The Pursuit Of Happiness

Chapters

Chapter 2: Yeehaw, Pardner!
Chapter 3: Ponyville Beginnings
Chapter 5: Honesty and Modesty
Chapter 6: Griffin The Brush Off
Chapter 7: Boast Busters
Chapter 8: Birthday Bash
Chapter 9: Dragonshy
Chapter 10: Look Before You Sleep
Chapter 11: Bridle Gossip
Chapter 12: Swarm Of The Century
Chapter 13: Winter Wrap Up
Chapter 14: Call Of The Cutie
Chapter 15: Caught In The Middle
Chapter 16: Fall Weather Friends
Chapter 18: Feeling Pinkie Keen
Chapter 19: Sonic Rainboom
The Stare Master
Chapter 1
Chapter 4: Applebuck Season
Chapter 17: Suited For Success

Chapter 2: Yeehaw, Pardner!

The Pursuit Of Happiness Chapter 2: Yeehaw, pardner!

As I stood in the breeze outside the hospital, the smell of dust assaulted my nose, the intense heat slammed into my body, and the nothingness went on for what felt like forever.

“Damn, this like real life Red Dead Redemption, there’s nothing for miles….. what the heck do I do first? Where do I go? Why would they have a hospital here?!”

I decided to head west, to the mountains there. They looked like giant mesas, the kinds you see in midland Montana, around Butte and Great Falls, the giant tabletops of rock. They seemed to just be calling me, pulling me.

As I got to the rolling foothills of the mesas, I came to a train station. I saw a sign that read “Dodge Junction”. I thought for a minute….. this is where Applejack goes to after her performance at the Equestria rodeo in Canterlot in The Last Roundup!

I saw the train station, and the port a potty where Pinkie had her “moment”. Then, I saw Cherry Jubilee and her ranch! I saw a sign out front that advertised that she was hiring. I thought for a moment.

I’m new to Equestria, and I need money, badly. Why not take a job for a bit? I took a flyer in my mouth and walked inside the house.

The house was magnificent. It was basically a giant wooden cabin, adorned with western themed décor, and also cherry themed décor everywhere. Everything had a classy, old world feel to it, so welcoming and nice.

Then, a shrill voice with a southern accent spoke. “Well, howdy there! How can I be of assistance Mr…..?”
“Jordan” I said. I then extended my hoof out and shook hooves. She saw I had the flyer and smiled.
“Ah, you here to take the job?!” She said very excitedly.
“EE-yup” I said back, imitating Big Macintosh.

She smiled heartily at me.

“Very well then, you start immediately, so let me give you the rundown sweet heart. You get paid for every full bucket of cherries you bring back to me, 3 bits for a bucket to a maximum of 60 bits. Got it honey?

I just nodded in agreement.

“Good, now get goin!” She opened the back door and I ran outside, through rows and rows of majestic cherry trees.

I decided to walk as far out as I could, to the edges of the orchard. I found the farthest tree, and to my surprise there was a bucket underneath. I guess she has someone place them there.

I had never treebucked before, but I figured it would be easy. So, foolishly, I stood in front of the mighty cherry tree, turned around and, quickly, kicked my legs on it.

“OW, GODDAMNIT!” I cried out. That was not a smart move. Trees are way sturdier than they appear. When I bucked the tree, my untrained legs did nothing but give out after they made contact, reverberated off the trunk, and fell. It didn’t help that I got splinters on my hooves!

“What did I do wrong? In the show, Applejack just did that….. nothing secret!”

Or so I thought. After another two hours of falling on my flank, I finally got the hang of it, and by 5 PM I got the maximum number of trees. Turns out, the secret is all in the stance of the front hooves. You have to be almost like in a handstand, and use gravity to your advantage while you kick.

I went to Jubilee and she gladly gave me my payment.

“If ya want more work, feel free to come back to my humble ranch hon! I could always use such a strong stallion!”

I blushed a little and smiled.

“I’d like that Mrs. Jubille. See you around!”

I waved my hoof at her to say goodbye, and she did the same. I then walked back towards Appleloosa town square. But, on the dirt path I was walking on, something happened.

As I walked, I stopped when I saw a mysterious creature at the side of the road. It looked hurt and afraid. Was it a baby bear? A dog puppy perhaps?

My inner Fluttershy kicking in, I walked over to the poor thing and tried to comfort it. It was sniveling and shivering, despite the heat. It was a bear cub.

“There there buddy, we’re gonna get you some help. Come one!”

I picked the cub up and started walking towards the town vet, but then, all of a sudden, something pushed me into an alley and I was pinned against a wall forcefully.

I felt hands reach into my saddle bag where my money from Jubilee was.

“HEY, who are you, what are you doing to me?! Let me go!”

I started to frantically wiggle and squirm to get away, but whoever this was had a firm grip.

“Shut up! You’re lucky I don’t bring you back to my gang and they don’t violate you for a fortnight. Thanks for your generous donation to our organization sir, your patronage is much oblieged!”

With that, I felt something hard slam into my jaw, and then, nothing but blackness.

-THREE HOURS LATER-

Pain. Darkness. Shock. I had just gotten robbed, and was slowly coming back to.

It was gone. The money I earned from Jubilee, gone. I had nothing, once again. After some deep thinking, I surmised the whole thing was a trap from the moment I saw the injured bear cub. That bastard had it all planned out from the start.

And like a damned fool I took the bait, hook, line, and sinker. How could I have been so stupid.

Suddenly, I turned my head, and a colorful poster on a post caught my eye. It was advertising the Appleloosa rodeo. Deciding I needed a break from this drama, I decided to go. Maybe I’d find this guy and get retribution.

I slowly walked from there to the rodeo arena. To my surprise, the place was PACKED with ponies in the stands and rodeo clowns were down in the pit for intermission. I didn’t have money to pay for a ticket, so I decided to sweettalk the lady at the counter.

“Hello there. Five bits for a ticket.”
“Five bits? Ah, shoot….. I really want to see the show, but I got robbed yesterday. All my money was taken….. any way you could help me out, good lookin?”

The beautiful pink and red earth pony gasped a little bit and blushed bright red and pink at me, making me smile slyly. I always had a special talent for making girls smile.

“Yes, of course handsome. This one is on me. I’m so sorry you got robbed. Enjoy the show!”
“Thank you, I will, sugar!”

After one more blush towards me, she hit a button, gave me my ticket and opened the gate. I slowly walked inside and up into the stands, as low as I could get to the show, which was the third row.

The atmosphere in the place was amazing. The smell of steamed vegetables, cotton candy, drinks, everything. You could smell the musty dirt on the ground, the sound of cheering made your eardrums want to rupture. It was the greatest show on earth.

I sat in my seat and watched the rodeo clowns. One clown was juggling while on a unicycle, and another was hula-hooping. Another one was doing handstands while walking on his hands, and others were doing assorted goofy things. They were all so articulated and skilled at what they were doing, balancing their unicycles, giving just the right amount of force on the object they were launching in the air to juggle, etc.

Then, the clowns ran to the back, and squad of seven pegasuses lined up for a speed derby. The fastest Pegasus was the winner. There was a smoky, jet black one that looked like a forest fire’s smoke, a bright yellow one who looked like a mobile sun, an all green one that looked like a field of grass, a purple one, a red one, a white one.

Then. I saw her. A blue Pegasus, with a rainbow mane, and purple eyes. I gasped and yelled out in excitement.

“RAINBOW DASH!” I cried out. She looked in the stands and waved at me, and I waved back.

“KNOCK THEM DEAD! Leave these lame-o’s in the dust!” I cried out after we waved. She gave me a delighted smirk/grin and took the position, getting ready to race.

My knees then started to wobble after I heard a cannon go off, and they all started to race. The purple pony jetted into the front, while the green and yellow ones traded the lead by a nose all the way to the first quarter of the track. All the others, besides Dash, were far behind.

To my surprise, Dash was in third at the first quarter of the race! How could the fastest pony alive be in third?! Then, I realized something. Dash’s wings were barely fluttering. She was messing with her competitors, saving her strength. “Ah….. a closer” I thought to myself. A closer is a term used in horse racing for a horse and jockey who prefer to save as much energy as they can till the final stretch.

They kept these positions until the final stretch, when all of a sudden, Dash flapped her wings as hard as she could, and leapt into first in the blink of an eye. Everypony’s jaws dropped as a sonic rainboom appeared. I shouted out, in the words of Fluttershy,”A SONIC RAINBOOM! SHE DID IT, SHE DID IT! WOOOO!”

After some weird looks from those around me, we all looked back to the race to see Dash cross the finish line. Second place took fifteen seconds after her to get there. She SMOKED them.

After taking a breather, Dash then did a fly-by of the crowd before she stopped at me.

“Hey man, thanks for cheering for me! It meant a lot!”
“No problem Rainbow Dash, how could I not root for the fastest Pegasus in the history of history!”

She again just gave me a delighted smirky smile and gave me a little noogie.

“Hope to see you around man!”
“Me too Dash! Bye!”

As she left and went into the backstage area, I couldn’t help but admire Dash. Yes, she was hot headed, and could be a bitch sometimes. But she was a good-hearted pony.

“Bless these ponies for doing this, I would just be embarrassed if I tried it.” I said to myself. Then, the announcer came on.

“ALLLLLLL RIGHT EVERYPONY! Now it’s time for the part of the show you love! We are gonna pick a lucky seat number. The pony sitting in that seat will have a chance to compete in the rodeo, and the chance to win two hundred bits!”

After some cheers and applause, he continued.

“Now, here we go. I am picking a seat number from a piece of paper in this bowl….. here we go….. SEAT NUMBER 46!”

Everypony quickly turned at their seat numbers, sighing sadly when they realized they didn’t win. I didn’t even bother, because I never win anything. Suddenly, I felt a nudge on my shoulder. A bright purple Pegasus bumped it and whispered “That’s YOUR seat pal! Get down there!”

In shock that I actually won that lottery, I quickly got out of my seat and dashed to the floor.

“Well well well, we do have a winner! Everypony, clap for this nice gentlecolt!” He said with a welcoming smile upon him.

Everypony clapped and stomper their hooves.

“Now then, what is your name son?” He said with a curious look as he studied my features.

I took the mic and replied “Jordan. Thank you sir.” I said with an appreciative smile.

“Well Jordan, don’t thank me yet. You haven’t won yet! You still have to compete in the rodeo! Now, you get the chance to choose which competition you want. Will you play toro with the Manticore? Will you hay bale stack? Will you try to tame a lion, what what what?! Make your choice!” He said this with a slight smirk.

Oh boy. Now I’m in for it. On Earth, I was never a “good with my hands or body” kind of person. I usually never did anything athletic. Now I have to compete in one of these activities. I thought deeply for a few seconds as I gazed at the ponies in the crowd before I replied.

“Well, I don’t think my chances with the manticore are good, same with the lion. So, I think I’m gonna have to go with the hay bale stacking!” I said with a slightly confident grin.

Everypony cheered at my decision. The hay bale stacking competition had a spot in everypony’s hearts for some reason.

“All right, go backstage and get ready. You’re on in five sonny colt!” With that, I galloped to the backstage and sat on a bench.

A few performers walked past me and said things like “Good luck!” Or “Don’t get crushed pipsqueak!” Or “It’s all in the legs, measure the power of your kick!” I took their advice to heart. It’s like they say, always best to learn from the pros.

As I was getting ready, I heard the announcer speak once again.

“Now, mares and gentlecolts, we have a momentous occasion to celebrate. Last week, Princess Luna was brought back to us, Nightmare Moon defeated. Equestria can finally rest easy!” Everypony cheered, and I thought deeply.

If he was announcing this just now, then I must have came to Equestria right after the events of the series premiere! That means I know everything that happens to the ponies of Equestria before they do!

Then I got to thinking; would that mean I’M part of the show now? Would I be a background pony, or one of the mane six? So many questions it made my head hurt!

After more thinking, I decided that it will be best for everypony if I try not to think about it, and live in this land as if I never saw the show. If I were, for example, to tell Twilight she becomes a princess if I do happen to meet her, it could change everything in Equestria. I couldn’t do that.

Besides, she would call me crazy and probably have me sent to Canterlot to be judged by Celestia and exiled. Couldn’t have that!

Then, as I was deep in thought, starting at the floor, I felt a tapping on my shoulder. I turned, and saw Rainbow Dash sitting next to me on the bench.

“Hey there kid! Well, aren’t you a lucky little dog, you get to compete!”
“I’m starting to wonder if it’s really a good thing though Dash. I’m not very athletic….. you can tell by the horn afterall.” I was shaking a bit as I said this, and she noticed.
“Hey, you ok?”
“Yeah, I just….. um….. well….. I’m such a big fan Dash! I’ve been one of your biggest fans for a while and I can’t believe I’m meeting you!” All of this was sincere, but since she didn’t know who I was, she just figured I meant a fan of her flying and such.

“Well thank you kid! It means a lot to me. Hey, what’s your name anyway?”
“Jordan” I replied.

She scrunched her nose a bit, confused by the weird name.

“Jordan huh? What a weird name. Are you from a far away land?”
I nodded at her and smirked a little.
“You don’t know the half of it. It took me a long time to get here!”
“Well hey, where do you live?”

Crap. How do I go about explaining that I’m homeless?!
“I uh….. I don’t have a home. I’m a bit of a vagabond, but I want to settle down.”
She gave an understanding nod and spoke again.
“Shame you don’t have wings, you could come with me to Cloudsdale! But, you could travel to Canterlot and ask Celestia what would be best. She always knows what to do.”

Suddenly, the announcer called my name. I was on.

Dash punched my leg playfully.

“Good luck” she said.
“Thanks Dashie!”

She smiled at me, and I galloped into the arena.

I saw about a hundred bales of hay strewn across the dirt floor, the announcer standing talk on one of them.

“Alright everypony! The time has come, FOR THE HAY BALE STACKING!!!!!”
Everypony cheered and stomper their hooves excitedly.
“AND, as you know, our dear friend Jordan is competing, for the chance to win 200 bits!”
He then looked at me and nodded.
“You ready kid? LET’S GET TO IT THEN!”

With that, the first bale flew towards me.
“Oh sheisse!” I thought to myself. I quickly turned around and bucked it carefully, stacking the first one.

This kept going on and was easy to do until 25 bales. At that point, I was bucking as hard as Applejack would. I managed to find a trick to bucking. Stand still, kick your legs swiftly, rinse and repeat. When I got to 40 I was 3 away from the record!

“OH MY GOODNESS, this is amazing! 4 more bales to set a new record! COME ON JORDAN!” the announcer excitedly said. He was actually shaking as he watched, the crowd was on their feet cheering, and the sheriff was cheering also.

Then, as I was looking around waiting for the next bale, I saw Applejack for the first time. She had an angry look on her face, and I realized why. I would be breaking HER record if I broke the forementioned record.

“There ain’t no way he’s gonna break mah record Rainbow, so sit down and be quiet for pony’s sakes!”
Rainbow dash grinned and replied. “He’s doing way better than you did, and he’s not even tired! He’s got this!”

As I heard that exchange, I smiled happily at Dash’s words and kept going. Slowly, but surely, I got to 43.

“HE HAS TIED THE RECORD EVERYPONY!”
“One more bale! One more bale! One more bale!” everypony cheered.

I admit, I was tired. And wanted to stop. But I needed the bits, and I wanted to make history. So, I prepared my legs, and bucked the bale. It flew straight up into the air gracefully, landing on top. And stayed there.

“HE DID IT, HE DID IT, HE DID IT! THE RECORD IS BROKEN!” the announcer frantically called out.
Applejack threw her hat down on the ground and stomped it, and Dash cheered for me.
“YEAH JORDAN, I knew you could do it kid!”

I smiled widely at her before the announcer walked up to me and handed me a coinpurse full of the 200 bits I was promised. He then grabbed my leg and held my hoof in the air.

“Three cheers for the new hay bale stack champion!”
With that, everypony cheered as loud as they could. I went around the stands and celebrated with some people before I saw a figure in the crowd.

Not just any figure. Someone who was holding a coinpurse, that looked exactly like mine! Coincidence? I THINK NOT.

I quickly ran towards him. “STOP, THIEF!” I yell. Everypony was confused and just got out of the way.

He was fast and wily, but I was determined to catch him as we left the rodeo arena and went to town square.

“YOU….. MOTHER…... GET BACK HERE NOW!”

Finally, my speed proved to be greater and I jumped on this bastard and tackled him.

I pinned him to the ground, punched him in the jaw so he wouldn’t move, and took my coin purse.

I then stood up and looked him in the eye. “Donation taken back, motherfucker. Have a nice day!”

As he was hurt and stunned on the ground, I galloped back to the arena. Although I got some awkward, confused looks, I ignored them.

I went back into the stands and sat down, albeit with everypony giving me high fives and such.

After the show, everypony left the arena, but the announcer asked me to stay behind. I wondered why, but decided I should.

I went down to the floor after everypony left and he smiled at me, with Rainbow and Applejack next to him. Applejack studied me for a moment, before she gave a weak smile and extended her hoof. I extended mine and we both shook hands. “Nice work pardner, ya’ll worked hard out there. But don’tcha think for a second that record’s gonna keep. I’ma smash it next year buddy boy!”

I smirked a little at her and laughed. “Is that a challenge? Cause you are so on!”

The announcer then spoke up. “Anyway, Jordan. Rainbow Dash here told me you’re homeless, and you don’t have anywhere to live. Is that correct?” I nodded.
“Well, I have a surprise for you then. See, there was another pony in attendance tonight nopony knew about. A very special pony. Jordan, may I present Princess Celestia.”

I turned to the right where the entrance was and my jaw dropped. Sure enough, walking up to the lot of us, was the princess in all her beauty and glory, her ethereal mane elegantly drifting in the wind, her majestic white coat shining in the sun, her horn and wings graceful as always. I was just in shock. She looked more beautiful and graceful than she ever did on the show. She occupied every corner of my mind.

She then spoke to me. “Hello my dear. Jordan, that was a very impressive performance you put on, you are quite athletic!”

I chuckled a bit and said “Well, thank you so much princess! It’s such an honor to meet you, I’ve heard and read so much about you. It is truly an honor.” I bowed my head and kissed her hoof.

She laughed and made me rise. “The pleasure is all mine, hay bale stacking champion. Now, onto serious matters, my subjects Rainbow Dash and Applejack tell me you have no home, and no current job, correct?” I nodded.

“Well then, I have a proposition for you. You see, one of the ponies in Ponyville, my student Twilight Sparkle, is in need of a new assistant. You see, her former assistant, Spike, insisted he needed a change of scenery, and left.”

As she continue talking, I thought again. In the show, Spike never leaves twilight. Does that mean my presence here affects the timeline of events? I then broke my train of thought as Celestia said something that made my heart stop.

“And if you want, you can live with her. I already contacted her and she awaits your arrival with open hooves. She’s always eager to help anypony in need. However, I would ask that you join her and her friends every week to write a report on your findings in friendship whenever you find them.”

I was flabbergasted. Celestia, without even knowing me, has just given me a home. She was the greatest!

“Oh my goodness, thank you Princess, this is great! I’ll leave for Ponyville immediately your majesty!”

“Of course Jordan! I couldn’t rest at night knowing you didn’t have a place to call home. OH, also, on a side note, tomorrow I need you to come to Canterlot to see me once you have settled in.”

“Of course your grace, it would be my honor, and pleasure.” I smiled at her, and she gave a gracious smile back.

With that, we all said our goodbyes to Celestia and the announcer before we looked at each other.

“Road trip?” I said. The others giggled and agreed. We then got on the next train to Ponyville, enjoying each other’s company and newfound friendship.

I thought to myself how great today was. I met two of the mane six, won two hundred bits, and made new friends. And I was heading to Ponyville to start a new life. This was great! I was so happy, tears formed in my eyes and Applejack gave me a tissue. I then started to sing as I looked out the window.

“I….. I never ever dreamed. Not once, not in my wildest fantasies.
Never did I dream, never did it seem, that happiness was ever possible for me.
But here I am, and everything’s all right. For the first time in forever, my vision is no longer black and white.
I’m here and I’m happy, I’m here and I’m hopeful, that I have found reason, and something worth living for.
I may not be smart, I may not be bright, but as I look to the skies, I find reason to be happy tooooooonighttttttt!”

I finished singing, and Applejack and Rainbow Dash both had tears in their eyes, wiping them.

“Wow sugarcube, that was amazin….. Ah’m so glad you’re happy. You’ll love Ponyville, and our friends are all nice!”

Rainbow nodded in agreement, and we all shared a group hug.

Then Rainbow looked at me. “But I have a question. What was your old life like, to make you that excited to start fresh?”

CRAP. I couldn’t explain the truth….. I just couldn’t!

“Uh, well….. you see. I lived in a far off village, way away from here. It….. was hard there. It was cramped, cluttered. I had some comforts and benefits, but I was missing things….. a lot of things. Things I thought maybe I could find in Equestria.”

As I said this, I started to think of all the good things I had back home. My girlfriend, Mackenzie….. my god she must be worried sick and/or crying he eyes out. I started to get depressed as I thought about it, my ears drooping and my head hanging low, and Applejack saw this. She placed her hoof on mine and looked into my eyes.

“Everything all right sugarcube?” she asked meaningfully.

I looked back into hers and sighed. “Maybe, maybe not. I just….. miss somepony…..”

“Who Jordan?” Rainbow asked.

I sighed. “My marefriend, Mackenzie…..” I looked away sadly and some tears fell.

“What? You mean you had somepony special back home? Then why did you leave?”

“Why do you two care….. we practically just met. We’re practically strangers! For all you know I could be a murderer, or…..or…..”

Applejack cut me off by placing her hoof on my mouth.

“Now listen here buddy boy, ah know that ain’t truth. Ah can see it in your eyes, you’re a good pony, you’re just hurt. But me and Rainbow won’t hurtcha. We wanna be your friends.”

That sent me over the edge, and I started crying again.

“You don’t understand Applejack. I can’t be your friend, because I don’t know how. I’ve never had any friends….. back home, it was me, my family, Mackenzie, and that was it. I didn’t know friendship, or happiness, I never have…”

She handed me a napkin to wipe my tears away and smiled.

“You’ll learn sugarcube. Ah know you can.”

“Yeah, me too!” Dash piped in.

I smiled at them gratefully.

“Ok, I’ll... I’ll try my best.”

We got into Ponyville after a few hours of train riding. When the train stopped, I walked to the door and breathed heavily.

“Well, here we go. Time to start fresh!”

End of chapter two.

Author's Note

Well, here's chapter two. This is one of those chapters where, writing it, seemed good. But looking back, it's filled with poor characterization, horrible grammar, ungodly corny scenes. Good thing i write better these days.

Chapter 3: Ponyville Beginnings

The Pursuit Of Happiness Chapter Three: Ponyville Beginnings

I walked out of the train with AJ and Rainbow, happy, confident, and ready to start fresh.

It was morning now, and Ponyville was alive and well. Pony’s everywhere were walking, talking, laughing, loving life.

As I walked from the train station alongside Applejack and Rainbow Dash, I could see so many things.

Town Hall was much bigger than it seems on the show. Thing has to be five story’s. It looked a lot more colorful and ornate than the show; the show really didn’t do the hall justice at all.

I could see fillies and colts running around, being children, having fun, playing. It was such a happy scene. They were coloring, playing tag, laughing, it was all so heart warming. Some even said hello to me, and welcomed me to town!

As we walked through town, Rainbow dash was the first to split.

“Hey, I need to get going, I have some serious cloudbusting to get done. See you two later!”

With that, she blasted off at the speed of light to the skies. Me and AJ had our mouths open.

“That Pegasus sure is sometin, ain’t she sugarcube?” I nodded in agreement, just admiring dash a bit.

AJ then looked at me with a sincere look on her face. “Hey, Sugarcube? Ah know you’re eager to get to Twilight’s and settle in, but ah got a few questions aboutcha still. Can we go someplace quiet?”

I was a bit stunned at her request, but nodded my head in agreement. She then led me to a bench underneath a shady willow tree. The scene looked so beautiful, like a scene out of a movie where the hero tells a confidante every little detail about their mission.

I sat on the bench, trying to get comfortable and AJ did the same. She even took off her hat as a sign of respect.

“Pardner, I just wanted to tell ya….. ah’m sorry ah acted so sour at the rodeo. Ah just have a bad tendency to get mad when somepony outperforms me. Ah….. ah guess it all started when Big Macintosh, my brother and ah, were young kids on the farm. For so long, he was ma and pa’s hard worker. Ah tried to keep up but a little filly can only do so much.”

I nodded my head at her, fully understanding the feeling of being outshined by a sibling, feeling lesser than they are. It’s hard being the youngest of four, I know from experience.

“I’m so sorry Applejack. I’m the youngest of four and believe you me girl, I know how tough it is being the underdog of the family. I was the last child. None of my siblings except my sister finished their schooling. I was expected to be smart, graduate, be a good person, etcetera etcetera.” I let my ears droop and my head fall slowly.

She tilted her head and cocked an eyebrow as she looked at me, wondering if I was ok. After a few seconds she surprised me by giving me a full on, full scale hug, almost a bear hug.

“Sugarcube, it’s ok. Being held to high standards ain’t the worst thing in the world!”

I sighed. “No, no….. it’s not that. It’s….. I miss home. I miss my brother, my sister, my sister in law, my brother, my niece Zoe, my parents, everything…..” I looked down shyly.

s“Especially my marefriend, Mackenzie…..” I actually started to cry as I thought of her. Memories of her and I’s first date at the movie theatre, all of our long talks, our plans for the future, the feeling of her soft lips on mine, her taste. Everything. I started to cry hard.

Applejack, used to having to comfort her little sister when she cried, knew what to do. She held me in a tight embrace and rubbed my back with her rough, calloused, weathered hoof. She made it so our heads rested on each other’s shoulders while we hugged. She made me feel so safe.

I sniffled. “A…..applejack. I….. I barely know you at all, but you make me feel so safe! How do you do it? I’ll never understand.”

She blushed a little bit and smiled at me widely. “Sugarcube, it’s because ah know how it feels to hurt. When my folks passed….. ah was at rock bottom for so long. I didn’t want ta breathe, ah didn’t want ta move on. And Jordan, you seem like such a great pony. You’re kind, and caring, and sweet, and handsome all things aside. Anypony alive could see it.”

I blushed the color of a tomato. My face was on fire.

“A….applejack, is making ponies blush like a school filly one of your specialties?” I said with a shy, tomato red face.

AJ blushed also and gave me a wicked smile.

At that point I was dead. I quickly dug a hole in the ground and slammed my face in to it. I couldn’t believe this….. I’d been in equestria for no time at all, and known AJ even shorter, did she like me? How could she that fast.

AJ chuckled when she saw me. Then she gulped.

“Hey, sugarcube, ah had a question. Ah uh…. Was gonna go get some snacks at sugarcube corner. Would y’all like to join me? It could be your chance to meet Pinkie Pie. Though ah gotta warn ya pardner, she’s a bit loco!”

I chuckled, as I already knew plenty about good ol pinkie. I looked at her.

“Applejack, are you asking me on a date?”

She then turned white pale and looked like she saw a ghost.

“WHAT?! No! Why, ah was just asking, cause you seem like you need a distraction!” She said this with a bit of a quiver in her voice, very uncharacteristic of her.

“Ah mean, if you don’t want to….. it’s fine Jordan, ah understand completely.”

I then did something bold. I leaned close to her, closer, and closer, and closer, till I could feel her breath on my face.

“AJ, you’re so, so very sweet. But….. I just hurt too much to do anything right now. I just want to meet twilight and such. I’ll meet pinkie pie another time.”

AJ nodded and smiled. “Understood sugarcube, AJ headin out. Bye now!” She waved her hoof goodbye and trotted off the sugarcube corner.

As she trotted off, I have to admit….. my male instincts kicked in. I couldn’t help but watch AJ closely, and admire her. She had forgotten her hat, and her blonde hair was showing, all beautiful and pony tailed in the back. She had such a beautifully shaped, athletic body, and her flank with the apples on it looked adorable. She was so cute.

Then, a thought consumed me, one that made my eyes jump. Could I have feelings for AJ!?

Then I noticed her hat. I gasped and shouted. “APPLEJACK, WAIT!”

Startled, she stopped dead in her tracks.

“YOU FORGOT YOUR HAT!” I started to gallop towards her while I held the hat and she smiled gratefully.

“Thank you plenty sugarcube, ah knew ah forgot something!” She took the hat and placed it over her head. “She is such a damn country girl” I thought to myself in my head.

“Well, bye now Jordan, ah’ll see you later!” I smiled at her.

“Bye AJ, take it easy!”

As she galloped away, I sighed. I needed a while to think before I went to Twilight’s library. There’s still so much on my mind. I walked to the park near town hall and sat down in the shade.

I started thinking about home. I missed Mackenzie so much. My poor baby….. she must be worried sick about me.

I missed her. I missed her touch. I missed her love. I missed her voice. I missed everything about her. She meant the world to me and I needed her.

“Would I ever see her again?” I said to myself quietly. I then started to cry again, tears streaming down my cheeks.

My eyes shut tight as I cried. I just sat there and wept. Why did this happen? Is there a reason? Was it just an amazing stroke of luck?

All of a sudden, I felt something nudge my leg. I opened my eyes slowly to see Applebloom. She gave me big eyes and smiled.

“Hey Mister, ah’ve been watchin you cry for a while now. You ok?”

I smiled and pet her mane softly.

“Yeah kid, I’m fine. Just sad is all. I’ll get over it.”

She nodded slowly and squee’d a bit as I pet her mane.

“Ah saw you and my sister talkin a while back. What were you talkin about?

“Nothin kiddo. Don’t worry about. What’s your name?” I tried to play it like I’d never seen her.

“Applebloom sir. Hey, if y’all ever need to talk, me and my friends Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are always around town. Just catch us if you need us!”

“I will, Applebloom. See ya later!”

She smiled and galloped back to her friends. I watched them for the next ten minutes as they tried to get their cutie marks building pillow and blanket forts. I just rolled my eyes humorously. They never give up.

Talking to cute little Applebloom put me into a good mood, and I decided to head to the library now.

I walked through town to the library, and as I walked, I thought about AJ. Does she like me? I mean, it’s complicated if she does. I still have Mackenzie, she and I never broke up and I still love her so much and miss her.

“It’s just too soon to think of such feelings. I’ll try to just ignore her, kindly though.” I decided right as I got to the library.

“Now remember dude. You’ve just come to Ponyville, and you only know Applebloom, AJ, and Dash. Nopony else. Keep it together” I said as I knocked.

Twilight then opened the door. “Oh, hello there, you must be Jordan?”

I nodded. “Yes ma’am, and you must be Twilight Sparkle?”

She gave a graceful smile and nodded. “The one and only. Come in, come in!” She stepped away from the door and I followed.

The house was in a bit of a bad state, books everywhere.

“Sorry, with my former assistant gone, I’ve had to manage things and it’s not easy” she said. I then nodded in understanding.

“But that should all be over with now that I have a new one!” she said with a smile.

I smirked a bit. “Rainbow Dash told me all about you. The egghead, the brainiac, the nerd, etcetera.”

She stretched her eyes open wide and blushed. “Hey, I can’t help it if I love books. They’re the only friends who never hurt me…..” she said as her head drooped with her ears low.

I then got a serious look on my face and walked over to her. I sensed she needed cheering up, so I put my hoof on the side of her face and made her look at me.

“Hey, Twilight, I know how it is to be hurt. Believe me, I do. People are just hard for me….. but you have to go outside of your comfort zone sometimes. Trust me!” I smiled at her and she returned it.

“J…..Jordan, I have to tell you. You and I just met, and you’ve already managed to make me feel better than my friends normally do, in about two minutes. Are you an angel?”

I blushed tomato red and gulped. “I uh….. i…..” I just sat there and babbled like an idiot and she giggled.

“You’ll do good work around here, won’t you? Princess Celestia has had me up to my eyeballs in studying, and I need all the help I can get!”

I smiled and blushed a little bit. “Of course I’ll do a good job Twilight. Just tell me what you need done and it’s done.” I said a bit cocky. As I walked around the room, I didn’t see the floor was wet, and I started slipping.

“SHEISSE!!!!!” I cried out as I slipped. Twilight ran towards me and caught me.

“GOTCHA” she said as she held me in her hooves. She then looked down at me and into my eyes for a sec, and our horns both sparked, a bolt connecting our horns.

I opened my eyes wide and gulped. “Uh….. what the heck was that?”

Twilight gave me a confused face as she let me go. “No idea, that has never happened to me before.”

I stood there a bit awkwardly and we both looked away, shyly and a bit embarrassed.

I broke the silence. “Well, what’s my first job Twi?”

“Well, not so fast. Princess Celestia insisted you start tomorrow, and that you go to Canterlot to see her ASAP. So, go do that, and I’ll see you when you get home, ok?”

I nodded and she smiled. “See you soon, then!”

I then felt warm, and started glowing. The world rushed around my head, and all of a sudden, I was in a throne room in Canterlot.

-MEANWHILE, BACK ON EARTH-

Two police officers stood at the door of a quaint little apartment, on the outskirts of a city. The air was hot, but the mood was dark and gloomy as a man, a woman, and a 21 year old girl were crying their eyes out.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY’RE GIVING UP THE SEARCH?!” The mother screamed at them. “MY SON IS MISSING, YOU CAN’T GIVE UP!!!!!”

The officers tried to calm the lady down, but it was no use. “Ma’am….. it’s been two weeks. The precinct is just too busy to keep wasting resources to find him. It’s been a week, he’s probably dead. I’m so sorry. But it’s over, and time to move on.”

With that, the officers left the family with the number of a funeral service company, and left it at that. As they walked away, neither of them spoke until they were in their squad car.

The taller of the two spoke first. “It’s so strange Mcnelly, I went to investigate the scene myself. His foot prints went all the way to the patch of grass, and they stopped there. There is NOTHING to indicate any abduction, no murder, nothing. He just….. vanished.”

Mcnelly nodded and sipped his coffee. “I know Watts. It’s so confusing, it has the whole country baffled, you seen the headlines? It’s crazy. I really hope this family recovers, he had such a bright future ahead of him.”

The two officers then started the car and headed back to the station.

-IN CANTERLOT-

I slowly came to as I sat on the floor, rubbing my head. I moaned in pain as my head hurt.

“Damn you, Twilight. Please never teleport me again until you work on your spell, that hurt!” Right then, I realized I was in the throne room.

“INTRUDER!” one of the guards shouted. His eyes were an evil shade of red, and glowing. He then took a defensive stance and charged towards me with his sabre. Determined to protect Celestia, he never slowed down.

I shrieked and quickly rolled out of the way, but he was too quick and followed my change in direction.

I felt the sabre stab into my chest. Not impaling me, but going in a good inch or two. I shrieked in pain and fell to the ground, clenching my chest.

“EAGLEHEART!” I heard a voice shout. “WHAT IN THE NAME OF EQUESTRIA HAVE YOU DONE?!”

Celestia was standing at the doorway, in pure shock and horror at the scene the saw. I was clenching my chest with blood pouring out of the wound, some organs showing. I then collapsed to the floor, the pain too much.

“EAGLEHEART, YOU FOOL. Did you learn NOTHING in training!? ALWAYS, AND I MEAN ALWAYS investigate before acting! You just hurt the pony whom I told you I was expecting!”

Eagleheart then shook his head rapidly and gasped, his eyes now a normal white. “Y…..your majesty, I am so sorry! I have no idea what came over me!” He hung his head low.

“You’re quite lucky you’re one of my top guards, or else I would have you exiled right now!” Celestia said, her voice boiling with anger.

“Get a medical team, NOW.” He nodded and rushed to the infirmary. Celestia kneeled down next to me and used her magic to sustain me so I wouldn’t bleed out.

My vision was blurry, there was crimson blood everywhere, and I hurt.

“Princess!” I choked out, “I’m gonna die! I’m gonna die! Oh merciful fate, grant me a spot in heaven, amen!” Celestia then looked down at me.

“Dearest Jordan, I’m so sorry this had to happen. You didn’t deserve this at all. Don’t worry, I’ll never let you die. I’ll do everything in my power!” she said as the medical team came with a cart and wheeled me into the hospital.

There was a lot of confusion as to if I could be saved, and the doctor warned me and Celestia recovery from such a deep wound would be long and tedious.

“He might not be the same” the doctor warned. “And the bill will be pricey.” He added.

Celestia gave him a serious look. “I’ll pay the bill and do whatever it takes to get him healthy, just do it, please my child.”

A while later, she was gone and the doctors surrounded me as I was on the OR table.

The doctor sighed. “This is gonna take some serious work and concentration. NURSE, get that man an IV line stat, sedate him please.”

I groaned in pain as I felt the needle enter my arm. They had me on laughing gas minutes before, and I was goofy and everything was fuzzy, but you always feel pain no matter what. After a few seconds looking at the ceiling, I was out.

-MEANWHILE, IN PONYVILLE-

Twilight was working on reshelving the library, humming quietly. But she was not at peace, she had a burning thought on her mind. The pony who she had just met about an hour or so prior. The unicorn with the fiery orange coat with red polka dots, his mane a beautiful blue and white like her brother’s mane and tail.

This colt was like no pony she had ever met. He was polite, yet funny. Smart, yet caring. He was an amazing pony, and Twilight felt strange just thinking about him.

“He….. makes me feel strange. What is it about him? I’m around colts all the time and feel nothing.” She said to herself. Their horns even sparked and glowed as she saved him from falling.

Right then, she heard a frantic knock on her door. Frightened, she ran to the door and opened.

There stood the white alicorn with the ethereal mane. She smiled at her teacher.

“Princess! What a nice surprise, what brings you here? It’s not my studies, is it!? Rest assured I’m keeping up!”

Celestia never responded, just looking at her student with a remorseful glare.

This made Twilight very nervous and she gulped. “What’s wrong Princess? What’s happened?”

Twilight’s heart dropped and stopped as Celestia told her the story.

“WHAT!? Eagleheart did this!? But how, why!? He knows better than to attack ponies on sight!” She said in disbelief.

Celestia nodded with a tear in her eye. “When you teleported him, he teleported into my throne room. Eagle was startled, and wasn’t thinking clearly. He just attacked him…. I saw it all. His eyes were glowing red, it was so strange.”

Twilight’s heart just felt like it got stabbed when she heard this. She….. had caused this. She teleported him into the throne room. She caused this, and she hurt him.

“Red eyes….. that must mean he was under mind control Princess!”

Celestia gasped. “Mind control? But not even Luna or I know a spell so powerful. Such magic is forbidden!”

Then both nodded a bit before Twi started to cry.

“T….this is my fault!” Twilight screamed with tears in her eyes.

Celestia gave her student a stern look and held her. “It is not your fault! You didn’t know! You couldn’t have. I didn’t even know!” Celestia said truthfully.

As if on cue, Applejack and Rainbow Dash walked to the library, each needing something from Twilight. Their hearts both dropped as Celestia told them what had happened. For the first time in her life, Dash cried.

-BACK IN CANTERLOT-

Eagleheart was in the guards quarters, trying to figure out what happened. He was talking to the captain, Shining Armor, about what happened. Shining armor was like a god to the guards, everypony admired him so much. He was tough, fearless, yet caring at the same time. He was a diamond in the rough, an inspiration.

“I swear, sir. I wasn’t in control of myself. I could never just stab anypony without reason! You know how I am!” he said truthfully.

Shining gave him an understanding nod and rubbed his back.

“I know Eagle, but if I were you, I might think about resigning. If the Princess doesn’t realize you were being mind controlled. It won’t be good for you” Shining said honestly.

Eagle gulped and a tear rolled from his eyes. “I don’t get it, why did this have to happen. I’ve had a perfect record for years, not one incident, not one screwup. I just made one of the biggest ones in royal guard history!”

Celestia and the three ponies accompanying her, Twilight, Dash and AJ, came in right then.

“Afternoon, Shining Armor.” Celestia said. She then turned her head. “Hello, Eagleheart” she said with her voice a big angrier.

Before eagle could speak, she continued. “I know you were under mind control eagle. And I can’t be mad at you. But that doesn’t mean I’m not mad at all at the situation. I know it’s not your fault, and you will not be penalized, but please forgive me if I seem cross” she said sadly.

“Jordan didn’t deserve what happened to him, and I can’t help but feel it’s my fault. I should have been on my throne waiting, but a guard called me into the dining room for a few minutes” she said as her head dropped down with droopy ears.

Shining Armor piped in. “Princess, it’s nopony’s fault! Nopony has psychic powers, and nopony could have forseen what happened. We need to help this poor colt and make sure he heals correctly from his wounds.” Shining said soothingly. Everypony nodded, and trotted up to infirmary.

-MY POINT OF VIEW-

I woke up in my hospital bed slowly. Coming out of sedation is always strange. Your mind and body feel so numb, like you’ve been sleeping your whole life. Then your mind snaps awake, and you are again fully aware and responsive.

I moaned out in pain and screamed as I felt my wounds. A few nurses rushed in and quickly fed me pain killers. One nurse looked into my eyes.

“Shhhhh! Jordan, you’re ok. Everything’s ok. Calm down.” She then started humming a tune, soothingly, to calm me down. I was in a lot of pain, but I just couldn’t scream as she was singing to me. Her voice was so gorgeous.

Right then, the six ponies walked in and gasped as they saw my bad state. The doctors had to insert a metal plate into my wound and stitch it. My stomach look enlarged and engorged.

“He’s gonna need to be here for a week to recover” the doctor said somberly. Twilight, Applejack, and Celestia held back tears at the state I was in.

Shining armor then walked to my bedside. “Hey there, Jordan is it? I’m Shining armor, Twilight’s sister and captain of the canterlot royal guard. I just wanted to tell you on Eagle’s behalf how sorry he is for what he did.” Shining said.

I then saw the pony who stabbed me and shrieked. I try to jump up and run away but I was handcuffed to the bed for my own safety. I screamed.

“NO, NO, GET HIM AWAY FROM ME!” I cowered in fear under the blanket, afraid of getting stabbed again. Eagle then came to me and gulped before speaking.

“Sir, please….. I’m so sorry for what I did, but it wasn’t me! I was under mind control. Nopony knows who put me under their control or why. But it happened, and I am so sorry!”

I listened to him intently and slowly started to calm down, but I was still very uneasy. Celestia then stood next to me.

“Jordan, I’m so sorry for this. I promise, once you’re healed I’ll do something special for you. I don’t know what it is, but I’ll make it up to you, ok?” I nodded at her gratefully.

“Now, on to serious business. We need to know what happened, and why Eagleheart was under mind control. Who could have done this?”

Shining Armor gulped. “C…..could it be the works of nightmare moon, princess?”

(Just a quick reminder, remember that this is right after the events of the premiere. There is no Discord, no Sombra, no Chrysalis. Nothing)

Celestia took a big breath and sighed. “I don’t see how that could be possible. My sister has been returned to us. This might be some evil force beyond our control” she said solemnly.

Everypony shivered at this thought. “Right now, Jordan must heal, before we can venture forth” she said.

“Speaking of healing, this man needs to sleep. NURSE, get this man his sleeping pills!” he called out. Everypony started to clear out of the room, with only Celestia staying behind.

The nurse gave me my pills and I was out within moments. The nurse left with Celestia before celestia came back and nuzzled her face into my mane and neck.

“You’re such a great colt Jordan, taking this injury like a soldier, not even complaining. You’re such an inspiration to us all and….. I’ve never had these feelings for a colt before. Oh the agony!” she said before she touched lips with me.

As she walked away, she was deep in thought. “What’s wrong with me? I don’t even know Jordan. He’s just somepony I met randomly in Appleloosa. I shouldn’t feel for him, I am the ruler of all Equestria! But….. I do. He’s so smart, and witty, and kind, and so nice to be around. C…..can I be in love? Is this real? It can’t be….. I shouldn’t feel such emotions. I am practically a god!” She gasped at her own question before returning to the throne room.

Meanwhile, Twilight and Shining were walking through the halls, talking. “It’s so strange shining armor, I only met him about six hours ago. But….. I can’t stop thinking about him. He came in to my house and talked to me when I was sad and made me happy. Our horns even sparked!”

Shining Armor had been listening to his sister intently, but once she mentioned the horns, he stopped dead in his tracks and looked at her.

“WHOA, what!? Your horns sparked?!” Twilight nodded.

“Whoa Twilight….. that’s big. You know what that means, don’t you?” Twilight just made a confused face.

Shining smirked deviously. “My best sister friend had a cru-ush!” he teased in a sing-songy voice. Twilight looked like she was going to bust from embarrassment.

“I DO NOT HAVE A CRUSH!” Twilight screamed so loud, Shining thought they could hear her in Ponyville.

“Jordan might be a nice colt, but I don’t feel for him that way! Besides, I’m far too caught up in my studies to have a coltfriend” This statement was half true, half false. She was very busy, but she did, secretly, feel for that orange and red unicorn.

Shining shrugged. “I guess I’ll need to be security, for the wedding.” He smirked, loving to tease his sister. Twilight ignored him, and they walked off to the throne room to meet Celestia.

-MEANWHILE, DEEP IN THE EVERFREE FOREST-

“Damn. What a misfortunate turn of events that was. I was going to have him killed!” a mysterious figure chortled as he stood over his crystal ball. This creature was an anomaly, unknown to ponykind.

“This little fool doesn’t know what I have in store for him, the prophecy will never come to pass!” He yelled.

-ONE WEEK LATER, IN PONYVILLE-

Twilight was in her house, having tea with the rest of her friends to calm down and unwind with them. After Twi, AJ and dash explained me and the situation to Pinkie, flutters and Rarity, they all understood why their friends were down.

“He’ll be allright darlings!” Rarity assured them. “From what you’ve told me, he is one tough colt. He’ll be ok!”
“Yeah!” Pinkie added. “He’ll be looking better than a cupcake covered in sprinkles and chocolate and-“ she was cut off by AJ putting her hoof over her mouth.
“He’ll be fine, he’s tough!” Dash exclaimed. “He is the hay bale stacking champ after all!” AJ rolled her eyes at the bad memory.
“When does he come home?” Flutters asked.
“In one more day” Twilight replied.

Suddenly, the front door slammed open, and there I stood.

“IIIIIIIIIII’MMMMMMMMMMMM HOME!!!!!” I exclaimed.

The mane six all gasped then jumped up as they saw me.

I was still a mess. I had a big stab wound right on my chest, next to my heart, and I had the metal plate there that made it bulge a lot. I had bandages wrapped around also. I looked bad.

They all ran towards me and surrounded me.

Twilight spoke first. “What are you doing back, you’re not let out until tomorrow!” she narrowed her eyes, demanding an answer.

I chuckled. “Hehe, well, I got let off for good behavior twi!” I chuckled at my joke, but nopony else did.

Rarity then spoke up. “So, this is the Jordan everypony has been buzzing about since that rodeo. Tis an honor to meet you darling!”

Fluttershy nodded. “Yeah, it’s um…. Great to finally meet you. I hope um… we can be friends.”

Pinkie got her party cannon. “You never did get the proper welcome! WELCOME TO PONYVILLE!” She let the cannon loose and it covered me in cake and confetti and such.

Twilight shrieked. “PINKIE PIE, be careful! He has wounds on his body! If he gets cake in there that’s begging for a nasty infection!” Twilight scolded.

I chuckled at her. “Hey, hey. Easy there Twi, I’m a big boy. I can handle some terrifying cake” I smirked and laughed a bit. Twi rolled her eyes at the joke but everypony else laughed.

Then, Applejack got up, walked towards me and, to me and everyone’s surprise, slapped me with her hoof, and knocked me to the floor.

She was fighting back a tear. “Don’tcha ever do that again Jordan! Y’all had me, Twilight and Rainbow worried sick! We thought ya kicked the bucket!”

I just sat there, in complete shock that she had just hit me. I looked up at her, unsure of what to do or say, so I just squeaked out a pathetic little “I’m sorry…..”

I then surprised everypony by running outside and slamming the door. Applejack facehoofed at her own foolishness.

Rarity then spoke. “Applejack, what ever did you do that for?! You frightened him!”

Applejack sighed. “Guess ah gotta go make it up to him and say sorry, huh?”

Everypony nodded, and she went outside to me. I was nowhere to be found, though.

“Sugarcube?” AJ called. “Jordaaaannnnn!”

After ten minutes of nothing, AJ fell to the ground in defeat.

“Why am ah such a screw up?! Ah scared him away! Now he’s gone!”

In truth, I didn’t leave. I dug a hole in the ground and was hiding there. As luck would have it, AJ had collapsed right on top of the hole.

I then got an idea, for revenge. I poked my hoof out of the ground and tickled AJ’s stomach.

She yelped in shock and jumped up. “WHAT IN TARNATION WAS THAT?!” she cried out.

I tried to get my hoof back in the hole, but it was stuck in the dirt. I grabbed it with my other hoof and tried to yank it down, to no avail.

“Whose hoof is that?!” she cried out at me. She then started digging around my hoof and gasped when she saw me in my hole.

“JORDAN?!” she yelled at me. I then whimpered and covered my face with my hooves.

“DON’T KILL ME!” I cried out. I whimpered and covered sat there like a real coward.

Applejack was mad at first. She hated being tickled. But then, evil thoughts crossed her mind.

“Well well. Look who’s in a pit now, buddy boy. Ah could leave you here, and you’d be completely helpless” she said with a smirk.

I then whimpered more. “A….applejack, help me out!”

She then rubbed her chin with her hoof. “On one condition, sugarcube.”
“What?”
“You gotta come to the farm tomorrow and help me out. It’s applebuck season tomorrow and ah need you there!”

(I know in the real episode, AJ doesn’t let anypony help her, but in the story she lets me because she wants to spend time with me)

Crap. I’d forgotten what time in ponyville it was. I did come here right after the premiere. I knew AJ would be working herself to death so I quickly agreed.

She helped me out of the hole. But, I tripped, and I landed on top of her by mistake, making us both blush a deep red.

“S…..sorry” I said as I rolled off and got back up on my hooves.

“D…..don’t be Jordan” She said with a smile. We then both walked back inside the library.

Everypony jumped up again when they saw me. “Where did you go?! Pinkie shouted.

“I uh….. was just startled. Don’t worry about it Pinkie.”

Pinkie gave me a stare, somewhat akin to the one she did to AJ during Party Of One, before she cheered “Okie Dokie Lokie!” and sat back down.

Twilight then gave me a smile, then a serious look. “Jordan, everypony, sit down. We all need to talk about something.”

We all looked at each other curiously and sat down. I decided to be a gentleman and gave the last chair to Rarity, since there were only six.

Twilight sighed. “Jordan. I just….. wanted to ask you. How….. did the whole fiasco feel in your point of view?” she asked carefully.

I sighed. Somehow, I knew that would be coming.

“It was hard….. I mean, when that sabre lodged in my chest, i….. I thought I was going to die! I was scared I’d bleed out, it was scary. I….. didn’t want to die. It was like I had an internal conflict, cause I told myself ‘NO. NO YOU BASTARD, YOU ARE NOT DYING YET. NOT NOW!’”

Everypony nodded, but Fluttershy was nearly in tears at my description. I got up, and hugged from behind. “I’m sorry Fluttershy, I didn’t mean to make you sad!”

Then, Twi spoke up again. “I have something else to say” she said.

“Well, we all know the grand galloping gala is coming up soon. And, well….. as you know, I have been given two tickets. One for me, and one for a friend.”

We all gasped happily at that. Well, minus me. I didn’t really care for the gala at all. Parties and formal events scare me. I often end up enjoying them if I go, but the idea of them scares me.

“So,” she went on. “I’ve decided that if I can’t bring all my friends, then I’m not going!”

Everypony, including me, gasped at this. A few minutes later, Princess celestia appeared.

“Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student. If you wanted to bring all of your friends, all you had to do was ask!” She then made six tickets appear, and the six best friends all made happy, gleeful sounds as they walked out the door together.

I hung my head low. “But….. what about me?” Celestia then walked to me and smiled.

“Jordan, I was actually wondering something. You see, every year, I choose one lucky pony to be my personal guest to the gala. And, I was wondering if you would consider being my guest? I told you I would do something grand for you.” She smiled at me and my mouth was just agape in shock.

I regained my composure and nodded. “Your majesty, it would be an absolute honor to be your guest! Of course I will!” She smiled at me.

Very well then. On the night of the gala, I shall meet you in the gardens, and we’ll walk to the gala together. Oh, also Jordan, we never got to talk like I had hoped, because of the whole fiasco with Eagleheart. Visit me ASAP, ok?”

I nodded, and we hugged goodbye. Suddenly, she vanished, but left me a little present where she stood.

I looked at it curiously. It appeared to be just an ordinary box.

“I’ll check it out later” I thought as I lugged it and me to the guest room. I was tired. I jumped in bed and fell asleep really quickly.

Today was such a great day, I thought to myself. Sure, the stabbing incident last week sucked, but things are looking up, and I’m happy. Now, to focus on AJ’s applebucking tomorrow. Oh boy!

Author's Note

Agh. Going through these chapters after almost a year of writing them makes me cringe. I hate to even upload them, but they are vital to this story... if not for that, i would delete them off my computer and out of existence. Stick around, Applebuck season is next.

Chapter 5: Honesty and Modesty

I woke up in the morning, groggy and tired from all the applebucking I had done in the past two weeks. To put it short, my hind legs were so tight and knotted, they were like Cobble’s Knot from Maniac Magee.

I slowly awakened, looking to my left, at the wall. I spent about thirty seconds blinking the crust and tiredness from my eyes before I felt a shiver down my spine.

I felt breathing on my neck, and it made my senses just about explode.

I quickly turned around to a sight that shocked me. Twilight Sparkle was in the bed next to me, with her hooves on my shoulders!

I started to panic, and she woke up, smiling. “Hey Jordan, how’d you sleep? No nightmares I hope?”

I then started to slowly but surely remember what had happened. I had let her sleep with me since we both had bad nightmares last night.

“Yeah Twi, I slept good. What about you?”

She nodded. “Me too. I uh…. I’ve never been in a bed with anypony before. It felt nice.”

I simply nodded back. “It kinda did, didn’t it?” I then got lost in thought. I thought for a good minute before I sighed.

She then looked at me. “So…..are we….. you know?”

“Twi, we need to talk” I said bluntly. We had said our words at the same time. She nodded and followed me to the living room.

I sat down on my favorite chair as always, and she did the same. I sighed heavily. I knew what I was about to say would kill me.

“Twilight….. listen. I don’t know why what happened last night happened. But it did.”

She nodded, listening.

“And I want you to know, no matter what happens I’ll always be your friend. Even your best friend if you want.”

She smiled at me gratefully, but her heart stopped at what I next said.

“But I just….. I don’t think we can be more than that..... I’m so sorry Twi.”

She looked at me for a few seconds, and for a moment I thought she might cry. I sighed and held her hoof in mine. My heart felt like it was about to die.

“Twilight…..” I sighed. “Please don’t cry, let me explain.”

She gulped and nodded, letting me continue.

I sighed and took a sharp, deep inhale. “Twilight Sparkle…..” I said as I rubbed her hoof gingerly. “I….. I do like you. I like you a lot. Hell, I more than like you. I find you…. Intoxicating. You….. you just have a way of making me happy when I am sad. You always wear a smile no matter what happens, you never complain. You just…..”

I then looked deeply into her eyes. “…..You’re just amazing.” I said softly and tenderly.

“It’s not because of you Twilight, it’s because of me. I can’t get close to anypony! For one, LOOK AT ME. I’m not even good looking! For two, I’ll just hurt you….. you don’t even know the kind of stuff I’ve done, that story yesterday was the tip of the iceberg!”

She looked at me deeply before placing her hoof on my lips to shut me up. I tried to talk before giving in.

Then, it happened again, just like last night. The room around us disappeared, we both started to feel hot. Then, our faces got closer, and closer, and closer still, until we could feel the hot breath from each other’s noses.

Then, as if a repeat of last night, we kissed. We kissed deeply, and exchanged fluids.

Her tongue quickly entered my mouth and intruded it, wrestling my tongue for dominance, which she quickly won, and explored every inch of my mouth.

As she did this, I felt powerless, in a good way. I moaned softly as her tongue overpowered me, staring into her eyes the whole time. She did the exact same thing to me, staring.

After a few minutes, she slowly pulled away and I gazed at her in wonder. “T…..twilight that was amazing. You’re a natural kisser.”

She blushed bright red and smiled. I then sighed.

“Twilight, listen. I….. feel for you. I truly do. But….. it’s just too soon for me! I….. need more time. To be honest….. please don’t get your hopes up. It might be that I don’t want a marefriend at all. I just have to see. If not, I’ll always be your friend.

She then looked me in the eyes and caressed me with her hoof. “I understand Jordan. I’ll try to lay off. Besides….. I don’t want to hurt my best friend.”

I looked at her in shock. “B…..best friend?”

She smiled widely. “Yeah, you’re my best friend, duh!”

I smiled at her. I was in shock. Yes, I had offered to be her best friend, if she wanted, but I never thought she would actually want me to be her best friend. She has five mares as friends who would all make way better best friends than me!

And I thought deeply. This unicorn took me into her home, made me feel welcome and makes an effort to make me happy when I’m sad, and now has confessed her feelings for me. I have GOT to do something special for her. But what?

I then smiled at her. “So, Mrs. Egghead, what about that magic 101?” I smirked at her.

She rolled her eyes. “You know, just because everypony thinks Rainbow Dash is cool, acting like her doesn’t make you cool. Anyway, let’s go outside!”

I complied and walked to the patch of grass outside. She used her levitation spell to bring a vast assortment of books. They were all different colors, different sizes.

“Jeez Twi, how long have you been collecting the books in the library? And how’d you get them, some of them look ancient!”

She smiled at me. “Since I was a small filly. I love books Jordan, they comfort me. There’s nothing better in the world to me than a new book. The smell of the ink and paper, the feeling of the paper as I touch it, the excitement of reading it for the first time. Books are my love in life!”

I nodded at her. I could relate very much to how she felt with video games. Every time I got a new video game back home, I would play if for days on end until I got tired of it (This was especially the case with Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland, I love that game!).

I smiled. “You know Twi, I’ve never been very into books. But whenever I did find a book I liked, it was like they consumed my attention. So I do know how you feel.”

She smiled at me before she laid the books out. “There are a couple different ways we can start and, quite honestly, it all comes down to what sounds the most interesting to you. So look at them and decide, ok? I’ll answer any questions you have.”

I nodded and started looking. One book talked about defensive spells, such as magical barriers called Wards, another about transfiguration (with an example of turning a bird into an orange), another about offensive attacks (nothing that can kill, just simple beams of magic that can stun and/or repel an enemy).

There was one that especially caught my eye, however. I looked at it and brushed the dust off the cover with my hoof.

I read the title out loud. “The Salute to Truth spell?” I put a hoof to my chin curiously. Twilight grabbed the book and sighed.

“I didn’t mean to grab this one. This is very sensitive spell. I barely ever use it. It….. acts as a lie detector. If any pony you talk to when using the spell is lying, your horn will spark a red color. It….. is a very immoral spell.”

I then got even more curious. “I could always know the truth! This could be a very useful spell! Teach it to me Twilight, please!”

She rubbed her chin with her hoof and sighed. “I don’t know, Jordan. It’s a very difficult spell, besides the fact that it’s wrong to use…..” she continued to contemplate.

I held her hoof in mine. I gave her the best puppy dog eyes I could. “Please Twi?”

This made her heart melt. She groaned and sighed. “Fine, but you owe me big time!”

I sprang up in excitement. “YAY! Oh, this will be SO awesome!”

She chuckled. “Ok ok, calm down there boy. Magic requires lots of concentration, not energy.”

I complied and started to focus on my breathing to calm myself down.

“Before I can teach you this spell, I need to teach you the basics of magic. Stand right here and look at the tree, ok?

I did as she said, looking right at said tree.

“Now. Read this book. See the description of the spell? I’m going to let you in on the secret of magic Jordan.”

I looked at her curiously before she laughed.

“The secret is that there is no secret! Truly, all you have to do is think deeply for what you want to happen, and with enough focus, it will happen. Once your horn starts to glow and your magical aura appears, try to focus your aura onto the object. So, try to do something to that tree. Anything you want.”

I then closed my eyes, and started to think. What to do with this tree….. hmm. I decided, and started to concentrate.

I groaned as I focused on what I wanted to happen. Finally, after a couple seconds of focus, BAM. My horn lit up and a surge of magical energies left it!

The beam of energy left my horn and hit the tree. In an instant, the tree changed. It transformed, it discombobulated. Then, it happened. It became part of the library, an extra wing if you will!

It was essentially now a hollow, new room, an addition to the library. Twilight had her mouth open in shock.

“H…..how in the name of celestia did you do that?!” she yelled. “I’ve tried to do just what you just did before, expand the library, and I couldn’t even do it! And this is your first time trying magic!”

She then looked at me. “Jordan, do you realize what this means?!”

“What?” I asked, innocently enough.

“You have so much magical ability, it’s hard to comprehend! With enough work and practice, you could become as powerful as the princess, more powerful than I am! That spell you performed is an expert level, even I can’t perform it! Transfigurating objects like that is a very advanced level of magic.”

I gasped. “Really?! You’re serious?!” I then jumped around with joy. This was incredible! I….. had potential. No one has ever told me I had potential before, I was always just worthless.

I felt like a child who just got a new toy to play with, I was so naively excited!

“Ok Twi, what now?”

She smiled. “Now, you try the spell you wanted. This spell is more difficult, because you’re trying to alter yourself, a living pony, instead of an inanimate object. You need a lot more focus. Go ahead, try.”

I started to think deeply, once again. “I want to be able to see and tell the truth no matter what!” I told myself, over and over again, until finally, half a minute later, I felt something in my brain click.

I smiled at twilight. “Let’s go test it out!” I said happily.

She nodded and followed me to town.

-MEANWHILE, CELESTIA’S THRONE ROOM-

Celestia was sitting on her throne, humming softly as she thought. She was deep in her thoughts, occupied and consumed by them.

She was thinking of many things, but the things that stuck out were mainly about her student.

“I hope Twilight Sparkle is doing ok today, I have not spoken to her face to face in some time.”

Then, as if by fate or, in this case, magic, a note appeared in front of the princess.

Intrigued, she opened it and started to read.

“Dear princess celestia. I am pleased to inform you that Jordan is fitting in very well to ponyville. He has made an abundance of friends, and seems happy. However, I worry that his smile might be a forced, fake one, princess. Last night, he confessed some things to me. Some very sad, heart wrenching details of his past. I worry about him and just want to make him happy. Is there any way you could help me plan a surprise for him? I want to show him that we love and appreciate him! Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”

The princess smiled and started to write back. “Dear Twilight Sparkle, I am so glad that Jordan is fitting in to ponyvile well. I can sense your worry, and I feel quite similar. I worry about Jordan often. I think a special celebration would lift his spirits immensely! Perhaps, his birthday is coming up? Don’t be afraid to ask him and report back to me! Princess Celestia.”

With that, she sent the note to Twilight, smiling as she thought about her.

-MEANWHILE, BACK IN PONYVILLE-

Twilight and I were inside Sugarcube corner, waiting patiently for pinkie to come downstairs. And boy did she.

She hopped down the stairs like a Tigger, and hopped right to us. “HEY GUYS!” she shouted. “What’s going on!?”

I then noticed her hold something in her hoof. Once she saw that I noticed, she quickly hid it.

I glared at her. “What’s that pinkie?”

She blushed. “Oh, uh nothing! Absolutely positively nothing!”

Then, my horn flashed red. I smirked at pinkie. “Liar, tell the truth.”

Pinkie’s lip quivered. “I swear, it’s nothing!” Red flash.

She held her quivering lip before shouting. “OK, OK! It’s a surprise I was going to give to Mr. Cake!”

“And? Why were you gonna give it to him?”

“Because he needed cheering up!” Red flash.

“OK, OK, because it’s his birthday”! Red flash.

She was now crying from the interrogation. “OK, BECAUSE HE AND MRS. CAKE ARE HAVING A BABY!” she cried out.

I looked at her flabbergasted. “A…..baby?”

She nodded at me and Twilight gave me a stern look. “JORDAN! What the hay!”

I gave an innocent look. “What?!”

She then growled and started to drag me out of the shop. “I’m so sorry about that Pinkie Pie!”

Pinkie Pie was crying now and ran upstairs, too upset to reply to us.

She dragged me to the tree outside and glared at me. “Why the hay did you interrogate pinkie pie?! She obviously was trying to keep it a secret for the Cake’s!”

“I’m sorry Twi, I just really wanted to know, I couldn’t contain myself!”

Suddenly, I saw Applebloom running in the street. I walked towards her and intercepted her.

She smiled when she saw me. “Howdy Jordan, whatcha doin?”

“Nothing, what about you, where you headed?”

“Why, I’m just headed to school!” Red flash. I smirked.

“Oh really? Doesn’t sound like you’re telling the truth. Where are you really headed?”

She flushed her cheeks and gulped. “No, really, I’m just headed to school Jordan!”

Red flash once again. “Tell me where you’re really headed Applebloom!”

She shook her head. “No! I won’t tell you!”

I then bombarded her with questions. “Sugarcube corner? Home? The library? The spa? The train station? Carousel Boutique? WHERE, WHERE, WHERE?!” I shouted.

Applebloom then started to cry. “L…..LEAVE ME ALONE!”

“Not until you tell me the truth!”

She was now crying harder. “I’m headed to Fluttershy’s cottage, to help her feed the animals! Gosh, why couldn’t ya just leave me alone!”

She then pushed me aside and ran away, with her mane covering her face. The scene made my heart want to stop beating.

Twilight tackled me to the ground in anger. “JORDAN!? What’s the matter with you?! You can’t keep going around bullying everypony into telling the truth! You need to stop!”

I scoffed and blew a puff of air. “Oh relax Twily, Applebloom will cry about it for five minutes then forgive me.” I gasped as I said this. Was this spell having different, negative effects on me?!

Twilight then glared. “Jordan, I think you messed the spell up when you initiated it. It’s having negative effects on your personality! You’re not usually this nasty to everypony!”

I just rolled my eyes. “Twilight, you’re being a bit over reactive, don’t you think?” I then mumbled. “Like usual…..”

Thankfully, she didn’t hear my mumble, but she did stare at me. “I am not being over reactive! This spell is messing you up, and I don’t like it!”

I just rolled my eyes at her again and continued walking. She didn’t have to like it! I liked having this new power. It made me feel so powerful!

“Oh come on Twilight, I know that you’re just jealous!”

She rolled her eyes. “Am not!” Red flash. I grinned evilly.

“LIAR!” I declared. She quivered her lips and shook her head.

“OK, maybe I am a bit jealous you can detect lies, but I sure am not jealous of how you’re treating everypony!”

I rolled my eyes again and ignored her, walking to Applejack’s. “I’m not treating anypony badly! Lying is wrong. If you lie you should tell the truth!”

We arrived at the barn and I waved at applejack. She saw me and walked over to me. “Howdy y’all, what’s goin on?”

Twilight puffed and blew her mane out of her face. “Captain over here tried magic for the first time today and discovered a spell he shouldn’t be using.”

“Really? What’s that?”

I grinned. “I’ll show you. Tell me, Applejack, have you ever told a lie?”

She shook her head. “No, never!” Red flash once again. Me and Twilight gasped, as she was the element of honesty, but I smirked, determined to know the truth.

“Liar! What lie did you tell?”

“Ah uh….. I told somepony ah liked their painting, when I didn’t! It was borin!” no flash, she was telling the truth.

“Hm….. Interesting. Thanks AJ, bye!”

She looked at me with some hurt in her eyes as I walked away.

I puffed my breath before I laughed a little evilly as we walked on the dirt road back to ponyville. “Don’t you see twilight, I am the crusader of truth! I can tell whenever anypony is lying! This is great!”

Twilight looked at me with her mouth agape and stared. “Jordan….. what is happening to you?!”

I shrugged her off and walked towards town. “Nothing is wrong with me, I’m fine!”

She wasn’t buying it though. She could tell something was wrong.

As I walked through town, I decided to do something devious.

I saw Vinyl Scratch talking to Octavia. I listened to their conversation.

“YEAH, this party is gonna totally rock! Don’t worry, I promise I won’t be a nuisance Tavi!” Red flash.

“SHE’S LYING!” I called out. Tavi glared at Vinyl and Vinyl chuckled nervously.

I then walked past the café to see a man and a woman in an argument. “I promise honey, I’m just going to Manehattan for business!” red flash again.

“HE’S LYING TO YOU!” I called out. The wife looked at me confused till I pointed to my horn. She then glared at her husband and smacked him.

I laughed a bit evilly again as I was walking through town. “This is great, so great!”

I looked back to see the wife shout something to her husband before standing up and walking off in a rage. I felt a little bad, but my mind….. was being….. altered.

My mind felt cloudy and hazy, like all my thoughts were being severed from my conscious. I was getting a bad headache and my vision was getting blurry. Maybe I was just getting tired?

It was now getting late, so I decided to go home and sleep. “Twilight, I think it’s time to go to sleep. Luna is about to raise the moon!”

She yawned tiredly and nodded. “Ok, let’s go back to the library then.”

I nodded and started to trot with her home. We both had our ears down tiredly, needing sleep. Once we walked inside, I was so tired I quickly passed out, right there on the floor. Twilight was too tired to try to levitate me to bed, so she got some pillows and blankets and tried to make me as comfortable as possible. Which I greatly appreciated.

A couple of hours later, I woke up suddenly. I was forcefully snapped awake and I grabbed my head and groaned in pain. It felt like someone was ripping my brain apart! I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was some sort of shadow being, and it was quietly laughing.

“Who’s there? Who are you? Oh Celestia, why does my head hurt?!” I cried out.

The creature walked to me and placed a shadowy hand over my mouth.

“Hush now, boy.” That was all the being said before I lost consciousness and fell back asleep.

Then, the creature disappeared.

-MEANWHILE, IN A FAR AWAY PLACE-

In the mysterious mountains in northern equestria, there was a castle. A grand, magnificent castle, one that could rival the castle in Canterlot in its sheer size and beauty. It stood many stories tall, and had so many rooms you could not count them all if you dared to try.

Without a guide, one could get lost in this castle very easily. However, that was never a concern. Why, you ask? Because NOPONY EVER WENT INSIDE.

The lord of the castle, who himself was as mysterious as the land surrounding his abode, was a powerful sorcerer. He cast a spell on his castle. Nopony from the outside world could see it, and nopony could tell it even existed.

He lived in a world of isolation, and he loved it. He embraced darkness, and soon, his dark shroud of black power would forever cripple the sun.

-MEANWHILE, IN PONYVILLE THE NEXT MORNING-

I awoke in my bed slowly, a painful headache shrouding my mind. My head felt like it was melting. I grunted loudly in pain, and I guess twilight heard me, because she came into the guestroom fast.

“Are you ok Jordan? You don’t look so good!”

Right then, I got angry. I don’t know why, but I got pissed. I started growling lowly.

“I’M FINE. GET OUT OF MY WAY!” I rudely pushed twilight out of my way, and she gasped.

“…..Jordan? Oh Jordan, what’s happened to you?!” She watched me leave the library and sighed before teleporting to me.

Outside, I was walking towards the middle of town, holding my head constantly. I found out the spell was still active, as it flashed red from time to time.

Twilight sighed as she followed me. “What can I do….. he’s getting out of control fast. Maybe I should head back to the library and find a reverse spell!”

With that, she hurried back to the library. She grabbed the spell book for the truth spell, sat down and got to work.

“Hmm….. let’s see. It has the description of the spell, what it does, the history of who created it….. Star Swirl the Bearded, of course.”

Then, she saw something that made her heart drop. She looked at the next page of the book in disbelief.

“WHAT?! This can’t be right! ‘Warning, may cause severe changes in personality, and unforeseen side effects’?!” She started to panic over what could happen to me.

“Oh no! I have to find a reverse, now!”

Thus, she began to study the book closely, hoping to find the cure. Around noon, she finally found it.

“I GOT IT! I just have to erase his memory of the spell for good! This should be easy!”

With that, she ran out to the door and started her search.

She walked everywhere in ponyville. Town hall, sugarcube corner, the spa, the café, the boutique, fluttershy’s cottage, sweet apple acres. But I was nowhere to be found.

None of the ponies had seen me today, and had no idea why Twilight was panicking. Rarity offered her some tea, which she quickly refused and when Applejack tried to ask why she was freaking out, Twilight just kept running.

She was about to give up hope when an idea crossed her mind. “CLAIRVOYANCE, THAT’S IT! OF COURSE!” with that, she focused her magic and initiated her spell.

All of a sudden, a ball of light emerged from her horn, and started to move towards the library.

“Huh? Why would he be in the library! This doesn’t make sense!”
She walked inside and stopped dead in her tracks at what she saw. I wasn’t Jordan anymore. I now had red, glowing eyes, and my mane and tail were messy and curled. I looked like a mess.

“Jordan, what happened to you?” she asked.

I growled, and in a deep voice, replied. “Ah, Twilight, I knew you’d try to take my new gift away from me. You really should close books when you’re done with them!”

She gave me a shocked look before it turned to a determined one. “Jordan, this spell is messing you up, and I need to stop it now before it ruins you forever!”

“Ah Twilight Sparkle, you foolish unicorn. I know you’re just jealous of true power and knowledge. You have spent all your life on pointless studying of books, hoping you would become something you are not. A success.”

Twilight gasped and a lone tear fell from her eyes. “You’re not Jordan….. Jordan might not have lived here for long, and I might not have known him for long, but I know he’s a good pony, and would never hurt my feelings!” She then got into a defensive position with her horn glowing. “So, I’ll only ask you this once. Who are you? Leave Jordan alone!”

‘I’ chuckled at her. “Oh my, you are one smart little pony Twilight Sparkle. But, for your sake, let’s hope you never cross my path again, lest you want to suddenly disappear from everyone you love. And no, I will not let this puppet go. I have further need of him, before I cut his strings!”

Twilight growled in anger and clopped her hoof on the ground. “LET HIM GO, RIGHT NOW! I’ll fight you!”

‘I’ chuckled again. “No. There’s not going to be any fight. Oh very well, I’ll release him for now. But he will be of further use to me later.”

With that, I was slowly released back to my normal self by the being that captured me. My eyes turned to normal, my mane and tail went straight, and I was back to normal.

However, Twilight had had enough of this whole incident.

“Twilight, where am I, what happened?”

She then charged up her horn and glared at me.

“I’m stopping the spell, come here!” I then opened my eyes wide, screamed no at her, and began to run.

I quickly began running away from her. My hooves beat against the dirt road hard with each walk I made.

“JORDAN, YOU GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW! THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!” she declared as she chased me.

Thus began a wild chase. I quickly ran to the town hall, and using some bricks that were conveniently poking out in various places and heights on the wall, I used parkour to carefully ascend the wall, to the top of the building.

I hid in the circular rotunda at the top, panting heavily. “She’ll never get me now!” I foolishly declared out loud.

She heard me, and then focused her magic down below. Suddenly, she teleported and appeared next to me.

“GAH, WHOA THERE!” I cried out as she surprised me. I was against the fence, cornered with nowhere to go.

“It’s over Jordan, no more lie detecting!” She was now charging up her horn, and I did a desperate move I would come to regret.

Using some Assassin’s Creed skills, I quickly leapt up onto the fence and, in one graceful move, jumped down off the building.

Twilight looked at me in shock as I fell. “NO, JORDAN!” she screamed as she thought I would surely die.

However, in one moment Ezio Auditore would damn sure appreciate, I landed in a hay bale below that was conveniently located.

“OW, OUCH!” I shouted out as I landed. I had landed in the hay stack, but let’s just say, what happens in a video game should stay in a video game.

The hay stack was surprisingly solid! It softened my fall and avoided my death, but it dang sure hurt my back

“Ouch!” I shouted. I tried to get up and move but I couldn’t. I think I had broken or at least severely hurt my spine!

Twilight saw that I wasn’t moving and gasped. “Oh no, I'm coming, Jordan!”

With that, she quickly teleported down to the ground and ran to where I was.

“Oh no, Jordan!” she was feeling around my body, trying to feel where the most damage was. She gasped as she felt my back. I wasn't too badly hurt, but there was some damage from where I had landed.

Twilight realized this and got very, very upset. “N…..no….. Jordan, no!” she said heavily before looking for anypony to help.

Turns out, me and Twi had made quite the ruckus with our chase. All of our friends happened to be watching. Rainbow, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, all of them.

They sprinted to us as fast as they could. “Aw no, what in tarnation happened to ‘im?!” AJ asked frantically.

I was panting as I tried to recollect my senses on the ground, gasping for air as it was hard to get any.

Twilight sighed. “He was using the lie detecting spell he used on you, Applejack, and well….. something crazy happened to him and I tried to get the spell to stop, and I chased him and he jumped and he’s hurt!”

“Well, we better get him to the hospital then!” Rarity declared.

“Yeah, he isn’t lookin too good!” Rainbow added in.

“Oh, he looks in so much pain.” Fluttershy cooed at me.

Twilight sighed. “I just have to get rid of the spell before we take him to the hospital”

I opened my eyes wide as she said this. I didn’t want to lose my power! And they would never understand why!

So, I quickly took action. I started to roll in the grass, to my left, to get away from them, army commando style.

The mane six looked at me funny for a second before following me. “Jordan, why are you acting so weird? Just let Twilight do her spell!” Rainbow yelled at me. Applejack quickly put her hoof on my stomach to get me to stay still.

“NO, I’m not giving up my power!” I yelled back.

“POWER!? Do you have any idea what this power has done to you!? It’s made you say rude and hurtful things to me, you got possessed by somepony, and it drove you to jump off the top of town hall to get away from me! WHY DO YOU WANT THIS SPELL SO BAD?”

I whimpered as she yelled at me and sighed. “You wouldn’t understand! None of you would!”

They all surrounded me and, right as I closed my eyes, thinking they were going to attack me, they surprised me with a tight group hug.

“Jordan, we’re your friends. We don’t care what you think or say or do, we love you, and we just want to help you and be your friend. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in Ponyville or what happened to you in the past. We love you and just want to help you.” Twilight said.

I sighed and fought back tears as I felt them come. “Ok….. fine. I just liked the spell and wanted to keep it because it made me….. feel secure, because I’ve been lied to my entire life, ok!? It just felt good to know when I was being lied to, because I hate lying! Dishonesty makes me sick, and I just liked the ability to know a lie. I didn’t mean to interrogate anypony or make them feel bad!”

Applejack came to my side and rubbed my mane softly. “Sugarcube, ah understand how it feels to be lied to. Believe me, ah do. Why do you think ah’m the element of honesty? Ah hate dishonesty also. So that’s why ah always try to be honest. But people sometimes just have things they don’t want others to know, like when Applebloom was going to Fluttershy’s yesterday. You just have to let somethings go, sugar.”

I groaned as I realized she was right and facehoofed hard. I felt like such an idiot! “You’re right Applejack. I should have just realized, I can’t always know the truth. I should have never interrogated anypony, and it was wrong of me. I’m so sorry guys, I’m a horrible friend!”

Rarity stepped in. “No, you most certainly are not a horrible friend Jordan! Ever since you’ve come to Ponyville, you have done nothing but good for everypony here! And yes, while this incident was troublesome, it doesn’t make you any less of a stallion!”

Everypony went Mhm and nodded their heads in agreement.

I was fighting tears. I had just screwed up so badly and hurt so many pony’s feelings, and they were willing to forgive me. Just like that! They’re truly incredible friends, and I hope nothing like this ever happens again.

I sighed and looked at Twilight. “Twilight, I give up…… go ahead and do your magic. I just want to get to the hospital so the pain can stop! Dag nabbit my back hurts!” I declared.

Twilight nodded and charged up her horn before touching it to my head slowly. I felt the magic pulse throughout my whole head, into my brain. After I let out a light cry, it was all over. I couldn’t remember the spell, and I felt happy again, which I showed to the girls with a blissful smile.

“Hey there everypony, nice weather we’re having, huh?”

They all cheered and hugged me. “Oh Jordan, I’m so glad you’re ok! I thought something would be wrong forever!” Twilight announced.

I looked down and pouted, my ears drooping. Everypony gave me concerned looks.

“What’s wrong?” Pinkie Pie asked me.

“Don’t you ponies see? This is just another reason why I’m not meant to be here. Why I’m not supposed to be friends with you! This just proves it. I’m a monster! And a monster can never live happily.”

Applejack then made me look at her. “Jordan, you ain’t no monster, and you do deserve to be our friend! Someday you’ll see it sugarcube, ah promise!”

I sighed, before I smiled widely and tackled her into a tight hug. “Thank you Applejack, you’re such a great friend. I’m so lucky that I got the chance to move here and become friends with everypony.”

Everypony then joined in on me and AJ’s hug and made it an amazing group hug.

Twilight then started to levitate me. “C’mon, we need to get you checked out at the hospital mister!”

With that, everypony galloped to the hospital. I was there for about an hour while the doctors tended to my back and screened me, but I was good to go afterwards.

The doctor gathered the girls around. “Listen, he’s going to be fine, but his back is pretty hurt and he'll be in pain. He should be ok to walk, but I need you girls to take careful care of him. If it seems like he’s having problems, bring him back here A.S.A.P, ok?”

Twilight nodded at him. “You can count on us, Doctor!”

After that, everypony met me in my room as I was getting ready to leave. I smiled at them. “How does lunch at the café sound everypony? If Jordan’s feeling better, and I think some time hanging out would be good for us!” Twilight announced.

Everypony smiled and nodded in agreement, so we all walked as a group to the café. Well, minus Dash who flew overhead but, nevertheless, we were all friends walking.

We walked inside, got a table and sat down. Clockwise, it was Me, Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rarity, Rainbow, and Applejack. Yep, I was sandwiched between Twilight and Applejack.

After we ordered our food, I realized something. Besides Applejack with the apple bucking, I haven’t spent hardly any time bonding with any pony! So, I decided to announce something.

“Hey, girls. Listen. I’ve been thinking lately and, I realized that besides when I was apple bucking with Applejack, I really haven’t been spending time with any of you ponies. So, I’m gonna make an effort to spend more time with each of you, if it’s fine with you that is, I know you all have jobs and responsibilities and I don’t want to get in the way of them!”

Everypony immediately shook their heads. Rarity spoke first. “Oh nonsense Jordan, I think I speak for everypony here when I saw we can always spare time for you!”

Fluttershy smiled at me sweetly. “I need help with some of the animals at my cottage, and I would just love having you there!” I smiled at her. Fluttershy was just so cute, she made my heart melt!

Rainbow nodded. “Yeah! I know you don’t have wings so it’s hard to get a hold of me, but if you ever want to hang out, use this!” She handed me a whistle in the shape of her cutie mark.

I gawked at it for a few seconds. “A whistle? Interesting.”

“Yeah, just blow it whenever you want me to come and see you kid! We can hang out any time!” she gave me a little noogie and smiled.

“Thank you Dash, it means a lot to me!”

We then stopped talking for a bit and ate our food. I had a grass, sunflower, carrot, lettuce and cherry salad. That’s one thing that sucked, having no meat. “I could sure go for a juicy burger, or pizza, or…. No, stop it Jordan! Enjoy the food and stop making yourself drool!”

I listened to myself and finished my salad happily with a little burp. “Scuse me!” I said.

The girls giggled and continued eating. Twilight only stopped to say; “Wow, did you inhale all of that? You ate that whole salad in like five minutes!”

I chuckled and rubbed my neck. “Yeah, I always had a problem with eating too fast.” I smiled a bit.

The girls just all collectively rolled their eyes, smiling at me. Then, Twilight got an idea.

“Hey, Jordan, would you be interested in helping me with my letter to the princess this week? It seems you learned more about friendship then I did.”

I dropped my fork onto the table and gasped. I stared at my bowl for a while before speaking in astonishment. “You…. Want me….. To help you write your friendship report!? Oh my gosh, Twi, I’d be so honored!”

She smiled at me. “Good, I knew you would. We’ll do it once we get home, ok?”

I gave her my best salute. “Yes ma’am! Everypony done with their food?”

The girls all nodded and, as they got out their bits to pay for the food, I got an idea. “Girls, no, wait. This is on me. Think of it as me saying ‘I love all of you, and I’m sorry for acting like such an idiot today’, ok?”

They all looked at each other and, as Twilight started to speak for the group, I silenced her. “No, no resisting. I’m paying for lunch. Nopony is stopping me.”

They sighed in defeat and let me pay the waiter. I paid nearly ¾ of my bits, but I didn’t care. It felt nice to do a good thing for the girls, they really mean so much to me and I’m just glad I found a way to show it.

We all left the café and I looked at Twilight. “Twilight, would you be willing to help me practice my magic more? I really want to get better!”

She smiled at me. “Of course Jordan, let’s just get home and write that letter!”

“Well, I better get going, I need to clear the rest of the clouds before nighttime, see you guys!” Rainbow called out before she rocketed away.

“Yeah, I need to help the cakes finish their cookies for a party! See ya!” Pinkie the bounced happily to sugarcube corner.

“I need to go home and feed Angel, he gets very cranky without his dinner!” Fluttershy said before she walked home.

“And I simple must finish my dress order before tonight, it’s critical! Bye, you two!” Rarity called out as walked to the Boutique.

“Yeah, and ah need to help Applebloom back home, she insisted on redoing her bedroom. See y’all!” she then galloped to the farm.

Twilight looked at me and giggled a bit. “Looks like it’s our turn to go home now.”

“Yep, seems that way” I said as I followed her to the library.

We walked inside, welcomed by the sweet smell of the candles. Twilight went upstairs and grabbed some ink and paper and a quill.

“Jordan, will you be my scribe?” she asked.

I smiled at her warmly. “Of course Twi, but excuse me if my writing sucks!”

She giggled and started talking as I took the quill in my mouth.

“Dear Princess Celestia, sometimes, the pain of dishonesty gets to some ponies. Nopony likes being lied to, especially by their friends. But sometimes, there are just some situations in life where a simple fib every now and then are necessary. As my friend Jordan learned this week, trusting your friends and letting their secrets be their own is a virtue to have indeed!”

She finished speaking and I finished writing. I smiled at her. “Wow twi, that was a good letter! The princess will love that!”

