Donovan laid casually in his bed, slowly rolling a golden bit between his fingers, sighing slowly as he tried to enjoy his day off. It had been a few weeks since his encounter with Zecora, and things had started to change for him so rapidly ever since. First and most importantly, after acquiring a few weeks of pay from the club and Sweet Apple Acres, he’d saved up enough to get his own place, He left the farm on good terms, but ultimately decided that he couldn’t continue to work there everyday. Although due to his size he was stronger than the ponies he worked with, the way that pony equipment was designed, well, it simply wasn’t fit for a human, and it started to show its effects more and more every day. He took Twilight’s advice after she ran some tests on him and decided to stop working at the farm to save his body from being strained in places it wasn’t meant to be. Scoliosis, joint damage, arthritis? No thanks! He did, however, tell Applejack that he’d be happy to help her if she did on occasion need an extra hand, and although he refused to plow the fields ever again, he knew he could pick apples off the trees much easier than any earth pony could. By the time it was all said and done, he did feel a bit sad about leaving the farm, but he knew that if he ever wanted to he could come back; the Apple family’s hospitality knew no bounds.

And so Donovan continued to work weekends as Vinyl’s security, and since it wasn’t enough income to make rent on it’s own, he’d begun to search for a more lucrative job during the week. He was surprised to receive a request from Pinkie Pie and the Cakes to come work for them at Sugarcube Corner, though once he arrived it made sense fairly quickly; due to his dexterous fingers he could decorate cakes much faster than any earth pony could, and decorate cakes he did. He never thought culinary work could be so tiring, but after eight hours of mixing dough, helping customers, memorizing recipes and icing and topping cakes, all while listening to Pinkie’s hyper, ADHD ass? He was definitely happy to have his own place to go home to and vent off his frustrations with a hot shower. He was more than happy for the accommodations his renter made for him when taking his taller stature into account: no more squatting in the shower, or nearly dragging his ass on the ground to take a shit! It’s the small victories that matter most, sometimes.

After recalling the events of the last few weeks, he made another attempt at thinking back to that strange afternoon at Zecora’s hut. What did it all mean? Was it even real, was it an illusion? Was Zecora just some kind of town prankster having fun at his expense? Given, of course, that ‘fun’ could be described as drugging someone with a concoction so strange that they have some sort of out-of-body experience, and epiphany/hallucination in which one talks to demigods, that is, completely from Donovan’s imagination or otherwise. No, it couldn’t be that simple. Maybe Zecora had no idea what that potion would do, maybe it’s different for everyone… either way, there’s no way a simple witch doctor mix could cause the kind of mental turmoil he’d felt when Panzera cast that spell on him…. There was definitely something more behind the whole thing. But his head was starting to hurt, and he didn’t exactly care to continue thinking about the state that interaction had put him in; he wasn’t able to function right for several days afterwards, his work at both the farm and club had suffered greatly, and although Applejack never complained to him about his change in performance, he knew she at least noticed it. He managed to shake the strange fog that day had put him in, for the most part, though he still had these moments where he thought back to it, and what it all meant, among other things. How was his family doing back on Earth? Would fighting off this ‘evil’ let him leave and go back home?

The more questions he asked himself, the further away the answers seemed to be. He sat up and soon got out of bed, herding the thoughts back to the Pandora’s Box that was the deeper parts of his mind. “Enough lazing around, I guess…” He mused aloud as he quickly showered and donned some casual clothes: jeans and a now slightly worn-out flannel; but he liked his clothes that way, the were just more comfortable after being broken-in, and it confirmed to him that they were put to good use. Clothes are meant to get dirty, after all. Just as he laced up his shoes he began to feel a sensation around his entire body that had recently become all too familiar. Twilight was summoning him. He threw his head back and sighed dramatically, hoping she was going to want something normal, borrow some sugar or something; but he’d now known her long enough to realize the chance of that was less than slim. “Ugh, fuuu-” he closed his eyes as a light flashed and then he was suddenly in the Golden Oaks Library, falling straight on his face unceremoniously, not even phased by the flop. “-uuck.”

