A Different Kind of Paradise

Chapter IV: Catching their stride

“Where am I?”  Gabe asked.  He was walking through a large dark space with mist covering the ground.   “Wait a minute, I know this place.”

While Gabe was thinking he saw something in front of him; he couldn’t make it out but he knew it was big, and whatever it was opened a pair of soulless, cold blue eyes and began to laugh a dark diabolical laugh.

Gabe woke with a start.  He sat up in his bed and looked around his room, he sighed when he remembered that he was a pony.  After letting out a huge yawn he managed to crawl out of bed and then made his way to the kitchen for breakfast.

“Hi Gabe! Bye Gabe!”  An enthusiastic Danny yelled as he passed Gabe through from the kitchen to the front door.

Gabe shook his head and saw Nero at the counter munching on toast.  “Should I…?”  He paused.

Nero took a swig of milk before responding “Apparently He and Pinkie Pie were talking about him working at the Sugar Cube Corner bakery.”

“The giant ginger bread house across the street?” Gabe asked.

Nero nodded.

Gabe nodded took in a deep breath and sighed.  “Well I guess that does make a little sense.”

There were a few minutes of silence as Gabe got the bread he needed and put it in the toaster.  After a while Gabe turned around and asked “what do you think?”

Nero shrugged, looked at his food and answered “Butter in the order you plan on eating it, so it gets a chance to soak in.”

After an audible groan Gabe specified his point, getting more and more irritated.   “Not about the toast!  I mean what do you think about being trapped in a different world?  Away from our friends, our families, our church!  What do you think of that?!”  He didn’t notice but he was slowly getting into Nero’s face.

A little bit nervous from Gabriel’s growing anxiety, Nero scooted himself and his breakfast down the counter.  “Listen” he started.  “I know being mailed across the universe was weird, I know you miss our home, I do to; but you have to admit things have been a lot…”  He was lost for words.

“What are you saying?”  Gabe didn’t like the direction Nero was going in.

Nero picked his hooves up and spun them, looking for the right thing to say.  “I… I guess things, could be worse.”

Gabe’s eye began to twitch.  The only thing that he couldn’t take more than being stuck in a world of ponies was that his friends were willing to stay there.  He was getting close to going ballistic and he wasn’t doing a good job of hiding it.  “ARE YOU CRAZY!!?!”  He started to scream at Nero, “HOW?!?  HOW COULD THIS POSSIBLY GET ANY WORSE?!?”

After he finished blowing off some steam he and Nero heard what sounded like Pinkie Pie from across the street.  “Twitch-a-twitch!  TWITCH-A-TWITCH!!”   What followed was a loud crash and what sounded like Danny let out a loud cry of pain.

Nero and Gabe traded a few nervous glances.  Nero broke the silence “Let’s…”

“He’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, he’s been through worse.”

“That was not my fault.”  Gabe concluded.

Deciding moving on would be a good idea, Nero launched the last bite of toast into the air and caught it in his mouth.  He made his way towards the door and promptly said “see ya’.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa” Gabe stopped Nero.  “Again?”  He did not like the idea of once again being alone in a town full of ponies.

Nero stopped before getting to the door and replied “Well, yeah.  I’m going out job-hunting.”

Gabe just stared with a dumbstruck look on his face.  “You serious?”

“C’mon man think” Nero began. “This is a great chance to start new lives, new awesome lives.”

“The only thing we should be starting is finding a way home!”  Gabe snapped back.  “Why does everyone here think that we’re staying here forever?  All of this…”  He pointed around the apartment.  “All of this is temporary, it will all be gone once we leave, and so will…”

“How?”  Nero interrupted.

“What?”  Gabe asked.

“How exactly are we going to get back?”  Nero complied.

“There is a way!!”  Gabe yelled, almost on the brink of tears.

“Maybe.”  Nero said with a straight face.  “But until then.”  On that note he left.

When Gabe got to the door he managed to see a green dot taking into the sky.   He then slowly sank back into his apartment, a few seconds passed, and in a sudden fit of rage he grabbed a lamp in between his teeth and threw it against Danny’s door.  After the loud crash Gabe felt really good being angry, he suddenly whipped his head around, only to realize there was nothing there.  “Man” he started to himself “If I stay in this town too long I’m going to go crazy.”

Why are they so willing to settle?  Gabe thought as he flipped through different books relating to Equestrian history and culture.  Danny He thought as he looked up.  Of course someone who’s been through what he has would want to live somewhere where everyone is so open, and kind, and cu…. THIS IS REDICULOUS!   He hit himself with a book to correct his train of thoughts.  He then looked at the book, he had learned nothing from it.   He had studied up on the history of the land, it was useful to know, but so far no way home.  He put his head on his desk and sighed: he felt helpless, alone, abandoned…

Hungry.

