we became inseparable.” James said a smile forming on his face, turning he looked down at his watch than at the mares and said “Anyways it was nice talking about my siblings but I think I’m gonna head home and take a nap.”

“Okie dokie James you’re gonna do great tomorrow.”

“Y-y-you’ll do wonderful J-j-James.”

“James your presentation is terrific those colts and fillies will love it.” The mares each gave their praise as the fox grabbed his presentation smiling James felt his spirits rise at the praises before exiting the library James said “Thanks girls this really helped in more ways than one, I’ll uh I’ll seeya later.”

After James had left the library the mares began discussing the last week along with what they just learned about James and his family chuckling Pinkie said “As impossible as their whole escape game sounds I think it’d be cool to do.”

“Pinkemena Pie don’t you dare.” Fluttershy warned pointing a finger at the party pony giggling at the Pegasus she said “Flutters you have nothing to worry about as much as I like to have fun I wouldn’t do THAT..........plus we have magic to worry about.”

“Still I don’t want to have to bail you out of jail.......but I would like to learn a bit more about James’s worlds zoos.”

“That can be arranged Flutters maybe after his presentation you could schedule a day to talk with him about his worlds zoos......but I doubt that they’re any different than our zoos.”

“You think so Pinkie ?”

“Yup I bet that they have timberwolves, manticores and wyverns just like any other zoo here.”

“Oh my gosh maybe his worlds zoos have phoenixes and basalisks too !” Fluttershy exclaimed her eyes sparkling at the thought of learning about his world, giving her a loving smile Twilight suggested “Maybe tomorrow you text him and set up a date to meet him and discuss.”

“T-t-that’s a good I-I-IdeaTwilight,” Fluttershy saidher mood deflating a bit she looked down at her skirt he hair covering her eyes she said “, but what if I annoy him......I-i-i don’t want to annoy him.”

“Fluttershy I doubt you’d annoy him, from what we’ve learned about James so far it all points to how good of a stallion he is so just ask him and he’d most likely say yes.” Twilight said her voice holding confidence that was contagious feeling that contagion infect her system Fluttershy stood up and said “Ok tomorrow I’ll text him and ask for time to meet and talk !”

“That’s great Fluttershy......Wait isn’t it 2:40 right now ?” Pinkie asked looking up at the clock on the wall noticing the time, Fluttershy gasped as she realized school was almost done for the fillies, saying her goodbyes she raced out of the library and headed to the school. Looking at the purple librarian Pinkie gave her a gentle nudge and asked “So you’ve researched his world right ?”

“Yes.”

“Are his zoos cool ?”

“No.........they are criminally boring compared to our zoos.”

“Oh....... so do they-“

“No the most interesting thing they have is a Komodo Dragon.”

“Oh does-“

“No.” Twilight said with a stoic expression sighing Pinkie leaned back and thought ‘Hope Fluttershy doesn’t get bored......jeez I can’t believe they don’t have a single fire breathing dragon in there zoos that must be boring .’

(Presentation day)

Sitting outside of Ms. Cherilees classroom James adjusted the tie he had on again, today James was wearing a black dress shirt and pants with a sliver tie on his neck. Bouncing his leg James was beyond nervous this being his first time speaking at a school.....taking a deep breathe James held it than exhaled, after a couple of times James felt his nerves begin to calm looking to the door James leaned in a bit and heard “.....now class I’ve brought a special speaker today that has an interesting career and is still fairly new to our community, now I’m going to go get him and I will like to give give him a warm welcome.”

Leaning back James waited for Ms.Cheerilee to grab him, after a few second he heard the door handle turn looking towards it Cheerilee gave the fox a smile and motioned for him to come with her. Standing up James grabbed a brown bag that held a few items he was going to show the class, making his way into the classroom James payed he children no mind while he went to the front. Once he was at the front James pulled out a small usb and plugged it into the computer, after pulling up his presentation James turned on the projector once everything was ready he took a spot at the front of the class. Once James had his spot at the front of the class he looked it over, smirking to himself James noticed the cmc sitting together giving him thumbs up. Clapping his head together James caught the attention of a few groups James said “Hi my names James Levingston I’m 28 years old and I work as a tattoo artist.”

Immediately four hands shot up looking at the kids James looked over them, pointing to a young boy with a grey coat and black mane he said “Yes uh ?””

“My names Rumble and what’s a tattoo artist ?”

“Oh well a tattoo artist is just like any artist but are canvas’s are people.”

“What do you mean ?” a light pink girl asked with a dark lavender and white mane, smiling James turned and clicked a button on the remote in hand showing a few pictures of tattoos while saying “Well these are tattoos now the way they get done is by...........”