The bookworm pony was on him in seconds. “Donovan, you’re here! Glad you could make it!” She called out, using her magic to lift him back to his bipedal stance. No matter how many times she used her horn’s abilities on him, he’d always be left with just a bit of nausea.

“Oh, yeah. Not like I really had a say in the matter.” He deadpans, using his hand to push his hair back, still unkempt and slightly damp, as he hadn’t got a chance to brush it; Twilight had rudely interrupted his morning routine. He put on his best customer service voice. “What can I help you with today, Ms. Sparkle?”

Either Twilight didn’t catch the sarcasm, or she just didn’t care to acknowledge it. Donovan found this strange; she always had time to throw a jab back at him, it was their silent agreement of common ground, friendship even. Despite being a rather likable pony right off the bat to most, his rocky start with her had evolved into what most would call, ‘tough love.’ Quickly turning on her hooves, she led Donovan up the spiraling stairs of the inside of the great oak’s trunk, towards her study. She seemed… rushed, somehow. She didn’t move any faster than normal, but Donovan could see it in her eyes, there was a sense of urgency, maybe even anxiety that she was trying to hide. “You’re gonna wanna see this.”

Donovan spoke nonchalantly, his stride matching in casual demeanor as he responded to the Alicorn. “Why me? Did you find a bunch of cellphones in the Everfree, or maybe some sad sap’s laptop, and you wanna check his browser history?”

“...huh?”

“Uh, never mind.”

The two made it to her loft and Twilight led them through what Donovan assumed was supposed to be a bedroom; it was a room, technically more of a loft, but there was a bed. Besides an isle of walking space, the rest of the floor was littered with stacks of books, towering much higher than even his own head. He looked around in awe as he mused. “Holy fuck… you read way too much, Purple…”

“Speaking of reading…” Twilight says, horn aglow as she spreads apart the stacks of papers on her desk, seeming to be looking for one in particular. “You might wanna read… this!” She calls out in triumph as she magically lifts one piece of yellowed paper with chicken scratch on it in front of his face. By the look on his face, Twilight could tell he was in shock. He goes through a range of facial expressions before settling on genuine shock and awe.

“T-Twilight,,,” he says, recognizing the barely-legible handwriting, his lips suddenly dry. He licks them in haste before continuing to speak, a slight falter in his voice being heard for the first time by the princess. “Where did y-... how?!” He says nothing more as he snatches the paper from the alicorn’s magical grasp, eyes flitting over the paper as he begins to read it.

‘Big bro,

I hope you’re out there somewhere… It’s Mallory, but I bet you could tell just from my god-awful cursive. Mom always said it was cute… I don’t know where the hell you are, but I can’t just believe that you up and abandoned us… Liam thinks you’re dead, but I don’t believe that… the police would’ve found your body by now, right? Speaking of police, it’s probably best you don’t come back around for a while. They’re trying to charge you with child abandonment/mistreatment, maybe even abuse. The don’t believe Liam when he says his bruises are from wrestling practice. I miss you, we all do. They put us in the foster home down on Hacienda St., but at least we’re all together. Donovan, I don’t know what happened to you, I don’t know where you are, hell, I don’t even know what my plan is to get this letter to you… but I hope it gets to you. Somehow, some way… come back, big bro. Please. We need you.

-Mallory’

Donovan reads the letter once. Twice. Three times. His hands go limp, and tears threaten to breach his eyes. He had his suspicions, but this confirmed it. This was real, this was all real. As his arms fall to his sides and the letter floats down to the wooden floor, he stares blankly ahead of him. Twilight’s ears fall flat against her head, she’d never seen Donovan in such a state. It was scary, to say the least; she couldn’t tell if he was sad, angry, broken… nevertheless, he deserved an explanation. She cleared her throat and nervously began to speak, softly.