She giggled. “Thank you, I hope she does” she said before she used her magic to send the letter. She then smiled at me.

“So, how about more magic practice? If you’re up for it.”

I smiled widely. “Of course I am! What should we do first?”

“Well, let’s have you practice levitation. I’m going to place this book about ten feet in front of you. I want you to try to levitate it back into its place on the book shelf. Just focus your magic, and when you buildup enough magic in your horn, it will levitate. Got it?”

I nodded and started to close my eyes as I focused on the book. After a few seconds I felt my horn glow and some energy trickle out of it. It kept building up pressure until finally, BAM, magic surrounded the book!

It felt like there was ten pounds of pressure on my horn, it was hard to move my head. But, I strained it upwards and lifted the book up. I rolled my head slightly to turn the book upright, and slowly slid it into its place on the shelf.

Twilight smiled and applauded me. “Very well done, student!” She smirked a bit.

I rolled my eyes. “Student? Not in your wildest dreams! I bet I could school you in magic!” I challenged.

She just rolled her eyes. “You’re still in my magic kindergarten, so calm down and do your homework. Now, I want you to levitate these two books, switch them, and then place them back. Got it?”

I nodded and went through the same procedure. As I levitate the books, I found it challenging to alternate them, it was like juggling. It took some work, but I finally got it and placed them back.

“Good, you’re a fast learner! Now for the hard part” she said as she blindfolded me. “Now, do it blindfolded!”

I did the procedure again, and levitated the books once again. It was MUCH harder without my sight. I ended up dropping the books seven or so times, but finally after many attempts, I did it!

I cheered in happiness as I removed the blindfold. “I DID IT, I CAN’T BELIEVE I DID IT!” I then ran to Twilight and hugged her tightly. “Best. Teacher. Ever!”

She giggled and hugged me back. “Easy boy, down now. We better get some sleep, that took a long time, it’s night time already!”

I agreed, and after saying our goodnights, we both went to our beds.

As I laid in bed, cozy and under the covers, I couldn’t help but think about things. I mean, this is amazing. I’m here! I’m in equestria, I’m a pony! I’m friends with the mane six, I’m talented with magic, I feel so happy.

Then I got to thinking about other things. Like, what I’m good at. Everypony else has a cutie mark, but I don’t. Will I get mine soon? Will I discover my special talent? What will it be? It could be anything! Back home I had some skills, but they’re things that can’t transfer to this land, like video games, or computer software use. I guess it’ll come eventually though.

Then I also got to thinking about Twilight, and how much she means to me. She really is my best friend, and I just have to do something to make her see how much she means to me! I’ll buy her a gift, yeah, that’s it!

The only problem is that I spent all of my bits earlier on lunch. Well, almost all. I had very few left, and I don’t know how to get more.

Maybe somepony around town will have a job I can do for bits. That would be awesome. Yeah, things will work out!

Everything is gonna be alright from here on out, and I can’t wait for tomorrow to come!

The End Of Chapter Five

Author's Note

Believe it or not, this chapter used to be ever worse than it is now. A few months ago, i re-wrote this chapter because i just couldn't handle how bad it was. On to chapter six, cya there.

Chapter 6: Griffin The Brush Off

It’s now been a whole week since that incident with the truth spell. Everything is fine now for the most part. Twilight and I still aren’t together though.

I’m just not ready. She’s an amazing pony, but I don’t trust myself. Not yet. I still need to change and find out more out about me. I still feel so young, and so uneducated in certain things such as friendship. What is true friendship? The kind the girls experience? Maybe I can learn and find out.

In the past week, nothing really eventful has happened, minus Pinkie Pie being crazier than normal.

I don’t know why….. but I have a feeling something bad is going to happen soon. My time thus far in Ponyville has been far too perfect to be true. I’m not sure when, but it will happen.

-GOLDEN OAK LIBRARY, NIGHTTIME IN JORDAN’S DREAMS-

I was once again floating in a never ending, gray, foggy, sightless, pitiful, ugly, abyss. It went on forever, and ever. I felt so weightless and emotionless as I floated here. Why must I come to this place every single time I’m cursed with a dream?

All of a sudden, like last time, the scene exploded to life and I was jerked into it.

I looked around me curiously. I was a human again! A small third grade child. Sinks….. stalls….. urinals….. a bathroom? What am I doing in a bathroom?

All of a sudden, WHAMO. I got punched hard and knocked to the floor. I cried out in pain and I felt tears fall from my cheeks, hot, salty, tears of pain. Suddenly, I was picked up by the shirt collar, choking as I was lifted. I was then punched right in the gut. I coughed up a tiny bit of blood from the brutal punch, before the bully grabbed my arm and twisted it harshly behind my back.

As I wriggled and cried out in pain, he only made the pressure on my arm worse. I could sense him grin behind me, despite my pain. “You fat little loser, this is for telling the teacher I cheated on my test!” He then relentlessly bent my arm, almost breaking it. It was dislocated.

I screamed in pain, and laid on the bathroom floor, hoping someone would hear me. The bully’s friend kicked me in the stomach before they left.

I stayed there for a few seconds, feeling all of the pain before the scene shifted again.

I was in the principal’s office, alongside my mother and father, with my arm bandaged. They were talking to him about what had happened, and I listened closely.

“Yes, I see, well unfortunately, my hands are tied. I can’t take administrative action against Vinny and Justin, their stories both match over your son’s story. I’m inclined to believe he’s the liar. All I can do is serve them a lunch detention.”

My mother was about to belt the guy, or yell at him, or something, but my father, keeping his cool, calmed her down and glared at the principal. “Yeah, ok, that’s fine. But we’re transferring our son to another school. I hope you realize you just lost one of your star students!”

The scene shifted, once again. I looked around, but didn’t know where I was. Suddenly, I realized I was at my first high school. Oh, all the bad memories of this place!

I was in the hall, walking to my biology class. I must be in tenth grade. I walk to the classroom and, right before I enter, I hear a voice I used to love. My best friend, Joshua.

He walks up to me, with a pissed off look on his face, fists clenched, his bitch of a girlfriend behind him. Oh, I knew her. I used to sit next to her, in this class.

“JORDAN, you been talkin shit about me and my girl on Facebook you little fuck!?” I just stared at him, in shock, fighting back tears as he yelled at me.

He got madder that I didn’t respond and shouts. “ANSWER ME GODDAMMIT!”

I was now crying. “NO, I FUCKING DIDN’T!”

“BULLSHIT, I’ve seen it on my girlfriend’s facebook! And you’ve been hitting her in class!”

He seemed to take a deep breath, and calmed down slightly, but was still angry and pissed.

“GET YOUR ASS IN YOUR CLASS” he said, as he pointed to the door. I ran into the room, slammed my backpack onto my desk, and ran to the bathroom via the other door from where I came in.

I ran to one of the stalls, and cried. Joshua, who used to be my best friend, almost fucking jumped me, because his girlfriend hates me for no reason and lied to Joshua, probably so he would beat me up!

She makes my blood boil, I hate her so much!

After a while, I went back to class. A few of the kids in my class saw what happened, and were talking to the teacher. “There’s some bullying going on out there Mrs. Bartlett, you need to do something.” Was among what was said. But the stupid woman thought they were joking, and never did anything.

I then screamed, as if I was taking charge of my own dreams. “NO, NO MORE! PLEASE WAKE UP! WAKE UP!” I was just in desperation. I thought these wounds had scarred and healed long ago, but this nightmare was forcibly ripping them open again, making me bleed.

However, I didn’t wake up. But, something incredible happened.

All of a sudden, the scene ended, and I was again standing in the perilous, grey abyss. Then, Princess Luna, in the flesh, flew to me. It was amazing to see her. She obviously wasn’t as tall as Celestia, but she had a tall stature, and a regal figure.

“Hello there. You don’t know us, but we are the Princess of the Night, and dreams in equestria. It is our duty to raise the moon, and protect everypony from nightmares. We are sorry we didn’t get to you sooner, we were very busy with poor Applebloom.”

Oh no, what happened to applebloom? “Uh…. What was applebloom having a nightmare about?”

“Oh, she had a nightmare that her family’s farm burned down and they were homeless. We used our magic and power of dreams to have the barn restored so she could sleep easy. Then we came to your dream and….. my my. Quite interesting, to say the least.”

I then opened my eyes wide. Oh shit, did she see me and the other humans in my nightmare?! If she did, everything will be lost!

“We’re so very sorry those ponies were bullying you, that was very unnecessary!” she declared. Phew, she saw them as ponies. Good, because I would be RUINED if she had seen any humans or anything from earth.

“Yeah….. it still all hurts to think about sometimes, but it is what it is. It happened and nothing can change all of it. So, I try to just ignore it. By the way, princess, I must say it is an honor to meet you.”

I then bowed before her, and she smiled at me warmly. “Thank you my child, but the pleasure is all ours! My sister has told us all about you, Jordan. The champion of the haybucking competition in Appleloosa, Twilight Sparkle’s new assistant. You have made quite a name for yourself so far!”

I blushed a little bit and smiled. “Thank you princess. I try to just be as nice as I can to everypony. I don’t think much of it at all. Say though, can you do me a favor and wake me up? I think I’m ready for the day.”

She nodded. “Of course. Just so you know, it’s about six in the morning. Have a good day, Jordan, we shall be around if you have any more nightmares!”

“Thank you Princess Luna, I hope to meet you again. Bye now!” With that, I slowly exited the dream world and woke up.

I slowly woke up, the light from the surrounding world assaulting my eyes with its brightness. I blinked the tiredness from my eyes and sat up, yawning tiredly.

After a couple minutes of gathering my bearings, I got out of bed, used the bathroom, washed up, showered, brushed my teeth and walked downstairs.

As I walked downstairs, I felt something weird tickle my upper lip. What the heck….. This is weird.

I got a mirror and inspected it. GASP. I somehow grew a blue mustache, and I didn’t even notice!

“WHOA, A MUSTACHE! And it’s blue and white like my mane! This is SICK!”

Not only that, but I had a sick new beard that was blue. Well, it wasn’t a true beard. It was a strand of beard hair that was one strand on my lower chin, by my neck, and it hung down like a dragon’s kind of beard.

Oh man, Twilight and the others will get a kick out of this!

I then walked downstairs and saw Twilight reading a book in her chair. I smirked and walked to her. “Twilight?”

She looked away from her book and in my direction.

“I mustache you a question!” I giggled as I showed her my new man hair, and she rolled her eyes.

“Very funny. How did you get the mustache and beard?”

I shrugged, not honestly knowing. “Beats me, I just realized I had it this morning. Pretty manly, don’tcha think?”

She giggled a bit. “Maybe a little. It does fit you. It’s probably a side effect of what happened last week. There might be other changes as well.”

After an awkward moment of silence, I piped up. “So, did you sleep well Twi?”

She nodded. “Yes, I had a very nice dream as a matter of fact. What about you?”

My ears lowered sadly and I sighed. “More nightmares….. memories, bad memories, of my past. Princess Luna actually came into my dream and I got to meet her though, so that was interesting. She’s a very nice lady.” I smiled.

Twilight nodded. “Luna is very nice, she cares about everypony, doesn’t want ponies to have nightmares. Also, Jordan, I have a question. Why is it you have a blank flank?”

I opened my eyes wide. Crap, this is the first time anyone’s noticed. I answered truthfully. “Well, I guess I just never found my talent Twi. Maybe I never will….. who knows?”

She got up and gave me a hug. “You’ll find it, I know you will. Everypony gets their cutie mark at some point, you are no exception to the rule.”

I nodded at her and hugged back. “So, how did you get yours Twilight? What does it represent?”

She pulled away and thought for a moment, placing a hoof on her chin. “I’m actually not sure. It’s obviously a star, which I believe represents my last name of Sparkle more than anything. Maybe it represents how seriously I take my studies?”

I shrugged. “Makes sense to me. When did you get it?”

“I got it when I was about 7 years old. I had just been selected by the princess and had been studying for a couple weeks.”

I nodded. “At least YOU know what YOUR talent is.” I said sadly as my ears dropped and I hung my head.

“Jordan, I’m certain you’ll find your talent. Just try to think of something you’re good at, ok?”

I nodded. “I will twi, I promise.”

Suddenly, we were interrupted by a familiar voice. “RAINBOW DASH!” I heard in an almost singing like voice. It had to be Pinkie Pie.

Me and Twilight both walked out the front door, and saw what was going on.

Pinkie bounced up to us. “Hey guys, have you seen Rainbow Dash anywhere, I need a super special favor from her!”

We both shook our heads. “Nope, sorry Pinkie Pie, haven’t seen her.”

Twilight then looked up. “Hey, isn’t that her up there?”

“Uh oh!” was all we heard, before a vortex of rainbow swirled around us as she dashed off, no pun intended. Pinkie Pie happily skipped in Dash’s direction.

I looked at Twilight with a confused look. “What the friv just happened?!”

She shook her head. “Beats me, Pinkie Pie is a pony her own classification.”

About two minutes later, both Pinkie and Dash came back to where we were, Dash with a bit of a sad/angry/remorseful look about her.

Suddenly, Dash got a lightning cloud and started moving it.

“Ok, over to the right. No, no, a little to the left. Oh, wait, back to the right.” Pinkie Pie said to Rainbow Dash, and she moved the cloud, albeit hesitantly as she was annoyed. “Now, a little leftish while staying rightly, STOP! Hmm. Maybe a few inches south. Now a couple centimeters north. Okay, one more smidgimeter to the-“

“PINKIE PIE!!!!!” Dash screamed out in irritation at the pink pony.

“Uh, I mean perfect. Now, wait for my signal!” Pinkie said, as she snuck around. After a few seconds, Spike came out of town hall. WAIT, SPIKE?! DIDN’T HE MOVE AWAY?! WHAT THE FRIV! This could be a MAJOR problem…..

Anyway, Pinkie gave Dash a signal and, Dash kicked the cloud, making lightning appear and scaring the living daylights out of me, Twilight and Spike. Luckily, me and Twilight didn’t get the hiccups, but Spike wasn’t as fortunate.

He started to hiccup like crazy, dropped all the scrolls he was carrying, and pinkie smiled and laughed as he continuously hiccupped.

“Oh Rainbow Dash, we scared spike into getting the hiccups!” pinkie laughed.

Dash chuckled and Spike spoke. “Good one, Pinkie –HICCUP- Pie! –Hiccup- You’re always pulling a fast one –Hiccup- on me!”

He tried to pick up the scrolls, but the hiccups triggered his dragon fire breath, and he accidently sent the blank scrolls to the princess!

“Oh no, you’re not hurt are you?!” Pinkie asked in a worried tone.

“Naw –HICCUP- don’t be –Hiccup- silly, dragons are –Hiccup- fireproof!” spike continued his hiccups.

“Oh, okay, good!” Pinkie said. Pinkie and Dash started to bust out laughing.

He picked up scroll after scroll, but he just kept sending them, causing the two girls and even me to laugh hard.

“Have you ever SEEN anything more hilarious?!” Pinkie asked Dash.

“I can think of ONE thing!” Dash said, as she once again kicked the cloud, scaring pinkie into hiccups this time!

She screamed, and started to hiccup after a few seconds, laughing as she did.

Twilight sighed. “I’m going to go read a book.....” she started walking home but I stopped her.

“We need to talk Twi….. you, me, and Spike.”

So we did just that. The three of us went into the library and had a talk.

“I don’t understand, I thought you and the princess said that Spike ran away.”

Spike was just as confused. “Twilight, you sent me on a vacation to Canterlot, and now you’ve replaced me! Why?”

Twilight sighed. “Listen Spike, Jordan was homeless and needed a place to live. So, me and the princess had a plan where we would send you away for a few weeks, let Jordan get settled, and then when you came back, you’d both become friends.”

Spike got defensive. “NO Twilight, there’s only room for one assistant here! You have to choose between me and him, because I won’t share with somepony I don’t even know!”

I scoffed in shock and disbelief, before I walked upstairs and grabbed all my things, packing them up in a cartoon style over the shoulder travel bag.

“You don’t have to choose. My ass is out of here. Goodbye!” I then slammed the front door behind me. I heard Twilight cry as I walked away, but I didn’t feel bad. They should have told me and Spike, he and I could have tried to bond and become friends…..

I walked in town for a while. Past town hall, the boutique, sugarcube, I even walked past the spa and café. I walked for a few hours until I decided to head home. Then I realized, I have no home any more…..

I went to one of the alleys in town and sighed. There was even a cardboard box I could live in.

It then started to rain, seeming to match the tears dripping down my face, as I just realized I had no home, and would be seeing Twilight FAR less often.

I sniffled, and started to sing one of my all time favorite songs, by one of my all time favorite bands.

-SO FAR AWAY BY AVENGED SEVENFOLD HERE-

I sniffled as I finished singing, my face down on the floor of the box, my snout and muzzle hanging just outside of it on the pavement. They got covered in rain, as my cheeks drowned in tears.

Right then, I started regretting everything. I love Equestria, and I love the friends I’ve made. It’s all been so perfect, and I knew, I just knew, it was TOO perfect to last.

I just lost my home, and was a vagabond now. So, here I sit in this lonely cardboard box, in the rain, feeling dejected and alone, wishing I could go home.

Home, my real home. My family’s apartment on earth. I wish I could wake up on the nice, cozy couch. I wish I could play my games and listen to my music. I wish I could see my brother, my best friend in life, and tell him one last time, “I love you bro!” Or see if my sister is doing well in college. But no. I’m stuck here in Equestria, and I don’t know what I’m going to do from here on out.

It’s going to be a rough time. And it won’t be fun, it won’t be easy. But this is what god has planned for me, and I have a duty to serve the lord and follow his infinite wisdom.

I then laid my head down, muzzle and snout in the rain, and slowly fell asleep, the soothing scent of the rain putting me to rest.

-TWILIGHT’S POV, THE LIBRARY-

Twilight had tears streaming down her cheeks, as the orange pony left the library in an angry blitz. Her best friend, the pony she loved. She was very sad, but knew this was what had to happen. Spike BELONGED with her in the library, Spike was her little brother. Family has to stick together, before friendship. As much as it hurt, this is a reality that could not be avoided. Jordan had to move out and fend for himself, at least until, Twilight hoped, Spike and him got closer as friends and was comfortable with him staying there.

Spike sighed and hugged his big sister. “Twilight, I’m sorry, but you know I have a hard time with strangers. And one living here? I….. I just don’t think I could do it.” Spike reasoned.

Twilight rubbed her eyes to get rid of the tears and smiled at Spike. “I know Spike, and it’s ok. I’m just glad to have you home little buddy.” Twilight said as she nuzzled his cheek, which Spike gladly returned.

The more Twilight thought about it, the more she realized she might have over-reacted. It would be awkward not waking up every morning to meet Jordan in the living room, but that was the worst of it. She had, for the most part, gotten over her crush on him. It was still there, it would ALWAYS be there. She liked him, but for now, he was just a friend.

He was a strong stallion, and would be fine. Who knows, he might even be better off on his own!

“Nopony knows” Twilight thought to herself.

-JORDAN’S POV, A FEW HOURS LATER-

I suddenly became aware of the present moment, as I slowly and agonizingly woke up in my new home, the cardboard box. I sighed sadly as I realized where I was, and why.

As all the thoughts from earlier appeared into my mind once again, a new thought also came into my mind as I remembered my prayer.

Is it really all that bad? Or have I been given a new chance? Maybe this is a GOOD thing. Maybe this is a sign that I should reinvent myself! Maybe I should discover new things about myself. Get a job, get a new home, make stronger friends, try harder!

The more and more I thought about this, the more and more I got excited. I have the world in my hands, er, hooves, and I can make of it what I want! I am a free pony, no longer Twilight’s assistant!

“This is great!” I thought to myself. But suddenly, I was disrupted by the unmistakable voice of Pinkie Pie. She was talking with some other ponies and seemed very distraught.

“Rainbow Dash has this griffon friend and she’s being a REALLY BIG MEANIE!” Pinkie practically shouted at her friends.

“Pinkie Pie, are you sure that this friend of Rainbow Dash is really so mean?” Twilight asked calmly enough of the pink pony.

I started walking up to them, trying to make it seem like I’d walked THROUGH the alley to them.

“Hey everypony, what’s going on?” I asked, trying to pretend Twilight wasn’t there.

Pinkie wasted no time filling me in. “Rainbow Dash has an old friend visiting town, who’s a griffon, and she’s a giant meanie head!” Pinkie announced to me.

I thought for a moment. “Pinkie Pie, could it be that you’re just, oh, I don’t know, JEALOUS?” I asked her.

“NO! She keeps stealing Rainbow Dash away, she pops my balloons, and she told me to buzz off! I’ve never met a griffon this mean! Well, actually, I’ve never met a griffon at all, but I bet if I had, she wouldn’t have been as mean and grumpy as Gilda!” Pinkie cried out to us.

I thought for a few seconds about the situation. Hmm….. someone who’s mean, either in a bad mood or just naturally pissed off. What is a surefire way to improve someone’s mood?

Then, the idea came to me. “Pinkie, why don’t you throw Gilda one of your parties?! That will show her that you just want to be her friend, and it’s sure to improve her attitude!”

Pinkie gasped and hugged me tightly, so tightly I thought a rib popped. “OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH, JORDAN YOU’RE A GENIUS! I’LL GET STARTED RIGHT AWAY!”

With that, Pinkie dashed straight to sugarcube corner, so fast it made my head spin. Twilight giggled.

“Always the problem solver, I see.” I then chuckled back.

“Learned from the best, didn’t I?”

Twilight and I both looked away before I decided to break the silence.

“Twilight, I’m not mad, just so you know. Spike is your family, and he NEEDS you, he belongs in the library. If he doesn’t want me to be there, then I have to respect his wishes, no matter how much I may miss the library. But hey, I don’t think it will be all that bad! I mean, I have a chance here to really discover and reinvent myself. Being your assistant was good and all, but I feel like a new stallion!”

Twilight smiled at my words. “I’m glad Jordan. Who knows, maybe you’ll get your cutie mark! That would be something wouldn’t it?”

I nodded. “Yeah, it sure would. It could be ANYTHING though.”

I then got an idea and I placed a hoof to my chin. Maybe…..maybe I could help Pinkie prepare the party!

“Hey Twi, I’m gonna go help Pinkie set up the party. Talk to you later!” I said as I dashed to the shop.

When I arrived, she was already baking and setting up decorations. “Hey, Pinkie Pie, need any help?”

Pinkie turned around and bounced around happily once she saw me. “Sure! I need somepony to hang up this banner, can you use your magic to do it?”

I nodded and focused my magic on the banner, lifting it up and using a nearby hammer to hammer it to the wall. It read “Welcome to Ponyville Gilda!”

I smiled at the banner. Maybe Pinkie really took my words to heart and wanted to become friends with Gilda? I hoped so.

“Anything else Pinkie?” I asked, wanting to make myself as useful as I could.

Pinkie bounced again. “OOOH, OOOH, I need some pony to help me bake a cake! I was going to do it myself but with you it’ll be much easier!”

I groaned mentally. Baking…. Never my strong suit back home. I could never bake or cook right, even using a microwave was difficult, and I burned nearly EVERYTHING.

Still, I agreed, wanting to help my friend, and walked with her to the back of the shop.

It was a beautiful room. It was colored a delightful teal with shelves adorning the walls, multiple ovens, fridges, lots of baking supplies, etc.

I went to the table as Pinkie bounced around the room grabbing supplies. These included flour, eggs, milk, sugar, starch, and other various ingredients for flavor.

Pinkie stood next to me and, to my surprise, calmed herself down enough so her hooves were steady.

“Ok, first, crack the eggs into the bowl. Be careful, if you hit them on the side of the bowl too hard they’re gonna splatter onto the table! Do it gently, like so.” She they showed me, using just enough force to crack the shell and peeling the egg open from both sides.

“Your turn!” she announced. I tried to do just as she did, but I hit too hard and it landed on the table!”

“Ooooh, wasting product! If you worked for the Cakes, they’d fire you!” Pinkie giggled, but I had a pale look on my face, realizing I messed up.

“S…..sorry Pinkie Pie….. I just am not a very good ‘working with my hands’ pony is all.”

She then bumped me in the stomach with her hoof. “Oh relax silly, I was just joking with you! Ok, now that we’ve finished the eggs, pour the milk. I usually pour for about three seconds. Go ahead!”

I opened the milk carton and poured for three carefully measured seconds, making sure not to spill. I looked to Pinkie for approval before she placed her hooves over mine and tipped the carton.

“LITTTTTLLLLLEEEE more!” she said as she poured a little more, using my hooves to do the work.

I couldn’t help but smile as Pinkie did this. I figured she would tell me what to do and leave me to it, but she didn’t. She’s made it much more intimate than that. She’s helping me do everything, and I felt like I was with my mother baking brownies when I was younger. She had that effect.

We then finished preparing the cake this way, pouring in the sugar and vanilla extract and everything, her hooves on top of mine, guiding me, helping me whenever I seemed unsure of myself. Like a teacher.

We both poured the now lovingly mixed contents of the bowl into a baking pan, and together pushed the pan onto the rack inside the oven, smiling at each other the whole time.

I found Pinkie to, like Twilight, be intoxicating. She had so much energy, was happy all the time, and now showed me a more tender side. To make it better, her mane smelled of cotton candy, intoxicatingly.

“Hey, while this is baking, why don’t I show you around the house? I live here too y’know!”

I chuckled at her excitement and nodded. She bounced around happily. “Ok, follow me! All aboard the grand tour express!” She said as she led me up the stairs to the living quarters.

There were two rooms. The Cakes’s bedroom, and her bedroom. Her bedroom was big, adorned with party decorations of course, a bed and some posters.

She then held up something. “This is my pet alligator, Gummy! He has no teeth, so he can’t hurt you. He’s really sweet and I found him when he was a baby! He was so cute I just had to keep him I couldn’t leave him and he’s the best pet in the world!” she cheerfully exclaimed.

I chuckled and pet Gummy’s spiny back. I then looked at something behind her and started walking.

“Hey, is that a-AH!” I exclaimed as I tripped, making us both fall. When we landed, I was on top of her. Yes, I was on top of Pinkamena, Diane, PIE.

We both stared into each other’s eyes for a few moments. Her blue eyes were so gorgeous and I just lost myself in the power of their gaze, like a tractor beam. She gazed into my piercing, blood red eyes also.

For a moment, I thought something might happen. Something big, something that might change everything….. but then, BEEP!

The over beeped downstairs, and Pinkie gasped and jumped out from under me. “Ooooo, time to grab the cake!” She exclaimed as she bounced downstairs.

I sighed, a little sadly as the moment ended, and followed her downstairs.

Pinkie sighed a little. “You know, we had so much fun making this I wish it was for something special, not just a party for that meanie old griffon!”

I walked to her and pat her on the back. “It’s ok Pinkie Pie. It’ll all work in the end. At least this helped us become better friends!” I offered.

She seemed to agree, as she turned around gave me a tight hug. “I’m glad you moved to Ponyville Jordan, you’re a great friend!” This made me blush and smile. “Plus, that mustache is just about the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!” I chuckled as she added this in.

“You know what Pinkie Pie, I can definitely see us hanging out more often. People say bad things about you because you’re hyper all the time, but I guess it’s just because they don’t get you like I do!”

She smiled at me, before turning around and tending to the task at hand.

She grabbed the cake and carefully bumped it out of it’s pan. “OK, now we only need to make 24 more sheets for the six tiers!” she happily exclaimed, not caring how much work it took.

I, on the other hand, didn’t handle it so well, and fainted. This was going to be a long day.

(QUICK AUTHOR’S NOTE. I KNOW THAT IN THE LAST CHAPTER I SAID I WOULD BE FOCUSING ON RELATIONSHIPS LESS….. BUT THIS IDEA FOR THE SCENE WITH PINKIE CAME INTO MY MIND, AND IT WAS JUST TOO GOOD TO PASS UP! AFTER THIS I TRULY WILL BE FOCUSING ON IT LESS. PINKIE PROMISE!)

I was awakened by the feeling of something poking my stomach. I slowly blinked my eyes open to see that it was Pinkie poking me with a wooden spoon. I groaned as I slowly sat upright and looked at her.

“Hey there sleepy head! You weren’t waking up, so I went ahead and made the rest of the cakes myself. It was no problem at all!”

I then face-hoofed and sighed. “I’m so sorry Pinkie Pie, I’ll make it up to you somehow, I promise!”

“Okie Dokie Lokie Jordan! Sounds good!” she said as she finished the cake. My jaw hit the floor. It was a massive cake, apparently 6 tiers like she said, all iced, decorated and ready to go.

“Just one more thing! Jordan, will you do the honors of writing out the words in icing?”

I nodded and grabbed the piping bag, which is a tool cake decorator’s use. I went to the top of her ladder and, carefully with my magic squeezed the icing out in careful letter patterns.

“W E L C O M E T O P O N Y V I L L E G I L D A !”

I smiled happily at my handiwork. All the letters were straight and legible, and I made no mistakes. Pinkie giggled.

“Maybe you should work for the cakes, Jordan! You definitely have talent for decorating!”

I chuckled. “I’m not sure pinkie, it’s one thing to do it for fun, but doing it for a job where one mistake could get you fired might make it not so fun anymore.”

“Yeah, I understand that. Oh, hey, we better get the treats and cake to the party room!”

With that, we wheeled it over to the room and waited for ponies to arrive.

While we were standing there, I got to thinking. It’s amazing how life works sometimes. Here I was, feeling so down on my luck earlier after the incident with Twilight and Spike, and now look. I had one of the best days ever with Pinkie Pie. My day changed so fast. I’ll try to keep a positive attitude from now on!

At that moment, I had the urge to say something to her. She’d been so nice to me today, so selfless in showing me how to bake, so kind in showing me her home.

“Hey, Pinkie Pie?” She then looked at me.

“I….. I just wanted to say, thank you. Thank you for today, baking the cake, the decorating, the tour of the house, everything. I had a lot of fun with you.” I smiled a very happy, grateful smile.

I figured she would just return the smile, but she completely shocked me by tackling me to the ground and hugging me while I was pinned. “Oh Jordan, I had so much fun today too! I really hope you and I hang out more, maybe you can help me with some pranks!” she said with a gleeful smile.

I smiled back and decided to turn the tables on her. “Okie Dokie Lokie Pinkie. I do love pranks!”

She smiled at me, but didn’t let me back up as she gazed in my blood red eyes. “You know, you look REALLLLLYYYYY cute when you’re right there.” She giggled as she said this.

I blushed red to match my eyes and smiled. “You look good where you’re at, too Pinkie. But uh, could you let me up? Guests should be arriving!”

She nodded and let me get back up, just as the first guests started to arrive.

After a couple minutes though, no pony was arriving, so I made a suggestion. “Hey, how about we go and invite everypony to the party Pinkie? That could be fun!”

She gasped. “OH MY GOSH, once again, you’re a genius!” She quickly wrote about 40 invitations and got her basket before coming to me. “Let’s go!”

I smiled at her and we both walked out the door. Well, I was walking, but Pinkie being her hyper self was bouncing happily.

We gave one to Rarity, and then I blew the whistle Rainbow Dash gave me to get her attention.

She flew down to me, and Gilda was with her. “Hey Dash, Pinkie’s having a party in about 15 minutes. Make sure you bring Gilda!” was all I said before we headed to the library.

When we walked in, we saw Fluttershy was with Twilight, crying. I ran to them both.

“Hey, what the friv happened? Fluttershy, why are you crying?”

Fluttershy sniffled and responded with; “I was….. at a pond near my house, helping a mother duck and some baby duckies cross the pond, when I accidently bumped into some creature, I don’t even know her. She…..she got mad at me, and, and yelled at me and…..” she didn’t respond as she cried into Twilight’s shoulder.

“Based on Fluttershy’s description, I’m guessing it was a griffon she bumped into. And, the only griffon I can think of, is-“ she was cut off by Pinkie.

“GILDA!” Pinkie cried out. “I told you she was a gigantic meanie face!”

I then walked over to Fluttershy and nuzzled her, making her blush. “Hey, it’s okay Fluttershy. Why don’t you come to Pinkie’s party? It could be super fun.”

She nodded and smiled a bit. “Okay.”

With that, we all walked over to the corner and walked inside. Ponies were just starting to arrive.

Fluttershy walked up to Pinkie Pie as she was setting some last minute things up and greeting guests.

“Um, Pinkie Pie, about this party for Gilda. Umm... Do you really think it's a good idea? I mean–“ was all she got to say before Pinkie cut her off.

“Don't worry your pretty little head about mean old Gilda. Your auntie Pinkie Pie's got it all taken care of!”

“I'm a year older than you…..” Is all Fluttershy said in response to that statement.

I wasn’t very good at parties, or being social with strangers. So, I decided I would just lean against a wall, and watch everything unfold. It was probably for the best, after all.

I got some looks as I sadly leaned against it, but I just couldn’t bring myself to be a part of the party.

“Gilda! I'm so honored to throw you one of my signature Pinkie Pie parties, and I really, truly, sincerely, hope you feel welcome here amongst all us pony folk.”

Gilda grunted in pain, as Pinkie laughed. She’d used a hand buzzer on Gilda! It even made me laugh!

Ponies around the room laughed, and Pinkie giggled more.

“Before we start the party though, I need to tell everypony something! I didn’t do this party all on my own, I had a lot of help from Jordan!” I opened my eyes wide as ponies started to look towards me and smile. Pinkie smiled at me the most and motioned me over. “Get over here you silly goose!”

I smiled and walked towards her. When I got to her, she smiled. “Everypony who doesn’t know, this is Jordan, the most amazing friend I could ever ask for!” she looked at Gilda.

“Gilda, Jordan. Jordan, Gilda!” I extended my hoof out to her, but she just rolled her eyes. “Yeah, hi, dweeb.” I narrowed my eyes a bit angrily….. How rude!

Pinkie felt the same frustration and whispered to me. “Gosh she’s mean. Hoepfully this party helps!” I nodded and went back to the wall.

Right then, Dash, still laughing about the buzzer came over.

“Oh Pinkie Pie, the old hoof-shake buzzer. You are a scream!” Dash proclaimed to Pinkie.

“Yeah, uh, good one, Pinkie Pie.” Gilda said nonchalantly, trying to suppress an angry look in her eye.

“Come on G, I'll introduce you to some of my other friends.” Dash said to her friend.

“Right behind you Dash.” Gilda said before she looked at Pinkie. “I know what you're up to.” Gilda said to Pinkie angrily.

“Great.” Pinkie replied, plain as white.

“Rrrh! I know what you're planning.” Gilda said to get a response out of the pink pony.

“Well, I hope so. This wasn't supposed to be a surprise party!” Pinkie was still oblivious to Gilda’s anger.

“I mean, I've got my eye on you!” Gilda said angrily, trying to get something different from Pinkie than a wisecrack response.

“And I got my eye on you! Everyone, I'd like you all to meet Gilda, a long-time, dear friend of Rainbow Dash. Let's honor her and welcome her to Ponyville!” The ponies in the room cheered except for me.

Gilda was already starting to get on my nerves….. She’s so rude for no reason.

“Please help yourself.” Pinkie said to Gilda as they went to a table. Ah, the vanilla lemon drops I helped make with her earlier. She put in a secret ingredient and didn’t tell me what it was, though.

“Vanilla lemon drops. Don't mind if I do.” Gilda said as she popped one into her mouth, before her head turned red. “HOT!” She cried out.

“G, the punch!” Dash told her.

“Huh?” Gilda said as she tried to drink some punch out of the glass she grabbed, but it dribbled onto her!

“Well, whaddya know, pepper in the vanilla lemon drops, and the punch served in a dribble glass!” Pinkie said, apparently amused at Gilda’s dissatisfaction.

“Ha. Priceless. Priceless.” Dash said as she laughed.

“Yeah, hilarious.” Gilda said, obviously starting to get pissed off.

“Hey G, look, presents.” Dash said to her friend. However, it was yet another prank.

“Spittin' snakes. Hah, somepony pulled that prank on me last month.” Applejack proclaimed to the room.

“Ha ha. I bet I know who that was.” Gilda said with anger deep in her voice.

“You do?” Pinkie asked, innocently enough.

A bit later, we were on to the next activity. I was still in the background, watching.

“Cake time everypony.” Pinkie declared.

“Hey, can I blow out the candles?” Spike asked.

“Why don't we let Gilda blow out the candles, Spike? She is the guest of honor after all.” Twilight told Spike.

“Ugh.” Spike said, a bit sadly.

“Exactly!” Gilda shouted as she pushed everypony else out of the way so she could blow the candles out.

However, they never went out! Gilda continued to try to blow out the candles, blowing repeatedly, to no avail.

“Re-lighting birthday candles, I love that prank. What a classic.” Spike laughed.

“Now, I wonder who could've done that.” Gilda said, obviously about done with the pranks by now.

“Yeah, I wonder.” Pinkie said innocently.

“Mmm, who cares. This cake is amazing.” Spike said as he dug in. Literally, he ate holes in the cake!

“Spike!” Twilight scolded him.

“What? It's great, try some!” Spike offered her.

“Hey G, you're not upset about some silly candles, are you?” Dash finally asked Gilda.

“No way Dash, like I said, I'm down with a good prank.” She told Dash, trying to keep her cool.

“Come on then, let's have some cake.” Dash said.

Right then, I saw Gilda take Pinkie behind the cake!

“Hey, I'm watching you. Like a hawk.” Gilda warned.

“Why? Can't you watch me like a griffon?” Pinkie said in a wisecrack way.

“Hey y'all, it's pin the tail on the pony. Let's play.” Applejack said to the group.

“Oh, my favorite game. Can I go first? Can I have the purple tail?” Rarity asked cutely.

“Well, I am the guest of honor, and I'll have the purple tail.” Gilda replied, stuck-up like.

“Yeah, Gilda should definitely go first. Let's get you blindfolded.” Pinkie said as they started to blindfold her and spin her around.

“Hey what-ugh-what are you doing? Rrrah.” Gilda said as she got spun around.

“We're spinning you around and around and then you can pin the tail on the pony. Now just walk straight ahead and pin the tail.” Pinkie told her.

“Now just walk straight ahead and pin the tail. Hmph, yeah, right. This is another prank, isn't it? I'm going this way.” Gilda said in a mocking/hurtful way.

“Wait! The poster is this-“ Pinkie tried to tell her before Gilda went the opposite direction, as Gilda ended up setting of a slew of pranks and traps in a row, making her yell.

“Whoa whaa waah waah waaaaah!”

“Uh, Gilda? You pinned the tail on the wrong end.” Pinkie said when Gilda finally stopped. Gilda roared loudly and started freaking out.

“This is your idea of a good time?! I've never met a lamer bunch of dweebs in all my life. And Pinkie Pie, you! You are queen lame-o with your weak little party pranks. Did you really think you could make me lose my cool? Well, Dash and I have ten times as much cool as the rest of you put together. Come on Dash, we're bailing on this pathetic scene. Come on Rainbow Dash. I said, we're leaving.”

But Dash didn’t follow her, and had an angry look on her face.

“You know Gilda, I was the one who set up all those weak pranks at this party.” Dash declared, making ponies gasp.

“What?” Gilda asked, with disbelief in her voice.

“Oooooooooo.” Pinkie said as this unfolded.

“So I guess I'M queen lame-o.” Dash declared a bit coldly to Gilda. But Gilda just refused to accept the truth.

“Come on, Dash, you're joshing me!” Gilda declared.

“They weren't all meant for you specifically, it was just dumb luck that you set them all off.”

I decided to chirp in. “Yeah, Pinkie Pie set up some pranks too. Dash must have set hers up while we were inviting everypony.” I surmised.

“I shoulda known, that dribble cup had Rainbow Dash written all over it!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“No way. It was Pinkie Pie, she set up this party to trip me up, to make a fool of me.” Gilda proclaimed out of denial.

“Me? I threw this party to improve your attitude. I thought a good party might turn that frown upside down.”

I again chirped in. “Actually Gilda, the party was MY IDEA. I suggested it to Pinkie because you were acting like a bit of a bitch. You were popping her balloons, hogging Dash all to yourself and acting like an all around queen bee. NOT cool for someone who values coolness above everything else.”

Gilda then roared and walked towards me, looking like she was about to hit me. “You shut your mouth and stay out of this, you stupid dweeb lame-o! This is between me, Dash, and Pinkie Pie!”

I then got defensive and in her face. “Well here’s a newsflash, BIRDBRAIN, Dash and Pinkie are two of my closest friends, and when somepony has the gall to mess with one of them, I mess with that pony back! I’d never hit a girl, but if you keep testing my patience, I might just make an exception to that rule!”

Gilda stared me in the eyes for a few moments, before she realized I wasn’t joking and backed off.

“And you sure didn't need any help making a fool of yourself. You know, this is not how I thought my old friends would treat my new friends. If being cool is all you care about, maybe you should go find some new cool friends someplace else, especially after you just insulted one of my best friends!” Dash exclaimed at Gilda.

“Rrgh. Yeah? Well you, you, you are such a, a flip-flop: cool one minute and lame the next. When you decide not to be lame anymore, gimme a call! AND YOU!” Gilda yelled as she walked over to me. “This is for turning my best friend against me!” She roared before giving me a swift kick to my crotch, making me fall to the floor in pain. Gilda roared before she shrieked and flew out of the building.

Pinkie and Dash both ran to me and helped me up. “OHMYGOSH, Jordan are you ok!?” Pinkie asked worriedly.

I growled a bit and nodded. “Yeah, fine. She’s lucky she took off or I might have made good on my promise!”

“Not cool.” Dash declared to the party.

“Wow, talk about a party pooper.” Spike exclaimed.

“Gotta agree with you there, Spike.” Was all I added.

“Wow, what was that about?” Twilight asked rhetorically.

“I'm sorry everypony, for bringing Gilda here. I didn't know how rude she was. And Pinkie Pie, Jordan, I'm really sorry she ruined that awesome party you put on for her.”

“Hey, if you want to hang out with party poopers, that's your business.” Pinkie said jokingly to Dash.

I chuckled and walked up to them. “Dash, everypony makes mistakes. You and her have been friend since fillyhood, people change.”

Dash smiled. “I guess so Jordan, and I'd rather hang out with you Pinkie. No hard feelings?”

“No hard feelings.”

“Hey Pinkie. Sorry I accused you of misjudging Gilda. Looks like I'm the one who misjudged you.” Twilight said sadly.

“It's okay Twilight, even you can't be a super smart smarty smart-pants all the time. Come on everypony, there's still a whole lotta party to finish!” Pinkie said, and everypony cheered in agreement.

Everypony started to dance, and drink, and eat, and really enjoy the party. I sighed and started to think. I shouldn’t be here. I’ve only been in ponyville for a few weeks! I’m not at the level of friendship as everypony in there is. The mane six are so close nothing can tear them apart.

So, I decided to leave, and let them enjoy their party.

I walked out the door and started walking to my alley, when I heard a familiar voice.

“JORDAN, WAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIT!” Pinkie Pie cried out as she ran to me.

“Pinkie Pie? What are you doing? You should be enjoying the party!” I said as she walked to me.

Her mane had deflated, and her tail wasn’t poofy. She was darker now, and had tears in her eyes.

“You’re….. you’re leaving? But you worked so hard with me on the party and I wanted to have fun with you…..” She said sadly and somberly.

I sighed. “Pinkie Pie, I….. oh Celestia, how do I explain this to you. I don’t belong in that party Pinkie. I just am not at that level yet. I’ve only been in ponyville a few weeks. I’m not at the same level of friendship you and the other girls are. I’m not like you six Pinkie. I’m socially awkward, I don’t handle events like parties well anyway. I don’t belong there.”

She suddenly surprised me by tackling me to the ground, much like earlier. “Now you listen here Mr. Mopey Pants, just because you haven’t lived in ponyville long doesn’t mean you’re not as close of friends as us. Twilight moved here a week before you did, and look how close we are with her. Jordan….. what you did earlier, standing up to Gilda for Dashie and I was really incredible. And the way you took that kick….. You’re an amazing friend Jordan, and I know that the other girls think so too, cause they’ve told me!”

I opened my eyes wide in shock. “They have?”

She nodded. “Yeah, they keep saying how you’re such a good friend who’s always there for everypony, who always helps with problems, who has a pure heart and everypony loves. You helped me prepare for the party earlier without anypony asking you to, and we had such an amazing time! And hey, who knows. Maybe I consider you a closer friend than the girls!” She smiled at me and I turned dead pale.

“You…..you do?” I asked, simply enough, and she nodded.

“Yep. You’re such a good friend and I’m lucky to know you! So what do you say, come back to the party and have fun with me? Pleaasssssse?”

I sighed. How could I resist her? I couldn’t. “Ok. For you Pinkie.”

Her mane, tail, and color instantly turned back to normal and she smiled. “YAY! Thank you!”

She let me up, and we walked back to the party together.

The party was mostly as you’d imagine, some hip-hop/jazz music was playing the background, some ponies were dancing, some were playing party games, and having a good time.

I just grabbed a glass of punch and stood around a bit. When I finally went to take a sip it dribble on me. I narrowed my eyes at Rainbow who was on the floor laughing her head off. I just rolled my eyes and got a real glass.

Suddenly, Pinkie jumped out of nowhere and scared the crap out of me. “WHATCHA DOIN?!” She asked.

I panted heavily. “Trying not to have a dang heart attack sheesh!”

She giggled. “Oh c’mon, you’re still breathing!” Suddenly, the music changed to slower, more melodic dance music, true dance music. A waltzy sort.

“OK everypony, time to shift gears! Time to get a little more formal! Grab that special somepony and pull them in REALLLLLLY close!” the announcer said.

A lot of the ponies in the room grabbed their partners and started dancing. Pinkie and I were left in the background watching, before and idea popped into my head.

So, I said “Pinkie, would you want to dance with me?” and at the exact same time, she said “Jordan, would you like to dance with me?”

We stared at each other and gasped before turning our heads away and blushing. I then smiled at her. “I’d love to, Mrs. Pie.”

She then glared. “Hey, Mrs. Pie is my mom!” I laughed and walked to the dance floor with her.

We placed our heads on each others’ shoulder and started to dance slowly to the music. Various ponies in the background gasped and made some comments.

“Are Pinkie Pie and Jordan DANCING together?!”

“Yeah, are they a couple now!?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised, they do seem to click!”

I blushed insane red as I heard the comments, and Pinkie did too.

I then whispered in her ear. “Pinkie Pie, I….. I just wanted to tell you, you’re an amazing friend, and I love you.”

She smiled at me warmly. “I love you too Jordan, you’re such a great friend!”

All of a sudden, we broke away from each other slowly. It was like what happened with me and Twilight. We smiled at each other.

She blushed, and we finished our dance. A while later, everypony was leaving the party and going home. Pinkie smiled at me. “Here, I’ll walk you home! Let’s go to the library!”

I then groaned and sighed. I had to tell her….. “Pinkie, wait….. I don’t live at the library anymore.”

She gasped. “What?! What happened. Well, where to you live now?”

I chuckled nervously. Her eyes widened, waiting for an answer. “Well?” she asked bluntly.

“I…..uh….. don’t….. have….. a home.” I finally said. “I sleep in a box…..”

She put her hooves on her hips and looked at me funny. “You’re staying here, I’m not letting my best friend stay out in the cold and dark! C’mon, there’s a spare bed in my room!”

I smiled and gladly followed her upstairs. Sure enough, there was a spare bed, more than big enough for me, king size.

“Thank you Pinkie, this is so nice!” I proclaimed.

“No problem. Now let’s get some sleep! I’m pooped from all the partying!”

I chuckled teasingly. “YOU, Pinkie Pie, are tired?! OH CELESTIA, THE WORLD IS ENDING!”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever, good night!”

“Good night Pinkie!”

With that, she turned the lights off and we both slowly fell asleep.

I smiled. The scent of cotton candy filled my nostrils till the very last second. I happily escaped to the dream world.

-THE LIBRARY, TWILIGHT’S POV-

Twilight was lying in her bed, sniffling and crying. She couldn’t believe it. Jordan and Pinkie were apparently a couple from the looks of it. She missed it, missed the chance to be with him, the most amazing stallion she’s ever met. Why? Did he not like her? Was she unattractive? What was it Pinkie had she didn’t?!

She couldn’t wrap her mind around it, and Spike heard her sniffling. “Twilight? What’s wrong?”

“Oh Spike, I’m just sad. I love Jordan so much, and now he’s with Pinkie! What did I do wrong, why does he not like me!? OH!” she groaned and slammed her face into a pillow.

Spike rubbed her back. “Oh c’mon Twilight. It’s not because anything’s wrong with you! Maybe you and him just didn’t get close enough, like he and Pinkie did. You’ll get over it eventually.”

She sniffled, wiped her tears away and nodded. “Thanks spike, you’re a real friend. I love you, little brother.”

Spike smiled. “And I love you, big sister.” She kissed her cheek before turning out the lights and heading to her bedroom.

Twilight sighed and snuggled up. Maybe Spike was right. Maybe it’s not so bad. She’ll get over him eventually. There was nothing she could do, anyway.

She was better by herself, with her books anyway. It was how she’d always been, always would be.

Forever, and ever…..

Author's Note

This chapter was...meh. I wish i hadn't always been such a sad sack of crap when i began writing my story, because it leaked into my writing style and made it too cringe inducing. Onto chapter 7 now.

Chapter 7: Boast Busters

I woke up slowly, feeling rays of sunlight attack at my eyeballs to try to wake me up. I slowly blinked my eyes open, welcoming their golden shine.

I looked around the room and gasped, as I didn’t immediately recognize where I was. I then remembered all that had happened the previous day. I was in Pinkie Pie’s room in Sugarcube Corner.

My mind filled with sweet, happy memories of the party last night. Well, after Gilda left, anyway. Pinkie and I had danced, and had an amazing day together preparing that party together.

I then got a flood of the bad memories. Gilda, Spike coming home, the nightmares….. Oh well. Today is a new day, a fresh start. It’d be silly of me to worry about yesterday.

I walked out of the room to use the bathroom, and in the hallway I saw Mr. and Mrs. Cakes’ door was open slightly. OH CRAP, they don’t know who I am, or why I’m here! If they think Pinkie and I did anything last night I’m dead meat!

So, I did the only thing I could think of. I went to Pinkie and started to poke her, so she would wake up.

“Pinkie Pie. Pssst! Pinkie Pie! Wake up!”

She moaned as she slowly woke up, yawning. She smiled when she saw me. “Hey there silly, how’d you sleep-“ I cut her off because she was talking too loud.

“Pinkie Pie, I don’t know what to do! Mr. and Mrs. Cake don’t know who I am, or why I’m here! If they see me and think we did anything last night I’m dead meat!”

She just laughed. “Oh Jordan, you worry too much. I have sleepovers with friends all the time, it’ll be ok! C’mon, let’s go downstairs and get some breakfast!”

She then started bouncing down the stairs, leaving me behind to follow her.

We walked into the kitchen. “So, whatcha wanna eat? We have cake, cookies, pie, OH, and we have lemon drops! Careful, they’re spicy!” She giggled as she made a joke about yesterday and I laughed a bit.

“Sounds, great, but why don’t we go to the café and get some REAL breakfast. I think I remember hearing the girls say something about meeting up there this morning anyway, during the party.”

She nodded. “Ok, let’s go then!” We started to walk out, but right then we heard a voice.

“Pinkie Pie, who’s your friend?” Mrs. Cake asked.

“Oh, this is my friend, Jordan! Jordan, Mr. and Mrs. Cake!” she exclaimed.

I smiled and walked up to them, shaking hooves with Mr. and giving a giant hug to Mrs.

“Wait, so you’re Jordan? Pinkie’s talked about you before!” Mr. Cake said.

“Yes, the haybale stacking champion!” Mrs. Cake added in with a slight giggle.

I blushed at them. “Thank you both kindly! It’s nice to meet you!”

“Pleasure’s all ours, buddy!” Mr. Cake said.

Right then, Pinkie cut in. “Mr. Cake, is it ok if Jordan spends the night tonight too?”

Mr. looked at Mrs. for a second, before they nodded in unison. Pinkie smiled and hugged them both tightly.

“OH, thank both of you! Me and Jordan are gonna go get some breakfast, see you later!” she said before she started bouncing out the door. I rolled my eyes, smiled, and followed her.

We walked to the café, our ears being assaulted by the chirping of birds and crickets, and various other noises of the morningtime.

She and I were actually the first to sit down at the café and had some alone time, so I brought up something that I believed really needed to be said.

“Pinkie?” she turned to me.

“Listen. I just wanted you to know what I’m thinking. Yesterday was really awesome, and I like you a lot. But….. I need some time before I think about a relationship. I’m not saying no at all, but I need some more time. Maybe we can get to know each other a little better?”

She nodded. “Yeah, that’s probably best. I’ve never been with anypony before and I need to make sure I’m ready too! Plus the party business doesn’t wait for love!” she giggled as she said the last piece.

“So, it’s agreed then? We’re not a couple, but we very well could become one?” she nodded and smiled.

I started thinking about something too. Twilight….. was she still crushing on me? Am I being an ass by liking Pinkie as well as her?? I don’t mean to be, but it would be hard to date her with Spike back home and me not living there anymore. I just don’t know.

Right then, Rainbow came to the café, followed by Twilight and Spike, then Rarity, then Fluttershy, then Applejack.

Pinkie and I waved to the girls as they walked to our table. “Hey girls, mornin’!” I said to all of them.

They all remained silent and smirked a bit at us. I gave them an innocent, confused look.

“What? Somebody get murdered?” I said.

Applejack laughed as she got to the table. “It’s just funny how you’re both here first, ya lovebirds! We all saw y’all at the party last night!” she teased.

I turned pale, with only a blush on my cheeks. “H…..hey, she and I aren’t…..together, AJ!”

She slapped me on the back. “Aw schucks, ah was just kiddin with y’all! C’mon y’all, let’s order and eat, ah’m stavin!”

With that, we all took our orders and started eating. Rarity pulled Twilight aside for a second.

“Twilight, dear, how do you think it’s going with Jordan? Has he responded to you?” Rarity asked.

Twilight nodded. “Yes, a little. He even got me a present yesterday.” Twilight pointed to her bag below the table and showed it to Rarity. “But he told me he’s scared of the future and what might happen. He’s scared of himself, he doesn’t trust himself.”

Rarity put a hoof to her chin. “Well darling, right now there’s not much you can do. Just continue trying to be nice, maybe give him hints. Keep being kind to him, oK sweetie?” Twilight nodded and they turned back to the table.

They did just that and came back to the table to eat. I was talking with the group, telling some jokes to make them laugh.

“OK, OK, what do you call a dragon with no wings? A chicken!” I managed to make everypony laugh, except Spike. He had an angry face and got up from the table. Twilight called after him.

“SPIKE, Jordan was just kidding, come back!” She called after him, but he ran to the bathroom to get away.

“…..I didn’t direct the joke to him….. I meant dragons in general! AGH, I should have realized, why am I so stupid?!” I exclaimed.

Pinkie Pie rubbed her hoof on my back. “Hey, take it from Dashie and I, the most important rule of pranking and jokes is to know your audience and be aware. Rainbow wanted to prank Fluttershy yesterday, but I knew that would be a gigantic no-no, so I stopped her. Spike will be fine, don’t worry!” she happily assured me.

I sighed. “Should I go try to apologize?” Everypony nodded.

I went to the bathroom and knocked. “Spike? Listen dude, I’m sorry. That joke wasn’t directed at you.”

I got no response. “Spike, c’mon dude!” he still didn’t respond, so I gave up, knowing there was no way to make him talk to me. He hates me now.

I went back to the table and paid for my food, and looked at them as I forced a smile. “Girls, thank you so much for breakfast. It was good while it lasted. Until I messed it up.” I sighed and left, walking down the street.

This is a big problem for me, and it’s happened a lot of times. I hurt someone’s feelings without meaning to! Is it because I’m inconsiderate? Do I just not care? What’s wrong with me?

I gotta figure a way to get Spike to accept me as a friend. He just doesn’t like me for some reason! I gotta work on that.

Then, suddenly, I got to thinking about yesterday. What am I going to do to support myself? Pinkie asked the Cakes if I could stay one more night, so, I’m ok there. But, what about a home and job after that? I’m not Twilight’s assistant anymore. I have nothing to work with right now. I need to really think about this.

Then, a thought slammed my mind like a freight train. “THE JOB POSTER, OF COURSE!” I shouted out loud. Ponies needing help post there all the time, I should look there!

So, I went down to town hall and looked at the poster board. Scanning down it, I read some options out loud.

“Hmm, flower arranger? Nah. Oh, masseuse? Too intimate. Hmm…..” I said as I looked down the list. No jobs were piquing my interest!

Until, that is, I got to one near the bottom. “Cello player seeks a practice partner, possibly a duet buddy. Cello will be provided to you if needed!”

I grabbed the paper and held it, and started to think deeply. Back in elementary school back on earth, I played the cello in fifth and sixth grade, and it was probably one of the funnest times I have ever had. The cello was a source of happiness for me, because it gave me something to invest myself in, and practice and try to get good.

To be honest, when I quit in sixth grade, I was mediocre. I quit because drama and stress at the house were just too much, I could barely focus on school, let alone and instrument. So, I quit.

But since then, the hunger inside me to play the cello again has risen. Maybe I should take this job? I might have a lot of fun!

So, I grabbed said poster, and began walking to the address on it. I walked to the outskirts of Ponyville to a very, very interesting house.

It was fancy, elegant and classy on one side, then hip, modern and wild on the other.

I knocked on the door to see a brown female pony with blackish mane and tail looking at me. She was also wearing an adorable pink bowtie. She saw I had the poster and gave a weak smile. She spoke in the most beautiful, English accent I’d ever heard in my life.

“Ah, you must be here for the opening if you have my poster, correct?” I nodded.

“Well then, come in, come in!” She invited me inside, which I gladly accepted and walked in, placing the poster on the table.

“Quite a nice house you’ve got here, Mrs…..?” I asked openly as I looked at her.

“Octavia, Octavia Melody. And you are?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Jordan. Nice to meet you!” We then happily shook hooves. She gave another weak smile.

“So, why don’t you tell me about you? How long have you been playing cello, what is your skill level, etcetera.”

I clapped my hooves together and sighed a bit. “I don’t actually own one, I played many many years ago, about nine ago. But since then, the desire to play again has risen inside me, and I wanna get better again.”

Octavia smiled at me. “Be right back Jordan.” She then left the room and came back a few minutes later with a cello.

“This is the cello I’ll give you. It’s an antique, crafted by Les Pony. It is a true vintage, virtually priceless, and my prized possession. Don’t hurt it, ok?”

I gasped in shock as she handed it to me gently. “Wow, Octavia. Words can’t even begin to describe how thankful I am for this! This cello is GORGEOUS!” I happily declared.

“Please, call me Tavi, and it’s really no problem at all Jordan. Come now, let us play!”

So, we did just that. It was really more of a private lesson than a jam session. Tavi had to re-teach me nearly everything about playing the cello, but it was a lot of fun. For one day I sure learned a heck of a lot! My head kind of hurts, actually. But, I enjoyed it, she is a great teacher and friend, I can tell already.

We mostly played the sections of the big pieces of music. Beetpony’s 5th symphony, Ode to Hay, Flight of the Parasprites, etc. It was a grand time.

“You know Jordan, I have to be frank. I don’t see you being able to fulfill my job position. But, if you want, I would absolutely love to be your cello teacher!”

I smiled widely. “I’d like that Tavi, you’d be an amazing teacher!” Well, this was good and all, but I still need a job!

Eventually, it got to be later in the day and time to leave. At the door, I turned around to Tavi and smiled.

“Tavi, thanks for today, it was so much fun. See you tomorrow?” She nodded, and I waved. “Bye!”

I left, and started heading towards town. Then, I saw Spike running towards me.

He was carrying a letter, and when he got to me he was panting. “J…..Jordan…..letter, from….. the princess….. here!”

I took the note and started reading it. It said:

“Dear Jordan. I request your presence in my throne room IMMEDIATELY. I have asked Twilight Sparkle to teleport you here. Do not worry, no harm will come of you this time. I warn you, what we are to talk about might change your life. Come alone.
-Princess Celestia”

I nodded as I finished the letter and sighed at Spike. “Spike, dude, listen. I don’t know why we have to be this way. I’m sorry we met on such sour circumstances, and I’m sorry about this morning. I think you’re a really cool little dude, and want to be your friend. Friends?” I extended my hoof to him and he shook it.

“Friends. And I’m sorry too. I just have trouble being around strangers, let alone living with them. Don’t be afraid to come around the library though!” He smiled at me.
“Hey, since I have to go to the library anyway so Twilight can teleport me, how about we take a stroll together and talk?”

He nodded, and so we did just that. He told me about how he’d been hatched by Twily and been her assistant for years. He told me about all the fun they had in Canterlot, but he’s never been happier than he has here in Ponyville. That made me smile.

We got to the library and I smiled at Twilight. “You know why I’m here, so get to it brainiac!” I said playfully as I smirked a bit at her.

She rolled her eyes, charged up her horn, and BAM. Next thing I knew, I was in Celestia’s throne room.

The princess saw me and smiled. “Ah, Jordan! Good, you’re here. Come with me, I have decided for us to go to my private bedroom in the tower. Let us go.”

I nodded and started to follow her, albeit nervously. She wanted me to follow her to her bedroom? Curious. Anyway, we eventually got there, and Celestia locked the door.

She sighed. “Jordan. I need to be straightforward. I know what you are.”

Before that point, I was kinda distant and not paying much attention to anything. But at those words, at that moment, my eyes snapped right open. Oh crap. This is NOT good for me!

She continued. “I know you are a human, Jordan. Yes, we ponies know of their existence. Earth and the Equine world where we live are, in fact different universes. However, Luna and I are able to keep an eye on that world via our magic. Luna was on the moon for the past thousand years, but I have watched humanity grow and change. All the way from ancient times, to medieval times, to the renaissance, to the world you lived in today. I am not sure if the humans know of our existence, but we know of theirs.”

As she spoke, I was madly deep in thought. Different UNIVERSES?! I am living in an alternative universe right now?! And Celestia and Luna have seen mankind evolve, all the wars and horror we have caused. Does that mean they will trust me less because I was a human? Oh man, this is NOT good.

She went on again. “Do you remember the other night, when Luna came into your dreams Jordan? Well, I have to be frank. Her appearance in your dreams was no coincidence. In fact, I asked her to keep an eye on you, for anything suspicious. And did she ever find anything suspicious. When you came to Equestria and I first met you, I had no idea what you really were. I surmised you were different, to say the least. But when Luna told me about your nightmares from your past, everything then seemed to make sense.”

Dammit. Luna DID see humans in my dreams. Celestia probably told her to play it off like it was nothing, and trick me. I sighed heavily, feeling defeated.

“Princess, might I speak for a moment? I’m sorry. I’m sorry I lied and I kept secrets. But how ever can I let this information out!? If I tell the other ponies in Ponyville about what I am, I’m sure to be shunned! Outcast, hated, alone. Again…..” I sighed again. “Princess. I know what you’re leading up to. And you’re right. I’m a liar and a monster and I don’t deserve to live here, in the company of such amazing friends. And whatever punishment you give me, I fully understand.”

I then fell to all fours, expecting her to strike me down, or blast me with magic. Instead, she made me rise to my hooves again.

“Why ever would I punish you Jordan? How you got here, and why, were out of your control. You are here now, and I am more than sure you have a destiny to play here in Equestria. You belong here. And so, that is why I am giving you a choice. Choice one. You can go back home to Earth, and live your previous life again. Choice two, you can stay here in Equestria, but there are some implications.”

I gazed at her. “And those are?” I wasn’t sure if I really WANTED to know, but I kind of had to know.

She gazed back then closed her eyes as she spoke. “For one, I will erase your memories from earth, and you will be living a clean slate here. It will be as if you’d lived here your whole life, and only I can restore these memories to you. They will be stored in a secret location. For two, you will be a pony forever, and not able to change back. For three, some of your friendships will alter. Everypony you have gotten close to will now simply think of you as a close friend, nothing more. That way, if you do choose to enter a relationship, that choice will be entirely up to you, and nopony can be hurt by said choice. But, honestly Jordan, I recommend you take it slow. Enjoy friendship. Romance and love are not all that you need in life. The love of friendship is the strongest love, and magic there is. Also, everypony will forget anything you told them about your past.” She smiled at me widely, though there was some somber melancholy in her words.

I sighed heavily. Jesus, this is a LOT to think about. My brain is giving me a headache just thinking about it. I need to think about this. “Princess, if it’s all the same to you, can I walk around for a bit and think? I’ll return to this room when I’m ready to make a choice.”

She nodded. “Of course. I just kindly ask you don’t leave Canterlot, and stay close to the castle if you can. You’re free to go Jordan.”

I smiled at her as I walked out of the door but then wore a heavy frown after I left the tower. Oh my god, I can’t even believe this. Celestia and Luna KNOW that I was a human, for one. They know earth exists and have seen the horrible things there, for two. They know I’m meant to play some big role in Equestria’s future, which makes me nervous as all hell, for three. They want me to stay a pony forever for four. And my relationships with the girls will reset to strictly friendships, which means I would have to start over with Pinkie and Twilight, for five!

But….. I love Pinkie and Twilight. I really do. Can I really just stop it, like that? And go back to how things were so many weeks ago? I guess there’s no better time to stop a relationship than before it begins, and I guess if I want to live here, I have no choice. THEN AGAIN, Celestia DID tell me that it might be better to stay friends. Maybe I should just do that.

The princess has given me a real opportunity here. I have a chance to start over. No one will be hurt, no one will have any regrets, and I will truly belong here. Everything will be happy and pure, and it will all work out. How can I not gladly accept such an offer?

For the next hour, I thought this all over at Joe’s Donut Bar. It was some really hard thinking, coming to some harsh conclusions and realities. I truly don’t think I was ever happy back home, let alone as happy as I am in Equestria. The girls mean a lot to me, and I do want to stay here. Even if it means forgetting everything about Earth and starting over again. I then stood up straight and said “I know what I have to do!” and ran to the castle.

Celestia was still in the room when I got there, and I walked over.

“Ah! Jordan, good, you came back. Have you thought about what you want to do?”

I simply nodded at her. “Princess. My mind is made up….. go ahead and do your spell. I love the girls, and I love Equestria, and I want to stay here. No matter the cost. I love it here.” I bowed my head towards her.

She smiled. “Good, I am very glad Jordan. Do not worry, this will not hurt a bit.”

She then walked over to me, and placed her horn right onto my temple. Suddenly, magic filled it, and I grunted as I felt it. My memories, all of them, were flooding my mind at once. Kindergarten, first grade, second grade, third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade, sixth grade, seventh grade, eighth grade, ninth grade, tenth grade, eleventh. My parents, my siblings, my relatives, my girlfriends, my best friends. All the hugs, the kisses, the warm embraces, the best vacation I ever had in Seattle. All the laughs, the cries, the dark and the happy times I’d had. All the birthdays, the laughs, the tears, the hard times, the good times, my pets, everything I ever knew, Celestia was taking away, into herself via her Horn. Leaving me an empty shell temporarily as a tear slipped from my eye, knowing I would never be the same and could never experience those things again. It was all over, I was starting all over once again. And it was in this moment that I realized how foolish I had been, for years. I WAS happy on earth, but I just didn’t know it, because the bad had always outweighed the good. I had a good life there, and this is, sadly, what it takes for me to realize it. And now I’ll never get the chance to live that happy life properly. It’s all over, gone, done with.

Finally, Celestia finished her work, leaving me empty with a massive headache. Then, she touched her horn to my head once again, this time giving me a magical sort of painkiller, so my headache went away.

“Jordan?” she asked. “How are you feeling?”

I looked around a bit and sighed, a lone tear slipping from my eyes. “It….. it worked. I can’t remember anything. At all.”

She tenderly stroked my mane with her front hoof. “I’m sorry, but you’ll see soon that this is what is best and it needed to happen. If you need a day here in Canterlot to recuperate yourself, you can stay in the tower suite. Nopony else is using it at the moment.”

I shook my head. “N….no Princess, thank you, but I just want to see my friends right now. Can you….. teleport me back to Ponyville?” At that point I really just wanted to sleep and recuperate on my own turf, not in the castle.

She nodded. “Should I ask Twilight if you may spend the night at her home?” I nodded, as Pinkie probably wouldn’t remember me staying over tonight.

“Ok, I shall see you another time. Have fun, and remember what I’ve told you.” With that, she charged up her horn, cast her spell, and next thing I knew I was in the library.

-CELESTIA’S POV-

I sighed contently at the comforting quietness of my bed chambers. I took a deep breath as I heard a knocking on my door, and told the pony knocking to come in.

It was Luna, my sister. ”Sister?” she said. “Will Jordan be alright? Art thou certain this was the right move?”

I simply nodded. “Yes sister, it is for the best. Jordan cannot possibly live in our world while he maintains memories of his past life. He needs to start fresh, he needs to be a PONY.”

Luna nodded back. “We understand dear sister. But, where might we ask, will thou keep his treasured memories?”

“They have been synthesized into a liquid via a spell I cast sister. They are being kept in a magical vial, and I am keeping them in a locked strongbox. Nopony will ever have access to them but me.”

Luna sighed. “We hope thou art right, dearest sister, for if somepony gets their hooves on his memories, it could spell chaos for our entire realm!”

“Yes, I know sister. But do not worry, I am certain nothing will happen. It is nearly night time sister, come. Let us lower the sun and raise the moon.”

So, me and Luna walked to the balcony and did just that. She and I channeled our magic in synchronization, lowering the sun and raising the moon.

I then yawned, tiredly. “Good night dear sister, I shall see you tomorrow.”

I then walked back into my chambers and went to sleep.

-JORDAN’S POV, GOLDEN OAK LIBRARY-

When the rushing of air around me finally stopped, I looked around and noticed I was in Twilight’s library. She looked up at me from the book she was studying from and smiled.

“Hey there Jordan, what’s up?” I just kinda looked at her.

“Jordan? Who’s Jordan? If you’re talking to me, I’m ok, but man, my head hurts. I think I need to rest Twi.” With that, I slowly walked towards the bedrooms upstairs, my head hanging low. Spike saw me and walked up to me.

“Hey dude, how did it go with the Princess? Are you ok? You look sick!”

Right then, I started to feel sick. My head got spin-y, my eyes felt a ton heavy, my hooves started to wobble and I had the most incredible headache ever, along with a panging, sharp pain in my ribs. But I couldn’t let anypony know I was ill!

“I…. I’m fine Spike, I just…..need to…..get to….. sleep.” While I said this, my words were slurred and my eyes were droopy. Finally, it happened.

I suddenly fell backwards, crashing down the flight of stairs, forcing a gasp from both Spike and Twily.

“JORDAN!” Twilight cried out as she ran to me. “JORDAN, ohmygosh, are you ok?!”

I was hurt, but I looked up and rubbed my head. “Again, who is this Jordan? If you’re speaking to me again, then y…..yes Twilight, I’m fine. I just need-“ I didn’t finish as I quickly fell asleep, right there and then.

Twilight levitated me to the nearby couch and made sure I was comfortable. “Jordan, you’re starting to worry me…..” she frowned as she walked away.

-BEFORE THE STORY MOVES ON, I MUST EXPLAIN. CELESTIA HAS TAKEN ALL OF JORDAN MEMORIES OF BEFORE HE MOVED TO PONYVILLE. THAT INCLUDES HIS IDENTITY! AND HE FORGETS THE SHOW. IT’S AS IF HE JUST ARRIVED-

I slowly woke up a few hours later, blinking the tiredness out of my eyes to a weird noise.

“TRIXIE! TRIXIE! TRIXIE!” to which somepony who I assumed was this Trixie pony started to speak outside.

“Come one, come all! Come and witness the amazing magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

I slowly got up and walked to the door. When I opened it I nearly went blind, as a firework went off!

Frightened, I recovered myself and walked into the crowd.

“Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!”

I scoffed audibly, as fireworks and applause rang out. Most spectacular feats, eh? We’ll see about that. Five bucks says she’s nothing but a boasting jerkoff.

“My, my, my! What boasting!” Rarity declared more towards the crowd than at Trixie herself. Spike then stepped in.

“Come on, nopony's as magical as Twi— Twi— Twi— Oh! Hey, Rarity, I, uh— Mustache!” He started to panic that he didn’t have a mustache for some reason. I shrugged it off.

“There's nothing wrong with being talented, is there?” Twilight asked her five friends. I could hear a hint of uncertainty, or perhaps some nervousness, in her voice.

“Nothin' at all, 'cep'n when someone goes around showin' it off like a school filly with fancy new ribbons.” Applejack replied, holding back a tint of anger in that southern drawl accent.

“Just because one has the ability to perform lots of magic does not make one better than the rest of us!” Rarity shouted to Trixie this time.

“Especially when ya got me around being better than the rest of us. Eh, I mean, yeah, uh, magic shmagic. Boo!” I rolled my eyes and mentally laughed. Oh Rainbow Dash, you never cease to amaze me with how boastful you are.

“Well, well, well, it seems we have some neighsayers in the audience. Who is so ignorant as to challenge the magical ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie? Do they not know that they're in the presence of the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria?”

“*Raspberry* Just who does she think she is?” Rarity again said more to the crowd than at Trixie.

“Yeah! Since we all know that Twilight here is—“ Spike was cut off by Twilight.

Twilight leaned down to Spike and told him some things I couldn’t hear over the crowd. Oh well. I heard Dash speak.

“So, ‘Great and Powerful Trixie’. What makes you think you're so awesome, anyway?” Good question Dash, I’m wondering the same exact thing myself!

“Heh, why, only the Great and Powerful Trixie has magic strong enough to vanquish the dreaded ursa major!” More fanfare and fireworks, now my head hurts.

“When all hope was lost, the ponies of Hoofington had no one to turn to, but the Great and Powerful Trixie stepped in, and with her awesome magic, vanquished the ursa major and sent it back to its cave deep within the Everfree Forest!” I rolled my eyes, what a bunch of crud. The Ursa is nothing but a myth. I’ve read of them in the library.

“Saw, sweet!” Both Snips and Snails said.

“That settles it.” Snips said.

“Trixie truly is the most talented, the most magical, the most awesome unicorn in Ponyville.” Snails proclaimed, hoping the crowd would agree.

“No, in all of Equestria!” Snips added.

“How do you know? You didn't see it! And besides, Twi— Mmph! M-mmph!” Spike was cut off by Twilight zipping his mouth shut-literally.

“It's true, my enthusiastic little admirers. Trixie is most certainly the best in Ponyville.”

The audience was dead silent, obviously not convinced.

“I have to agree that’s kind of a load of bull Trixie. Ursa’s are long extinct creatures! I read about them!” However, she didn’t really notice me.

“Don't believe the Great and Powerful Trixie? Well then, I hereby challenge you, Ponyvillians. Anything you can do, I can do better. Any takers? Anyone? Hmm? Or is Trixie destined to be the greatest equine who has ever lived!?”

“Please! She's unbearable! Ya gotta show her! Ya just gotta!”

“There's no way I'm going to use my magic now, Spike. Especially since—“ She was cut off by Trixie.

“Hmm, how about you?” Trixie said pointing to Twilight. I was getting ready to step in to protect Twilight if needed. “Well, how about it? Hm? Is there anything you can do that the Great and Powerful Trixie can't?” Trixie challenged to Twilight. Twilight looked not scared, but nervous.

“I— I.” Was all Twilight could say with how nervous she was.

“Well, little hayseed?” Trixie questioned.

“That's it! I can't stand for no more of this!” Applejack cried out as she stepped towards the stage.

“You show her, AJ!” Spike called out.

“Can your magical powers do this?” Applejack asked before she went about her talent.

And so Applejack impressed the crowd by doing various tricks and stunts with her lasso. I thought it was very spectacular.

“Top that, missy.” Applejack boldly challenged the boastful unicorn.

“Oh ye of little talent. Watch and be amazed at the magic of Trixie!” She ONCE AGAIN boasted.

For the next while, Trixie then embarrassed the living daylights out of Applejack, earning laughs and cheers from the crowd.

The audience laughed, it being a ruckus.

“Once again, the Great and Powerful Trixie prevails.”

“There's no need to go struttin' around and showin' off like that.” Dash surprised me by finally standing up to her.

“Oh?” Trixie flatly asked.

“That's my job!” Dash said intimidation-like to Trixie. Dash obviously takes her job seriously. Annoying everypony.

“They don't call me "Rainbow" and "Dash" for nothin'!” OH, really?! I just thought it was a clever name! No crap Dash!

Dash then proceeded to do stunts in the air, making ponies gasp in awe.

The audience cheered loudly.

“When Trixie is through, the only thing they'll call you is loser!” She pridefully and boldly boasted.

For the next few moments, Trixie in short made a fool out of Dash, using her speed and flying prowess against her.

The audience laughed madly.

“What we need is another unicorn to challenge her. Someone with some magic of her own.” Spike said to the crowd.

“Yeah! A unicorn to show this unicorn who's boss.” Dash proclaimed.

“A real unicorn to unicorn tussle!” Applejack added.

“Uh...” Twilight could only say, uncomfortably.

I gulped, thinking they mean me.

“Enough! Enough, all of you. I take your hint, but Rarity is above such nonsense. Rainbow Dash and Applejack may behave like ruffians, but Rarity conducts herself with beauty and grace.” I rolled my eyes. Oh Rarity, do you ever stop acting like queen bee to everypony? You’re as boasty as Dash sometimes.

“Ooo, what's the matter? Afraid you'll get a hair out of place in that rat's nest you call a mane?” Trixie taunted Rarity. I wasn’t sure if she was trying to make Rarity fight her or what, but she was ticking Rarity off for sure!

“Oh, it. Is. On! You may think you're tough with all of your so-called powers, but there's more to magic than your brutish ways. A unicorn needs to be more than just muscle. A unicorn needs to have style.” Rarity monologue’d to Trixie, droning on a bit.

“Ooh!” The audience let out in unison.

“A unicorn is not a unicorn without grace and beauty.” Rarity proclaimed. I rolled my eyes. I sure as heck am not graceful or pretty.

“Rarity won't let Trixie get the best of her! She's strong, she's beautiful, she's—“ Spike was stopped dead in his tracks as Trixie used her magic to royally screwup Rarity’s perfectly taken care of mane and tail.

“Quick! I need a mirror! Get me a mirror! What did she do to my hair? I know she did something terrible to my hair!” Rarity cried out in horror as she realized Trixie messed with it.

“Nothing.” Twilight began.

“It's fine.” Rainbow added.

“It's gorgeous.” Applejack said lastly, hoping to cheer the white unicorn up.

“It's green. What?” Spike said as he told Rarity what had happened, and got scolding looks for it.

“Ugh, no. Green hair! Not green hair! Such an awful, awful color!” Rarity cried out in distress and disbelief at what had happened to her gorgeous purple hair.

“Well, I never!” Somepony in the audience with, you guessed it, green hair proclaimed.

I walked up to Rarity, hoping I could cheer her up. I stopped her and laid my hoof on her shoulder. “Rarity, please calm down. I promise you, it looks fine. It honestly is a nice change from the purple. Give it a chance. If you hate the shade, dye it!”

She seemed to be taken aback, giving a new outlook on her situation. She smiled. “Ok Jordan, perhaps I shall give it a go. For you.”

I scrunched my nose. “WHO IS JORDAN? Why does everypony keep calling me that name?” I said as I walked back to the stage.

Rarity watched me with shock in her eyes. “…..Jordan?” she said sadly as I walked away. “What in the name of Equestria has happened to you?”

“Well Twilight, guess it's up to you. Come on, show her what you're made of!” I heard Spike say proudly as I got back to the stage.

“What do you mean? I'm nothing special.” Twilight told Spike, hoping he would drop it.

“Yes, you are! You're better than her!” Spike tried to reason.

“I'm not better than anyone.” Twilight declared, firmly.

“Hah! You think you're better than the Great and Powerful Trixie? You think you have more magical talent? Well, come on, show Trixie what you've got. Show us all.” Trixie challenged Twilight.

“Who, me? I'm just your run-of-the-mill citizen of Ponyville. No powerful magic here.” I then stopped Twilight.

I put my hoof on Twilight’s lips to stop her from talking. “Let me Twi” was all I said before I turned to Trixie.

“Hey, Trixie, if you wanna mess with somepony, mess with somepony your own size!” I said as I walked up the stage to her. I had enough of her taunting and hurting of my friends. I was gonna give her whatfor!

Trixie laughed like a maniac and pointed to me with her hoof. “HAHAHA, and who would that be, you!? You don’t even have a cutie mark!” She continued to laugh hard, and the audience joined her. My face turned bright red with embarrassment. Oh, how badly I simply wanted to disappear at this moment. The humiliation was maddening!

Finally, she and the audience seemed to collect themselves and stifle the laughter to simple giggles and chuckles every now and then.

“Ok, ok, perhaps Trixie should give you the benefit of the doubt, as I did with my previous competitors. Tell me, what is your name?”

I frowned heavily. My name? My name….. what was my name? Who am i? I could not, for the life of me, remember….. I was just here, that was all there is to it.

Trixie was getting impatient, tapping her hoof on the wood. “COME ON, the great and powerful Trixie does not have all day, what is your name boy?!” she shouted.

“My…..name?” I asked with a puzzled, lost look on my face. She caught on after a few seconds and started laughing like crazy again.

“OH MY DEAR CELESTIA, HE DOESN’T EVEN KNOW HIS OWN NAME!” she cried out to the audience, falling over onto her back and rolling around laughing, as they joined in on the laughter.

Again, my face turned red with embarrassment. I gritted my teeth and ground my hooves against the wood, anger rising. “Sh…..shut up!” I shouted at Trixie and the audience.

Trixie again stifled her laughter and gave me a serious, hurtful stare. “Listen here boy. You are NOTHING. You have no name, no identity, no talents, not even a cutie mark! You pose no challenge to the great and powerful Trixie, and Trixie will not waste her precious, valuable time on such a low life nopony like you! So get off the great and powerful Trixie’s stage!”

That was too much. Everything she had just said hit me right in the heart and tears welled in my eyes. She was right. I am a big nothing. I have no name, no identity, no talents, and not even a cutie mark. I can’t remember anything about myself, and I’m nothing.

Hiding my now crying eyes with my leg to prevent ponies from seeing the tears fall, I quickly turned towards the stage exit and ran. I didn’t care where I was going, I just booked it. I heard Applejack, Rarity, Twilight, Spike, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Dash call after me, but I didn’t stop. There was only one thing said that registered, and stuck with me. It was Snips and Snails.

“GET OUT OF TOWN, LOSER!” Both Snips and Snails shouted at me. Trixie laughed again.

“Ha! Once again, the Great and Powerful Trixie has proven herself to be the most amazing unicorn in all of Equestria. Huh, was there ever any doubt?” Trixie again boasted, as she looked at the audience as the special effects went off.

The mane six all jumped onto the stage and gave Trixie scowling glares. “You didn’t prove anything. That was just cold hearted, and mean, what you said to Jordan! You bullied him into backing down. That was NOT COOL missy!” Dash proclaimed to Trixie, as she got right into her face about it, anger marking Dash’s blue face.

Trixie laughed and blew them off, turning around. “Maybe so, but it was all true. He is NOTHING. The lack of a cutie mark and name proves it!”

“He does have a name, he just….. don’t remember fur some odd reason…..” Applejack said softly.

Trixie didn’t hear them though, as she was walking back to her camper. The girls looked at each other.

“We better find him girls. What if he listens to Snips and Snails and leaves town?” Twilight questioned the girls with worry and sadness in her tone of voice.

“Let’s go get him then! C’mon everypony!” Dash said before she, literally, dashed of in flight, being the brave Pegasus she was.

-DIRT FIELD OUTSIDE OF PONYVILLE-

Well, I had officially hit rock bottom. This was it, the crossing of the line. The entire TOWN just laughed at me. I’ve never felt that embarrassed in all my life. Not even when….. well, I can’t remember a time anymore. I remember NOTHING.

So now, here I lie, in a deserted field outside of town, munching on grass and thinking heavily.

Maybe Snips and Snails were right, maybe I SHOULD leave town. I’ll take a train, and go far away, yes. That’s what I’ll do. It’s better I leave now, a hollow, unimportant mess, than later.

“Jordan!” Twilight called after me. I scrunched my nose again. Why does everyone keep calling me that name!? I have no name.

The six girls ran up to me, all panting. “D…..don’t leave.” Was all Twilight could say, as she was gathering her breath.

I gave them stern looks. “Ok, first off, I need to get this out of the way. Who’s Jordan, and why have you mistaken me for him?”

Applejack walked up to me. “Sugarcube, we haven’t confused somepony for you. You’re Jordan! You just can’t seem to remember nothin’ bout yourself.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I can’t remember anything, but boy oh boy did Trixie help. Everything she said back there was true. LOOK!” I said as I showed them my flank. “BARE. No cutie mark. I’m nothing! I have no talents. I’m useless!” I said as I covered my head with my hooves.

Rarity spoke out next. “That’s not true darling! I know without a shadow of a doubt you’re the kindest pony I have ever met! Remember earlier with my hair?” I found out she still had the green hair, it was now combed and taken care of like it usually was, just green.

“Yeah, ok, maybe that MIGHT be true. But what good is that when I have no talents?”

“You have loads o’ talent pardner! Remember the rodeo in Appleloosa?” She said as she hoisted a golden trophy. I looked at it in awe. “Remember when you beat mah record? That announcin’ pony wanted me to give ya your trophy, but ah forgot to. So, here ya go, champ!” She said as she gave me the trophy.

A tear was now in my left eye. “Ok, so maybe I have that, but what about the important stuff? Where do I live, what do I do for a living? WHO AM I?”

At that, everypony was just at a loss for words, until Twilight stepped in. “None of that matters Jordan. What matters is that you’re you! You’re whoever you want to make yourself be. Your past doesn’t matter, you control your own destiny, your own fate! As far as I know, you’re Jordan, the kindest, sweetest, most generous stallion I’ve ever met, and most importantly, our friend!” To this the girls all nodded and went mhm in agreement.

I sighed as I thought. They were all right, as usual. My past doesn’t matter. Tomorrow is all that matters now. I need to focus on the road ahead of me. “I am Jordan….. and I am me. Twilight, girls, you’re right.”