Gabe had been reading for so long he missed lunch.  His growling stomach reminded him that brain food is no substitute for the real thing.  He went to the kitchen to see what was left, when he got a much better idea.

All you gotta do is take a cup of flour

Add it to the mix,

Then you take a little something sweet not sour

Add it to the mix.

Danny and Pinkie Pie happily sang as they rhythmically swayed back and forth making baked goods.  Danny would stir batter and pass it off to Pinkie, who would pour it into the trays for Danny to place into the oven.

After the timer was set Danny went to a large bowl to prepare frosting.  Pinkie Pie ambushed him and hugged him saying “this. is. GREAT!  It’s so cool you got the job.  Now we can sing, make cupcakes, and soon I’ll get you into the pranking business.”

“It’s great for me to, thanks for putting in the good word.”

A ringing bell was the tell-tale sign of the front door opening.  “I got it!”  Pinkie yelled as she zipped towards the front desk.   When she got to the front she saw it was her new friend Gabriel coming in.  “Ohmygosh Gabe!  It’s so cool to see you again!  Did you hear that Danny was coming to work here?  Is that why you’re here?  Or do you…”

“Um Pinkie?”  Gabe interrupted.  “Can I get a word in?”

Pinkie started laughing when she was keeping a friend/potential customer from speaking/ ordering.  “Oh, yeah.  How can I help ya’?”

“Well actually, can I speak to Danny?”  His stomach growled.  “And I’d like a cinnamon roll for the road.”

“Okey dokey loki”  Pinkie saluted right before she went back into the kitchen.

After a minute Danny came out of the back holding a bag with his magic.  “Gabe!”  He said, surprised.  “This is…” he paused, looking for the best term.  “Unexpected?”

“I was bored, needed a bite to eat.  Can you put this on some sort of tab for me?”  Gabe was hoping the bakers here were as generous as the realtors.

Danny chuckled.  “It’s on me buddy.  You wanted to talk about something?”

“Do you have a minute?”  Gabe motioned towards the door.

Danny stuck his head in the kitchen and yelled “PINKIE!! I’M TAKING MY BREAK!!”

“OKAY!!!”  Pinkie yelled back.  “WHY ARE WE YELLING??”

Gabe and Danny made their way outside as Gabe began to eat.  “You really like it here don’t you?”  He asked between bites.

Danny started to blush, he spent all day in the dream millions of bronies have; but he felt like he was the only one enjoying it, and because he thought he was the only one enjoying it, that it was wrong to.  “Well…  I’m certainly making the most… I guess I’m just…”

A loud thunderclap interrupted him while making both Gabe and Danny Jump, Gabe made a desperate dive to save his cinnamon roll.

They looked up when they heard two sets of laughter, and a cloud that was floating mere feet from them.  Soon Nero stuck his head off of the cloud and said “Hello dummies” While still laughing.

“Michael” Gabe glared.

Rainbow Dash stuck her head out right beside Nero and said “aw, c’mon.  That’s a classic prank.  All members of the Weather Patrol do it.”

“All members?”  Danny repeated.  “Does that mean?”

“Mmh hmm”   Nero nodded.  “I’m going to get paid to do this."   He punched the cloud and a bolt of lightning came out and zapped Danny on the horn, he fell over and began twitching.  Nero and Rainbow Dash resumed laughing, and laughed even harder when Gabe tried to help Danny up and received some leftover electricity.

Gabe was still glaring when he picked himself up and shook his hooves to wake them back up.  His harsh expression melted however, when he saw Nero, Rainbow Dash, and even Danny begin laughing.  He started to think to himself; maybe Nero was right about there not being a realistic way home, and maybe adapting to life here could be fu…

His thoughts were interrupted when his head began to hurt with an extreme pain, he cried out in pain as his entire body tensed up, he couldn’t move or even blink, it was a struggle to breathe.   His friends dropped their laughter and tried to talk to him, but all he could here was the all-too familiar laughter.

Giving up so soon?  A dark and familiar voice echoed in Gabriel’s mind.  I understand these clowns, with no hope and no futures they were willing to give up on their old lives.  But you, you had so much potential, and with me at your side your future is with the stars.  Keep fighting, don’t let go of your goal, and know that we will make our escape.  Friend.  The last word made Gabe shudder.  More maniacal laughter rattled Gabriel as the voice receded.

Gabe’s head still hurt after the voice left.   The moment his body un-locked he fell to the ground, and passed out.