“Um… Celestia sent that to me this morning. She said it came just how it is, no envelope, seal, or address… I have a theory that somehow, there may be some sort of magical entity or force intertwined with humans from your world, the same magic that sent you here somehow sent that letter here. I’m not sure how… but this can only aid us in our research! If you’d allow me to keep this letter, I can maybe study it and split the magic from it, or study it somehow, that way you wouldn’t need to be here all the time.” As she finished her spiel, she stands before the slender human, what was supposed to be a reassuring smile donning her face.

Donovan stood still, trying to process the information he’d just received. Slowly, he begins to speak. “So… I’m just supposed to sit here and wait, knowing that my family has no home now?” He asks, his voice shaking with emotion, his hands vibrating as he balled them into fists. He hung his head, and once again somehow managed to hold up the dam that was holding back his tears. “I’m just supposed to be okay with being… useless in this whole thing? What the fuck… What the FUCK?!” He growled out, stomping his foot hard enough for the whole library to echo with the loud, heavy sound of boot on wood. He stared at Twilight for a few lingering moments before hanging his head and sighing. “I’m… sorry. I know you’re doing all you can… but this… this is just a fucking mess.” He held his head with one hand, the other fishing something out of his pocket. He headed towards the balcony connected to Twilight’s study and stood out on it, able to see most of Ponyville form the vantage point.

He pulled out of his pocket a pack of cigarettes and a matchbook, quickly lighting one and taking a thick drag off of it, blowing a hefty cloud of smoke into the air. Twilight followed him out onto the the balcony, eyes softening as she saw the struggle on his face. She held up a hoof and gently pressed it against his hip in an attempt to soothe him. “I’m so sorry, Donovan… I can’t even imagine how you feel right now, Celestia-knows how far away you could be from your world, with no known way of returning… I know what it’s like to feel helpless, too…” She said as she hung her head, looking down onto the walkways of Ponyville, its citizens smiling and chatting as they go about their daily life.

Donovan took one look at the purple pony’s expression and knew she was being genuine. Her face bore the weight of hefty decisions and impossible ones alike, in that moment. It seemed not everything in this world was sunshine and rainbows; this princess had seen some shit. “I’m… sorry to hear that. You know… when I first showed up here, with everything being so nice and happy all the time, I thought, ‘there’s no way any of this is real; it’s just a dream or something.’ But now, what with everything that’s happened, the jobs I’ve gotten, friends I’ve made, and the, um, letter just now… I can tell, it’s all real. And although I wanna go back, NEED to go back… part of me wishes I could stay, or bring my family here. There may be evil in this world, but if there is, I’ve yet to see it. It’d be a great place for them to grow up in, to live in…”

As Twilight listened to this, a question came to mind, one the she’d been curious of since the human arrived in Equestria. “Donovan… what’s it like, back home? Is it really so bad that you don’t want to go back…?” She turned to look at the human as she awaited a response.

Donovan gave a slow nod as he took a slow drag of his cigarette, inhaling deeply before speaking. “It’s horrible, Twi…” He confirms before blowing a thick cloud of tobacco smoke, which quickly dissipated in the clean Equestrian air. “It’s basically the complete opposite of everything I’ve seen here. Everyday, there’s theft, violence, murder, affairs, death from heavy drug use, prostitution, corruption… we have countries that thrive financially, yet still some citizens within them starve and live in poverty; I worked 70 hours a week and still fell short on rent regularly, but I was living in first-world country, while just an ocean over, children starve and eat bugs and dirt cakes to survive, not even able to put clothes on their backs. There’s massive ongoing wars, bombs and other man-made killing machines used every single day... “

Twilight’s face slowly contorted in horror as she heard Donovan speak of his own world. When he sees her face, he gives a slow confirming nod and continues. “It’s not all bad, of course. There are many people trying to make it a better place, but it seems like the higher-ups that have all the money and power just don’t want peace or equality of outcome. As long as they can stay in their little isolated bubble filled with money, abundant food, good health, and protection from the outside world, they could give a fuck less about the rest of humanity. But we have good institutions. Child protection services, police stations, charities, churches that aren't all about the money… I can imagine a worse place to live, but… it’s certainly nothing like it is here.” He says, gesturing out to the beautiful, smog-free, happy-go-lucky land before him that was Equestria; more specifically Ponyville. “Here, everyone’s just so good to each other. Always willing to help one another. So… so…”