They all cheered and group hugged me, bombarding me with love. I then frowned. “But….. Trixie was right. I am a nopony, I have no talents. I should just leave Ponyville, how can I ever belong here?”

“Whoever said you had to have a special talent to live in Ponyville, darling? Here in Ponyville we accept all manner of ponies! And who knows, you might find your talent yet!”

“Yeah, Rarity’s right. So come back to town with us, please?” Pinkie begged with her giant eyes.

I sighed. “Ok, fine. Let’s go.”

I then walked with them back into town, to Twilight’s library. We all spent the next few hours there, talking and having a good time, until they all had to split up and head home for the night.

I looked outside worriedly. Spike had been gone for longer than expected, and I was starting to worry.

“I’m going to look for him Twilight, I’ll be back.” I said as I went to the front door. She walked up to me and gave me pouty eyes. “Be careful, ok?” I smiled down at her. “No promises, see you later” I joked as I walked outside.

I don’t know why, but my first instinct was to head to the outside of town and work my way back to the center. I walked towards the path to the Everfree Forest and stopped when I saw Spike with Snips and Snails.

“Twilight!” Spike shouted as he ran towards me, not noticing me. He ran into me and fell over.

“Spike?” I said as I gave him a puzzled look. “What’s wrong?”

He sprang up and ran. “RUN, URSA MAJOR!” he shouted back at me.

“Ursa Major?.....” I had no more time to think as a gigantic paw smashed the ground immediately to my left, causing me to action roll to the right.

I looked up with my eyes once I came to a stop and my heart stopped at the sight in front of me. There, about 5 yards from me, was the beast, in the flesh. It was as tall as a four story building, and was MASSIVE.

“NO, that’s impossible! Ursa’s are EXTINCT. This has to be some magic at work!” However, it quickly became apparent that it was real, as it walked to me and smashed the ground once again, forcing me to action roll. There was a literal crater where it had smashed its paw.

I didn’t know what I thought I could do to stop such a massive beast, but I had a massive feeling of pride inside me that I had to try, even if it meant sacrificing my own life. If this thing got into Ponyville, my friends would perish. Better me than the population of an entire town!

I quickly ran towards the Ursa and it growled at me, seeming to track my movements with its eyes. Unsure of what I could do, I stabbed the front side of its right paw with my horn, causing it to roar in pain.

It swatted at me with its left paw, but I quickly rolled away and sprang to my feet. I wiped sweat from my eyebrow to hear Snips and Snails.

“HEY LOSER, stand aside so the great and powerful Trixie can vanquish it, eh?”

I glared at them angrily. “Do you two REALLY think Trixie can do anything to get rid of this GIANT monster? You’re a bunch of fools!” The ursa swatted at me with it’s paw, and this time it’s gigantic claw severed my mustache, cutting it off.

I gasped as I saw the blue hair fluttered down to the ground and glared at the ursa. “OH, IT. IS. ON!” I yelled at it, before I heard a voice behind me.

“JORDAN, stand aside!” It was Twilight. I made the mistake of turning around and staring at her, and the Ursa used this moment to its advantage.

It swiped its mighty paw at me, hitting me hard and sending me flying through the air, all the way into the town hall building; which must have been about four hundred feet.

I hit the wall to the town hall hard. Thankfully, the wall didn’t collapse, but I fell to the ground below in a heap.

The next thing I knew, I was gazing up at the stars, not having the strength to move. I heard the clopping of hooves, and turned my head to the left to see the girls and Spike all running to me.

However, Spike stopped Twilight. “Twilight, me and the girls will take care of him, you have to stop the Ursa!” Twilight gulped, nodded and walked towards the Ursa.

As the girls tried to help me, I heard the wind pick up a little. It started to play a tune, and the Ursa got sleepy.

“Nice use of number sixteen” Spike said.

Then, Twilight got a gigantic quilt out of the marketplace, and used tape to put it on the Ursa’s paw, using it as a bandaid where I had stabbed it.

After that, Twilight used her magic to grab the water tower, empty it and levitate it towards Sweet Apple Acres. Her horn was now sparking and glowing violently.

Next thing I knew, she levitated the tower to the Ursa’s mouth, and the Ursa was sucking on it like a baby on a bottle. What the?!

“That’s new” Spike said. Twilight then levitated the Ursa back into the forest, after which the town all cheered. She galloped over to us and looked at me worriedly.

“Jordan, are you ok? You look hurt. Oh, I should have never distracted you, this is my fault!” Twilight said as she looked at me, biting her bottom lip.

I shook my head. “Twilight, it’s not your fault. If anything it’s mine for thinking I could actually battle that THING.”

Dash then punched my arm playfully. “For what it’s worth, you gave it one heck of a fight Jordan!”

I chuckled a bit. “Thanks Rainbow.”

The girls then ignored me for a second and spoke to Twilight.

“Twilight, that was unbelievable!” Dash announced.

“That was amazing!” Spike proclaimed.

“Heavens to Betsy! We knew you had ability, but not that much!” Applejack stated with joy in her voice.

“I'm sorry. Please, please don't hate me!” Twilight said worriedly.

“Hate you?” Me, Dash, AJ and Rarity all voiced at the same time.

“Why, whatever do you mean, darling?” Rarity asked with surprise in her voice.

“Well, I know how much you all hated Trixie's showing off with her magic tricks, and I just thought—“ Twilight was cut off by Rainbow.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Magic's got nothing to do with it. Trixie's just a loudmouth.” Dash explained.

“Most unpleasant.” Rarity chimed in.

“All hat and no cattle.” Wow, thanks AJ, gotta write that one down.

“So, you don't mind my magic tricks?” Twilight asked hopefully.

“Your magic is a part of who you are, sugarcube, and we like who you are. We're proud to have such a powerful, talented unicorn as our friend.” Applejack answered honestly as always.

I then voiced my thoughts for the first time. I didn’t stand up, I was still lying down, but they looked at me as I spoke. “Twilight, I love you for your magic. I think I speak for the other girls when I say your magic has saved our flanks more than a few times already. Besides, you’re my new magic teacher, and I wouldn’t rather anyone else to have as a teacher!” I said as I smiled widely at her.

She smiled back, walked to me, and hugged me closely. “Aw, Jordan, you just made me so happy by saying all that. Thank you.” She then kissed my cheek, making me blush and smile.

“And after whuppin' that ursa's hindquarters, we're even prouder.” Dash said, making me nod in agreement.

“You are?” Twilight asked with wonder and surprise in her voice.

The girls and I all responded with harmonious “Mhm”’s and smiled at her.

“Wow, Twilight, how'd you know what to do with that ursa major?” Spike asked with amazement in his voice.

“That's what I was doing when you came looking for me. I was so intrigued by Trixie's bragging that I was compelled to do a little reading up on them.” Twilight said with a little smile. Oh Twi, you and your studying. Saved us once again.

“So it is possible to vanquish an ursa major all by yourself?”

“That wasn't an ursa major. It was a baby, an ursa minor.”

“That was just a baby?” Trixie asked in shocked disbelief.

“And it wasn't rampaging. It was just cranky because someone woke it up.” OHHHH. That makes sense.

“Awww...” the duo said sadly.

I then laughed a little from where I was lying down, making everypony look at me. “No wonder you got the water tower and everything, you put the poor thing back to sleep. Twilight Sparkle, I hereby proclaim you genius of the year, as if there was any doubt!” This made her blush a little.

“Well, if that was an ursa minor, then what's an ursa major like?”

“You don't wanna know.” Twilight said honestly. Oh boy, that can’t be good.

“Huh. You may have vanquished an ursa minor, but you will never have the amazing, show-stopping ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie!” She said as a smoke bomb went off and she galloped out of town.

“Why, that little... All the stuff she said to Jordan, and not even an apology!” Dash said as she started to fly, obviously wanting a piece of Trixie.

“Just let her go. Maybe someday she'll learn her lesson. Now, about you two.” Twilight directed at Snips and Snails.

“Ah. Uh, we're sorry that we woke up the ursa minor.”

“We just wanted to see some awesome magic.” Snails said a little sheepishly.

“Yeah! And the way you vanquished that ursa minor was awesome!” Snips said, hoping to avoid any sort of punishment. Twilight glared at them, making it clear they weren’t getting out of it.

“We deserve whatever punishment you give us.” Snails said humbly, as he realized what they did was wrong.

I then used all the strength in my body to rise to my feet, and look at Twilight. “Twilight, if you’re gonna punish them, punish me too. I attacked the ursa foolishly, instead of getting you to help. I’m as big a fool as these two.” I said humbly, with my ears hanging low.

Twilight shook her head. “Jordan, you did nothing wrong. You were just trying to protect the town, and that was very noble of you. Nopony else has EVER done battle with an ursa minor before.” She said with a smile. She then turned and glared at the dynamic duo.

“For starters, you can clean up this mess, and apologize to Jordan for what you said, you really hurt him. And... What do you think, Spike? Should I give them number twenty five?”

“Oh, twenty five! Yes! And I think I deserve it, too. OH, Jordan too, after what happened.”

“Heah?” Snips and Snails and I all said in fright.

“I think you're right.” Twilight said with a mischievous grin. Her horn then glowed, and the four of us had moustaches!

“Sweet!” Me and the other boys all said at the same time.

I rubbed my moustache with my hoof and smiled. “Welcome back buddy, I missed you.” Making everypony laugh. Twilight rolled her eyes. “You and that moustache are best friends, I swear. C’mon, you should get home and rest.”

I then sighed. “Twilight, I have no home anymore, remember? Spike doesn’t want me to?”

Twilight smiled at me, looking at Spike. “We had a talk earlier, and Spike feels like you and him really connected today. He’s fine with you living at the library, so long as you’re comfortable with it.”

I, of course gladly took them up on that offer. She had to levitate me home since I was too badly hurt to walk on my own, but I didn’t mind. We got home and she levitated me into the guest room bed.

“Need anything, Jordan?” Twilight asked, trying to be helpful.

“Well….. I would like to talk for a moment, is that ok?”

She smiled and nodded. “Of course, what’s on your mind?” She then hopped on the bed and sat in front of me.

“Twilight, do you think Princess Celestia knows things before they happen? Can she see the future, or tell when something needs to be done?”

Twilight thought for a moment before she nodded. “Yes, I believe so. Otherwise she would not have sent me to Ponyville when she did, and she did say she knew Nightmare Moon would return. I think that, as the Princess, she has certain powers and abilities we ponies cannot comprehend. Why do you ask?”

I then told Twilight everything that happened earlier. The talk with Celestia, the wiping of my memories, everything. I had to lie and tell her she wiped out my memories of my pre-ponyville life though. I told her about how the princess believes I have a role to play in Equestria’s future and how it makes me nervous.

Twilight smiled and rubbed my cheek. “Don’t be nervous, it’s likely she didn’t mean what you think she meant. Everypony has a role to play Jordan, whether it be a simple farm pony like Big Macintosh, or a designer like Rarity. We all have some sort of job to do, big or small.”

I nodded as I listened. That made sense. “I wonder what my job is, I wonder what my cutie mark will be. I hate waiting, I hate being a blank flank!”

Twilight smiled. “Patience, young student. You have all the time in the world. OK, bedtime. Here’s some water, you need to stay hydrated while you heal. Good night Jordan!” I returned the goodnight, and she turned off the light and went to bed, allowing me to float away to the dream world.

Author's Note

Well, that was chapter 7. Now we more on to chapter eight, which is the chapter i consider to be my pivoting point, where i started to become a better writer. Next chapter is an OC chapter i wrote for my birthday way back when, hope you're ready for some fun!

Chapter 8: Birthday Bash

I woke up in the mid-morning, around 9am. I was more tired than usual, and was having problems waking up. My eyes were still closed and I was dead still as I heard voices.

“Ohhhh, I can’t wait! I’m going to make sure he has the best birthday ever!” I heard the unmistakable voice of Pinkie Pie exclaim.

“Easy pardner, he needs to wake up first. Give him a moment.” Applejack retorted.

Rarity giggled extra lady like. “I can’t wait for him to wake up, I have a nice surprise for him!”

“Oh, look! I think he’s finally waking up!” Twilight announced.

I did so, finally opening my eyes and sitting upright.

“SURPRISE!!!!!” They all yelled at the same time.

“WHOA, SHEISSE!” I exclaimed, swearing I had a mini heart attack.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” Pinkie exclaimed as she attached a party hat to my head. I was a bit wide eyed. I never told them my birthday; how did they know?

“Uh….. girls? I never told you my birthday, how the friv did you know?”

Rarity laughed. “Darling, this is Pinkie Pie you’re speaking about. If there’s an occasion for a party to be had, Pinkie Pie is all over it. She also knows you are 18 dearie.”

Applejack nodded. “Like yellow on hay. Pinkie’s always there.”

Pinkie jumped on the bed, not being able to wait anymore. “Yeah, September 3rd! Ohhhhh, I can’t wait anymore! Can we get the party started?!”

Twilight calmed Pinkie as best she could. “Easy there, he still needs to wake up. And from the smell of it, shower.”

I blushed red with embarrassment, realizing I had, in fact, forgot to shower last night. The girls all laughed and left my room to give me privacy.

In the next while, I brushed my teeth, used mouthwash and hopped in the shower. While I was in there, feeling the hot water rain down upon my tired face, I couldn’t help but smile widely.

This is going to be the best birthday ever.

-10 MINUTES LATER-

I walked down the stairs slowly, my joints still achy from my deep sleep last night. I walked downstairs to find nopony there. I walked to the kitchen and BOOM.

“SURPRISE, AGAIN!” All the girls yelled as they came out of hiding places. I put a hand over my heart, swearing I suffered a mild heart attack.

“Jeez girls, if you don’t stop with the surprises my heart’s gonna give.” I looked around the room in wonder. It had a banner that said “Happy Birthday Jordan!” there was a big cake, and a whole table of presents!

The girls had on party hats, and there were streamers, confetti and everything, everywhere.

I had a sparkle in my eye as I looked around the room. This….. was incredible! And the girls put this together all for me!

I gasped and held a hoof to my mouth, my lip quivering.

“What’s wrong?” Pinkie asked with a concerned tone of voice, as she thought I hated the party.

“It’s just….. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe you girls all went to the trouble of organizing this party for me. This….. this is amazing. I’ve never really celebrated my birthday, let alone had a party. This is just too much, I don’t deserve this!” I said with a somber tone in voice. It was all genuine. I don’t think I deserve this party. I’m just one pony, one useless pony.

Twilight walked over to me and hugged me tightly. “Hey, we all went to the trouble of organizing this for you because we love you, Jordan. You’re our friend and we want to make sure you have the greatest birthday ever! So wipe the frown off your face, get rid of the tears. We have a party to get to!” She declared with that magical smile she used to get her way.

I smiled back. “Ok, ok. For you Twilight.” Pinkie then jumped in front of me and put her hoof around me, leading me across the room.

“Ok, so let me give you the lowdown on what we got for your superspectacularultraamazing 18th birthday celebration!” She walked to the table of presents first. “These are all the presents you’ve got to open. Don’t worry about saving the wrapping paper!” She then walked me over to the kitchen table, with the cake. “I made this cake for you all by myself! Princess Celestia told me your favorite flavor of cake is Red Velvet with Cream Cheese. Well, here you go!” She said as she waved her hoof to the cake in a presentation style. I was nearly drooling, the cake looked and smelled so good. “But we’re not done yet, come on!” She said as she dragged me over to the living room. There were games everywhere. “We’ve got twister, spin the bottle, pin the tail on the donkey, and we have cider chugging!”

I grinned widely and laughed. “You girls won’t stand a CHANCE in the cider chugging, and that’s a promise.”

Rainbow then got in my face playfully. “Oh yeah? Bring it on! I will totally beat you!” she said with a sly, competitive grin she oftentimes had.

I smirked at her. “Oh you are so on, crayon girl!”

She flared her nose. “Crayon girl? What the hay?”

I smirked. “You’ve got a rainbow for a mane. When I think of you, I think of a pack of crayons. You’re crayon girl.”

She rolled her eyes. “Gee, what a great nickname. I guess in return I should call you big red or something.” She said with that sly grin of hers.

I shook my head playfully. “Yeah, whatever, crayons.”

Just then, Spike ran in. “TWILIGHT, I’ve got the-“ he was cut off by Twilight who took the item he had in his hand quickly. “Thank you Spike. Come on and join the party!” she happily invited him.

Spike did just as she said and walked to where me and the girls were in the living room. Twilight smiled at me.

Pinkie then popped up in front of me. “So doesn’t this just look like the most amazing, fantastic party ever!?” She was bouncing with excitement.

I smiled at her. “Only one way to find out. LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!” I declared loudly.

“Well birthday boy. Your pick, what should we do first?”

I smiled again, and decided what I wanted to do. “I wanna save spin the bottle, the presents and cake for later, and the cider chugging. So, how about pin the tail on the donkey? I CALL THE RAINBOW RIBBON!” Dash groaned, as that was her favorite one.

It started out easy enough. They blindfolded me and spun me around about 15 times till I was dizzy, and I managed to pin the tail after a couple tries. It was slightly off target, but Pinkie said it counted.

Rarity proved she’s talented at more than just fashion. She’s a pro at the game, she pinned the tail right on the point, like a bull’s eye.

I widened my eyes wide as they could. “Rarity, how the hay did you do that?!”

To which she responded with “It just comes naturally darling. When somepony like me lives their life for perfection, you learn to be perfect no matter what you do.” I guess that sorta made sense. Not really, but kinda.

She finished up her turn and handed it to Fluttershy. However, Fluttershy whimpered and ran behind a chair, hiding behind it. I sighed and went to her, hoping I could calm her down.

I kneeled next to her, and held her hoof in mine.”Fluttershy, what’s wrong? It’s just a simple party game.”

She whimpered again. “I. I don’t like being spun around. Or holding sharp objects.” She shook in fright and I sighed, stroking her mane with my hoof.

“Wanna play Twister? Or open presents with me? C’mon, have fun, for me Fluttershy. It’s my birthday, pleaseeeee?” I said as I gave her puppy dog eyes, and she smiled.

“O…..ok. For you. Let’s go open presents.” She said happily.

So, everypony happily congregated to the kitchen table, where the presents were. I was told to sit down in the “special” chair as they called it (it was just a wooden chair like all the others, but it had a banner with “Birthday Boy” on it). So, I sat down and was utterly surprised at what happened next.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both walked in to the room, surprising us all.

Twilight gasped. “Princess!” She then ran over to Celestia and hugged her. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in Canterlot?” Twilight questioned.

The princess smiled. “Yes, but when me and Luna found out it was Jordan’s birthday we couldn’t help ourselves. We knew you ponies would throw a party for him and decided to join in on the fun. We can spare a few hours from Canterlot for such a special occasion.”

I smiled at them both. “I’m so glad both of you could make it. I think we were about to open presents if you want to join?”

Celestia smiled. “Of course Jordan.” She then levitated a wrapped up box and added it to the pile. “This is from me and Luna.” She said with a big smile as the both of them walked over to the group of us.

Pinkie couldn’t take it anymore. “OK, enough dilly dallying, open the first gift!” she exclaimed as she handed me the first gift.

To speed things along, I’ll quickly explain each gift.

The first one was a book, from Twilight. No surprise there. It was titled “What to do when you’re in doubt: A guide to confidence and self-awareness” I thought for a moment. That might be helpful. I thanked Twilight for the gift and hugged her tightly. She then gave me another gift; it was a filer, to sharpen and maintain my horn (they grow like fingernails, just slower).

The second gift was from Rarity. It was a suit. It was a beautiful tux, adorned with a tie and everything. She explained that she noticed I had no clothes to wear, and told me to come to her whenever I wanted some work done. I gladly told her I would, and hugged her to say thanks.

The third present was from Spike. It confused me at first, but it was a magical dragon scale. He told me that it was the first scale he ever lost, and it had magical properties nopony knows about. I told him thanks and hugged him also, but it made me think; what magic did it possess? Would it be bad magic? I had no idea.

The fourth was from Pinkie Pie. It was a practical joke set, with the classic mustache and glasses disguise, invisible ink, etc. I hugged her tight. This was going to be so fun to use on some poor pony!

And, the fifth was from Rainbow Dash. It was a punching bag, to practice my fighting skills. I gave RD a play punch, before hugging her for it.

The next was from Fluttershy. It was a gift that surprised me and completely caught me off guard. I noticed the box had holes all around it but I didn’t think anything of it! I took the top off and right there, an adorable blue and white colored basset hound was smiling up at me. I was in shock as I looked into the box and saw that face smiling at me. The puppy jumped out of the box and tackled me, bombarding me with kisses and making everypony “AW!”. I looked at Fluttershy with a genuine, ear to ear smile.

“Fluttershy, I….. I can’t believe this! Basset Hounds are my favorite breed of dog. Oh my goodness, she’s adorable!” I said as I lightly squeezed the little puppy.

Then, something happened that rocked all of our worlds. An unknown voice said “Nice ta meet cha too!” A voice with a country accent spoke, which made me jump backwards. I looked at Applejack, in suspicion it was her, but she shook her head, as confused as I was.

The source of the voice was my new puppy! My puppy could speak! I went wide eyed. “WHOA, you can talk!?” To which she responded with “Yeah, don’t all dogs talk?” I bit my lip and shook my head.

“Weird, we all talk to each other. Ah must be special. Hey, since ya own me ya have ta give me a name! C’mon, quickly!” the dog said with a wide, happy smile.

I thought for a moment. I quickly went through a list of girls names in my mind until I decided on one. I pet the puppy and smiled.

“How about Elise? Do you like that name?” I said as I scratched behind her ears, making her whine in pleasure. She nodded at me.

“That’s a great name, ah love it!” she proclaimed as she licked my cheek. I was ecstatic. I had a new best friend, a new puppy to take care of. I walked to Flutters and hugged her tightly.

“Thank you so much Fluttershy! But, I gotta ask. Did you know she could talk?” I asked with my inquisitive voice. Fluttershy nodded and smiled.

“I might have known; and that might be a reason why I gave her to such a special pony like you. She’s a year old and pretty well mannered, but you need to do a good job of raising her, ok?” She smiled widely, and I smiled back and hugged her tighter.

I then looked at Elise. “Guess I gotta make you a new house and everything. Shouldn’t be too hard.”

After all that, it was time for another gift, this one was from Applejack. It was a small gift, but it meant a lot. I unwrapped her box, and inside the box was birthday card. It was beautiful, it was rainbow colored and had a picture of AJ and I during the applebuck season. It said “No matter how hard life gets, never forget that you’re special. Remember your worth, and remember your friends. We all love you and want to help you to be happy. Have an amazing 18th birthday, sugarcube, and come by the farm whenever you need somepony to talk to! I’m all ears, I promise you!” I smiled at AJ and hugged her tightly for the thoughtful gift.

The final gift was from Celestia and Luna. They actually had a two part gift. First, the physical gift. I opened their boxed gift, and inside was a very special vial. This vial contained a very magical liquid, as Celestia explained. “This liquid is a very potent, powerful potion. It regenerates after everytime you drink it, but it needs a period of twelve hours before it does so. This potion has magical properties even I cannot explain. You’ll have to see for yourself.” She smiled, but this made me nervous. Ok, so that’s two presents with magical properties nopony knows, nor can explain. Curious.

Celestia told me part two would have to wait for later tonight, at the castle. Twilight would teleport me to the castle when it was ready.

After that, we decided to do the cake. Everypony sang happy birthday, and I blew out the candles and made my wish. As I closed my eyes, I wished for two things….. I wished I could find my true love. I know Celestia said I should wait and enjoy friendship, but at the same time, I don’t want to be alone. I also wished for a way to live on my own, with my own house and job and everything.

The candles went out, and everypony cheered and divi’d up the cake. I got the biggest slice of course, and I downed it quickly. Oh how I love red velvet!

After that, we were setting up Spin the bottle. I noticed the princesses were about to leave when I called after them.

“WAIT. Princesses, don’t you want to play with us?” The sisters looked at each other. “What do you think Luna?” Celestia asked, to which Luna replied with “We think it would be delightful sister. We spend all of our time in Canterlot, it would be fun to play a game as typical ponies; not princesses.” To which Celestia agreed, and they sat down and joined us. Elise was sitting next to me. I pet her and scratched behind her ears, giving her tons of love.

Twilight placed the bottle in the middle of our circle and smirked at me. “Since you’re the birthday colt, you don’t get to play unless the bottle lands on you. Ponyville rules!”

I rolled my eyes. “This is gonna end very badly, I can tell already. Ok, who first?”

Pinkie sprang to life. “ME, ME! I WANNA GO FIRST!” With that, she grabbed the bottle with her hoof and gave it a rough, sugar rush induced spin. It spun for a good period of time before, by chance, it landed on me.

I groaned very audibly and sighed. Pinkie grinned. “Truth or dare?” She said with her inquisitive look.

I was feeling adventurous and brave, a decision that I would later come to hate myself for. “Dare.” I said flatly, and boldly. Pinkie put her hoof to her chin and thought.

“In that case, I dare you to….. KISS PRINCESS CELESTIA FOR THIRTY SECONDS!”

This caused literally everyone in the room to widen their eyes, drop their jaws and exclaim “WHAT!” at the same time. The poor princess looked to be the most shocked.

“P. P. Pinkie Pie! What the hay are you thinking! I can’t kiss the princess, I’m pretty sure that’s illegal for one. For two she and I aren’t even romantically involved, for three-“ I was cut off by Celestia placing a hoof on my lips to silence me before she sighed.

“It is the rules of the game, Jordan. We must abide by the rules.” She then looked at Pinkie. “Can it be in private, or does it have to be here?” Pinkie grinned evilly. “Here!” she proclaimed. Oh, Pinkie you are gonna get it from me. I swear it.

I sighed. “If….. it doesn’t bother you, Princess, I’ll play by the rules. But I think it’ll be best for all if we make it quick.”

She agreed, before she bore a very serious look on her face. “Now, KISS ME!” She demanded as she grabbed my face with both hooves and forcibly planted her lips onto mine, forcing me into a kiss. My eyes went wide as our muzzles connected.

For the first ten or so seconds, she and I were both in agony. We just kept ourselves completely still and made no movement or noise whasoever. We just wanted the time to pass so we could break away. But slowly, we got more into it. Celestia accidently opened her mouth, and got some of my taste in her mouth, which in turn made me receive some of her taste.

Then, we both started to enjoy said kiss. We both closed our eyes and got more sensual. I felt her tongue enter my mouth, and she put her right hoof on my muzzle, as she started to greedily lick around inside my mouth while wrestling my tongue, licking it with her own and dominating me with it. I let a sudden moan go into her mouth, not even caring if the girls were in attendance.

Celestia couldn’t believe how this was happening. She was ashamed of herself; she was the ruler of Equestria, the princess of the sun, the god to all ponykind. She had many stallions during her lifetime who sought to court her, and she always turned them down; she never felt the same way, not since her first love nearly one thousand and one hundred years ago. Love was a frail and meaningless emotion to her; the only love she’d experienced since that first heartache was the love she felt for Luna, and Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Yet as she kissed this young stallion who was once a different species, she couldn’t help but feel amazed. He had all the majesty and composure of a prince.

It was ironic how quickly things happened. At one point, I just wanted this kiss to end. But now, I never wanted it to end. It felt amazing.

Finally, Pinkie told us the time was up, and Celestia and I slowly pulled away, both of our faces stained crimson red from a deep blush. I didn’t say anything, and neither did she. We were too embarrassed.

“MY TURN!” Rainbow exclaimed as she grabbed the bottle and spun it violently. I however, was lost in thought. I couldn’t believe this. I just made out with Princess Celestia, the ruler of all Equestria, and enjoyed it. But what’s even more crazy is she seemed to be enjoying it also! This can’t happen, this can’t be real. Celestia is a god! She can have any stallion she wants, why would she fall for an ordinary, regular, good for nothing, useless, talentless excuse for a unicorn like me? She can’t.

I shook the thoughts from my mind for the time being and focused back on the game. Dash spun the bottle and it landed on me again!

I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Whatever, I’ll go again. Truth, Dash.”

She then looked at me. “Ok. I want to know. If you had the option to become a Pegasus, would you?”

I thought for a moment, but I proudly gave my answer. “Yes. I love being a unicorn and studying magic under Twilight, but I look at you and Fluttershy and I envy you both so much. YOU CAN FLY, for pony’s sake. You can go up in the air and feel the wind, you can see things I can’t even frivving DREAM of. I wish so badly I could experience it myself….. So, the answer is an emphatic YES, Dashie.”

She nodded at my answer. “If you had wings, I’d race you, and I’d kick your flank in a flash.” I rolled my eyes and smiled at her.

Celestia then raised an eyebrow. “Hold on a moment.” She then looked at Twilight. “Twilight? You have been teaching Jordan magic? While you study under me?” I looked at Twilight, and she was a mess. She was shaking in fear, afraid that the princess was mad at her for somehow breaking an unknown rule. But Twilight answered honestly and valiantly.

“Yes princess, yes I have.” Was all she said. Celestia smiled at her student and hugged her. “Twilight, this makes me so happy. While it is very important for a student to learn, it is just as if not more important for a student to teach. I am very proud of you Twilight. Of course, I ask you keep me updated, to make sure what you’re teaching him is accurate. You still have much to learn, my star pupil.”

Twilight smiled widely at her teacher’s approval and hugged her back.

Then, Rarity decided it was her turn. She grabbed the bottle and gave it one hay of a spin. It went around for a bit before it stopped at me again. Ok, now I was mad! This is not coincidence, something fishy is going on here!

I then narrowed my eyes at the group. “ALRIGHT, what the friv!? Is somepony using magic to make it land on me?!” I then heard a soft snicker to my right and glared at Twilight. She had her hoof over her mouth to stifle her laughs. “TWILIGHT! I know I’m the birthday boy, but come on!” I scolded, and she lost it. She fell over backwards onto her back, full on hysterically laughing at her prank.

She then finally stopped laughing and wiped a tear from her eyes. “I’m sorry, I usually can’t stand pranks, but Rainbow dared me to do it and I am so glad I did! That was priceless. Don’t worry, I won’t manipulate the bottle anymore, but you have to do this turn, it’s only fair!”

I rolled my eyes and looked at Rarity. “Dare.” I told her, bravely. She smiled at me.

“I dare you to come to my boutique and allow me to dress you up, with everything. Mane styling, new clothes, cologne, everything darling. I will make you so handsome no mare in all Equestria would give you a second look, darling!” Her eyelashes were fluttering as she spoke, only validating that she was excited at the aspect of giving me a total makeover.

I shrugged. “Sure, why not, if it will make you happy.” I then turned to Twilight and grabbed the bottle. “I went thrice in a row and was embarrassed half to death, I don’t care about the rules, I get one frivving turn!” Everypony agreed and made an exception.

I grabbed the bottle and spun it at a medium strength. It spun for a while before it stopped in front of Fluttershy. Fluttershy gulped. “Oh my…..” she said so quiet I could barely hear.

I smiled at her. “Truth or dare, Fluttershy?” She looked at me and took a deep breath, giving an answer that surprised me. “Dare. I….. I feel brave.” She said quietly, once again.

I then smiled at her. “Well then, I dare you to... do something Fluttershy friendly with me sometime. Butterfly catching?” She gasped and squealed in excitement. “I….. I love butterfly catching! It’s a date. How about tomorrow?” I smiled and nodded at her.

For the next while, we played a couple more turns of spin the bottle, before we got to the main event.

“CIDER!” Rainbow exclaimed as Pinkie and Applejack brought the barrels inside. Oh man, there’s like 20 of these big barrels. I’m gonna be hurting tomorrow but I don’t give a friv.

I aligned the cups and poured everypony a glass. “Ok, everypony have some, because me and Rainbow are gonna be having a little competition!”

We then stood in front of a barrel each, with a mug in hand, ready to pour cider into them. The competition was simple. Whoever drank the most cider wins. We had to pour our own cider though, and after a while of drinking any sort of movement can get hard.

“Ready…..Set…..GO!” Applejack yelled, and me and Dash went to work. We put our mugs under our respective nozzles and poured into our mugs almost in synchronization. We downed our first cup much the same way.

At five cups, I admit. I was feeling tipsy. But Dash looked like she was already buzzed, stumbling her hoof around a bit. I poured my next cup and chugged it, taking a deep breath afterwards.

I heard Luna whisper to Twilight and Celestia. “Is this what ponies do for fun ever since I was away?” I chuckled a bit and downed another cup.

At ten cups, I was feeling stumbly, and a bit drunk. My vision was just a tad bit blurry, and I was having a minor pulsing headache. But, I knew I could keep going no problem, so I did just that.

I heard Applejack whisper to Pinkie. “Boy howdy, their heads are gonna be mighty sore in the morning, lemme tell ya!” to which Pinkie giggled.

I soon got to twenty cups, and by now I was in trouble. My stomach felt full, I wanted to puke, my vision was full on blurry and my head was hurting like crap. I was regretting this contest so much, but there was no way I was gonna let Crayons the loudmouth win!

I suddenly heard a crash to my right, and looked over, almost falling over as I did. Rainbow has drunk herself into a blackout; she had crashed onto the table and broken it, now asleep and snoring on the ground.

Applejack came over and raised my hoof. “The winner!” she declared to the party. I looked at Dash and laughed drunkenly. “Ha-hiccup-ha crayons! I-hiccup-won! I-hiccup- told you-hiccup- I would-hiccup- win!”

Celestia chuckled and walked over to me. “As much as I think you deserve a nasty hangover for consuming so much cider, I’m afraid your night isn’t over, Jordan.” She lowered her horn, touched it to my head and charged her magic, channeling it into me. After a while, I wasn’t feeling drunk anymore. I felt fine again.

I smiled gratefully for my symptoms being gone. “Thank you, princess! I feel better now. But what about Dashie?” she was still passed out on the floor. “I think there is a lesson for Rainbow Dash to learn from all this.”

I nodded in agreement. “Told her I’d win. So, what now?” I looked at Pinkie who had a grin on her face.

-TIMESKIP-

For the next while, we finished up the party. It was now nighttime (The princesses left for a moment to perform their duties). I stood at the door to say goodbye to everypony.

Applejack walked up and hugged me. “Ah hope you love my gift Jordan, and ah hope you had an amazing birthday sugarcube!”

I hugged her close. “I’m going to have to come by and visit sometime, this is such an amazing gift. Have a good night AJ.”

She walked away after our hug, and I waved goodbye at her.

I repeated the process with everypony, until Twilight and the princesses came up to me. “Jordan, your last gift is now ready. Come with us to Twilight’s home, please.” I nodded at Celestia and walked with them to the library silently. Elise was walking next to me, and I smiled at her.

But I have to admit, I was nervous. There was absolutely no telling what the princesses had planned for me. It could be anything, and not knowing made me anxious, and nervous.

We walked inside the library and Twilight closed and locked the doors behind us. Celestia looked at me. “Now that we are all here, I shall teleport us to my castle. Goodnight, Twilight, and sleep well.” Twilight smiled at Celestia as she charged up her horn, before it violently glowed. Next thing I knew, I was once again in the throne room of the castle.

“Ah, good. We are here. Luna, please watch over the castle for a bit. I’m going on a walk with Jordan. See you soon, my beloved sister.” With that, me and Celestia started walking down the main hall of the castle, silently at first.

It felt very awkward; the quiet was maddening, the clacking of hooves the only sound heard. Finally, she spoke. “I must admit, that was a very fun party. Your friends worked very hard on it.”

I smiled. “Yeah, I’m lucky to know them. They’re all amazing.” I then realized we had walked all the way to her bedroom. She closed the door behind me.

She looked at me with a very serious glare. “Jordan, what I am about to show you is top secret. Nopony else can know about this, and it must stay here. Understand?” I nodded quickly, and she turned and hit a button on her desk, which made a wall suddenly shift out of place and turn around 180 degrees, revealing a new alcove.

I gasped in surprise as I looked into this alcove. It was some very mystical looking mirrors, and an ominous object in the middle. Celestia used her hoof to signal me to the object, and I quickly walked over.

“This is a very ancient, powerful magical relic. It grants the desire of the pony who uses it. It has been in my possession for millennia. Your final birthday gift is that I will allow you to look into the future, Jordan. But be warned. While you use this artifact, I do not know what you are seeing. You are the only one who can see through it, and I cannot help you, even if what you see is truly horrifying. Do you understand? Then go ahead and use it. Place your hooves on either side of the tabletop, and look directly into the glass.”

(FUN FACT, THIS ARTIFACT IS THE SAME AS THE ONE DUMBLEDORE USES TO SEE MEMORIES AGAIN IN HARRY POTTER. IT HAS A DIFFERENT FUNCTION HERE THOUGH. FUTURE!)

I did as Celestia instructed me, and before I knew it, I was in a different world. I was there physically, but it….. didn’t feel quite real, like a simulation.

I looked around me, and realized I was in Ponyville. But everything was all wrong. The girls, I could see them, but they weren’t as I knew them. Everypony but Twilight was grey, and colorless. They had angry looks on their faces, and were yelling at Twilight, including me.

I tried to walk over to them, but I couldn’t move! I then saw that the town was not the same. Buildings were upside down, gravity didn’t seem to exist and the weather was going crazy. It was all so weird.

Then, suddenly, the scene shifted around me. When everything came to focus, it was a bright, warm summer day. Birds were chirping, chipmunks were chittering, and it was absolutely beautiful, complete with the scent of lemongrass.

Then, I heard the faint sound of wedding bells. I cocked my head curiously and, thankfully, found out I could move this time. I walked towards Ponyville park, and gasped at the amazing sight before me.

I saw, well, myself. I was standing at the altar in a tuxedo and top hat, with a plethora of ponies sitting in the pews. Wait a moment, I was getting married!? I’m going to get married!? But to who!?

I didn’t have a chance to see, as the scene shifted again. “NO, WAIT, I HAVE TO FIND OUT WHO I MARRY!” I shouted in vain. It didn’t matter, because the scene changed anyway.

After it shifted, I was able to see the new scene. I was in the throne room of canterlot castle, but it wasn’t right. The sky was dark and dreary, and I heard groans and moans of pain all around me. I shifted my head all around, and gasped at what I saw.

All the girls, Celestia and Luna included, were sprawled out on the floor, wounds on their bodies. They were obviously hurt, they had been in a battle. But then, I saw something that stopped me cold.

I saw me again. I was laying on the throne on my back, shrieking in pain as some sort of creature held me down. The creature had its horn on my chest, over my heart, and was chuckling evilly. This went on for a while before my body went limp, and I gasped. Had I just died!? What is happening!

I then screamed. “NO, NO MORE! I CAN’T TAKE THE PAIN, STOP!” Suddenly, I felt a pain in my head as I suddenly came back to my real life body. The simulation thingy had ended.

I screamed at the top of my lungs and fell backwards onto my rump. I then started shaking in fear, with my hooves covering my face.

Celestia kneeled down and stroked my mane, trying to calm me down. I then surprised her by hugging her tightly. She gasped but then hugged me back, nuzzling her face into the crook of my neck.

I sniffled. “That was awful. I saw….. horrible things. You and Luna, and the girls, you were all motionless on the floor of the throne room. And I was being tortured by some evil creature, until I suddenly died! Princess, that can’t happen, can it?!”

Celestia gave me a grim look before she spoke. “I’m afraid the artifact does not lie, Jordan. That event will happen, and there is no way to change and alter it. It must come to pass.”

“But, in the simulation, I died. Is that how I’m going to die? But I don’t want to die! I love the girls, I love Equestria, I love life! I don’t want to lose everything, it isn’t fair!”

Celestia held me. “You do not know for sure that you died in that scenario, Jordan. It could be that you passed out. Nopony will know until it happens.” Celestia’s voice was bold, that of a true leader. Her words were tragic with their wisdom, their certainty. It made my heart ache even more as she spoke.

I then sighed loudly. “Princess, that wasn’t all that happened. I saw something very happy, something truly amazing. I saw my wedding. But the simulation didn’t let me see my bride. It was maddening. I want to know who I marry so bad…..” I said sadly as my ears drooped down.

Celestia had a curious look about her as she thought about this. “Well then, let that be your sense of hope, Jordan, that not everything in your future will be bleak and painful.”

“Well, I guess that’s as valid a point to make as any, Princess. I promise, I’ll try to be happy.” I then smiled at her, and for once, it was genuine.

She then smiled back. “I have one last birthday present for you, Jordan. And I truly hope you like it.” She then started to move her muzzle towards mine, making me gasp in surprise.

“P…..Princess? Princess, we’re not playing tru-“ She interrupted me by kissing me, once again. I shot my eyes wide open in shock, before they slowly fluttered down to being closed, and I started to kiss her back.

We opened and closed our mouths as we kissed, practically making out, and she put her hoof on my muzzle. I felt her tongue enter my mouth and lick around everywhere, occasionally moving to my tongue and wrestling it, to keep it down so she had clear access. I also saw her wings expand and stiffen ever so slightly and her horn glow a little bit.

After what must have been five minutes, we finally, slowly, tenderly broke apart, and she blushed. “I….. I apologize. I know that was unexpected, and I know it was quite out there. But after what happened during the truth or dare game earlier, I could not resist. I had to do it, just one more time. I hope you enjoyed it.” She smiled at me, her eyes looking a bit dreamy.

I smiled back. “I did, to be honest. You’re a great kisser. Then again, I guess it comes with being over a millennium old, huh? So, is there anything else princess? Or is it time for me to go?”

She responded by making her horn glow, as she charged up her magic. She then smiled. “Farewell for now, Jordan. Have a great time, until I see you again.” With that, I closed my eyes as she teleported me back to the library.

I felt the swirling of the magical energies finally come to a rest, and I opened my eyes. I was back in the library, and Twilight looked up at me from the book she was reading.

“How’d it go? What did the princess give you for her birthday?” Twilight asked inquisitively.

I chuckled and rubbed the back of my head with my hoof. “Twi, you wouldn’t believe it in a million years. I’m kinda tired, I’m gonna go to sleep. But Twi, I just wanted to tell you….. how thankful I am. You and the girls made this the best birthday I’ve ever had, and I love and appreciate you all so much. So, thank you Twily.” I said this as I walked over, and nuzzled her affectionately. She smiled and returned the favor, nuzzling me back.

“Goodnight Jordan. Me and the girls love and appreciate you too, and we’d give anything for you to be happy. See you tomorrow.”

I smiled at her, and walked upstairs. Spike had passed out hours ago. He was a baby dragon, afterall. I slowly crawled into my warm, soft, cozy bed and thought deeply. Elise was waiting for me, of course, and snuggled up next to me, leaving me to pet her softly.

Man, I can’t believe today. It was absolutely incredible. I had the best birthday party a pony could ever even imagine, let alone ask for, and for pony’s sakes, I kissed Celestia twice! Celestia! And I got a new best friend talking dog. This honestly feels like a crazy, wild dream. I was so sure I’d suddenly wake up and it would all be over. But it never happened.

The thing with Celestia’s artifact scares me. Those memories I had, minus the wedding, are truly troubling. What if….. what if something bad happens to the girls and I? I hope to Celestia nothing will, but then again I have no control over reality. What happens will happen, like the princess said. There’s no use in getting myself worked up over it.

Besides, I know now that I will get married in the future. If that isn’t enough to make me happy and hopeful, which it does, then nothing would. I wonder who I’ll marry? It could honestly be anypony. There’s no way of even guessing!

Slowly, I felt my mind and body get more and more tired, until finally, I slipped into the dream world. My dreams consisted of happy memories of the day, as Elise kept me warm as I slept.

Author's Note

This chapter, as i said in chapter 7, is what i consider to be my pivotal point, where my writing definitely got better. Although i consider this my pivotal point, i consider next chapter to be my best piece of writing ever. Next chapter is chapter 9, Dragonshy. I hope you enjoy these two chapters as much as I, their author, do.

Chapter 9: Dragonshy

I slowly woke up from my sleep and yawned. Man, yesterday was one hay of a day. Despite Celestia’s spell, I have a tiny bit of a hangover from the cider chugging. Ouch.

I got out of bed slowly and walked to the bathroom, taking care of business, brushing my teeth and showering. When I was done, Elise greeted me when I opened the door.

“Hey there, mornin’ Jordan! Hey, so what do ah do if ah gotta ‘go’?”

I looked at her. “Outside of course. C’mon, let’s go for a quick walk.” I got the leash that Fluttershy had given me yesterday and clipped it onto Elise’s collar. I walked down the stairs with her and saw Twilight at her study table. She looked up at us and smiled. “Going for a walk?”

I nodded. “Yeah, she needs to take care of business and I could use some fresh air, I think I have a bit of a hangover from last night. Doesn’t feel good. Never drink Twi. Haha.” I chuckled and she rolled her eyes playfully as she returned to the book she was reading.

I walked to the door with Elise (Whose name is pronounced ELL-IS, not E-LEASE), and smiled. “Ready girl?” She barked happily and we walked outside together.

I let her walk into a grass patch nearby, and let her take care of her business. I hummed a tune as I waited patiently and she came running back. While she was gone, I had realized something.

Fluttershy! She and I had a date to do some butterfly catching today. I have to go see her, it’s my one chance to get her to open up to me. I looked down at Elise and smiled.

“Hey Elise, wanna come with me to Fluttershy’s house? I think she has some dogs there, you can socialize and hang out with them and the other animals. Sound fun?”

She smiled. “That sounds like a dandy ol’ time Jordan! Ah’d love to see Miss Fluttershy! When do we go over there?”

I shrugged. “Now I guess? Let me just run inside and let Twilight know real quick, ok? Stay right here.” I let go of the leash, putting full trust in her that she wouldn’t run away.

I walked inside and poked Twilight on the shoulder to get her attention. I smiled at her. “Hey, I’m going with Elise to Shy’s house. I’ll see you later, ok?”

She nodded. “Be careful, ok? Some ponies have said there’s some smoke in the air today, there must be some wildfires burning.”

I gave her a wonderbolt style salute. “I’ll be careful. Promise. See you later Twi.” I walked out of the library and went to where I left Elise, expecting her to be there, but she wasn’t.

I started to look around for her frantically. “Elise?” I walked to the tree nearby, no sign of her.

“ELISE?!” I called out louder, more desperately. Suddenly, I heard a racket to my left. I saw Elise down the road, chasing a cat! Wait a minute, that cat is all white with a purple ribbon. OH NO, IT’S OPAL!

I ran down the street as fast as I could. “ELISE, ELISE STOP! That’s Rarity’s pet cat, stop it!” She wasn’t listening to me, however. Her animal instincts were kicking in. We all know cats and dogs can’t stand each other.

I ran to them both and tried to pull them apart, only getting scratches and bite marks for my trouble. “ELISE, BAD GIRL!” I yelled, hoping she would hear me and stop.

I then noticed we were outside the Carousel Boutique, and heard the front door open. “OPALESCENCE!” Rarity cried out. “You stop that right this second!” Rarity then ran towards the three of us, using her magic to pry Opal off Elise. Why didn’t I think to use magic?
Rarity held Opal in her magic grasp and gave her an angry look. “Opalescence, what in the name of Equestria has gotten into you?” She then looked at me and noticed the cuts and bites on my body and grimaced. “I sincerely apologize for this, darling. I don’t know what got into Opal!”

I then sighed. “I don’t know what got into Elise. I think she’s ashamed, she’s not talking.” I nodded towards Elise who was standing next to a tree with a remorseful look on her face.

Rarity visibly winced at my wounds as she looked at them. “Come inside, darling. I have a first aid kit that can help.” I quickly shook my head, declining her offer.

“Thanks Rarity, but I’m fine. A few scrapes and cuts never bothered me. I’m heading to Fluttershy’s.”

She gave me a serious look. “Jordan, dearie, it’s not a good idea to keep those wounds untreated, you-“ I quickly cut her off.

“Rarity, I appreciate your kindness and generosity, but I really am fine. I promise, if I need help, I’m sure Fluttershy can help me. I’ll be ok, ok?” She nodded and wished me well and I went to Elise.

“Elise? C’mon girl, time to go to Fluttershy’s!” She didn’t respond, and just ignored me. “Elise? I promise I’m not angry.” I then walked over to her and sat down on the grass, grabbing her gently and pulling her closely. I started to pet her coat gingerly and tenderly.

“Elise, honey. I’m not mad, I promise. You just scared me because I walked out of the house and you weren’t where I had left you. And then when I saw you with Opal, I freaked out, because I know Opal is a mean cat that will stand her ground. I was worried about you. That’s all.”

She made an almost purring sound as I pet her, and licked my face. “Ah’m sorry ah ran off like that, ah don’t know what came over me. Ah wasn’t myself, ah didn’t have control. Hey, we still goin to Mrs. Fluttershy’s house?” I nodded and put her leash and collar back on, which had fallen on the ground when she started sprinting. I tightened it a little more so it wouldn’t fly off, and walked with her towards the forest.

We walked in silence for a little bit of time before we walked by Sugarcube Corner. I looked over to the door to notice Pinkie turning the closed sign over to open. She saw me and gasped.

“HEY! Jordan, why don’t you come inside for a second? Please?!” I looked down at Elise who nodded and sighed. I guess Fluttershy could wait for a little bit.

I walked to the door with Elise, but Pinkie stopped me. “Sorry, but she has to stay out here. Pets aren’t allowed, minus Gummy, cause he has no fur!” I sighed and looked down at Elise.

“Stay here, RIGHT HERE, and be a good girl, ok Elise?” I scratched behind her ears and walked inside with Pinkie.

She closed the door and smiled. “Jordan, last night, I was going to play this game with you for your birthday, but we got too busy. So, I CHALLENGE YOU TO TIC TAC TOE!”

I raised an eyebrow. Tic tac toe? But I always get my rear end kicked at that game. Eh, oh well, might as well play.

“Sure Pinkie, let’s play.” She suddenly ran in a burst of pink and got the board, setting it down on the floor and lying in front of it. I did the same and smiled at her.

“You can go first!” She smiled at me. I grabbed an X and placed it on the very middle of the board. She then placed her O on the top right, to which I responded with placing my X on the top left. She then took the bottom left corner, but I won the game by placing mine in the bottom right.

She giggled. “You won, you’re good at tic tac toe!” I smiled at her.

We continued to play, but it seems Pinkie Pie is not much of a puzzle solver/strategic thinker. I was beating her, badly. I won six games in a row! When I won six games, suddenly her mane and tail deflated, and she turned a darker pink. For the next few games she looked sad and depressed.

We continued to play, but I kept winning somehow! At nine in a row, she got visibly irritated. She gave me a P.O’d look, and at 11, she was snorting through her nose.

At 12 in a row, she gave up and got super angry at me. She stood up, snorting angrily for a second, before she suddenly jumped and pounced on me, pinning me down. I looked up at her in fright.

“Pinkie Pie, calm down! It was just a-“ I was cut off as she raised her hoof and hit me, her hoof connecting with my face in a mighty hay-maker.

I have no idea how long I was out, but I awoke in a dark room. I tried to look around, but I just couldn’t see more than five feet in front me.

But suddenly, I saw a silhouette of Pink, and gasped. “Pinkie Pie? Is that you, oh, my head!” I moaned in pain as I felt my face.

Pinkie just stared at me, grinning evilly. I saw that she was holding an object in her hand, a scalpel. I gasped in fear as I saw it.

“I’ll teach you to beat me!” she yelled as she charged at me with the scalpel. I screamed, shut my eyes tight, but nothing happened.

I peeked one open to see Pinkie. She was standing still, scalpel an inch from my skin. She looked at me before she start guffawing, falling onto her back as her mane, tail and color went back to normal. Suddenly, the lights turned on, and all of the girls were there. Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Applejack, and even Spike. There were all laughing pretty hard.

I looked at them, confused. “What in the hay is going on here?!” Applejack walked up to me and started to untie me.

“We had this all planned sugarcube. Pinkie Pie meant to lose that game y’all were playin, and this whole thing was a gigantic in-joke to scare the livin daylights outta you, which ah say was a success!”

I looked at the girls in shock. Well, it was shock for a few seconds, before I got angry. I fell from my bonds and started to yell.

“THIS IS YOUR IDEA OF A JOKE!? I don’t mean to sound like Gilda, but seriously?! That was just messed up girls!”

Pinkie gave me a gigantic hug. “Hey, you should know I’d never hurt you! How could I hurt my bestest friend in the whole wide world over a stupid game of tic tac toe! But, next time we play I’m gonna totally beat you!”

I calmed down and hugged her back, smiling at her words. “It’s ok, but wow, that was really mean of you girls. Don’t do that again, please! I was really scared.” They all nodded, and we walked back upstairs together.

I saw Fluttershy and smiled. “Fluttershy, before this prank I was actually heading to your house with Elise. Do you still want to go butterfly catching?”

She gasped then smiled. “I’d forgotten about that. I’d love to, but I have to feed the animals at home first. Would you like to help me?” She gave me the biggest smile/blush combination I’d seen in my life, and my heart exploded; TWICE.

“Of course Fluttershy! I‘d love to help you. Let’s take a walk shall we?” I asked with a beaming smile at her and she nodded and smiled back.

As we walked out, I found Elise where I left her and I pet her lovingly. “Good girl, you didn’t run away! I think you deserve a treat at Fluttershy’s house.” We then started to walk along the road to her cottage, and she asked me a question.

“So….um…. how did you like your birthday? Was it good?” She spoke in a voice so soft it was hard to hear.

I nodded. “Yes, the party was amazing. But after that….. some things happened that I’ll never forget.” I grimaced internally as I remembered part two of Celestia’s gift, the kiss and seeing into the future. NO, NO, stop thinking about it Jordan, remember what you told yourself. It’s pointless getting worked up over, stop thinking about it and enjoy the time with Fluttershy you have.

I didn’t realize how long I’d been thinking, and before I knew it I heard Flutters say “Home sweet home. Oh Angel Bunny! Momma’s home.” She walked inside and walked to the kitchen, getting a bowl and putting a salad together for Angel, and I put Elise outside with the other animals. Angel then walked in and looked at me curiously. I kneeled down to his level and smiled at him, trying to show him kindness.

“So you must be Angel, huh? Nice to meet you.” I then extended my hoof out for a little hoofshake, but he declined it by crossing his arms and turning around. I looked at him confused.

“That’s pretty rude, don’t you think little buddy?” He then turned around and blew a raspberry at me in response. I stood up and glared at him.

“That’s not nice, I was trying to be nice to you!” He then smirked at me and stepped on my hoof with all four feet, making me yelp in pain. Fluttershy heard me and ran to the living room. “What happened?!”

I held my hoof in pain. “I was just trying to be nice to Angel and introduce myself, and he blew a raspberry at me and stepped on my hoof. I did nothing wrong…..” I said this in a sad tone of voice and Fluttershy looked over at the bunny.

“Angel, sweetie, please be nice to Jordan, this is momma’s friend honey. He was just trying to be nice, why do you have a temper today?” Angel turned his back on Fluttershy and folded his arms. I sighed.

“Maybe I should just go Fluttershy, it’s pretty apparent that, for whatever reason, he doesn’t like me. I don’t want to cause an argument.”

I started to walk away, but Fluttershy grabbed my hoof, boldly. She blushed. “D…..don’t go. Angel’s just a tough cookie, he doesn’t open up to many people. Please, I really need help feeding my animals today, and you promised we’d go butterfly catching.”

I smiled at her. “Ok Fluttershy, I’ll stay. But I’m staying away from angel for now. So who are we feeding first?”

She grabbed a giant basket and smiled. “Follow me outside to the forest.” She started to walk outside, and I did the same. We walked for a while to the forest before she stopped, and spoke.

“Ok little critters, lunch time! Come on out now, it’s all on the picnic blanket.” She laid out the blanket and put an impressive pile of food on it.

Many small creatures came out to eat. Birds, squirrels, rabbits, etc. But then I felt the ground shake a bit and my pupils shrunk as my eyes went wide with fear, due to the creature I saw next.

A brown bear. It looked to be eight hundred pounds with massive, club-like paws. It looked ready to kill. I shrieked in fear and ran for dear life to the cottage!

But on my way there, I tripped on a rock and went rolling for a bit. I did about five frontflips before I stopped, and groaned in pain. “Owch…..”

Fluttershy ran up to me and gasped. “Oh my goodness, are you ok Jordan?!” She sat down and held me in her lap, looking over my body to survey my injuries.

“Y…yeah, I’m fine. Just some scrapes and bruises, nothing major.”

She then held my arm up for me to see. “This isn’t major? Because it looks major to me.” She said in a soft voice. I looked at my arm and groaned, she was right. There was a stick lodged into my skin, and it looked decently deep too.

“Why did you run away? This all could have been avoided if you didn’t run.” She was right, of course. I sighed and told her the truth.

“Fluttershy, listen. I’m not scared of many things. But one thing I’m deathly afraid of is…..BEARS. They’re so big and frightening, and everytime I see one I feel like it’s going to eat me alive!” I whimpered as I said this, and she stroked my mane softly to calm me down.

“I know how you feel, trust me. Hairy scared me at first too, but once you get to know him he’s such a sweetheart, like Angel. I’m the same way with dragons, oh how dragons scare me!”

I smiled at her. “Well, at least you don’t have to worry, it’s not like some big dragon is going to attack Ponyville.” We both laughed before she got up slowly. “Come on, we have to get that arm taken care of mister. Let’s go home.” I slowly got up and followed her to her cottage, limping on three of four legs. Once inside, she got a first aid kit and sat me down at the kitchen table. She had some pliers and herbal medicine to numb the pain. She applied the medicine to my wound before she looked at me.

“Hold your hooves tightly, so the pain lessens, ok? I have to get this stick out.” With that, she gripped the pliers in her mouth and swiftly dislodged the stick. She then quickly wrapped bandages and gauze around the wound to keep it from bleeding.

I had managed to stay silent, but oh did I ever feel pain. When she was done, I was crying. She saw this and stroked my mane softly again. I looked at her with my teary eyes.

“F….Fluttershy, I’m sorry I’m being such a baby. I know you don’t want to hear me crying like a little filly.”

She looked at me before hugging me tight. “Jordan, you’re not a baby for crying. Everypony cries, even Rainbow Dash, but don’t tell her I said that.” She gave me a wink and I smiled. I could also tell she was speaking from past experience.

“Now, how does some lunch sound? My treat.” I nodded at her, I was feeling very hungry since I had skipped breakfast.

“Ok, you go lie down on the couch and rest that arm, I’ll have it out soon.”

I followed her directions and lied down on the couch. As I did, I gave a sound of pure comfort. Dear Celestia, this is the comfiest couch I have ever felt. It’s like lying on pure fluff! Even though I didn’t think I was tired, I very quickly fell asleep.

I don’t know how long I was out, but I was awakened by the sensation of a hoof stroking my cheek.

“Wake up sleepyhead, your lunch is ready.” It was Fluttershy, speaking in a sing-songy tone of voice. I gasped and quickly sat up, stretching and yawning.

“How long was I asleep?” She looked at me and smiled. “About an hour, sounded like you really needed it, you were even snoring.” I blushed a little bit before I walked with her into the kitchen. I gasped at what I saw.

I figured she would just make me a salad and call it good, but she did much more than that. There was a whole spread here! There was a salad of course, but she had also made hayburgers, hayfries, spaghetti, garlic bread and even an apple pie! I gasped and looked at her in disbelief.

“You….. you made this for me? But why, and how did you even make this much food in so little time Fluttershy?”

She blushed a little and hid her face behind her mane. She spoke softly. “W….well, we’ve never really been together before today, so I wanted to make it special. And since you got hurt on my watch I wanted to make it up to you. I’ve always been good at cooking, and with Angel’s help, it was easy. He says he’s sorry and wants to be your friend, by the way. He and I had a talk while you were asleep.”

Said bunny came up to me and nuzzled my non-injured arm. I smiled and pet him. “Thank you so much Fluttershy. Your plan definitely worked, I don’t think I’ll ever forget this.” I smiled at her, the corners of my mouth practically touching my ears, making her blush as she sat down to eat. I did the same.

I got helpings of everything, little samples if you will. A few plates and half an hour later and I was STUFFED. I sat back in my chair and rubbed my stomach. “Compliments. To. The. Chef. That was amazing Fluttershy!”

She blushed and smiled. “Th….thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it.” She then looked over at Angel, who was chomping on his carrot.

“Not too fast now, Angel bunny. You don't wanna get a tummy ache.” Angel looked at her and spit his carrot out. “You really should eat more than that, don't you think? It's not play time yet.” Angel started to run outside, but Fluttershy intercepted him “I know you want to run, but... just three more bites. Two more bites? One more bite? Pretty please?” Angel responded by shaking his head each time and finally kicking the carrot at her. What a jerk!

Angel started to cough, making Fluttershy become concerned. “Oh, goodness. Are you okay?” Angel only coughed again. “Are you coughing because there's a carrot stuck in your throat?” Again, he only coughed! ”Because you need some water?” This time he coughed very loudly.

“What is this, charades?!” I cried out in annoyance at both of them.

Fluttershy gasped as she looked towards the sky. “Because of that giant cloud of scary black smoke?” Angel again kicked the carrot at her. ”I'll take that as a... yes.”

I looked at the cloud in shock. “Twilight told me there’d been warning of smoke today, but she said they were just wildfires. This is either a gigantic wildfire, or something fishy is going on here!”

Fluttershy gulped nervously. “We…..we have to tell everypony what’s going on! Come on!”

She and I both ran towards Ponyville, leaving Angel and Elise at her cottage. We ran for a while until we got to Ponyville Park. There, she tried to get anypony’s attention, but they were all busy/ignoring her!

“Help. Help! Please? Help? There's-- there's a horrible cloud of smoke. It's headed this way and-“ Fluttershy shrieked as Rainbow Dash zoomed by her, bouncing a ball on her nose.

“Don't be such a scaredy-pony. It's just me, future Equestria ball-bouncing record holder. Three forty six, three forty seven...” I rolled my eyes. Gosh darn it Rainbow, this is serious!

“This calls for a celebration!” Pinkie said as she watched Rainbow bounce the ball.

“Oh, no, Pinkie Pie, this is no time for celebration. This is a time for panic, for-“ Fluttershy was again cut off by everypony.

I then tried to speak. “Uh, girls?! Hello?!” But, I got ignored like Fluttershy!

“Ooo! I'm going to need balloons! One for every pony in Ponyville!”

“There's— there's smoke. And— and where there's smoke, there's fire. And—“

“Let's see, that's one, two, three, four...” Pinkie started.

“Three hundred fifty four...” Dash went on.

“Five, six...” Pinkie continued.

“Three hundred fifty five, no, wait...” Dash lost track of her count!

“Seven.” Pinkie counted.

“Pinkie Pie! Now I have to start over.”

I then growled in annoyance before I stomped my hoof on the ground and shouted. “FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA, WILL SOMEPONY LISTEN TO FLUTTERSHY AND I?!” Well, that got everypony’s attention, cause they all looked at me.

“There’s a gigantic cloud of smoke in the air that is about five minutes from getting to Ponyville, LOOK AT THE SKY!” I turned and pointed towards the cloud, making some ponies gasp and run to their homes in fright.

Suddenly, Twilight showed up. “Jordan’s right! And the smoke isn’t just here, it’s spreading over all of Equestria!”

The other ponies all gasped. “What? Oh no! That's awful!”

“That's what we were trying to tell all of you…..”Fluttershy added softly.

“But don't worry, I've just received a letter from Princess Celestia informing me that it is not coming from a fire.” Twilight added.

“Oh, thank goodness.” Fluttershy said in relief.

“It's coming from a dragon.” Twilight proclaimed sternly.

All of us gasped collectively.

“A... d-dragon?” Fluttershy replied in fright. Ouch, she just admitted to me earlier how scared she is of dragons. This isn’t good for her, I feel bad for her!

“Come on, I’ll debrief you all at the library!” Twilight said as she galloped to the library, us directly in tow. When we got there, the questions started.

“What in the name of all things cinnamon swirled is a full-grown dragon doing here in Equestria?” Applejack questioned.

I then piped up again. “Yeah, I thought dragons lived in another land, until the great migration? Read about it in one of your books, Twilight.”

“It’s sleeping.” Twilight stated.

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and I were all confused. “Huh?”

“According to Princess Celestia, he's taking a nap. His snoring is what's causing all this smoke.” Twilight retorted.

“He should really see a doctor. That doesn't sound healthy at all.” I facehoofed. Pinkie, you dork.

“Well, at least he's not snoring fire. What are we meant to do about it?” Rarity asked.

I piped up again. “We’re just seven ponies! How are we going to wake up a dragon!? Those things weigh like, what, one hundred tons?!” I shouldn’t have said this, as Fluttershy started to shiver and shake in fear.

“I'll tell you what we're meant to do. Give him the boot. Take that. And that!” Dash made some impressive fighting moves, until she crashed into a bookcase.

I rolled my eyes. “Nice moves, Rainbow Crash.”

She glared at me before flying to me and getting right in my face, an irritated look in her eye. “Don’t you ever, EVER call me that!”

I just smirked at her. “Somepony angry? Good. Save it for when we go pay this dragon a visit!”

“How about I use it to smash my hoof in your face?!” she yelled at me in anger.

Twilight interrupted us by splitting us away from each other and glaring at us. “Ahem. We need to encourage him to take a nap somewhere else. Princess Celestia has given us this mission, and we must not fail. If we do, Equestria will be covered in smoke for the next one hundred years.” Fluttershy gasped at this.

“Hmph. Talk about getting your beauty sleep.” Rarity stated, half sarcastic, half serious.

Twilight continued. “All right everypony, I need you to gather supplies quickly. We've got a long journey ahead of us. Let's meet back here in less than an hour.” She finished as she walked away to go pack.

Dash piped up. “Okay, girls and boy, you heard her. The fate of Equestria is in our hooves. Do we have what it takes?”

We all nodded in agreement, except Fluttershy.

“Um, actually...” She said softly as the girls left. I nuzzled her side, making her gasp and look at me. I smiled at her. “I have nothing to pack, want me to go with you to the cottage and help you pack your things?” She nodded prudently. So, she and I hurried to her cottage.

We got there pretty quickly, and I started thinking of things she would need. “Ok Fluttershy, let’s see. Some snacks, a water canteen, oh, you’ll need that…..” I droned on as I helped her pack, and she started to put on some clothing. When I was done and looked up at her, I facehoofed.

She had on a football helmet and protective clothing. “Fluttershy, you don’t need all that, come on.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to get hurt. I’m wearing them!” she replied sternly. I sighed and let her.

When we were done packing, we walked to the front of the house and I grinned, thinking of the exciting adventure ahead. “LET’S DO THIS!” I yelled as I started running back to town.

“Um, let's... not?” Fluttershy said as she squeaked and whimpered. I used a spell to lift her up and carry her to town. She protested the whole way, but I got her there.

When we all gathered at the park, Twilight looked at me. “Here, I packed some things for you.” She then mounted the saddle bags onto me and I smiled at her in appreciation.

“All right girls, and boy, listen up. I'm mapping out the fastest route, but we've all got to keep a good pace if we expect to make it up the mountain by nightfall.” Twilight said as we all gathered in the middle of town.

“M-m-mountain?” Fluttershy asked, stuttering in fear.

“The dragon is in that cave at the very top.” Twilight added.

“Huh. So we’re going to the top of a mountain, to meet a dragon in a cave? What if he hits us, and we go flying off the mountain? We’d be ruined, then!”

Twilight shrugged. “I guess Rainbow Dash could catch us if that happened? I’m not sure.”

“Looks pretty cold up there.” Applejack noticed.

“You bet it is. The higher you go, the chillier it gets.”

I groaned. “Oh come on, I hate the cold!” Rarity then tapped me on the shoulder. “Good thing I brought my scarf. And I made one for you, Jordan, since I know you don’t own one.” She smiled and handed it to me, and I smiled back. “Thank Rarity!”

“Ooo! Pretty!” Pinkie said to us when she saw our scarves.

“Heh, oh yeah. That'll keep you nice and cozy.” Rainbow said. I rolled my eyes at her. “Rainbow, for the love of Celestia, knock it off with the frivving sarcasm already, it’s starting to get on my nerves!” I stared at her in a half glare, which she returned.

“Don’t like it? Stay here in Ponyville then!” I grumbled and walked away from her, towards Fluttershy.

She looked at me with fright and fear riddled in her eyes. “D... do I have to go? I could stay here, and watch the animals and be safe… away from dragons!”

I sighed at her. “Fluttershy, we’re a group, and we need to-“ I stopped talking as I saw the look in her eyes, it made my heart shatter, she looked so scared. I sighed again. “Go ask Twilight, she’s the leader here afterall.” Fluttershy nodded and walked over to Twilight.

Fluttershy gulped and spoke to her. “Um, excuse me, Twilight? I know you're busy, but...” Twilight didn’t pay Fluttershy much attention, and focused on the map.

“Uh-huh. Well, we could go this way.” Twilight rambled on.

“But if I could just have a second...” Fluttershy continued.

“Uh-huh. No, we want to avoid that.” Twilight continued ignoring Fluttershy, and now I was getting angry. I walked over to Twilight and ripped the map out of her hands. “HEY, I was using that!” she cried out.

I gave her a stern look. “Fluttershy’s been trying to talk to you for about half a minute now, and you kept ignoring her. She wants to stay here in Ponyville, because she’s scared.”

Twilight gasped and looked at Fluttershy. “You have to come! Your way with wild animals will surely come in handy.”

“I don't think I—“ Fluttershy was cut off by Twilight.

“Oh, and don't worry about your little friends in the meadow. Spike's got it covered while you're gone.” We looked over and saw Spike corralling said critters, including Angel and Elise. Angel tapped rapidly on Spike’s head, making the animals flee.

“You can count on me! Oooh! Hey! Hey! Wait!” The animals all started fleeing, forcing Spike to chase them.

“I don't really think he's up to the task. Maybe... But... But... no!” Fluttershy made such an adorable sound, I swear my heart burst. She was way too cute.

I walked over to Elise. “Hey, will you be ok here with Spike honey?” I scratched her ears, just how she liked. She made a happy sound and nodded. “Of course ah will, y’all be careful up there, ya hear?!” I smiled and nodded at her before walking to Twilight and Rainbow.

“Are you sure you want Fluttershy to come along? I mean, that pony's afraid of her own shadow. She's just going to slow us down.” Rainbow was talking to Twilight, and then I stepped in.

“Oh, well excuse me if some of us don’t have wings, Mrs. Pegasus. It’s not Fluttershy’s fault she’s scared, you can’t honestly look me in the eye and say you’re not a little bit scared too!”

She looked me in the eye, like I said, before she backed away. “Ok ok, maybe I’m a little scared, but I’m still awesome and fearless!” I scoffed and looked at Twilight, who started to speak again.

“Oh, she's just a little nervous. Once we get going, I'm sure she'll be fine.” We looked over to see Fluttershy, like Dash said, get frightened at her own shadow. I sighed.

“Ok, look. It’s obvious Fluttershy has her pluses and minuses, but the fact of the matter is we’re a team, and we have to stick together. Even if she’s a pain sometimes.”

They couldn’t argue with that, so they just nodded, and Twilight spoke. “All right girls, and Jordan, move out!”

“But... but...!” Fluttershy screamed as the dragon snored, very loudly. So loud it was as if it were right next to us.

“Whoa. What was that?” Rainbow asked in amazement.

“That is what it sounds like when a dragon snores.” Twilight said as we started to walk towards the mountain. I went to Fluttershy.

“Hey, listen Fluttershy. I know how uncomfortable and scared you are, so I’ll walk with you. Will that make you feel better?”

She gasped. “You’d do that, for me? Oh, thank you!” She hugged me tightly, making me smile widely.

So, she and I started walking side by side, so close we felt each other’s body heat. Suddenly, she looked at me. I saw her move her neck, and I turned at her. As soon as she saw me turn my neck, she turned hers the opposite way, trying to hide a blush. It seemed clear she wanted to say something.

“Hey, something on your mind Fluttershy?” I asked.

She blushed more and gulped nervously, and spoke in a very soft voice. “I, um… was just wondering if I, um… could hold your hoof?” she blushed even more, turning her head away again.

Her question made even me blush badly. “You want to hold hooves with me?” she nodded. “If….that’s ok?” I smiled at her and grabbed her hoof, walking side by side with her towards the mountain.

Rainbow spoke to us as she flew forwards. “C’mon you two slowpokes, we’ll never make it if you—“ she had looked back towards us mid-sentence, and when she turned back and saw us holding hooves, she was in so much shock she messed up her flying pattern and crashed to the ground. She got up, shook her head a bit and looked at us in wonder, as if she was questioning something. Me and Fluttershy both blushed and turned away, not making our case look any better.

Finally, we got to the base of the mountain, and Fluttershy looked up in fright. “It-- it's so... high!”

“Well, it is a mountain. I'm going to fly up there and check it out!” Rainbow started to fly up until AJ stopped her. “Wah!”

Hold on, now. I think we should all go up together. Safety in numbers and all.” Applejack was right, it did make sense, and Dash agreed. “Oh, all right.”

The girls started to walk up the mountain, and I was doing the same until I heard the unmistakable squeal of Fluttershy behind me. I saw she was shaking in fear, so I quickly slid down the rocks back to the ground. I ran over to her and comforted her.

“Hey, it’s ok Fluttershy, it’s just a mountain. Shh.” I said as I stroked her mane, trying to calm her down. It worked, but she was still frightened.

“Hey! What are you waiting for? An invitation?” Rainbow cried out in anger. I then heard Pinkie Pie next.

“Ooo, I think I have one in my bag!” I couldn’t see what she was doing, the cliff was too high up.

“I-it's so... so... steep.” She shuttered in fear, as I held her.

“Well, it is a cliff. You could just, oh, I don't know, fly up here?” Rainbow suggested.

“Come on, Fluttershy, you can do it. Flap those wings!”

“Oh... okay.” Fluttershy broke away from me and started to fly, but then the dragon snored and she fell to the ground again.

“Augh!” Rainbow cried out in frustration.

I stopped listening to the girls’ conversation above as I comforted Fluttershy. “Shh, it’s Ok Fluttershy, the dragon’s not gonna hurt you. I promise.” She held onto me as she shivered in fear. All of a sudden, Applejack came down the cliff to us. “What are you doing here?” I asked simply enough.

“We gotta get Fluttershy up that there cliff, don’t we? We’re gonna walk her around the long way.”

I then noticed that said pony had fallen asleep in my arms as I tried to calm her down. AJ smiled at me.

“You’ve got talents at making ponies calm pardner, like her and her animals. Ya got a soothing voice sugarcube.”

I chuckled a bit. “You really think so?” She nodded at me. I then stood up used my magic to put Flutters on my back. “C’mon, we’d better get walking then.” AJ nodded and started to follow me and I started walking the long route, around the mountain. Fluttershy was surprisingly heavy, and it was a workout, but I carried her.

About halfway through the trip, we were silent. But around the halfway point, I suddenly spoke.

“AJ, do you think this is gonna work out? I mean, seven ponies against a full grown dragon, I—“ she cut me off as she patted my back. “Jordan, ah think we got this. Ain’t nothing bad gonna happen, you and Fluttershy don’t gotta worry none.” I nodded and continued walking.

At the halfway point, we’d been walking for about forty-five minutes. So, it took another forty-five to get to where the girls were. My hooves were aching; Fluttershy’s weight didn’t help either.

We finally got to our destination, the top of the cliff.

“Whoo-hoo! I win again!” I heard Pinkie say as we finally got to the crest of the trail.

“Ugh. That's thirty-five games in a row. Best of seventy-one?” Wait, were we walking for that long?! I’m just now noticing how bad my legs hurt, I think I’m going to get a cramp.

“We. Made. It.” Applejack said while panting, obviously tuckered out from the long walk. I was too.

“Told you it was going to take them forever.” Rainbow said in annoyance.

“That was not fun, I carried Fluttershy the entire way. Quick break, then we’ll keep going.” I said as I set Flutters down gently, sitting down to catch my breath.

Rainbow groaned. “Come on already, we need to get going!”

Applejack waved a hoof at her. “C’mon Rainbow, we walked all that way nonstop, we need a rest.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “For the love of Celestia, make it quick!” We all sat down and rested for a couple minutes, and Fluttershy slowly woke up. She was startled, as she was in an unfamiliar setting. She gasped.

“Where are we?!” She said in fright. I stroked her mane softly. “We’re at the top of the cliff, Fluttershy. Applejack came down to us, and you’d fallen asleep, so I carried you on my back up here.”

“You carried me up here? Oh, I feel terrible, that must have been hard.” She said with her ears drooped down. I nuzzled her.

“It was no problem Fluttershy, you needed to rest anyway. But I think we should get back on the road now. Shall we girls?” I looked to them, and they all nodded. We stood up and continued on the trail up the mountain, me and Flutters side by side like earlier.

As we walked, Rainbow flew ahead of me and Fluttershy and stopped us. “Fluttershy, is it ok if I stop for a second and talk with Jordan?” Fluttershy looked at me and nodded, and walked around Dash to continue walking.

Rainbow landed on the ground before playfully slugging my arm with her hoof. “You sly dog! I saw you and Fluttershy holding hands earlier. So, when’s the wedding!?” She was stifling laughter after she said this, because my face was red as a beet, and I was stammering.

“I….we…what?! You….you’re crazy! We….we’re not! I mean, Fluttershy’s amazing. And sweet. And kind. And beautiful, but…-“ I stopped as I realized I had just said that. Rainbow gave me a devious smirk for it. It was obvious that after I let those words slip out of my mouth, she was more convinced than ever I liked Fluttershy, and wasn’t going to let it go.

Rainbow then gave me another play punch. “I’m gonna be Fluttershy’s amazing mare of honor! Woo-hoo!” She then took off and flew ahead to the group again. As I walked, I noticed Fluttershy had stopped so I could catch up with her. She saw how red I still was and looked at me in curiosity.

“What’s wrong, what did Rainbow Dash talk to you about?” She asked in a soft, inquisitive voice.

I shrugged. “N…nothing. Let’s just keep walking, ok Fluttershy?” I then nuzzled her softly, making her make a very happy eeping sound.

We all continued walking, until we got to a deep ravine in the trail.

Me and the five girls all made it across the gap with ease, but Fluttershy was the last pony left. She gulped nervously, in fright.

“Your turn, Fluttershy.” Twilight said to her.

“But... it's so... wide.” Fluttershy said in worry.

“Come on, Fluttershy, we should be much farther along by now.” Twilight retorted.

“She’s right Fluttershy, we’ve wasted too much time!” I called out to her.

“You could just leap on over.” Applejack suggested.

“I—“ Fluttershy started to speak, but at that moment the dragon snored. It was so incredibly loud, and frightening, I almost fell over in terror myself!

“I don't know.” Fluttershy said worriedly.

“There's nothing to be afraid of. It's just a hop, skip and a jump. See?” Pinkie Pie demonstrated, and started singing.

-It's not very far
Just move your little rump
You can make it if you try with a hop, skip and jump-

“We don't have time for this.” Twilight said in annoyance. But I put my hoof on her shoulder, assuring her this was the only way to get Flutters over here. Pinkie continue singing.

-A hop, skip and jump,
Just move your little rump,
A hop, skip and jump,
A hop, skip and jump,
A hop, skip and jump,
A hop skip and jump,
A hop skip and jump!- Pinkie FINALLY finished singing her song. Fluttershy looked a bit more motivated now.

“O-okay. Here I go. A hop.” Fluttershy hopped in the air.

“That's it.” Applejack encouraged.

“You've got it.” Twilight motivated.

“Almost there.” Rarity chimed in.

“Skip.” Fluttershy then skipped, and was about to jump in the air, when Twilight spoke.

“Just don't look down.” Twilight warned. But of course, whenever you say those words, THEY ALWAYS END UP LOOKING DOWN. Fluttershy did, and became stuck in the ravine.

“Ugh.” Me and Dash both said in irritation as she was wedged between the two cliffs.

“I guess I forgot to jump.” Fluttershy said a bit sadly. I helped her up and shook my head. “You just need to learn confidence in yourself, Fluttershy. You could have made that jump easily, but you let your nerves, your fear get the best of you. That’s no way to live, you have to conquer fear, or else it will ruin your life. Trust me, I know from experience.”

Fluttershy seemed to be digesting what I told her, but she didn’t have anything to say in response, so she just nodded her head. “Can we…. Keep going?” Me and the girls all nodded at her, and so we all started walking on the road again. After a good bit of walking, we came across a cliff, shooting straight up to the right hand side.

“Let's keep it down. According to my map, we're entering an avalanche zone. The smallest peep could cause a huge rock slide.” Twilight warned to the lot of us.

“An... an ava... ava...” Fluttershy started to say in fright, before Twilight stopped her.

“Shhh!” Twilight scolded at Fluttershy. A few seconds later, something happened that made Fluttershy yell.

“AVALA--!” Fluttershy started to yell before I put my hoof over her mouth. We all then went on high alert, scared that an avalanche would start. We waited for a couple seconds of agony, before we let out a collective sigh of relief.

But then, all of a sudden, we heard rumbling all around us. I looked to my left, and there were rocks sliding down the cliff! Gigantic boulders!

Dash started flying for dear life, and the girls followed suit on the ground. I tried to run after them, but I kept taking rocks to the hooves, making me stop from the pain.

Then, I saw that a gigantic boulder was about to crush all the girls, before I scream. “NO!!!” I cried out, and all of a sudden, something incredible happened.

My horn started to glow and spark, without me even doing anything. All of a sudden, a magical bubble appeared around all six of the girls, and when the boulder came down to the bubble, it shattered into a million pieces, and the girls were safe. Consequently, I was vulnerable as this all occurred, and I took a mean sized rock to the head, knocking me out.

I don’t know how long I was out for, but I found myself… at peace. It was absolutely silent, like a solitary confinement, sound-proof room. I had a throbbing pain in my head, but I was relatively at peace besides that.

Then, I realized my predicament. I was trapped, encased in a rock tomb of sorts! Rocks were all around me and I couldn’t get out! I couldn’t move, I was absolutely stuck.

I was losing oxygen by the second, and it was getting hard to breathe. I feel my lungs start to tighten, and my throat get drier, and drier, and drier as I tried to get much needed air.

I tried desperately to move, shaking my joints and trying to get out. I was in full-tilt, desperation, survival mode, going off of adrenaline, because finally, I was able to dislodge a rock at my head and get air.

I spent literally the next twenty seconds or so taking in air, before I studied my surroundings. I had been completely encased by these rocks, like a bad body cast. I was stuck.

“Oh please, please let one of the girls walk by here! I need their help, I can’t get out on my own.” I thought to myself as I looked around.

Suddenly, I heard a voice. “JORDAN!” I saw Twilight and the girls run to where I was. “JORDAN, oh thank Celestia you’re safe! We thought we lost you!” Twilight cried out in relief, as they all started to dislodge the rocks from around me. When I was free, I lied down on my stomach and sprawled out a bit, until Twilight moved me back onto my back.

“We were looking for you for what felt like forever. We were so scared, so worried. We couldn’t find you…” Twilight said as she surveyed my injuries and winced a little. “That hoof looks badly hurt, if not broken. Fluttershy, can you make a sling for his hoof like you do for your animals?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Jordan and I packed one earlier. I had no idea he’d be the one needing it.” Fluttershy said as she carefully put my hoof in the sling, which allowed me to at least get up properly.

“How do you feel? Can you continue walking?” Twilight asked, as I started to test the waters so to speak. I could walk, but very slowly. It was painful. I sighed.

“Maybe I ought to just go home, I’m only going to slow you six down. I got a dead hoof, I’m no help to you now!”

Fluttershy shook her head softly. In a soft voice, she retorted. “Remember what you told me earlier? We're a group, and we have to stick together, no matter what.”

I gave an understanding nod. She was right, of course. It just meant we would be even more behind schedule getting to the dragon.

“Ok, we should get going then. Let’s do it.” I started carefully walking on three hooves forward. It turned out that somehow, I had gotten knocked forward, to the other side of the rock wall the avalanche formed. The girls had climbed over it to get to me.

“Still think it was a good idea to bring Fluttershy along?” Rainbow finally asked Twilight after we’d been walking a good distance.

“We're about to find out. We're here. Rainbow Dash, you'll use your wings to clear the smoke.” Rainbow nodded and went “Mm-hmm.”

“Rarity and Pinkie Pie, you'll create a diversion to distract the dragon if things get a little hairy in there.” Rarity and Pinkie nodded.

“Applejack, you're ready with the apples in case he decides to attack. But it shouldn't come to that, because Fluttershy will do what she needs to do to wake him up, and between the two of us, we should be able to get him to understand why he needs to go. Is everypony ready?” Everypony nodded, but I stepped forward.

“What about me? What should I do, Twilight?” She gave me a look of sorrow and remorse.

“I’m sorry Jordan, but you’re sitting this one out. You’ve already got a possibly broken hoof, I can’t let you put yourself into harm’s way again.” She pointed to a nearby rock. “Go stand behind that rock, just in case, ok?” I started to protest, but she gave me a stern look. “No buts! Now, go!” I sighed and nodded, and went behind the rock. I couldn’t hear everything the girls said, however.

In the next minute or so, I saw Twilight try to push Fluttershy into the cave, but to no avail. Twilight didn’t realize WHY Fluttershy wouldn’t go into the cave.

Finally, I heard Fluttershy cry out. “I'm scared of dragons!” She said and cowered in fear as the dragon snored, releasing a ton of smoke that made us all cough.

I then decided to walk over and try to help the situation as Twilight spoke. “But Fluttershy. You have a wonderful talent dealing with all kinds of animals.”

“Yes, because they're not dragons.”

“Oh come on! We've seen you walk right up to a horrible manticore like it was nothing.”

I then surprised them by speaking, as they hadn’t seen me walk over. “Girls, think logically for a moment. Dragons are gigantic, frightening creatures. There’s a big difference between a dragon and a manticore, and Fluttershy has every right to be scared. You girls can’t tell me you’re not scared too?”

Rainbow Dash flew and did a heroic, brave pose in the air. “Not me, I’ll kick that dragons butt!”

I rolled me eyes, and Pinkie spoke next.

“Spike is a dragon. You're not scared of him.”

“Yes, because he's not a huge, gigantic, terrifying, enormous, teeth-gnashing, sharp-scale having, horn-wearing, smoke-snoring, could eat a pony in one bite, totally all grown-up dragon!” The dragon snored again, making Fluttershy whimper in fear.