(After the presentation)

Sitting on a bench eating outside James had been invited by Ms.Cheerilee to have lunch, eating his peanut butter sandwich James watched as the class played taking a sip of his juice he failed to notice Ms.Cheerilee approach taking a seat next to him she said “That was very well done James.”

“Thanks but I had a bit of help from Pinkie, well actually a lot of help.”

“Really now...... did anypony else help ?”

“Yesterday both Twilight and Fluttershy helped too.”

“Oh that was nice of them,” Cheerilee said giving the fox a small smirk as a mischievous idea began to form in her head she said “Those girls do seem to have taken a shine to you.”

“I guess.”

“Hmmm really now you guess......so what are your thoughts about them ?”

“My thoughts ?” James asked looking at the mare who gave him a small nod, looking around James said “Well I think there great.”

“Just great ?”

“Well.......I mean they’re amazing women and I’ve become great friends with them over the last few months.”

“Really how often are you spending time with them ?”

“Hmmm quite often now that I think about it I usually hang out with either one or two of them every two weeks or so.”

“That’s quite a bit, do you enjoy hanging out with them ?”

“Definitely, I always look forward to spending time them.”

“You do ?”

“Yeah......can’t really think of a reason why but I just do.”

“Hmmm well I think the same goes for those girls.”

“You do ?”

“Yes after all I am their sister.”

“Oh right.......so what do they have to say about us hanging out.”

“Well as much as I would love to continue this conversation it looks like you have some clients coming over.” Cheerilee said pointing over to the playground, following her finger James saw the cmc racing over to them, once they reached the table the asked James to join them for a game of kick ball getting up he followed the cmc while saying goodbye to Cheerilee. Watching them go Cheerilee couldn’t help but chuckled under her breathe and said “Damn idiot has a crush on those girls.”

After playing a number of games with the class for nearly two hours James said his goodbyes to the class and once he grabbed his stuff he began to head home. Walking through the town James felt a his spirits rising the class loved his presentation, heck a couple of the kids said they wanted to be tattoo artist. As James walked through the twon he felt his phone vibrating pulling it out of his pocket he saw that Fluttershy was calling, hitting the receive button he said “Hey ho Fluttershy.”

“Oh.....James hello......um I w-w-would.....like to.....um talk.”

“Uh ok what would you like to talk about ?” James asked his eyebrow rising on his face, passing a few stalls he gave a small wave while Fluttershy said “Oh I w-w-would like to learn a-a-about your worlds zoos.”

“Ok I can defiantly do that, the CE app has some zoo documentaries on there.”

“Really !?!”

“Yep there are a quite a few of them.”

“Could we watch them ?”

“Uh sure......I’m actually surprised you haven’t seen them.”

“Oh uh um........ it’s just....i.......it’s uh-“

“Shy I’m just messing with you, I know you’ve been busy.”

“Ok.......could we maybe meet at your house ?”

Stopping James had to think a moment trying to remember how clean his house actually was at the moment, but his thoughts were interrupted by the yellow Pegasus apologizing “It’s ok James if you don’t want me to come over I understand, maybe we could just come over to my house I don’t want to annoy you or step on any toes.”

“It’s fine Fluttershy you can come over I just paused because I couldn’t remember whether I’ve cleaned my house.”

“Oh so am I.......bothering you.”

“Of course not, Fluttershy you know I love hanging out with you girls.”

“You do ?”

“Yeah I do.”

“Ok......well could we maybe do it next weekend ?”

“That sounds great I can defiantly do that weekend.”

“S-s-should I bring s-s-snacks ?”

“No it’s all good Fluttershy I have to do some shopping next Thursday so I’ll pick some up.” James said noticing how close to home he was, listening to Fluttershy some more he walked up to his door and said “Alright Fluttershy next Saturday just stop by around 11:00 ish.”

“Ok I will James......and thanks for doing this.”

“No problem Fluttershy, hope you enjoy the rest of your day.”

“You to James.” Fluttershy said before hanging up smiling to himself James placed the phone back into his pocket, pushing open the door he walked into his house and looked it over. Seeing a small pile of clothes, multiple open snack bags and what used to be oatmeal sitting on the coffee table frowning he said “Huh coulda sworn I cleaned this mess yesterday.”

(Second Chance:Polar rough draft)

Pete Levingston a young man who’s life has taken a turn for the worse, he recently lost his job, despite his family saying it’s not his fault he blames himself for the death of his brother and due to a paper mix up along with mistaken identity his new business is axed. But despite all that Pete’s day......nay year has gotten so much worse due to a bank robbery, but maybe his new life will be better ?