“Friendly?” Twilight asks with a smile, continuing after Donovan nods to her. “Mhmm… I’m proud to say that I’m a leader to these friendly ponies… Equestria has always been known for it’s friendliness and hospitality. The one war we were ever involved in, we solved diplomatically, before many lives were lost, and now we have a stronger relationship with the Griffons than ever before. Celestia’s a great leader, and I’m to be ranked among the likes of her, Luna, and Cadence in terms of status. I could do without all the bowing and royal celebration all the time, though, which is why Celestia put me here in Ponyville. I’m not much for those Canterlot folk. And to think I used to live there, heh…”

Donovan smiled at Twilight, realizing that she, just like him, wasn’t always where she belonged, she had to work hard to be with her position in life, and it made him see her in a different light. She wasn’t just a princess, she was, truth be told, more human than most of the people he’d encountered back home. Now that was a strange thought, a pony with more humanity than a human…

The princess and anomaly talked for a few hours more in greater length about what made their worlds different, among many other things, such as the (basically static) progress of Equestria’s research on a way to get Donovan back home, or just how he got to Equestria in the first place, how he was adjusting to life among ponies, and even a few jokes and wise cracks. Although he hadn’t forgotten about Mallory’s note to him, the conversation really helped Donovan calm down, and deal with the fact that he’ll just have to wait until further insight develops around all the goings-on with his world-jump. For now, he’ll just have to keep living life. If he was being honest, he actually found the change of pace nice. Not that he didn’t miss his family; he certainly did, more than anything. But, it was nice to just have to take care of himself for the first time in years.

Eventually, the two came back inside, finishing up Donovan’s visit with some tea as they talked casually about their plans for the day. Donovan leaned back in his chair, lifting it up on two legs. “Yeah, I was just thinking about maybe going by Sugarcube Corner, see what Pinkie wants. She asked me to come by at some point today, but she wouldn’t say what for.”

“Sounds to me like she wants to be more of a friend to you.” Twilight ponders, holding her tea in a magical grasp. “You know, Donovan, despite being kinda scared of you at first, a lot of the ponies around here wanna get to know you, hang out with you, even, You’re interesting, to say the least; I bet you’ve got tons of crazy stories from your life back home, tight?”

“That’s one way t put it, heh… Yeah, I guess I should get out of the house more when I’m not at work. All I’m doing by being a shut-in is digging into my cigarette stash, which won’t do me any good. Besides, you ponies are pretty cool too.” Donovan says, smiling as he finishes his tea, standing up and stretching a bit. “Well, Twi, thanks for the company. Really helped take my mind off of stuff, but I should get goin’, you’ve probably got some more studying to do, right?” He prods teasingly, yet knowing it’s probably the truth.

“Yeah, I’m up to my mane in work, hehe. But it’s nice to take a break every once in a while. This was nice for me, too. And, you know, Donovan, if you ever need to talk about anything… I’m here.” She says in a sweet tone, smiling as she looks up to the human.

“Thanks, really that means a lot… I’ll come by soon for some more books and maybe a chat, okay?” Donovan calls back to the mare as he heads for the door.

“Mhmm, sounds great! See ya, Donnie!” The alicorn responds before closing the door behind him.

Donovan smiles as he heads towards sugar cube corner, shaking his head a bit at the nickname, recalling that Pinkie, too, had called him by it more than a few times when they work together at the bakery. ‘Donnie, huh? It’s got a nice ring to it, I guess.’

Author's Note

Man, was this chapter a pain in the ass to write! Writer's block just really got a hold of me on this one, but I soldiered through it as best I could! Hope you guys are still enjoying this story. HiE fics are still cool... right?

Deuces, guys!