“But, if you're so afraid of dragons, why didn't you say something before we came all the way up here?”

Fluttershy was about to speak, but I stopped her and spoke. “Twilight, if you remember, I told you when we were getting ready to leave, but you were so concerned about getting going you didn’t stop to think of the consequences...”

“All of us are scared of that dragon.” Applejack said, trying to play mediator. “I'm not!” Dash replied, and AJ sighed. “Almost all of us are scared of that dragon, but we've got a job to do. So, get in there with Twilight and show her what you're made of.”

“I-- I-- I just... can't.” Fluttershy then ran behind the rock I was behind, and Twilight sighed. “Go back to the rock with Fluttershy, Jordan. We’ll handle this.” I nodded and went there.

“I'm goin' in. He... probably just doesn't realize what he's doing. Right?” The girls all nodded at Twilight, and she walked inside the cave. I couldn’t hear her inside the cave, but I next saw her run out of the cave as smoke flooded the entrance.

“So much for -coughs- persuading him.” Rainbow said a bit annoyed.

“Now what?” Applejack asked.

“Obviously, this situation just calls for a little "pony charm". Allow me, girls.” Rarity said as she next went in the cave. A while later, she came back outside, running terrified.

“I was this close to getting that diamond.” Rarity said in regret.

“You mean... getting rid of that dragon?” Twilight said, correcting Rarity.

“Oh, yeah... sure.” Rarity said, still disappointed. Suddenly, we all heard a very loud horn.

“What in tarnation...?” Applejack said confusedly, as we all found out Pinkie Pie was blowing a horn.

“Darling, you look ridiculous.” Rarity said in disgust at Pinkie’s outfit.

“Exactly! Sharing a laugh is a sure-fire way to get someone on your side! Hi!” Pinkie said as she made some goofy motions.

Pinkie Pie went in, but came out with some equipment destroyed. “Apparently he doesn't like laughing, heh. Or sharing.” She said.
“All right, that's it. We tried persuasion, charm, whatever it is Pinkie Pie does.” Dash said as Pinkie blew the busted up horn.

“It's time to stop wasting time! I'm going in!” She said as she dashed into the cave. Next thing we knew, she flew out of the cave in fright, and right behind her was the dragon!

“Who-o-o-o-o-a!” Rainbow screamed as the dragon used her as a bowling bowl, before tossing her into the four others like a game of bowling.

Fluttershy and I gripped onto each other tightly, shaking in fear at the gigantic dragon. He looked cold blooded, like he was out for blood. Suddenly, he grabbed me, forcing me and Fluttershy to separate.

He clenched me in his fist, and brought me far up into the air. I screamed. “GIRLS, HELP ME!” His grip on me was only tightened, making me feel like I was in a vise grip. I wouldn’t last much longer.

Suddenly, I heard Fluttershy shout. “How dare you!” She yelled as she flew up to the dragon, and landed on its snout. “Listen here, mister. Just because you're big doesn't mean you get to be a bully. You may have huge teeth, and sharp scales, and snore smoke, and breathe fire. But you do not-- I repeat-- You do not! Hurt! My! Friends! You got that?” She finally finished her speech, looking straight into the dragon’s eye as me and the girls looked at her in complete, utter shock.

The dragon just whimpered, and lowered its head a little bit, too afraid of Fluttershy to say anything to her.

“Well?” Fluttershy asked as she raised her eyebrow at it. The dragon finally replied. “But that rainbow one kicked me.” I saw Rainbow Dash nod proudly at this fact.
“And I am very sorry about that. But you're bigger than she is, and you should know better. You should also know better than to take a nap where your snoring can become a health hazard to other creatures.” The dragon nodded, but then tried to protest at her.

“But I—“ He started before she cut him off. “Don't you 'but I' me, mister. Now what do you have to say for yourself?” She was staring at him, awaiting a response. When no such response came, she tried again. “I said, what do you have to say for yourself?” The dragon then whimpered and starting crying, literally raining salty, gigantic teardrops.

Fluttershy then comforted him. “There, there. No need to cry. You're not a bad dragon, you just made a bad decision. Now go pack your things. You just need to find a new place to sleep. That's all.” She had grabbed me out of the dragon’s grip and helped me safely to the ground below, before the girls all ran up to her and congratulated her.

“You did it! I knew you could do it.” Twilight said as she proudly embraced Fluttershy. I did the same thing, as the dragon flew away over-head.

“Fluttershy, that was amazing! I’m so proud of you, I know that can’t have been easy to do. You saved me. I owe you my life.” I said as I nuzzled her in appreciation. She blushed at me.

“I…it was nothing. I couldn’t let him my best friends. He was being such a meanie to you all.”

Applejack nodded. “I think we best all head home, Jordan needs to get to restin’ that there hoof. Maybe go to the hospital too if it’s bad enough.” The girls all nodded and went mhm in agreement, before they tried to think of a way to get me home safely.

“I…um, I can carry him on my back. It’s only fair, since he did the same for me earlier.” Applejack and the girls helped carry me onto Fluttershy’s back, and we all started walking home.

I tapped Fluttershy on the neck. “Fluttershy, you don’t have to do this, I can walk.” I tried to reason with her, but she wouldn’t have it.

“No way. I’m carrying you home and that’s final, mister. You need to rest that hoof.” I sighed and let her win the argument. I didn’t feel like arguing, I was in too much pain.

We slowly walked down the mountain the way we came, past that avalanche zone (Fluttershy made me hold onto her tight, as she flew over the rock wall that was now there), past the ravine she got stuck at, and finally the steep cliff she had trouble getting over. I then tapped Fluttershy on the neck again.

“See all the fears you overcame today Fluttershy? You got up the mountain, you passed the ravine, and you stared down the dragon. While I know you didn’t want to, you got past your fears for the most part to save us. You did an amazing job.” I then kissed her cheek softly, making her blush.

We continued walking back to Ponyville, where Twilight turned to me and Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, I hate to ask, but can Jordan stay with you for tonight? You’re much better at nursing wounds and injuries than any of us, and Jordan needs attention.”

Fluttershy blushed again and nodded. “It…it would be my pleasure, Twilight, I’ll take care of him, I promise. See you girls later!” She said as she walked towards the forest, not even letting me say anything. It was clear that in this matter, I had no say. I was too tired and weak to do much right now anyway, the pain in my hoof was only getting worse.

We got to Fluttershy’s cottage, and she walked inside, carefully laying me down on her couch. “Now you just lie down there and stay comfortable. I’m going to get my nightstand so you can lay your hurt hoof on it, should you need it.” She then hummed a beautiful tune as she walked across the room and grabbed it, placing it to my side.

“There we go. Now you just rest up, mister. Take a nap if you want, I’ll have dinner ready soon.” She said in a soft, soothing voice. I nodded at her. “Thank you so much Fluttershy, I’m so sorry you have to baby me twice in one day, I usually don’t get hurt this much.” I laughed a bit, and she did too.

“No need to be sorry, it’s my pleasure taking care of you. How about I surprise you with an extra special dinner?” I nodded, as I was very hungry. As she walked into the kitchen, I rolled onto my side and slowly felt my eyes get heavier, and finally, I was gone.

I was awoken by the sensation of her hoof gently shaking me, like earlier. In a sing-songy voice, she said. “Wake up sleepy-head, time for dinner.” I yawned and slowly sat upright. I was about to get up and walk to the kitchen when she stopped me. She pointed to the coffee table in front of the couch, which she had adorned with dinner.

She had raised the coffee table to act much like a normal table, and placed a chair at the other end so we could both eat as I sat on the couch.

I looked at the meal and gasped. She made an amazing spread, even better than earlier. There was salad, as always, but also spaghetti, breadsticks, and even lasagna! It all looked and smelled so delicious.

“Holy…whoa, Fluttershy, this all looks amazing! You made this for me?” she nodded and blushed. “Well then, shall we eat?” She nodded and sat in her chair, and we both started to eat.

The food was amazing. I got a plate of everything, and everything, even the salad, tasted scrumptious. Absolutely divine. I made happy sound as I ate, making Fluttershy proud of her cooking skills.

When I was done I leaned back a bit. “You’re such an amazing cook, I’ve never, ever had food like that.” She smiled. “Thank you. I learned how to make most of this from my mother. She always had a passion for cooking.”

I smiled. “I see it didn’t skip a generation, your cooking is incredible.” She smiled at me.

“So, now that you’re done eating, do you feel strong enough to walk?” I looked at her curiously. “Depends on where you want to walk to, where to?” She smiled and stood up, walking to the door. “Follow me.” I got up and followed her, being extra careful to avoid hurting my hoof any more than it already was.

We walked for a bit, until we got to the spot we had put the food out earlier. The basket and blanket were there, albeit empty. She smiled. “Here, sit down on the blanket, I’ll be right back.” I did as she said, and she walked into the forest, before coming back a few minutes later.

“Stay there, and be completely still, ok Jordan?” I nodded at her, getting a bit nervous as I wondered what she had planned in store for me.

Suddenly, I felt the ground shake, and as I looked to Fluttershy, I saw that the bear from earlier was standing next to her. My eyes widened, the pupils tiny and ridden with fear.

I jumped up and ran to them, fearing the beast was hurting Fluttershy, not caring how much my hoof hurt. I screamed. “NO, GET AWAY FROM HER YOU BRUTE!” I yelled as I jumped on it and made it fall to the ground. It easily kicked me off of it to the ground.

Fluttershy ran to me and held me, forcing me to calm down. “JORDAN, shhh. It’s ok, he wasn’t hurting me. He just wants to meet you and say hello.”

I panted heavily as I looked at her. “Say hello!? More like rind my bones! He looks bloodthirsty!”

Fluttershy gave me a stern look. “Now listen here mister, just because Hairy is a bear, that doesn’t mean he’s bloodthirsty or dangerous. He just wants to say hello.”

I sighed softy. “But, Fluttershy, he’s so big, and…..scary….” I said as I held onto her. She stroked my mane softly.

“Remember earlier, when I faced the dragon, and overcame my fear? You need to overcome your fear too, Jordan, and I know you can do it. For me.” She kissed my cheek softly, which made me feel lighter than air, like I was just going to float away. Just that one simple kiss on the cheek made me feel happier than anypony in the world.

I sighed at her. “O….ok, Fluttershy. For you.” I got up and walked towards Hairy slowly, gulping heavily as I did.

I eventually got so close, I could touch his fur. He looked down at me, which made me yelp in fright as I looked up to his eyes. I slowly extended my hoof out and pet him softly, shaking nervously.

“H….hey. I’m s…sorry I attacked you. I didn’t mean t…to hurt you. My name’s Jordan.” He looked at me and started to make bear noises back at me.

Of course, he wasn’t speaking real words, or English. But as he made those sounds, I felt something strange. I felt like… I could understand him! I nodded as he finished. “I’d love to be friends with you. I’m sorry I was so mean to you, I just… you frightened me.” He then surprised me by giving me the worlds tightest, most literal beat hug.

I hugged back, and when he let go we walked back to the forest, waving goodbye. I waved goodbye also, and Fluttershy tackled me to the ground, hugging me closely.

“You did it! I knew you could do it, I had faith in you.” She then kissed my cheek again, making me feel like I did earlier. I smiled.

“I’m so glad you talked me into that Fluttershy. I don’t feel afraid of him anymore, and something…amazing happened. I felt like I…could understand him, if that makes sense. Like I knew what he was saying without actually talking to him.”

Fluttershy smiled. “I feel the same way when I talk to animals. Maybe you have a gift with animals too. –Gasp- maybe you could come by more often and help me with them! Ohh, they would love to get to know you.” She was giddy in excitement, and I chuckled. “Sounds like a plan Mrs. Shy. Should we go back home now?” She nodded and we walked back to her house.

When we got inside, she and I yawned at the same time, looked at each other and said we were going to go to bed, at the same time. We blushed a little bit before I got on the couch, and she tucked me in and made sure I was comfortable.

When I was, she kissed my cheek again. “Goodnight, Jordan. See you tomorrow.” I smiled. “Goodnight Fluttershy, see you tomorrow.” She then turned out the light, and I rolled onto my side.

Today was a rough day, but it was such a good one too. Sure, I hurt my hoof and almost died at the hands on a dragon. But I got closed to Flutters and got a kiss on the cheek from her-thrice! That’s an amazing day in my book.

I can’t wait to see what kind of adventure awaits me and the girls tomorrow, no matter what it is, it’s going to be so much fun!

I felt my eyes get heavy, and I drifted off into the dream world.

Author's Note

There you have it. My favorite piece of writing i have ever done. I love this chapter because it was by far my longest, my cutest, and my most well rounded chapter. Next chapter is Look Before You sleep. See ya there!

Chapter 10: Look Before You Sleep

I woke up slowly, my eyes opening up drowsily. Oh nelly, I haven’t slept that hard in years. Fluttershy’s couch is so comfortable, I wish I could sleep here every night for the rest of my life. That would be awesome. I then suddenly felt my hoof again, still in a lot of pain from the avalanche incident yesterday.

I then suddenly inhaled deeply, and smelled something cooking. I got up, stretched, yawned, and walked into the kitchen. There, I saw the butter-colored Pegasus herself at the stove.

She turned around and looked at me, smiling. “Morning sleepyhead. You slept a long time, you must have needed the rest.”

I gazed at her curiously. “How long was I asleep?” She shrugged. “I don’t know, but it’s 10:30 now. Sit down, I just finished cooking breakfast.” I nodded at her and sat down. My mouth watered as I smelled the food, but I was also in shock. I slept over twelve hours. I must have needed it.

A moment later, Flutters laid all the food out on the table. There were waffles, syrup, toast with butter, eggs (not sure if ponies would eat eggs, but why the heck not?), etc. I smiled at Flutters gratefully.

“Fluttershy, if I keep eating your meals, I’m going to gain like 500 pounds.” I said in a joking tone of voice as my mouth started to water. We both nabbed a plate and started to eat, occasionally glancing at one another and turning away, blushing.

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind, and I gasped and dropped my fork, making her yelp in fright. “Fluttershy, I just realized we never went butterfly catching like we were planning to. Would you like to after breakfast?” She nodded slowly with her mane covering one eye, making my heart ache from cuteness. I smiled like a buffoon. Why does she have to be so cute?!

In the next while, we finished up eating breakfast. As she was gathering the plates, I used my magic to make them levitate to me. “Nope, you did dishes twice yesterday Fluttershy. It’s my turn now.” I started walking towards the sink. She tried to grab the dishes, to no avail.

“But it’s my home, and I’m the host. I do the dishes.” She said softly. Suddenly, I quickly turned to her and gave her a peck on the cheek softly, making her blush a deeper shade of crimson than I’d ever seen.

“Well, I’m the guest, and this guest says you’ve done more than enough Fluttershy. It’s your turn to sit on the couch and relax, ok?” She sighed in defeat and nodded, walking gracefully into the living room.

Right then, Elise strolled in and rubbed against my leg. I smiled at her. “Hey Elise, when did you wake up?”

She smiled. “A few minutes ago, geez louise ah was tired.” I leaned down and pet her, smiling as she sprinted out the front door of the cottage. I then put on a hairnet and got to work on the dishes, humming softly as I got to work on them.

It wasn’t exactly a day at the beach, but I got the dishes done reasonably quick. I put them away, and walked to Fluttershy in the living room. “Fluttershy, I-“ I stopped as I realized she was sound asleep on the couch. The scene made me feel warm inside. She was taking such small little breaths as she slept, her chest barely moved at all, and her mane was right in front of her face. She looked so cute she didn’t even look real!

I smiled and put a blanket over her, as it was a little bit cold today, even in the cottage, and an idea formed in my head. I grabbed a paper and quill, and wrote on it. “Dear Fluttershy: you fell asleep while I was doing dishes. I decided I would do you a favor and feed the animals for you. If you wake up and see I’m not there, don’t freak out. Just ask Elise to lead you to me. Talk to you later. Jordan.”

I laid the note on the coffee table, where I was sure she’d see it, and put the food for the animals in the picnic basket before heading outside. I packed some fruit, vegetables, nuts and even a few sandwiches for the bigger creatures. I walked first to the meadow.

There, I sat down on the grass. “Come on out little critters. Fluttershy’s asleep, so I’m feeding you today. Come on out, I won’t hurt you.” There was no response, no movement, nothing. “Please little guys, come on out and eat. I promise I’m a friend.” There was again nothing but silence, and I was beginning to feel discouraged. That is, until a lone rabbit came out of the tall grass.

He walked up to me slowly, cautiously, his button-like nose twitching delicately as he surveyed his surroundings. He then sat on the picnic blanket I had laid out and started eating, making happy sounds as he nibbled on a grape.

Slowly, more and more animals came out of hiding to eat. I smiled at them. “Do you guys mind if I join you?” They made a collective sound that sounded like it was ok, so I sat down on the blanket.

I watched them eat, relaxing and nibbling on a few grapes myself. Then, something wonderful happened. One of the squirrels came up to me and offered me one of the tree nuts he had gathered. I took it gladly and smiled. “Thank you little guy.” I then stood up. “Thanks little critters, but I have to go feed the forest animals now. See you guys later.”

After I gave those animals their food, I then went to the forest. I did the same thing as before and laid the basket and blanket down. “Come out now critters, time for lunch!” I then sat down on the blanket, and let them come out of hiding slowly.

Then, I felt the ground shake again. My eyes widened, pupils shrunk, and breathing hitched. No mistaking it, that had to be Hairy. I wanted to run, but I fought the instinct, as I actually wanted to talk to him, I had no idea why exactly. He trotted up to the basket and grabbed a sandwich.

“H….hey Hairy, how are you?” He made a soft roar, and somehow I could interpret it as “Good, where’s Fluttershy?” I smiled. “She’s taking a nap, she’s very tired. Care to have lunch with me?” He nodded and sat down on the opposite side of the blanket.

For the next while, he and I ate our lunch, and struck up a very interesting conversation. Then, I heard Fluttershy. “Jordan!” She called out as she walked up the dirt path. “Jordan, where are yo-“ She stopped as she saw where I was, on the blanket with Hairy. She gasped and looked at me. “You….You’re eating lunch with Hairy? Does this mean you’re over your fear completely?!” She said in excitement.

I nodded at her, and she flew over to me and tackled me, giving me a tight hug. “Oh my goodness, I’m so happy. I knew you could do it, I knew you’d like Hairy if you just gave him a chance. From the look of things, I’d say you two were best friends.” She giggled slightly, and I rolled my eyes playfully.

“I was wrong about him, he’s not a big scary monster, he’s a teddy bear if anything. So, how was your nap Fluttershy?” She then smiled. “It was great. Thank you so much for doing the chores, you really didn’t have to.” She said as she nuzzled my cheek. I smiled and nuzzled back. “You deserve a break, you do so much all the time, you run yourself ragged. I was glad to help out.”

She then smiled again. “Are we…going to go butterfly catching?” I smiled and put my hooves in the basket, grabbing two butterfly nets I had packed, in case she came to find me.

“Got the nets right here, shall we go to the meadow?” She took the net as I handed it to her and nodded. We walked side by side to the meadow, where a big collection of all kinds of different butterfly and moth species were.

She then looked at me with the caretaker look in her eyes. “Now listen, it’s very important that we don’t hurt or startle the butterflies. Be careful when you swing the net to catch them, and don’t hold them hostage. Study their beauty for a few seconds, then let them go. Ok?” I nodded at her and smiled. “Gotcha. Let’s go!” I said as I walked towards the crowd. I stopped once I got in range and started to carefully trot, trying not to make them alarmed.

I softly and slowly raised my arm and the net, and in one fluid motion, swiped it into the herd of butterflies and moths without hurting them. With that one swing, however, I forced them to flee, and didn’t catch any!

I looked at Fluttershy, who was instead using her mouth to wield the net, and was being very gentle as she skipped merrily in the meadow. “Hmm… that might work better.” I said aloud. I caught the net in between my teeth and tried again. This time, I caught about five butterflies, and a moth.

As I stared at them and studied them, my mind was in pure wonder. They were all such different, vibrant colors, and had such intricate, detailed patterns on their wings. It blew my mind. It made me think about how amazing nature is, how beautiful it is. These colors, and designs were all made by Mother Nature. In those few seconds, I truly appreciated life, and the beauty of it. It made me happy inside.

I then let the little fliers loose out of my net. I had assumed they’d be mad, or in poor spirits that I had trapped them like that, but to my surprise a monarch butterfly flew to me and landed on my nose, tickling me. I laughed and tried to shake it off.

“Hey, that tickles, haha, stop it!” It finally flew off my nose and fluttered for a bit, staring at me. I smiled at it. “Thank you, I needed a reason to be happy.” I swear, if it’s possible for butterflies to smile, that one did to me.

I looked over at Fluttershy after the butterfly fluttered away, and smiled at what I saw. She was lying on the grass, surrounding by butterflies who were all either fluttering around her, or lying on her stomach and chest. The scene was heart-warming.

I walked over to them slowly, and smiled. “Got room for one more, everypony and butterfly?” I took the chittering sounds as a yes, and lay on the grass next to Fluttershy.

I propped my arms behind my head and looked up, towards the clouds. Today was the most perfect, gorgeous, amazing day ever. The sun was shining, it was warm with a slight breeze, and the grass smelled delightful. “Hey, wanna do some cloud spotting as I call it?” I pointed to a cloud. “Look, that one looks like the number three!” She giggled and pointed to one. “That one looks like a quill.” I laughed.

This went on for about an hour, cloud watching and talking. Then, I got an idea for a question, but I was too afraid to ask it.

Still, I decided to try my best to ask my question. “Hey, Fluttershy?” She looked over at me.

“I’m just thinking really deep right now, for some reason, and a question came to my mind. Have you ever crushed on anypony?” She immediately blushed an intense red and hid her face behind her mane. I sighed. “Sorry if I over-stepped a boundary. You don’t have to answer.”

I was prepared to just drop the subject if she wanted, but she shook her head. “No, no. It’s ok, it just caught me off guard. Yes, I have… a long time ago.”

I looked at her curiously. “Can I know who?” She blushed more, seeming to think about how to tell me. “Her name was…” She gulped nervously. “It was Rainbow Dash…” She hid behind her hair and I gave a look of shocked disbelief.

“Rainbow?! Really? Wow. I never thought you liked both teams, Fluttershy.”

She blushed a bit. “D…don’t tell anypony, ok?” I smiled. “Cross my heart” I swiped my hoof over my chest. “Hope to fly.” I did a fake fluttering with my hooves. “Stick a cupcake in my eye.” Now I have a headache.

She looked at me for a second. “What about you? Do you like anypony?” I opened my eyes wide at the unanticipated question and blushed a deep red.

I thought about how to reply for a second, before I finally spoke. “Yes. But nopony would ever believe who. And if they did, they’d laugh at how silly of a crush it is.” Fluttershy nodded.

“I promise I won’t laugh. You can tell me.” She said in the gentlest, most reassuring voice she could. I took in a deep breath before I finally spoke.

“IT’S PRINCESS CELESTIA!” I said very swiftly and hid my face behind my hooves. Fluttershy gasped quietly before she turned to look at me.

“You have a crush on the princess?” She questioned softly. I groaned.

“Told you you’d laugh!” I said with a little resentment in my voice. She shook her head.

“I’m not laughing. I’m just astounded. If anypony, I thought you had a crush on Twilight.” She said softly, again. I laughed a little.

“Twilight? Well, Twilight’s a very nice pony, and if she were to ask me out, I’d never say no. But I just don’t know about that. I’ve had a huge fondness of the princess for a while, and when I was dared to kiss her at my birthday, it was like… a dream come true. I felt lighter than air, I felt… joyful. And it hurts because I know she’s royalty, and she would never fall for a regular unicorn like me.”

Fluttershy sat up next to me and rubbed my cheek softly. “You are anything but a regular unicorn, Jordan. Trust me. Don’t think that way, you just might be surprised. Life can shock you in more ways than you think.” She snuggled up to me, nuzzling her head into my side below my armpit and, I’ve got to say it. My heart exploded, twice.

I then sighed. “Yeah, as if. As if Celestia and I would ever be anything. That’s a laugh.”

We then cuddled up like this and, before I knew it, I was asleep. I guess Fluttershy carried me back to her cottage, because I woke up in her bed. Yes, not the couch, her actual bed. I woke up slowly, and walked downstairs carefully.

I saw her reading a book on the couch and surprised her by sitting next to her. “Hey, whatcha reading?” I asked. She showed me the cover, which read “The Incredible Flotsam”. Apparently, it’s about an alicorn named Flotsam, who goes on an adventure to a faraway land. She told me it was one of her favorites.

Just then, me and Flutters were startled by the front door slamming open. It was Applejack. “JORDAN, ah need you to come to Ponyville park right away, ah’ll explain the details later!” She said as she galloped away. I gave a look of pure confusion before I sighed.

“Guess I gotta go, huh? I’ll see you around Fluttershy. Th….thank you for the amazing past few days. I can never thank you enough for the amazing time. I’ll visit you as soon as I can, ok?” I waved goodbye at her as I walked out the door and walked slowly to town. My hoof was still injured and I couldn’t run/gallop. But I eventually got there, and met up with AJ.

I looked at her curiously. “Ok, I’m here. Now, what is so important I had to hurry here and leave Fluttershy?”

She gave me a sorrowful look. “Ah’m a might sorry about that partner, but ah need all the help ah can get. The Pegasus ponies missed a storm last week, so they’ve scheduled a mighty downpour for tonight. We gotta round up all the fire hazards and get rid of them, in case there could be lightnin.”

“But AJ, I have a hurt hoof. What can I do to help you?” She then gave me a grin. “You got your magic, don’tcha? You can take down the loose branches. Get to it, the storm is gonna start soon!” She said as she galloped away to make sure the others were working also.

I got to work and used my magic to levitate the loose branches off each tree, essentially trimming them. I got through five trees, before Rarity showed up and gasped.

“What in the name of Celestia are you doing?” Rarity asked with wide eyes. I gave her a confused look.

“Uh… getting the loose branches off the trees, like Applejack told me to.” Rarity shook her head and used her magic to levitate a branch BACK ONTO the tree.

I looked at her. “Uh, Rarity? Don’t you think-“ I was cut off by Applejack.

“Just take the broken limbs down, Rarity. Don't y'all care about nothin' other than prettifyin'? I had Jordan takin’ down them loose branches for a reason!” Applejack asked/said in irritation.

“Somepony has to. You were making an absolute mess of the town square, Applejack.”

“Yeah, well, the storm's gonna make an even bigger mess if we don't prune all these loose branches so they don't tumble down on anypony.” I nodded, she had a point.

“Yeah, and we need to make sure that if a tree catches fire, the fire can’t travel from tree to tree. Then all of Ponyville would be in danger.” Applejack nodded. “Exactly!”

“I simply cannot imagine why the Pegasus ponies would schedule a dreadful downpour this evening and ruin what could have been a glorious sunny day.”

I sighed. “I know, I was having the most amazing day ever with Fluttershy, and AJ called me here to help. I was hoping I could go back to her cottage, but there’s no point now.”

Rarity gave me a look of shock before she smirked. “A nice day with Fluttershy, you say? My my, the both of you seem VERY friendly.” She smirked and winked at me, and I turned bright red.

“Wh….why does everypony keep thinking she and I are together? I mean, Fluttershy’s nice, and sweet, and kind, and caring, but-“ I groaned as I realized I said the same thing I had said to Rainbow yesterday. Rarity gave me another wink. Applejack then cut in.

“We’ll talk about love later. Rarity, think more practical-like, will ya? They accidentally skipped a scheduled sprinkle last week, so we need a doozy of a downpour to make up for it, is all.” All of a sudden, it started raining fiercely!

“Oh no! My wonderfully styled mane shall be ruined!” Rarity cried out in despair as she tried to cover her mane.

“Ya shoulda hurried up and finished the job already.” Applejack stated in a little bitter resentment.

I scratched the back of my neck with my hoof nonchalantly. “Sorry AJ, I was trying to hurry, but then Rarity interrupted me.” She nodded. “It’s fine sugarcube. It’s Rarity’s fault more than anything.”

Rarity gave us an angry look as she tried to cover her mane. “I did not do anything wrong! I was simply beautifying the trees!”

I rolled my eyes. “And ruining my work, and slowing me down.” She rolled her eyes back, and continued to freak out as her mane got rained on.

“Oh! Ah! Oh! Ph! It's coming down too fast! Ah! Oh! Oh! Ah! Help me!” She cried out again in despair.

“Uh, there. Hunker down to yer heart's content whilst we finish things.” Applejack said to Rarity and pointed to a bench nearby, as she motioned me over. As we started to walk to the tree near us, we heard Rarity again.

“Oh, no, no, no!” She yelled as she got to the bench. “What now?” AJ asked in serious annoyance.

“I prefer not to get my hooves muddy.”

Applejack was about to say something, but I cut in. “Oh for the love of Celestia Rarity, you’re being difficult! It’s a little mud, so what?”

Rarity scoffed. “Well, and how does muddying my hooves serve any useful purpose?”

“Y'all wouldn't know useful if it came up and bit'cha.” Applejack replied for me.

“That doesn't even make any sense.” She said. “Does so.” Applejack and I said at the same time.

“Does not.”

“Does so.”

“Does not.”

“Does so.”

“Does not.”

“Does so infinity. Hah.”

I then cut in. “DOES SO INFINITY TIMES INFINITY. Now why don’t you two go your separate ways before something bad happens?” I suggested, annoyed.

“I reckon y'all are gonna say something you'll regret first.” Applejack directed at Rarity.

“On the contrary, I believe it shall most certainly be you who says something you will regret first.” Rarity countered.

“I'm not sayin' anythin'.” AJ retorted.

“Nor am I” Rarity replied.

“WELL I AM, and I say you both knock it off with this stupid bickering already!”

However, I got ignored, as they were too deep in their argument to pay me any mind.

“Y'all just be on yer way, then.”

“After you!” Rarity suggested, as they both started walking opposite directions. I sighed in relief the fighting would be over, but right then, thunder cracked, making them both yelp and cling onto me on either side of my body.

“Girls, girls. It’s just simple old thunder, it’s not going to hurt you. Now, if we saw a lightning bolt, THEN I’d be alarmed.” I told them both.

“That’s all well, but perhaps we should stick together for now and find some shelter.” Rarity suggested.

“Uh-huh, perhaps we should. And fast.” Applejack said with a hint of fear in her voice. I shook my head. “You two go under the bench.” Rarity started to protest, but I stopped her. “Do you want to save your mane from getting wet, or do you want to keep complaining like a prissy princess?” I boldly stated. Rarity stammered and scoffed before she went under the bench with Applejack.

I stayed out in the rain near the bench, and Rarity glared up at me. “I cannot believe you’re siding with this ruffian! I thought you were better than this, Jordan!” She stated to me. I glared back at her.

“Rarity, for all this is holy, I’m not siding with anyone!”

“Are too!” She retorted.

“Am not!” I countered.

“Are too!” She replied.

“Am no-“ I stopped as I realized I had fallen for it. “Rarity, for the love of Celestia, stop trying to pick fights already!” I was seriously getting irritated now. Applejack then cut in, trying to lighten the mood.

“Heh. Nice and dry under here, sorta.”

“Oh! Unacceptable.” Rarity said as she got mud on her.

Suddenly, we heard a voice. “Applejack! Rarity! Jordan! Applejack! Rarity! Jordan!”

“Twilight?” We all said at once, as we discovered we were about a 15 second sprint from the library.

We all ran to the library and walked inside. “Come inside everypony, quick.” She ushered us in fast.

“Whoa, nelly. Is inside a tree really the best place to be in a lightning storm?” Applejack asked in worry.

“It is if you have a magical lightning rod protecting your home like I do. Come on in!” Twilight said as she walked inside.

“Hah! We are most grateful for your invitation.” Rarity thanked.

“Thank ya kindly for yer hospitality.”

Rarity then stopped me and AJ from walking further into the house. “Uh, do be a polite house guest and go wash up please, won't you?”

Applejack and I both grumbled and walked outside.

“Jordan, I swear, if I gotta spend one more second with that fussbudget Rarity today, I can't be held responsible for what I'm gonna do.” She had major resentment in her voice.

“I know, I know AJ. Just please try to be the bigger pony and ignore her, please.”

She sighed as we finished cleaning up. “I’ll try, but no guarantees sugarcube.”

We then walked inside, and saw Twilight and Rarity with facial mud on their faces!

“What in tarnation... Now wait just a goll-darn minute. Ya make us wash the mud off our hooves, but it's okay for y'all to have mud all over yer faces?” Applejack asked in disbelief.

“Silly! This is called a mud mask. It's to refresh and rejuvenate your complexion.” Rarity explained to Applejack and I.

“We're giving each other makeovers! Eee-hee! We have to do it, it says so in the book.” Twilight then levitated the book to AJ and I. I read silently, but she read aloud.

“Slumber 101: Everything You... Oh hey, heh, would'ja look at the time. I gotta skidaddle on home quick. I'm powerful late for, uh, fer somethin'. Uh, g'night.” She went out the door, but immediately hurried back as thunder struck. “Maybe I'll sit here for a spell.” She said a bit sheepishly.

“Hurray slumber party!” Twilight shouted in excitement. She then looked at me. “Oh… I uh…” I then raised my hoof at her.

“I know what you’re thinking Twilight.” I said with a straight face. She looked at me confusedly.

“You do?” She asked inquisitively. I smiled. “Yeah, you want me to be a part of your sleepover, but you’re worried because I’m a stallion, right?” She nodded.

“Well, I’m gonna tell you three girls a secret. I may be a stallion, but I’m not some macho pony. If you want me to be a part of your sleepover, I’ll swallow my pride.” Twilight squealed in happiness and Rarity smiled.

“In that case…” She then covered my face in the mud and put a cucumber over each of my eyes before she did the same to AJ.

“Blahch. What in the world is this for?” AJ said in disgust as she felt the mud.

“To reduce the puffiness around one's eyes, of course.” Rarity said with a sigh.

“Puffiness-schmuffiness! That's good eatin'!” She caught both cucumbers with her tongue and ate them. I rolled my eyes.

“C’mon AJ, give this stuff a chance. If I’m doing it you are too.” I said with a very serious tone of voice. She nodded.

“Hee-hee! Isn't this exciting? We'll do everything by the book, and that will make my slumber party officially fun.” Twilight said as she looked at the book again.

“Did you hear that, Applejack? You certainly would not want to do anything that would ruin Twilight's very first slumber party, would you?” Rarity said with a funny tone of voice, as if she was accusing AJ of something.

“Of course not, 'n you wouldn't either, I reckon?”

“So do we have an agreement?” Rarity asked simply enough.

“You betcha.” AJ said as she spit on her hoof.

“Oh! Gross! You know, there's messy and there's just plain rude.” Rarity said in disgust.

“You know, there's fussy, 'n there's just plain gettin' on my nerves.” Applejack said with anger in her voice.

I then raised my hoof. “Girls, listen. I’m telling you right now, I’m doing this slumber party deal because I think it will make us become closer friends. If you two are going to argue like little fillies, my flank is out the door. Got it?”

They both nodded at the same time, afraid of me getting angry. “Don’tcha worry, I won’t let Mrs. Fussypants here ruin nothin’.” Applejack reassured me.

I facehoofed. “That’s what I’m talking about! No cheap jabs, no insults, just act like friends are supposed to, for pony’s sakes!” I said in sheer annoyance.

“This is going to be the bestest slumber party ever! Yay!” Twilight said as she hugged the three of us.

“Yay.” The two girls replied, entirely unenthusiastically.

“Well, come on everypony, let’s continue the makeovers!” Twilight happily suggested. We eventually sat on the ground, where Rarity was working on my mane.

She squealed in delight as she worked on me. “I’ve wanted to style your mane and tail for so long, darling. I simply couldn’t stand how ragged and wild they always were! This situation could not have worked out any better. Ohhh, I could braid it, or I could pigtail it. So many options!” She said as she happily brushed my hair. I chuckled a little bit.

“Yeah, sure Rare. But let’s try to not make me look like a mare, ok?” She scoffed.

“Darling, you’re in the middle of a slumber party with three mares. Your masculinity was left at the door.” She said with a slightly evil smirk. She then grabbed the hair rollers and put them in my hair. “Fine, but if you want me to wear girly clothes you can kiss my rear.” She laughed. “Oh come now, I promise I’ll only make you wear a dress around this house.” I then looked at her. “You’re…kidding, right?” She didn’t respond, biting her lip, which made me nervous. I then looked in the mirror at the rollers. “Are these really necessary?” I asked, referring to the hair rollers.

“But of course, you just let the stylist work her magic, dearie. So, how are you getting along over there, Applejack?” Rarity asked from across the room.

“Just fine, Rarity.” Applejack said as she too, had these rollers in her mane and tail.

“This is so awesome! Makeovers, check. Ooh, it says here we have to tell ghost stories. Who wants to go first?” Twilight said as she looked at us from across the room.

Applejack piped up next. “Me! I'd like to tell y'all the terrifying tale of the prissy ghost who drove everypony crazy with her unnecessary neatness. Oo-oo! I'm sure y'all are familiar with that one?” Applejack said with a condescending tone to Rarity.

“Never heard of it, but I have a much better one. It's the horrifying story of the messy, inconsiderate ghost who irritated everypony within a hundred miles! Oo-oo!” Rarity said, dishing the insults right back to AJ.

“That's not a real story. You made it up.”

“It is a ghost story, they're all made up.” I couldn’t help but snort suddenly with laughter, making the girls look at me. Rarity did have a point.

Suddenly, the thunder struck again, making the girls scream!

“I've got one! This story is called The Legend of The Headless Horse.” Suddenly, the lights went out. I guess Twilight did it with her magic or something. She told the story. “It was a dark and stormy night, just like this one. And three ponies were having a slumber party, just like this one... and just when the last pony thought she was safe, there, standing right behind her, just inches away was” Me, AJ and Rarity all gasped and looked at Twilight.

“The Headless Horse!” Twilight shouted, as thunder struck and made a silhouette of the headless horse!

After me and the two girls held onto each other for a few seconds, Twilight revealed herself as the “headless horse”, and turned the lights on.

“Ghost story, check. Now, who wants s'mores?”

I chuckled. “Sounds good, but…. You girls won’t tell anypony I got scared from a simple ghost story, right?”

Twilight laughed. “Oh, don’t worry, we’d never tell a soul.” Twilight then snuck a wink to AJ and Rarity, which they returned.

We then walked over to the fireplace and started the fire, as Twilight gathered the supplies for the treats. Rarity was teaching her “The art of the perfect S’more”. I sat with AJ at the fire, roasting some ‘mallows and listening to those two.

“Then you place one marshmallow on the top of the chocolate and be sure it's centered -- that's critical -- and then carefully put another perfectly square graham cracker on the top. And done. Ta-da!” Rarity said as she held the S’more up with her magic.

“Ooo!” Twilight said as she gazed upon Rarity’s masterpiece.

“Nah, ya just eat 'em. Mmm-mmm!” Applejack then belched, grossing Rarity out.

“You could at least say excuse me.” Rarity said.

“Aw, I was just about to, but you interrupted me. Pardon.”

“S'mores, check. Now the next item of fun we have to do is Truth or Dare.” Twilight said as she gazed through the book.

“I dare Applejack to do something carefully and neatly for a change.” Rarity said as she glared at said pony.

“Oh yeah? Well I dare Rarity ta lighten up and stop obsessin' over every last little detail, for a change.” Applejack replied.

“I think the truth of the matter is that somepony could stand to pay a little more attention to details.” Rarity jabbed back.

“And I think the truth is somepony oughta quit with her fussin' so the rest of us can get things done.”

I then spoke up. “And I THINK the truth is that you two need to be quiet!” I said with slight anger in my voice.

“Um, I don't think this is how the game's supposed to work. You have to give an honest answer to any question or do whatever anypony dares you to do.” Twilight said, reading from the book again.

“I dares you to step outside and let your precious, tidy mane get ruined again.” Applejack dared Rarity.

Rarity gasped loudly. “You have to. It's the rule.” Twilight informed Rarity.

“Hah!” Applejack said in sheer delight.

“Fine!” Rarity yelled as she went outside, and cried as her mane got wet and ruined.

AJ snickered, and laughed, until Rarity spoke next, walking up to AJ wet and all. “Okay. I dare Applejack to play dress-up in a frou-frou, glittery, lacey outfit.”

Applejack gasped, then narrowed her eyes and trotted to the wardrobe, putting on a ridiculous princess-like outfit. “Happy?” She asked.

“Very.” Rarity said with a big smirk.

“Um, do I ever get a turn?” Twilight said as the two began to argue back and forth with embarrassing dares.

“I dare ya to enter the next rodeo when it comes to town.” AJ dared.

“I dare you not to enter the next rodeo that comes to town.” Rarity challenged.

“I dare ya to not comb your mane a hundred times before bed.” Applejack stated.

“And I dare you to comb yours just once.” Rarity dared back.

I finally cut in, fed up with all this.

“I DARE BOTH OF YOU TO SHUT THE HAY UP!” I shouted as I sprang up inbetween them, causing them to separate. I then looked back and forth between them, taking big heavy breaths and snorting in rage. The girls looked at me with shock in their eyes, the pupils small.

“You girls have been at each other’s throats from the very second you saw each other today! You’ve been blabbering and bickering back and forth like little fillies arguing over who gets to play with a doll, and I am frivving tired of hearing this!” I shouted as I walked to the door. I used my magic to levitate a random book to me off the bookshelf, and took it in my grasp as I walked out, slamming the door shut behind me.

I quickly used my magic to make a wooden gazeebo appear, so I could read and be comfortable without getting rained on.

I grumbled and used my horn as a light as I opened up the book and started to read. “Stupid Applejack, stupid Rarity. We could had such an amazing night, had they not argued like children. I still even have these accursed rollers in my hair and can’t get them out!” I said as I tried to get them out of my hair.

I sighed and continued to read the book. “Hmm… The Ancient Remnants of Equestria. Sounds interesting.”

I then moved to the first paragraph. “It is rumored that long ago, before Celestia or Luna were even born into existence, an evil terror plagued the land. A terror that made ponies, animals and even the mighty dragons tremble in fear.” I opened my eyes wide and continued on.

“This evil terror, however, had no known physical form. Many scholars, such as Star Swirl The Bearded tried to uncover the mystery of this evil entity, but none were able to decipher the many mysteries of said entity. It is rumored that in what ended up being his final days, Star Swirl finally went insane studying this entity. He felt he was so close to cracking the case, when in reality he had made no progress. It drove him mad, and he died of starvation from focusing on his books and studies only, days later.”

I again opened my eyes wide, and gasped. So that’s how Star Swirl met his end. “As said before, this terror had no physical form. It is speculated that this entity had the powers of mind control, and likely drove Star Swirl to his death. It also is speculated that after Celestia and Luna rose to power, one of them bore a son. The father is unknown, and she had to send the son away, for his own safety, from this entity. That pony’s name, is-“ I was suddenly cut off by a tapping on my shoulder, making me jump and shriek.

I threw the book in the air by accident, making it fall into the rain. Dangit! Now I’ll never get to finish reading it! I turned around to see the pony was Twilight.

I sighed. “Don’t scare me like that, I was in the middle of an intense read. What’s going on now, either of them kill each other?” I said with a raised eyebrow.

She gave me a sad look. “Jordan, please come back inside. It’s cold and windy out here, you might get sick. Just come back inside and ignore the girls, please? I think we’re about ready to head to bed, we had a fiasco with a pillow fight after you left.”

I gave her a look before smiling. “On one condition. They share a bed, and you and I share one. Deal?” This made her gasp and blush an crimson red.

“You…. Want to share a bed?” I nodded and smiled. “O…ok, if that’s what you want. Let’s go inside.” I made the little gazeebo disappear and walked inside with her.

When I walked in with Twily, the two girls were already getting into bed. They looked at us. “Where is he going to sleep?” Rarity asked. Twilight and I both looked at each other before blushing and turning opposite directions.

“He’s…We’re sharing a bed.” This earned a gasp from AJ and Rarity and I smiled sheepishly. “Um…. G’night!” I said before I turned the light off with my magic and leapt into the bed. Twilight got in slowly.

Twilight and I had our backs touching, and as I tried to sleep, I kept hearing those two continue their bickering.

“Keep your muddy hooves on your side of the bed.” Rarity said to Applejack.

“My hooves ain't muddy.” Applejack said as she referred to her washing her hooves.

“They were. There might still be a little on them.” Rarity said accusingly.

“There ain't. See?”

“Eww!” Rarity yelled as she took the blanket and ripped it from AJ.

“Now who's bein' inconsiderate?” AJ said as she took the blanket back.

“I have to make the bed again so the blanket will be right. Get up.” Rarity said as she forced AJ off the bed.

“Hey!” Applejack then tried to get in bed, only to be stopped by Rarity.

“Ah ah ah! You'll ruin it. You have to do it like this. Mm, uh, ooh, u-u-u-uh, uh, ah.” Rarity made these sounds as she got into bed all fancy like.

“Yeah, that's not gonna happen. Geronimo!” Applejack said as she jumped into the bed, making Rarity fly off in a teeter totter effect.

Finally, I had enough. “ENOUGH! For the love of Celestia herself, both of you knock it off! I’m tired, and trying to get some sleep!” I was again puffing air out of my nose with big breaths.

Twilight levitated the book to the duo. “It says right here that the number one thing you're supposed to do at a slumber party is have fun, and thanks to you two I can't check that off!”

“I've been tryin' my darndest to get along.”

“Applejack, you’re the element of honesty for pony’s sakes! Don’t lie when you know something isn’t true. You’ve been picking fights with Rarity just as much as she has with you!” I looked over at Twilight who had a hurt look on her face.

“I hope you're happy, both of you. You've ruined my very first slumber party. The makeover, the s'mores, Truth or Dare, the pillow fight...” She then looked at me. “And I know you’ve only been trying to get them to get along, but yelling at them and only causing more arguments doesn’t help! Is there anything else that could possibly go wrong?” Twilight said as she flailed her arms frantically.

Suddenly, we saw a bright stream of lightning ripple throughout the house. It struck the tree across the road outside! The top of it was going to come crashing down!

“Sorry I asked.” Twilight said as she hid under the covers partially.

“Ya see? That's why we needed to take down all those loose branches in town, not spiffy 'em up.” Applejack spieled to Rarity.

“But I—“ Rarity started to say before AJ cut her off. “Outta my way, missy! Time's a-wastin'.” She then sprang into action and got her lasso out, corralling the tree top with it. I opened my eyes wide, as I sensed what would happen next.

“Wait! Stop! Don't!” Rarity called out.

“No waitin'! No stoppin'! Doin'! And that, my friends, is what we call gettin' 'er done.” Applejack said, before suddenly the tree top came crashing into the tree house through the window!

“I tried to tell you it would come crashing down in here.” Rarity said to AJ.

“Well, ya shoulda tried harder. I'm mighty sorry, Twilight.” Applejack said somberly.

“Are you kidding me! There’s a major disaster that just happened, and you two are still arguing?! You both are HOPELESS.” I said with pure annoyance in my voice.

“It's... Well, it's not okay. There's a giant tree branch in the middle of my bedroom, and the book doesn't say anything about having a giant tree branch at your slumber party. Or at least I haven't found that entry yet. Ooh... ah!” Twilight said as she studied her slumber party book.

Applejack looked over at Rarity who was trying to tidy the room up. I sprang to the tree and tried to lift it, with my brute strength, heaving and ho’ing. But it wasn’t doing anything.

“What in tarnation are y'all doin' over there?” Applejack said to Rarity.

“Cleaning up this mess somepony made. Who was that again? Oh, right, that's you.”

“We gotta do somethin'!” Applejack cried out.

“Baking... BFFs... Brothers... There's nothing in here about branches.” Twilight said as she kept reading.

I kept trying to lift the tree with my strength, heaving so hard it was starting to hurt my legs. Finally, I let out a gigantic breath and slumped to the floor. I looked at the girls and tried to think of a way to get through to them.

Suddenly, I spoke. “Girls!” They both looked at me. “Girls, please. I know you two have a hard time getting along. I know you two are polar opposites, black and white. But sometimes, opposites have to come together for a common cause. Please girls, I need you to get over your bickering. I need your help! We have to get this tree out of here, and I can’t do it on my own. I need you both! Please.” I said as I drooped my ears sadly.

“Uh. Uh, but I'll get all icky.” Rarity said as she looked at the tree.

“Consarnit! What the... eh... you... I mean, yes, ickiness is often a side effect of hard work. But y'all need to get over it, on account we just can't fix this mess I made that easily. We need your help.” Applejack said.

“Oh. Let's do this.” Rarity said as she walked over to us. She used her magic to make cut the tree up into little miniature shrubs. I sighed in relief.

While we worked, I heard Twilight. “Well, they do have a section about backyard slumber parties. Is that what we're doing right now? Does this count as camping?”

We got the tree all cleaned up and out, and Rarity looked at herself.

“U-ugh. Oh, I look awful.” She said with despair in her voice. Applejack got an idea and put the facial mud mask and cucumbers on Rarity, mixed in with the dirt mud. “Better?” Applejack asked.

“Hmph, thanks.” Rarity said to AJ in appreciation.

“Oh, pretty! Where did these come from? They're not in the book either.” Twilight said as she skimmed the page.

I sighed in relief. “Thank Celestia we got that over and done with. Though this could have been avoided if you girls hadn’t been arguing.” I said as I looked at them.

They both sighed collectively. Rarity spoke. “You’re right, darling. I should have tried harder to get along.”

Applejack nodded. “Me too, I was bein’ a real pain.”

I then smiled. “Girls, not everypony gets along. There’s going to be some people you meet who are just going to tick you off, no matter what. In a case like you two’s, all you can do is try to look past those imperfections and try to get along. You two are friends, and I don’t like seeing friends fight. It makes me hurt when I see you two bicker like that.” I looked down at the ground sadly.

They both came up to me and hugged me. “We’re mighty sorry partner. I guess we just didn’t take into consideration how our fighting would affect y’all and Twilight.”

Rarity nodded. “We were most inconsiderate, can you ever forgive us?”

I hugged them tighter. “Already have, just try not to argue again, ok?”

They both did the pinkie promise motions and we all shared a good laugh.

“Well, it’s only what, 11pm? How about we make Twilight’s slumber party officially awesome?”

The trio looked at me curiously. “How?” I then got the book and read it. “Hmm… says now to do some fun party games. It says to try out 20 questions. Who wants to go first? Maybe it should be the host?”

Twilight smiled. “I’d love to.” We then all gathered in a circle as we tried to guess what Twi was thinking of.

“Is it bigger than a barn?” AJ guessed.

Twilight laughed. “Nope.”

Rarity went next. “Is it smaller than a saddle?”

Twilight laughed again. “No! Only three of your twenty questions left!”

Applejack sighed. “We're never gonna guess what you're thinkin' of, it could be anythin'.”

“Are we getting warmer?” I asked next.

“Why? Is it too cold in here for you? I can turn up the heat.”

“He means are we gettin' any closer with our guesses?” Applejack answered.

“Oh! No. And that technically counted as a question, so only two more left!” Twilight said as I thought deeply.

“Is it... a six-legged pony with a purple polka-dotted mane and shootin' stars comin' out of his eyes?” Applejack guessed.

“Who flies through the air all over the world to hide magic, sparkly eggs?” Rarity continued.

“Who makes loud noises and eats anything in sight?” I added.
Twilight gave a little smile. “That's it!” She proclaimed.

Applejack, Rarity and I were confused. “It is?” We said at once.

“No. It's that.” Twilight then pointed to the telescope up above. Why didn’t I think of that?! “But it was just so nice to Applejack and Rarity two finally getting along, I wanted you to be able to win together.”
Applejack and Rarity and I all laughed.

“See? We could have been having fun like this all along.” Twilight said to the two girls.

“If only somepony hadn't been so persnickety.” Applejack said.

“Well, maybe she wouldn't have been if somepony else hadn't been so sloppy.” Rarity replied.

“Sorry for being such a pain in the patootie.” Applejack apologized to the white coated mare.

“Oh, no, I'm sure I was much worse.” Rarity returned.

“That's kind of ya to say, but I'm the one who's sorry.” Applejack retorted.

“Oh, I'm much more sorry than you are.” Rarity bounced back.

“Ugh. Are not.” The girls started going back and forth. I facehoofed, worried they would start arguing again.

“Are too.”

“Are not!”

“Are too.”

“Are not.”

“Are too.”

Applejack and Rarity hugged and laughed, and I sighed in relief that it was a false alarm.

“I declare my first slumber party a success!” Twilight said as she hugged all three of us. We all cheered in response.

Twilight then made a checkmark in her book. “Have fun, check.”

Next, we decided to play a blindfold game. Rarity was trying to direct Applejack around a pile of books.

“Now take two steps to your left. Uh, no, my left.” Rarity directed.

“Whu, which is it? Whoa! That mess is your fault, not mine.” Applejack said with a hearty laugh.

I then saw Twilight across the room, writing on a paper with a quill. I walked over to her and tapped her shoulder. “Friendship letter?” I asked. She nodded. “Mind if a read it?” She shook her head and showed it to me.

“Dear Princess Celestia;

It's hard to believe that two ponies who seem to have so little in common could ever get along. But I found out that if you embrace each other's differences, you just might be surprised to discover a way to be friends after all.”

I hugged and smiled. “Amazingly written, Twi. The princess will love this one.” She smiled and looked at the girls.

“So, who's up for another slumber party tomorrow night? Ugh. How about a week from Thursday? Oh, how about two weeks from Saturday? A month from now?”

We all laughed. “As long as Rarity doesn’t turn me into a girl, I’m fine.” Rarity covered up her mouth with her hoof as she nearly snorted in laughter. She then smiled at me.

“That reminds me, I’m not done with your mane and tail! Get over here.” She said as she motioned me over. I sighed and walked over to her.

I sat down on the floor and she started getting to work, combing my mane and tail again before getting them wet and shampooing them. I groaned.

“Is this necessary? It feels so weird to wash them.” She ignored me and kept going to work, focused on her task at hand.

After about another hour, hair rollers, hair spray, and a lot of snickering from the girls, Rarity had finally finished.

“There! Beautiful!” Rarity said as she made a kissing noise with her hoof.

I looked at Twilight and AJ. “Give it to me straight, how is it?” However, they didn’t answer me, as they both put a hoof over their mouths to stifle laughter.

“What?! What did she do with it?” I said as I tried to grab a mirror. I got it and looked into it, and I gasped.

She had combed my mane into the ridiculous curls she has. I looked like a mare! As I gasped, the girls couldn’t take it anymore and all fell to the floor, guffawing in laughter. I felt some anger rise inside me, but I stifled it and looked at them.

“Rarity?” I said as I looked at her. She wiped a tear from her eye. “I know, I know darling. That wasn’t what I had in mind, but I came up with the idea halfway through and ran with it. If you want, I can truly style your mane in a stallion’s style mane cut instead. Give me fifteen minutes.” I nodded and sat down, and she got to work again.

Fifteen minutes later, my mane and tail were nicely groomed and styled, and I had to admit, I looked slick. I gave Rare a hug.

“Thanks Rarity, it looks great.” She hugged back. “The pleasure was all mine, darling.”

Twilight then yawned. “It’s getting late. How about we all get some sleep?” AJ and Rarity agreed, but I shook my head. “I wanna go for a walk in the rain, it’s just a drizzle now. I’ll see you girls later.” I said as I went downstairs and walked out the door.

I breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of the rain, and started walking towards town. However, along the way, I started to get a bad headache. It eventually got so bad, I was essentially limping forwards.

Finally, I collapsed to the ground, on all four hooves as rain assaulted my back. Suddenly, I heard a sound to my right, like a very faint whisper.

I gasped and looked to the right as I held my head. “Who’s there?! What do you want?!” I said frantically.

I got no response, so I yelled again. “WHO’S THERE, WHAT DO YOU WANT?!”

This time, I got a response. A very dark, deep throated voice spoke. “…YOUR SOUL.” It replied as I saw what looked to be a ghost, or a spirit, fly inside my head through my eyeballs. I felt a sharp stinging pain in my head and yelled in pain, drawing the attention of somepony.

“Begone, you evil spirit! This body is not yours, you cannot commandeer it.” The pony said as I heard this spirit laugh. It replied to her.

“Foolish mare, I can do whatever I want. You cannot stop me.”

“While it is true you have the right, it is wise to give up the fight.” This mare replied.

The spirit chuckled. “I admire your determination. Very well, I shall let him go for now. But not that easily.”

Suddenly, I felt a searing pain in my brain, and the next thing I knew, I woke up in a dark, barely lit hut, with bandages around my head.

“Where am I? What happened?” I said as I looked around the room.

“In my house, you now rest. Now sit tight, for this news may be hard to digest.” A mare said as she walked into the room.

Author's Note

Well that was this chapter. I both like and hate it. I like it for the cute moments with Fluttershy, but hate it for that super cheesy ending. Oh well. Next chapter time!

Chapter 11: Bridle Gossip

I looked at the pony in front of me, who to my shock, I found out is not a pony at all, but a zebra!

I was very lost and confused, so I started asking her questions. “Who are you, why am I here? What in the name of hay happened last night?” I said a bit frantically.

“Easy my friend, for a calm attitude you must expend. My name is Zecora, and I found you last night as I searched the forest.” Zecora replied to me.

I looked at her funny. “Ok, what’s with all the rhymes and riddles, just talk to me straight, lady.”

She chuckled. “My rhymes are merely said in fun, but to speak this way, I am not the only one. Now sit tight, for I must tell you what occurred last night.”

And so, this mysterious zebra spent the next while explaining to me everything. “Wait. So, you’re saying my body was taken over by some dark spirit?” She nodded. “How do you know this? I asked.

“In my land, we learn all that we can. In a campfire story, this old tale resides, a story passed down from time to time.” She rhymed in reply, then got up. “To town, I must trot. For a special flower I need for my pot. Come with me, if you wish, and when we return we shall eat a delightful dish.” She offered to me, her words warm with welcome.

“Ok, I’ll go with you, but when will I get answers?” I asked, wanting to know what happened, as I was very confused, and curious. She ignored me and left the hut, putting her hood on over her face and walking into town, me directly behind her in tow.

We walked to Ponyville, however, when we got there, it turned into a ghost town! Windows were boarded shut, doors slammed and locked, and everypony ran for their lives.

Zecora sighed. “This happens every time I come to town. It seems nopony wants to hang around.”

I looked at her. “I’m sorry Zecora. I’ll try to go see what’s going on, I’ll be back.” I then started walking further into town, and saw Twilight and Spike walk into the bakery.

I walked to the door, but I heard somepony shriek. “DON’T LET HIM IN, SHE MIGHT HAVE HEXED HIM!” The unmistakable voice of Rarity said.

I had a look of pure confusion, my mouth slightly agape. Hexed? What in the name of Celestia did she mean by that.

Suddenly, Pinkie appeared in front of me from nowhere, making me yelp in fright and shock.

“Yeah, you been cursed by the witch!?” Pinkie said.

I still had the same confused look. “Witch? Cursed? What are you all talking about?” I asked innocently.

Pinkie pointed up the street. “HER!” Pinkie shouted.

I looked up the street to Zecora, who looked down the street to us with her hood still on. Her eyes glowed a frightening yellow, and I have to admit, she just…. Didn’t looked right.

I shivered a bit as I looked at Zecora in this frightening pose. “You mean Zecora? But she’s been nothing but nice to me.” I then pushed Pinkie carefully to the side and walked into the room.

“Did you see her Jordan? Did you see... Zecora?” Applebloom asked with a wonderous look in her eyes.

Applejack then started to reprimand her sister. “Apple Bloom! I told you never to say that name.”

“Well, yeah. I spent the night at her hut, and-“ I was cut off as everypony shrieked.

“AH! HE HAS TO BE CURSED!” Rarity cried out in fear.

“Why are the bunch of you flipping out for no good reason?!” Twilight asked the group on my behalf.

“No good reason? You call protectin' yer kin no good reason? Why, as soon as my sister saw Zecora ridin' into town, she started shakin' in her lil' horseshoes.”

Apple Bloom, shaky, tried to deny the fact. “Did not!”

“So I swept her up and brought her here.” Applejack continued the story.

“I walked here myself!” Applebloom stated, annoyed. “Applejack, I'm not a baby! I can take care of myself!” She tried to defend herself, but AJ wouldn’t have it.

“Not from that creepy Zecora.” Applejack retorted to the young filly.

“She's mysterious.” Fluttershy interjected.

“Sinister.” Dash added.

“And spoooooky!” Pinkie Pie finished.

Twilight and I both groaned, and I facehoofed. Then, everypony but Twilight and I gasped loudly as they looked at Zecora.

“Will you cut that out?” Twilight asked, highly irritated.

“Just look at those stripes! So garish!” I then looked at Rarity. “What does that word even mean?” I said with a confuzzled look on my face.

“She's a zebra.” Twilight told the group of us.

“A what!?” Everypony else but me shouted.

“A zebra, and her stripes aren't a fashion choice Rarity, they're what she was born with.” Twilight explained to us. Rarity fainted.

“Born where? I've never seen a pony like that in these parts, 'cept... her!” Applejack said as she pointed out the window to Zecora.

“Well, she's probably not from here, and she's not a pony. My books say that zebras come from a faraway land. But I've never seen her in Ponyville. Where does she live?” Twilight asked.

“That's just it, she lives in... the Everfree Forest!” Applejack exclaimed, as Spike made something crash, to sound like a thunderclap.

“Spike!” Twilight scolded.

“Uh, sorry.” Spike sheepishly apologized.

“The Everfree Forest just ain't natural. The plants grow...” Applejack started.

“Animals care for themselves...” Fluttershy added.

“And the clouds move...” Rainbow dash continued.

Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash all spoke at once now. “All on their own!” Rarity then fainted again.

I then spoke up, tired of this bad-mouthing of Zecora. “Now you all just wait a gosh darned minute! Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, didn’t you notice how I didn’t come back last night!? It was because something BAD happened to me. Zecora happened to be walking near me and fought off whatever was attacking me, and took me to her hut in the forest to heal me. Look.” I said as I spun around in place. “I’m not cursed, I’m not hurt, nothing happened in the forest, and I’m one hundred percent ok.” I said with a slight smile. But then, Rarity cut in.

“OR, maybe she’s what caused that dreadful attack that happened to you!” She purported.

Pinkie then jumped in front of me. “YEAH, maybe she did curse you, but you just can’t tell because she brainwashed you, so you could come here and spread the curse to us!”

I then felt a poking at my body. It was Rainbow. “Did she do any crazy experiments on you? Are you missing your spleen?”

I growled in irritation and slapped her away with my hoof. “For the love of Celestia, you ponies are far too superstitious!” I said as I sat in a chair nearby. But, I started to think deeply. Did Zecora do anything suspicious? No… she couldn’t have. She saved me, and brought me back to help.

But… she never DID answer my questions, and acted so mysterious. I guess it’s possible she did something.

“And that wicked enchantress Zecora lives there doing her evil... stuff! She's so evil I even wrote a song about her!” Pinkie suddenly said.

“Here we go...” Dash said as Pinkie started singing.

“She's an evil enchantress
She does evil dances
And if you look deep in her eyes
She'll put you in trances
Then what will she do?
She'll mix up an evil brew
Then she'll gobble you up
In a big tasty stew
Soooo... Watch out!”

“Wow. Catchy.” Twilight said in an unamused tone, and I rolled my eyes also.

“It's a work in progress.” Pinkie proudly stated

“This is all just a lot of gossip and rumors. Now tell me; what exactly have you actually seen Zecora do?”

“Yeah, I was at her hut for quite a while and nothing weird or spooky happened…” I said to the group.

Rainbow then replied. “Well... Once a month, she comes into Ponyville.”

Twilight then dramatically interjected. “Oooooh.”

“Then, she lurks by the stores.” Rarity added.

Twilight again replied dramatically. “Oh, my.”

“And then, she digs at the ground.” Fluttershy chimed in.

In her dramatic voice, Twilight once again replied. “Good gracious!” Twilight then returned to her normal voice. “Okay, I'm sorry. But how is any of this bad? Maybe she comes to town to visit?

Apple Bloom cut in. "Yeah! Maybe she's just tryin' to be neighborly.”

“And maybe she's not lurking by the stores, maybe she's going to them, lurk free, to do some shopping?” Twilight questioned.

“Yeah! Everypony likes to shop. You know what I think?” Applebloom said, only to be cut off by AJ.

“Apple Bloom! Hush and let the big ponies talk.” AJ scolded her sister.

I gasped and gave Applejack a shocked look, then narrowed my eyes slightly. “Applejack! How could you talk to your sister that way!? How would you like it if you were in her shoes? She just wants to be a part of the conversation, belittling her is NOT the right way to tell her to butt out.”

Applejack gave me a narrowed look also. “What do y’all know about family, or siblin’s? I’m the middle child of three, so don’t preach to me about siblin’s, partner!”

I scoffed under my breath. “Applejack, you might be the element of honesty. But you’re not right all the time. You’d do well to listen to ponies sometime, like when Twilight tried to help you during apple buck season.”

We then ignored each other as Dash piped up.

“W-what about digging at the ground? You've got to admit that's weird.” She said.

“What if she's digging for innocent creatures?”

“Innocent… you all are just spewing out crazy, nonsense filled gossip and speculation now!” I said to the group as Pinkie sung her song in the background.

“I am sure there is an explanation for everything Zecora does. And if anypony here were actually brave enough to approach her, they would find out the truth.” Twilight said.

“I was already with her, and I turned out fine. If that’s not proof enough, someone else go up to her.” I said.

“Well, I'm brave enough; I'm gonna find out myself.” Applebloom said, then gasped as Applejack held her back, firmly.

“You ponies are being ridiculous!” Twilight and I said at the same time.

“Well, I heard that Zecora eats hay.” Pinkie said.

“Pinkie, I eat hay; you eat hay!” Twilight said annoyedly.

“Yeah, but I heard it's the evil way she eats hay.” Pinkie tried to defend her ridiculous statement.

“Hey! Where's Apple Bloom?” Applejack asked worriedly, as said filly was gone.

“The door's open.” Fluttershy told the group.

“She went outside!” Rarity said in shock.

“And Zecora's still out there.” Rainbow added.

Applejack sighed. “That silly lil' filly! I told her to stay put!”

“Applejack, she’s just curious, she’s a little girl. Let her be curious.” I told her.

“Spike, you stay here in case Apple Bloom comes back.” Twilight directed Spike.

Spike nodded. “Will do!”

We all sprinted outside to where Zecora was, and gasped when nopony was there. “Zecora’s not here, they could be anywhere!” I cried out.

Applejack then gasped. “The forest! Apple Bloom must be followin her home! C’mon y’all!” Applejack said as she started to sprint to the everfree forest.

We ran behind her, directly in tow, until suddenly, we came to a patch of blue flowers blocking our path. There, we saw Apple Bloom.

Applejack called out to her. “Apple Bloom?” Apple Bloom gasped.

“You get back here right now!” Applejack demanded of the young filly.

“Beware! Beware, you pony folk! Those leaves of blue are not a joke!” Zecora warned the lot of us, making us look at the flowers in slight fear.

Applejack stuttered as she picked AB up and carried her. “Y-you keep your creepy mumbo-jumbo to yourself, ya hear?” Applejack called out to the zebra as she walked away.

The five girls all started agreeing with AJ, and Twilight and I sighed. “Oh brother.”

“Beware! Beware!” Zecora said as the fog in the forest started to consume her, until we couldn’t see her anymore. She disappeared.

“Yeah, back at ya, Zecora! You and your lame curse are the ones who better beware!” Dash said with a very threatening tone of voice.

“And you! Why couldn't you just listen to yer big sister?” Applejack stated with angry eyes to AB.

Apple Bloom stuttered in shock. “I...I...” She couldn’t finish as AJ cut her off.

“Who knows what kind of nasty curse Zecora could have just put on you?” Applejack said.

Pinkie Pie cut in. “Just like in my song!” Pinkie then started to sing it again.

“You guys, there's no such thing as curses!” Twilight said to the group.

“Well, that's interesting to hear coming from Miss Magic Pants herself.” Dash said mockingly, as she flew through the blue flowers and poked Twilight repeatedly.

I then stepped in. “Well, what about Mister Magic Pants, crayon girl? There’s no such thing as a curse!” I said, annoyed at the speculation.

Twilight then spoke. “Our magic, real magic, comes from within. It's a skill you're born with. Curses are artificial, fake magic. It's conjured with potions and incantations; all smoke and mirrors meant to scare. But curses have no real power, they're just an old pony tale.”

“Just you wait, Twilight. You're gonna learn that some pony tales really are true.”

I then put my ears to my hoofs. “I can’t take this anymore, all of you but Twilight are crazy!” I said as I started running out of the forest, back to town. I couldn’t be around them, they were starting to really annoy me. Zecora did nothing but help me. She’s a kind spirit, and the fact that they’re accusing her of crimes she didn’t even commit really irks and irritates me.

Twilight then called after me. “Jordan!” She called out as she ran up the path, behind me. She walked up beside me. “They’re getting to you too, huh?”

I nodded. “Zecora did nothing but help me, and this whole thing just irritates me.” I told Twilight.

“They’re just too superstitious, they’ll get over it at some point.” She told me. I nodded in agreement.

“Anyway, shouldn’t we be getting home?” I asked her, and she nodded in agreement. We walked home to the library, and a few hours later went to bed.

In my sleep, I kept tossing and turning. I didn’t know why, but I didn’t… feel right.

When I woke up, I noticed a few strange things. My body felt different, and I had fallen off of the bed. I was now on the floor, and my body felt weird. I got up and gasped as I looked at myself in the mirror.

I WAS A MARE! I had somehow changed sexes! I screamed at the top of my lungs in shock and fright, a new high-pitched voice resonating from my throat. My mustache was gone, my face was wider and rounder, I had really long eyelashes, and my body was much less muscular and more womanly. My mane and tail were also trimmed and neat, like the girls’.

Twilight heard me scream and ran into the room. “Jordan, what’s-“ Twilight stopped and looked at me, before she too screamed.

“WHAT IN THE NAME OF CELESTIA HAPPENED TO ME!? I’M A MARE!” I shouted in shock.

Twilight stammered. “I…I don’t know! Something’s wrong with my horn too. We have to figure out what’s happened, come downstairs!” Twilight said as she galloped down the stairs. I sprang up and sprinted to follow her, but I ended up tripping. My body was so much lighter now, I misjudged how much muscle I needed to move.
Twilight started looking for a book of some sort, and became irritated when she couldn’t find any such book. “No no no no no! None of these books have a cure! Ugh! There has to be a real reason for this! An illness? An allergy?!” She questioned.

“A curse!” Spike suggested.

“I said a real reason. Something that points to something real.” Twilight retorted.

“How about this one?” Spike proposed.

“’Supernaturals’? Spike, the word supernatural refers to things like ghosts and spirits and zombies, which are as make-believe as curses. This book is just a bunch of hooey!”

“But what if you're wrong, Twilight? What if this really is a-“ Spike was cut off by Pinkie, who mysteriously appeared. I gasped and ran for cover, I couldn’t let her or the girls see me like this!

“Ah pfurse!” Pinkie said, but it didn’t sound right because her tongue was messed up.

“A purse? How could it be a purse?” Spike questioned, not knowing better,

“Pinkie? What happened?” Twilight questioned.

“Pee pah Zthecora! Sthe put a cursthe on me!” Pinkie tried to reply, but failed.

“Hey, say it, don't spray it, Pinkie!” Spike scolded.

“Ow! Oh! She's trying to say -ow!- Zecora -oh!- she slapped us all with a -ow- curse!” Dash told Twilight and Spike.

“I'm afraid I have to agree.” Rarity said as she blew her mane out of her face, which was long and ragged.

Applejack then spoke in a strangely new high pitched voice. “I hate to say I told ya so, Twilight, but I told ya so!”

Applejack was now the size of a toy doll! “It's a curse, I tells ya!” She said as she stood on Applebloom, who carried her on her back.

“But Fluttershy... seems just fine!” Twilight said as a last resort.

“Yes, there doesn't seem to be a thing wrong with her.” Rarity agreed.

“Fluttershy? Are you okay? Is there something wrong with you? Would you care to tell us? So... you're not going to tell us? Yes you're not, or yes you will?” Fluttershy shook her head, refusing to talk at each question.

“Good gravy, girl! What's wrong with you?!” Applejack questioned in annoyance.

Fluttershy spoke in an insanely deep male voice. “I don't want to talk about it.”

Spike snorted, then busted out in laughter.

“This is hilarious! Look at all of you! We got: Hairity, Rainbow Crash, Spitty Pie, Apple Teeny, Flutterguy, and... uh... I got nothin'... Twilight Sparkle. I mean seriously, I can't even work with that. Hey, where’s Jordan?” Spike questioned.

“He’s around here somewhere, I’ll go find him.” Twilight walked to the kitchen where I was. She ended up having to drag me out of the kitchen to get me into the living room.

When everypony and Spike saw me, they were at first stunned silent. I chuckled nervously and spoke in my new high-pitched voice. “Um… hi?” I said, and Spike’s lip quivered before he fell on his back, guffawing in laughter.

Rarity lifted the hair out of her face to look at me. “It’s… not so bad darling. At least you look stylish.” She said, trying to cheer me up.

“I’M A MARE. It’s very bad Rarity, I don’t like this at all!”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Oh come on, being a mare is not so bad.” She then looked at Spike.

Twilight laughed sarcastically. “This is no joke, Spike. Now start looking for more books so I can find a cure!” She ordered. Spike groaned.

“I think we'll find a cure to this curse at Zecora's place!” Dash said to us all.

“It's not a curse!” Twilight replied.

“I agree with Dash! We'll go to Zecora's and force her to remove this hex!” Applejack piped in.

“It's not a hex either!” Twilight stated annoyedly.

“I don't care what you say, Twilight. It's time to pony up and confront Zecora. Come on, girls. Are you with me?” Dash asked the group of us.

“Ah am-pft!” Pinkie said in reply.

“And I as well.” Rarity added.

“Uh, I don't know. Seems awfully dangerous.” Fluttershy said in her manly voice. Spike giggled.

“How about you, Applejack? Applejack?” Rainbow asked as we couldn’t find Applejack.

“Pf-she's gone-pft!” Pinkie tried to say as her tongue flapped.

“Aah! Or somepony stepped on her!” Rarity cried out in horror.

“...or sat on her?” Twilight said as she looked around for AJ.

“Rarity's hair!” Dash exclaimed.

“Oh! OH! Pinkie, what are you doing? Ah, really. Aah! You ever hear of personal space?” Rarity said as Pinkie started to look for AJ.

“Nopthe.” Pinkie replied.

“Apple Bloom is gone too!” Twilight exclaimed.

“I bet they went after Zecora.” Dash announced as she looked out the door.

“Well we better go find them. Come on girls, let's go.” We all then started walking out. “You know, just cause I’m a mare temporarily doesn’t mean you can call me girl!”

“Oh dear. Oh, this is so unseemly. Auuuaah!” Rarity cried out as she tripped on her hair.

“Hey, a little help here?” Dash asked, as she couldn’t fly well.

“Oopsie! Sorry.” Fluttershy said.

Rainbow then crashed. “OW!”

“Uh... Spike? Are you coming?” Fluttershy asked.

“Nope! Uh... gotta stay here and look for a cure. Twilight Flopple!” Spike said as he finally came up with a name for Twilight.

We sprinted to the forest, and once we got decently deep, Twilight spoke.

“C'mon girls. We've got to get to Zecora's. Hurry!” Twilight said as she sprinted.

“Ooh... Ahaha. Easier said than done.” Rarity said as she tried to keep from falling.

“Hey, wait for me!” Rainbow then crashed, and she fell behind. Next we knew, we heard her screaming.

“Oh. I look horrible!” Rarity said in despair.

“Plis place plooks horrible!” Pinkie said as she looked at the hut.

“Oh my. That place really does look horrible. Nice decorations, if you like creepy!” Rarity said as she peeked inside, seeing some weird masks.

We then heard Zecora, talking in a foreign language.

“Sthe sthtole my sthong! Shthe shtole mm mm!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“She stole your song?” Rarity inquired.

“Oh Pinkie. Doesn't sound anything like your song.” Twilight said.

Pinkie Pie then went to Fluttershy, and begged her to sing the song. Fluttershy sighed, and did so.

“You saw those terrible things. Now do you believe us Twilight?” Rarity asked of Twilight.

“Scary looking masks, confusing incantations, and a great big bubbling cauldron? Everything is pointing to Zecora being... bad. Or... what if Zecora is just making soup?” Twilight asked rhetorically as a last resort.

Suddenly, we heard Zecora. “Mmm! The perfect temperature for ponies, I presume. Now, where is that little Apple Bloom?”

“Or... what if she's making Apple Bloom soup?!” Twilight exclaimed

We then saw Rainbow, with Applejack riding her, fly into the house and mess up Zecora’s decorations, and spill her cauldron. We all ran inside.

“No! You know not what you do! You've gone and spilled my precious brew!” Zecora said in disbelief.

“We're onto you Zecora. I didn't want to believe that you cursed us, but the evidence is overwhelming!”

I stepped forward. “I didn’t want to believe it, after how you’d helped me, but I can’t deny the facts anymore. You hexed the girls and turned me into a mare!” I said.

“You made me look ridiculous.” Rarity started.

“You made me sound ridiculous!” Fluttershy added.

“You made me speak ridiculous!” Pinkie said, barely intelligible.

“You ruined my horn!” Cried Twilight.

“How dare you! You destroy my home, destroy my work. Then rudely accuse me of being a jerk?” Zecora stated with narrowed eyes.

“You put this curse on us, now you're gonna uncurse us.” Dash said with no fooling around.

“It is unwise to venture down this road. Your actions will make my anger explode!” Zecora stated, as she was obviously getting angry.

“Where is Apple Bloom!?” Twilight asked, fed up with the stalling.

“Zecora! I think I found all the things ya asked for. What in Ponyville is goin' on here?” Apple Bloom asked as she walked into the hut and saw everything that had transpired while she was MIA.

“Apple Bloom! You're okay!” AJ said in relief.

“Why wouldn't I be?” Applebloom asked.

“Because Zecora is an evil enchantress who cursed us and was gonna cook you up into soup!” Twilight explained frantically. Zecora and Apple Bloom both laughed.

“Oh Twilight. Did those silly fillies finally get in yer head? You know there's no such thing as a curse.” Applebloom said as she chuckled.

“Apple Bloom, sweetie. You can't just stand there and tell me this isn't a curse.” Twilight said as she pointed to all of us.

“This isn't a curse.” She flatly stated.

“If you will remember back, the words I spoke were quite exact.” I then remembered what she said yesterday about the blue plants…

“It was a warnin'. About that blue plant. It's called Poison Joke.” Applebloom explained.

“That plant is much like poison oak. But its results are like a joke.” Zecora explained in a rhyme.

“What in the hay does that mean?” Applejack asked, standing in Zecora’s hair.

“It means this plant does not breed wrath. Instead this plant just wants a laugh.” She tried to explain again, but AJ was still confused.

“Will somepony please talk normal?” Applejack asked us.

“I think what she's saying is that when we ran in to save Apple Bloom, we ran into the poison joke. All our problems are just little jokes it played on us.” Twilight explained.

“Little jokes?! Very funny.” AJ said, referring to her new size.

“Okay, fine. But what about the cauldron?” Dash asked.

“And the chanting?” Fluttershy continued.

“And the creepy décor?” Rarity added.

“Treasures of the native land where I am from. This one speaks 'hello', and this 'welcome'.” Zecora explained to us. OH, that would explain why one smiles and one frowns.

“Not welcoming at all, if you ask me.” Rarity flatly stated.

“The words I chanted were from olden times. Something you call a nursery rhyme.” Zecora stated to us.

“But the cauldron... The Apple Bloom soup?” Twilight questioned the zebra mare.

“Lookie here Twilight. That pot of water wasn't for me, it was for all these herbal ingredients. The cure for poison joke is a simple old-natural remedy. You just gotta take a bubble bath!” Applebloom explained with exclamation.

“But I tried to find a cure in all my books and couldn't find anything. What book has this natural remedy?” Twilight asked Zecora, and the zebra showed her. It was the book from earlier!

“Here is the book, you see? Sad that you lack it in your library.” Zecora told Twi.

“Actually, I do have this book, but I didn't look inside because the title was so... Weird. Supernaturals: Natural Remedies and Cure-alls That Are Simply Super. I...I... I'm so sorry, Zecora. I had the answer the whole time, if only I had bothered to look inside.” Twilight stated with drooped, sad ears.

Zecora chuckled. “Maybe next time you will take a second look, and not judge the cover of the book.” She told all of us.

“Hahaha.” Applebloom chuckled.

“Zecora? Would you be kind enough to mix up another batch of the herbal bath?” Twilight asked, wanting us all to get better.

“Mix it up I certainly will. Yet I am missing an herb from Ponyville.”

“OH. So that’s why you wanted to come to town yesterday. Did you foresee this would all happen?” I asked, and Zecora nodded.

“But whenever Zecora comes to town, all the shops are mysteriously closed.” Applebloom informed us.

“Oh, well... I think we can help you with that.” Twilight said with a smile. In the next while, all nine of us walked to Ponyville, and talked to the flower sisters. We convinced them to give Zecora the herb/flower she needed, and we all went to the spa to relax in the soak.

As we all bathed, I saw Twilight writing a letter, it must be this week’s friendship letter.

Lotus Blossom walked up to Zecora. “Miss Zecora, I would love to get the recipe for this bath. It's simply luxurious!” She stated in wonder at the bath.

“Applejack! Hey, where's Applejack?!” Applebloom asked in frantic worry.

Applejack spoke. “I'm right here, little sis. I ain't tiny no more!”

“Oh! I have never felt so lovely in all my life!” Rarity said as she enjoyed the soak.

“Oh, my gosh! I never realized how horrible it is not to be able to talk. I mean, I love talking so much, and when I couldn't talk anymore, my tongue was all 'ehhhh'! It was the worst! Don't you agree, Fluttershy?” Pinkie said as she stared at Flutters for a response.

Fluttershy replied with a simple “Yes.”, and we all laughed. For the next few hours, we enjoyed the bath and relaxed. But as we were getting out of the giant tub, I gasped. I hadn’t changed at all! I was still a mare!

“WAIT! I’m still a mare, the bath didn’t work!” I exclaimed to the girls as we were preparing to leave the spa. I looked at Zecora.

“Any ideas, Zecora? What does this mean, is there evil magic at work!? Am I really hexed, is it that spirit again!?” She shook her head.

“I am sorry my friend, my remedy almost always mends. Why you are still a mare, an answer I can not bare.” She said to me

I then got worried. “But there has to be a way to reverse this! Can’t you come up with a cure?!” I said frantically.

“A cure, I shall try to create for sure. But, a promise it will work, I cannot procure.” She stated somberly.

“Please, just try. For me. I guess I’d better head home with Twilight. See you later, Zecora.” I said with a smile as I walked home with Twilight.

We walked into the library and I shuffled my feet uncomfortably.

“Well… this has been the weirdest past two days of my life. I’m a bloody mare, for the love of Equestria. I’m going to go to bed, night Twi.” I didn’t wait for a response as I walked up the stairs to the bedroom, and flopped into bed.

I started to think deeply. Oh Celestia, I hope to heaven Zecora can make a cure! I can’t imagine being stuck a mare. This just feels weird, I have the mind of a stallion, trapped in a mare’s body. This doesn’t feel right, and I don’t think this could get any worse. I hate feeling so helpless, this is a situation that could CHANGE MY LIFE, and I am absolutely powerless to do anything about it.

I fell asleep feeling very uneasy, unsure of what would lie ahead.

Author's Note

Haha. Plot twist! HE'S A MARE! Hope you guys liked this chapter. Next is Swarm Of The Century!

Chapter 12: Swarm Of The Century

I woke up in the morning to find myself on the floor, sprawled out and looking to the ceiling. I groaned and sat up.

“Wow. I must have slept hard to have fallen out of bed.” I said. I then groaned as I heard my own voice, and felt my body. Yep, it wasn’t a dream. I’m still a mare!

I sighed and went about my business in the bathroom. That was VERY strange, going with different body parts.

Anyway, I walked downstairs and saw Twilight, cleaning up the house with Spike.

I walked up to her and chuckled nervously. “H…hey Twi.” I said uneasily.

She turned around and looked at me. “Still didn’t change back huh? I’m sorry, Jordan.” Her voice was heavily apologetic, with a hint of….falsehood. Like she was sorry, but not sorry at the same time. I don’t know why.

I sighed. “It’s fine, let’s just hope Zecora can make some kind of cure. So, what’s with all the cleaning?” I asked her, as I looked around and noticed the house was in bad shape. Books were everywhere, trash scattered, dust everywhere, etc.

“The princess is coming for a visit, tomorrow! Everypony in town is either cleaning, preparing, or decorating.”

Suddenly, there was a crashing sound. Twilight looked at spike and glared.

“Oh! Hurry up, Spike! This place isn't gonna clean itself.” Twilight said, clearly worried about the state of the library.

“It also didn't mess itself up.” Spike said, resentfully of Twilight and I’s messmaking.

He then looked at me and started snickering. “Hey there, JORDY.” I gasped and glared at him.

“Jordy?! Seriously?!” I said with anger in my new feminine voice. Spike chuckled. “I came up with names for the others yesterday, so that’s your girl name. Jordy Jordy Jordy Jordy Jordy!” He finished emphatically.

I sighed softly. There was no stopping Spike’s sense of humor, was there?

“Princess Celestia will be here tomorrow!” Twilight exclaimed, breaking up our argument.

“I thought this was just an unofficial casual visit.” Spike asked curiously as he dusted the shelves.

“There's nothing casual about a visit from royalty. I want this place to be spotless, and you've barely made a dent in the clutter.” Twilight said, half reprimanding Spike.

“Maybe you should, ugh, start reading them one at a time-- woah ho!” Spike said as he suddenly fell off the ladder.

“Everything's got to be perfect. No time for fooling around.” Twilight said. I patted her shoulder.

“Twilight, please stop worrying. You’re freaking out for no reason. The princess has been here before, remember? She didn’t freak out about the state of Ponyville anyway. It’s not like this is Canterlot, it’s rural Ponyville.”

Spike then cut in. “You know, this would be an awful lot easier if there weren't three of us here getting under each other's feet.”

“Great idea. You clean, me and Jordy, I MEAN JORDAN, will go see how everypony else's preparations are coming.” She said as she motioned me over to the front door. I glared my eyes angrily at her and followed her outside.

We then walked throughout the town together, towards Ponyville Park. Twilight sighed. “I hope nopony is slacking around, I want this place to look perfect for the princess.”

“Twi, calm down. I’m sure everything’s fine, you’re over-thinking all this.” I said, trying to calm her down. But it didn’t really work. When we got to the park, she started to survey the surroundings, and noticed that while everything as a whole was in order, the banner welcoming the princess was messed up; Celestia was cut off at the end of it.

“What happened to the rest of her name?” Twilight asked as she looked at a pony named Golden Harvest for answer.

“We couldn't fit it all in.” Golden replied.

“You can't hang a banner that says ‘Welcome Princess Celest’. Take it down and try again.” Twilight ordered them, and they groaned.

Twilight then went to a stallion watering plants. “That looks perfect. Keep up the good work.” And she moved on. We started walking together to the bakery.

Twilight greeted the cakes. “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Cake. How's the banquet coming?”

Mrs. Cake had a grimacing look. “Uh...it would be coming a little better if...” She darted her eyes to the table, where Pinkie was simply devouring every sweet in sight!

Twilight gasped. “Pinkie! What are you doing? Those sweets are supposed to be for the princess.” She scolded the pink pony.

Pinkie quickly thought of a lie to make herself seem good. “I know. That's why I'm tasting them. Somepony needs to make sure that everything is tasty enough to touch the royal tongue, and I, Pinkie Pie, declare that these treats are fit for a king, or a queen, or a princess.”

I chuckled. “Nice try Pinkie. And yes, before you ask I’m still a mare, so don’t even speak about it.” I ordered.

Suddenly, Fluttershy hopped in through the front door. “Twilight, Pinkie, you won't believe... oh, I'm sorry. Uh, am I interrupting?”

“No, not at all. Come on in and make yourself at home. What's going on, Fluttershy?” Pinkie asked as she continued to eat.

“You won't believe what I found at the edge of the Everfree Forest. Come on out, little guy. It's okay.”

Suddenly, some sort of flying creature flew out of Flutters’ hair!

Fluttershy gasped. “Three?”

The bug flew to Twilight. “They're amazing. What are they?” She asked.

“I'm not sure. I'm also not sure where these other two came from.” Huh, strange, I thought to myself.

“I'll take one off your hooves. I've never seen anything so... adorable. Besides, it'll be nice to have a companion for Spike so he won't bother me so much while I'm studying.”

I then took one and sort of cuddled it. “Awww, it’s so adorable!” I gasped and put my hooves over my mouth. What the… is being a mare making me act differently?! When I was a stallion I would have never used that word!

“Pinkie, I’m sorry we don’t have any more…” Fluttershy said sadly.

Pinkie inspected the creature and groaned. “Ugh! A parasprite? Are you kidding? I don’t want one anyway!”

Fluttershy was confused, and so were Twilight and I. “Ugh?”

“A para-what?” Twilight asked.

“How could you not like...” Fluttershy started to say as Pinkie went to the front door.

“Ugh. Now I gotta go find a trombone.” She told us.

“What in the name of Equestria do you need a trombone for?!” I asked.

“No time to explain! Gotta go!” Pinkie said as she dashed away.

Twilight shook her head. “Ahhh, typical Pinkie.”

My parasprite purred, and I nuzzled it softly. “So cute…” I said and smiled.

Twilight smiled at her parasprite. “Come on, let’s go see how Rarity’s doing with her preparations. See you later, Fluttershy!” Twilight said as she and I left the bakery.

On the way there, my parasprite kept cuddling me and it nestled my hair. I could feel my heart beam. It was so cute.

We walked in the Boutique and walked upstairs to Rarity’s bedroom/work room. There, we saw her working on Rainbow Dash.

“Stand still, Rainbow Dash.” We heard Rarity command said Pegasus.

“Ugh, I caaan't, I need to flyyy! This is waaay too boring for me.” Rainbow replied, in an almost begging tone of voice.

“Do you want to look nice for Princess Celestia or not?” Rarity gave the ultimatum. Dash looked at Rarity before she gave up and sat still, letting the fashionista do her work.

“Wow. Rarity, those outfits are gorgeous.” Twi and I said at the same time.

“Mmhmm. Thank you. Nice to know someone appreciates my talents.” She replied as she glared at Rainbow.

“Rarity, I’m not sure if I’ll be a mare or stallion during the visit. Can you just make an outfit for both just in case?”

Rarity nodded at me. “Of course darling, don’t worry about it!” She said as she waved her hoof.

“Ugh, sooo boooring.” Dash complained. Then our parasprites chirped, catching the attention of Rarity. “Huh?”

“What's that sound guys?” Rainbow asked, and our parasprites showed themselves to the girls. But now, there were six of them! We had three each!

Rainbow looked at them in wonder. “Wow, what are they?”

“The better question is, where did they come from? I only had one a minute ago.” Twilight said in confusion.

I gasped. “They’re…. multiplying, somehow…”

Rainbow smiled. “Uh, I'll take one.” She said flatly, trying to retain her “cool”.

“Me too, oh, they're perfect.” Rarity said as she cuddled her new friend.

Pinkie then showed up. “Does anypony know where I can find an accordion?”

Twilight, Rainbow and Rarity all made baby noises at their parasprites. I went to Pinkie cursiously.

“Pinkie, what in the hay do you need an accordion for? Shouldn’t you be preparing for the princess’s visit instead of goofing off?” I stated inquisitively.

She just stammered for a minute before she turned to leave. “Durgh! Thanks a lot.” She said as she angrily left.

I scoffed. “Well somepony’s angry nopony else wants to goof around today. Twilight, let’s finish checking the decorations and stuff, shall we?”

She nodded and walked to me, holding her parasprite. For the next few hours, we checked the progress, and finally went home to sleep.

We went to Twilight’s bedroom and made sure everything was spotless. She sighed.

“The decorations, the banquet, I really hope everything comes together in time for tomorrow.” Twilight said worriedly.

I patted her back. “Twilight, everypony knows how much this means to you. Don’t worry, nothing can go wrong. Let’s go to sleep.”

I then left the room and went to the guest room, and cuddled into bed. Suddenly, a thought popped into my mind that made me open my eyes wide.

THE PRINCESS IS COMING TOMORROW, and I’m still a mare! Oh no, this is not gonna be good for me, I can’t let her see me like this!

Maybe I can do something else when the princess visits. I’ll… I’ll go fishing on the lake! Yeah, I’ll do that, and the princess won’t have to see me like this. That’ll work, Twilight won’t mind if I’m MIA.

I rolled onto my side and got comfortable, and the next thing I knew I woke up the next morning.

I heard Twilight shriek and call my name. I got up from the bed and gasped.

The entire room was filled with parasprites!

“WHAT IN THE, what?! But I only had one parasprite last night!” I said as I fought through the crowd of them, using my hoof as a sword to slice my way through.

After much effort, I managed to get to the door and open it, making the crowd of parasprites flood into the hallway in a comical fashion.

I continued to fight through the crowd till I got to Twi’s bedroom.

“WHAT in the name of Celestia is this?!” I cried out.

“I don’t know! Spike! Wake up! What happened?” Twilight asked Spike, hoping he saw what happened.

“Huh? Whaaa! What's going on?” Spike said as he got swarmed by the little creatures.

Twilight was flabbergasted. “Where did they come from?”

Spike was just as lost as she and I. “I don't know. The little guy got hungry in the night, so I gave him a snack, but... I have no idea where these others came from. Oh no! They're messing up all my hard work!” Spike cried out as he went downstairs to stop them.

“Twilight, they must be multiplying somehow. We need to stop them before we have a massive infestation!” I suggested.

Twilight nodded. “I know, the princess will be here in a few hours.” She informed Spike and I.

“Spike, help me and Jordan round up these little guys.” She instructed said dragon.

“Ugh, what does it look like I'm doin'?” Spike asked as he started to lose his balance. “Ooow, waaah! D'oh.” He fell down. “I know, I know, ‘stop fooling around’.”

I looked at Twilight. “Come on, let’s go see if we can assist the others!” I said as I dashed out the front door. Rarity’s house was closest, so I decided to run there first.

I slammed the door open and ran inside. I heard Rarity.

“No creature that behaves so revoltingly is allowed in my boutique!” She said as she started to shoo them all away.

Pinkie Pie then showed up out of nowhere again! “Look everypony, Applejack loaned me a harmonica. Isn't that great?” She asked and we all looked at her in dumbfounded shock.
Pinkie gasped. “And not a moment too soon.”

Rarity then spoke up. “Ugh, Pinkie, we’re a little busy right now.” She told Pinkie.

Pinkie scoffed. “And I'm not? You know how many more instruments I've gotta find? A lot, that's how many. Now if we split the list between us, we might just make it in time.”

“Please, Pinkie, we don't have time for some silly scavenger hunt. We've got a real problem.” Rarity tried to reason, but Pinkie was still being her.

“You've got a real problem alright. And a banjo is the only answer!” Pinkie said as she left the boutique.

“I see we're having the same problem.” Rarity said to Twilight and I. We nodded, and all of a sudden Dash flew in.

“Ditto!” Dash said.

“Fluttershy knows everything about animals, I'm sure she can tell us how to stop them from multiplying.” Twilight suggested.

“Then what are we waiting for?! Let’s hustle over there, come on everypony!” I said as I started galloping towards Fluttershy’s cottage.

The girls followed right behind me, except Dash who flew. We made it to the cottage and Twilight sighed in relief.

“She…has…to…know how to get rid of them.” Twilight said as she opened the front door. As she did, a billion of the things came flooding out! Ok, not really a billion, but a lot of them!

“...or not.” Twilight said as we walked inside. “Ugh, do something Fluttershy, can't you control them?”

“I've tried everything I know: I've tried begging, and pleading, and beseeching, and asking politely and...” Fluttershy just stopped listing them off.
Rainbow was clearly annoyed. “Guh.”

“If we can't get them under control before the princess arrives, it'll be a total disaster.” Twilight said to us in despair. Right then, a parasprite hacked up, and out came another parasprite.

“A-HA! So THAT’S how they multiply! Disgusting!” I said.

“Ew! I couldn’t agree more, Jordan!” Rarity said in disgust.

Suddenly, Applejack came out of nowhere. “Here's all those apples you wanted, Fluttershy, but I still can't figure why y'need so many.” The parasprites then went to the bucket and DEVOURED all the apples in no time. “Hey!” Applejack scolded at them.

“What do we do?” Fluttershy asked us.

Twilight gasped. “I got it! No ponies can herd like Applejack and Jordan!”

Rainbow piped up. “Yeah! We can drive 'em back into the forest.”

“Seems as good an idea as any… I don’t see any other way of getting rid of them in time for the princess’ visit. Applejack, should we?” I asked, not sure if she was ok with being a herder for hire.

Applejack scoffed. “I'll rastle 'em up with you, but we’ll need everypony's help to do it. Twilight, you and Rarity wait over there. I'll herd the little critters straight at ya like a funnel. Rainbow Dash, you and Fluttershy stay on top of 'em, don't let 'em fly away.”
Rainbow Dash nodded. “Aye aye.”

“Jordan, y’all will be in the back, chasing them with me.” I nodded and went to where she was. We then scared the parasprites into one massive herd, and I nodded at AJ.

“All right y'all, here goes nothin'.” Applejack said as we all started moving, causing the parasprites to all move with us. “Look out Rarity, that one's fixin' to get away.” AJ directed at Rarity. “Keep a lead on 'em, Rainbow Dash!” She instructed Dash. We were now close, we could see the trees of the forest! “Hold on everypony, we're almost there.” Applejack told us as we neared our goal.

Out of nowhere, Pinkie appeared next to Twilight! “Pinkie!” Twilight cried out.

“Twilight, we don't have much time.” Pinkie told Twilight.

“You're telling me. The princess could arrive at any moment.” Twilight informed the pink mare.

“Exactly. That's why I need you gals to drop what you're doing and help me find some maracas.” Pinkie told us.

“PINKIE, are you genuinely crazy? Listen, if you’re not gonna help us herd these things to the forest, get out of here!” I yelled at her as I ran.

“Why are ALL OF you so stubborn!” Pinkie cried out in frustration as she ran off another direction.

“Forget her. Focus. Head 'em up and move 'em out.” Applejack ordered us. Suddenly, she pulled me to the side, as the girls stepped away from the snowball of parasprites, and they rolled into the forest!

“WO-HOO! Awesome work everypony!” I called out and gave high-hoofs to everypony.

Rainbow cheered too. “All right!” She said as she gave Fluttershy a hard high-hoof, making her say ouch from pain.

“We did it.” Twilight said triumphantly. “Nice work, Applejack.” She thanked said pony.

Applejack smiled. “Couldn't a'done it without y'all. Especially my number one critter coraller.” She said as she gave me a noogie on my head.

“Now let's get back and clean up the mess they made before the princess arrives.” Twilight suggested, and we all hurried back to Fluttershy’s cottage.
As we walked up, Twilight spoke to us. “Okay, everyone knows what to do, right? We gotta work extra hard to make up for lost time.”

We opened the door, and a million parasprites shot out of the cottage!

“Where did they come from?” Twilight asked in annoyance.

Fluttershy sheepishly smiled. “Well, I may have kept just one. Heh. I couldn't help myself. They're just so cute.”

“AGH! Fluttershy, bad call!” I said.

“We don't have time to keep rounding up these things. What do we do now?” Twilight asked.

Rainbow answered her. “We call in the weather patrol. Time to take out the adorable trash. YAAAAAA!” Rainbow said as she started to make a parasprite tornado!

Twilight cheered her on. “Way to go, Rainbow Dash!”

“Looks like our problems are solved.” Applejack added.

Pinkie AGAIN showed up out of nowhere. “They will be with these cymbals.” The parasprites then flew to her and took the cymbals. “Hey! Give me those back!” She ordered them.

Rainbow lost control of the tornado as the cymbals got thrown into the crossfire. They acted like weapons! “Whoa. Yaa! Yow! Whoa! Wow! I can't hold it! She's breaking up.” Dash said as she crash landed to the ground, the parasprites now free.

Twilight was in shock. “Pinkie Pie, what have you done?” She asked rhetorically. It was clear that Twilight was not in the mood for any more games.
“I've lost a brand new pair of cymbals, that's what I've done.” Pinkie retorted, upset about the cymbals.

Twilight was fed up. “Will you forget about your silly instruments for one second? You're ruining our efforts to save Ponyville.” She tried to reason with Pinkie.

“Me? Ruin? I'm not the ruiner, I'm the ruin-ee! Or is it ruiness? Ruin-“ I cut her off, as I was now annoyed.

“PINKIE, please just listen. I know how much you love to have fun. I promise we’ll all have some fun sometime soon. But we have to get these stupid bugs out of here before the princess arrives! So, either help us or get out!” I shouted, giving her my ultimatum.

Pinkie just gasped in shock and looked at me, obviously holding back tears. “You…how could you be so mean?! FINE! I don’t need your help anyway!” She said as she ran off

“Come on y’all, there's no reasoning with that one. She's a few apples short of a bushel.”

I huffed. “I might have to agree, AJ… I can’t believe Pinkie wants to play in a band instead of helping us, her friends!”

I then gasped. “HOLD UP! If they ate all those apples earlier…. GIRLS, we have to get to Ponyville NOW!” I said and started running to town, them directly behind me in tow.

When we got there, we found out my fears were true. Parasprites were eating all food in sight!

“What do we do? They're eating all the food in town.” Fluttershy said in fright.

Applejack gasped. “My apples!” She then ran off towards the farm.

“We've gotta do something.” Twilight said as she tried to think of a solution. “I got it! I'll cast a spell to make them stop eating all the food.” She said as she started to power up her horn. All of a sudden, Pinkie showed up.
“Look, tambourines! If you could all just...” The parasprites again took her instruments!

Twilight cast her spell, and we were all waiting anxiously to see if it worked. The parasprites suddenly stopped eating the food. We all sighed in relief, but then something happened that made me just about lose it.

THEY STARTED EATING MATERIALS. Yes, materials! As in buildings, clothes, etc! They were literally devouring town!

“Heh. Hey, it worked. They're not eating the food anymore.” Rainbow commented a bit sourly.

“TWILIGHT, what did you do!?” I asked Twilight, but she was just in too much shock trying to process what had just happened to respond.

“Oh no... if they get inside my store... Everypony for herself!” Rarity shrieked as she ran up the road to her home

“Twilight, the library!” I said as I started sprinting to our home.

When we got there, we were stunned. “They're eating the words!” Twilight said as we watched a parasprite literally eat the words out of the book like spaghetti.

Twilight looked at me as she grabbed one of the parasprites. “Jordan, come on! We have to get to Zecora’s, she’s our last hope!” Twilight said as she sprinted out the house.

I followed her, in a quick gallop. “Good idea, maybe she has a cure ready!” We got to the hut in the forest pretty quickly, and Twilight slammed the door open, frightening Zecora.

“Ugh. Have you gone mad?” Zecora asked as she stared at us.

“Zecora, these little guys are devouring Ponyville, and the princess is on her way. Can you help us, please?” Twilight begged in desperation of the zebra.

Zecora studied the parasprite before she opened her eyes wide. “Oh, monster of so little size. Is that a parasprite before my eyes?” She asked in a riddle.

“I don't know! Is it?” Twilight asked frantically.

“Tales of crops and harvests consumed. If these creatures are in Ponyville, you're doomed.” Zecora ultimately stated, making us both gulp in fear.

“OH NO, the princess!” Twilight exclaimed as she ran outside. I then looked at the zebra mare.

“Zecora, I…” I started, before she cut me off by raising her hoof. “My friend, you are in luck. For a cure for your ailment, I might have struck. I just need more time, and all shall be made fine.” She rhymed.

I sighed. “Please hurry, that’s all I can ask. I’ve got to go, bye Zecora!” I yelled as I ran out the hut towards Ponyville.

I ran after Twilight and caught up with her, as she looked towards Canterlot. We saw the royal chariot flying towards town!

“Oh no, here she comes.” Twilight said in despair. Then… she got this look in her eyes, as if she was… inate. It was hard to explain.

“Okay, here's the plan. Rainbow Dash, you distract them.” She told Dash as she flew past us in a hurry.

“Good. Everyone else, we need to build an exact copy of Ponyville right over there. We've got less than a minute.” Twilight said as she looked around, the realized just what she was saying. “Zecora was right, we're doomed. Oh no, the princess's procession is here. It's all over!” Twilight said in complete despair as the princess got closer and closer.

Suddenly, Pinkie appeared with a myriad of instruments, playing some sort of polka medly. “Pinkie? We're in the middle of a crisis here. This is no time for your... nonsense?” Twilight finished with a question as the parasprites stopped what they were doing and followed Pinkie Pie!

We all then started following Pinkie as she led the parasprites out of the town, in a sort of procession. Then, the princess landed in front of us. I shrieked.

“OH HAY NO, I am not letting the princess see me like this! I’m going fishing!” I yelled as I started running away. Twilight called after me, but I just ran. I jumped into some bushes. I was a distance away, but I could still hear them all talking.

“Twilight Sparkle, my prized pupil.” Celestia said as she greeted Twilight.

“Hello, princess.” Twilight responded with an uneasy smile.

“So lovely to see you again, as well as your friends. Say, where is Jordan though?” The princess asked, and my breathing hitched. PLEASE DON’T LET HER FIND ME!

Suddenly, there was a crash as Pinkie played her cymbals.

Twilight then tried to change the subject. “So... how was the trip? Hit much traffic?” Celestia just kind of ignored her, though, as a parasprite fluttered near her.

“Ah, what is this? Oh ho ho, these creatures are adorable.” Celestia said as she nuzzled the creature.

“They're not that adorable.” Dash mumbled under her breath.

“I'm terribly honored that you and the good citizens of Ponyville have organized a parade in honor of my visit.” Celestia told Twilight.

“Parade? Oh. Yes, the parade.” Twilight replied, improvising on the situation played.

“Unfortunately, that visit is going to have to wait for another time. I'm afraid an emergency has come up in Fillydelphia. Apparently there's been some sort of infestation.” The princess informed all of us.

“An... infestation?” Twilight curiously asked.

Princess Celestia nodded. “Yes, a swarm of incredibly bothersome creatures has invaded the poor town. I'm sorry Twilight, to have to put you all through so much trouble.”

Twilight tried to play it off as nothing happened. “Trouble? What trouble?”

Princess Celestia smiled. “Before I have to go, would you care to give me your latest report on the magic of friendship in person? And Jordan, I know you are in the bushes. You may come out now.” She directed at me, and I opened my eyes wide as Twilight spoke.

“My... report?” Twilight asked, unsure if she had learned anything.

“Haven't you learned anything about friendship?” Celestia asked.

Twilight looked at Pinkie and smiled. “Actually, I have. I've learned that sometimes the solution to your problems can come from where you least expect it. It's a good idea to stop and listen to your friends' opinions and perspectives...” Pinkie’s cymbals crashed, and Twi continued. “Even when they don't always seem to make sense.” She finished.

“I'm so proud of you, Twilight Sparkle, and I'm very impressed with your friends as well. It sounds like you're all learning so much from each other.” Celestia commended the six mares.

“Thank you, princess.” Twilight thanked. Celestia then whispered something to Twilight, and the princess started walking towards me. I opened my eyes wide and started to sprint, but Celestia cast a spell to hold me in place.

“Jordan, Jordan. I know what has happened to you, and it’s quite alright. You have to reason to be ashamed or embarrassed.” Celestia comforted me as she surveyed my mare appearance.

I sighed. “I know… I’m just… I was scared for you to see me like this, Princess. I’m sorry I didn’t greet you with the girls. I guess I’ve learned something about friendship as well.”

Celestia smiled. “Care to tell me?” She asked with an inquisitive face.

“Sometimes… we tend to think our appearance or image is all that matters, that ponies might judge us based on that. But, true friends don’t care about looks. True friends will look past them, and focus on your personality.” I finished and smiled at her.

“Seems like you’re learning as much about friendship as Twilight is. I’m very proud of you Jordan. You’re a very bright young stallion, or mare in this case.” She held a hoof to her mouth as she giggled, and I rolled my eyes playfully.

“Very funny Princess.” She chuckled after I said this.

“I must go now, I shall see you and your friends later, Jordan. Farewell.” She said as she got in the chariot and flew off. I walked to the girls.

“Hey, what happened to the princess?” Pinkie asked as I walked up to them

“Emergency in Fillydelphia.” Twilight responded.

“Some sort of infestation.” Dash added.

“Oh no! Have they got parasprites too? Well, have tuba, will travel.”

I chuckled. “Don’t think that’s necessary, Pinkie.

Twilight nodded. “I think the princess can handle it.” She added.

Applejack walked up to Pinkie. “So you knew what those critters were all along, huh Pinkie Pie?”

“Well, duh! Why do you think I was so frantic to get my hooves on all these instruments? I tried to tell you.”

“We know, Pinkie Pie, and we're sorry we didn't listen. You're a great friend, even if we don't always understand you.” Twilight said as she smiled at the pink mare, and we all nodded in agreement.

“Thanks guys, you're all great friends too, even when I don't understand me.” She said with a slight giggle.

I then walked up to Pinkie with my head hung low. “I need to apologize the most, Pinkie… I was so rude to you back there in the forest. I treated you like hay when you needed me to listen to you and… can you ever forgive me?” I said with a somber look in my eye, expecting her to shun me for how rude I was.

But to my shock, she tackled me to the ground, making me yelp in surprise, and hugged me tightly. “Oh Jordan, I was never mad at you! I was just upset is all, of course I forgive you, best friend!” She said with a beaming smile. I returned it.

Twilight then smiled. “You saved my reputation with Princess Celestia, and more importantly, you saved Ponyville.” We then walked into town and surveyed it. Yeah, it was toast. Roofs were collapsed, walls eaten, doors gone, etc.

“...Or not.” Twilight said sheepishly.

I then looked at Twilight and put my hoof on her back. “Hey, Twilight, listen. You’ve done enough worrying and stressing already, over Celestia’s visit. We’ll worry about rebuilding the town later.”

I then looked right at her. “How about… we take a walk? All seven of us, and when we come back, we’ll worry about the town. Sound good?” Everypony went mhm in agreement, and I smiled.

“Well, we can’t go to the café like we usually do. So… how about we walk to a spot of mine? Follow me.” I said as I started walking towards Sweet Apple Acres, captivating their collective attention. I walked on the dirt path with the girls directly in tow, walking or flying, and walked up a hill at the side of the road.

This is the same hill where I saw the sunrise the morning of applebuck season with Applejack. I love this spot, it has a perfect view of both Canterlot, and the sunrise/sunset.

The girls gasped collectively as we got to the crest of the hill. “Wow, Jordan, this is a beautiful spot. How’d you find it?” Twilight asked.

“Well, the morning AJ and I went applebucking a few weeks ago, I made a sidetrip up here. I watched the sunrise, and it was gorgeous. I figured we could all unwind and relax here, maybe talk and such.”

Rarity smiled and sat down on the grass. “That sounds like a lovely idea, darling.” The girls all did the same, sitting on the grass with me and Rarity.

So, we talked for a while. Rarity was talking about a big order she had to get done in the next few days, Applejack had to get the harvest finished, etc.

The sun in the sky was now an extravagant, lavish orange and pink as it was on the brink of setting. I sighed happily as I looked at it.

“Equestria is such a beautiful place. I feel so happy I live here… and I’m so happy I met all of you girls.” I said with a smile and turned to them. “Girls, I love you all. In the past few weeks we’ve had so many crazy adventures, and I can’t wait for what comes in the future.”

I turned to all six girls, who were staring at me with smiles on their faces, waiting for me to finish my statement. I smiled.

“I belong with you girls. I don’t care if I ever get a cutie mark or anything; you girls are my everything.” I then made a motion with my hoof that told them to fall in for a group hug, which everypony, even Rainbow, accepted.

So, in a truly heartwarming scene, in the golden orange hue of the sunset, the warmness of the sun raining down upon us, we hugged as a group, as friends. The moment was truly perfect.

“Thank you for being my friends girls. I love you all…” I said with the biggest smile in the world.

The girls didn’t reply. I guess I just shocked them with the sudden speech, the sudden show of emotion. But I just needed to say it all. I needed to get it off my chest.

“Hey y’all, this was fun, but I gotta get my rear home. Granny will be mad if I ain’t there before dark. See y’all!” AJ said as she galloped down the hill.

Fluttershy hugged me goodbye. “I have to go home and feed the animals dinner, I’m late as it is. See you everypony.” She said as she carefully trotted down the hill.

“Yes, and I simply must get Sweetie Belle ready for bed. Good night friends.” Rarity said as she followed Fluttershy in the same manner.

“I gotta get home too, the Cakes’ will be worried! BYE!” Pinkie said as she hopped merrily down the hill.

Rainbow got in flying position. “Gotta clear the clouds one more time before bed, cya!” She said as she zoomed off into the night.

That left me and Twilight. She noticed that I was staring blankly into the distance, towards Canterlot.

She nudged my shoulder. “We should be getting home. We have a big day of repairing the town tomorrow. You coming?”

I shook my head. “Naw, I’ll stay here for a bit.”

She nodded. “Ok, see you at home later.” She started walking away, then I got an idea.

“Twilight?” I called her name before she got far. She turned to me. “Yes?” I motioned her over and she sat down on the grass next to me.

I sighed. “Sorry Twi, but I got so much on my mind… I’m going coco loco lately. I just figured sitting here and thinking would help.” I said a little sadly.

She nodded. “I know you’re going through a lot with this new body stuff. Is that all you’re worried about?” She asked, as if she suspected I had a deeper reason to worry.

I sighed, and told her the truth. “The other night, after the sleepover, when I was on my walk, something…. Happened, Twi. I got attacked by…something. I don’t even know who, or what. Zecora found me, and she saved me. I… I’m just scared. I’ve been having nightmares, and now this attack… what if somepony’s out to get me?” I said with worry and fear in my voice.

Twilight surveyed me with her eyes, formulating an appropriated response before she finally replied.

“I’m…not sure. Because me and the girls hold the power to the elements of harmony, we’re not exactly small targets. It…could be…” She hesitated, gulping before she continued. “It could be that, to hurt us, whatever this attacker is, is hurting you. I’m not sure.”

“I’ll do anything to protect you girls, even if it means sacrificing myself to whatever it is. I won’t let you get hurt. And that’s a promise Twi.”

We both then looked in opposite directions, me to the left, her to the right, before we turned our heads to look at each other, and gasped.

Our noses were now touching! I immediately blushed red and pulled back slowly. But, with every step I moved back, Twilight moved forward.

I sighed heavily. “Twilight… I…” I started, before all of a sudden I felt an… energy surmounting in my horn. I saw hers light up, and all of a sudden our horns sparked, again!

I gasped as I felt a surge of energy swirl throughout my body. I now felt…. Reinvigorated, rejuvenated, empowered. I looked at her, who was blushing just as bad as me.

“Twilight, please, you understand magic and unicorns better than I do, what does this sparking mean?” I asked, desperate to have an answer.

She stammered, trying to tell me. “It…it… it means…means… it means you and I…” she couldn’t finish her sentence as she turned her head away, too embarrassed to finish.

I thought about what she was trying to say, trying to somehow decipher it, to comprehend it.

After several moments of thinking, I still just couldn’t think of a reason. I was still at thought process one. Maybe it was just that she thinks of us as best friends. But then again, it doesn’t spark with any other unicorn. Well, Rarity is the only unicorn friend she has other than me, and they’re not best friends, so it could be. I then looked at her.

“We should be getting home, it’s dark and cold. Let’s go.” I was about to get up to walk, but suddenly, she teleported us home.

When we stopped and were inside the library, I smiled at her. “Thanks, I was too tired to walk anyway. I’m going to bed. See you tomorrow, Twilight…” I said as I slowly walked up the stairs, leaving her to whatever she would do downstairs.

As I got into bed I chuckled lightly. Thank Celestia the library was left untouched today, it’s the only home I have.

Boy, my head is just flooded with thoughts right now. Town is destroyed, the princess postponed her visit, and I’m still a mare. Jeez, things are never simple, are they?

At least we got the parasprites out of town. We should have just listened to Pinkie. I feel bad for snapping at her like that. I’ve got to do something to tell her I’m sorry. I don’t want her mad at me.

I rolled onto my side and cuddled the pillow I was on, slowly drifting to the dream world with an immense smile on my face.

Author's Note

Heya! I don't have very much to say this time. I hope you're ready for Winter Wrap Up!

Chapter 13: Winter Wrap Up

It’s been crazy for the past while. After the incident with the parasprites, it took a nonstop day of work to get Ponyville put back together. Lots of hammering new rooves, raising walls, and planting new vegetation, but it looks good as new.

I decided today to go to Zecora’s to see if she had a cure yet. I started walking towards the forest. I walked by the snow covered ground. It all looked so beautiful. Eventually, I found her hut.

I walked inside to see Zecora mixing a brew in her cauldron. I felt my heart skip a beat, as I was hoping in my mind this brew was my cure. I can’t handle being a mare any longer.

She noticed me and gazed my way, and smiled. “Fancy running into you today, for to you I have some good and bad news to say.” She told me.

“Oh no, what’s the good news?” I asked her with a hint of worry in my voice.

“The brew I mixed is fine and well, but it is missing a magical spell.” She told me as she frowned. “The bad news, is this spell into the potion, I cannot infuse. I am missing a magical element, only with it may I cure your ailment.”

I thought about what she was saying, trying to process it. As I put my hoof to my chin and rubbed it, I opened my eyes wide as a sudden thought slapped my brain.

“ZECORA, I have a crazy idea, stay here. I’ll be right back!” I said as I ran out of her hut, towards the library.

I slammed the door open as I ran inside, and ran to my room. I started throwing everything to the side, looking for the object I was searching for.

“Oh please let it still be here somewhere!” I said in desperation as I tore the whole room apart. I looked in the dresser, the armoire, under the bed, my secret floorboard, literally everything. It was nowhere to be found.

I began getting very discouraged, and I fell to the floor in sadness. “Great, it’s gone. That might have been my only hope!” I said as I looked at the floor.

Suddenly, I noticed a twinkle in my peripheral vision. I looked to my left and gasped. There, floating in the middle of the air, was the object I was searching for.

Spike’s dragon scale! The one he had given me at my birthday party. He told me that it was the first scale he ever lost, and due to that fact, it contained mysterious magical properties. I don’t know why, but I have a crazy feeling in the pit of my stomach that this could have the magical spell/properties Zecora needs to make the brew complete. If there’s any chance, I have to get it to her hut now!

I ran out the already open front door of the library, towards the Everfree forest once again. I sprinted hurriedly to Zecora’s hut, and again burst the front door open.

“Here, Zecora, I got what I was looking for. I think this might be what you’re looking for, it’s a magical dragon scale. It was the first one Spike ever lost. He gave it to me.”

Zecora smiled at me. “Lady luck has smiled down on you, for this might be what I need for my brew.” She took the scale from me and wielded a sharp knife in her hand, somewhat akin to an embalming tool. She scraped the top layer of bone from the scale and let it flutter into the cauldron.

Suddenly, the cauldron started bubbling, like boiling water. The water in said cauldron then turned a ferocious shade of black. Then after that, a black cloud of smoke arose into the air.

Before I could even react, the smoke started to swirl at a frightening velocity. It made it impossible to see. Then, it thinned out into one, long trail of smoke. Suddenly, the cloud of smoke blew towards me. It basically went into my body.

I felt my body get warm, almost painfully so. Then I saw a very bright white glow light up the room.

Suddenly, everything became quiet. My ears were ringing and my head hurt slightly, but I got up. “What the hay was that all about, Zecora?” I asked her.

“It seems the scale’s magical properties were rare, for you no longer are a mare. Look in the mirror, and all shall be made clearer.”

I quickly looked in the mirror, and my eyes went wide. “IT WORKED, I’m me again! I’m a stallion! Haha! Thank you so much Zecora, I owe you.”

“Do not worry my friend, it is my job to help those who depend.”

I gave her a hug for her work, and went back to Ponyville, excited to be my true self again. I ran inside the library and ran to Twilight.

“Twilight, I’m back to normal, look!” She looked up from the book she was reading to look at me. She gasped and smiled. “There’s the handsome stallion we all know and love. Glad to have you back.”

I chuckled. “Glad to be back. I owe Spike a big one for the dragon scale, it saved my rear for sure…”

I then got a random idea, a devious, fun one. “Hey, Twilight, come outside for a second, ok?” I said as I galloped out the front door. I hide next to a bush, waiting for her to come out as I quickly made a snowball.

“Jordan? Why did you need me to- OOMPH!” Twilight stopped her sentence short as I whammed her with my snowball! She fell onto her side in shock and I started to laugh my butt off.

She got her bearings and stood upright, looking at me with determination in her eyes. “Oh, it, is, ON!” She said as she quickly made a snowball and threw it at me. I managed to dodge it and throw one of mine at her in a return shot, and it hit her in the side. She went urgh in annoyance and made another snowball, throwing it at me. But it missed, and it hit Rainbow Dash, who happened to be flying by!

Rainbow lost control of her flight pattern as she got hit, and crash landed into the snow. Twilight and I gasped and ran over to her, afraid she was hurt.

Rainbow was on her stomach, seemingly lifeless. She made some quiet groans before she surprised me and Twilight by using her wings to fling snow in our faces!

“Hahaha! Gotcha! That was for hitting me with the snowball” Rainbow said as she took one of mine from me and took to the air. There, she hurled the snowball towards me, but I ducked and dodged it. The snowball had so much velocity from her throw, that it went all the way to Sugarcube Corner, which Pinkie Pie happened to be walking out of. It managed to hit her in the face.

Pinkie was shocked for a moment, but she looked at us. Then, suddenly, she turned into a pony-tornado! She went tornado and made some of the snow fly in the air and hit all of us!

The snow in turn hit Applejack, who accidently hit Rarity, and so on and so forth. Soon, we had a massive snowball fight that involved most of the town! I guess you could say, it snowballed out of control (BA DUM TISS!).

Anyway, nearly everypony in town was throwing snowballs, even Mayor Mare! Some ponies were getting really into it, and competitive, while some like Fluttershy tried to hide and stay away from the violence. After about a half hour, the mayor whistled to get our collective attention.

“Everypony, it’s time to head home now, it’s nearly dark. Please be here bright and early for tomorrow, you know what day it is!” She said as she walked into the town hall building.

Everypony started to retire to their homes, leaving me and the six girls. We all had a quick chuckle.

“Boy howdy, we ain’t had a good snowball fight like that in ages! That was loads fun. Sad we can’t do it till next year.” AJ said a bit sadly.

I raised an eyebrow. “Ok, two things. One, did nopony notice I’m not a mare anymore? And two, why do we have to wait till next year?”

I didn’t get a reply as everypony, even Twilight, left. I huffed. “Or ignore me, that works too.” I then walked into the library, feeling confused.

It was nighttime, so I decided to head to bed. I got comfortable under the blankets and fell asleep.

I was suddenly awoken by a hoof touching me. I opened my eyes tiredly to see it was Twilight.

“I… I can’t sleep. Do you mind if I sleep with you?” She asked, and I shook my head and lifted the covers for her. “Huddle in, Twi.”

She smiled and did so, getting comfy and cozy under the covers next to me. I looked at her.

“Why can’t you sleep?” I asked her, worried something was going on with her. She gave me a soft smile.

“Nothing bad, it’s just so cold in my bed and I was lonely…” I nodded at her.

“I understand, you’re always welcome in here, Twilight.” She gave me an appreciative smile and snuggled into the pillows. A few moments later, she was lightly snoring, a sure sign she had fallen asleep.

I sighed. I wanted to sleep, but now that I was woken up, I just wasn’t tired anymore. My body is weird like that, it’s very hard for me to fall asleep once I’ve been woken. But Twilight came into my room for a reason, to be near me as she slept, so I couldn’t just leave. I quickly got up, grabbed a book and started to read.

I used my horn as a sort of flashlight and looked at the cover. It was titled The Ancient Remnants Of Equestria.

My eyes went wide. That title… didn’t I read this book a few weeks ago? But if got rained on, how is it here? Oh well… Might as well read it.

I thought for a moment… where did I leave off? Oh yeah, it was Luna and Celestia’s history. I turned to that chapter and started reading.

“Before the princesses came to power, they were in fact ordinary ponies like us. They were fillies, they had childhoods, they had parents. It is unknown exactly who their parents were, or what, but they grew up as any other ponies. Princess Celestia’s mane was not always flowing, or even the color it is today. It was a simple pink color, like cotton candy, and Luna’s was a light blue and also didn’t flow.

As we all know, the princesses came to power about one thousand years ago. Their reign was peaceful. Equestria was abundant and prosperous. That is, until Luna was banished. Celestia now had to bare the responsibility of raising and lowering both the sun and the moon. It took a toll on the princess, and for a while she struggled with depression. How she coped with it and came to normal is unknown, but the princess since then has been a right minded ruler ever since.”

I then stopped reading for a moment to read. Wow, this is more of a history book than anything else. It details Equestria’s past and is interesting to read. I decided to look at the table of contents. It looked kinda like this.

Celestia and Luna’s Early Years, Pg 1
Powers of the Princesses, Pg 43
Rights and liberties of equestrian citizens, Pg 65
Different kinds of equestrian citizens, Pg 87
Towns and settlements in Equestria, Pg 105
Other Equine Nations, Pg 160

I chuckled. Wow, they certainly put a lot of information into this book.

I decided to flip to the towns and settlements section. It talked about different cities and towns, such as Hoofington, Trottingham, Manehattan, Fillydelphia, Ponyville, Canterlot, and so on. I smiled and made a note to go and explore these towns whenever I have time, it could be fun.

I then felt a tapping on my shoulder, prompting me to stop my reading. I did so and looked to my right. Twilight was awake.

“What are you reading?” She asked. I showed her the cover.

“I’m just curious about equestrian history. I never got a chance to learn it.” I told her. She nodded.

“You should get some sleep Jordan, it’s late. You don’t want to be tired tomorrow.” She said with a smile. I nodded and changed my position so I was comfortably in the blankets. But before I fell asleep, I needed to tell Twilight something.

“Twilight?” I said softly, but loud enough to grab her attention. “I just wanted to say… I think you’re an amazing friend. You’re smart, and kind, and always there for me when I need you. And besides that you’re an amazing cuddle buddy.” I then nuzzled into her softly, making her blush softly. I then laid my head close to her as I slowly fell asleep.

-JORDAN’S DREAM WORLD-

Ugh. Why? Why am I here again? Why can’t I just peacefully sleep? Why can’t I go to bed and just wake up? I have to be tortured with these dreams, and nightmares.

I looked around me, and was immediately confused. I was in the dream world, of that fact there was no doubt, but… there was nothing. I was in a gray, endless abyss. Why am I here?

Suddenly, I saw her. Princess Luna, in the flesh, was flying to me. I looked at her a bit uneasily as she landed by me.

“Celestia didn’t send you here to spy on me again, did she?” I asked in a tone of voice that wasn’t rude, but inquisitive.

She shook her head. “No, we are here on our own accord, for we wish to speak with thou, Jordan.” I nodded, and suddenly a bench appeared nearby. She nodded towards it and I walked to it, and sat on it. She did the same, and started to talk.

“We just wanted to ask thou some questions, Jordan. Is that ok with thou?” I nodded at her.

“Very well then. Question one, what did thou feel when thou kissed my dear sister on thine birthday?” She asked with a straight face. I opened my eyes wide in shock and stammered.

“I…uh…I…well…” She then stopped me and spoke. “Do not be afraid, thou can be honest with us.” She gave me a reassuring nod, which made me feel more confident.

“I felt… funny. It felt weird, like I shouldn’t be doing it, since she’s royalty. It felt like I was doing something wrong. But… admittedly, I also enjoyed it.”

Luna nodded. “Now, answer us this, how dost thou feel about your friends?” She asked with a blank expression.

I looked at her in a bit of disbelief at the question. I decided to retort with a question of my own. “Princess, I mean no disrespect, but might I ask what it is you’re getting at with these questions?” I asked in a very respectful tone of voice.

“We’re not trying to get at anything, Jordan. We are simply just curious about some things, and the answers to these questions might help us interpret things better.”

I nodded in understanding. “In that case… the girls are my life. I’m truly happy in Ponyville, and I love the fun and adventures we have.”

Luna nodded. “Thank thou for your honest answers. We must go now. We shall see thou another time.” Luna said as she started to fly away.

I remained asleep until I woke up. I woke up to Twilight’s voice.

“Jordan, wake up. Wake up, wake up, it's Winter Wrap Up day!” Twilight said as she shook me.

I mumbled in tiredness and Twilight shook me harder. “WAKE UP! It’s winter wrap up!” I finally groaned and woke up, my vision blurry.

“Winter Wrap up?” I asked tiredly. She nodded.

“Come on, let’s wake Spike up, then I’ll explain.” She said as she ran to her bedroom. I followed behind her, tiredly and stumbling.

Twilight ran into the room. “Spike, wake up. Wake up, wake up, it's Winter Wrap Up day!” She said as she ran around the room, getting supplies for some reason.

“Huh? Mommy?” Spike tiredly replied. “Winter Wrap Up!” Twilight retorted.

“You're not mommy.” Spike said drowsily.

“Spike, the first day of spring is tomorrow, so everypony in Ponyville needs to clean up winter. Now help me get ready.” Twilight said as she started to get dressed. I shrugged and got dressed too, before a thought made me open my eyes wide.

“WAIT, spring is tomorrow?! And you’re telling me that we have to clean up all the snow and everything in one day!?”

Spike shared my worry and doubt. “Don't they just use magic to change the seasons like they do in Canterlot?”

Twilight shook her head. “Nope, Ponyville was started by Earth ponies, so for hundreds of years they've never used magic to clean up winter. It's traditional.” Twilight proudly proclaimed as she tried to tie a saddlebag to her. It fell off, and she sighed. I walked up to her and tied it for her.

“Well, I don’t know how we’re all going to get it done in one day, but I can already tell today is going to be a LONG, tiring day.” I said as I finished getting ready also.

I heard Spike grumbling in the background, but I didn’t pay him much attention.

Twilight checked things off. “Okay, let's see: scarf, check; saddle, check; boots, check; Spike refusing to get up and going back to sleep, check. It's a good thing I'm so organized, I'm ready. What about you Jordan?” I nodded. “Then let’s get going!” She used her magic to levitate Spike onto her back and walked out the front door. I followed her.

We walked outside, only to find out it was still dark out!

“I guess we woke up too early.” Twilight said with a slight laugh. I laughed also.

“Well, it’s gotta be around opening time for the Café, how about we go wake up the girls and all get some cocoa before the day starts Twilight?” She nodded and smiled.

And so, in the next while, we went around town and woke everypony up. I used my whistle to get Rainbow Dash up, and we all met at the café.

Pinkie Pie was nearly bouncing off the walls as we sat down at our booth. “OH BOY, I love winter wrap up, it’s so much fun!”

Applejack chuckled. “Easy partner, y’all get excited every year. Winter wrap up ain’t a joke, we need to get spring in.”

Rarity scoffed. “Oh come now Applejack darling, it’s perfectly fine for Pinkie Pie to be excited. She does have the most fun job of anypony after all.”

Suddenly, we heard the loudspeaker as we finished our cocoa.

“Will everypony please report to the Ponyville pond for winter wrap up? Thank you!”

We all looked at each other. “Guess we should get going. Let’s go!” I said as I stood up, and galloped out of the café. I started running down the trail, to the pond downriver of town.

When me and the girls all got there, most of the town was already there. The girls all went to a booth nearby to put on different colored vests.

Twilight poked my side. “Those must be the team vests Rarity designed. Blue for the weather team, green for the plant team, and tan for the animal team. I wonder which team vest I'll be wearing.” She said as she watched. I nodded.

“I do too… I’m not sure what I’m good at. Maybe I’ll be plant team? I’m not sure.”

Spike yawned. “I'll take a blue vest, same color as my blanket, which I think I hear calling my name. ‘Spike! Spike! Come to bed!’ Ugh, it's too early.” He complained.

I looked at him in disbelief. “DUDE, a cup of cocoa and two hours, and you’re still tired!? Wow Spike, I think you might have a problem.”

He rolled his eyes. “I have a problem all right, a lack of sleep problem.” He then passed out on Twilight’s back.

Mayor Mare then started to speak. “Thank you, everypony, for being here bright and early. We need every single pony's help to wrap up winter, and bring in spring. Now, all of you have your vests, and have been assigned to your teams, so let's do even better than last year, and have the quickest Winter Wrap Up ever!”

“Oh, this is so exciting.” Twilight told me and Spike.

“All right everypony, find your team leader, and let's get galloping!” Mayor Mare told us all.

“Oh gosh, where should I go? I'm not sure where I fit in. What exactly does everypony do?” Twilight then wandered off with Spike, I guess to go see how she could help out. I decided to ask the mayor what I should do.

I walked up to her. “Um… Excuse me, Mayor?” She turned to me. “Yes Jordan? What do you need?”

“I uh… was just wondering, what team should I go to?” She put her hoof to her chin.

“Hmm… that’s a tough question. Based on what I know about you, Jordan, I think you would do well on the plant team. Especially now that you’re in your stallion body again, they need your muscle.

“Ok Mayor, thank you for your help!” I waved goodbye, as I walked over to Applejack. She smiled at me.

“Well howdy there partner, y’all get assigned to the plant team?” I nodded.

“Ok Jordan, but I’m warning y’all now. We’re not corralin’ critters here, we’re all working hard to plant the food we need for spring. No kidding around, y’all hear?” I nodded again.

“Well, here’s y’alls vest, put it on.” She handed it to me, and I put it on. It was a tight fit to say the least, but it fit and Applejack whistled.

“Looks good on y’all. Head on over to town, we’re helping the flower sisters plant their flowerpots and such.”

“Ok Applejack, I won’t let you down!” I gave her a quick salute and ran to town, on the trail. But, while I was galloping, I saw Twilight. She was standing on a tall cliff nearby!

I ran up the hill to where she was, fearing she was in danger. I shouted. “Twilight! What are you doing?!” This made her turn around and look at me.

“Don’t you realize you’re standing on the edge of a cliff!? If the snow below you started sliding, that would be the end of Twilight Sparkle! Come on.” I walked with her down the hill, carefully, and she sighed.

“Oh Jordan! Everypony belongs to a team. What should I do? Where should I go?” Her voice was full of worry and anguish. I put a hoof to my chin and thought.

“I’m not too sure Twilight, maybe you should just try out jobs until you find what you’re good at? Look, I got assigned to the plant team!” I said as I showed off my green vest. Twilight gasped.

“Oooh! That looks great on you, as if you were meant to wear it!” She then sighed sadly. “I hope I get to wear a vest soon…” She said somberly.

“Hey, turn that frown upside down.” She couldn’t help but let out one chuckle, her lips turning slightly upwards.

I then decided to use an old trick. “You’re trying not to smile. You’re trying not to smile, you’re trying SO hard not to smile!” This made her giggle more, and she ended up smiling widely.

I then booped her nose. “Made you smile!” I said as I smiled myself. She giggled. “Ok, ok, you got me.”

“Hey, Twilight, if you’re so worried about where to start, why don’t you come with me to town? We could use your help with the flowers.”

She gasped and nodded. “That sounds great! I’m sure I could help out somehow!” We then trotted into town. She then looked at me. “How is it you get ponies to smile like that anyway? I don’t get it.”

I shrugged. “I’m not sure, I just do. I feel like Pinkie Pie sometimes.” I said with a laugh. She laughed too. We finally arrived where the rest of the plant team was and I smiled.

“Hey everypony, I’m on the plant team too. What are we doing first?”

A pony named Golden Plow walked up to me. “We’re helping the flower sisters plant the flowers and vegetables and such in the pots and planters. You need to fill each one with soil, then carefully put the flower in. Got it?” Me and Twilight both nodded and got to work.

I grabbed a flower pot and sat at a nearby, cleaned off table. I grabbed some soil from a nearby pile next to the table and hummed as I put it in the pot. I then carefully lowered the flowers into the pot, making a nice bouquet for the sisters.

In no time at all, I’d done ten pots, and 3 planters. I was feeling proud of myself! I looked over at Twilight, who seemed to be having trouble. She could fill the soil in the pot, but she kept accidently breaking the stems of the flowers!

“Uh, Twilight, I think you should try being more gentle?” I said as I watched her. Just then, Applejack appeared.

“Hey hey hey! Nice work Jordan, lookin’ really nice!” She then looked at Twilight’s mess across the table and gasped.

“Twilight, what in tarnation?! Y’all have ruined at least twenty flowers! These things don’t grow on trees ya know, we can’t just get more!”

Twilight had a sad somber look. “But… I…” I then pat her on the back.

“I don’t think this job is for you Twilight. Go around town and see what else you can do, ok?” She sighed and nodded, grabbing Spike and leaving town square.

Applejack scoffed. “Typical Canterlot pony! Can’t even do a menial task!”

I then looked at AJ with a stunned look on my face. “Easy there, Applejack! She’s just trying to help, it’s her, Spike and I’s first winter wrap up!”

“Yea, well hopefully Twilight stays away from us here in the plant team. We don’t got time to mess around!” She said as she went on to survey everypony else’s work.

I put my nose to the grindstone, or in this case flowerpots, and got to work. In half an hour, I had filled about thirty pots, and thirteen planters, far more than anypony else. Applejack gave me a giant hug.

“Jordan, this is amazin’! Y’all did so much on your own. This is enough to keep the sister’s business goin for a long while!”

I chuckled. “Thanks AJ, I just blocked everything else and got to work.”

She was about to reply, but suddenly a pony came running up to us.

“APPLEJACK! Applejack, we’ve got a big problem! Nopony can move the plow, it’s just too heavy!”

“Whoa whoa, calm down now Apple Tart. What about Big Macintosh, can he move it?” AJ asked, hopefully.

Apple Tart shook her head. “No, it’s too much even for him, we don’t know what to do!” Apple Tart cried out in despair.

I then quietly stood up. “I’ll give it a try, AJ.” I said.

“Huh? You?” Applejack said as she surveyed me, looking me up and down. “Hmm… now that I think of it y’all do got a body about Big Macintosh’s size, and about the same muscles too. Alright, go give it a try. I’ll be there in a bit to see how you do!”

I nodded and saluted her again. “Will do, Applejack. Apple Tart, take me to where the plow is.”

She nodded. “Follow me!” She then started to sprint towards a field near the farm, with me directly in tow.

We got there, and saw Big Mac straining, and struggling to move the plow, but it just wasn’t budging. I walked up to him and tapped him on his shoulder, telling him to move over.

He did so, and I hooked myself up to the plow. I strapped down the harnesses around me and looked forward. I started to move my body forward, but was stopped dead as the weight of the plow came down on my body.

This thing is way too heavy. I narrowed my eyes and strained my whole body in effort, gritting my teeth as I tried desperately to move the plow. I let out a shout of effort, and finally, the plow budged!

It started to move as I walked my legs. In no time at all I was moving and plowing the snow. Some ponies watching me cheered and whistled me on. I ignored them, and kept my eyes narrowed as I pushed onward.

It was by no means easy, in about two minutes I started to sweat something fierce. I saw Applejack walking up and I yelled at her.

“APPLEJACK, throw some snow on me so I stop sweating, please!” She did so, and I shivered slightly before I got back to work.

It was hard, but I got most of the field done in half an hour. But… it started to take a toll on my body. I began to see my vision turn black in the peripheral view, and suddenly my heart started to beat faster. I felt my limbs hurt, and next thing I knew, I was in a hospital bed.

I opened my eyes wide and gasped. I saw the girls looking at me and I blinked once or twice. “What happened to me?!” I asked frantically.

Applejack lowered her hat. “You over-worked yourself Jordan. Y’all passed out right in the middle of the field while you were attached to the plow. We had to bring ya here.”

Twilight nodded. “When we heard what happened to you, we all stopped what we were doing and brought you here.”

I then sat up. “Well, I gotta get back to work! I’m the only one who can move the plow!” I said as I started to get out of bed. I quickly got my green vest on and ran out of the hospital, not waiting to be discharged, not waiting for the girls, nothing. I had to finish the job expected of me, just like during applebuck season.

I heard Applejack behind me when I got to the field. “Jordan, wait up!” I stopped, and turned around to her.

She was panting heavily as she walked up to me. “Please… if y’all are gonna work, promise me you’ll take it easy. I don’t wanna have ta get ya to the hospital again…” She said with her head down slightly.

I gave her a tight hug. “Don’t worry Applejack, I will. I just have to do this, so we can wrap up winter. I’m the only one who can move that thing. I’ll be careful.” I then smiled and walked over to the plow.

I did all the harnesses again, and did the same as earlier. I strained slightly, and got the plow moving. This time though, I took it a lot easier, about half my speed as last time.

I got the remaining half of the field plowed of snow in a decent amount of time. I detached it from my body and went to Applejack.

“Field’s done, Applejack.” I said with a smile. She smiled back.

“Good to hear Jordan, I’m so proud of you. Y’all worked so hard. I’ll find some way to repay you for this.” She said as she gave me a tight hug. I smiled and hugged her back.

It was difficult, but over the course of the day we in the plant team got a big chunk or work done. But, now came the time when we needed the weather team to move the rest of the snow we couldn’t remove ourselves. Applejack was talking to Rainbow Dash about doing it.

“Rainbow Dash, y'all on the weather team need to melt the rest of the snow here on the ground and the trees, pronto.” She instructed Dash.

Rainbow nodded and started to fly. “Got it.” But, Fluttershy stopped her.

“Wait. My poor little animals' homes will get flooded if the snow melts too fast.” She told us all.

I then stepped in. “Well, I’m sorry Fluttershy, but your animals might have to fend for themselves. We need to start planting the seeds!”

Fluttershy gasped. “JORDAN! How could you say that… I thought you cared about the animals…” She said sadly.

That made me really upset. “FLUTTERSHY! You know I love all the animals! But we have everypony in Ponyville to think about here!”

Fluttershy, uncharacteristically angry, stamped her hoof on the dirt. “No! I won’t abandon all the little critters who still need to wake up!”

We all continued to argue and argue, not reaching and feasible solutions to our problem.

Mayor Mare then stepped in. “Oh! What in Equestria are all you arguing about? This sort of silliness is why we were late for spring last year, and the year before that, and the year before that. I was hoping my amazingly inspirational speech would urge everyone to do better than last year, but now it looks like we're going to be later than ever. I mean just look at this catastrophe. The ice scorers made the ice chunks too big to melt. The nest designer is horrendously behind, we need several hundred, and she's only made one.” She pointed to Rarity, who was sobbing. “And don't get me started on all the clouds in the sky, the icicles on the trees... This isn't good, not at all!” The mayor cried out in despair.

“And it's gonna be all to pieces disastrous if we can't get our seeds all planted.” Applejack directed towards Dash.

“Chillax Applejack, we're bustin' our chops as fast as we can.” Rainbow defended.

“No, not fast, we have to wake animals slowly.” Fluttershy directed to us.

Big McIntosh then walked up with a friend. “Uh, AJ?”

Applejack facehooved. “Oh good gravy, Caramel lost the grass seeds again, didn't he?”

Big McIntosh nodded. “Eeyup.”

Rainbowshine, a pegasus, then appeared. “Ditzy Doo accidentally went north to get the southern birds!”

Rainbow Dash facehoofed. “Oh that featherbrain. Didn't she learn her lesson last year when she went west?”

Mayor Mare then whistled. “Stop this at once. We don't have time to argue. It's almost sundown. Spring is going to be late again. Another year of scandal and shame. If only we could be more organized.” I nodded in agreement towards her.

Twilight Sparkle then gasped. “Spike! Get my checklist and clipboard, STAT!”

“Eh, yes, ma'am.” Spike said as he ran to the library.

Twilight raised her hoof. “Stop, everypony!”

Twilight tried again. “Stop!” Well, that got our attention, and we all looked at her.

“Sorry. I know you all want to complete your jobs on time, but arguing is no way to go about it. What you need is organization, and I'm just the pony for the job.”

Twilight then smiled. “Animal team, finish waking up the animals. Ice team, break the ice into smaller chunks. Weather team, quickly move all the clouds away. Somepony help Rarity with the birds nests! And plant team, finish planting the seeds STAT!”

We all nodded and sprang into action, getting to work. We in the plant team ran to the field and finished planting the seeds, as Twilight instructed.

It was a long day of hard work, but we all managed to do it, we had finished! SPRING WAS HERE! Winter wrapped up!

Mayor Mare was in shock. “I can't believe it. Spring is here! On time! And we have you to thank for it. If it weren't for your organizing skills we would still be arguing.” She thanked Twilight.

Big McIntosh smiled. “Eeyup.”

Twilight smiled. “It was a team effort.”

“And since you helped every team, we have an official vest for you. We give you the title, ‘All-Team Organizer’.”

“Gosh, I don't even know what to say. Thank you, everypony.” Twilight said as she smiled at us all.

Mayor Mare continued. “And hereby I declare that winter is... wrapped up on time.”

“Spike's sure gonna be in for a hog-sized surprised when that last piece a' ice melts.” She pointed to Spike, who was asleep on a chunk of ice. We all laughed.

“Well, it’s time to go home now, Everypony. Thank you all for your hard work, rest well tonight!” The mare said as she walked inside town hall. Everypony started to walk home.

I then noticed that there was one last pile of snow near the building. I ran to it and made a quick snowball and smirked.

“Hey, Applejack!” She looked towards me, and I threw the snowball. It pelted her right in the side of the face!

“HEY, you little rascal!” She ran over to me, galloping at top speed, and tackled me to the ground. I yelped as she did. She rolled us over towards the snow pile, before she hopped off me, and used the force from her hop to force me into the snow pile!

I got out of the snow after a few seconds and ran to her, tackling her in return. Laughed/giggled and we wrestled each other on the ground.

In a comical scene, she and I rolled down the entire trail to the pond! While the ice was gone, it was still cold, ice water.

She and I didn’t notice, and rolled right into the water! She and I gasped and shivered, breaking away from each other in the water. I quickly swam up to the surface and to the shore, expecting her to be right behind me.

But she wasn’t. I turned around to the water and saw she was still under it! I opened my eyes wide.

“APPLEJACK!” I dove into the water, determined to save her. As I got in the water, she looked unconscious, sinking to the bottom of the pond. I quickly swam to her and grabbed her hoof with mine, pulling her up to the surface.

I hurriedly swam to the shore, laying her on the sand and pumping her chest. “Come on Applejack, breathe, breathe!”

I stopped pumping her chest after a while and opened her mouth, resuscitating her.

Finally, she coughed, and started to breathe. I gasped and backed away.

She got her breath all back and looked around. “What in tarnation happened?!” She said worriedly.

“We both fell into the pond, and you lost consciousness.” I said sadly. “I pulled you out of the water and performed CPR on you.”

She gasped. “D…did ya… you know?” I blushed red with embarrassment. “Y….yes, it was the only way to save you.”

She blushed back, and I smiled at her. “Don’t say anything, you saved me when I passed out earlier, I only returned the favor.”

She nodded. “Ok, we’re even steven, but can I ask a favor Jordan?”

I looked at her curiously. “Sure, what do you need AJ?" I asked her. She smiled.

"Well, i wanted to ask. Will y’all walk me back home?”

I smiled and nodded. “Of course, Applejack. Let’s go.” I helped her to her feet and she and I started to walk away from the pond towards her farm.

We were mostly silent the whole way, until we got to the barn there. “Jordan… I can’t thank you enough. You worked so hard today, even when we had to bring you to the hospital, and then you saved me from drowning! You’re amazing sugarcube.” She then planted a kiss onto my cheek, making me blush.

“It was nothing, Applejack. I’m just here to help. Hey… is it ok if I sleep in the barn or something? I’m dead tired, and don’t think I can make it to the library.”

She chuckled. “Applebloom’s sleeping at a friends house, y’all can sleep up there.” She moved away from the door and let me in. “How about I show you some apple family hospitality with a nice dinner before bed sugarcube?

I smiled. “That sounds amazing Applejack.” I went to the living room and sat on the couch. “I haven’t been here since applebuck season but I know your family did some redecorating.” I said as I looked around the house. Right then, Big Mac walked in and looked at me.

“Errrr….. AJ?” Big Mac said a little uncomfortably. Applejack hollered at him from the kitchen.

“He’s my guest tonight Big Macintosh, play nice ok?” Big Mac nodded. “Eeyup!” He then sat down on the floor near the chair in the corner of the room.

He then looked at me, and surprised me by actually talking. “So… y’all passed out earlier movin the plow?”

I nodded. “Yeah, guess I just worked too hard.” He chuckled.

“Used to that with AJ, poor girl works way too hard.” Right then, Granny Smith walked in.

“Applejack, Big Mac, I’m home from the market.” She said as she walked in. She looked at me. “And who’s this?” She asked.

Applejack again hollered from the kitchen. “He’s my friend, Granny!” Granny chuckled.

“If only she’d said coltfriend.” I then opened my eyes wide and blushed badly. Granny heard this and gasped.

“GRANNY! For corn’s sakes!” She said in embarrassment. “He’s just a close friend I brought for dinner!”

Granny snickered. “Yeah, REALLY close friend.” This made me blush and AJ shriek in frustration in the kitchen.

After some conversing with Big Mac and Granny, Applejack herded us into the dining room for dinner. I sat down and opened my eyes wide at all the food. The table was full of plates of food.

“WHOA, how the hay did you make so much food that fast?!” I said in amazement. Applejack chuckled.

“Learned that from mah Granny.” Granny chuckled. “Taught her everything she knows. Now let’s eat!”

We did so, digging into dinner. Me and Applejack told the two of them stories from today, including me passing out and plowing the field, etc. We finished dinner, and desert, apple pie of course. After that, it was time for sleep.

Applejack and I walked up the stairs together. We said goodnight as we entered the respective bedrooms. I got into Applebloom’s bed and started to think.

I’m so tired, today was so much work. So much happened. I’m so proud of Twilight for taking control and managing all of us, she’s such a smart unicorn. Then… the thing with Applejack at the pond.

Applejack almost drowned, for celestia’s sakes! That was frightening, i would have never forgave myself is she did.

Then, a thought hit me. Am I… falling for Applejack? No, no. I just saved her life, that wasn’t a kiss. But… she invited me over... Is she falling for me? I don’t know!

No use getting worked up about it now, I need sleep. I rolled onto my side and fell asleep, going to the dream world.

Author's Note

And that was this thing. On Fanfiction some time ago, a user left a review, basically pulling this story apart, finding every flaw he could. Well... a big point he made was how much i butchered this episode. He said how i shouldn't have changed so much, such as nopony but Jordan being able to move the plows. Looking back... he's so right that it hurts.

I did butcher this episode. And i apologize. I wish i had been thinking straight when i wrote this...

Anyway, on to chapter 14, Call of the Cutie!

Chapter 14: Call Of The Cutie

I woke up in the morning, taking a moment to survey my surroundings, my unfamiliar surroundings that is. Where am I?

Oh yeah! I’m in Applejack’s family’s house, because I spent the night, now I remember. I got up and stretched, then walked downstairs to the living room.

There, I saw Applejack and Big Mac and Granny Smith all huddled up, looking at an old picture book.

Granny pointed to a photo. “Boy howdy, I remember when we built that house. It was the first one in Ponyville. Now look how big the town is!” She said with a smile.

They then looked up and noticed me. Granny smiled. “Hey youngster, bout time ya woke up! We were about ta wake you up.”

I chuckled. “Sorry everypony, I just was way too tired after yesterday. It was a lot of hard work plowing the field of snow.” I then looked at Applejack. “And save a certain somepony’s life.” I said with a wink towards Applejack, making her blush slightly and groan.

Right then, somepony burst through the front door. “APPLEJACK, where’s my saddlebag, I’m late for school!” It was Applebloom, in a mad dash to find said bag.

I noticed it was next to the coffee table and grabbed it.

“Here Applebloom, it was right next to me.” I handed it to her and she gave me a big smile. “Thanks Jordan! Hey, can I ask a favor? Would ya walk me to school? I’d feel a lot better having somepony with me.” I was going to reject, but… She gave me those big eyes, and that adorable smile. My heart MELTED. How could I turn down that adorable face?

“Of course Applebloom. AJ, is it ok?” I looked to AJ and she gave me a prudent nod. But, she walked over to me and pulled me aside.

“Listen here, sugarcube. PLEASE watch her. Applebloom’s my only sister, and if anything happens to her I’ll never be able to live with myself.”

I nodded in understanding. “You know you can count on me, don’t worry about it AJ.” I then walked towards Applebloom and smiled.

“Want a horseback ride Applebloom?” She chuckled at the joke and nodded. “Big Mac used to let me ride on him all the time!”

I smiled and lowered my head down, scooping her up and allowing her to get comfortable on me. I then started walking out.

“Bye everypony, see you after school!” Applebloom hollered as she waved. I smiled and walked towards the direction of the school house.

Applebloom, being the curious, silly filly she is, started right in on the questions. “Hey, Jordan? Why were ya at our house anyway?”

I chuckled. “Well, don’t tell her I said this, but your sister is awful clumsy. I kinda… saved her from drowning yesterday.”

Applebloom opened her eyes wide. “Really?! You saved her?! Wow, you’re my hero, Jordan!” Applebloom then planted a smooch right onto my neck, making me chuckle.

“Thanks, Applebloom. Anyway, I walked her home, and she asked me if I wanted to stay the night since you weren’t there last night. So, when you walked in I’d just woken up.”

“Ok, next question. Were you and my sister gettin cozy last night?”

WHOA, WHAT?! Her question made me stop right in my tracks, almost flinging Applebloom off of me. Ok, first off, how does a kid make that kind of accusation!? Second, does she know what she’s asking, or what that term means?

“Applebloom, sweetie, do you even know what you’re asking?”

She chuckled and giggled. “Yep!”

I scoffed. “Well, for your information, we didn’t do nothing last night. We were in separate rooms. Now… let’s stay off the personal stuff for now, ok sweetie?”

She groaned, but nodded in agreement. But she piped up again with another question.

“Hey, Jordan, why don’t you-“ I cut her off.

“We’re here Applebloom, time to head to class.” I told her as we walked up to the school house. She got off of me and hugged me.

“Thanks Jordan, see y’all later!” She said as she ran to the door of the school house. I wanted to make sure she was ok, call it a parental/brotherly/close friend instinct. So I followed her.

Cheerilee was there, hooves folded. “Applebloom, you’re late for school again! What do you have to say for yourself?”

Applebloom hung her head sadly, and I stepped in. “That’s my fault Cheerilee, I lost track of time when she and I were playing this morning. Blame me.” I made the lie on the spot to cover Applebloom. I gave said pony a quick wink, showing her that I had her back.

Cheerilee nodded. “Very well. Applebloom, get inside.” Applebloom nodded and skipped merrily inside the building. Cheerilee looked at me with a grin on her face.

“Nice work protecting Applebloom like that, Jordan. I knew you weren’t telling the truth, but it’s very sweet you jumped in to save her like that. I can see you care about her.”

I was stunned silent that she knew I was lying, but then I chuckled.

“Applebloom’s a very nice filly. She asked me to walk her to school this morning.”

Cheerilee nodded, then gasped. She turned her head in a way so she was staring at my flank.

I got a bit uncomfortable. “Uh… Mrs. Cheerilee?”

She gasped again and went back to her normal pose. “Sorry, but I just noticed you don’t have a cutie mark! That’s very strange, almost all adult ponies have a cutie mark by that time.”

I gave her a look that showed her I was just as confused. “I have no idea why I don’t have one, I guess I never found out my special talent.”

Cheerilee then smiled at me. “Jordan, today I was going to teach my students about cutie marks. Would you like to attend the class so you can learn about cutie marks?”

I gave her a confused look. “But… I’m an adult, Mrs. Cheerilee, and this is a kids’ school. Won’t it seem a bit odd?”

She shook her head. “Not at all, I have adult ponies coming to help me teach all the time, an adult studying a lesson will be no different.”

“In that case, I’ll come in and attend.” I said with a smile. Cheerilee smiled too and turned around, walking inside. I followed behind her.

As we walked in, Cheerilee hushed the class. “Class, we have a very special guest attending our class today. Please say hello to Jordan, one of the newer residents of Ponyville!” She said with a smile. The class murmered, saying things like hi, welcome, things like that.

“Jordan is actually going to be attending today’s lesson, for it’s something he doesn’t know very much about, like most of you. Jordan, have a seat at my desk in the back of the room, since it’s the only one that you can fit in.” She said as she pointed to the desk. I nodded and went to the big desk, sitting at it.

Cheerilee then began the lesson. “Today we are going to be talking about cutie marks, everypony!”

A filly near Applebloom sighed. “Bo-ring.” I then noticed that she already had her cutie mark.

“You can all see my cutie mark, can't you? Like all ponies, I wasn't born with a cutie mark. My flank was blank.” She explained as she showed them her flank, with her cutie mark.

A pony with orange hair spoke. “Aww...! She's so precious!”

Cheerilee continued. “Then one day, when I was about your age, I woke up to find that a cutie mark had appeared.” I was thinking deeply… huh. Strange, it just happened literally overnight? Cheerilee then showed a picture of herself in some groovy clothes and such.

The children all giggled at her ridiculous appearance in the pictures. “Yes I know, but honestly, that's how everypony was wearing their mane back then. I had decided to become a teacher, and the flowers symbolized my hope that I could help my future students bloom if I nurture them with knowledge. The smiles represented the cheer I hope to bring to my little ponies while they were learning. Now, can anyone tell me when a pony gets his or her cutie mark?”

The red haired pony shot her hoof right up. “Oh! Oh! Oh! When she discovers that certain something that makes her special!”

“That's right, Twist. A cutie mark appears on a pony's flank when he or she finds that certain something that makes them different from every other pony. Discovering what makes you unique isn't something that happens overnight, and no amount of hoping, wishing, or begging, would make a cutie mark appear before its time.”

As Cheerilee was talking, I saw a pony wearing a tiara bothering Applebloom, and she passed her a note. Cheerilee saw it, and thought Applebloom was the note passer.

“Apple Bloom! Are you passing a note?” Cheerilee asked in a very strict tone of voice.

Applebloom was lost on how to answer. “Uh, I... Um...”

“What could be so important that it couldn't wait until after class?” Cheerilee said in a rage, before she grabbed the note and gasped. “It's blank.”

The tiara’d pony laughed. “Remind you of anypony?” She laughed again, and some school ponies whispered amongst themselves.

“Diamond Tiara, you know I don’t tolerate any form of harassment or bullying in my classroom! Yes, Applebloom’s flank is still blank, but that doesn’t make her any different from the rest of us.” Cheerilee reprimanded the young filly, and then the bell rang. Cheerilee gasped.

“Class, I forgot that today was only a half day, class dismissed! Jordan, can you come see me up front please?” As the class all sprinted out of the school house, I muscled through the crowd to her desk. I looked at her.

“Yes, Mrs. Cheerilee, what is it?” I asked in curiosity.

She gave me a playful, yet serious look. “Jordan, we’re both adults, you don’t have to call me Mrs. Anyway, I just wanted to ask a favor.” She gave me a very serious look. “Please, look after Applebloom today, ok? Diamond Tiara is having a cute ceanara to celebrate getting her cutie mark. I fear she might be a bit too… proud of her cutie mark, and it might get to Applebloom. Just watch over her, ok? Applebloom’s such a bright young filly, and I care about her.” Cheerilee said with her ears drooped down slightly.

I gave her a reassuring smile. “Mrs… I mean, Cheerilee. I care about Applebloom too. Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to her. I promise. Class dismissed, teacher?” I said with a laugh. She laughed also.

“Class dismissed, see you around, Jordan.” She said as she got up and started erasing the whiteboard. I walked out the door of the school house, and I saw Diamond Tiara and a pony who I assumed was her friend talking to Applebloom and Twist.

I decided to walk behind the duo silently, not letting them know I was there, and listened to them talk to Applebloom and Twist.

“I don't know why we had to sit through a lecture about getting a cutie mark. I mean, waiting for your cutie mark is sooo last week. You got yours, I just got mine. We all have them already.” She then gasped in an exaggerated way as she looked at the two. “I mean, almost all of us have them already. Don't worry, you two, you're still totally invited to my cute-ceañera this weekend.” Diamond Tiara boasted to Twist and Applebloom.

The other filly then cut in. “It's going to be amazing.” She boasted.

Diamond Tiara then piped up again. “It's a party celebrating me and my fantastic cutie mark. How could it not be?” She asked in a rhetorical fashion.

Diamond Tiara and the other filly then giggled. “Bump! Bump! Sugar-lump, rump!” They finished with a laugh.

I then stepped in. “Yes, now why don’t you two fillies skidaddle and go on your merry way? Stop your bragging and boasting.” I told them.

The two of them just laughed. “Oh please! You have no power over us!” Diamond Tiara said as she laughed.

I then gave her a weak grin. “Well, you’re only half right. Keep messing with them, and I may go to Mrs. Cheerilee.”

That stopped them dead in their tracks, literally. They stopped walking away and turned to me.

“You can’t do that!” Diamond Tiara cried out in despair.

I smiled in a comical way. “Oh? Keep messing with Applebloom then, you’ll see.”

While I figured that would put them in their place, Diamond Tiara huffed and glared at me. “You don’t have a cutie mark either! How is that even possible, you have to be twice our age and you’ve never found your special talent. You have no right bossing us around, BLANK FLANK!” The two giggled as they walked away, leaving my jaw dropped and speechless.

Applebloom then rubbed against my back leg in a cute way. “Thank you, for standin up to them Jordan! They were really getting on mah nerves.” Applebloom said with a smile.

Twist smiled too. “Yeah, thanks! Want a peppermint stick, I made them myself!”

I shrugged, unsure. “Uh…. Sure, why not. Applebloom, let’s go home. Twist, you walk home safely, ok?” I said as she handed me a stick.

She nodded. “Yes sir!” She said as she walked down the trail.

I half-heartedly smiled at Applebloom. “C’mon, let’s go to the farm. I’ll walk you home.”

She sighed sadly. “Ok…” She hung her head as she followed me on the trail.

But… I got the feeling something was wrong. Should I talk to her about it? What if it’s something only she can handle? Oh well.

“Hey, Applebloom? Are you alright?” I asked in a loving, concerned tone, putting my own worries and thoughts aside for the time being.

Applebloom shook her head. “It's not fair! It's just not fair!” She cried out in despair.

I looked at her a bit confused. “What’s not fair, honey?” I said with my caring tone of voice.

“I want mah cutie mark. I don’t wanna wait! I want one right now! I can't go to Diamond Tiara's cute-ceañera without one, I just can't!” She cried out as she and I walked onto the farm. Applejack was near the gate, waiting for us and chuckled.

“'Course you can. Y'know, I was the last pony in my class to get my cutie mark, and I couldn't be prouder of it. I knew my future was to run Sweet Apple Acres, and these bright shiny apples sealed the deal. Come to think of it, Granny Smith was the last one in her class, too. Huh, same as Big McIntosh.”

Apple Bloom groaned. “I really don't see how that's supposed to make me feel better. It probably means that being the last one in your class to get a cutie mark runs in the family.” She said sadly. But then, she gasped. “...Runs in the family. Runs in the family! Runs in the family!” She cried out. “You've got apples for your cutie mark, Granny Smith has an apple pie, Big McIntosh has an apple half, my unique talent must has som'n to do with apples! Apples apples apples!” She shouted. But she knocked over an apple bucket in her excitement. “Oops... apples.”

I chuckled softly as her antics. “Well, it was fun Apples, but I think I should be heading home. Thanks for everything Applejack. And Applebloom?” I said as I leaned down onto her level.

“Don’t worry about getting your cutie mark, ok? I don’t have one, and I’m not worried. So don’t sweat it.” I was trying to comfort her, but this was almost a complete lie. I’m very worried!

She smiled and hugged me. “I won’t. I promise!” I smiled and hugged her back. I eventually got up.

“Good. See you all later.” I said as I waved and walked back towards town. On the way, I was deeply in thought.

First, what if Diamond Tiara is right? I mean, I’m 18, lived in Ponyville for months, and I don’t even have a cutie mark. Does that make me less of a stallion? What will my cutie mark be, how will I get it? I’m so lost, so nervous, so anxious!

I decided to go to the library, so I could process my thoughts a bit more. But, when I got to the door, Spike ran to me.

“JORDAN, JORDAN, letter from the princess!” He said as he handed it to me, out of breath. I cautiously took the letter and opened it, reading it.

“Dear Jordan:
I request your presence at my castle in Canterlot, as soon as possible. I have both a proposition for you, and a question for you. Also, come alone.
-Celestia.”

I looked at the page the letter was written on in a hint of shock for a few seconds, before I looked at Spike and cleared my throat.

“I need to head to Canterlot, Spike. See you soon, ok?” I gave him a quick bro-hoof, and walked out the door towards the train station.

I walked up to the pony at the counter, and paid him 25 bits for a ticket to Canterlot. I got on the train and sat down in my seat.

But, a few minutes later, I heard the conductor on the loudspeaker.

“Sorry everypony, but it looks like this train ride is going to be delayed due to a failure in the engine. Please talk to the ticket pony for a refund.”

I was in shock for a few seconds before I felt an anger rise in me. “SERIOUSLY?! I need to get to Canterlot, and this happens?!”

Next thing I knew, I felt my horn spark. But then, everything became a blur. I could see what was happening, but it was all happening so fast. My horn sparked… I was in midair… the train got over turned. There was lightning overhead… I had absolutely no clue what had happened.

When it was all over, I was back on the ground. I looked around to see a scene of devastation around me. Ponies were hurt, the train was wrecked, etc.

I had the biggest look of shock ever. I surveyed the damage, all of it, before speaking to myself.

“I… I did this!? But how!? What the friv just happened!?” I then saw some ponies sprinting up the road. I gasped. I had to get out of here, nopony could know what I did, I’d be locked up!

I sprinted away as fast as I could, into the forest nearby. I was dashing away as fast as I could, past all the trees and things in the forest. I kept running until I was deep within the forest, the part where hardly and sun shown through due to the thick tree canopies.

Suddenly, though, I tripped on something, a rock or something. I fell and did a tumble roll forward. I stopped finally, and sighed.

I saw a tree nearby, and I crawled to it. I leaned against it, and I started to think in the cool, damp shade of the forest.

“Ok, so let’s go through what happened. I was on the train, and the conductor announced the train was cancelled. Then I got angry, and next thing I knew… yeah. Could I have anger problems? No! No way, I’ve never gotten angry like that, there must be an explanation!”

I sighed and looked at the ground, surveying some ants nearby. Looking at the ants, a thought crossed my mind. Ants are amazing insects. They’re tiny, and seemingly insignificant, but they’re not. They can lift items ten times their size, and they all work to feed their queen. They all have a purpose… what will my purpose in life be?

Suddenly, I heard a voice. “That question must be answered for yourself.” I yelped in fright and turned to the left, where the voice came from. I gasped at the pony I saw.

It was the princess. She had a solemn, yet stern look about her. “I heard everything you said just now, Jordan. I have the ability to read pony’s minds. I know you’re very worried about where you’ll fit in, but that must wait for another time. We must discuss the incident at the train station.”

I looked at her in a bit of shock, before I looked down at my hooves. “Princess… I have no idea what happened there. I don’t remember anything, I just remember sitting on the train, then there being wreckage and havoc all around me. I ran, I… I was so afraid.”

Then, something unbelievable happened. My horn glowed dimly, making me look up at it in curiosity. Then, it sparked violently, and the next thing I knew, a surge of energy left it, without me doing anything!

The surge of energy hit a nearby tree branch, and for some reason, it turned into a gigantic peppermint stick, like the one Twist gave me… but bigger.

I looked at this in disbelief before growling in frustration. “What the hay is happening!? First the train, and now this!? Princess, what is going on?!”

She walked towards me and put her hoof on my shoulder, to try and get me to calm down. “I do not know what is happening Jordan, but I do know that whatever problem you are having with your magic will not just simply go away… For now, I think you should ignore it, and study it as it comes and goes. It’s all you can do for now.”

I nodded at her. “That makes sense. So… if you want to banish me to the moon for what I did, I completely understand, Princess…” I said sadly, as I looked towards the ground with me ears drooped sadly.

She let out a chuckle. “Jordan, why would I banish you for something you didn’t mean to do? Did you MEAN for this accident to happen? No? Exactly my point. They’re called accidents for a reason. I just wanted to get your side of what happened.” She sat next to me, against the tree, I guess to make me feel like I was talking to a friend, and not a royal alicorn princess.

So, I told her everything. The train being delayed, me being angry, and then everything blacking out until it was all over.

“So you see, that’s what happened. I ran from fear of the guards…” I said sadly.

Celestia had her hoof to her chin in thought. “I see. I have a possible answer for why this is happening, but I cannot say for certain yet…”

I sighed. “I know the feeling of not being certain, that’s for sure. Hey, why did you want me to come to Canterlot anyway, your highness?” I said curiously.

“Oh, I had forgotten about that. My proposition was simple. I had heard from Twilight Sparkle that you have started to feel uncomfortable at her home. I was going to ask you if you wanted your own home, in Ponyville. If we go to my castle, you can design it, and choose the plot of land you want it on.”

Well, that threw me for a loop. I was not expecting that in a million years. My own house!? That would be amazing. But, now might not be the best time.

“Princess, I’m truly amazed by your offer, and I’d love to take you up on it some other time. But now’s not the right time. One of my friends’ little sister is having a hard time, and I have a feeling she needs me. Will another day work?”

She smiled and nodded. “Of course. Just come to Canterlot whenever you’re ready, Jordan. I must return to Canterlot, see you soon.” With that, her horn glowed and she disappeared.

I chuckled softly as I stood up. It’s funny how life works sometimes. I was just so upset, and the princess just turned that all around, with the most generous, amazing offer of my life. I have the opportunity to have my own home now! To be my own pony!

But before all that can happen, I really think I need to go back to town and check on Applebloom, to make sure she’s ok. I started to walk on the road back to town, taking a side route to avoid the train wreckage and all.

Then, I walked into town. Thankfully, nopony saw the wreckage and nopony knew I was responsible, so I got no awkward looks. I saw Applebloom and Applejack talking.

“Sorry, little sis, but your apple-sellin' days are over.” Applejack said sternly.

“What? But how else am I gonna get my cutie mark?” She asked in desperation.

Applejack glared. “Home. Now.”

Applebloom huffed, and Applejack sighed.

“Ugh. Listen, sugarcube, I know it's hard to wait for your very own cutie mark, but, you just can't force it. Besides, you're not that grown-up just yet. Jordan doesn’t have a cutie mark, remember?”

Applebloom nodded. “Well... That’s true…”

Applejack smiled. “Do you think you'd feel better if you went to the party with him?”

Applebloom nodded, and I surprised Applebloom by coming up behind her and hugging her. “We’ll go together, Applebloom. It’ll all be ok, I promise.”

Applejack smiled at us both. “Well there you go. Bet you and Jordan will have a great time together. Now run along, you two, you’ve got a party to get to soon.” Applejack then walked back to her stall in the market to sell some apples.

I smiled at AB. “Come on, Applebloom, let’s leave your sister to her work. Wanna go get a treat at Sugarcube Corner?”

Her eyes widened, ears perked up and she gasped. “YES! That sounds amazin!”

I chuckled. “Ok, ok, settle down. Come on, let’s go, my treat.”

I walked with her over to Sugarcube Corner, and ordered both of us a slice of cake. I of course got red velvet, and Applebloom went for a Dutch apple pie sort of cake.

We were sitting down and eating, when all of a sudden I heard a voice.

“Yeah, I’m here to see if the cupcakes for my cute ceanara are ready! And they better be absolutely perfect!”

It was Diamond Tiara, yelling at Mr. Cake like she owned the place! Who does she think she is?

After she finished talking to Mr. Cake, she walked by us and snickered. “See you later, BLANK FLANKS!”

Applebloom immediately got sad, and hung her head down. Oh Diamond Tiara, I just got her to cheer up!

Applebloom sighed. “What if I never get mah cutie mark!? What if I get made fun of at the party!?” She asked in rhetorical exclamation.

“Applebloom, calm down. I’m going to the party with you, remember? Nopony will make fun of you, I promise.”

She sighed and got up from the table. “You don’t know the ponies from school!” She said as she ran out of the building.

I ran to the door. “Applebloom, WAIT!” But it was too late, she was gone. I decided it was probably best, she needs to process her own feelings. Me, or Applejack, or Big Mac, none of us can live her life for her. There’s some things she needs to do and realize on her own.

And speaking about that, what about me? I don’t have my cutie mark either. Won’t I look out of place at the party today?

I walked out of Sugarcube Corner, and looked around for Applebloom. Even if she had to think about this on her own, I shouldn’t leave her alone completely.

I saw her sitting down next to a building, with a nasty rain cloud over her head. I walked over to her.

“Applebloom… please cheer up. I don’t like seeing you so sad.” Before she could reply, Rainbow Dash appeared.

“Wow, looks like somepony's got a dark cloud hanging over her head. Let me do something about that. “ Rainbow proceeded to move the cloud away from Applebloom, then landed. “What's the matter, kid?” She asked in concern.

Applebloom inhaled. “There's a cute-ceañera this afternoon and everypony in my class will be there and they'll all have their cutie marks and I wanna get my cutie mark but I'm no good at sellin' apples but I really wanna go to the party but how can I go to the party if I don't have my cutie mark which my big sister says I'm gonna get eventually but... I WANT IT NOW!” She finished dramatically.
Rainbow Dash grinned. “Cutie mark? I can get you a cutie mark like that!” She boasted.

Applebloom shook her head. “Applejack says these things take time. I have to just wait for it to happen.” She proclaimed.

Rainbow Dash wasn’t convinced. “Why wait for something to happen when you can make it happen?”

Applebloom was confused. “But Applejack says th...” Rainbow cut her off.

Rainbow Dash “Hey, who are you gonna listen to, Applejack, or the pony who was first in her class to get a cutie mark? I always liked flying an' all, but I was going nowhere in a hurry. It wasn't until my very first race that I discovered a serious need for speed, and KAZAM, this sweet baby appeared as fast as lightning.” She pridefully boasted.

Applebloom sighed. “Ok, ok, I get it. What your big idea then?”

“Follow me, and I’ll show you!” Dash said as she flew to a nearby field. I looked at Applebloom.

“I’m going with you, just in case Applebloom.” And with that, we walked together to the field where Dash landed.

“Ok, now I want you to put this outfit on!” Dash said as she handed Applebloom an athletic outfit.
Rainbow Dash then told Applebloom to stretch. “That's right, stretch out those legs. Gotta be nice and loose. The key here is to try as many things as possible as quickly as possible. One of them is bound to lead to your cutie mark. Are you ready?”

“Dash, is this such a good idea? I mean-“ I was cut off by Applebloom.

“I'm ready!” She shouted.

Rainbow Dash grinned. “I said: Are! You! Ready!”

Applebloom shouted louder. “I'M READY!”

Rainbow Dash blew a whistle. “Juggling, go!” She said as she threw Applebloom some objects to juggle. Applebloom did ok for a few seconds, but lost her balance and dropped them.

“Come on, hang gliding time!” Dash said as she scurried with her to the cliff.

“Hang-gliding, go!” Dash said as she blew the whistle.
Applebloom crashed pretty quickly. In the next while, we tried karate, kiteflying, roller derby and so much more. None of them got her cutie mark.

Rainbow Dash sighed as she looked at her list. “Tried that one... tried that one... tried that one...” She droned on. Right then, Diamond Tiara and her friend appeared.

“Your new outfit is, like, perfect for the party.” Her friend said.

Diamond Tiara giggled. “I know. It totally shows off my cutie mark.”

“I love being special.” Her friend said all snooty like.

“Can you imagine how embarrassing it must be to be... not special?” She said towards us. I glared at them and walked over to them.

“You two need to stop this bragging and boasting of yours. I have a newsflash for you. What you’re doing to Applebloom and I? It’s bullying, and I can report you to Cheerilee for it. Now get out of here!” I demanded in a firm, yet still calm and collected manner. The two fillies scoffed and left without a word.

Applebloom sighed. “I'm doomed. Doomed! I'll never find sumth'n I'm good at.” She said in pure despair.

Pinkie Pie then appeared out of nowhere. “You look like you'd be good at eating cupcakes.” She suggested.

Applebloom pondered. “Eatin' cupcakes?”

Rainbow Dash was just as confused. “Eating cupcakes?”

Pinkie Pie smiled. “Eating cupcaaakes!” She cheered out.

Applebloom smiled at Rainbow. “I really appreciate all your help, Rainbow Dash. You're a really great coach and I really learned a lot from you and I'm sure I can learn a lot more but... I've got some cupcakes to eat! See you at the cute-ceañera! Hold on, Pinkie Pie, I'm comin'.”

“Me too!” I yelled as I ran behind her and Pinkie. We ran into the bakery, to the kitchen.

Applebloom “I can't believe I didn't think of this. A cupcake-eating cutie mark, it's sooo obvious. Now, where are those cupcakes? I'm ready t' chow down!” She said happily.

Pinkie Pie shook her head. “I don't have any cupcakes.”

Applebloom looked down. “Oh.”

Pinkie gasped. “But you look like you'd be good at helping me make some.” She suggested.

Applebloom. “I guess, uh, making-cupcakes cutie mark could work too. Jordan, will you help?” She asked as she looked at me. I smiled.

“Of course. I helped Pinkie bake cupcakes for a party a while back, it should be fun.” I said as I walked to the table/counter next to Applebloom.

Pinkie started to sing as she got ingredients.

“All you have to do is take a cup of flour!
Add it to the mix!
Now just take a little something sweet, not sour!
A bit of salt, just a pinch!
Baking these treats is such a cinch!
Add a teaspoon of vanilla!
Add a little more, and you count to four,
And you never get your fill of...
Cupcakes! So sweet and tasty!
Cupcakes! Don't be too hasty!
Cupcakes! Cupcakes, cupcakes, CUPCAKES!” She finally cried out as we had finished making our cupcakes, taking them out of the oven.

Applebloom coughed. “Hot, hot, hot!” She cried out. We then looked at the cupcakes we made. They looked awful…

Pinkie gasped. “Oooh, those look much better than the last batch.” She grabbed one and took a bite. “Mmm...”
I sighed. “Sorry, Applebloom… I must have forgot how to make them properly.” I said as my ears dropped sadly.

Applebloom groaned. “Ugh! I guess I'm not cut out to be a baker either. I just have to face it, I'm gonna have a blank flank forever.” She then sat against the wall, and I joined her as I sighed.

“Me too…” I said sadly. But then, Pinkie pointed to her flank.

“What about that?” Pinkie asked.
Applebloom gasped. “What about what? Is there something on my flank? Is there, is there, is there? A cutie mark! It's a... a measuring cup? No. A mixin' bowl? No... Are those cupcakes? A tower of cupcakes maybe.” She said very excitedly.

Pinkie blew on her flank. “Flour. It's flour! Yay! I guessed it. What game you wanna play next? Please say bingo, please say bingo.”

I cringed slightly as I saw how sad and upset Applebloom was… it made me hurt inside to see her so sad and hurt.

Twilight then walked inside. “Whoa, what's been going on in here?” She asked as she looked at the mess around the kitchen, with flour and things everywhere.

Pinkie ate a cupcake. “We've been making cupcakes, wanna try them?” She handed Twilight a cupcake and Twilight winced.

“Nnnno thank you... not that they don't look, heh, delicious.” She said sarcastically.

Applebloom ran to Twilight. “Twilight, you have to help me!”

Twilight looked at her. “What's the matter?”

Applebloom inhaled. “Tiara's cute-ceañera's today and everypony in my class will be there and they'll all have their cutie marks and I want to get my cutie mark but I'm no good at selling apples or hang-gliding or making cupcakes, but I wanna go to the party but how can I go to the party if I don't have my cutie mark, which Pinkie Pie says I can't just make appear, but I need it to appear, right now!” She said in desperation.
Twilight was confused. “Uhhh... I don't follow. How can I help you?” She asked confusedly.

Applebloom smiled. “You can use your magic to make my cutie mark appear.” She suggested.

Twilight shook her head. “Oh no, Apple Bloom. A cutie mark is something a pony has to discover for herself.”

Applebloom gave pleading eyes. “Please Twilight, jus' trah.”

Twilight sighed. “I'm sorry, but-“ She was cut off.

“Oh please, please, please please please!” Applebloom asked in desperation.

Twilight, I guess, felt attacked/crowded, and gave in. “All right, all right!”

Applebloom smiled. “Oh thank you thank you thank you.” Twilight charged her horn and hit Applebloom with a spell. “Yes! I knew you could do... it.” Applebloom said sadly as she realized nothing happened.

Twilight looked sympathetic. “I'm sorry, sweetie, but I told you-“ Applebloom cut her off again.

“Try again, try again!” Applebloom demanded. Twilight was going to do it, but I stepped in.

“Applebloom. Enough. You’ve bothered Twilight enough. There’s no way to make your cutie mark appear, ok?”

She sighed and looked down, and Twilight left.

Applebloom groaned. “It's hopeless, hopeless! I just won't go to the party, I can't go. Everyone will just laugh at me and make fun of me and call me names. It will be the worst night of my life.”

I rubbed her shoulder. “I'm sure it won't be as bad as all that.” I said.

Applebloom shrugged me away. “Forget it, there's no way I'm going to that-“ She had walked into the main room of the bakery, right into the party! “Party.” She finished in shock.

Applebloom was in despair. “How could I have forgotten the time? How could I have forgotten Pinkie Pie was hosting the party? How could I have forgotten it was at Sugarcube Corner?”

Pinkie Pie put a hat on her. “Don't forget your party hat, Forgetty Forgetterson!”

Applebloom looked at me. “I have to get out of here before anypony sees me.”

Diamond Tiara was at a cake on the table. “Hey! It's my cute-ceañera, I'm supposed to get the first bite at cake.”

I saw Applebloom scurry to the door. Then Twist showed up.

“Applebloom, I got my cutie mark, look!” Twist showed us her flank to reveal a cutie mark, two candy canes intertwined.

“Wow Twist, it looks great!” I said as I looked at it. Then, Diamond tiara appeared.

“Well well well, look who's here.” She said snarkily.

Her friend chimed in. “Nice outfit.”

“Just sumt'n I, uh, pulled together last minute.” She tried to defend.

Diamond Tiara snickered. “It really shows off your cutie mark. Oh wait, that's right, you don't have one.”

Applebloom’s eyes shifted left to right as she spoke. “Uh, I have a cutie mark.” She lied.

The filly was confused. “Eh, what? Since when?”

Applebloom gulped. “Since... Um... Earlier today.”

Diamond Tiara sneered. “Oh really? Let's see it.” She demanded.
Applebloom was nervous she’d be found out. “I shouldn't. I couldn't. My cutie mark is so unbelievably amazing, I'm afraid that if I show it off, everyone will start paying attention to me instead of you. Outshined at your own cute-ceañera. Can you imagine how embarrassing that would be?” Diamond Tiara seemed to agree.

“Uh, forget it, I didn't really want to see it anyway.” She said as she looked away.

Applebloom sighed. “Okay, well, I'm gonna go mingle. Enjoy your party.” As she walked away, her outfit got ripped off, revealing her blank flank.

Applebloom gulped. “Oh no.”

The grey filly laughed. “Wow, that is an amazing cutie mark.”

Diamond Tiara sneered again. “Nice try... Blank flank!”

Then suddenly, a filly in the crowd spoke. “You got a problem with blank flanks?” The orange Pegasus asked. When she got no response, she asked again. “I said, you got a problem with blank flanks?”

The grey filly got huffed. “The problem is, I mean, she's like, totally not special.”

Another filly who was white with a beautifully colored and styled mane spoke up. “No, it means she's full of potential.” The filly defended.

The orange once spoke again. “It means she could be great at anything. The possibilities are, like, endless.” She said in a satirical tone, mocking the duo.

The white filly nodded. “She could be a great scientist, or an amazing artist, or a famous writer. She could even be mayor of Ponyville someday.” She suggested.

The orange one piped up. “And she's not stuck being stuck-up like you two.” She insulted.

Ponies around the room laughed at Diamond and her friend, and Diamond got angry.

“Hey, this is my party, why are you two on her side?” She asked angrily.

“Because...” The orange one said before they both revealed their flanks, revealing that they too were blank flanks.

Applebloom gasped. “You don't have your cutie marks either?”

The orange one nodded. “We thought we were the only two.”

I stepped in. “Make that four.” I said as I showed them my blank flank, making the unknown fillies gasp.

Twilight appeared. “I for one think you are four lucky ponies, all of you.”

Diamond Tiara scoffed. “Lucky? How can they be lucky?”

Twilight smiled. “They still get to experience the thrill of discovering who they are, and what they're meant to be.” She told Diamond Tiara.

Applejack stepped in. “And they got all the time in the world to figure it out, not just an afternoon.” She suggested, and ponies around us agreed.

Some fillies and colts walked up to Applebloom and talked to her. Diamond Tiara started to feel very left out.

“Hey, what's everypony doing? This is my party, everypony is supposed to be paying attention to me.”

The other filly, who I was just told is named Silver Spoon scoffed. “Whatever. We still think you're losers, right, Diamond Tiara? Bump, bump, sugar... lump...” She tried, but Diamond Tiara wasn’t in the mood.

The orange filly introduced herself. “Name's Scootaloo.” She said.

The other filly did the same. “And I'm Sweetie Belle.”

“Apple Bloom. And this is Jordan.” She said as she introduced us, with a smile.

We all went to a table nearby and sat down.

Applebloom smiled. “So I was thinking, now that we're friends... I mean, we are friends, right?” She asked, and the two fillies nodded.

“How could we not be? We're totally alike. We don't have cutie marks, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon drive us crazy—“ She said. “Totally crazy.” Sweetie Belle added.

Applebloom giggled. “Well, now that we're all friends, what if the three of us work together to find out who we are and what we're supposed to be?”
Sweetie Belle gasped. “Ooh! Ooh! We could form our own secret society.” She suggested excitedly.

Scootaloo grinned. “I'm liking this idea.”

Applebloom smiled. “A secret society. Yeah. We need a name for it though.”

Scootaloo thought. “The Cutie Mark Three?”

Sweetie Belle tried. “The Cutastically Fantastics?”

Applebloom suggested. “How about... The Cutie Mark Crusaders?”

Scootaloo nodded. “It's perfect!”

Sweetie Belle agreed. “This is gonna be so great!”

Applebloom laughed. “We're gonna be unstoppable!”

Scootaloo looked at the food. “What do you say we celebrate with some of these delicious cupcakes?”

Applebloom shook her head. “Not the cupcakes. Trust me.”

Sweetie Belle smiled. “Let's see if there are any cookies.”

Applebloom nodded. “Yeah! Come on.” They said as they ran to the desert counter. I decided to stay and munch on a muffin, thinking about things. Twilight came over to me.

“What do you think about my friendship letter, Jordan?” She handed the paper to me and I started to read.

“Dearest Princess Celestia,
I am happy to report that one of your youngest subjects has learned a valuable lesson about friendship. Sometimes, the thing you think will cause you to lose friends and feel left out can actually be the thing that helps you make your closest friends and realize how special you are.”

I nodded in approval. “This one is great, Twi. She’ll love this one.”

Twilight smiled at me and went to Spike to have him send the letter. Then the Cutie Mark Crusaders came up to me.

“Jordan Jordan Jordan!” Applebloom said frantically. I looked at her. “Yes?” I asked.

She smiled. “Well, we were thinkin, since you don’t have a cutie mark either, would ya like to join our club?!” She asked full of excitement.

I sat upright for a second and put my hoof to my chin in thought. I did that for a few seconds before looking at my flank and sighing.

“I have no idea what my special talent is, and I hate not knowing. Being in your club might be fun. Besides, I’m sure you’ll need an adult like me to make sure you don’t do anything to hurt yourselves. Count me in, Crusaders!” I said as I stood up next to them. They cheered.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders forever!” They said as they hugged me.

In the next few hours, we all finished up the party and enjoyed it, but it was later in the night and time to go home. I said good night to the fillies and went to the library, getting cozy in my bed.

While I was there, I started to think pretty deeply about everything that happened today. The things with the Crusaders, the train wreck, my weird magic… the offer from the princess. I don’t know what the future is going to bring, but all I can do is try my best to remain happy and positive in the face of danger and sadness, if not for me, then for everypony who depends on me. Like Applebloom.

I rolled onto my side and stared out the window at the starry night sky, as I felt my mind shut down and go to sleep. Then I was in the dream world, sleeping peacefully.

Author's Note

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one is another OC chapter i made. See you there!

Chapter 15: Caught In The Middle

I woke up in the early morning, as was my usual routine. But this morning, I noticed something that was very different.

It was dead silent. This was strange, as there was always some ambience in the library, whether it be Spike snoring, Twilight’s magic making noise, or something else. The library being dead quiet was an odd occurrence.

I sat upright in the bed, rubbing the crust from my eyes and taking a sip of water from my glass on the nightstand. After that, I used the bathroom, before heading downstairs into the living room of the library.

I was surprised at what I saw; nothing. The lights were out, and nopony was there. I turned on the lights, and looked around, sad when I still saw nothing.

That’s when I saw a scroll on the table. Walking to the table, I grabbed said scroll and opened it. It read;

“Jordan. Me, Spike and the girls are spending the day at the spa, because Princess Celestia asked to see you around noon, but wouldn’t tell me why. You’d better go, and not keep the princess waiting. See you later!
-Twilight.”

I looked at the note and blinked once or twice before smiling. “I think I know what the visit’s about.” I said to myself. “Might as well get some breakfast while I’m here.” I said to myself once again as I trotted into the kitchen.

I opened the fridge and grinned. Yes, we had them! I grabbed a box of waffles and slapped them in the toaster.

“Can’t go wrong with blueberry.” I said as I waited for them to cook. I read the newspaper while I sat down.

The headline was interesting, to say the least. “Train wreck befuddles Ponyville!” I blinked before sighing. I still can’t believe I caused that… I still don’t understand it; why it happened, or even how it happened.

I decided to not read on. The last thing I need is to read a depressing newspaper article. All of a sudden, the toaster popped the waffles into the air, and I walked to the counter and put them on my plate.

I sat down and started eating, moaning in delight. They were delicious without syrup, or whipped cream. I poured some orange juice and chowed down.

I ate one waffle. Then two. Then three. Then four. Next thing, I had eaten seven of them! I was plenty full when I finally went upstairs to get ready and pack for the trip.

I went to the closet and grabbed some things. The magical vial of potion, should I need it, a scarf in case it’s cold, some food and water, etcetera.

I walked out the front door of the library. I was starting to walk to the train station, before a thought crossed my mind, and I walked to Aloe and Lotus’s spa instead.

I walked inside and, after getting some looks from all the mares inside, walked to my friends in the gigantic hot tub.

However, once I heard one of them mention something about a stallion, I decided to hide behind a nearby bench and listen. I could tell who was who by what language they used. This is what I heard.

“Darling, you’re absolutely certain?” Rarity asked somepony.

That somepony, who I discovered was Twilight, replied. “Yes Rarity… I’m certain. Our horns sparked, three times now. It’s got to be a sign!”

Applejack piped up. “Sugarcube, it could be a fluke. I mean, he’s mighty different from you.” Applejack weighed in.

“No, he and I are a lot more alike than you think, Applejack” Twilight replied.

“Whatever. I say if you feel for him, go for it. Not gonna kill either of you.” Rainbow Dash said rather nonchalantly.

Twilight sighed. “I can’t… I just can’t bring myself to do it. Maybe in the future, but now’s just not the right time girls.”

None of the girls replied to her, so I figured I should make myself revealed. I walked back to the entrance way so I didn’t look like I was eavesdropping, and I walked to them.

I walked over to Twilight and poked her on the shoulder, making her look at me.

“What are you doing here?” She asked in wonder. I smiled.

“I was wondering if you could teleport me to Canterlot? I don’t want to take the train, long story, not enough time.”

She nodded and charged up her horn, and after a massive whirling sensation around my whole body, I came to my senses and found I was in the throne room of Canterlot.

Celestia was waiting for me, and she smiled. “Ah, you’re here bright and early, Jordan. Much like Twilight Sparkle, perhaps her habits have been rubbing off on you?” She asked with a bit of a chuckle.

I chuckled back. “Hey, after a while Twilight’s strictness can get to ANYPONY. I guess it has.” I said with a laugh.

She walked down to me from her throne and gave me a friendly smile. “You might have guessed why I’ve summoned you here?”

I nodded. “Lemme guess. My new house?” I asked. She nodded at me.

“Yes. I have my captain of architecture, Silver Trowel, waiting for you and I. He handles the design of the buildings across Equestria and the zoning permits and such. Come, let us go see him.” She directed me as she started to walk through the main hall of the castle towards the “ground” level.

She opened a door, and we walked into a very nicely decorated white room, full of blueprint scrolls, I assume of buildings.

There, we met a pony with a silverish mane and a black coat. He looked at us both and nodded.

“Princess? To what do I owe the unexpected visit?” He asked her. Celestia smiled.

“Silver Trowel, this is Jordan. I have authorized for him a new home in Ponyville. The two of us are here to discuss architecture and such with you.”

As we walked to the table he presided over, he put his hoof to his chin in thought. “Ponyville, huh? I haven’t designed, nor even authorized a house for that town in ages. The growth of it just abruptly stopped about ten years ago. This should be an interesting project.” He said as he smiled at me. I smiled back.

“So, sit down. What kind of a house are you looking for son?” He asked as he got out a blank sheet of blueprint paper.

I hummed and put my hoof to my chin in thought. “Well… let’s see. I want something that will fit in. Something that’s not gonna stick out like a sore thumb. I want it to look like it belongs in Ponyville, while also being unique. Tradition meets modern, if you will, Mr. Silver Trowel.”

He grinned at me and nodded. “A contemporary-ist, I see. Ok, so we’re going to be paying respect to classic Ponyvillian architecture and style, while putting your own personal stank on it so to speak. Is there anything that immediately reaches out to you when you think of that? A hobby, maybe?” He asked curiously.

That made me stumble over my thoughts. “A hobby? Hmm… Not really, but I do like making other ponies feel comfortable and welcome. So maybe something very inviting?” I suggested.

He nodded. “I’m going to sketch out a rough draft of what I envision right now, give me a moment or two.” He said as he got to work with his pencil.

After about three minutes of intense pencil workout, he held up the blueprint and showed it to me. “It’ll be made of the wood and hay structure Ponyville is famous for, and to make it how you suggested we have a pretty spacious guesthouse attached to the side. They can get in there from the main entry to your house and using the hallway, or they can use the door it has. Either way. Also, there’s a fireplace in the living room.”

I nodded at him in approval. It looked perfect so far. “Looks great, I like the guestroom idea. But it’s just… missing something.” I said, scratching the back of my head nervously.

He chuckled. “Rough draft, son. We’re not even close to done yet, don’t worry. So we got the materials and the guesthouse done. Now how about the actual living space. What would you like?”

I put my hoof to my chin again. After thinking for a few decisive moments, I smiled. “Well, I’m thinking two stories. I’d like a nicely sized living room, with the stairs visible from the doorway. That make sense?” I asked. He nodded and sketched again.

After about three more minutes, he held another sketch up. “Like this?” He asked. I just looked at it in wonder.

“You’re quite the artiste, Silver Trowel, the sketches you draw all look amazing. That looks exactly like what I had envisioned in my mind.” It was laid out to where you walked in, the living room was to the right, and the stairs were located at the end of the room.

I smiled. “Now, for the kitchen, I was thinking it would be directly across from the living room. I’d like it to be pretty spacious, with an island in the middle.”

He smiled and got to work on yet another sketch. In about two more hours, we had finally designed all of my house! My bedroom and bathroom and closet would all be upstairs, while the living room, kitchen, etc, were downstairs. It all seemed like my dream house, with plenty of space to grow should I need it!

Finally, he held up the blueprint paper and gave it a quick, dramatic smooch. “Manifique! I think this may very well be one of the finest designs for a home I’ve done in years. It’s going to be grand. Now all that’s left is choosing a plot of land for it. Do you have a place in mind?” He asked me.

I stammered. “Well…see…-“ I was cut out by somepony barging through the door to the room!

I turned around, to see all six girls! I gasped from surprise. “What are you all doing here, I thought you were at the spa?” I asked curiously. Rainbow Dash walked up to us.

“You guys have taken like four hours! After a while all that massaging and bathing gets boring. Hey, what’s this!?” She asked as she took the blueprints from the table.

She looked at it confusedly for a moment or two before she finally spoke. “A house? Who the hay is getting a house?”

I chuckled nervously. “I, uh… I am, Rainbow.” The girls all gasped and ran over to me and Rainbow.

Pinkie nearly tackled me. “Ooh, ooh! Where’s it going to be built?!” She asked excitedly. I tried to wiggle out from under her, to no avail. I chuckled nervously.

“I uh… haven’t-“ I was cut off by Pinkie. “You have to live next to me! That way you can come over to Sugarcube Corner every day and help me throw parties and bake goodies! Oh my gosh, that would be the greatest thing in the history of anything!” She said with her big grin. She spoke so fast I could barely understand her.

Applejack then stepped in, pulling me to my feet from under Pinkie. “Y’all gotta move near Sweet Apple Acres! Me and mah family sure could use your muscles for applebuckin’, and Applebloom and the Crusaders would be so happy to have ya live right by us.” She said with a smile.

“I, uh… well…” I said before I AGAIN got cut off.

Rarity spoke next. “You simply MUST live next to my Boutique, darling! You could help me design my dresses and outfits, and we could both have time to relax at the spa.” She said with a reassuring smile.

“I appreciate it Rare, but…-“ I once AGAIN got cut off! This time by Twilight.

“You have to live near the library, so we can continue your magic lessons, and if I need you or vice versa!” She said with that look of hers. I tried to speak, but this time Fluttershy cut in, nuzzling my side softly.

Fluttershy smiled softly. “You… you should live near me. We, um… could feed and care for the animals together and um... spend time together.” She said with a slight blush. Before I could reply, Rainbow cut in, tackling me to the ground!

“You should totally move to Cloudsdale! You could just teleport there, then freefall down or something!” She said with a grin. I heard Rarity scoff.

“Oh PLEASE, like he would ever enjoy a place filled with such hard-strung pegasi!” Rarity said with a tone of voice that sounded like she was insulting Dash.

Dash scoffed back. “Like he would want to live next to you, Mrs. Prissy Pants, you’d drive him crazy within a week!”

Rarity gasped in shock, holding her hoof to her chest in a dramatic way. “WHY I never!” She said in defense. Before we knew it, all six girls started to argue!

I looked from girl to girl, trying to speak. “Girls…girls…girls…” Finally, tired of being interrupted, I shouted.

“GIRLS!!!” I shouted as loud as I can, making them all look at me with extremely widened eyes.

I sighed, ashamed of myself for yelling at them. “Sorry, but you’re not listening to me. I haven’t chosen where I want my house, ok! Just try to understand my problem. I have six very close friends who all want me to live right next to them. This is a gigantic, monumental choice! And you girls aren’t making it any easier on me.” I said in a stern voice, making the girls heads drop and their ears droop sadly.

Twilight sighed. “I’m sorry, I guess we all got carried away. We just all want you to be close to us…” She sadly said. I nodded.

“It’s fine, girls. I just don’t like being pushed, like that.” Twilight smiled at me.

“Well, I think I speak for all six of us when I say I know you’ll make the right choice in the end.” She said with a smiling nod.

Rainbow then smirked. “Yeah, but that choice had better be me!” She said with that tone of voice of hers. Applejack rolled her eyes.

“Yeah right! He’s gonna choose me, I know it!” She said in a cocky sort of way. Pinkie shook her head.

“He is SO gonna choose me! I just know it!” She said in a giddy sort of way. Before I knew it, all six of them started arguing again. I looked at the Princess, who had stayed silent this whole time, for some indication of what to do or say. She gave me a simple nod, before she gave a loud whistle, getting all of the girls attention.

“Everypony, I am very glad you’re so excited about Jordan’s new home, but please. Stop this petty arguing. There’s no point behind it. Whoever Jordan chooses is his choice, and that choice will be made from his heart. Your bickering in no way helps him.” She said with the stern, yet caring, leader voice she so often used.

The girls all sighed collectively, and in unison, said; “Yes, Princess.” The princess gave a smile and looked at Silver Trowel.

“How long will the project take to complete, Silver Trowel?” She asked. He hummed for a second as he thought.

“I should have the blueprints and all the plans done tomorrow, and tomorrow we can choose the plot of land for it. It should take the team three days to get the house done.”

I opened my eyes wide. “ONLY THREE DAYS!? That’s insanely fast!” I said in disbelief. He chuckled.

“Having ten unicorns, ten pegasi and ten earth ponies who are all strong and hardy doing the work helps. It’ll take them no time at all.” He said with a smile. I smiled back.

“Well, in that case, I guess I’ll be back tomorrow, Silver Trowel. Princess, thank you so much. I’ll see you tomorrow too?” I asked, and she nodded. I then turned to all the girls.

“How’s about we all go home now?” I asked, and they all nodded and went “Mhm” in agreement. Suddenly, I felt a magic surge around my body, and next thing I knew we were all back in Ponyville. I guess the princess teleported us with her magic.

I turned around to see that all the girls were behind me, all with irritated/angry looks on their faces. In that moment, it seemed clear to me that their respectful, calm demeanor with the Princess would not hold true here.

I chuckled nervously. “Uh… what’s wrong?” I asked. Rainbow scoffed.

“Why didn’t you tell us you were getting your own house!?” Dash said as she threw her forehooves out in frustration. “This is big news dude!” She said with her hooves crossed.

Twilight nodded. “I knew, of course, but you still should have told everypony about it. This is a pretty big secret to keep from your friends.” The girls all nodded in agreement.

“What?! I was going to invite you all when I moved in… and Pinkie, I was wondering if you could throw me a homecoming party?” I said with a smile towards her, and she gasped and her face instantly lit up.

“Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh, I would love to throw you a party!” She said excitedly. I smiled.

“Good, cause you’re my official party planner.” I said with a smile at her. But as I looked at the rest of the girls, I could see that they were only more irritated.

Rarity scoffed. “Darling, you’re choosing Pinkie Pie of all ponies? That’s an absurd choice.” She said as she glared at me.

I stammered. “I…what? I didn’t choose her-“ I was cut off by Dash, who bore an angry look.

“I’m getting out of here. Later.” Dash said as she flew away from us. All the girls turned their heads and walked away to their respective homes. I had a look of shock on my face before I groaned.

“WHY is this such a big deal?! I don’t get it! It’s not like if I live near one I won’t see the others again!” I said as I started walking through the town.

I walked to Ponyville Park, and trotted to the fountain. There, I looked into the water at my own reflection and sighed.

“You really gotta work your way outta this one buddy…” I said to myself as I sat down flat on the ground.

“I… I can’t choose one without making the others feel hurt and angry. What do I do?! There’s no easy choice to make here.”

I started walking around town, and I started to sing as I walked from the girls houses to the next.

“Six friends, but only one choice. I’ve got to listen to my heart, I have to hear its voice.
If I choose one, it’ll hurt the other five. I’ve got to make a choice, I have to decide.
Rarity is generous, beautiful and nice. But it’ll be hard to get over the fact that she’s so uptight.
Applejack is honest, a hardworking friend. But living near her, she might work me to my end.
Twilight Sparkle is caring, studious and misunderstood. But if I still live near her, it might not be so good.
Pinkie Pie is happy, excited and free. But living next to her might drive me crazy.
Rainbow Dash is awesome, amazing and cool. But living near her, she might make me look like a fool.
Fluttershy is gentle, calm and shy. But she gets startled by everything, even a tiny little fly.
Six friends, but only one choice. I’ve got to listen to my heart, I have to hear its voice!”

When I finished my song, I found myself at the café. I sat down at one of the tables, and sighed.

“I don’t know how to go about this. All six of them are my friends, how can I choose just one?” I said sadly as I looked in my reflection in the table. I poked my hoof at it, before I suddenly gasped and jumped out of my seat.

“CHOOSE ONE! If I can’t choose one, then I’ll just choose none! I have an idea!” I said as I ran around town. In the next while, I had gathered all the girls together, at Ponyville Park.

Rainbow looked at me uneasily. “Ok, we’re all here now. What’s this about Jordan?” She asked.

I smiled at her. “Girls, since we got back from Canterlot, I’ve been thinking about my house, and where I want it to be located. I know all of you really badly want me to live next door to you, and I know you’re waiting for me to make a choice, right?” I asked, and they all nodded.

“Well. I’ve made a choice. I’ve made a choice and here it is.” I said with a grin. They all gasped and hardened the collective gaze they all had on me.

“My choice is, if I have to pick one, then I pick none!” Before they could reply, however, I sparked up my horn. Quickly, I shot a pulse of magic to Sweet Apple Acres, then Sugarcube Corner, then Cloudsdale, then Carousel Boutique, then the Library, then Fluttershy’s cottage. When the pulses of magic reached their destinations, they turned into a ball of magic in front of each mare’s homes. Then, suddenly, each ball shot out a beam of energy, until all six beams connected in a hexagon of sorts.

Then, they all shot a beam of light at the ground underneath where they all met. I smiled and walked over to it, before I made my horn spark and the magic all stop. I smiled at the girls.

“This is where I choose my house to be. If I have to pick one, I choose none. This piece of land is the EXACT same distance from all your houses. Now everypony is equal distance from me, and I am equal distance to you.” I said with a smile. The girls all looked at me for a moment, before Twilight broke the silence.

“Jordan. I have to admit. That was a really smart decision.” She said as she walked over to me and hugged me. All the other girls followed suit and gave a gigantic group hug. I smiled and hugged back.

“Let this be the end of the fighting, ok girls? I didn’t choose one pony over the other, we’re the exact same distance away, and I didn’t pick a favorite. Because I have no favorite. All six of you girls are my best friends, and I could never love one of you more. We’re all a team!” I said as I hugged them tightly. They hugged back.

Twilight then looked at me sadly. “Is there any way we can make it up to you, Jordan?” She asked me. I thought for a moment before I smiled and nodded.

“One, just don’t fight like that again. And two, how about when my house is done, we all have a sleepover after the party Pinkie’s going to throw me?” I asked, and they all nodded.

“That sounds like a great idea!” Applejack said with a grin as she looked to Rarity. “Long as it ain’t like last time that is.” Applejack and Rarity both laughed a bit.

“Sounds like a plan. But until your house is complete, you still have to live with me.” Twilight said with a grin. I chuckled and nodded.

“Speaking of, how about we go home. I need a nap.” I said, and all the girls laughed.

-FOUR DAYS LATER-

Wow. I can’t believe it. It’s only been four days, yet my house is done and ready for me to move in. It’s perfect, exactly how I envisioned it. The walls outside were white and the supporting beams were regular wooden brown, and the roof was all yellow hay, to fit in with the surrounding structures. The outside looked perfect, but the inside was even better.

The living room was spacious. It has a three seat couch with a coffee table in front of it. I also had a sizable bookcase against the wall, and numerous paintings around the room. The best part of the living room, however, was the fireplace. A grand fireplace that could burn three stacks of logs at once.

The kitchen was nice and big, how I had envisioned it. The fridge was nice and large, the oven could bake anything, and the sink would make the dishes no problem.

The guesthouse was warm and inviting, with a plush bed, nightstand, drapes and curtains, etc. It was amazing.

The bathroom had a frivving Jacuzzi tub for pony’s sakes! The princess must have spared no expense. I owe her so much, and I’ll repay her somehow, someway.

But my bedroom was my favorite part. I had a nice sized Alicorn (King) bed, a nightstand, wardrobe, and a walk-in closet. It was perfect.

Even the colors of the walls were nice. They were an even, mellow, low key white that was pleasant without being over powering.

As I looked around my new house, smiling, I heard the doorbell ring. I gasped and quickly ran to the door, opening it and smiling at the pony who I saw.

“SURPRISE!” Pinkie cried out as she shot off her party cannon, turning my new house into a party palace in the blink of an eye.

I chuckled. “Always ready for a party I see. So, can I expect this party to be as good as my birthday?” I asked with a smile. Pinkie jumped for joy.

“You can expect it to be BETTER than your birthday! It’ll be amazing!” She cheered out.

Right then, the doorbell rang again. It was an entourage of ponies this time. The other five girls all appeared, along with Octavia.

I smiled. “Welcome to my new home everypony, come on in!” I said as I walked inside. All of them had sleeping bags for bedtime.

Rarity looked around the house with big eyes, they almost held a hint of jealousy. “My word, Jordan. This house is so extravagant, I must admit even I am a little envious.” She said as she inspected the place.

Octavia nodded in agreement. “I concur with Rarity. This house is delightfully designed.” She said as she looked around like Rarity.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Yeah, cool. Hows about we get the party started?!”

I smirked at her. “You got it, crayon girl. Pinkie, start the music please!”

Pinkie grinned as she hit the record player, making some smooth jazz play. I went over to the concessions table and poured everypony some of Pinkie’s famous punch. Applejack had brought some cider also, and I poured some glasses of that too.

“Everypony drink up, we have plenty of cider and punch!” I declared happily as I took a big gulp of my glass of cider.

After I downed my glass, I decided to sit down on my couch and relax. I sat on it and smiled as I looked around.

Rarity was conversing with Octavia; Pinkie was being her hyper self, making sure everypony was enjoying the party. Twilight was with Spike, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, talking, dancing and having fun. Applejack, I saw, was walking up to me.

She sat down next to me and smiled. “Your house is great sugarcube. You must be really happy.”

I nodded. “I am. It’s perfect. I’m happy to have my own place to have, to call home. I don’t have to mooch off of Twilight anymore.”

Applejack gave me a shocked look. “Sugarcube, she never once felt you were mooching offa her. She was happy to have you with her.” She told me honestly.

I shrugged. “Well… Either way, I live here now, Applejack.”

She just nodded at me, before turning to me again. “Hey, if it’s your party, why ain’t you dancin or nothin?” She asked curiously.

I took a sip of my drink before sighing. “I just… I’m not a party person, Applejack. I only wanted this party to happen because I know how much Pinkie loves throwing parties, and I wanted everypony to come see my new house. I’m not a partier.” I said honestly.

She chuckled. “Sugarcube, parties are easy. You just gotta be loose, have fun. Come on, dance with me!” She said as she walked to the middle of the room. I looked at her for a moment before I too got up, and followed her to the middle.

She gave Pinkie a wave with her hoof, which signaled Pinkie to turn on some real disco-esque music. Applejack started to breakdance in a way, just moving her body how she saw fit to the music.

“Now y’all try it! Just move that little rump sugarcube!” She said as she continued to dance. I chuckled nervously, as everypony was watching (except Pinkie, who joined in). I slowly started swinging my hips to the music, trying to move as little as possible as I was nervous.

Applejack rolled her eyes before she walked to me. “C’mon, move! Y’all can do it!” She said as she grabbed me and spun me around faster, and faster, and faster!

I soon got super dizzy. When she let me go, I started to stumble like I was drunk. I kept stumbling into the crowd of mares, until I finally, inevitably, crashed into them.

I knocked Twilight, Octavia, Rainbow and Fluttershy down, and I landed directly on top of Rarity! I tell you… the amount of crimson stained on Rarity’s cheek in that moment seriously made me think she’d got cut. She was blushing so badly.

I gulped as I slowly rolled off of her. “I… I’m so sorry Rarity… I didn’t mean to.” I stood up and backed away in fear she was angry at me.

However, Rarity didn’t seem angry. She just hid her face a bit shyly. “It’s…quite alright, darling. Don’t fret about it.”

I wanted to object, but something inside me just told me to not push the issue further than it was already. So I went to Applejack and whispered to her.

“Nice one, cowgirl. That was a good idea.” I said. She then chuckled.

“Not my fault you’re so clumsy partner. I guess we’ll just work on your dance moves some other time.”

I nodded. “Yeah, sounds like we better move on from party mode to sleepover mode, it’s getting late.

She nodded in agreement, and I whistled to get everypony’s attention. “Everypony ready for sleepover time?” I asked, and all the mares, even Pinkie Pie, nodded at me and got their sleeping bags.

A few minutes later, we were all gathered in a circle. We’d decided to play truth or dare/spin the bottle again.

“Ok, who goes first?” I asked, and Pinkie, being her hyper self, sprang to life.

“ME, ME!” She exclaimed as she grabbed the bottle and gave it a wicked spin. It spun for a while until it finally stopped in front of me.

She grinned. “Truth or dare?” I shook slightly in fright.

“Dare, but it better not be like last time.” I said nervously. I saw her grin like she did on my birthday.

“I dare you to… brush your teeth, with mint toothpaste!” She said evilly.

I looked at her uneasily. “Uh…ok?” I said.

“Then take a big drink from this big glass of orange juice!” She said as she pulled out said glass from nowhere. Me and some of the girls gasped.

“Pinkie, you cruel, heartless creature!” I said as I got up on all four legs and walked to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth with the toothpaste, then walked back to the living room.

Pinkie held out the glass, and I took it. I closed my eyes before tilting my head back and downing the whole glass of orange juice. However, I immediately sprinted to the sink in the kitchen and threw up.

On top of the orange juice tasting repulsive after brushing my teeth, the orange juice was spoiled! I upchucked about three times, and after taking five minutes to gather my bearings, I walked back to the living room and sat back down.

“N…no more dares with any food or beverage… my turn.” I said as I grabbed the bottle and spun it. It spun and spun and spun, until finally it stopped. It landed on Rarity. She groaned and for some reason had a frightened look in her eyes.

“Oh dear… I choose truth.” She said. I smiled.

“Ok, tell me Rarity. Do you have a crush on anypony?” I asked curiously. She looked at me with a face of shock/fear for a moment, until she grinned.

“Yes, but you didn’t say I had to tell you who, darling. My turn.” She grabbed the bottle, but I was dumbstruck that she had found a loophole. I should have been more specific. Oh well.

Rarity spun the bottle and it spun for a good time. It landed herself. She looked at me confused for a moment before I smiled.

“When that happens, it’s sorta like a free card. You can dare anypony else to do anything you want and they have to comply. It’s a bonus really.” I said smiling.

Rarity smiled back. “Anything I want you say? In that case… Jordan, I dare you to kiss me darling.” She said with a soft, almost seductive voice. I gasped in shock.

“Rarity, aren’t you supposed to be Mrs. Proper? Mrs. True Love and all? Why would you dare me to just upfront kiss you?” I asked in a bit of shock and panic.

She made a pouty face. “You…don’t want to kiss me? What’s wrong? Does my perfume smell bad? Is it-“ I cut her off by moving to her and kiss her, making her eyes shoot wide as saucers. In that moment, it seemed all clear to me. She had dared me to kiss her, but deep inside she never believed I would actually do it. When I did it just now, it shook her entire world up.

After a while, she and I’s lips slowly parted ways, reluctantly. I smiled at her.

“You talk too much, Rare. I never said I didn’t want to kiss you. I was wondering why you wanted me too.” I said with a smile.

Well, that’s about the end of the eventful things that happened. In the next hour or so, we finished up the party and all got ready for bed. I was downstairs with the girls in a sleeping bag.

Everypony else was sound asleep in their bags, but… I just couldn’t get comfortable. Being sure not to wake any of the girls, I tip-toed to the stairs, and walked silently to my new room.

I snuggled into my new bed and got comfortable. As I was staring at the wall awaiting sleep however, I heard a light knocking on my door.

“Come on in.” I said in a low whisper. I turned the table lamp on to see it was none other than Rarity.

“Darling, I hate to impose, but I just can’t sleep tonight. Would… you mind if I shared your bed?” She asked with a tint of nervousness in her tone. I smiled and shook my head, lifting the covers for her.

“Get in here you.” I said playfully. She gave me a gratuitous smile and got in bed, making sure to keep her distance from me so as to not make me feel uncomfortable.

After a minute or two, I decided to speak to her. “Why couldn’t you sleep, nightmares?” I asked curiously. She shook her head.

“No, nothing of the sort. I simply just… have much on my mind, dearie.” She said as if she was unsure.

“What kind of thoughts?” I asked curiously. She seemed nervous before she collected herself and spoke again.

“To be honest, Jordan… they’ve been about you, and what happened earlier. I never truly expected you to kiss me… and when you did, it simply… electrified me. When you kissed Celestia at your birthday, I felt very jealous. I simply did not understand why of all ponies you were kissing the princess. So, when you kissed me earlier, it made me think of a lot of things.”

I nodded slowly. “I see Rarity. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause you so much trouble.” I said somberly.

She shook her head. “Think nothing of it darling. I’d just like to say one thing, though. Whichever mare you choose to marry someday shall be a very luck mare indeed.” She said with a smile. I chuckled.

“Well, I don’t have any sort of idea when that day will come. I’m not even ready for love. I’m not ready to even date yet. But the time will come when it comes, I guess.”

She nodded. “It will, darling. I know from experience.” She then yawned and rolled onto her side. “Goodnight, Jordan darling. Sleep well.”

I nodded as I laid on my back and looked to the ceiling. “You too, Rarity… you too.” I said as I too fell asleep.

Author's Note

And that was that! Next chapter is Fall Weather Friends, honestly one of my least favorite recent chapters. But i'll let you decide if you like it or not. See you!

Chapter 16: Fall Weather Friends

I woke up in the morning after a long night of mane-thrashing sleep. I looked to my right and saw that the time was 8:23. But then... I noticed something strange.

Rarity was gone. She had fallen asleep with me in my bed last night, why isn't she here? I guess there's only one way to find out.

I got out of bed, and gently put on my slippers. After that, I walked out the door of my room, down the flight of stairs, and into the living room, where I had another surprise.

NOPONY WAS HERE. All the girls had up and left with out a goodbye! I was feeling really sad about it, but then I saw a note on the coffee table. I sat down in the chair and picked it up. It read:

“Jordan; as you can probably tell, me and all the girls left this morning. We all figured you would like to wake up in peace, without us around. When you wake up, come to Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack and Rainbow Dash are having some fun playing horseshoes!
-Twilight”

I smiled as I read the note and put it away. As I did so, a thought really hit me square in the gut, a sudden realization. I LIVE here. It's my own house! I really have to be careful and tidy organizing things.

So, I put the scroll on the bookshelf next to the fireplace, neatly so, and went into the kitchen. I made myself a delicious breakfast, using my fully loaded fridge and oven.

Right then, I saw Elise walk into the room and I smiled at her. “Hey Elise, how do you like the new house? Do you like your room?” I said as I pet her softly.

“Yeah, it's great! The bed's SUPERRR comfy. Thanks, Jordan.” She said as she licked my hand in appreciation.

I smiled at her. “I'm glad Elise. Hey, wanna come with me to Applejack's farm? The girls are having some competition, you can hang out with Winona. She's Applejack's pet, she's a dog too.” I told her.

She nodded. “Sounds great, let's go!” She said as she bolted to the door excitedly. I swear, she's like Pinkie Pie in a lot of ways.

So with that, she and I walked out the front door, towards Sweet Apple Acres. When we got there, Elise ran off to find Winona. I saw the girls playing horseshoes. Rainbow Dash tossed hers, and it was surprisingly close to the pole.

“Hoo-wee! Not a bad pitch for a pony who works with her head in the clouds. “ Applejack said in a comical way.

Rainbow grinned. “Oh yeah? Think you can do better, cowgirl?” She challenged the farm pony.

“I know I can.” Applejack said confidently. She grunted, tossed the horseshoe and waited. It looked like a very solid toss, but it ended up landing WAY in the outer rim of the dirt patch. “Oh, for Pete's sake!” Applejack said angrily. I then walked besides Twilight and tapped her shoulder with my hoof. She gave me a smile, and we watched the show together.

“Heh! Looks like this Pegasus can pitch better than the workhorse. The object of the game is to get the closest to the stake.” Rainbow boasted in a very cocky way.

“All right, all right. You got another throw there, pony girl.” Applejack said to reign Rainbow's ego in.

Rainbow Dash grunted, and tossed her horseshoe. Much like AJ's, it looked solid midair. But then it landed way outside. Applejack laughed.

“Wow, Rainbow, heh. You couldn't hit a barn door with that kind of a throw!” She challenged cockily.

“Yeah, yeah. I still have the closest throw, Applesmack. Just try and beat it.” Rainbow said, talking serious trash now.

Applejack grabbed her horseshoe, and gave it a mighty, powerful toss. It flew at a perfect arc in midair. I could just tell from the arc, it was going to hit the stake. I quickly looked from the horseshoe, to the stake, and then to Applejack and Rainbow. I could see Applejack's eyes glisten and sparkle in amazement and happiness as the horseshoe flew.

BAM, the horseshoe hit the stake! AJ was so happy.

“Yee-haw! It's a ringer. That's how you do it down here on the farm.” She said proudly.

Rainbow's jaw was nearly on the ground. “I lost.” She said sadly.

Applejack, I could tell, felt a little sorry for Rainbow. “Ah, don't feel bad, Rainbow. It's all in good fun.” She tried to say, but Rainbow wasn't having it.

“I HATE losing.” Rainbow said in dejection.

“Besides, you're a mighty good athlete. I'm just better. Heh heh heh.” Applejack boasted. I facehoofed. This is just like the sleepover at Twilight's; Applejack's gonna keep pushing her, like Rarity.

“All right, Applejack, you think you're the top athlete in all of Ponyville?” Dash asked with anger riddled in her eyes.

“Well, I was gonna say in all of Equestria, but that might be gildin' the lily.” Applejack said with a bit of a smirk.

“And I think I'm the top athlete. So let's prove it.” Rainbow suggested with a grin.

“Prove what?” Applejack asked, confused.

“I challenge you to an Iron Pony competition. A series of athletic contests to decide who's the best, once and for all.” Rainbow smirked at the farm pony.

“You know what, Rainbow? You're on.” Applejack declared as she and Rainbow hoof-bumped.

I then decided to walk to the girls. “Welp, that sure was... interesting.” I said to both of them. “Are you two sure this is a good idea? I mean, I hate seeing friends fight...” I said sadly. Applejack pat my shoulder.

“Aw sugarcube, me and Rainbow ain't fightin, just a friendly competition is all.”

Rainbow knocked AJ to the side, rudely. “Yea, to prove how much better than her I am!” I rolled my eyes at both of them. I then saw out of the corner of my eye there was still a horseshoe not thrown.

“Hey girls, mind if I give the game a try?” I said as I grabbed the horseshoe in my mouth. Applejack and Rainbow stepped aside. “Have at it sugarcube.” Applejack told me, encouragingly.

I took a few seconds to study the scene. I started to do some calculations in my head. Out loud, I said: “Hmm...now if I throw the horseshoe at a thirty degree angle or less it's not gonna make the box. More than forty five and it's going to go too far. Maybe a thirty six?” I thought aloud. I could hear AJ and Rainbow stifling laughs at me. Twilight walked up to me and smiled.

“Try a thirty eight degree toss, that will work better.” She said with a proud smile, like she had figured a big secret out. I chuckled and then squinted my eyes in concentration. I let out a loud grunt, and I let the horseshoe fly.

In that moment, time slowed down. A second felt like a year. I saw the horseshoe go, and go, and go, and go, and go. Finally, the horseshoe came to a stop.

As the dirt dust cleared from around the horseshoe, my eyes instantly beamed at the scene. Not even having control of my own lungs at the moment, I shrieked. “NO WAY! IT'S A RINGER!” I said with excitement. I looked over at Rainbow and AJ, who both had their jaws on the ground in shock.

“I...YOU...WHAT?!” Rainbow said in complete confusion. Applejack was just as lost. “What in tarnation! How the hay!?” She was saying before I held my head up high in a confident pose.

“Science and mathematics, girls. It works.” I said before Rainbow scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, if you're an egghead!” She proclaimed to me.

I scoffed. “You know what you two? You both could really benefit from just sitting down and reading a good book, instead of waving those muscles around...” I said as I started to walk away from the farm. But as I did, I heard Twilight call after me.

“Jordan, wait!” She said as she ran towards me. I turned around and smiled at her. “What is it, Twilight?”

She smiled at me. “Since Applejack and Rainbow Dash are having their little competition, how about you and I have one?” She suggested with a bit of a grin.

I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. That caught my attention. “Oh? A competition? What do you have in mind, Twilight?” I asked curiously. She smiled.

“Since Applejack and Rainbow Dash are more athletic than us, how about you and me have a magic competition?” She suggested.

“Sounds... interesting. How do we organize this?” I asked curiously. She just gave me a grin.

-THE NEXT DAY-

We were all gathered at the public park near town hall, preparing for Twilight and I's competition. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were going to have theirs at Sweet Apple Acres after ours.

I walked up to Twilight, who was talking to the mayor about it all. “So, I'm still confused. What exactly IS the competition, Twilight?” I asked. She smiled.

“Well, we're going to have a sort of talent show. We're going to see who can do the best magic trick. The judges will decide who wins.” She explained to me.

“Ok, when you say magic trick do you mean like Trixie, or just the most impressive act our magic can do?” I asked with a raised brow. She smiled.

“The latter. OH, time for us to start! Are you ready?” I nodded, and she and I walked to the center of the park where the mayor was.

The mayor whistled to get everypony's attention. “Everypony, your attention! Today, Twilight and Jordan are going to be having a friendly competition. Whoever can perform the most amazing feat of magic and win over the minds of the judges will be the winner! These are our judges; Rarity, Lyra, Lotus and Mr. Cake!” She said as she waved her hoof to a table where the judges all sat. The judges smiled at Twilight and I.

“Now, before we begin, I must inform the judges. This is by no means a popularity contest. Please, do not be biased, be impartial. That is why we use the term judge.” She said as she looked to me and Twilight, grabbing a bit.

“Jordan, I'll let you pick your side of the bit. Heads or tails?” She asked me. I quickly responded.

“Heads.” I said promptly. I always picked heads. The mayor nodded before she gave the coin a mighty toss from the hoof. It spun over and over in midair, before it landed.

“It's tails!” The mayor proclaimed. “Jordan, since Twilight won, you will go first. The entire city park is yours to manipulate however you wish for your showcase of magic.” She gave me a reassuring nod before she walked to the judges table.

I looked at the scene around me, and thought about the situation. Ok, so all I have to do is the most amazing magic trick I can utilizing the park. Simple, but what can I do?

I looked around and noticed that the playground was rather... empty. All there is are a few pathways lined with shrubbery, trees and flowers. What about adult ponies bringing their children to the park? They need something to do, too!

I closed my eyes and focused my mind. Then, once I concentrated enough, everything fell into place at once. My magic acted as a saw, and started to saw down a large tree that was located nearby. When I got some nice sized logs of wood, I levitated them over to my location. There, I used my magic as a saw and cut the logs. In about ten minutes, and some hard work, I had made a bonafide wooden playground fort for the fillies and colts.

I backed away from my creation, taking in the fruits of my labor. It was a beautiful play structure. I saw a flood of children run past me, running onto the new fort and playing on it, cheers of glee and happiness abounding.

Twilight came over to me and smiled. “Wow. You could have done anything to win this competition. Yet instead of making yourself look like a showoff, you did something truly amazing for the kids.”

Mayor Mare then stepped up to me and nodded in agreement. “On behalf of the residents of Ponyville, I truly thank you Jordan. We've been needing a new play structure for the children in the park for quite some time now, but due to budget constraints, I was just never able to fit it into our tight budget and work schedule. Twilight has been far too busy with her studies, and nopony else has that kind of magical talent. You have saved me and the town that burden. For that, I thank you.” She said with a smile.

“Thanks Twilight, thank you Mayor. It was nothing. It was both part of the competition, and I realized the kids needed something fun to do at the park. It was a win, win, I guess. So, Twilight, it's your turn. What are you going to do for your turn?” I asked curiously.

She tilted her head in a bold way. “I forfeit.” She said simply.

I gasped. “What?! But you challenged me. Why?” I asked in shock.

She smiled. “Consider this your first test, student. I wanted to see how far along you magic skills have progressed more than anything. And I wanted to see what you would do. You passed with flying colors.”

I looked at her in shock and astonishment for a few moments before smiling. “Twilight. You're really something else, you know that?”

This made her put a hoof to her mouth and giggle a bit. “You are too!” We both shared a smile before Rainbow Dash piped up in the crowd.

“Yeah yeah, that was fun and all, but now we've got the real competition!” She then started flying to Sweet Apple Acres, with Applejack in tow on the ground. I shook my head, a smile on my face. Rainbow sure can be a dork sometimes. The rest of the crowd followed those two, leaving me and Twilight alone.

“Do you want to go watch their competition, or do something Twilight?” I asked with a smile.

“I don't know, how about we do something fun for now?” She suggested with that heartfelt smile she so commonly held. I nodded.

“What do you want to do? Lunch at the cafe? Walk in the park maybe?” I suggested to her.

“Lunch sounds great, I sure am hungry.” She said as her stomach happened to growl. I chuckled a little bit and waved my hoof, inviting her to start walking with me towards the cafe. She took me up on that with a smile, and she and I started walking side by side to the cafe.

When we got there, she and I met the pony at the desk, got a table, and we both sat down. She decided to order a walnut and daisy salad, and I ordered a hayburger with fries. While we were ordering our food, I happened to look to the entrance of the restaurant, and I saw somepony I hadn't expected to see.

“Octavia!” I called out to her, waving my hoof for her to see. She did, and looked over towards me. She gave me a smile.

“Come sit with us!” I said as I pointed to our table. She seemed to be debating for a few moments, unsure. But she walked over to the table and sat down.

“Am I allowed to sit here? The waiter did not tell me I could.” She said as she kept her head low. I called for the waiter and gave him three bits.

“This mare is with me. Pretend she was here the whole time and get her her favorite, please.” The waiter took my money and smiled, seeming to have served Octavia before. “Right away, sir.” He said as he walked towards the kitchen, placing the order. Octavia gave me a grateful smile.

“Jordan, you didn't have to do that. I could have paid him myself.” I waved my hoof at her dismissively.

“Nonsense, you're my friend. Speaking of friends, Octavia, meet Twilight Sparkle. Twilight, meet Octavia, my cello teacher.”

They turned to look at each, shook hooves and both greeted each other. I smiled, and in the next instant the waiter came with a tray of all of our food, serving each of us respectively.

As we all started to dig into our food, Twilight looked at me. “Jordan, I had no idea you played the cello. That's amazing!” She proclaimed. Octavia nodded.

“Yes, and from what I am able to garner, he is quite the prodigy.” Octavia directed to Twillight. I had to hide my face behind my mane to hide my deep blush.

“C'mon Octavia, I'm nowhere near being good. Besides, I'm more of a drummer than anything.” I said honestly. Octavia shook her head.

“Nonsense, if you continue to practice I can see you becoming a true master of the cello. You are just beaming with potential, Jordan.” She said with a smile. I chuckled a bit.

“Maybe, maybe. Hey, maybe I should come over again soon, it would be fun.” She nodded, accepting that proposition.

“Speaking of that, I have grand news. I have been invited by Princess Celestia to play at the Grand Galloping Gala!” She told us both, full of excitement.

I gasped, and within a heartbeat sprang out of my seat to give her a giant hug.

“Octavia, that's so great! Me and my friends are all going to the Gala too. I can't wait to see you perform.” I said with a gigantic smile.

“You're all going? Well, I certainly hope we all have a splendid night. The gala is only a few short weeks away.” I sat down as she spoke, and we all finished our food.

“Yeah, it should be lots of fun...” I said distractedly as I paid for the lunch. I paid for all our food and gave the waiter his tip.

“Well Twilight, we'd better get to Sweet Apple Acres and see what's going on down there with those two.” I said as I stood up.

Twilight looked at Octavia, then at me. “Actually, I'll catch up to you later. I want to speak with Octavia for a bit.”

I was surprised, but totally fine with that. “Ok, see you later Twilight.” I then walked out the door, and down the road to the farm.

When I got there, I saw Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Spike and a few other ponies, I assume a crowd to watch them. Applebloom, Big Mac, and Granny Smith were cheering AJ on. I also saw a scoreboard. The girls were all tied up at five and five. Spike then spoke.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, at the halfway point, our competitors are tied at five and five. The next event is the long jump, the longest jump into the sandbox wins! Applejack is up first.”

With that, AJ confidently walked to the dirt trail which led to the very long sandbox in front of her. She quickly stretched all four legs, arched her back, then narrowed her eyes in determination. She then began sprinting, gaining more and more speed until she finally gave a mighty leap. She made it about five feet from the end of the sandbox, a very mighty jump. She confidently held her head as she walked out of the sandbox, allowing Rainbow Dash to prepare for her jump.

Rainbow did the same routine as AJ, and sprinted. She ran and ran and picked up tremendous speed. However, when she jumped, it seemed very clear that she would come up short of AJ's landing. Right before she landed, Rainbow used her wings to hover, beating AJ's jump!

Applejack, I could see, had her jaw dropped in shock that Rainbow had cheated, but she quickly gathered herself and walked past me, grumbling “That no good cheater!” under her breath. She got a quick drink of water, and Spike spoke up.

“Next competition, push-ups! Contestants to the line, please! Jordan, would you please count the push-ups the girls do? I'm naming you the head official!” He asked me. I nodded and walked to the line.

“Yeah, sure Spike, might as well.” Applejack was again up first. I grabbed a whistle Spike handed me and looked at AJ.

“Ok Applejack, you get two minutes to do as many push-ups if you can. If you get tired, please stop. The last thing we want is for you to hurt yourself. Ready?” I asked her, and she gave a nod as she got into position.

“GO!” I yelled as I blew the whistle, and off she went. She was a push-up machine, one after the other, not wasting any time or energy. One minute, she'd done fifty. Near the two minute mark, she had done well over ninety!

“AND TIME!” I yelled as I blew the whistle. She fell on the ground and panted heavily, she was so tired. I quickly grabbed her water canteen and helped her drink.

“Easy now, Applejack. Drink slowly.” I told her, but honestly it went through one ear, out the other. She guzzled the entire canteen in seconds. I rolled my eyes, before Rainbow rudely pushed her away from the line.

“Yeah yeah, just let the winner do the work!” She said as she got into position. I rolled my eyes again.

“Ok...ready...set...GO!” I yelled as I blew the whistle. Rainbow immediately went to town, pumping her legs over and over. She was a bit slower than AJ, and I thought she might lose. But at the last stretch around 90 push-ups, the started using her wings to support herself.

“95.. 96.. 97.. 98.. 99.. a hundred?” I said confused. I didn't know if they really counted, since she used her wings.

Rainbow Dash propped onto her hooves and cheered. “Yes!” She exclaimed.

We continued with the events, including one where the girls had to each safely bring a bundle of baby chickens to their mothers on the other side of a mud pit. Through every single competition, Rainbow found a way to cheat using her wings. She was starting to get on my nerves as the official of the competition, but the last event really put me over the edge.

“Ok, you two. This is the final event. Give it all you've got.” I said as I blew the whistle. The two went at it in the tug of war.

Spike was still announcing. “Looks like the workhorse might come out ahead in this one.” He said as Applejack managed to nearly pull Rainbow into the mud pit. But at the last second, Rainbow OF COURSE fluttered her wings to keep up out of it. Not only that, she flew high into the air, until AJ was dangling on the rope!

Applejack tried to speak as she bit onto the rope. “That's not fair. You can't use your wings to help you win.”

“Huh?” Rainbow said, pretending she couldn't understand.

Applejack tried again. “You're cheatin'!” She cried out.

“I can't understand you with that rope in your mouth.” Rainbow said with a big grin.

“I said... uh-oh.” Applejack said as she accidently let go of the rope, falling into the mud pit.

Rainbow did a pose and cheered. “Whoo-hoo! I win by a landslide... or mudslide in your case. I am the Iron Pony!” She boasted.

I then grabbed the microphone away from Spike, fire in my eyes at this point. “Not so fast, Rainbow! Spike made me head official of this event, and now I'm doing some officiating! Rainbow, you are DISQUALIFIED for cheating!” The crowd all gasped at my announcement, Rainbow's jaw hit the ground in shock, and I walked over to Applejack, who was just as shocked and confused, and I raised her hoof in victory. “I hereby name Applejack the true iron pony! Applejack is the winner by default!”

Rainbow walked over to me, looking like she was about to hit me in anger. “But you can't do that! I won fair and square!”

I scoffed. “FAIR AND SQUARE?! Rainbow, you wouldn't know fair if it hit you in the face!”

Applejack nodded in agreement. “You used your wingpower to help you win over half those contests.”

Rainbow glared at us. “Sounds like sour apples to me! You're just a sore loser, and he's your lackey!” She said, somewhat accusingly.

Applejack glared back. “Are you sayin' you didn't use your wings?”

Rainbow looked a bit sheepish. “Well... no. But you never said I couldn't use my wings.”

Applejack was about to speak, but I cut in. “RAINBOW, for Celestia's sake, use your common sense girl! You're a pegasus and Applejack's an earth pony. You can't use something like that to your advantage, it's just not fair.”

“I still would have won even without my wings!” Rainbow boasted. Applejack sneered a bit.

“Hah! Prove it.” She dared the blue pegasus, who smirked.

“Gladly. How?”

“Tomorrow is the annual Runnin' of the Leaves. I challenge you to race me in it.” She issued said challenge with her eyes narrowed a bit.

Rainbow laughed. “Heh! Easy shmeasy.” She bragged and started to fly, but Applejack pulled her down by the tail.

“Hold on! There is one condition: the point is to run, so no wings allowed.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “No wings? No problem.” She then turned to me. “ONE more thing! If AJ challenges me, I challenge you! Since you did kind of rig me out of winning, I want some revenge!” Rainbow said with a mischievous grin.

I opened my eyes wide in shock at her challenge for a few seconds, before I shook my head to gather myself. Then, I finally gave an answer.

“No.” I simply spat out, leaving Rainbow to look dumbfounded. I then turned away and began to walk away, before she flew in the air and stopped me, getting in my face.

“Now you hold on! I challenged you to the race and you're not going to accept? What are you, a cowardly egghead now?” I couldn't tell if she was trying to rile me up, just make me angry, or what. But I suppressed any feelings of anger I had and shook my head again.

“No Rainbow, I'm not a coward. But I'm also in no way an athlete like you and Applejack are. You two might have this little grudge match you're trying to settle, but I want no part in it. Face it Rainbow, I didn't rig you out of anything. You cheated, and I caught you doing it. It's as simple as that, so you can just drop this challenge, and your want for revenge right here, because it's not happening. I'm not an athlete, I'm not your enemy, and I'm not running.” To validate what I said, I started to walk away from the farm, not looking back.

Elise saw me leaving, and she followed me in a complete sprint. Side by side, we walked back home. I opened the front door, set my saddlebag on the counter, and I relaxed at the table, grabbing the newspaper and reading it. The headline on the front of it read “Local ponies have magic competition; crowd of hundreds shows!” I read that headline and smiled a bit. Right then, Elise hopped up onto my lap.

“Hey, y'all ok?” Elise asked me with those big puppy eyes of hers. I slowly started to pet her with my red hoof, and I sighed. “Not really, Elise. I'm just thinking about Rainbow and Applejack. They're so caught up in who's the more athletic pony, they're not worrying about anything else.”

“Well, why don'tcha run in that race tomorrow, and keep an eye on them?” She asked. I blinked a few times before smiling.

“That's a good idea, Elise. But... the problem is, Rainbow challenged me to the race tomorrow, and I turned her down. How do I go about that?” I asked confusedly.

“Well, why don'tcha say you accept, but then just run the race to come inbetween them?”

“Hey, that's not a bad idea, again. Thanks Elise, I'll be sure to get you a treat tomorrow.” I said as I scratched behind her ears, making her whine in pleasure. After a moment of this, she hopped off the bed and walked to the bedroom upstairs. I went to my shelf in the living room.

I had some memorabilia on this shelf. I had my ticket from the rodeo in Appleloosa, the vial of potion Celestia gave me, the book Twilight gave me for my birthday, the card from Applejack, various knickknacks from my past few months in Ponyville. I looked at Rainbow's whistle and I shook my head.

I WAS going to use it to call her, but I think instead I'll surprise everypony by showing up tomorrow unannounced. I went back to the kitchen and opened the fridge. I got a bowl of salad that I had made last night. It had hay, carrots, strawberries, lettuce, avocado, and more. It was so good.

I ate that for dinner, then headed upstairs to bed. I got comfy in it, and after Elise snuggled up to my feet, I felt myself drift off to sleep.

-CANTERLOT CASTLE, CELESTIA'S QUARTERS-

Celestia sat in her room one evening. She had just woken Luna up for her duty of watching over Equestria during the night. It was Celestia's turn to sleep. But she wasn't able to. She had something on her mind, something very puzzling.

Luna, who was in her guard tower, looking out of the binocular telescope, sensed something was wrong with her sister. She quickly flew from the guard tower into her sister's bedroom.

“Sister? Art thou alright?” Luna asked Celestia a bit worriedly. Her sister's eyes looked bloodshot, as if she'd been working nonstop.

“Yes Luna, I've just been deep in thought.” Celestia stated flatly. This made Luna all the more concerned. Celestia did not have her usual perkiness in her voice. Her voice sounded flat, as if in despair.

“If we might ask, what exactly is the problem?” Luna inquisited. Celestia bit her lip, as if she was unsure of what answer to give.

“It's about Jordan, Luna. I can't place my finger on it. But something seems very strange, regarding him. Think about it sister. He came to Equestria from Earth almost immediately after you were brought back. Twilight Sparkle and her friends immediately accepted him into their circle, as if it were meant to be. And now, Jordan is having problems controlling his magic. Remember that train accident last week outside of Ponyville? That was him. His magic had a most strange outburst.”

Luna gasped at this. She looked at the stone floor for a second before replying. “What do we do, Sister? We cannot just let him roam free if he is dangerous, can we?”

Celestia sighed. “I have been wondering that same exact thing, Luna. I've spent the past two days pondering all of this. I don't believe Jordan is truly dangerous, simply unstable. I do however believe we should keep a close eye on him. Maybe you could even visit him in his dreams?”

Luna nodded. “We can certainly do that, sister. Thou need to go to bed, thou eyes are bloodshot.” Luna helped the tired Celestia into bed and made sure all was well with her, before she flew back to her guard tower.

Luna sighed as she again looked out of her binocular telescope. She had a lot on her mind now. If Jordan was so unstable, could he be trusted? Luna was unsure. She needed to talk to Jordan, face to face. Not in the dream world, in person.

She flew from the guard tower, and began to fly towards Ponyville. Gazing over the beautiful nighttime landscape before her that she protected. Soon, she reached the desolate village town, and landed. Making sure no ponies out this late at night could see her, she sneaked to Jordan's house and slowly turned the knob on the door. She made sure to stay quiet, and walked towards the stair case.

There, a dog with a black and blue coat started to bark. Reacting quickly, Luna charged up her horn and shot it towards the dog. This made a muzzle appear on the dog's snout, preventing it from barking anymore. Luna walked past the dog and sighed.

“Our most sincere apologies, but we had to silence thou.” Luna walked up the stairs, leaving the dog in the living room. Then, she opened the bedroom door upstairs, slipping in.

There, she saw an orange pony with a blue and white mane laying in the bed. This was unmistakably Jordan. Luna again charged up her horn, and this time, touched it to Jordan's temple.

The stallion began to stir, and Luna spoke few words.

“Wake up.”

-JORDAN'S POV-

I was abruptly and rudely awoken from my deep sleep by somepony's magic. As I snapped my eyes open, I saw her. The alicorn I had met on a number of occasions now. I had no idea why she was hear, but she broke the ice.

“Good evening, Jordan. We're very sorry we woke thou, but we had to ask thou some important questions. Doest thou mind if we go to a special location to speak?”

I was surprised she wanted to speak to me outside of the dream realm, but I nodded. She charged up her horn, and performed a teleportation spell. When I garnered my senses again, I didn't know where we were. It was beautiful though. It was a courtyard, I'm assuming one in the castle. But it was unlike anything I'd ever seen.

There was a beautiful fountain, made out of marble and granite mixed together. It looked so beautiful, so elegant. The water in the fountain shimmered in the light of the moon. Around us, there were groves of trees, trimmed bushes, flower gardens, and much more.

I had a sparkle in my eye as I looked around. This was the most beautiful place I think my eyes have ever laid upon. I could start it for the rest of my life and be completely content. The princess tapped me with her hoof and waved it to a bench at my left, signaling for me to sit down. I trotted to the bench and sat on it, and she did the same.

“So, Princess-” I was cut off by her raising her hoof.

“Jordan, enough with these formalities. Please, call us Luna, we insist upon it.” She said with a warm, uncharacteristic smile. I nodded.

“So... Luna. Why is it you wanted to talk to me?” I asked with a curious tone. She went from her smile to a serious look.

“My sister told us thou had an... outburst, with thou's magic week the last. We were just curious of what happened.” I sighed, remembering that outburst of magic. I inhaled deeply and told her everything. Getting on the train, getting angry from the delay, the blur, everything that happened. This seemed to perplex her, she had a confused face when I was finished, as if she was deep in thought.

“We see. This is interesting, to say the least. In truth, we have no idea why this unusual occurrence would, not could, happen. Like our sister said, we just advise you to keep an eye for magic, see if anything happens.”

I nodded. “I will, Luna. I don't want anything bad to happen, trust me.” Luna then cleared her throat.

“We... also have another question. Remember when we asked thou how thou felt about thou's friends?” She asked me. I nodded. “Well, we'd like to ask thou. We have seen thou's dreams, and we have seen certain... occurrences in thou's dreams, mainly involving our sister. So we ask, how doth thou feel about our sister, Jordan?”

As soon as Luna finished, I opened my eyes wide and shook a bit. Oh god no, this can't be happening. Luna has seen my dreams about Celestia! Which means she knows about my crush on her. This was the end of me, I was going to end up in either the dungeon, or moon.

“W...well. I... I do think highly of Celestia. Very highly. Oh for pony's sakes who am I kidding, Luna. You know of my crush on her, that's why you're asking!” I said as I tried to calm myself down. I took a deep breath and spoke again. “I think it really is just that. A crush. She's your sister. She's royalty. I'd never stand a chance and I know that.” I said with my ear drooped sadly. Luna stroked my cheek with her hoof.

“Jordan, trust us. It is not like that in the slightest of ways. It is not a matter of our sister being royalty and thou being a mortal pony. It is simply this. Our sister knows how you feel and very much respects it. But she is more trying to protect you. There are... Complications to dating royalty, complications thou can't even imagine. She is merely protecting you.”

Well... if that was supposed to make me feel better, it really didn't. But, at least now I knew what the situation was. I nodded at Luna.

“Ok Luna, thank you for telling me. It means a lot.” I said with a smile. “And also Luna, I have a question.” She looked at me curiously, then nodded, giving me the Ok to speak.

“Well, I'm running in the running of the leaves tomorrow, and I'm worried about Applejack and Rainbow Dash. See, for the past while they've been competing to see who's the better athlete, and they're going to race tomorrow to see who's best runner. And I'm worried one of them might get hurt. What should I do?” I asked, and Luna put her hoof to her chin in thought.

“We would suggest thou runs the race, and truly competes, but also make sure thou's friends don't hurt themselves. Just be cautious.” She said with a smile. I nodded.

“Thanks, Luna. I'll try that.” I then yawned, and Luna giggled a bit, taking that as her cue to send me home. She started to charge up her horn. “Sleep well, Jordan, and do not over work yourself tomorrow.” She teleported me home, and next thing I knew, I woke up the next morning in my bed.

I blinked for a few seconds before I groaned a bit and rolled out of bed. I stretched and took care of business in the bathroom, walked Elise, ate, and left home for the race.

“Bye Elise, Fluttershy should be here to take care of you later!” I said as I walked out the door. I trotted to the edge of town, where the forest (Not the Everfree) began. There, I saw earth ponies, pegasi, unicorns. I saw Rainbow, Applejack, Twilight, Spike and Pinkie Pie. Spike and Pinkie Pie were in Twilight's hot air balloon.

I walked up to the registration table and smiled at Bon Bon, who was the manager of the race.

“Hi there. I'd like to sign up for the race, please.” She grumbled a bit and looked at the table. “You're in luck. This is the last number we have today. SIGN-UPS ARE CLOSED EVERYPONY!” Some ponies who got in line behind me groaned in disappointment, and I smiled and took my number. I tagged it onto my chest and walked to the line. When Rainbow saw I was lined up next to her, she was shocked.

“WHOA, what the hay?! I thought you said you weren't racing?” I just smirked at her a bit.

“I told you I'm not a coward. I decided to take you up on that challenge, Rainbow Crash.” I said with a grin. She glared at me and punched my arm with her hoof hard, making me grunt in pain and rub where she hit me.

“Owchie, that was a bit unnecessary there, Crayons.” I said as I kept rubbing my arm. Right then, AJ walked over to us and lined up to my right.

“Good to see ya here sugarcube! We thought you'd chickened out yesterday.” Applejack blatantly said. I looked at her.

“Chickened out? What's that supposed to mean?” I asked. She shook her head.

“Nothin. Nothin at all.” Applejack and Rainbow then turned their heads to look at each other.

Rainbow smirked at AJ. “So, Applejack, you ready to win second place?”

Applejack shook her head. “I'm ready to run a good, clean race.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah...”

“You are not allowed to use your wings.” Applejack reiterated to the pegasus sternly. Dash laughed.

“I could win this race with both wings tied behind my back.” Applejack then got an idea and grinned. “We'll see about that, ya varmint.” She walked to her saddlebag and pulled out some rope. She pushed Rainbow to the ground and tied up her wings super tight.

Applejack grunted as she finished. “Trussed up like a turkey. Well, a turkey who can't fly, that is.” She said with a smirk.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Very funny.”

Applejack looked forwards. “'Least now we know we're racin' fair and square.”

I sighed. “Yeah I sure hope so.” I said as I looked onward. Suddenly, we saw Twilight line up next to me.

Applejack and Dash were in shock. “Twilight? What in tarnation are you doin' up here?”

Twilight smiled. “I'm racing.”

Rainbow just laughed at her. “Good one, Twilight.”

Twilight replied with a firm voice. “I'm not joking.”

Rainbow was in disbelief. “What? You're not an athlete, you're a... well... you're an egghead.”

Twilight glared at Rainbow, hurt. “I am not an egghead, I am well-read.” She said as she held her head high confidently.

Rainbow whispered to AJ. “Egghead.”

Applejack snickered. “But have you ever run a race?”

Twilight shook her head. “Well, no, but I do know a lot about running.”

Rainbow laughed. “And you know this from...”

Twilight smiled again. “Books. I've read several on the subject.”

Rainbow and AJ were about to die laughing. “What'd you read, "The Egghead's Guide to Running"? Did you stretch out your eye muscles to warm up? Get it? Eye muscles.”

Finally, I snapped. I was sick and tired of them dissing on Twilight like that. I turned to face them and snarled. “OH FOR PONY'S SAKES! Can you two PLEASE, for the love of Celestia leave Twilight alone! Yes, Twilight is not as athletic as you two are, yes she's an egghead, but look at me! I'm not an athlete, yet I'm racing and you're not making fun of me! I'm probably an even bigger egghead than her. And if she's an egghead, at least she's a darned cute one!” I gasped as I said that last bit and held my hooves over my mouth, not believing what the hay I just said. The girls were just as confused and Twilight was blushing insane red.

Sheepishly, I stared forward. “G...good luck, everypony...” I said awkwardly. None of them replied and just stared forward also.

Pinkie Pie then spoke up. “All right, ponies, are you ready?” We all got into our starting positions, except Twilight, who remained standing upright, relaxedly so.

“Get set.” Spike said. Me, Dash and AJ narrowed our eyes in concentration. Time slowed down while waiting for them to say go. My heart beat faster, and faster, and faster. My eyebrow twitched with anticipation. Finally, the bell rung, and it all kicked off. Hooves stomped upon the ground, dust started getting kicked up. I ran, full of determination.

In no time, the starting line was a distant memory. I ran as fast as I could, surprisingly keeping up with Applejack and Rainbow Dash. I shouted as I ran.

“HEY, YOU TWO, can you try to make this a challenge?!” I don't know why I felt like trash talking, I just let those words slip from my between my lips. I heard Applejack chuckled as she ran.

“Save yer energy ya mudslinger, you'll need it!” She said as she caught up to Dash, leaving me in tow in second place. Or was it third? Eh, oh well. Anyway, we paced by a grove of trees, and to my amazement, our running had a sort of earthquake effect. The leaves fell as we ran by. As I noticed this, I truly realized how abnormal Ponyville is. They had the winter wrap up, and now the running of the leaves. I guess for summer, they freeze the water? I'm not sure.

Suddenly, I felt a pain in my heart. I gasped from pain and abruptly stopped, clenching my chest. I groaned as I felt the pain, it felt like my chest was tightening. Quickly, Twilight came up behind me.

“Jordan? Are you ok? What's wrong?” She asked as she trotted up to me, her eyes were wide with concern, just like her voice. I groaned in pain.

“I...I don't know Twilight! I was running, and all of a sudden my chest tightened and started to hurt. Maybe I over did it?” I said as I massaged my chest with my hoof. Twilight nodded.

“I read in my book on running that it's important to pace yourself. You and I aren't athletes, there's no way we can keep up with the rest of the runners. Our hearts, lungs, our knees, we're just not conditioned for any of it. No matter how much we want to be, we need to train for all that.”

I sighed and nodded, looking around at the forest. The leaves were all beautiful shades of green, pink, orange, red, yellow, so many gorgeous colors. I smiled widely as the colors filled my entire world. I got all misty eyed and gave Twilight a smile.

“Will you walk through the race course with me, Twilight?” She smiled and stood right next to me.

“I would be delighted to. Let's go, if you think you're ready.” I nodded and started to trot with her. We passed oak trees, birch trees, oak trees, all kinds, with their own unique leaves at their bases. It was gorgeous.

As we walked, I breathed in a deep smell of the amazing autumn air. I smelled pinecones, tree sap, and so many others. It was an amazing thing.

Eventually, we were one quarter done with the race, where we saw Applejack and Rainbow. I was confused.

“Huh? Are they super slow, or are we faster than I thought?” I thought out loud. Suddenly, I saw Applejack trip! She rolled forward a few times, and when she got back up she growled.

“I don't believe it!” She said in disbelief as she saw Rainbow Dash sprint away.

Twilight smiled as she looked around. “I know, it's beautiful, isn't it?”

“Not the scenery, Twilight. Rainbow Dash just tripped me.” Twilight said with a glare as she watched Rainbow speed past the horizon.

“Um, AJ? Rainbow never tripped you. We were behind all of you the entire time. You tripped on this rock.” I said as I pointed to the rock behind her, with my hoof.

“What? Oh, hayseed! Now I got a lot of ground to make up to catch Rainbow!” She said as she started to sprint away from us, never even looking behind her.

Twilight and I spoke in unison. “Just be careful!” We both shouted after her. I laughed a bit. “Jinx.” I said as I turned to Twilight, and she giggled.

We kept walking through the forest on the trail, and a few minutes later we saw Rainbow all alone in front of us.

“I don't believe it, Applejack tripped me!” She said with anger in her voice. Twilight then replied.

“Don't you ponies ever look where you're going? You tripped on a stump. See?” She said as she pointed to a stump.

“Oh, I see. A big cheater is what I see.” She said angrily.

“Rainbow, Applejack would never cheat. It was just an accident.” Twilight tried to reason to her.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Sure it was. I mean, yeah, I'm sure it was.” She said, her words just dripping with sarcasm.

Twilight gave her the “look”. “Remember, Rainbow, this is just a game.” She preached to the pegasus.

“Yes, but the rules have changed, and two can play at that game.” She said as she sprinted forward to the pack. I sighed and turned to Twilight.

“I think I ought to go with her Twi. I don't want them killing each other. I'll be ok. I promise.” I said as I looked at her. She sighed and nodded.

“Just be careful. I don't want to have to lift you to the medical tent back there.” I nodded at her and began to sprint forward, but this time pacing myself so I didn't overdo it. I went at a nice medium speed. In no time at all, I saw Applejack in front of me.

“Goll darn it! Rainbow did it AGAIN Jordan!” She said as she started to run forward. I followed her.

“Wait, you mean she tripped you for real this time?” I asked as we sprinted.

“Yeah, she absolutely did it on purpose! Stuck her leg out and everything!” Suddenly, we came to a fork in the road. The sign was telling us to go left.

I inspected the area around us. The right led to a clearing, and it looked like the way to go. The left side led deeper into the forest and towards the cliffs. It didn't make sense that we would go that way. I deduced that Rainbow had flipped the sign on us.

“Applejack, wait! Rainbow flipped the signs on us!” I called out to her as she started to head the wrong way. She pulled a 180 and ran towards me.

“How do you figure that sugarcube?” She asked curiously.

“Well, just think. That way leads right into the forest, and that way heads towards the cliffs. See?” Applejack gasped as she looked each direction and smiled.

“Yer a genius, sugarcube! Come on, let's get goin, I got a pegasus to catch!” She said as she sprinted the correct direction. I followed suit, running right behind her.

Eventually, we caught up to the pack, and when we got to Dash, she smirked. “Hey, Applejack!”

Applejack looked over at her. “What is it Rainbow?”

“If you wanna beat me, you better... RUUUN!” Rainbow shouted as she started sprinting ahead. Applejack and I tried to follow suit, me praying I didn't have the chest pains again. I seemed to be in the clear as we got closer to the finish line though!

The girls started to pick up where they left off with their cheating. Pushing each other, tripping each other, etc. I decided to ignore them and press on ahead to the finish. It got closer, and closer, and I could see the checkered flag. But suddenly, I got tangled up by AJ and Dash, who were frontflipping forward!

We all tumbled forward, and landed in a heap maybe a quarter mile to the finish line. We stood up and I glared at the girls.

“Alright, I am done playing moderator, girls. I've been trying so hard to make sure you two don't wind up killing each other, but now I see it's just pointless. Do whatever you're going to do!” I said as I started to sprint with all my might towards the finish. I heard Applejack and Dash causing a ruckus behind me, but I ignored them.

I focused hard, and sped ahead. I got closer, and closer, and closer. Suddenly, I was tripped by somepony. I quickly got up, and I sprinted to the finish line. I looked to my left, then my right. I couldn't tell what place I had finished since the girls had kicked up so much dust, but I finished!

Behind me, the girls got into an argument over who won. Spike stepped in to clarify.

“You tied!” He told them as he and Pinkie landed the hot air balloon. The girls were in shock.

“Tied?!” They said in unison.

Applejack looked at them confused. “For first?”

Pinkie Pie shook her head. “For last!”

“Last?!” Applejack cried out in horror.

Rainbow was shocked as well. “Then who won?”

Suddenly, Spike came over to me and raised my hoof. “Fillies and Gentlecolts, may I present to you this year's winner of the running of the leaves, Jordan!” Everypony but Applejack and Rainbow Dash cheered. I looked at Spike with pure shock riddled on my face, my jaw dropped.

“Spike, this isn't a nice thing to joke about. C'mon, tell everypony who really won. Was it Lyra?” But Spike shook his head.

“Jordan, I'm serious! You won by a few furlongs it looked like. Congratulations, here's your trophy!” He said as he handed me said trophy. As I took it in my hooves, I had tears falling from my eyes as I read the plaque on the bottom. It read “Running Of The Leaves Champion”.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash were flabbergasted. “You?!” They said in shock. “How's that even possible? You and Twilight ran so slow, and looked at the scenery.” They said.

Twilight walked up to us with a happy smile. “Exactly. We paced ourselves, just like my book said. Then at the end, when all the other ponies were worn out, we sprinted to the finish.” I nodded. I did do all that without even realizing it.

Rainbow was still just shocked. “I don't believe it. Twilight and Jordan beat us.”

Twilight laughed a little. “Well, with all your horsing around, it was quite easy.”

Applejack smiled sheepishly. “You're right, Twilight. Our behavior was just terrible.”

Rainbow nodded. “We weren't very good sports.”

“That's why I decided to run this race after all girls. I knew you two would get too caught up in the competition, and I was worried one or maybe both of you would get injured. Thankfully, neither of you two got too hurt.” I said in relief.

Suddenly, Princess Celestia appeared. “Sounds to me that an important lesson was learned.” She said as she walked to us.

Applejack, Rainbow and I were all shocked. “Princess Celestia?!” We cried out at once, and immediately bowed out of respect.

Applejack then rose to all fours. “W-What are you doin' here?”

Princess Celestia smiled at us. “Fall is one of my favorite seasons, so I came to celebrate the Running of the Leaves.”

Applejack looked down sadly. “I'm sorry you had to see us being such poor sports, Princess.”

Princess Celestia smiled at AJ. “That's all right, Applejack. Anypony can get swept up in the excitement of competition.”

Twilight spoke up. “It's important to remember that the friendship is always more important than the competition.”

Princess Celestia nodded in agreement. “Exactly, Twilight. Now, unfortunately, because the two of you were busy tricking each other instead of shaking down leaves, many of the lovely trees of Equestria are still covered.” The princess waved her hoof at the forest, showing us that most trees indeed still had those beautifully covered leaves on them.

Applejack smiled. “Why, Princess, I bet we can knock those leaves down for you lickety-split. Whaddya say, friend? Wanna go for another run?” She directed at Rainbow, who smiled back.

“I'd love to stretch my legs.” She said as she and Applejack both galloped on the trail back into the forest. I rolled my eyes a bit and smiled.

“This is why I love living here. Yeah, the seven on us can get into some pretty tense arguments. We can get mad, angry, even hateful towards one another sometimes. But in the end, we always end up making up and become stronger friends in the end. I suppose that's one of the most magical parts about friendship, right?” I said as I looked at Twilight and the Princess. Twilight nodded.

“That's something I've been learning too. It seems that no matter what happens, we always stick together, and I'm very grateful for it.”

Celestia then smiled. “Well, this has been fun everypony, but I simply must get back to Canterlot. I have royal duties I simply must attend to. Take care, you two, and be at peace.” The princess then flew back towards Canterlot, me and Twilight waving goodbye to her.

Celestia then called out. “Oh Jordan! Congratulations on your victory, you deserve it. Goodbye!” She said as she flew out of range from us. I smiled and looked down at the trophy.

“This is unbelievable. I can't believe I won. I've never won ANYTHING before, let alone something so physically demanding.” I said with a smile. Twilight laughed.

“I'm going to go home, it's getting late and Spike needs to get to bed soon. See you tomorrow, Jordan.” Twilight walked towards Ponyville with Spike tiredly holding onto her while he was on her back. I smiled a bit and walked in the general direction to my house. When I got to it, I opened the door, and walked to the shelf in the living room. I placed my new trophy on the shelf and took a few steps back to admire it, some happy tears falling from my eyes. I can't believe I won. This is incredible.

After I ate dinner, showered and other necessities, I got in bed with Elise at my feet. “Elise, I can't believe it. I won the race!”

She was surprised and rubbed against my hoof. “I knew you could do it. You're more talented than ya realize.” She said with a tired doze in her voice. I smiled and pet her.

“Go to sleep, you sound tired.” She yawned and took me up on my offer, falling asleep fast. I followed suit, as I looked out the window towards Luna's beautiful moon. The last thing I saw was that beautiful, picturesque full moon. I fell asleep peacefully.

Author's Note

And that was Fall Weather Friends. I honestly don't like this chapter, but it's up to you to decide if you do or not. Next chapter is probably my second favorite ever, Suited For Success. I wrote this chapter basically in ONE NIGHT. It was the most amazing burst of creativity i've ever had to this day. See you there everypony!

Chapter 18: Feeling Pinkie Keen

I woke up in the late morning again, about 11pm. I looked around the room for a few seconds before I pushed the blankets off of me and I walked downstairs. Once there, I opened up the icebox to see what I had to eat.

Once again, it was empty! Shoot, I guess with all the stuff that happened with Rarity, I forgot to go grocery shopping! Well, I guess I should go do that right now.

I went to the foyer and grabbed my scarf, wrapping it around my neck. “Elise!” I called her, and she came running and sat in front of me. I smiled at her.

“Heya girl. I'm going to the market to get some groceries. You be a good girl while I'm away, ok?” She nodded at me, assuring me she would, and I smiled and left the house, walking to the market in the middle of town.

When I got there though, I was like a deer in headlights. There were so many stalls, and they just sold everything! I had no idea where to go first. Somepony, I guess sensing my confusion, tapped me on the shoulder.

I turned around to see it was, and it was Applejack. She smiled at me.

“Heya there Sugarcube, whatcha doin?” She asked me with that heavy accent. I smiled back sheepishly.

“Well...I...AJ, this is SUPER embarrassing, but well... I've never lived on my own before. This is my first time going grocery shopping, and I have no idea what to buy. I'm just so lost.” She giggled at me a little before putting her hoof around me, starting to walk me around the market.

“Say no more sugarcube, I know just whatcha need, and I know this market like the back of my own hoof.” With that, she led me to a stand that sold vegetables.

The vendor was a mare with a sandy brown coat, a tan mane and tail, and beautiful blue eyes. She looked like a walking representation of a beach.

She looked at Applejack. “Applejack! What's happening?” She curiously asked. AJ smiled.

“Sandy Shores, this here is my friend Jordan. See, he just moved into his own home recently and is real confused on what to buy food-wise.” Sandy Shores gasped excitedly, almost like Pinkie Pie would.

“NEW CUSTOMER! That means your first purchase is completely free. Consider it my way of saying welcome home.” She directed to me with a gigantic smile. I gasped in surprise.

“F...free? Mrs. Shores, there's no need for that, I can gladly pay you for your-” She cut me off by shaking her head.

“Nope, company policy honey. First purchase is always free.” I nodded at her, and AJ pointed to all sorts of veggies for Sandy Shores to put in my saddlebag. Bell Peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, spinach, broccoli, etc. When it was all in my bag, I smiled at her.

“Mrs. Shores, two things. One, thank you SO MUCH for your kindness and hospitality, it means so much to me.” She smiled at my kind words, and I continued. “And two... I'm really sorry if this is too personal, but I had to ask. Your coat, your mane, your tail, your eyes, your name... I can't help but wonder. You're clearly a lover of the beach, right? Well... if that's true, how did you end up in Ponyville selling groceries?” I asked her curiously. She sighed a little bit.

“That was my life. I loved the beach, I loved the sun. I lived in Californeigha, in Los Pegasus. Big city, bright lights, vast beaches. It was perfect for me. But, I met my husband, and we wanted to settle down. We realized Californeigha is no place for a foal, so we moved to Ponyville. Sure it doesn't have glitz, or glammer as Los Pegasus. But I love it here. It's so rural and laid back. I might move back some day, after my little Sand Castle is full grown, but for now, I'm a proud Ponyvillian.” She said with a very happy, proud smile.

I smiled back. “That's a really good, heartwarming little tale. I hope you and your family enjoy life, you certainly deserve all the happiness you get. Also, Mrs. Shores?” I said as I slipped a lone bit onto her table. “I don't care about your rule. Consider this a tip. Have a great day, ok?” She took the lone bit into her mouth happily and waved me and AJ goodbye. As we walked away, AJ playfully hit my arm.

“That was mighty kind of ya, sugar. I just know that made her entire day.” She said with a smile. I blushed a little.

“It was nothing, really AJ. So, what next.” I said as we were heading towards a building. Right then, Applejack held her hoof in front of me, stopping me. She pointed towards a patch of green nearby, where Twilight and Spike were doing...something. We walked over to investigate.

“Tuh! Nuh! Uh! Nyuh!” Twilight said as she tried to focus her magical energy. She was trying to make various articles of clothing appear on Spike, such as a suit, mustache, top hat, etc. Spike looked away, and Twi scolded him.

“Eyes over here, Spike!” Twilight commanded. Spike looked sheepish.

“Uh, sorry.”

Twilight sighed. “For this to work, it's crucial we keep our concentration totally on the-”

Pinkie Pie suddenly walked by, interrupting her and diverting Spike's attention. “Ooh!”

Twilight scolded spike again. “Spike! This magic needs our full attention to make it happen. There's no other way!” She preached to him.

“I can't help it. Look!” Spike said as he pointed to Pinkie, who was doing action rolls from bush to bush as if she was a super-spy.

Twilight rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Ugh, never mind her. She's just being Pinkie Pie.”

Spike rubbed his head. “Super-extra Pinkie Pie today.”

I walked over to Pinkie, curious as to what she was doing. “Uh, afternoon Pinkie.”

She then put a hoof to my mouth. “Shush!” She then looked at her tail, which starting to shake.

Pinkie looked at it. “Hmm... Twitchy twitcha twitcha twitch.” She looked around, as if expecting...something.

Twilight and Spike walked up to us. “Pinkie Pie? What in the wide, wide world of Equestria are you up to?”

Pinkie gasped. “Oh! It's my tail! It's my tail! It's a-twitch a-twitchin'! And you know what that means!” She shouted as she stood upright.

Twilight shook her head. “Actually, Pinkie, I haven't the slightest idea.”

Pinkie looked at her. “The twitchin' means my Pinkie Sense is telling me that stuff's gonna start falling! You three better duck for cover.” She said as she action rolled away. I had the biggest 'What just happened' look on my face ever, and Twilight laughed.

“Oh, Pinkie, it's not gonna rain. Why, there's barely even a cloud in the-ugh!” Twilight abruptly stopped speaking, as a frog hit her in the face! I started to laugh.

“Haha! Looks like Twilight's feeling froggy to-” I got cut off as a frog landed on my face as well! I growled in annoyance and grabbed the frog.

Pinkie Pie giggled. “ He just said "nice catch" in Frog.”

Fluttershy then spoke. I looked up and saw her. “Oh, I'm so, so sorry. You okay, Twilight and Jordan? I just couldn't stand to see the pond getting so over-populated, what with the frogs all hopping into each other and all, so I decided to fly as many as I can on over to Froggy Bottom Bogg.”

I growled in annoyance. “Yeah, well let's see if I can toss him there!” I said in sheer annoyance. I swung my foreleg back as far as I could, grunted, and threw the frog away from me as far as I could. I heard Fluttershy shriek in fear. She tried to fly to the frog and catch it while in midair, but the cart of frogs she had attached to herself made her far too slow. The frog hit the ground and Fluttershy shrieked again. She landed on the ground, detached the cart, and flew right to the frog.

“Oh my goodness, are you okay Richard?!” She asked in an urgent tone. She surveyed his body for injuries as Richard gave a very low, pained croak, a sign that he was hurt. Fluttershy sniffled with tears in her eyes before she stood upright, turned 180 degrees to me and flew straight towards me, her eyes narrowed in a death glare. As she flew to me, it felt like I had shrunken to the size of an Ant, and Fluttershy was a gigantic Rhino in front of me. In reality, it took her merely ten seconds to get to me, but it felt like ten years, and I shivered in fear the entire time. An angry Fluttershy was no laughing matter.

When she reached me, she stood about four inches from my face, glaring directly into my eyes. “You are in so much trouble, mister! How could you hurt Richard like that?! He didn't mean to land on your face, he fell out of the cart and happened to land on you! Now you hurt him, and I have to take him home and nurse him back to health! You should be ashamed of yourself! Now, what do you have to say for yourself?” (Bolded for emphasis on the rage.) She asked as she stared directly into my pupils. I felt the world's biggest lump in my throat, so big it genuinely hurt, and I fought back tears.

She raised her eyebrow. “I'm waiting.” She stated as she inched forward, deepening her glancing at me. That was the final straw that broke the camel's back, and I felt the floodgates in my eyes burst. I started to cry, and I suddenly hugged Fluttershy tightly.

“I'm sorry Fluttershy! I'm so, so sorry! Please forgive me!” She closed her eyes, her anger somewhat diminished, and hugged me back, rubbing my back slowly.

“There there, I forgive you, Jordan. It's okay, shhh.” She said as she tried to calm me down. I continued to sob for a few minutes before pulling away and looking at her.

“It's ok Jordan. Just please, never hurt another animal again. You're better than that, I know you are.” She then kissed my cheek, and I blushed, nodding.

“It's a deal Fluttershy.” I said as I wiped my eyes clear of tears. She picked Richard up carefully and put him in a special pouch that was attached to her chest. She then hooked the cart back up again, and took off, waving at the lot of us. “Bye-bye!”

I waved goodbye, and turned to Twilight and Pinkie. Pinkie pointed at her own face.

“Um... Twilight? You gotta little somethin' on your face there.”

Twilight seemed unimpressed, to say the least. “Oh, really? Did your Pinkie Sense tell you that, too?”

Pinkie giggled. “Nah! I could just see it. La-la-la-la-la...” She sang happily as she skipped away. I then decided to follow Pinkie.

“PINKIE PIE, WAIT!” I called after her as I ran her direction. Suddenly, I was tackled to the ground, a high pitched giggle the only sound I heard.

“Right behind you silly! Well, on top of you, but still. So, what's up?” She said as she laid on me, with no intention of getting up. I struggled for a second before sighing.

“Well, I was wondering, if you can predict something's gonna fall, can you predict other things?”

She gasped at my question. “Abolutely-tootly!” She said, before her tail shook again.

“Ooooo, something's gonna fall again! Take cover!” She said as she got off of me and action rolled into a bush. I followed her lead, hiding behind a barrel nearby. I looked around and looked off into the distance just in time to see Twilight falling into a big ditch!

I shook my head at how ironic and funny that was, and walked over to Twilight, who was furious.

“Oh no, Twilight fell! Is it... safe to go help her?” He asked Pinkie, who smiled.

“It's okay, my tail stopped twitching. La-la-la-la-la, la-la-la...” She sang again as she skipped away.

Spike and I then helped lug Twilight out of the ditch. “Ha ha! That was amazing!” He proclaimed as we tried lifting Twilight, but she was surprisingly heavy for a mare.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Oh, please.”

Applejack then walked to us and spoke. “Uh, Twilight? Why are you hanging out in a ditch?”

“Because, Pinkie Pie predicted it!” He exclaimed.

Twilight sighed. “Honestly, Spike, she did not. Two coincidences in a row like this may be unlikely, but it's still easier to believe than twitchy tails that predict the future.”

Applejack gasped in a fearful way. “Twitchy tail? Pinkie Sense? Whoa! Nyu-uh!” She said as she ran for cover.

Spike laughed. “Don't worry, it's safe. Prediction already came true.” Applejack then came out of her hiding spot and Twilight facehoofed.

“Oh, wait. Don't tell me you believe in this stuff, too?” She asked AJ, hoping for someone who thought likeminded like her.

Applejack sighed a bit. “I know it doesn't make much sense, but those of us who have been in Ponyville a while, have learned over time that, if Pinkie's a-twichin', you better listen.” Suddenly, Pinkie ran to us.

“My ears are flopping! My ears are flopping!” She exclaimed and, sure enough, those ears were a floppin.

Spike was instantly worried. “Nyuh! What does that mean?!”

Pinkie Pie turned to me. “I'll start a bath for you.”

“Wait, what are you-” I couldn't finish as I got completely COVERED in mud! AJ, Twilight, Spike and Pinkie managed to roll out of the way, but I was too slow. I growled in frustration, and Pinkie grabbed me.

“Come on, bath time mister.” I sighed and followed her to her house. She led me to the bathroom, and turned on the water, instructing me to get in. I grumbled, and did so.

Twilight walked in suddenly, and I yelped in fright, since I wasn't decent. “TWILIGHT SPARKLE, privacy please!” She rolled her eyes. “Oh for the love of hay, pull the shower curtain! I need to talk to Pinkie Pie. So, Pinkie, how does this work exactly?” She asked Pinkie as she started to scrub my back with a brush.

Pinkie smiled. “Sooo, basically, it works like this: I get different, little, niggly feelings and they mean different things. Like when my back is itchy, it means it's my lucky day. And, when my knee gets pinchy, that means something scary's about to happen.”

“Is your knee pinchy now?” Twilight asked slightly worriedly.

Pinkie shook her head. “No, but my shoulder's achy. That means there's an alligator in the tub.”

I opened my eyes wide and looked in the tub, and sure enough there was a green menace next to me! I screamed and jumped so hard in fright I actually fell out of the tub, hitting the back of my head on the floor hard.

As I rubbed my aching head, Twilight turned to Pinkie.

“How come your knee didn't get pinchy?! That isn't just scary, it's downright dangerous, and Jordan got hurt!”

Pinkie grabbed the alligator. “Jordan got hurt cause he freaked out so much! This is my pet alligator, Gummy. He's got no teeth. See? Haha!” She said as he “Bit” Twilight, but sure enough he had no teeth.

“Okay, okay... I get it.” Twilight said annoyedly as Gummy kept biting her. She then continued. “Well, I still don't believe all this... "special power" stuff. It's just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo.”

Pinkie glared at Twilight a little bit. “What's not to believe? You two magic, what's the difference?”

Twilight scoffed. “Huge! For one thing, magic is something you study and practice. It only happens when you decide to do it, and it's meant to make something specific that you choose to happen, happen. With you, uh, it makes no sense at all!”

“Twilight, this is Pinkie Pie we're talking about. NOTHING about her makes sense sometimes. You're being brash.” I said as I put my vest on, walking outside with the girls.

Pinkie spoke next. “That's so not true, Twilight! Sometimes it's a bunch of random things happening to my body at random times that supposedly predict the future. I call 'em "combos".”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Combos?”

Pinkie nodded. “Sure! You know, like, ear flop, then knee twitch, then eye flutter. That means the sky is about to be graced with a beautiful rainbow!”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Yeah, sure.”

Pinkie gasped. “Uh-oh, I feel a combo coming on. Ear flop, eye flutter, knee twitch!”

Twilight suddenly got CREAMED with a door that was opening! Spike walked out backwards, carrying a plethora of books out of the library.

Twilight, dazed from being hit so hard, spoke to Pinkie. “Ughhh... You said that combo meant 'beautiful rainbow'.”

Pinkie shook her head. “Oh no-no-no-no-no. You're thinking of an ear flop, then knee twitch, then eye flutter. This was an ear flop, then eye flutter, then knee twitch. That usually means "look out for opening doors". You okay?” She said as she helped Twilight up.

Twilight stubbornly shook her head. “I don't believe this.”

Pinkie sighed. “You don't believe because you don't understand.”

Twilight then grinned, thinking of an idea. “Hmm... Pinkie, come with me to the library, I have an idea.”

Pinkie nodded. “Ok, as long as it's lots of fun!” She said as she bounced her way to the library, us in tow. We walked inside the front door, and I smiled. “Hey, it's been a little while since I've been here, Twilight. Did you reshelve AGAIN?” I asked in disbelief as I looked at the walls. She giggled and nodded.

“Yep, they're all shelved by author now. I love the change personally. Come on, let's go downstairs.” She said as she directed Pinkie down the stairs. Pinkie did this insane front flip down the steps, landed on her back and managed to roll a few times and get back up. It was just ridiculous to watch. We carefully walked down the stairs, and Twilight immediately got to work, hooking Pinkie up to all sorts of ridiculous machinery.

I raised an eyebrow. “Twilight? The hay are you doing, exactly?”

Twilight grinned. “It's simple. Okay. Now when you get another twitch Pinkie Pie, we'll have all kinds of scientific information.” She said as she turned all of the machines on. But, as she started hooking Pinkie up to the machinery, I felt my horn spark up, without me even meaning to.

I opened my eyes wide, realizing I was about to have another magical outburst. “OH NO, I'll be right back!” I said as I ran upstairs as fast as I could. I ran towards the door, but I didn't make it in time. My magical aura shot out of my horn, and flew right into the bookcase. It hit the books, and scorched all of them!

I opened my eyes wide again, looking at the destruction I had caused without even meaning to. A whole bookcase of books, about seven shelves high, was roasted.

“Oh... By Celestia...” I squeaked out in a whisper, not believing what I had just done. Twilight was going to KILL ME for this.

“Oh no, Twilight can't see this!” I said as I grabbed the books with my magic. As I started to levitate them though, I heard her.

“Jordan?” Twilight called my name as she reached the top of the stairs. Her voice scared the living daylights out of me, making me yelp in fright and drop all the books I had levitated.

When Twilight saw all the books on the floor, blackened and scorched, her eyes opened wide. She ran straight to the pile, and gasped.

“MY BOOKS! My knowledge!” She then turned to me, her face contorted from sadness and anger.

“What in Celestia's name did you do?!” She cried out as she stared at me. I had a lump in my throat like earlier, and I could barely find any words.

“I... I... I didn't mean to... I swear...” I said sadly, but Twilight was distraught.

“You didn't mean to?! Do you have any idea what you just did?! You've destroyed easily fifty books, and some of them are irreplaceable relics! I can never get them back!” She said as she grabbed one book that was only partly charred, but charred enough to the point it was sufficiently unreadable.

“Twilight I... I didn't mean to do it...” I squeaked out once again, and she growled.

“Get out! Get out and never come back to my library! I don't want you around my books ever again!” She shouted in uncharacteristic anger. I felt a tear fall from my eyes and decided to honor her wishes.

I ran straight out the door, galloping as fast as I could away. I ran for some time, until I found myself at Sweet Apple Acres. I stopped running as I was tired now, and I trotted to the barn, hoping the Apple Family wouldn't mind.

I walked into the barn and sighed. Then, I heard a voice. “Jordan? Is that you sugarcube?” The unmistakable county voice of Applejack said to me. I sighed.

“Yeah... It's me AJ.” I said to her as she walked over to me from deep inside the barn.

“Hey, everythin ok, partner?” She asked me as she sat next to me. I guess she could tell something was wrong. I sighed.

“No. But, before we get into that, is it ok if I borrow a bale of hay?” I asked her. She nodded, and I walked over to one nearby. I looked at it, turned around, and kicked it, as hard as I could. I repeated the process a few times, grunting each kick.

“You...stupid...little idiot! You mess everything up!” I shouted and gave the hay one last, super brutal kick, falling to the dirt floor. Applejack galloped over to me and sat down in front of me, getting on my eye level.

“Ya mind tellin me what that was all about, sugar?” She asked, and I sighed.

“I'm the world's biggest screw up, that's what that was all about. For the past few weeks, I've been having random outbursts with my magic. It's like it has a mind of it's own, and I accidentally burned some of Twilight's books, and... And now she hates me, AJ. She kicked me out of the library and told me to never come back.” I said as I stared at the ground.

Applejack rubbed my back with her hoof. “Sugarcube, you didn't mean for it ta happen, didja? So then it's not your fault! Listen, I know Twilight. She gets angry sometimes, but she always comes back around sometimes.” I nodded as she spoke and looked at her.

“Well, it's not only that... I made Fluttershy angry earlier. I wasn't thinking, and I injured one of her frogs. It was such a stupid mistake.” I sighed heavily again.

“Ok, so you made a mistake partner. So what? Everypony makes mistakes. Nobody, not even Princess Celestia, is perfect. You apologized to Fluttershy, right?” I nodded. “Good. Then I'm a might certain she forgives you.” She said with a smile.

“I... I want to apologize to Twilight now, AJ. If she never forgives me again, I at least want her to know why her books got burned.” I said as I stood up.

“Want me to come with you, sugarcube?” She asked as she stood up. I nodded.

“That would be great, so I can't screw up any worse.” I said as I started to walk towards the library with AJ right at my side. We walked on the trail for a bit before we saw Pinkie Pie walking the road to us.

“Hey, Applejack, hey Jordan. Whatcha doin'?”
“Shoot, we were lookin for Twilight. How 'bout you, Pinkie? Whatchu doin'?” Applejack asked her.

Pinkie giggled. “Oh, I know where Twilight is! She's secretly been following me all day without me knowing.”

Twilight walked up to us, she was in some body casts, beaten and bruised. “You mean you knew all along?! Why didn't you tell me?”

Pinkie giggled. “Silly, that would've spoiled the secret!”

Twilight growled in frustration, and I slowly gazed towards her.

“T...Twilight, we really need to talk. I'm so sorry about what happened earlier, I didn't mean to.” I said s my ears drooped down sadly. Applejack nodded.

“He's tellin the honest truth Twi, and you know I can tell honesty from fibbin. Jordan's been havin problems controllin his magic!” Applejack told the girls, and I groaned in shame and embarrassment. I didn't expect her to tell both of them.

Twilight rubbed her hoof on the sandy dirt on the ground. “Problems with your magic? Like what?” She asked curiously. I sighed and sat down on a rock on the side of the path, figuring I should tell her everything, since she is my magic teacher.

“Well... for the past few weeks, my magic has been acting strange. My horn sparks up and my aura of magic start to go haywire, all on their own. It's completely random, and I have no control over it.” I sighed a bit, then continued.

“You girls all read the paper, right?” To which they nodded. “Well... that horrible accident at the train station a few weeks ago was my fault.” The girls all gasped, and I nodded and I hide my face from shame.

“That was the first magical outburst I ever had. I got angry because the train was delayed, and next thing I knew... there was just chaos everywhere. Pure chaos. I ran for the hills, and Princess Celestia found me a while later. I guess she could tell something bad had happened. She and Luna both advised me to be careful about my magic, and try my best to monitor the outbursts.”

I then looked at Twilight. “So Twilight, that's the story. What happened to your books was a complete accident, and I had no control. I understand if you never forgive me, but I just wanted to explain why it happened. I'll just go, and leave you be now. Don't worry... I'll never set foot in the library again.” I started to walk away, but I was suddenly enveloped in a purple magical aura.

Twilight levitated me towards her, and while I was stuck within her magic, she gave me the tightest, most passionate hug I'd ever received in my entire life. I gasped in surprise, and I hugged her back, smiling at her.

“Jordan, I'm so sorry I got so mad at you. I should have kept my anger in check, and let you explain yourself. Books can be replaced. Friends can't. You're always welcome in the library.” She said with a smile. I was about to reply, but suddenly Pinkie shuddered hard.

“Hu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu!” She went as her entire body shook violently. We all gasped except Twilight.

“Oh no! What does that one mean?” Spike asked in a worried tone.

Pinkie shrugged. “Dunno, never gotten any like it before, but whatever that shudder's about, it's a doozy.” She stopped, perhaps for dramatic effect, then continued. “Something you'd never expect to happen is gonna happen!” We all gasped once again in fright, and she shuddered again. “Hu-bu-bu-bu-bu hu-bu-bu-bu! And it's gonna happen... at Froggy Bottom Bogg!”

Applejack gasped. “That's where Fluttershy's headed!”

Spike was genuinely worried. “Oh no! Is it about her?”

Pinkie Pie shrugged. “Uh, I'm not sure.”

“Come on, we have to get to the pond, just in case.” I said as I led the girls down the dirt trail towards where the pond would be. Twilight didn't follow us at first.

“Calm down, everypony. All we know right now is that Pinkie Pie just got a case of the shivers. That's all.” When she realized we were gone, she got Spike on her shoulders and began to sprint with us. I looked at her.

“I thought you didn't believe in this stuff?”

Twilight tilted her head in a stubborn fashion. “I don't. I just want to be there to see the look on Pinkie's face when we find out nothing's wrong.” I groaned and mentally facehoofed as I walked.

Pinkie Pie was oblivious. “Okie-dokie!”

As we walked, Pinkie Pie shook violently once again. She stopped and went “Hu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu!”.

Twilight, AJ and I didn't stop, but I could hear Twilight talking to Pinkie. “Cold? Need a jacket or something?” She asked with a bit of sarcastic humor in her voice.

Pinkie shook her head. “No thanks, I'm fine. Hu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu!” She shook again, and now even I was getting nervous.

Spike gulped. “So... Whadda'ya think happened to Fluttershy?”

Applejack shook her head. “I hope nothin'.”

“I know, but, whadda'ya think happened?” He pushed his question onward, hoping for an answer.

“I'm tryin' not to think about it.” Applejack bluntly stated. That made even me shiver in fright. If AJ was this scared about it, it must be bad.

“Me too. But I'm thinkin' about it anyway. Like, what if she exploded?” Spike said as he began to think deeply about it.

“Just exploded? For no reason?” Applejack asked in a worried tone of voice.

“Yeah, like boom!” Spike said dramatically as he did a motion with his arms that imitated an explosion.

Pinkie Pie gasped. “What if... What if she exploded, and then... and then exploded again!?”

Spike held his hands to his face. “Can you do that? Can you explode twice?”

I shook my head. “Of course not. If she exploded she would turn into nothing but a pile of blood and guts, there would be nothing to-”Applejack cut me off.

“Not helpin, sugar.” She stated as we continued to run.

“But what if she exploded, and exploded again, and then-” Twilight cut Spike off this time.

“Will you two stop? She's fine, I'm sure of it.”

“I hope you're right, for Fluttershy's sake. Look! There's Froggy Bottom Bogg!” Applejack said as she pointed to it, and we began to sprint even faster.

We saw Flutters letting the frogs out of her basket. She seemed to be completely unharmed. She was smiling at the critters.

Applejack gasepd. “Fluttershy?”

Pinkie Pie gasped too. “Fluttershy?”

Spike was ecstatic. “Fluttershy! You're okay!”

Fluttershy seemed confused. “Of course.”

Applejack wiped her eyebrow. “Phew, what a relief.”

“I'm so glad everything's all right.” Pinks said with a smile.

Twilight seemed to have a big grin on her face. “Sorry, I know it's not nice to gloat but... Aha! I told you there was nothing to worry about, and I was right. Pinkie Pie said whatever she was shuddering about was a doozy, and the only doozy here is how right I am.” Twilight spoke, but she was coughing while she spoke. The rest of us were too, smelling a horrible odor.

“Um... Twilight?” I said slowly. But she ignored me.

“Pinkie's made a lot of predictions today but... “ Twilight coughed again. “Ugh, what is that smell?” She said as But what we've shown here is that there's no point in believing in anything you can't see for yourself.”

“W-Well t-then, s-see what's b-b-behind you, Twilight!” Spike said for me as my eyes widened, pupils shrunk in fear. I shivered as a massive creature, known as a hydra, rose out of the murky bog water. I shivered in fear. I haven't been this afraid of a creature since the Ursa attacked.

Twilight was just as stricken as the rest of us. “I see it... But I don't believe it!”

Pinkie had small pupils too. “Is that a hydra!?”

“EVERYPONY RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!” I shouted as I began to sprint away, running towards the hill nearby.

“Everypony up that hill!” I shouted as I ran. Suddenly, I heard Spike crying out for help, I guess he tripped or something. I gasped and turned around, sprinting to him.

“Coming, Spike! Hang on!” I said as I galloped towards him. Water was splashing all around me. I reached Spike just as the hydra was about to get to him, and I hopped him onto my shoulder and ran towards the girls. When I reached them, Twilight gasped.

“I think we're gonna make it.” She said.

“But Pinkie's still shuddering!” Spike said as he looked at the pink pony.

“Oh, lookie there, it stopped. O-h-h-h, t-h-e-r-e i-t i-s a-g-a-i-n.” She said as the shuddering came back.

We reached the top of the hill, where we found that our only route of escape was an entourage of rocks before use that were the only way to transverse a canyon. Twilight groaned.

“Ugh, he'll be up here in no time! Quick, one at a time, cross!”

Spike shook his head. “Nyu-uh! Uh, do you know any spells for turning a hydra into a mouse?”

Twilight shook her head. “No.”

Spike kept trying. “How about a squirrel?”

Twilight growled. “No!”

Spike tried one more time. “How 'bout-” He was cut off.

“No small rodents of any kind!” Twilight cried out at him.

Spike sighed. “That's too bad.”

Fluttershy was the first to try to cross the canyon. “A hop, skip, and a... jump!” She said as she did all these motions, and for a split second, I smiled widely, glad that she learned confidence in herself after what happened a few weeks ago when we went to go visit that dragon.

Next, Spike jumped, and he made it across with ease. After that, Pinkie did in the same manner. Then AJ. That left just me and Twilight.

Twi looked at me. “He's too close. I'll distract him. You go, now!” She tried to order me, but I shook my head. I looked at the Hydra close by and I sighed.

“Twilight, I know this is gonna hurt, but it's for your own safety!” I said as I turned around so my back legs were facing her. I reared my hind legs, and I gave a wicked applebuck style kick to Twilight. She cried out as the force of my kick made her propel into the air, giving her enough distance to clear the canyon.

Suddenly, I heard a roar from directly behind me. My pupils shrunk as I realized the hydra had to be swiping distance from me. I turned around and, sure enough, he was. He looked down at me with an evil smirk and slashed his claws at me. I action rolled out of the way and managed to miss the attack, but the tip of its claw hit me, slicing part of my back. I screamed out in pain and stumbled a little bit, feeling my vision get a tiny bit hazy.

I heard the girls from the other side of the ravine. “JORDAN!” Twilight cried out as she watched me stumble.

“Sugarcube, you have to jump the canyon!” Applejack called out to me.

“You can do it, I know you can!” Spike cheered me on.

“Just trust in yourself! Be confident!” Fluttershy cried out to me.

“My Pinkie sense is telling me you can make it!” Pinkie said encouragingly. I groaned a bit and I tried to muster all of my strength. I grunted, and I leapt. I managed to make it onto the first rock. I grunted again, and I made the second rock. Once again, the third rock. I was now at the midway point of the five rocks. But then suddenly, the two rocks in front of me collapsed and fell into the bog! I opened my eyes wide and started to panic.

The hydra then swiped at me again. It barely missed, but this time I got hit in the side. I felt my side get sliced in the same way as my back, and I collapsed to the ground, feeling weaker.

My vision was getting blurrier, with black along the sides of my eyes.

“I'm not going to make it...” I whispered to myself and all the girls and Spike. “This is the end of Jordan Wolfson...” I said as I heard a deafening roar behind me. My strength was gone, all my limbs trembling as I fought to get up.

I then felt my eyes flutter closed, and it was all over.

I was out. Maybe forever.

-???'s POINT OF VIEW-

I found him on the stone slab, seemingly lifeless. He was not moving, and his body had fatal wounds about it. They hydra he and his friends encountered was roaring towards the heavens, perhaps basking in the golden feeling that was victory. He might have missed four of his enemies, but slaying one was a win in its book.

Who am I, you ask? I am nothing. Yet I am everything. I have no physical form, and I have no defined mental capacity. Some would call me an angel, and some would call me the devil himself. Who I am is of no importance to you.

I took the form of a simple butterfly, and I fluttered over to him. His friends shouted in sheer horror, believing their friend's existence to have been extinguished. This was not the case. Slowly, I reached out the insect's antenna to where his heart would be inside his chest. I focused my dark energy, and it flowed from me to him.

Slowly, my dark power revitalized his entire being, bringing him back from the doorstep of death itself. He slowly fluttered his eyes open, gasping deeply as he took in air.

I looked at him. “Wherever you will be, I will be there. Whenever you suffer, I will be there. Whenever you thrive, I will be there. Be wary, alien. For your existence shall be for naught.” I told him as I flew away, into the sky above.

-JORDAN'S POV-

I gasped as I suddenly jolted awake, gasping and coughing for breath. As I looked around, I quickly was forced to rise to my feet as the hydra roared. I guess it was infuriated that I was still alive. Not even waiting for my breathing to return, I mustered all the strength I had in my body, and I jumped the huge gap of the ravine that was left to cross.

As I was in mid-jump, time slowed down. I looked around me. There was a massive drop to the water of the bog below. The hydra was behind me, snarling all four of its heads as it watched me. Spike and the girls all watched me with their mouths agape, all hoping to Celestia that I made it.

Slowly, I saw the edge of the cliff getting nearer, my destination. My body went down, down, down. This was going to be too close. Extending out my forelegs, I reached my hoof out to the edge of the cliff and held on for dear life. I was barely hanging on.

“Hang on sugarcube!” Applejack called out to me as she tossed her lasso. She used it to help pull me up from the cliff. I got onto the land of the cliff and I sat down, panting heavily from exhaustion.

The hydra roared and snarled, trying to hit us with its massive paw...like...thing. When it realized it couldn't harm or reach us anymore, it grumbled and walked down the hill, going back to the bog.

The girls and Spike all crowded around me in a circle, extremely worried about me.

Twilight hugged me tightly around the neck, tears falling from her eyes. “Why did you do that?! I could have handled myself, you didn't have to do that Jordan...” She said sadly, feeling remorseful that I got hurt.

I sighed. “I had to protect you, Twilight. I may be hurt, but I would take all the pain in the world to make sure my friends never had to feel it.” I said as I held my slashed side, which was still badly damaged. Twilight gave me a look before moving away, letting all the other girls hug me.

Twilight sighed. “I don't know how it happened; coincidence, dumb luck, or what, but you said there'd be a doozy here at Froggy Bottom Bogg, and I'd say we just had ourselves one heck of a doozy. I mean that hydra-” She was cut off as Pinkie pie AGAIN shuddered.

Twilight was confused. “Pinkie?”

“That wasn't it.” Pinkie said.

“Huh?” Twilight asked.

“What wasn't what?” Spike added on his question.

Applejack raised her brow. “What are you talking about, Pink?”

Pinkie Pie shook her head. “The hydra wasn't the doozy. I'm still getting the shudders. Oo-o-oh, oo-o-oh. You see? There it is again. Whatever the doozy was at Froggy Bottom Bogg, my Pinkie Sense says it still hasn't happened.”

The five of us all had our mouths agape in shock.

“Huh? But I- WHAT?! The hydra wasn't the doozy?! How could it not be the doozy?! What could be doozier than that?!” Twilight practically screamed out.

Pinkie Pie shrugged. “Dunno, but it just wasn't it.”

I looked over at Twilight, who was having an all out anger outburst. Her coat turned white and her mane turned to... fire. Then, she turned back to normal and sighed.

“Ooh... I give up...” She said sadly.

Spike raised an eyebrow. “Give what up, Twi?”

“The fight. I can't fight it anymore. I don't understand how, why, or what, but Pinkie Sense somehow... makes sense. I don't see how it does, but it just does. Just because I don't understand doesn't mean it's not true.” She stated with humility in her voice.

Pinkie Pie was shuddering. “Y-Y-Y-You m-m-mean you b-b-b-believe?”

Twilight nodded. “Eeyup, I guess I do.” She said almost like Big Macintosh would.

“Oo-woo-oo-oo-oo, woo-oo-oo-oo-oh, woo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooh. Ooh! That was it. That's the doozy.” Pinkie Pie exclaimed happily.

Twilight gasped. “What? What is?”

“You believing. I never expected that to happen. That was the doozy, oh and, oh what a doozy of a doozy it was! La-la-la-la-la...” Pinkie said as she started to skip away from us, supposedly back into the town.

I then groaned in pain. “Twi, how am I gonna get home? I don't think I can walk that well, I'm pretty hurt...” I said sadly. Twilight cast her magic and she levitated me in her magical aura.

“I'll carry you home. Let's go everypony.” She said as they all began to walk towards town. After some walking, I saw something shiny on the side of the road. I used my magic to pick it up, and I saw that it was a diamond! A cut, almost flawless diamond. I smiled and I put it into the pocket of my working vest. When we got close to town, AJ said goodbye to us, since she had to get home. Fluttershy said she didn't have to leave yet, and decided to stay with Twilight and I. I tapped Twilight's neck.

“Hey Twilight, before you bring me to my home, can you bring me to Rarity's house? I want to talk to her.”

“Of course, I actually was wanting to talk to her anyway.” Twilight said as we began to walk to the boutique. When we got there, Twilight knocked on the door with her hoof. Rarity answered the door a few seconds later.

“Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, please, come in!” Rarity said as she saw the two. She didn't see me, because I was in Twilight's magical bubble just outside the view of the doorway. We all got inside and when we sat down on the couches in the living room, Rarity saw me, and opened her eyes wide, jaw dropped in shock.

“OH, GOODNESS!” Rarity said as she ran up to me, as I sat on the couch. “Jordan, darling? Whatever has happened to you?” She asked with pure worry in her voice. I chuckled.

“Rarity, I'm ok, honestly. If you want to know what happened, it's a long story.” I said as I rubbed my hooves together.

Rarity gave a look as she sat down. “I have time, darling.” I nodded and spoke.

“Well, to sum it up, here it goes. Twilight was very skeptical of Pinkie Pie's Pinkie sense, and refused to believe it no matter what happened. She was convinced there had to be some reasoning, something she could find to explain it. Anyway, earlier Pinkie Pie said there would be a “doozy” at froggy bottom bog, and we ran into a hydra!” Rarity gasped as she listened, and I continued.

“That hydra had murder on the brain, and we all ran for our lives, and the only way out was this crazy ravine. Everypony but me and Twilight made it across. I kicked Twilight, which made her get across it. But that left me with the hydra. It slashed me, and I could only make it about half way the ravine. I landed on a rock and... died. But somehow, I was brought back to life and made it across the ravine. And now here we are.” I said with a giant smile, but Rarity remained silent, jaw dropped. She was in complete shock, like I was insane.

“He's telling the truth, Rarity. Trust us.” Fluttershy said. Rarity shook her head to regain her composure.

“I swear, you ponies have the craziest adventures and I miss out on them. Not that I'm complaining or anything. I'm perfectly content being safe here. Well then, what was the purpose of this visit darlings?” Rarity said with a smile. I smiled back.

“Well, when we were heading back into town, I saw this on the side of the road, Rarity. I know it seems crazy that this was just on the side of the road.” I said as I levitated the gem in front of me. It was such a glorious diamond. “But I really did. I figured there was nopony better to give it to, since I have no use for it. Have it, Rarity.” I said as I levitated it to her, and she took it in her hooves with a happy squeal.

She walked over to me and gave me a giant hug. “Oh darling, thank you so much! This is the most exquisite diamond I have ever laid eyes on! I simply can't believe you found this!” She then kissed my cheek with a giant “M'wah!” and I blushed a bit, rubbing my cheek with my hoof.

“I hope you enjoy it, Rarity. Can I ask a favor, too? I know you're busy with your work, but is there any chance I could stay here? Twilight was going to bring me to my house after we came to visit you, but I'm about three hundred seconds from passing out.” I said with a cheeky smile and the girls laughed.

“Of course you can, darling. You're always welcome at my boutique. You can sleep here on the couch if you wish.” She then looked at the girls. “Would you girls care for any food before you go?” Fluttershy and Twilight both shook their heads.

“We actually have to get going, Rarity. See you tomorrow, and you two, Jordan. Make sure you rest and take it easy, we don't want your injuries to get any worse. I'll lock up your house and make sure Elise is ok, too.” Twilight said as they walked to the door. I smiled.

“Thanks, Twilight. Have a good night girls!” I said as they left the boutique. At that moment, I felt... sad. I don't know why. I guess it's because after having such an action filled, exciting day, it was sad to see it come to an end, even though I got badly wounded.

Rarity came over to me and helped me get comfortable on the couch. She used her magic to lay a blanket over me and put a pillow under my head. I made a sound of pure comfort: this pillow was like laying on a cloud, and the blanket was so plush and heavy and warm without making me TOO warm. It was perfect.

“Rarity, thank you for letting me stay. I'll be out of your mane tomorrow, I promise.” I said as I snuggled up in the blanket, and she shook her head.

“Nonsense darling. You're welcome to stay as long as you wish. Good night darling, sweet dreams.” She said as she walked upstairs. I sighed happily and snuggled into the blanket.

I was deep in thought as I tried to drift to sleep, as I usually was. How the hay did I come back from the dead, exactly? Twilight, nor Luna, nor even Celestia know spells powerful enough to resurrect somepony. What if there's more to this than simply coming back to life? I don't know. Only time will tell.

I rolled onto my side, and drifted to sleep, as I had so many countless nights before. But I had one added bonus tonight. The boutique smelled heavily of lavender and vanilla, easing my mind and senses.

Author's Note

And that was this chapter! Ok, next chapter is the last one i've written to date, Sonic Rainboom. After this, we will be caught up both here and on Fanfiction! LET'S GO! -Hops To Next Chapter-

Chapter 19: Sonic Rainboom

I woke up in the morning, just like I always do. But this morning, it was different. I was on the couch of Rarity's boutique. As my senses slowly came back to me, my nostrils were overflowed with the scent of lavender, vanilla, and other feminine scents.

I chuckled. This was a far cry from what I usually smelled waking up in my own bed. Being a stallion can be a curse sometimes. Anyway, I slowly sat up out of bed and I stretched, yawning as I did so. Wincing as I felt some joints crack, I then got onto all four hooves and trotted to the kitchen.

I was surprised to see that there was a note on the table. I walked over to it and picked it up with my hoof, reading it.

"Jordan. Sweetie Belle and I have decided to spend the morning at the spa. This means you will most certainly wake up alone, darling. Please, help yourself to any food you might enjoy from the refrigerator, and when you leave, lock up all of the doors. I hope you are feeling better, see you soon! Toodles!"

I smiled at the note and set it down, walking to the fridge. Once there, I opened it up and grabbed some grape juice and leftover quiche. I ate them quickly, then walked out. I turned around, closed the door and locked it with my magic. I made sure all the doors were locked and I began to walk outside. Once I did, I saw a blur of blue streak into my field of view.

It was Rainbow Dash, and boy was she ever in a hurry. She was speeding towards the fields outside town, with Fluttershy gently flapping her wings behind her in tow.

"Hey Fluttershy, try to keep up would ya?!" Rainbow shouted to Fluttershy. I decided to sprint on the ground to try and follow them. I sprinted for about another minute and saw them land. I hid behind a tree as Rainbow tried to instruct Fluttershy on how to cheer like a pro.

"Now, what have we learned?" Dash asked when she was done instructing Flutters, fluttering around said pony.

"Loss of control." Fluttershy said softly, awaiting confirmation from Dash.

"Good." Dash nodded.

"Screaming and hollering." Fluttershy continued.

Rainbow nodded. "Yes, and most importantly?"

"Passion!" Fluttershy quietly answered.

"Right!" Dash said as she landed. "So now that you know the elements of a good cheer, let's hear one."

Fluttershy was about to do as Dash said, but she saw me hiding in the trees and eeped, hiding behind Dash. Rainbow groaned.

"Fluttershy, it's only Jordan, calm down." She then looked at me and shouted. "HEY, what are you doing over there!? Spying on us?!"

I shook my head and walked over to them. "No. I saw you two flying here from Ponyville and figured I would see what you two were up to." Dash looked at me and saw my wounds from yesterday. "WHOA, what the hay happened to you?" She asked curiously. I chuckled.

"Got attacked by a hydra of all things. So, why are you teaching Fluttershy of all people how to cheer?" I asked curiously, and Dash gave me a look.

"The best young flier competition in Cloudsdale is today, and since Fluttershy is my only friend who's a pegasus, I need her to cheer for me! But SOMEPONY can't cheer louder than a whisper!" Dash angrily directed towards Fluttershy.

"Now, let's hear that cheer!" Dash told Fluttershy. Fluttershy just gave out a super weak "Yay!"

Rainbow groaned "...Ugh. You're gonna cheer for me like that?! Louder." She ordered Fluttershy, who went yay again, but it was BARELY louder.

"Louder!" Dash ordered. Fluttershy spoke just as soft.

Rainbow full on SCREAMED. "Louder!" She commanded.

Fluttershy took in a super deep inhale, her chest puffing up with air, but it was very anticlimactic when she just went "Yaaay." Softly again.

Rainbow facehoofed. "Ugh..." And then she fell backwards onto the ground.

"Too loud?" Fluttershy asked as Rainbow fell onto her back. Rainbow groaned.

"Agh! Fluttershy, how is your cheering supposed to motivate me if I can't even hear it!" Rainbow groaned again.

"Fine, you know what? Just forget it! I'm going to practice my routine. Jordan, wanna watch?" She asked me, and I nodded.

"Sure, I love watching you fly Rainbow. This should be good." I said as I sat down on a tree stump nearby. She went into the air, and went a good distance away from us, picking up speed before she weaved in and out of some trees at high speed, never hitting one of them.

As I watched her... I started to get super jealous of her. Of all pegasi, really. I want to fly. I bet it must feel so amazing to feel that breeze, to have the wind in your face. I can only imagine the freedom of being able to go ANYWHERE, no obstructions to stop you. To see the world from a new perspective, to look down on everyone else...

I shook my head, and came back to reality from my thoughts, and when I did, I saw Rainbow flying straight down to the earth from a great height. My eyes widened, pupils shrunk. She was going to crash!

"RAINBOW DASH!" I shouted, hoping she could hear me. "SLOW DOWN, YOU'RE GOING TO CRASH!"

I don't know if she was already about to crash, or if she did hear me and I distracted her, or what. But all of a sudden, she was flung backwards, back towards Ponyville! My jaw dropped at the speed she was flying, or rather crashing.

"Fluttershy, we have to make sure she's ok, come on!" I said as I started to gallop back towards town. I saw a rainbow trail behind her, and it lead us to the library, sorta like a beacon of some sort. I opened the front door, and we saw utter devastation inside the library. All the girls were there, and all the books in the library were on the floor!

Fluttershy stood in the window. "Rainbow Dash, you rock! Woohoo." She cheered softly, and gasped once she saw the devastation and chaos in the library. "Did my cheering do that?" She asked in concern. Dash spoke next.

"Hehe. Sorry about that ladies. That was a truly feeble performance." She admitted.

"Actually, it wasn't all bad. I particularly liked it when you made the clouds spin." Fluttershy tried to encourage Rainbow, who groaned.

"Ugh. I'm not talking about my performance, I'm talking about yours. That feeble cheering!" She yelled at Fluttershy, and that made me get a little defensive.

"HEY, Rainbow, how about you use your brains for once? What good did you think would come of trying to make Fluttershy cheer for you? That's like asking Pinkie Pie to not eat sweets for a whole week!" I said, and Pinkie agreed.

"Yeah, that would be like pure torture!" Pinkie said. Twilight then spoke up.

"What are you three arguing about?" She asked curiously. Fluttershy was concerned.

"Were we arguing? I'm sorry." She said apologetically. Rainbow sighed.

"I wish you guys could come to Cloudsdale to see me compete in the Best Young Flyer Competition."

Twilight was confused. "What's that?" She asked, and Pinkie spoke up.

"It's where all the greatest Pegasus flyers get together and show off their different flying styles! Some are fast! And some are graceful." She said as she started to make flying motions, but she quickly fell. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

Applejack smiled. "Golly. I'd love to see you strut yer stuff in that competition."

I then sighed sadly, staring at the ground. "I'd love to BE in that competition, but I guess I can only dream." I said with a sad, almost pained tone in my voice. Nopony really heard me though.

"Yeah. I wish you guys could be there. Fluttershy's a great support, but her cheering isn't exactly inspirational." She said as she rolled her eyes at Flutters.

"Ooh! I'd love to see you make a sonic rainboom! It's like, the most coolest thing ever! Even though I've never actually seen it, but I mean come on! It's a sonic rainboom! How not cool could it possibly not be?!" Pinkie shouted in sheer excitement.

Twilight and I were both confused, and in unison, said "What's a sonic rainboom?". When we realized we said this at the same moment, we laughed together. Pinkie then explained for us.

"You two really need to get out more." She directed at the both of us, making me glare at her. She then continued. "The sonic rainboom is legendary! When a Pegasus like Rainbow Dash gets going sooo fast... Boom! A sonic boom and a rainbow can happen all at once!"

Applejack nodded and walked over to Rainbow, giving her a little noogie. "And Rainbow Dash here's the only pony to ever pull it off!"

Rainbow was trying to show some modesty. "It was a long time ago... I was just a filly."

"Yeah, but you're gonna do it again, right?" She asked Rainbow, who I saw gulped nervously.

"Are... you kidding? I'm the greatest flyer to ever come out of Cloudsdale! I could do sonic rainbooms in my sleep." She boasted. I raised an eyebrow, sensing the insincerity in her voice.

"Wow. If you pull that off, you'll win the crown for sure!" She told Rainbow, who smiled.

"The grand prize is an entire day with the Wonderbolts. A whole day of flying with my lifelong heroes... It'll be a dream come true!" She said excitedly. I looked at her.

"The...wonderbolts? Who are they?" I asked the Rainbow, who gasped and flew over to me, looking like she would tackle me for that.

"You don't know who the Wonderbolts are?! They're only the most talented, most amazing, coolest fliers ever in Equestria! How could you not know them?!" She asked me. I had the biggest look of shock on my face ever, from her yelling at me, then she chuckled sheepishly.

"I'm gonna go rest up. Don't wanna over prepare myself, y'know. Hehe. You, on the other hand, better keep practicing. I need a cheering section to match my spectacular performance." She directed at Fluttershy. Once Rainbow left, Fluttershy sighed sadly.

"She's practiced that move a hundred times, and she's never even come close to doing it. I don't know if I can cheer loud enough to help her." She said earnestly.

Twilight picked up a few books. "Well, guess we better get this cleaned up... again." All of a sudden, Rarity pushed her a bit.

"Go on, go on." Rarity instructed Twilight.

Twilight was confused. "Go on what?" She asked.

"Find a spell that will get us wingless ponies into Cloudsdale. Didn't you see how nervous she was?" Rarity said in a concerned voice.

Applejack shook her head. "Nervous? Have you spit yer bit or somethin'? She was tootin' her own horn louder than the brass section of a marching band!"

Rarity rolled her eyes. "Oh, puh-lease. I have put on enough fashion shows to recognize stage fright when I see it. We've got to find a way to be there for her. Now go on!" Rarity said as she pushed Twilight into the pile of books.

"Owaa! Ugh. How am I supposed to find a flight spell in this mess?" Twilight said as she stuck her head out of the proverbial sea of books.

"A flight spell? One sec." Pinkie Pie said before she zipped off at superhuman speed, returning with a book, and tossed it to Twilight. "Page twenty-seven."

"How'd you do that?" I asked Pinkie as my jaw was nearly dropped on the ground.

"It landed on my face when Rainbow Dash knocked me into the bookcase." She answered honestly. I chuckled a bit.

"Oh, well that makes sense. Got it, Twilight?" I asked her as she flipped through the book. She was flipping pages madly then gasped.

"Here it is! A spell that will allow Earth ponies to fly for three days. Ooh, it looks really difficult... I'm not sure I can do it." Twilight said very earnestly.

"You've got to try!" Rarity almost begged Twilight.

"Okay... But who's gonna volunteer to be the test subject?" Twilight asked us. After an awkward silence, Rarity spoke up.

"I will! For Rainbow Dash, I will go first." She said proudly, courageously.

I then stepped in. "Hold on girls! I got an idea. Twilight, cast the spell on me first, then I'll cast it on Rarity. Everypony ok with that?" I asked, and they nodded.

Twilight took in a deep breath, and charged up her horn. "Here goes." She said as she closed her eyes and focused. She grunted, screamed, and nearly fell off her hooves as she tried casting the spell. It took so much out of her. I felt a swirling sensation around my body, and my back felt very tingly. All of a sudden, the sensations stopped and me and Twilight both fell to the ground.

I grunted as I hit the floor and rubbed my head, dazedly. "W...what happened? Did it work?" I asked them. The girls gasped. Rarity pointed to my back, and I saw behind me I had wings!

I had the biggest, widest eyes anypony could ever even imagine, and my smile was nearly ear to ear.

"I HAVE WINGS!" I shouted as I flapped them and moved into the air. They flapped...instinctively. I don't know if the spell made it feel natural to use these wings or not, but it just felt so second nature. I moved my back like I was shrugging my shoulders, and they flapped easily.

I laughed, in sheer happiness. "I HAVE WINGS! I'M FLYING EVERYPONY, I'M FLYING!" I said as I flapped my wings harder and did some laps around the living room of the library. Rarity then put her hoof in my way to stop me, and cleared her throat. Chuckling sheepishly, I landed.

"Sorry Rare, I'm just so happy and excited! One flight spell coming up for the pretty lady." I said as I grabbed the book in my magical aura and read it. After I skimmed through and made sure I understood the spell, I charged up my horn.

As I did so, I grunted hard. This spell was giving my brain a massive migraine. It was so difficult to perform. I screamed, like Twilight did, and finally, my magic was cast. But when I opened my eyes, Rarity didn't have wings. She was turned into a bird!

"WHAT THE HAY?!" I asked in pure shock as I looked at her. I growled in frustration and grabbed my horn, trying just for a second to snap it off. "My magic must be malfunctioning again! Sorry Rarity, let me try again!"

So, for the second time, I charged up my horn and concentrated. After about 15 seconds of focus, my aura blasted to Rarity, and I fell to the ground. I opened my eyes and the spell worked. Rarity had a gorgeous pair of wings.

"I think it worked! You cast the spell!" Twilight praised me. I rubbed my head with my hoof and chuckled.

"Yeah, but I don't see how we're going to cast it three more times, Twilight. That spell is too tiring!" I said with an exasperated tone in my voice. Pinkie Pie hummed in thought, then gasped.

"The balloon Spike and I used to commentate the running of the leaves! We can use that to get up to Cloudsdale!" She shouted. I thought for a moment, my hoof on my chin in thought.

"That's...not a bad idea! You three can use the balloon! Twilight, is there a spell we can use so they can all walk on clouds?" I asked her, and she skimmed through the book again.

"Clouds, clouds, clouds... AHA! Here it is! This spell allows earth ponies to walk on clouds, and it's much easier! Jordan, you cast it on Applejack and I, and I'll cast it on Pinkie Pie, ok?" I nodded at her plan and read the spell. After, I closed my eyes and charged up my horn, grunted as I concentrated. After a few seconds, my magical energy hit both Twilight and Applejack, then Twilight's hit Pinkie.

"I think the spells worked. Can we go now!? I want to fly so badly, please say yes Twilight!" Twilight giggled at my happiness and eagerness and nodded.

"Yes, you and Rarity go ahead, we'll go get the balloon and-" I didn't stop to let Twilight finish before I flapped my wings, and shot straight out of the library living room's window.

I flapped faster, and faster, and faster still. Celestia's sake... is this how Rainbow feels? The urge to just keep flying faster? Now I understand. This feels amazing.

"I FEEL SO FREE"! I shouted to nopony as I flew over town hall, just talking to myself happily. I then tilted my weight backwards and flew faster, doing some high speed backflips. After that, I did some barrel rolls, then some front flips. I did every maneuver I could imagine, enjoying these new wings.

I flew past everything. The library, Sugarcube Corner, Carousel Boutique, Sweet Apple Acres, Fluttershy's Cottage, town hall, everything, smiling down at everypony as I flew.

I'd never felt so free. I felt the wind, the cold chilly wind, reach between these new appendages, the delicate feathers being tickled. (Rarity's Are The Dew And Gossamer Ones, But Jordan's Are Regular Flesh And Feather Wings) The wind felt amazing hitting my body, and the sense of adrenaline that was coursing through my veins, my mind, my very CORE, it was all incredible, like riding a roller coaster.

I then saw clouds and I grinned, flying up towards them at a very fast speed. Smirking a bit, I flew at the fastest speed I could right through the cloud, breaking the cloud apart. I got hit by rainwater and was soaked now, but boy did that ever feel amazing, it was so worth it!

After that, I flew straight upwards. Up, and up, and up. Once I got past the cloud cover, I found myself... in a quiet peace of mind. I realized that because I was above the cloud layer, I was in the "pegasi only" zone of the sky. There was nothing around but pegasi flying around, in a vast ocean of deep blue sky. It was gorgeous!

I smiled widely and stopped for a second as I looked around. I chuckled and quickly pinched myself, to make sure I wasn't dreaming. This really was a dream come true, it was amazing.

"I can't believe I'm flying. This is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me! Well, except getting my own house. Oh, and getting kissed by Rarity... Ok, one of the greatest things to ever happen to me!"

I looked to the east and saw... a gigantic city, resting on a cloud. I gasped; this had to be Cloudsdale! I grinned a bit and decided to race myself there. I got into a starting pose, and counted to three mentally. But before I got to three, I heard a voice.

"Darling, wait!" I heard the unmistakable voice of Rarity call out to me. I looked behind me and saw her, fluttering gently to where I was in the sky.

"Darling, would you mind if we flew to Cloudsdale together?" She asked me as she caught up to me. I was disappointed I wouldn't be able to see how fast I could fly there, but I was very happy to spend the time with her.

"Of course, Rare. Let's go." I said as I waved a hoof in front of me, urging her to fly with me as I fluttered forwards. She took the offer and followed me at me side.

She then nudged my shoulder with hers, grabbing my attention. "Darling, I hate to intrude on your privacy, but um... I was wondering if perhaps we could hold hooves as we fly?" She asked me in a soft, delicate voice. I gasped at her question.

"You...really want to hold hooves with me?" She nodded, and I smiled and grabbed her left hoof wth my right. We flew towards Cloudsdale together, hoof in hoof, ignoring the looks the pegasi sharing the skies gave us. They were also commenting on her wings. Her wings were a lot more delicate and gorgeous. They weren't regular wings, they were different.

We finally arrived at Cloudsdale, and found Rainbow and Fluttershy. We flew towards them.

They were just finishing up and argument with a group of stallions, who were walking away. Suddenly, Fluttershy saw Rarity and gasped.

"Rare..." She started, not finishing.

"Rare?! The sonic rainboom is way more than rare!" Rainbow cried out to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy was just staring at Rarity and I. "Rarity? Jordan?" She asked in wonder as she looked at us.

"Rarity! Jordan! Are you... flying?!"

"We most certainly are! Aren't my wings smashing?! And Jordan's are a lot more practical! Twilight made them for us. We just adore them!" Rarity said as she and I both landed. Rainbow and Fluttershy were...gobsmacked. "Why so shocked? We couldn't leave our favorite flyer without a big cheering section!" Rarity said as we walked towards them.

Rainbow was still shocked. "'We?'" She asked as the girls flew up to the cloud inside the balloon. It landed and they leaned on the edge of it to smile at Dash. "I... I can't believe it!" Dash said in happy disbelief.

"It's incredible!" Fluttershy said, in awe of how we all made it here.

"This is so cool! You guys made it!" Dash exclaimed happily.

Pinkie Pie grinned. "Sure did!" She said as she hopped out of the balloon.

"Wait!" Dash exclaimed, worried that Pinkie would just fall through the cloud. When she just landed on the cloud like it was land, Dash gasped. "How'd you do that? Only Pegasus ponies can walk on clouds."

Pinkie Pie laughed. "Haha. Pretty cool, huh?"

Twilight then spoke. "I found a spell that makes temporary wings, but it was too difficult to do more than once. So I cast it on Jordan, then he cast it on Rarity. Then I found an easier spell that lets the rest of us walk on clouds."

Applejack smiled at Dash. "And we came to cheer you to victory!"

Rainbow smiled. "To be honest, I was starting to get just the teeniest, tiniest bit nervous. But I feel a lot better now that you guys are here. Hey, we've got some time before the competition. Why don't Fluttershy and I show you around Cloudsdale?" She offered, and the rest of us, in unison, went "YES!"

"Ok then, everypony. Follow us, we'll take you on the grand tour!" Dash happily said as she and Flutters led us into the city.

"Here it is: the greatest city in the sky!" Dash exclaimed to us as we took in the view. The city was... massive. Bigger than Ponyville, bigger than Canterlot, it was unbelievable to me that it rested entirely on clouds.

The group went "Oooh! Aaah!" In awe at the sights before them, whereas as Rarity went "Oooh! Aaah!" In front of a mirror, as she looked at her own wings. I chuckled and stood next to her, letting my own wings unfurl and stand out fully. I smiled as I looked at them, and I heard Dash speak again.

"Uhh... Some of the greatest Pegasi in history came from Cloudsdale!" She proclaimed, and me and Rarity sprinted after her.

"Oh, wait for me!" Rarity cried out to the girls, trying to catch up. I did the same, and as I walked and Rarity flew, some stallion pegasi saw her wings, and were slackjawed.

"Those wings are gorgeous!" One of the boys called out.

"Why, thank you!" Rarity thanked them in appreciation. Twilight looked at Rarity.

"Be careful with those wings, Rarity. Yours are made from gossamer and morning dew, and they're incredibly delicate." She informed Rare, who smiled.

"Don't worry, Twilight. I'm sure they can't get worn out from too much attention." She said and I looked at her.

"Rarity... we're here to support Rainbow, remember?" I told her, but she just kinda ignored me. Applejack spoke next.

"Since we're up here, I'd sure like to get a look at where the weather's made." Applejack suggested and Dash nodded at the idea.

"Great idea! C'mon, girls. To the weather factory!" Dash led us on towards a big, big building in the middle of the city. We walked inside, and she brought us to a bit room where pegasi were working on...something.

"This is where they make the snowflakes. Each one is hoofmade. As you can see, it's a delicate operation." She told us, and I nodded. It did look like very tedious work indeed. I sure as hay wouldn't have the patience for that.

Rarity gasped. "Ooh, the snowflakes look even better from up here." She said as she flew to nearly the top of the room. This disrupted the workers' concentration because of her wings, and chaos ran rampant in the room as workers tried to salvage their snowflakes.

Rainbow chuckled sheepishly. "We better move on before Rarity ruins winter and causes a drought. Come on, let's go to the next room!" She said as she opened up a big iron door.

As soon as she did, bright colors filled our vision. I gasped as I saw a pool of liquid... it was liquid rainbows! Every color imaginable, in one pool of liquid!

"And here's where they make the rainbows! Put on a hat!" Dash told us as we walked in, grabbed a hard hat, and gathered around the pool. Pinkie stuck her hoof in the pool and licked her hoof. Her face turned every color of the rainbow, and she panted.

"Spicyyyyyy!..." She said as she ran off, I assume to get some water. We all laughed and chuckled a bit.

"My turn my turn!" I said excitedly as I stuck my hoof into the pool and licked it like Pinks. As soon as I did I regretted it. My taste buds went through every imaginable. Sour, salty, sweet, dirty, and spicy was the last one. I panted much like Pinkie.

"AHHHH! NEED WATER!" I shouted as I flew out of one of the windows. I heard Dash speak. "Yeah, rainbows aren't really known for their flavor." I flew away and caught a cloud with my mouth. I bit down on it, making the clean rain water fill my mouth. It sated my thirst and I sighed contently.

As I flew back down into the room, I saw some stallions crowded around Rarity. She was showing off her wings again...

"Whoa! Oh, where'd you get those amazing wings? I want a pair!" An adolescent one with a midrange voice said.

"Hmm... Yeah, I guess I could see that." Rarity said as she thought of this stallion having a pair of wings like hers.

"Oh, hey look, it's Rainbow Crash again!" The one with a dumb bell for a cutie mark said.

"Heheheyeah! Rainbow... Umm... Eyah... Crash!" One of them, who wasn't that bright, said slowly.

"Rarity! What're you doing talking to these guys?" Rainbow said, as if she had beef with these stallions.

"Oh, they were just admiring my wings, Rainbow Dash." She said innocently. The dumb bell one spoke up again.

"Yeah, you should forget the sonic rainboom and just get yourself some wings like these!" They said, mocking and making fun of Rainbow. I landed behind these three, and I tapped the ringleader on the shoulder, making them all turn to look at me.

Once they did, I unfurled my wings and glanced down at them menacingly, trying to intimidate them since I was much bigger than them.

"Are you making fun of my friend?" I asked in as gruff of a voice as I could muster, and the dumb bell stallion's pupils shrank down.

"No sir, we were just making a joke!" He said, and I nodded.

"Good, now why don't you three get out of here, and leave her alone before I get mad." I said as I charged up my horn. They immediately flew out of the room as fast as they could, terrified of me. Once they were gone, Dash flew up to me.

"Jordan, that was so AWESOME! I mean, the way you landed behind them, and tapped Dumb Bell on the shoulder and charged up your horn to scare them, that was so cool!" She said as she praised me. I chuckled and rubbed my shoulder a bit.

"It wasn't that big, Rainbow. I saw the way they were talking to you, and I didn't like it."

Fluttershy then spoke up. "C'mon, everypony. Why don't we go see how clouds are made? Don't listen to them. You're gonna win that competition for sure!"

"Are you kidding? I can't do the sonic rainboom, and just look at these boring, plain old feathered wings. I'm doomed!" Dash said in despair. We saw Rarity being crowded by a group of stallions.

"What, these old things? Go ahead, everypony. Photos are encouraged." Rarity said as she kinda posed for them.

Twilight spoke up. "Rarity, we're supposed to be helping Rainbow Dash relax, remember? Put your wings away and stop showing off!" She ordered Rarity, who scoffed.

"Oh, pfft. How can you ask me to put away perfection?" She asked with a grin. I sighed and looked at Twilight and Dash. Dash was shaking a bit.

"Rainbow Dash, are you okay? You don't look so good." Twilight said as she surveyed Dash, who was shaking and was very pale. She was panting too.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be okay? Everyone's so in love with Rarity's wings that they won't even notice when I totally blow it in the Best Young Flyer's Competition." She said, fearing Rarity would steal all the spotlight from her.

"Hey! There's an idea! YOU should enter the competition!" One of the mares in the crowd suggested.

"Yeah! I could watch you fly all day long!" Another one in the crowd told Rarity.

"There really isn't anypony who uses their wings quite like me. Perhaps I should compete." Rarity said very smugly, so full of herself. I heard Dash exclaim.

"WHAT?!" She screamed in complete shock and disbelief, as the workers continued to awe at Rarity's wings. I was in shock... This wasn't the Rarity I knew and loved. This was... the wings more than anything. They were twisting her moral compass, they were ruining her. I sighed and went to Dash, who was freaking out.

"What am I gonna DO?! I'll never win the competition now!" She said in a very despaired tone of voice. I rubbed her back softly.

"Dash, you'll do fine. Would it make you feel better if I entered the competition too? I'll ask the event organizer if we can go out at the same time, and I can cheer you on and stuff." I proposed. She seemed to think about it for a few seconds before smiling.

"That...that's not a bad idea! Yeah, we should totally do that!" She said in excitement. I smiled at her excitement.

"Ok, how about we go to the registration booth, while the girls get into the stands?" I asked Dash, who nodded with a smile.

"Ok girls, we'll see you later. Come on Dash, let's go." I said as I unfurled my wings and began to fly. She followed my lead and flew with me.

On the way I could tell something was wrong. She was upset. I decided to talk to her.

"Rainbow, is everything ok? I can feel how upset you are right now." I said as we flew. She shook her head.

"No, I'm not ok! Rarity's going to win the competition and completely ruin everything! I'm doomed!" She said in despair. I stopped, flew over to her and surprised her by giving her a hug.

"Dash, the judges aren't going to just give Rarity the win because of her wings. Yeah, they look cool but trust me, Rare can't fly worth a hoot, she and I flew up here together. I would know." I said, hoping my words would cheer her up.

Dash, trying to withhold a blush as I hugged her, smiled. "Thanks Jordan, I really appreciate it. I really hope I can win!" She said as we arrived at the stadium.

"I know you will, Rainbow." I said as we walked up to the registration table. We walked up to the mare who was sitting there.

"Names?" She asked us kind of nonchalantly, and we gave her our names. She gave Dash a number two, and me a number three. She told us to walk inside the backstage area of the stadium, so we did so. There, we saw about thirty pegasi with numbers around their necks.

Outside, we heard the announcer.

"Fillies and gentlecolts! Please rise and join me in welcoming our beloved Princess Celestia!" He instructed the crowd, and the entire crowd cheered and stomped their hooves.

"Please welcome our celebrity judges for the Best Young Flyer Competition: the Wonderbolts!" He said as he introduced them, and I saw Dash's eyes widen and she started to shake.

"And now, let's find out who will take the prize as this year's best young flyer!" He finishes, to a massive uproar of applause and hoof stomping. I turned to Dash, who was second in line. I was behind her.

She then took the number from number four, and slapped #5's on to me, replacing our numbers on them.

"Okay, contestant number one, you're up." The mare in charge of us informed the stallion. He went out.

"Okay, number two, let's go." She waited for #2 to go. Bumped a stallion.

"She's talking to you!" She informed him.

"Oh. Umm... Oh, I guess that's me!" He said as he ran out to the cloud field.

"Okay, number four, time to go." The mare instructed Dash. Dash AGAIN switched our numbers, and did so until we were the last ones left in the room.

"Number fifteen, let's go!" The mare in charge instructed. Finally, Rarity opened the bathroom door.

"Rarity... is ready!" She said as she stepped out of the room. As soon as I saw her my eyes... went wide. My jaw slammed onto the floor. I was absolutely in shock at how amazing Rarity looked.

Her makeup was perfect. Her outfit was masterful. Her wings... gorgeous. She was the most beautiful mare I'd ever seen!

"Rarity... you... look... AMAZING!" I said as I hawked at her in awe.

The mare in charge spoke up again. "Look, everypony. I don't know what to tell you. There's only time for one more performance. If you all want to compete, you'll just have to go out there together!" She said with finality in her voice. Rarity turned to us.

"Well Jordan, Rainbow Dash? Shall we?" She said as she fluttered to the entrance to the stadium. I did the same, and Rainbow did too after a few seconds. She was babbling for whatever reason.

"And now, for our final competitor of the day, contestant number fifteen! Uhh... And apparently contestant number four and five..." He said confusedly, not sure why we were all here at once, with previous numbers.

"Good luck, Rainbow Dash. Just do your best. I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of changing our music. That "rock and roll" doesn't really match my wings." Rarity said as some classical music played. I groaned and covered my ears. It's not that I was intolerant of classical music, I actually appreciate it a lot. I just couldn't stand THIS particular piece Rarity chose that was playing.

I flew next to Rainbow and shook her shoulder to shake her out of whatever trance she was in. "Rainbow, how can I help?" I asked her.

"Crash, sabotage Rarity, anything to make me look better!" She said as she started to fly, weaving in and out of these giant pillars. Soon though, she hit one, screwing up her flight pattern.

I heard one of the kids from earlier shout insults at Dash. I then started flying around, doing some backflips and barrel rolls, since they're all I really knew how to do. I made one of them accidentally hit Rarity, to screw her performance up. She had to re-gather herself, and she shot me a glare.

"Hehe, sorry Rare. Bad tumble there." I said as I flew away. I saw Dash start her second phase of the routine, which was the cloud spinning. She saw a cloud not far from us and flew to it, spinning around and around, swirling it. But she suddenly lost focus, and the cloud fell apart. It ended up nearly hitting the Princess!

I then heard Rarity speak as I just kinda fluttered about.

"And now for my grand finale. I will fly right up to the sun and beam my beautiful wings over the whole city of Cloudsdale! -Squeal- They'll be talking about it for years!" She said as she carefully flew higher, and higher, and higher still. Dash flew to me, trying to ignore Rarity.

"Looks like this is my last chance to turn things around. Phase three. The sonic -Gulp- rainboom. Wings, don't fail me now!" She shouted at herself as she flew away from me at a phenomenal speed. I suddenly heard Rarity shriek and scream and I quickly turned up to the sky.

My pupils shrunk at what I saw. Rarity was falling! Her wings had disappeared! She was falling at an amazing speed!

In fact, she fell below me before I could even react. I swooped down as fast as I could, and I saw the wonderbolts directly in front of me. But Rarity, in her panic, accidentally hit them all and knocked them out. It looked like I was their last hope.

I flew as fast as I could, faster, faster. I managed to reach them, but all I could manage to do was grab one pony. One with a sleek white coat, a stallion. I grabbed him and flew us out of harms way. Just as I did, and as I thought the others would smash into the ground, something amazing happened.

A bright streak of rainbow suddenly appeared. I looked at the source of the rainbow to see it was Dash. She'd done it! She did the Sonic Rainboom! Dash reached Rarity and the others just in time, and saved them from certain doom.

She then flew back towards the stadium, and the rainbow trail following her shone over the stadium like a true rainbow would. I smiled and flew up, lugging this guy on my back. When we all landed, there was an absolutely deafening uproar of applause. I knew in my heart the cheering was for Dash and the rainboom, but it felt good to pretend it was for me.

I heard Fluttershy, who to my shock was truly cheering, loudly. "A sonic rainboom! Wooo! Yeah!" She shouted in excitement. I chuckled to myself, the irony here was off the charts.

Rainbow turned to me and Rarity. "I did it. I did it!"

"You sure did. Oh thank you, Rainbow Dash. You saved my life!" She said in true appreciation.

"Oh yeah. I did that too. Ha, best day ever!" Dash said excitedly.

The girls came to join us, and we all group hugged Dash.

Rarity sighed. "I want to apologize to all of you for getting so carried away with my... beautiful wings. I guess I just lost my head." She said modestly, ashamed to herself. I put my hoof on her shoulder reasuringly.

"t's okay." Fluttershy told her.

"Oh, don't worry about it, kiddo." Applejack said happily.

"We still love you." Pinkie added with a smile.

"And I'm especially sorry that I was so thoughtless as to jump into the contest at the last minute after you had worked so hard to win it. Can you ever ever forgive me?" She asked Dash, hoping for forgiveness. Dash smiled.

"Aw, it's okay. Everything turned out all right, right? I just wish I could have met the Wonderbolts when they were awake." She said a bit sadly. All of a sudden, three ponies showed up.

Rainbow gasped. "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" She said frantically in true excitement.

Spitfire, their leader, spoke. "So you're the little pony who saved our lives. We really wanted to meet you, and say thanks."

Rainbow was flabbergasted. "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" She then turned to look at me, and coughed to gather herself. "Actually... it wasn't all me. My friend Jordan here saved Soarin." She said as she motioned for me to join them. I smiled and did so.

Soarin looked at me. "So you saved me? Wow kid, I guess I owe you one." He told me with a smile. I shook my head.

"Not at all, Mr. Soarin. I'm just a pony who was in the right place at the right time." I said earnestly. It was all true.

He then looked at me a bit funny. "Wait... you have wings, and a horn! That doesn't make sense!" He said in confusion. I chuckled a bit.

"Well, see, there's an explanation for that." I said as I charged my horn. All of a sudden, my wings disappeared. They gasped in shock.

"I'm just a regular old unicorn, Mr. Soarin. Me and my friends decided to come up to Cloudsdale to support our friend Rainbow Dash here in the competition. Me and my friend Rarity got wings, the others just were able to walk to clouds." I explained to them. Soarin nodded in understanding.

"I see. Well hey kid, I still do owe you. If you ever find yourself with that spell on you and you come to Cloudsdale, seek me out. We'll hang out or something." He told me with a smile.

I chuckled. "Might just take you up on that, Mr. Soarin." I then saw them bow suddenly. I turned and saw it was due to Princess Celestia. I too bowed out of respect.

Twilight spoke up first. "Princess."

Princess Celestia smiled. "Hello, Twilight Sparkle, and hello to your friends too." She said as she smiled to all of us.

Rarity sighed. "Princess Celestia, I am sorry I ruined the competition. Rainbow Dash here really is the best flyer in Equestria." She said with some...urgency in her voice, as if she owed it to Dash to rectify her mistakes.

Princess Celestia nodded. "I know she is, my dear. That's why, for her incredible act of bravery and her spectacular sonic rainboom, I'm presenting the grand prize for Best Young Flyer to this year's winner, Miss Rainbow Dash!" She said as two ponies put a crown on Dash, and the crowd uproariously cheered.

Rainbow was happier than I would have thought possible. "Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygoshohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh!" She went once again.

Princess Celestia then spoke. "So Twilight Sparkle, did you learn anything about friendship from this experience?"

Twilight nodded. " I did Princess, but I think Rarity learned even more than me."

Rarity smiled. "I certainly did. I learned how important it is to keep your hooves on the ground, and be there for your friends." She said wisely. I smiled and hugged her.

"Well said, Rare." I said as we hugged.

"Excellent. Well done, Rarity." The Princess approved.

Rainbow then spoke. "This really is the best day ever!" Then, the boys from earlier came up to her.

"Uhh, hey, Rainbow Crash."

"Dash!" His friend corrected.

"Oh! Uhh... Sorry. Rainbow Dash. Uhh, we just wanted to congratulate you on winning the competition." He congratulated.

"That sonic rainboom was awesome!" Another boy added.

Rainbow chuckled. "Heh, thanks, guys."

"Uhh, we're really sorry we gave you such a hard time before." He said in humility.

"Aww, that's okay. Don't worry about it." She said, accepting their apology.

"Hey. Do you want to hang out with us? Maybe you could show us how you did that incredible trick!" He proposed. Dash turned to look at the Wonderbolts, and they flew away together.

"Sorry, boys... But I've got plans!" She said to them as they flew away. I chuckled.

"Well, I hope she sure does have fun with her idols." I said as I watched them go. "This has been a great day for me too. Being able to fly... it was amazing." I turned to Twilight, walked to her, and hugged her.

"Thank you, Twilight. I know casting this spell took a lot out of you, but this was so amazing for me. Thank you." I said as I hugged her tightly. She smiled.

"It was nothing Jordan, I'm glad you had fun. We should all be going home now though." She said. I smiled.

"You guys take the balloon, I'll see you there!" I said as I ran towards the edge of the cloud. Once I did, the girls gasped, including the princess.

"Jordan, WAIT!" Rarity called after me. I then jumped off the cloud, free falling to the depths below. What the girls didn't know is there was a lake directly underneath us. I rotated midfall, and I saw them staring down at me from the edge of the cloud with dropped jaws.

I smirked up at them a bit then rotated again, also shifting my weight forwards so I was diving headfirst. Then, I hit the water. I slammed into the water, creating a huge tidal wave splash. I went 10 or so feet in, but I was able to swim up and out easily.

I chuckled as I got to shore. That was loads of fun, I always did want to try that. I shook the water off of me, and walked southwest to town. Once I got there, I walked to my house, unlocked the door, and walked inside. Elise saw me and attacked me with kisses.

"You look like ya had a crazy day, ah won't even ask." She said with a chuckle. I rolled me eyes.

"Good, it's a long story." I said as I walked to the kitchen. I got some food to eat, then went to the living room.

"I'm going to sleep, Elise. I'll see you." I said as I plopped onto the couch, rolling onto my side and drifting to sleep. I didn't have a lot on my mind, I was too happy from today's events. This was an amazing day, being able to fly. I just wish I could have kept those wings. That was my last thought before I fell asleep.

Author's Note

Heya everypony. I hope you loved this chapter. With that, we are all caught up on both websites! I hope you enjoyed the read, and i'll see you at chapter 20 for The Stare Master! Tata for now!

The Stare Master

-Hello, Everypony, And Welcome To The Next Chapter Of The Pursuit Of Happiness! I Don't Have Too Much To Say, But Here's This.

Ok, So A Ton Has Happened Since My Last Chapter, And I'm So Sorry It Took So Long To Update The Story. For Starters, My Laptop Broke Even Worse Than It Had, So I've Had To Work On The Story On The Family Desktop Whenever I Get A Chance. For Another, I Had An Awesome Family Reunion Down In L.A. That Was Incredible. We Had Dinner At The Original Bob's Big Boy Restaurant, And We Sat In The Beatles Booth, Where The Beatles Were Waited At For Dinner When They Were In L.A While Promoting Their Revolver Album. As A Fan Of The Beatles, I Swear That Was Like A Religious Experience For Me, Haha!

I Also Got To See The Getty Center, And Hollywood Walk Of Fame. That Was Truly So Incredible. Being A Boy Born And Raised In Eastern Washington, I Never Get To See Anything Like That. It Was Such An Incredible Experience. I Even Got To See The House My Father Grew Up In As A Child, His High School, And The Church He And My Mother Got Married At. It Was Amazing.

But The Most Important Thing That's Happened, And The One That Affects You, My Readers The Most, Is Your Author Has Finally Gotten A Job. That's Right! I Am Now An Employee Of Sonic Drive In, Working The Grill! I'm Excited To Be Working And Getting Job Experience, Even Though It's Super Stressful. This Means I Won't Have Quite The Same Schedule To Be Writing Anymore, But I'll Try Not To Abandon This Story. Oh, And Here's Another Important Note.

This Is The First Chapter To Ever Be Uploaded To Fanfiction And Fimfiction Simultaneously. Before We Get To The Chapter, I Need To Speak On Something Serious. When I First Uploaded This Story To Fim, It Was Not A Great Moment For Me. After A While, The Story Had Far More Dislikes Than Likes. Now, it's at a much higher rating, but a fact remains. For A Few Days, I Was Just So Confused. I Know This Story Isn't The Best Ever Written But, Dammit, I Really Do Pour My Heart And Soul Into This Story. It Made Me Sad, Because I Felt Like My Writing Just... Wasn't Good Enough. I Mean, People Told Me To Quit Writing, That This Story Was Unoriginal, Etc. It Took A Lot Of Encouragement From Friends To Get My Confidence Back, But I Am Back. And I'm Not Going To Allow ANYBODY To Bring Me Down Like That Again, Not Even If Lauren Faust Herself Told Me To Quit.

One More Thing. If You Have Any Questions About The Story At All, PLEASE Don't Hesitate To Ask Me! I Won't Reveal Any Major Story Plots, Though! STAY FOR IMPORTANT NOTES AT THE BOTTOM, TOO!

Let's Begin!-

I was rudely awakened suddenly one morning. I heard a loud “Thump thump thump!” knocking sound coming from the living room downstairs. I was far too tired to get up to answer the door.

That's when I heard a...soft voice. “Angel, sweetie, we should go. He's probably not awake.” A pony said. Soon, I heard the door open up, and I heard some scurrying noises up my staircase.

“Angel, we really should leave, we don't want to intrude on his privacy.” That same pony said. I then heard my bedroom door open.

“See, Angel bunny? He's asleep. Come on, we need to-” That pony, who I saw was Fluttershy, who for some reason also had Opal, started to say. But suddenly, Angel hopped up onto my bed. He then suddenly WALLOPED my face with a kick from one of his feet.

This awoke me fully. I cried out in pain and fell off the bed as I recoiled from the hit. As I hit the floor, I grabbed my face in pain.

“OW, WHAT THE...” I said a bit angrily, feeling a throbbing pain in my forehead. That's when I saw Angel. “You little menace! I'm gonna skin you alive and wear your coat for a sock!” I shouted as I leapt after him. He dodged me though, and blew a raspberry at me. Seeing him disrespect me in this way INFURIATED me, and I leapt again, this time catching him.

“HAHA, got you you little runt!” I said as I laughed. But he suddenly bit my hoof, causing me to drop him and cry out in pain. I brought my hoof to my mouth and sucked on it a bit as the pain from his bite coursed through me. I looked at the fluffy menace with a near death glare on my face.

“THAT DOES IT!” I said as I charged up my horn, and grabbed him with my magic. I laughed as he squirmed and struggled, as he had nowhere to go.

“Ha, not feeling so smug now, are you, you rat?!” I said to him. However, right as I was about to do some rat extermination, Fluttershy stopped me by walking right in front of me.

“Jordan, stop, leave Angel alone!” She practically begged me, as she grabbed me, trying to calm me down. I breathed heavily through my nose, powerful streams of air going directly into my lungs, trying to contain myself. I slowly lowered my eyes at Angel and shoved him to the ground, letting him scurry to Fluttershy's hooves and hide behind them.

“Why did he kick me, that really hurt!” I asked her in anger, as I rubbed my forehead with my uninjured hoof. She pet my mane softly, trying to calm me down.

“Well...see, Angel was wanting to see your new house, since he hasn't been here before. I think that was his way of trying to wake you up. I'm sure he didn't mean for it to hurt. Don't you worry, he and I will be having a talk about this back at home.” She told me as she glared down at Angel. I sighed.

“That stupid little rat is a menace I tell you. Whatever, let's go downstairs and grab something to eat, ok?” I said as I walked down the staircase to the kitchen. Fluttershy only nodded and trotted behind me softly, I guess she was dumbstruck at my anger and didn't know of how to say or react to it.

I hummed as I looked through my pantry and cabinets for food to eat. I grabbed some oats and some berries for us to all share, though I was a bit hesitant to give the rat any food. Anyway, I sat down at the table with it. I poured the oats and berried into a snack bowl and grabbed some to munch on. Fluttershy did the same, scooping up some in her hoof-grasp and munching softly. She then gasped.

“Oh, Jordan. I forgot to tell you. I'm going to Rarity's soon to return Opal to her. Poor little thing needed a makeover.” She said as she pet Opal, who purred and relaxed in Flutters's affection. I chuckled at the scene.

“Sure, I'll come with you.” I said, sensing why she was telling me this. I guess now it was no secret to the girls that I had a special friendship with Rarity. I was close with every single one of the girls, but ever since the fiasco with the dresses, and especially after the best young flier competition, Rarity and I just seem to click as friends really well. Anyway, she smiled and when we were done eating our snack, we told Angel to head back home, and walked with Opal to the boutique.

When we got there we walked up the stairs to Rarity's work room. We rung the doorbell to the room and waited.

“Oh, what now?!” Rarity cried out as she opened the door. Looking in the room, Rarity seemed to be trying to work on things, with Sweetie Belle perched on a table inside.

Fluttershy looked sad. “Oh, sorry. I thought the "open" sign meant you were open, but I must have been mistaken.” She said as she started to turn away, but I stopped her gently.

Rarity gasped when she realized it was Fluttershy and I. “Fluttershy! Jordan! Forgive me! I was so wrapped up in my work that I forgot you were bringing Opalescence back from her grooming!” She apologized for her unintended rudeness, and I waved my hoof dismissively, showing her I wasn't at all offended.

Fluttershy smiled. “No worries, Rarity. I've left her there in the basket.” Fluttershy said as she pointed to the wicker basket Opal was in. Opal purred when Fluttershy pet her, and again relaxed in the embrace of affection.

Rarity smiled. “Oh, she looks great! I just don't understand how you're able to do it! I can't get near her without getting a swipe from her claws.” She said as Opal indeed swiped at her and hissed, when Rarity got near her.

Rarity yelped in fright. “Ahh!” She then looked at Fluttershy. “Did you use... the Stare on her?” Rarity asked with a hint of fright. Fluttershy gasped and got into a stance, combined with a look on her face of... something, perhaps fright.

“Oh, no! I wouldn't! I couldn't! I-I don't really have any control over when that happens. I-It just happens. No, I'm just good with animals. It's my special gift, you know?” She said with a smile. I looked at her curiously.

“Well, you should have a picture of Opal as a cutie mark instead of those butterflies.” Rarity replied, still in wonder at the amazing work Flutters had done on Opal. I then spoke up, as I was very confused about something.

“Wait. I'm confused. What the heck is the-” I was cut off by Sweetie Belle, who spoke from the table.

“Ooh, ooh, oh, oh, oh, oh! Maybe I can be good with animals, too!” Sweetie said as she went to Opal. She just caused a bit of a problem though.

“Or not.” She said a little sadly and returned to her place in the room.

Rarity then sighed. “I'm sorry I can't invite you to stay and chat, Fluttershy. I've bitten off a bit more than I can chew with this order.” She said dejectedly

Sweetie Belle was confused. “But you're not eating anything.” She said as she observed that fact. I laughed a bit at her youthful innocence.

Rarity shook her head. “No, Sweetie, it's an expression. It means that I've taken on more work than I can handle. I've got twenty of these special robes to make tonight! They're due in Trottingham tomorrow morning.” She said in despair.

I then looked at her. “Do you need help Rarity? I'd be glad to, I know how stressful dress making can be ever since that whole gala dress nonsense a few weeks ago. I'd be glad to help.” I said with a smile, but Rarity shook her head at my offer.

“No thank darling. I greatly appreciate the offer, but I have to decline. You've done far too much for me lately, I simply couldn't ask that of you. Besides, this order is different than those gala dresses. There really is not much way you could help me anyway.” She informed me sadly. I knew she was right; this was a project I couldn't really help on that much. I nodded at her, then she pointed to some dresses very bright gold material on her desk.

“See? I've lined them in a special gold silk. It took so long to make, but I think it adds just the right touch, don't you?” She said kinda giddily, she was proud of her work and excited about how this fabric would look on the robes.

“These are lovely, but twenty by tonight? How will you get it all done?” Fluttershy asked. I had the same question. She has to make a couple dozen? These robes appear to be pretty labor intensive as well.

Rarity gulped. “Well, I, uh...” She never finished her sentence, as she was obviously distraught and unsure herself.

Sweetie Belle then spoke up. “Oh, oh, oh! Maybe I could... just... just stand over here and watch.” She said sadly at the end. I felt bad for her. She's a great little filly with a heart of gold, but she's just very...clumsy sometimes.

Rarity just nodded. “I'll manage.”

Fluttershy then looked at me, then Rarity. “Well, maybe we should get out of your mane so you can work.” She said with a smile at the white mare.

We were about to turn around to leave, but before we even could, the door burst open. It was Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, in a mad dash for whatever they were here for.

“Hi, Fluttershy! Hi Jordan! Hi, Rarity!” They greeted us. I shook my head a little and cracked a weak smile as they rushed into the room completely unannounced, and walked towards them.

Rarity gulped a bit. “Hello, uh, girls...” She said a bit nervously. I wasn't at all sure why she would be nervous though.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo went to Sweetie Belle. “Hey, Sweetie Belle!” They cheered together.

Sweetie Belle hadn't seen the girls, and when she noticed them she jumped in excitement. “Scootaloo! Apple Bloom!” She cheered happily, and they all hugged.

When they separated, Scootaloo smirked. “You ready for tonight?” She asked, and Sweetie nodded with a smile.

“Yup! Cutie mark planning session is a go!”

Apple Bloom then turned to me. “Jordan! Tonight is the night we each try to find our own special talent. Y'all have to join us, since you're a cutie mark crusader too!” She told me. I chuckled at her unbridled excitement and patted her head with my hoof.

“Sure Apple Bloom, I'll join you.” I said with a smile, also taking time to pat Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle's heads.

Scootaloo smiled. “We're gonna get our cutie marks, even if it takes us all night!” She told the three of us excitedly.

Apple Bloom shouted. “I'm ready! You ready?”

Scootaloo shouted as well. “Very ready!”

Then the girls all cheered together. “Cutie Mark Crusader sleepover at Rarity's! Yay!” They cheer shouted in unison. I chuckled at their eagerness.

Sweetie Belle pulled out a neat looking cape. “And... look what I made us! Even Jordan!” She said as she presented the capes. They had an insignia that represented each of us, and it was very clear that the little filly had put a lot of work into them.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were in awe. “Oh, wow! That's so cool! Oooh!” They said together. I took my cape and slowly tied it around my neck, smiling as I looked in the mirror.

Fluttershy poked one of the girls on the shoulder. “What does that patch on your cape mean?” She asked the girls curiously.

The girls responded by shouting their answer in unison. “The Cutie Mark Crusaders! Yay!”

Scootaloo then elaborated. “We're on a crusade, a mission!”

Apple Bloom continued. “To find our cutie marks!”

Sweetie Belle added on. “Yup. And look. I lined them with this special gold silk. It took sooo long to make, but I think it adds just the right touch, don't you?”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo went “Oooooh!” in unison again.

I then looked over at Rarity, who was looking at a sheet of gold fabric. She ran to it and held it up. There were like ten holes in it, in the shape of the capes. I gulped, realizing the fabric Rarity needed was now completely useless.

“Sweetie Belle! What have you done?” Rarity cried out to her sister. “That was the last of the gold silk! Oh, now I'll have to make more! Oh, I hope I can make more. I'm gonna have to work all night! Which means...” Rarity sighed and looked at the girls. “Sorry, girls, I'm afraid the Crusaders sleepover is canceled.” She informed the girls with a tone filled with remorse. The crusaders gasped.

“What?!” Sweetie shrieked. Rarity looked at her with a look of sorrow and perhaps some remorse tacked onto it.

“I just won't have any time to watch you if I want to get these robes delivered on time.” Rarity informed them sadly.

Sweetie Belle was sad. “But—“ She started to interject, but she was cut off by Rarity.

“No buts this time. I'm sorry, Sweetie Belle. It's just the way it has to be.” She said with finality, resignation filled in her voice. I then spoke up.

“R...Rarity? Why don't I take care of the girls tonight? They can come over to my house. You know I have the guesthouse for them to stay in. I have games, food, blankets and pillows, everything they need. I'll take care of them.” I said with a confident smile. Rarity seem bewildered.

“I couldn't ask you to do that.” Rarity told me. I only smiled.

“Rarity, it would be no problem at all. I can handle it.” I said, but she shook her head.

“Darling, have you met my sister and her friends? A problem is all it would be.” She said with some resentment towards the girls.

I shook my head back. “You seem to forget that I'm a cutie mark crusader as well, Rare. You know how much the girls trust me, and look up to me. I can do this, and thanks to these capes you're even more behind!” I told her as I pointed to the sheet of fabric. Rarity shuddered a bit and sighed.

“I suppose that's true... and I do have a lot of work to do...” She said as she thought.

Fluttershy then stepped in. “I can help Jordan, if it makes you feel any better, Rarity. You know how good I am with animals, children should be no different.” She said with a smile. I on the other hand was quite... fuzzled at her statement. Children aren't even close to taking care of animals. “Come on, it'll be fun.” Fluttershy finished. Rarity looked at Fluttershy, then at me, seeming to ponder the situation.

“I assure you, they're quite a handful.” She informed both of us. Fluttershy shook her head and went to the girls.

“These sweet little angels?” She said as the crusaders gave Rarity an innocent, big smile.

Rarity gave in. “Well... all right.” The crusaders then cheered and hugged Fluttershy and I.

“Cutie Mark Crusader sleepover at Jordan's house! YAY!” They cheered and ran out of the door.

Fluttershy smiled. “So cute. W-wait for me!” She said as she started to fly to them. I held her shoulder, making her look at me, and smiled.

“Come on, they know the way to my house Fluttershy. Let them run, get their exercise, release their energy. Let's walk together.” I said as the both of us began to trot out of the boutique. She walked right beside me, stride in stride to my home. When we got there, the girls were crowding the door like savage animals. I chuckled and grabbed my keys, unlocking the front door and allowing them entry as I pushed the heavy, oak front door to my domicile open.

They ran inside excitedly and started inspecting everything, since they'd never been here before. I saw Scootaloo hop on my sofa to test it by hopping on it like a bed and laying on it, Apple Bloom ran to my kitchen to get some snacks, and Sweetie Belle was investigating my collection of memorabilia on my shelf.

I walked over to Sweetie Belle, and she pointed to my trophy from the Running Of The Leaves. “Hey Jordan, what's that trophy for?” She asked me curiously. I took the trophy, which had a running stallion cast in bronze atop a mantle at the bottom of the trophy, and gave it to Sweetie to hold.

“Well Sweetie Belle, I won this trophy a while back, for winning the Running Of The Leaves. I decided at the last minute to enter the race, and I somehow ended up winning. Even though I thought no chance of ever winning, not even in my wildest dreams, I still somehow won the race.”

She had looked at me with bright eyes of wonder as she listened to my tale, and even Scoots and Apple Bloom had come over to listen. Sweetie Belle looked at me with a curious face.

“I don't understand, Jordan. You're twice our age, you've been all over Equestria, and you've done so many things. How have you not gotten your cutie mark?” She asked me. I tossled her mane a little bit.

“I don't know, Sweetie. I guess none of the things that I've done were my special talent. For all we know, I could be fifty before I discover my talent.” The girls gasped at my words, and I could see in their eyes they were all starting to freak out at the possibility of being old mares by the time they found their talent. I sighed.

“Girls, I didn't mean it like that. Trust me, you'll find your special talent in no time. I'm probably just a very weird circumstance, not finding my talent. I'm more than sure you three will.” I said with a smile. We all shared a group hug together.

All of a sudden though, I felt a weird feeling in my chest. I held a hoof on my chest and grunted slightly. Fluttershy looked at me.

“What's wrong? Are you Ok?” She asked me. I rubbed my hoof a bit.

“I'm not sure. I...think I might be getting sick. Ooo, shoot.” I said as I sorta collapsed onto the couch. I sneezed suddenly and held my head.

I was feeling bad. My body was quickly succumbing to whatever sickness had grabbed it in its vile clutches.

“I... I don't understand! What illness comes on so strongly in such a short period of time?” I asked in disbelief. I heard Apple Bloom speak.

“The pony flu! I heard from Applejack it's been goin around lately! Y'all probably caught it from somepony.” She said, and then the girls gasped and looked at each other.

“Are y'all thinkin what I'm thinkin?” Apple Bloom asked the girls. Scootaloo grinned.

“I know I am!” The orange pegasus quickly remarked. Sweetie Belle nodded.

“Totally!” She said with a grin.

Apple Bloom grinned too. “Then let's do it! CUTIE MARK CRUSADER NURSES!” They cried out in unison. They then ran to me and grabbed one of my forehooves, leading me to my bed upstairs.

As I carefully traversed the staircase following their lead, I tried to ward them off. “Girls... girls... I'm ok. This whole nursing thing seems really unnecessary.” I said as Apple Bloom had me lay on my bed. The girls were scrambling back and forth for things.

“Scootaloo, y'all got the thermometer?!” Apple Bloom shouted to Scootaloo as she herself tried to find a stethoscope. I really didn't think I even owned one, though.

“Yeah, I found it in the bathroom!” Scootaloo replied as she walked to me. She pushed the thermometer in my mouth. I opened my eyes a bit wide from sheer surprise, and a few seconds later Scootaloo removed the thermometer.

“He's burning up!” Scootaloo declared as she looked at the thermometer. The red bar was high, if I had to guess I was running a fever of maybe 101.5, not too alarming, but they didn't care. Sweetie Belle laid an ice pack on my head.

“Oh no, that's not good! This should help.” She said as she laid it on my forehead.

I tried to sit up. “Girls, this isn't nece-” I started to say, until Apple Bloom then walked in with the stethoscope. She put it into each of her ears and placed it onto my chest, listening to my heart.

“Hmm. His heart sounds fine girls. That's good.” She said as she removed the stethoscope. I saw Fluttershy in the corner of the room, an unsure look on her face as she watched this happen.

“Girls...” She said softly, but they didn't hear her.

Scootaloo grinned. “Time for surgery!” Scootaloo smirked as she grabbed a big saw. I opened my eyes wide and tried to sit up.

“WHOA WHOA WHOA! Scootaloo, let's put that away!” I said in a panicked, ordering tone of voice. I felt bad for kinda yelling at her, but she got way out of hand there.

Sweetie Belle hugged me in a protective way. “He doesn't need surgery! What he needs is love and compassion!” She told the girls. Apple Bloom seemed to agree.

“Yeah Scoots, don't be silly!” Apple Bloom said. I sighed.

“Girls. Enough.” I said in a very authoritative tone. This made them look at me. I sighed again.

“Girls, I know you just want me to feel better, but this is too much. What I really need is rest.” I told them. I then sneezed hard, and rubbed my nose.

“AHHHHTOOOWEEEEII!” I shouted as I sneezed. I sniffled a bit. “And...maybe some tissues. And some tomato soup for strength.” I said as I laid back on the bed, letting my ice pack cool my fever. The girls grinned.

“Right away!” They happily exclaimed as they ran downstairs. When they left, Fluttershy walked to me and rubbed my cheek softly.

“Will you be ok?” She asked me in concern. I nodded.

“Yes. I'll be ok with some food and rest, Fluttershy. Can you go downstairs and make sure they don't burn my home down? It would mean a lot.” I said as I laid back into the bed, not smiling for once, frowning a little. Not at her, but at the current state I was in. She nodded.

“Of course. I'll bring it up to you when it's done cooking. You rest up, ok?” She said as she kissed my cheek softly. This made me feel lighter than air, like... I was resting on top of a cloud. As she walked away and I watched her, I even forgot that I was sick for a few moments, before the throbbing in my head returned and I pushed the ice pack into my forehead with my hoof.

I groaned as I looked up to the ceiling. My nose was stuffy, my head was on fire, my body ached, and my skin felt... tingly. I didn't realize how much time went by, but in what felt like no time at all the girls all came to the room with the soup and tissues, on a serving platter. The kind so you can have breakfast in bed.

Flutterhy sat next to me and smiled, getting a spoon of soup and blowing on it. “Here you go, Jordan. Here comes the train!” she said softly as she pushed the spoon to my mouth. I opened my mouth reluctantly, embarrassed she was feeding me like I was a little filly. I heard the fillies giggling a bit as they watched this. I closed my mouth around the spoon and swallowed, the smooth, tangy taste of the tomato soup making my taste buds sing.

Fluttershy fed me like this until I asked her to stop, once I got full. Suddenly, there was a knocking at the bedroom door.

“Jordan? Are you there?” the voice of Twilight asked me. “Yeah Twi, in here!” With that, she opened my bedroom door and gasped.

“Whoa, are you ok?” She asked in concern as she trotted to my bedside. Fluttershy looked at her.

“Poor thing seems to have gotten the pony flu. We got to his house about an hour ago and he nearly collapsed.” Fluttershy told Twilight a little solemnly.

Twilight looked sympathetic towards me. “Oh gee, that's too bad. I was going to ask you if you wanted to come with me to Zecora's, Jordan. I'm going there to get some of my favorite tea.” She told me.

I sighed a bit. Is this going to be one of those things where I'm sick and everypony does things without me? Great, that's just what I need...

Fluttershy gulped nervously. “Th-The Everfree Forest? Ah, you'll be careful, won't you?” She asked Twilight, her soft voice filled with worry and concern for our dear friend.

Twilight nodded. “Of course! How about you? What are you doing with the girls?”

I spoke up. “Rarity has a big order to fill tonight, so I volunteered to take the girls over to my house for a sleepover. Fluttershy offered to help, since she's so good with animals. She figured taking care of the girls with me would be no problemo.” I informed her as I pushed the ice pack down onto my head more, because my forehead was getting sweaty and clammy.

Twilight smiled a bit. “Wow. Sounds like everypony has their hooves full today. Taking care of those three fillies all by yourselves? You sure you can handle it?” She asked Fluttershy and I with concern, and Fluttershy nodded as she pointed her hoof to the crusaders.

“What? These sweet little angels? They'll be no problem at all. Jordan can rest up, and I can watch the girls. Easy as pie.” Fluttershy said with a smile.

Twilight smiled back. “Well, ok then. I have full confidence in the both of you. Jordan, you be sure to rest up, ok? See you all later.” Twilight told the lot of us as she left the house, closing doors behind her. I sighed a bit and lay back down, my head throbbing slightly from pain. I was also feeling an immense pressure behind my eyes, which was a very strange sensation.

I then felt Fluttershy, rubbing my shoulder with her hoof. “Jordan... I um... I think it might be better if I take the girls to my cottage. You're too ill to get out of bed and take care of them.” She said with a sad tone of voice.

I shook my head. “Fluttershy, I couldn't ever put that burden on you. I'm ok, really! See?” I said as I tried to slowly stand up out of bed, only to almost fall down onto the floor. Fluttershy grabbed me and laid me back on the bed.

“No buts, mister. You need to rest and get yourself better. I'll take the girls to my house, it's really no problem at all.”

I sighed again and started to interject, but I stopped once I saw the look on Fluttershy's face. I knew that with those eyes, she was never going to change her mind on this. Feeling defeated, I just nodded at her and laid back down on the bed.

“Ok Fluttershy. I'll let you take the girls, but please take care of them. And if you need any help you'd better come back and get me, ok?” I told her with a very serious face, and she nodded at me. She then leaned down and kissed me on my forehead, and this made me blush a little bit.

She turned and walked out of my bedroom, leaving my door open. A few moments later, I heard the crusaders all go “Aw...” in unison sadly, a surefire sign they were a bit disappointed I was too sick to join them in their crusading.

Another few moments later, I heard the front door of my home open and then shut closed. I had a brief moment of sadness as I felt the quietness, the desolation of my home. After the events of the past few hours, this nothingness was just so... alien. It left me sad, and feeling alone.

The next thing I knew, my world turned black, and I woke up hours later. I was still alone, which shocked me. “Huh... Fluttershy said she would be here to check on me. It's been four hours...” This made me feel concerned, and I don't know why, but I got the strong feeling that I should go check on HER now.

Ignoring the fact that I was still sick, I tossed aside the covers, put on my scarf, locked up the house behind me and walked to Fluttershy's cottage. When I got there, I found that the place was entirely deserted! Lights were out, the door was open and not a voice was to be heard.

I sprinted inside the cottage, worried that something had happened to the girls, or Fluttershy. Once I reached the living room, I saw him...

“Oh great, it's you! Out of all the ponies who were here tonight, I had to be stuck with you?!” I spat my sentence in anger at Angel, still mad at him for what he did to me earlier. He gave me a glare back, and tapped his foot. Suddenly, he pointed to the back door to the cottage, and I took that as my cue. I ran outside the door, and saw the chicken coop. It was full, save one chicken! I saw a trail of feet/hoof marks going from the coop, into the everfree forest.

My eyes opened wide as I looked at the ominous trail in front of me, and I thought. “Oh no... did they go into the everfree, looking for the chicken, AT NIGHT?!” I screamed in my own mind in fear. I felt my knees start to wobble. Not out of fear for myself, but out of worry and fear of what might have happened to the girls. The everfree is filled with countless nightmares of creatures, the poor fillies and timid Fluttershy wouldn't stand a chance against any of them!

Not even giving my brain time to formulate some sort of a sensible plan, my legs all of a sudden took flight, galloping alongside the trail of combined chicken prints and hoof prints. They lead further, and further into the forest. I was so lost in thought as I walked, that I didn't even realize that I had gone off course from the tracks.

I slowed down to a slow walk, and looked around. Even though I'm a stallion, and I'm supposed to be tough and brave... I was genuinely scared. I kept hearing eerie, frightening noises, and it was so dark. I was horrified.

In the distance, I saw a silhouette of what appeared to be a... pony. At least, I thought it was. Was it? It was so hard to tell because of how sick I was. It was entirely possible I was hallucinating from my fever.

Deciding not to take any chances, I sprinted to the silhouette ahead, hoping it was either Twilight, Fluttershy, or the crusaders. When I got to the figure in front of me, I sighed in relief.

“Twilight, or Fluttershy, whoever you are, come on! We have to find the girls ASAP!” I said to the figure. However, the figure just slowly turned to me, and that's when it happened. That's when I saw those eyes. Those blood red, angry eyes.

A flash of lightning appeared, and with the little light the flash provided me, I could see this pony was nopony I knew. It was entirely black. Mane, tail coat, eyes, every detail of it was black. Even where its cutie mark was supposed to be, was nothing but black. It turned to me and I felt a stone cold shiver run up my entire spine, fear striking my brain like a club.

“Who...who are you?” I asked very cautiously, in as soft a voice as I could mutter. Whoever this being was just stared at me for a time, before it spoke in a very dark, blank tone of voice.

“Who I am does not matter. Why I am here is all that concerns you. I regret to inform you that you, my dear stallion, are in danger. I knew you would show up in this forsaken grove, and I bided my time waiting for you. Now I can inform you that you are in grave danger. It is best for you if you simply leave Equestria. If you agree, I can cast a spell right now that will return you to whence you came.” It said as it pointed to its horn. I looked at it confused.

“Whence I came? Look, I don't know who you are, or what you mean, but I live here in Ponyville. And I'm never leaving. So, you can go ahead and get out of my way.” I said kinda coldly, returning the dialect it used on me.

The being then started to disappear. “Suit yourself.” It said as it literally vanished. I started to feel very... off. I felt upset, confused, and shocked by what just happened. I basically went into a bit of a grumpy mood...

After it was gone, about a quarter mile away I saw Fluttershy, and the girls. The girls were all running around is circles, screaming in fear and fright. Suddenly, Fluttershy shouted, shielding her eyes from some...thing.

“Girls! Behind me, now!” She ordered the girls, and the girls immediately scrambled behind Fluttershy. After a few seconds, she opened up her eyes and jumped towards the chicken monster thing.

“You! Just who do you think you are, going around turning others into stone?” She asked the creature as she gave it a glare, and the creature just squawked at her. I ran to Fluttershy, so confused.

“Fluttershy?! What the hay is going-” I was cut off mid sentence as me and the creature stared at each other, and all of a sudden my body felt...cold. I felt rigid, and I couldn't move! The only thing I could move was my eyes, and even that was difficult. What the hay just happened to me?!

Fluttershy saw this happen, and she gasped and turned back to the monster, even more angry than before. “You should be ashamed of yourself! I have a mind to find your mother and tell her what you've been up to, young man!” Fluttershy said as her rear legs started transforming into... stone. Wait, is that what happened to me?! I'm nothing but stone?! “Now you go over there, and turn Elizabeak and my friend Twilight back to normal, and don't ever let me catch you doing this again. Do you understand me?” Fluttershy finished as her rear legs broke from their stone prison. The monster nodded, and ran away from us, and next thing I new I hit the ground like a ton of bricks.

“OW!” I said in pain, and looked up to Fluttershy, who had a concerned look on her face.

“Jordan, girls! Are you alright? I was so worried about you!” She said in a concerned tone of voice, and the girls nodded.

“Yeah, fine!” Scootaloo said.

“Thanks to that stare of yours.” Sweetie Belle added.

“You're like the queen of stares!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “You're the-” She continued, then stopped.

“Stare Master!” The three girls all finished, together.

“We're sorry we snuck out of the house and into the forest.” Sweetie Belle said with a sad look on her face. Ohhhh. So that's what happened. They probably went looking for the missing chicken.

“Yeah. We'll listen to you from now on.” Apple Bloom added on.

Scootaloo nodded. “We promise.”

Fluttershy tilted her head to the side. “Oh, you do, do you?” She walked to the girls. “Well, you better, or I'll give you...” She stopped and stared at them with one open eye. “The Stare!” She finished dramatically, and then she and all the girls busted out in laughter. I then heard Twilight's voice.

“What... what happened?” Twilight said tiredly, like she'd just woken up from a deep sleep.

I looked at the girls. “Yeah, what the heck was that thing, what just happened?” I asked them as I sat on the ground, wiping sweat from my head as I was still suffering from my fever.

“Well, that was a cockatrice. It's a creature with the body of a snake and the head of a chicken. If it stares at you, it turns you into stone!” Fluttershy informed us. “When I found out the girls had left my bedroom, I panicked, and went out to search for them.” Fluttershy saw the sick state I was still in and scooped me up in her hooves.

“There will be time to explain later, Twilight. Jordan needs to rest right now, so we should all go to my cottage.” Everypony nodded, but I got out of Fluttershy's hooves and stood on my own.

“Girls... I'm ok. I don't need your help. I can get to the cottage on my own.” I said as I stumbled forwards, step by step, clumsily. Fluttershy watched me walk carefully, with a look of concern in her eyes. The crusaders went forward with Twilight supervising them. Fluttershy made sure I could keep going on my own power.

Eventually, I got to the cottage, stumbling to the couch in the living room. I laid down on it and held my head. I groaned from pain.

“Fluttershy, do you have any ice water? I could really use some.” I asked her. She nodded and flew into the kitchen, coming back out with a glass of ice cold water moments later. I took it from her gratefully and gulped it all down in a few desperate sips. I sighed in relief as my throat no longer felt so dry and horrible.

Twilight and Fluttershy sat down in the living room with me. “Fluttershy, you've got some explaining to do, missy. You never came to check on me, like you said you would. You really worried me, Shy...” I said sadly.

“Oh my, I'm so sorry Jordan. See, I took the girls here like I said, but it was nearly impossible to get the girls to go to sleep. All they were concerned about was getting their cutie marks, not even caring about sleep.”

I nodded as she told her story. “Well, how did they end up going to the forest?” I asked curiously.

“Well, one of my chickens got loose from the pen outside, and the girls took it upon themselves to try and find it when I was sleeping. I woke up and noticed they were gone, and I knew I had to find them. You found us right when I found them.” She informed me, then went on. “You shouldn't have left your house, Jordan. You're very ill. I could have handled everything.”

I sighed and took a deep breath. “Fluttershy, can I tell you something?” I asked her, and she gave me a nervous nod.

“I know you're a very kind, gentle pony. That's one of the things everypony loves you for.” This made her blush a good bit. “But, that doesn't mean that sometimes you don't go overboard. I might be sick, but I'm not useless, Fluttershy. If I just stayed in bed ALL DAY, doing nothing, I would go crazy! This was an adventure for me, and I'm glad it happened, because now I know to stay away from that...cock-a-trice thingy. It was a learning experience!” I finished with a light smile. Fluttershy nodded and stroked my mane.

“Well, that may be true, but that adventure is over, and you do need to rest mister. Go to sleep, Twilight and I will take care of the girls, right Twilight?” She asked the purple mare as she looked at her, who gave her a nod. So with that, Fluttershy turned out the lights and went upstairs with Twilight, leaving me to sleep.

I rolled onto my side and closed my eyes, nodding off to the dream world.

-THE DREAMSCAPE-

I looked around the etheral plane which surrounded me, taking in all of the beautiful colors I could see. That's when suddenly, I felt a tapping on my shoulder.

It was none other than the pony I expected to see, Luna. She smiled at me, and pointed her wing to the bench she and I had sat on before. I took her offer up with a nod, and on the bench next to her.

She sat down with me, and was the first to speak. “It is plainly obvious that thou has plenty on thine mind.” She stated plainly, and I gave a nod.

“Yes, I very much do. I had a most strange encounter earlier tonight.” I informed Luna.

“We know, we were observing thou with our telescope and magic. Thou's experience certainly was intriguing.”

“You were spying on me? Well, you heard what happened Luna, what does it mean?” I asked her hopefully, thinking that she would have some sort of an answer.

“We truly do not know, dearest Jordan. All we can offer is to watch over thou, and try to make sure thou is protected from danger. If anything goes horribly wrong, please contact our sister. She can help far more than we can." She told me, and I nodded.

“Yes, I'll be sure to do that. Thank you Luna. I know you have thousands upon thousands of others to watch over, yet you always come to my rescue when I need it. I'm truly undeserving of such a friend.” I said to her, and this made her gasp from shock and surprise, actually scooting backwards on the bench a little.

“Thou...considers us a friend?” She asked me in surprise, and I nodded at her. “How could I not, Luna? As I said before, you always come to help me when I need it, and we've talked about some gnarly things. I'd consider us friends in full.” I said with a smile, then continued. “Though Luna, I do have one thing bugging me.” I told her, and this made her look turn curious.

“Well, you know all about me and my problems, but I hardly know ANYTHING about you. Is there any chance I could know more about you Luna?” I asked her, hoping for the response I wanted. But she just sat there, looking at me blankly for a few seconds, before suddenly, her horn charged up, and next thing I knew, I was awake.

I guess that was all the answer I needed...

-MORNING, FLUTTERSHY'S COTTAGE-

I awoke from the encounter in the dream realm to find it was late morning. Birds were chirping, the sun peeked through the window, and it was pleasantly warm. I smiled and slowly got off of the couch. I was still sick, but I felt worlds better this morning.

I heard chatter outside, and walked out the front door to find Twilight and Fluttershy sitting at a table, conversing with one another. I smiled at them and sat down alongside them in a chair.

“And that's when it brought you both back from stone.” Fluttershy finished the apparent story of last night's events, as Twilight wrote it all down to a scroll.

Twilight looked up from the scroll. “This is gonna make quite a letter to the princess. I was wrong about you both. You certainly do know how to handle those girls.”

“Oh, I wouldn't go that far.” Me and Fluttershy both said as the same time, making us giggle at the jinx.

“Hmm? How so?” Twilight asked us both.

I replied first. “Well, it was originally my idea to take the girls off of Rarity's hooves, and Fluttershy offered to tag along and help me out. I had figured I wouldn't need the help she offered, but Celestia was I wrong. I got pretty ill, and she ended up having to take the girls off my hands for me. Fluttershy knows how to take care of the girls in my eyes.” I gave Flutters a reassuring nod, but she shook her head.

“Oh no, Jordan. I assumed that I'd be just as good with kids as I am with animals. Boy, was I wrong. I really learned the hard way not to bite off more than I could chew.” She finished, and Twilight nodded.

“You and Rarity both. Good morning, Rarity.” Twilight greeted the white unicorn as she happened to right then trot up to the cottage.

“Did you finish all those capes?” Fluttershy inquired, and Rarity sighed.

“Just delivered them. I have to admit, if you two hadn't come along, I might not have. Thanks again.”

Fluttershy smiled. “Won't you stay for some tea?” Fluttershy offered, but Rarity shook her head.

“I really must get back to the shop and clean up. Girls! Get your things. Time to go. Girls!” She tried to get the girls attentions, but it was hopeless, they wouldn't listen to her. So, Fluttershy stepped in.

“Allow me.” She said as she cleared her throat. “Girls?”

The girls immediately stopped their playing and very respectfully lined up in front of us, waiting for Fluttershy to speak.

“Go and get your things. Rarity is here to see you home.”

“Of course, Fluttershy, right away!” Sweetie Belle said as the girls sprinted inside the cottage, leaving Rarity with a shock of utter disbelief on her face.

“Ah, huh, ah, how did you... how did you do that?” She asked Fluttershy in complete shock and awe.

“I guess I'm just as good with kids as I am with animals.” She said with a wink to me and Twilight. Right then, the girls ran out of the cottage back towards the road, thanking Fluttershy for the fun.

“Speaking of which, I could use your help with Opal.” Rarity told Fluttershy, who nodded.

“Of course. How about later today?” Fluttershy asked and offered, but Opal suddenly bit onto Rarity, who winced.

“How about now?” Rarity asked, and this made us all laugh.

In the next while, Fluttershy took Opalescence into her cottage and cleaned her up again, also giving her a tiny bit of stare treatment. I walked up to Fluttershy after Rarity went home, curious about something.

“Fluttershy, when did you discover the stare? I mean... it's just such a weird phenomenon, I'm surprised Twilight doesn't want to study all about it.” I said with a big of a giggle.

Fluttershy seemed to think for a few seconds before speaking. “Well, it happened when I was a younger mare. One of the bullies in flight school was being especially nasty to me one day. He was shoving me, called me bad names, and even insulted all of my friends. Finally, I had enough and it just...happened. The stare, I mean. It scared Dumb Bell to death, and it took him weeks to return to his normal self. Ever since then, I'm always careful about who I use it on.” She told me, and I nodded.

“I understand. Having such a great power like that can make it so easy for a pony to misuse it. I'm proud of you for having such strong self control, Fluttershy. And hey, just for what it's worth, if I had attended flight school, I would have showed those jerks what for. Nopony hurts my Fluttershy.” I said as I draped my foreleg around her, giving her a big hug. This made her eep and blush badly.

“Well, I gotta head home now, Fluttershy. I'm still kinda sick, and could use some more rest. Thanks for taking care of me, it means the world to me. I'll see you later, ok?” I very slowly pulled away from her, turning towards the dirt path leading away from the cottage back to Ponyville.

Halfway there though, I heard her voice. “Jordan!” She quietly hollered after me. “Jordan, please, wait!” Fluttershy begged me. I immediately stopped and turned around, seeing Fluttershy flying surprisingly fast to me.

She landed, and took some deep puffs of air. After that, she furled her wings and spoke. “Jordan, I just wanted to say that I, um... I'm glad you moved to Ponyville. You're um... such a good friend.” She then walked up to me and nuzzled into my side, making me gasp. I smiled and draped my foreleg around her like earlier, holding her closely.

I never wanted this moment to end. It was so perfect. But, she and I finally separated, much to our own dismay.

“I, um... I need to go back. S...see you later, Jordan.” She told me as she walked back to her cottage. After a few seconds of thought, I turned back onto the road and walked all the way home, my head swimming with thoughts.

I grabbed my key, and unlocked the front door. I re-locked it, and Elise pounced on me, giving me kisses.

“I'm glad to see yer feelin better! Y'all looked horrible yesterday. I can tell from the look on your face, somethin crazy happened.” She said as I put her down.

“Yeah, I had a very crazy night. Haha.” I went to the kitchen and made Elise some lunch, going into my room thereafter. There, I got in bed and went to sleep, for a nap. I did need to rest and get my strength back, after all.

So with that, I once again drifted peacefully to the dream world.

Author's Note

-And That Was Chapter 21, Everypony! I Hope You Enjoyed. If You Guys Have Time, I'd Like Some Feedback. Do You Enjoy Chapters Like These More, Where I Follow The Episode With Not Much Character Development? Or Do You Prefer It When I Put In Ideas Outside The Episode? Comment Below!

QOTC Time! Have You Ever Read A Clopfic? Or Are You Just A Pure Son/Daughter Of God? Hahaha! Comment In A Review Your Favorite Clopfic Too!

This Is Syren345, Blasting Off Again!-

Chapter 1

The Pursuit Of Happiness

I awoke one day to the sound of my dad’s voice. This was how it was nearly every day for my whole life. I never had an alarm clock, my father always woke me up in the mornings.

“Wake up Jordan, time for school!” I sighed and slowly woke up. I was not in summer school as punishment, it was an optional program to gain extra credits and keep me occupied.

I loved the Aerospace program I was in, but I dreaded the long bus rides I had to take to and from home every day. Not to mention it was one of the hottest summers on record in his city and it has been over 95 degrees 7 days in a row, unprecedented for a city so far north.

I did have a privileged life in many ways. I had a roof over my head, a good education, caring parents, a loving girlfriend, the works. But I was missing so much. Friendship, confidence, work experience, etc. Things I needed and wanted. I was to turn 18 in a few short months, and I felt I was not prepared at all.

I also had so many problems. I had an alcoholic mother I had to deal with, constant health problems, constant depression, the list goes on. After a while, no matter how many good things in life you have, the bad just get to you.

I did have a safe haven though. That safe haven you ask?

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. I love MLP. I live, eat, sleep, breathe MLP. I create fan art of the show, I watch the episodes, I have the merchandise, everything. I’ve had dreams about living in Equestria. Sweet, vivid, happy dreams.

Dreams that involve becoming friends with the Mane six, following them in their adventures, falling in love. But, dreams are a cruel thing, thanks to a harsh mistress named reality. Reality loves to beat you when you’re down. It entices you with hopes and dreams for the future, then spits in your face and knocks you back down to hell, just when you were about to reach the gates to heaven.

“I hope my life takes a happier turn” I say to myself on my 18th birthday, as I was blowing out the candles on my cake. Now, truly inside, I wished to live in the world of MLP. But I knew it was impossible, so I went with the realistic wish.

After we had the cake, I slipped into my room and turned my laptop on, turning on my favorite episode, “Magical Mystery Cure” in season three, the finale. This episode was amazing.

I loved everything about it. The songs, especially Celestia’s Ballad, how Twilight saves the mane six, and how she becomes a princess. Everything was masterfully written.

I sighed when the episode was over and went to bed. I had a long day in store tomorrow. The day after my birthday is hell.

-Next Friday-

I sighed as I walked from the bus stop to my house/apartment. It was a half mile, which sucks in such heat. The weird part about living here is it’s known as “Motel Town”, because there’s a motel 6 and an econolodge across the street from each other.

Walking by them always makes me scared, they’re shady places. Walking by the motel 6, I saw a strange object in the grass. Against my better judgement, I went to it. It was a small hourglass encased in two prisms at each end. It resembled the portkey from Harry Potter. I gasped.

“This is one heck of a toy. I should give it to my niece!” Then, as I tried picking it up, I suddenly felt cold, stopped in my tracks, and weightless. I was traveling through the air, breathless and flying like a ragdoll. I tried to scream, but only a weak puff of air came out. CRASH, BOOM. Then, darkness.

-HOURS LATER-

I slowly awoke in a hospital bed. I looked around to survey the situation. Everything seemed normal. I was in scrubs, hooked up to a heart monitor and the place reeked of rubbing alcohol. Yep, definitely a normal hospital.

But then, as I turn onto my side to get more comfortable, I felt something odd. My body….. it tingled and felt weird. I quickly tossed my sheets to the side and gasped loudly at what I saw. I WAS A FRIGGIN PONY. Not just any pony, a Unicorn!

A unicorn with a mix of red and orange fur, with a deep blue and white mixed mane, like Shining Armor’s. I had to admit, I looked awesome.

“WHAT IN THE….. no….. I’m dreaming. C’mon Jordan, wake up. Wake up, NOW! NOW!” I pinched myself. No result but pain. “What….but…. how!” After about an hour of self-conflict, denial, and shock at the situation, I quickly got up and opened the curtains on the window. I saw nothing but vast rolling desert plains, with tumbleweeds everywhere.

A sign that read “Apploosa” caught my attention. I gasped. I was in the rodeo capital of Equestria! Maybe Applejack would be here. I then jumped into bed and made I look like I never got up as I waited for the doctor.

He came in a few hours later. “Hello….sir. How you feeling?”

“Fine, thank you. So, what happened to me?”

“We’re not sure, but you had a bad concussion and several road rashes when you were brought in a few days ago. Now, I asked every doctor I have a connection to in all of Equestria and even contacted Princess Celestia, but there’s no records of you….. anywhere. So, I need you to fill this sheet out, ok?”

I took the sheet and filled it out. Basic information. Name, unicorn, description of physical features, etc. My heart stopped when I got to occupation. How did I explain this? I quickly came up with a lie. Fired unexpectedly. I handed the finished form to the doctor and he smiled.

“You’re good to leave now Mr. Jordan. However, might I suggest you take the train somewhere? Appleoosa isn’t exactly a place to settle down. Head to Ponyville, or Canterlot.”

“Ok, I will Doc, thank you!” I slowly got up and walked out the door, leaving the hospital. As soon as I did, I decided to walk around and discover things. This would be fun!

Author's Note

Hello Fimfiction. I hope you enjoyed chapter one. I'm going to be doing some editing of the chapters of my story compared to the original on FanFiction, because looking back, i see just how terrible my writing was, way back when. You people here on Fimfiction deserve only my best, and i'm going to give it to you as much as i can.

Chapter 4: Applebuck Season

Today was the day. Applebuck season!

I awoke early in the morning, just as the crack of Celestia’s sun, and went downstairs.

I saw Twilight humming a bit as she shelved the books. “Jesus, does she do anything else?” I thought to myself.

“Morning Twilight!” I said to her. She turned around and looked at me, a smile on her face.

“Hello Jordan, good morning!” I then walked over to her and started helping her shelve the books.

“What are you doing up so early Twi?” I asked.

“Oh, I’m usually up this early, especially when I’m reshelving. OCD and all.” She said.

I just grinned a bit at her. “Man, I don’t think egghead is the right term to describe you. You’re beyond OCD twilight!” I smirked at her and she just blushed red hot, a bit angry.

“Books are all I have, ok. I just relish in knowledge. I love learning, I love reading!” she told me truthfully.

“I know twi, just giving you crap is all” I smiled and booped her nose, making her blush bright red again.

Twilight kicked the ground cutely and smiled at me. “Well, are you ready to start your first day of work Jordan? I really need help” she said.

I facehoofed hard. “Crap. Twi, I forgot to tell you. AJ asked me to help her with applebucking today, she said to be there bright and early.”

Right then, I suddenly got a very bad coughing fit. “COH COH COH!” I coughed so hard it hurt. Twilight gave me a concerned look and ran to me. “Oh my gosh, are you ok?!”

“Yeah. I’m fine. I’m just not the healthiest pony in the world. I have asthma, dandruff and insomnia, it’s horrible! And I have arthritis, listen!” I then popped my neck, back, fingers and toes so bad it made Twi wince.

She then thought for a moment. “Jordan, stay there, ok?” she went to the bookshelf and grabbed a book with a red cross on it.

“Now, this might tingle, but stay still OK?” I nodded and her horn started glowing.

In about five seconds, she was done. “How do you feel? You should be cured.” She said.

I tried popping my joints, scratching my scalp for dandruff, no cough. Nothing. I WAS CURED!

I went to her and gave her the biggest bear hug ever, so tight it hurt her.

“OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH TWI! 18 years! 18 years of struggling and you just solved so many of my problems! You’re the greatest!” I then planted a wet kiss on her cheek in the heat of the moment.

Twi blushed like a schoolpony. She just rubbed her cheek with her hoof right as I kissed and stared at the floor for quite a few seconds.

“Twilight? Hel-o-o-o-o-o?”

She then snapped back to reality and smiled. “I’m so glad I could help you. It makes me happy” she declared.

I just smiled back at her. “So, how are your studies going Twily?”

She then frowned. “Slow. There’s not much the princess wants me to learn at the moment.”

I then pondered for a moment then smiled widely as I remembered the applebucking.

“Keep your head up Twi, something will happen. Just wait!”

“I hope you’re right, I’m going stir crazy!”

I then got an idea and placed my hoof on my chin.

“Well, AJ and I are applebucking today. Maybe something will happen!” I suggested.

Twi got a sad look on her face. “Oh….. ok then. I won’t keep you, go ahead. Have fun.”

“Thanks twi, I will. And I’ll help later.”

She gave me a grateful smile as I left. I opened the door and stepped out into the morning sun.

As she watched me leave, Twilight couldn’t help but study me closely. She put a hoof over her face and sighed. “He really is an amazing colt. I just feel safe and warm around him. But why? I CAN’T LIKE HIM!” She then looked out the window at me. “…..Can i?.....”

I walked outside, and breathed deeply, as I smelled the morning.

Now, when I say morning, I mean MORNING morning. Dew on the grass, still cold, birds chirping. It was so beautiful.

I walked the whole way to Sweet Apple Acres, and boy howdy. Lemme tell you, that walk takes forever. Imagine walking from Downtown L.A. to the Hollywood hills. It’s about that much.

I whistled a tune as I walked along the dusty, dirt road to the farm. A whistle turned into a hum, a hum into singing.

I took a little side trip real quick, to the top of a nearby hill. It was facing west, with a perfect view of the sunrise. I then sung again.

-PLAY HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN BY FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH HERE-

I then finished singing and smiled. I playfully tumbled down the hill right as the sun rose over the hilltops, and rolled down the hill to the bottom, to the trail.

I walked all the way to sweet apple acres and saw Big Mac at the barn, but AJ was nowhere in sight.

“Hello there, I’m looking for Applejack, is she around?”

Big Mac nodded. “Ee-yup, I was just going to go talk to her right quick. Follow me.”

I then followed behind him to a nearby hill that overlooked the entire apple orchard.

Applejack glared at me once she saw me. “You varmint, you’re late! Ah said sunrise! Sunrise means sunrise sugarcube!” She reprimanded me with a punch on the arm, making me grunt a little.

“Sorry Applejack, but Twily and I got caught up at the library. Then I got sidetracked on the road.”

She rolled her eyes a little, before she turned at the orchard and I did the same. Big mac also.

“Boy howdy, we got our work cut out for us! That there is the biggest bumper crop o’ apples ah ever laid eyes on!”

Big mac nodded. “EE-yup. Two big for you both to handle on your own!”

“C’mon big brother! Y’all need to get yourself better, ah haven’t met an apple orchard yet ah can’t handle! And with Jordan with me it’ll be a breeze!” Applejack had an unusual excitement about her, she was happy and fast moving and happy to be alive today.

“Y’all biting off more than you can chew is just what ah’m afraid of!” Big mac declared. For the first time, I noticed big mac was injured, with bandages wrapped around him, just like in the episode.

Applejack then gave him a stern look. “Are you sayin mah mouth is makin promises mah legs can’t keep?”

“EE-yup!”

Applejack then stomped her hoof on the ground. “Why of all the….. this is your sister Applejack remember?! The loyalist of friends and the most dependable of ponies, and her trusty friend?!”

Big mac got a tiny bit frightened of his little sister. “That’s still only two ponies. And two ponies plus HUNDREDS of apple trees just doesn’t add up to…..”

Big mac was cut off by AJ. “Don’tchu use your fancy mathematics to muddy the issue! Ah told you we could handle this harvest, and we are gonna prove it to you!”

I then started to get a tiny bit nervous.

“We are gonna get every last one of them apples off them trees this applebuck season, all by ourselves!”

I groaned as big mac left. “For the love of celestia AJ, what the heck have you gotten us in to?!”

She then play punched me. “Don’tcha worry pardner, we’re gonna get this job done!”

With that, she and I headed down to the fields, surveying our workload.

“Well we better get to work, these apples aren’t gonna shake themselves outta the trees!”

Then, right before we could start, we heard a loud noise. A constant thudding noise. I panicked.

“What in equestria is that?!” I said.

“OH NO!” Applejack replied. She then stopped everything and ran towards the fields outside of town. I followed behind.

-MEANWHILE, RARITY’S BOUTIQUE-

Twilight was sitting with Rarity at her boutique, enjoying a nice cup of tea and talking with her friend.

“Rarity, what’s happening to me? I’ve never liked anypony before. I’ve never even thought about having a relationship! But….. ever since Jordan came to ponyville, I just…..”

Rarity cut in. “Can’t stop thinking of him?” she interjected.

Twilight looked at her friend, stunned, and nodded. “Yes. I mean, he’s just so….. intriguing!”

Rarity let a benevolent smirk cross her face as she looked at Twilight. “I should have figured, the way you’ve been eyeballing and drooling over him twilight! You simply must stop acting like such a school pony.”

Twilight looked like she was about to die from embarrassment, the purple flesh of her face stained red from a blush. “RARITY! I do not act like a school pony! I don’t eyeball him and I certainly don’t drool over him!” She was fuming a little.

Rarity waved her hoof at Twilight. “Twilight, calm down honey. I was merely joking with you, no need for such brash anger.”

Twilight calmed down and took a sip of her tea. “What do I do Rarity? He still cares so much for his girlfriend back home, even though he admitted to me he’ll never see her again. So….. do I try to make a move? Do I wait? Will he make the first move? OH THE AGONY!” she cried out and buried her face into a pillow.

Rarity got up, walked over to her close friend and rubbed her back with her own hoof. “Twilight Sparkle, come now. Where is that ever-lasting calmness everypony knows you for? That composure? Relax honey, and all will be made clear.”

Twilight did her best to calm down, focusing on her breathing and polishing off her tea. Rarity looked at her in astonishment.

“Want some more tea dearest?” Twilight nodded.

Rarity got Twi more tea and gave her a serious look. “Twilight, dearie, listen to sweet Rarity. Here’s what I would do. And it’s easier to do since you live with him. Study him Twilight, and give him time. See if in a week or two he still misses his girlfriend. Give him time to adjust to ponyville. Let him get to know you. Just act like a good friend for now. Use those study skills you have. But when the moment feels right, and you will know, ask him then.” Rarity cooed the final words.

Twilight looked down at the floor as she tried to digest all that Rarity had just said. “Give him time….. study him….. be a friend…… wait for the right moment…..” she played all of this in her head until they heard Rainbow Dash outside.

“STAMPEDE!!!!!!” Rainbow cried out to the whole town.

Panic, shock, horror, excitement, those were such feelings in the air of the usually quiet and timid town.

“HEY! Ttttthissssss makes my voiiiiiiceeeeee sound sillllyyyyyyy!” Pinkie said in a goofy tone.

Twilight then cried out at Pinkie. “Pinkie Pie, are you crazy?! Run!”

The mayor tried to keep order. “Everypony calm down, there is no need to panic!”

“But mayor, whatever shall we do?!” Rarity cried out dramatically.

“LOOK THERE!” Dash called out.

Right then me, Applejack and Winona were following a herd of cows, that were stomping right towards town!

“OTHER SIDE WINONA! Jordan, in front, lead them!” I did as I was told and Winona and AJ got the cows to turn, just in time before we got to the bridge!

The town started cheering, applause, etc. The three of us stopped with the cows as Applejack questioned them. When she was done, she and I went to the top of a nearby hill and did a pose.

“YAY APPLEJACK AND JORDAN!” and “Yeehaw!” were said among other things.

We then ran down the hill, back to the farm.

“YEEHAW, ride em cowpony!” pinkie said.

“Applejack and Jordan were just….. just…..”

“APPLETASTIC!” pinkie interrupted.

“Exactly!” the mayor finished. “We simple must do something to thank them both for saving the town single hoofedly!”

“I know!” pinkie said as her eyes sparkled.

-THE FARM A FEW MINUTES LATER-

AJ and I slowed down a minute to catch our breath, tired from all that running. Winona had gone home to the farm, but she and I went back to the orchard.

“That was more running that I’ve done in my entire life, you owe me AJ!” I said.

She chuckled. “Aw c’mon ya wuss, exercise is good for ya!”

I then took a deep breath. “Yeah, if I wanna keel over that is!”

She just chuckled at me, then pointed to a pond. “Get some water, then back to work buddy boy.”

I nodded and got some water, taking a minute’s rest.

-ONE WEEK LATER, TOWN HALL-

Everypony was up bright and early to start preparing town hall for the party they had planned for me and AJ to say thank you for saving the town from the stampede. A few hours later around noon, Twilight walked up to Rarity.

“We all set?” She asked.

“Just one last thing!” Rarity proclaimed as she hung up a bannery drape.

“Are Applejack and Jordan all set?”

“Actually, I haven’t seen her all week since the stampede!” Dash claimed.

Twilight placed a hoof on her chin. “Jordan’s been sleeping at her house the past three nights, I haven’t seen him either!” she said.

“Don’t worry, they’ll be here for sure!” Dash said.

A few hours later, the mayor was on the stage, after twilight had gotten interrupted multiple times by members of the mane six while trying to give a speech.

“And so, we’re here to give these two trophies to two ponies we can always count on, two ponies of the utmost honest, loyalty, and integrity, APPLEJACK AND JORDAN!”

The curtain then lifted up, but nopony stood there.

There was a long awkward silence, until finally…..

“WE’RE HERE!” I cried out. “WE’RE HERE!” I said again.

She and I walked up the ends of the crowd to the stage, apologizing for our clumsiness along the way. We were both carrying apple baskets.

AJ and I got to the stage. We were both obviously very tired. We both had shadowy, baggy eyes, and were klutzy.

Applejack then spoke up. “Miss mayor, thank you kindly for this here, award thingy. It’s so bright and shiny! Haha. I sure do look funny!” she said as she stared in her own reflection. Pinkie joined her.

“Ok…. Well thank you Jordan, and Applejack, for single hoofedly saving the town from that scary stampede, and for always being there for everypony!”

I yawned. “Yeah, well we both love helping people and…..stuff” I said as we both dozed off, almost in unison.

We then snapped back awake and took our trophies, before heading back to the farm.

“Was it just me, or did Applejack and Jordan seem a little-“ Twilight started before she was cut off.

“Tired?” Dash answered.

“Messy?” Rarity answered to a sea of awkward stares. “WELL, did you see their manes?!”

“They seemed fine to me! WOO-WOOO!” Pinkie replied, making Twilight shake her head.

-A FEW DAYS LATER, THE FARM-

Applejack and I had now been bucking for about nine straight days. I gotta admit this isn’t what I signed up for, but I had to help AJ to the end, I promised her I would.

Twilight was standing about 25 feet away from us. Watching us. We were both a mess. We were so tired we were kicking, only to hit no target, stumbling, falling over, etc.

“What on earth are those ponies doing….” Twilight asked herself.

She then walked up to us. “Applejack, Jordan, can I talk to you two?”

Applejack then smiled. “Oh, howdy twilight!”

Twilight gawked at her. “What is all this?”

“It’s applebuck season!” AJ declared.

“Apple what now?” twi asked.

“It’s what the apple family calls harvestin time. We gather all the apples from the trees so we can sell em!”

“Why are you and Jordan doing it all alone?”

“Big macintosh hurt himself, so ah’m all on my own with just Jordan to help”

“What about those other family members I met when I first moved to ponyville? Can’t they help?”

I then stepped up. “Excuse you me, twilight, but I am plenty of help. In fact, I could do this job all on my own without AJ!”

They both rolled their eyes and continued. “They were just here for the apple family reunion, they actually have their own farms all over equestria, so I’m on my own with Jordan. Which means ah should really get back to work. Hint hint!”

“Fine” twilight said in an annoyed voice and stepped aside.

“Couldja step aside twilight?” AJ asked dazedly.

“I just did!” Twilight said. “Applejack, you and Jordan both don’t look so good.”

“Don’t you three worry none, we’re fine and dandy!” She said as she walked away.

I then walked past her. “Yeah, don’t none you three worry!” I said as I followed AJ. Twilight then teleported to us, making us jump.

“Do you two want some help?” she asked.

“HELP!? No way, no how!” AJ cried.

“But there’s no way you both can do it on your own!” she said.

AJ then got defensive and looked her dead in the eyes. “IS THAT A CHALLENGE?!”

“No.” twilight said.

“Well, ah am gonna prove to you that Jordan and ah can do it, all by ourselves! Now if you’ll excuse me, we’ve got apples to buck!” she said as she stormed off. Twilight looked at me as I followed, sighing and going back home.

-NEXT DAY: IN TOWN-

Me and AJ were walking towards downtown ponyville, because she said I had to help with something with rainbow dash.

“What are we doing again?” I asked.

“Beats me pardner.” AJ replied.

We then got there and dash gave us stern looks. “There you two are!” she said half mad.

“We’re a might sorry rainbow, we were busy applebuckin and, we got so caught up were late. Now, whatcha need us to do?”

Dash then pointed behind us. “See this contraption? I’m gonna stand on one end, then the heavier of you two will jump from that platform, launching me into the air faster than I can take off on my own! And then, I’ll do some AMAZING flips and tricks that are sure to impress the wonderbolts!”

“Isn’t that a might dangerous?” AJ asked. “Not for the best flier in all equestria!” dash proclaimed.

“Well alrighty then. Ah think Jordan is way heavier and ah am. So he should jump!”

I opened my eyes wide. “WHAT?!” I yelled out.

Dash and AJ both rolled their eyes. “Oh don’t be a wuss Jordan!” Dash told me.

I scoffed at her. “You both owe me BIG TIME.”

I then climbed the ridiculous ladder and looked down.

“HOLY…..” I said as I saw the huge gap of air between me and the ground.

I then took a deep breath, yelled CANNONBALL, and jumped down. Only, my vision was so blurry and I was so tired, I missed by about two feet and landed hard on the ground.

I grunted in pain, and dash glared at me. “Maybe I wasn’t clear. You’re supposed to land ON the other end!”

I then gave her a thumbs up and climbed the ladder again.

After several attempts, rainbow dash cries out. “JORDAN, what the hay is going on! I mean, I though I was working with superpony, the hay bale stack champion?!”

“You are! Don’t worry, I have an idea!” I then pushed the end down with my hoof. After a glare from dash, I let go, and she smacked down onto the wood hard.

I climbed the ladder one last time, and jumped. Sending dash into the air without giving her time to open her wings.

“JJJOOOOOORRRRRDDDDDAAAAAAANNNNNNNN!” She cried out as she flew.

“YOU’RE WELCOME DASH!” I cried back.

(For those wondering, Jordan does not remember the events of the show as they happen because he is so caught up in what is happening)

-LATER, TWILIGHT’S LIBRARY-

It was nighttime on a Friday. AJ and I had been bucking the trees in the orchard for about nine days straight now, and were both feeling tired. I stumbled a little into the library and Twi looked at me a little concerned.

“Jordan, are you ok? You don’t look so good!”

“Fine twi….. nothing wrong.” I said as I went to grab my favorite book.

“Jordan, you look dead tired. Your eyes are shadowy and have bags!”

I then rolled my eyes. “So?”

She walked over to me and placed her hoof on my back.

“Jordan, you need to rest. You’ve barely slept in the past week or two and you’re running yourself ragged.”

“Running myself ragged? No twilight, I’m just doing what is needed of me!”

“Jordan. You’ve been helping Applejack on the farm. You’ve helped with the stampede. You help me around the library and, quite frankly, do more than I need you to. You’ve helped Rainbow dash, well kinda, you helped Mrs. Mayor with paperwork, you do so many things! YOU NEED A BREAK!”

I shook my head and covered my ears. “No twi! Let me tell you something. When someone needs something from me, I do what I can. Tiredness I can deal with. Letting someone down and offending them? That I can’t deal with!” I tried to reason.

She sighed. “But Jordan, this is bad for you. The longer you go on without sufficient sleep, the more it messes with you. Your internal clock goes screwy, your mind starts to go numb, your limbs start to lose strength!” she reasoned.

I shrugged. “Better that than offend anypony!”

Twilight sighed and cast a spell. I started to panic. “What are you doing?” I asked.

She didn’t respond until her horn stopped glowing. “I was doing a medical check on your body to see how much damage you’ve done…..” she said a bit somber.

“And?” I asked.

She gave me a sad face and sighed. “Jordan, I’m sorry, but I have to do this, for your own good!”

She then started to levitate me, and no matter how hard I tried I could not break free. She walked upstairs to the guest bedroom that had become my bedroom.

“TWI, LET ME GO!” I cried out.

She was fighting back a tear, as she laid me in my bed and cast a spell that bound me to my bed. I could only roll onto my sides and stomach to get comfortable!

“Jordan, I’m sorry. I don’t want to do this, but I refuse to let you hurt yourself this way. It hurts me when you hurt. You’re going to stay here and sleep. I’m not letting you go till you seem better to me.”

I then tried to struggle and get away. “Ok Twilight Sparkle, very funny, now let me go, I gotta get back to the farm!”

Twilight then shook her head and made a bell appear on the nightstand. “Ring that if you need anything, ok? I’ll be back later. Try to sleep!”

I then immediately rang the bell and she glared. “Yes? What do you need?”

“I NEED YOU TO LET ME GO TWILIGHT!” I cried out.

Twilight shook her head, and left the room. I struggled, trying to get out for a few more minutes.

I then gave up and slumped into bed. “Stupid fucking unicorn…..” I said to myself. “Applejack is gonna kill me for not seeing the job to the end! She’ll never speak to me again! She’ll hate me!”

I sighed in defeat. There was nothing I could do but play Twi’s game. Maybe she was right, maybe I did need to sleep. Who knows? Maybe I was being hardheaded.

After a couple of minutes, I rang the bell, and Twi came to me and glared at me.

“Jordan, you need to get some sleep. NOW.”

I sighed. “I know Twilight, but I need to ask you something, can we talk?” She nodded and sat next to me.

“What’s on your mind?”

“Well….. I just need to know. Am i….. a good friend?” I asked, almost in tears.

She gave me a concerned look and, in a very sweet voice, responded with “Are you joking, Jordan? Of course you’re a good friend! In fact, you’re an amazing friend! You help me around the library, you’ve helped applejack with the applebuck season regardless of what it meant for you, you’ve done amazing things for the town like with the stampede, and you’re there for everypony when they need cheering up. You’re like….. a male version of applejack!”

I then hung my head and my ears sank down. I scoffed. “Yeah, and there’s a lot of things about me everypony doesn’t know, things I truly hope you and everyone else never, EVER find out about me.” I was nearly crying now.

She took her hoof in mine and gave me a sweet smile, communicating that it was her turn to be there for me when I needed it, to return the favor.

“Jordan. I sincerely doubt anything about you could drive me or anypony away. We love you and appreciate you, and we’re your friends. And you’re ours! So open up, tell me these ‘things you hope nopony finds out’ about you.”

I sighed. I wanted to resist her, to keep my mouth shut, to send her away and just ignore everything, and let myself hurt, just like I’d done my whole life. But….. there’s something about Twilight Sparkle, and I can’t explain it.

She’s quite frankly intoxicating. Her personality is cultive. She has a way of making ponies confide in her, and trust her, even though that pony knows it might not end well. What was it? Her kindness? The tone of her voice? Her sweet smile? I can’t figure it out.

So I just sighed deeply and nodded. “Ok, Twilight. But only if you want to know. You want to know why I hate myself twilight sparkle? Not because of what I am, because of what I can’t be. I’m NOT a good pony twilight. I’ve seen things, and done things that would make you and the others tremble in their hooves” I said honestly.

She gave me a curious look. “Like what? Try me”

“You really want to know?” I asked.

“Yes” she simply replied.

I scoffed. “Fine. Here goes. Let me ask you, Twilight. Have you ever had anypony close to you? Somepony you cared so deeply about? Somepony you loved and trusted, told all your secrets to, and were best friends with?” She nodded her head.

“Well then, let me tell you about the time that person and I got into a big fight. Back home, school was always difficult. Everypony was hotheaded, angry all the time and just struggle to fit in. Me and my friend were different, because we honestly didn’t care. We just tried to enjoy school.”

“Well one day, she and I got into a big fight. You see, a school dance was coming up, and we had asked the same person, our friend Alex. Anyway, we fought about it. We both said some nasty things to each other, until finally, I just snapped, and yelled ‘WHY DON’T YOU JUST GET OUT OF OUR LIVES!? NO ONE WOULD MISS YOU!’ Well that really hit her hard, because you want to know what happened next Twilight?”

Twilight nodded slowly, she was biting her lip and shaking as I talked. “The next day, she was found dead. She had killed herself, and I had pushed her to do it! Luckily, I wasn’t in trouble for murder or anything, but the emotional damage I had was bad enough. I stayed in my room for hours upon hours each day, only going outside my house for school, and that was it. I didn’t socialize, I didn’t talk, I didn’t trust myself. How could I trust myself when I had made my best friend kill herself? All because I couldn’t control my anger!”

Twilight was now openly crying as she heard my story. She was looking down at the sheets now, not making eye contact. “So, I made a promise to myself. I would never, ever, open up to anypony ever again. I hated myself for what I did, and I still do. Quite frankly, I don’t know why I opened up to you and the others Twilight. I really should stop talking to all of you and go back home, because I know that in the end, I’ll end up hurting one or all of you. And if that happens it’ll be a repeat of my past!” I was now crying along with twilight, tears staining my cheeks.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, she took my hoof again and held it. She looked me in the eyes and spoke. “Jordan. We’ve all done things in the past we’re not proud of. The past often hurts, and we often try to do whatever we can to make history not repeat itself. But do you want to know the beauty of being alive?” I nodded.

“The beauty is the ability to change. Change is nature Jordan. You don’t have to be the same pony you were back in your school years. You can change. Me and Rarity, Pinkie, Applejack, Rainbow and Fluttershy, we’ll help you change. We all think you’re an amazing friend and we don’t want to let you go. Even if they don’t talk to you much, they all care about you.”

I was shocked. Stunned. Flabbergasted. How….. how could she be so hopeful for me? C….could I be rescued from myself? Could I really change? Maybe I could. Maybe ponyville was the place to do it. And maybe these six ponies I had admired for years watching the TV show, maybe they could do it.

I gulped. “You….. really think so twilight?” She nodded.

“Of course I do, anypony can change. Look at princess luna for pony’s sakes!” I then smiled and nodded.

“I’ll try then, twilight, I’ll try to open and change. For you.”

She then smiled at me and kissed my cheek to say thank you. And then, something amazing happened. Our horns sparked again. Only this time, it was a much more powerful spark. It was more like a small lightning bolt. I was stuck in place by her magic, but it made her fall off the bed by how powerful it was. I then stared at her in wonder.

“What the hell just happened to our horns? What does it mean?”

Twilight then thought about what she and her brother had talked about in Canterlot. No….. it can’t be true. She can’t have a crush on Jordan, can she? She gulped. She needed to get away and think.

“I honestly have no idea. I uh….. BEDTIME!” She yelled before she turned the light off, closed the door and left.

I rubbed my head as I tried to comprehend what the hell just happened. I quickly fell asleep after that and had an amazing night’s rest, not caring about what AJ would say.

-THE NEXT DAY, SUGARCUBE CORNER-

I was at sugarcube corner with AJ and pinkie, and Mr. and Mrs. Cake. I had spent the previous 10 hours sleeping, catching up on what I had missed. Twilight was very strict about what she said. I woke up at six hours and she was adamant I needed more sleep. I protested, of course, but that damn unicorn fights for what she wants.

After resting me up and feeding me, she finally let me go. AJ was mad I had bailed while she bucked throughout the night, but she didn’t really care.

“Now pinkie, are you sure you can handle running the store for the afternoon?” Mrs. Cake asked.

“Yes siree bob Mr. and Mrs. Cake! Plus I have ponyville’s two star ponies to help me! They’re both the best bakers ever!”

“Is that true?” Mr. Cake asked. I nodded, but AJ shook her head frantically. “No, you’re not the best baker ever?”

“WHAT!? OH NO! Ah mean, don’tcha fret! Ah can bake anything from fritters to pies in the blink of an eye.” She said.

The cakes giggled a little and left the room.

AJ was shaking her head still when pinkie stopped her. “STOP WITH THE SHAKIN, it’s time to get bakin!”

Soon, we were in the kitchen. I was managing the front counter, handling customers while the both of them baked in the back.

I heard things occasionally that threw me off. “Cup of sour? Well, lemons sure are sour!”

Lemons? In muffins? Eh. I tried not to pay attention much.

Later, we were at town hall, preparing to give out the muffins for free.

“FREE MUFFINS FOR EVERYPONY!” Pinkie cried out.

“Yuh, free muffin spectacles, get em while they’re hot!” I looked at AJ funny before rolling my eyes.

I also saw derpy in the crowd. It made me laugh.

I went back with AJ to buck again (doing much better and getting a lot done, since I was well rested), when all of a sudden I was teleported to the ponyville hospital.

I had a shocked look on my face as I saw green faces, all from the bodies of sick, poisoned ponies. Twilight was standing there with a pissed off look on her face.

“What in the hell did you pinkie and AJ do!? Look at all these ponies faces!”

I got defensive and partially yelled at her. “HEY, what the hell makes you think I did this!? I was handling the counter while those two baked! They’re your problem!”

Twilight snorted in anger before she trotted to sweet apple acres. I didn’t know what she was gonna tell AJ, but I knew it wouldn’t be good.

-NEXT DAY-

After a few hours of bucking, we went to the grove near ponyville to help fluttershy with the bunny herding. Applejack was too tired and careless to pay any attention; she was scaring the bunnies, and doing more harm than good.

The bunnies panicked and started to stampede. Turns out bunnies are harder to steer than cows, and we couldn’t stop them from getting into town. They ate all the vegetables and greens in town, to the dismay of everypony. It was horrible!

After that, Twilight had enough. She came to me and AJ at the tree we were bucking. “ALRIGHT APPLEJACK, enough is enough! Your applebucking hasn’t just caused you problems. It’s caused problems for rainbow dash, pinkie pie, and fluttershy! I don’t care what you say, YOU. NEED. HELP!”

Applejack gave twilight a look before chuckling. “Ha, no ah don’t! Look, we did it!”

“We harvested the entire sweet apple acres, without yer help! How’d ya like them apples”!

Right then, Big mac appeared. “um, how do YOU like THEM apples?” he asked, revealing we’d only done half the orchard. AJ and I both passed out from exhaustion and disbelief.

We both look up later to see Twilight standing over us. “Oh good, you two are awake. Now applejack, I completely understand the apple family ways. You’re always there to help anypony who needs it, so maybe you can put your stubborn pride aside and allow your friends to help you?”

Applejack gazed out at the massive orchard still left to buck, and sighed. “Ok twilight”

“I am not taking no for an answer-WHAT?!”

“Yes twilight. Yes please! Ah can really use your help!”

Twilight giggled a little before sighing.

For the next two days, the other six of us helped AJ applebuck the other trees. Of course, I was on “parole” as Twilight called it, since I had done so much already.

That mare….. she really does care about me. I need to do something to say thank you to her.

I then saw something that threw me for a loop. Rarity, was in an apple orchard, outdoors, with a bucket wagon attached to her?! RARITY was doing manual labor?!

I decided to rub it in her face. “My my Rarity, looking a bit dirty right now, aren’t we?” I snickered and she glared. “Look at you, doing manual labor!” I laughed hard and she glared harder, piercing my heart with that glance.

“I’m only doing this because Applejack needs our help you ruffian! Now stop making fun of me and get back to work!” I obeyed her orders and got back to bucking.

“How about y’all take a little break? Ah got some fine apple juice for ya!” AJ called out.

As we gathered round the table, she sighed. “Y’all, ah can’t thank ya enough for this help. Now ah know the town gave me and Jordan them awards, but ah think ah speak for both of us when I say the real award is being your friends!” I then nodded in agreement.

“WHO WANTS DESERT!?” Spike called out.

“EW SPIKE, I threw those away! How did you get them?” I then saw that spike had one of those god awful muffins.

“From the trash! C’mon, just a nibble?”

We all hurried out of there, back towards town.

Twilight and I got the library and rested. I sat on my favorite chair in the living room and she did the same.

She then looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “I don’t understand why you and her just wouldn’t accept help in the first place!”

I sighed. “Twilight….. we wanted to prove a point. We wanted to show everypony we could do it. We wanted to prove we could handle ourselves, yet be useful at the same time. It also meant a lot that she asked me to help her…..”

Twilight nodded at me in understanding. “I guess I understand. But still, you should have asked for help!”

I just nodded, not having anything to retort with.

I then looked outside to see it was dark and looked at the clock. “Well, I think I’m gonna hit the hay Twilight. Night!”

She said goodnight to me and I headed up to my bed.

I jumped into bed, needing some good rest and dozed off almost immediately.

-LATER, JORDAN’S DREAMS-

I was in a strange place. It was a vast nothingness, filled with gray, an ethereal plane that went on for as far as the eye could see. There was no sound, no movement, nothing. It was an abyss.

Suddenly, my body jerked into motion, without me guiding it. I was sprinting, towards what, I don’t know.

Suddenly, the scene came to life. I was running out of a cave, sprinting for dear life, when all of a sudden,

-SLICE-

I then fell to the ground, screaming in pain, blood trickling out of the fresh sliced wound in my stomach. I scream, at the top of my lungs. “SOMEPONY! TWILIGHT, APPLEJACK, PINKIE PIE, RARITY, RAINBOW DASH, FLUTTERSHY, CELESTIA, HELP!” I started to cry as I realized there was no salvation; I was going to die.

The creature behind me that wielded the sword then walked out of the cave towards me, and smirked. I never once saw his face, or even what he was. He snickered.

“You little moron! There is not one pony left to help you! THEY ARE ALL DEAD, fallen beneath the might of my blade! And now, with the spilling of your blood, and your death, EQUESTRIA SHALL BE NO MORE!”

I started to cry like a baby. My friends…..dead? It couldn’t be, he was lying! I didn’t have much more time to react, though.

“CEST L’ VIE, YOU FOOL!” He then sent the blade crashing into my skull, downwardly striking me.

However, before I could register any pain, my eyelids flashed open and I screamed at the top of my lungs. I think they heard me all the way in Canterlot. Twilight used her teleportation spell to appear next to me in the bedroom and hugged me tight.

“JORDAN, JORDAN CALM DOWN!” She told me. “Shhhhhh, it’s all ok! I promise!” She then got on the bed and held me in a tight and warm hug.

“What happened?” she asked, innocently enough.

“I just had the nightmare to end all nightmares. That was just…..beyond a nightmare. That was…..was…..” I then started to bawl.

She held me close and stroked my mane. “Hey, hey, it’s ok Jordan. You’re awake now, it was all just a bad dream.” She was so soothing with her words, I felt like I was a little kid, with my parents after I had a nightmare.

Twilight then gulped. “I…..had a horrible night mare too. I woke up about five minutes before you did. It was awful and I couldn’t stop shaking!”

I then held her close and rubbed her back, embracing her warmth and comfort, trying to make her feel better. I then gained an idea.

“Hey, twilight, I have an idea. Whenever I had a nightmare, my parents used to let me sleep in their bed. Do you want to sleep with me?”

Twilight looked like she was going to explode. Her face was that red! She gulped. “You….. you would be ok with that?”

“Yeah! We’re just friends after all, right?”

Twilight then had a sad look on her, from what I had just said. Her heart felt a bit crushed but she nodded.

“Of course we are, and I would love to sleep with you tonight. Mind if I get under the covers?”

I shook my head and lifted them up with my hoof. As she got under the covers, for the first time I couldn’t help but admire twilight.

She was quite a beautiful young unicorn. She had a body not quite as fit as AJ’s, but she had curves in the right places, a perky flank, and her purple coat just had a way of captivating your eyes.

Anyway, she got in and used her magic to turn the light off. I then sighed.

“Hey, twilight? I um….. I have a confession.”

Twilight’s eyes then shot up, as she had a hope of what I would say to her.

“Yes, what is it Jordan?”

“I uh….. don’t know…..how to use magic…..” I sadly confessed.

It wasn’t what she’d hoped I would say, but twilight looked so shocked she might fly out of the bed.

“WHAT?! Jordan, you have to be in your late teen years like me and you don’t know magic?! How is that possible!”

I then shushed her as I created a lie. “Well, uh….. you see, my parents were very conservative folks, who were very skeptical of magic. It’s not that I was ever not interested in magic, it’s that I wasn’t allowed to study it!”

She then gave an understanding nod. “Well, get ready then. Because tomorrow after your chores, I’m going to teach you magic 101 mister!”

I then smiled. “Sounds amazing twilight.” I then said something bold, and I had no fucking idea why.

“…..Just like your voice” I said in a slightly deep voice.

Twilight blushed insane red once again and glanced into my eyes.

The room got hot, everything around us turned to blackness and nothing. We were all that mattered at that moment.

Our faces moved closer, and closer, and closer still, until we could feel the hot air coming from each other’s nose.

Then, in one of the most magical moments of my life, our lips connected. But we didn’t stop there. All of a sudden, I felt Twilight’s tongue invade my own mouth.

I moaned softly into her mouth as I felt her tongue wrestle and dominate mine. After about three minutes of this, she stopped and pulled her tongue away and I smiled.

“…..Goodnight Twilight. Sleep well.”

“You too Jordan. Goodnight.”

As I looked at her, trying to fall asleep, a million thoughts ran thought my mind. Was this real? Was she real? What about Mackenzie. I still miss her, but….. being with twilight just feels so right, right now. Could I be in love with Twilight Sparkle?

We then fell asleep in each other’s hooves, never losing sight of one another.

Author's Note

Oh my gosh... to think that once upon a time i considered this chapter to be my best... i'm ashamed. Whatever, that was chapter four. Hope you're ready, next chapter is an original idea i came up with. Cya!

Chapter 17: Suited For Success

I woke up some time in the late morning. I have no idea why I slept in, I very rarely do. I saw on my clock that it was 10:30. I was shocked as I blinked the tiredness from my eyes. I quickly threw the covers to the side and got out of bed, walking to the bathroom and taking care of my various business.

When I was done, I felt refreshed and rejuvenated, ready to tackle my day. It's amazing how simple hygiene can make you feel so motivated, and boost your morale. Anyway, I walked downstairs and went into the kitchen. I looked into my fridge, but there was nothing in it! Pantry, same thing. Icebox, same thing! Right then, my stomach growled with a vengeance and I chuckled as I rubbed it.

“Huh. Guess I've been slacking on the grocery shopping, huh Elise? I guess I'll have to ask the girls if they have anything to eat, oh this is going to suck.” I said as I pet Elise and walked towards the door. I opened it, and took a big breath of the beautifully-smelling light spring air. I sighed happily and began to trot. “Hmm. I'm sure Rarity won't mind if I ask her. She's always so generous.” I said as I began to walk to the Boutique. When I got there, I tapped on the door a few times with my hoof.

To my surprise, it wasn't Rarity who answered the door. It was Sweetie Belle!

“Hey Jordan! Haven't seen you in a few days, what's up?” She asked as she looked up at me. I looked down at her with confusion.

“Sweetie Belle? What are you doing here?” I asked. She held her hoof to her mouth and giggled a bit.

“I live here, silly filly! Didn't you know that?' She asked with a cute smile. I shook my head.

“No, I had no idea. Wait, you and Rarity are sisters?!” I asked in shock as the realization truly hit me. She nodded.

“Yep. So what did you need?” Sweetie asked me.

“Well... See, this is embarrassing, but I'm all out of food at my house. I was wondering if you guys had anything I could borrow?” Sweetie Belle stepped aside and ushered me inside the house.

“Come on in! I'll tell Rarity that you're here. She doesn't let me mess with food.” Sweetie said as she galloped up the stairs. I called after her.

“HEY, careful! Don't want you falling down those stairs!” I said as I walked inside the house. I closed the door behind me and walked into the living room. The room was very spacious, and the walls were white and purple, and the carpet was so plush it must have been four inches thick. This place was like a living extension of Rarity. Beautiful, grand, proper, amazing. Anyway, I got caught up gazing at some pictures and art on the wall when I heard her voice.

“Jordan, darling! To what do I owe the pleasant surprise of this visit?” She asked with a smile. I turned around and sheepishly rubbed the back of my neck with my hoof.

“Well... I wish I was here for a more... sophisticated or meaningful reason Rarity. And I truly don't mean to impose or anything. But, you see, I kinda... Ran out of food at my house. I've been so busy with recent events I've gone lax on things like grocery shopping. I'll be fine with just a few stalks of hay if you have any.” I said with a smile.

“Oh darling, I completely understand being busy, and you're not imposing one single bit. Here, come with me into the kitchen. I'll cook you a brunch!” Rarity said as she trotted into the kitchen adjoining the living room. I followed her.

“But, Rarity. You really don't have to do that. I'm fine with just some munchies. Some hay, or some oats, or-” Rarity cut me off with a wave of the hoof.

“Nonsense darling. You're my friend and I insist you allow me to cook you lunch. Sit down, darling.” She waved her hoof towards the table and I sighed in defeat, walking to the table and sitting down.

“Sweetie Belle! Come down for brunch!” Rarity called out as she trotted around the kitchen for ingredients. Sweetie came down to the kitchen and sat next to me at the table.

She noticed the vest I had on, which was almost like Big Mac's work collar, but it wraps around my body. It was red. She tugged at it and stuff to survey it.

Rarity noticed and gagged a bit. “Jordan, sweetness, that vest you have on is a fashionable travesty! I insist you come upstairs after brunch and allow me to create a new vest for you!” She said as she mixed some ingredients in a bowl.

I looked at the vest in disbelief. “This old thing? But I bought it in Appleloosa... Oh well. If you insist I guess I simply can't reject, Rarity.”

I then started to think about something that's been on my mind for a few days. “Hey, Rarity, can you and I go someplace private for a second to talk, before you get too busy cooking?”

She nodded at me and put the stuff in her hooves down. “Of course, darling. Sweetie Belle, you stay right there sweetness.” Rarity and I then walked out of the kitchen, upstairs to her bedroom.

“Please, excuse the mess Jordan. I've been busy working on a new order, and my room is quite disorganized at the moment.” I nodded and she sat on her bed. I followed suit, sitting next to her.

“So, what ever is on your mind, darling?” She asked, staring at me with those captivating, ocean blue irises of hers, her light blue mascara ever prominent on the snow white fur she so proudly wore.

“Well... remember at my birthday party, everything that you said before we fell asleep? I haven't seen you at all since then. I was just wondering how you've been doing emotion wise.” I said with a nervous smile. She seemed to be thinking deeply for a few seconds before speaking.

“To be frank darling, it was all I could really think about for a few days. But those thoughts got easier to process with time.”

I nodded at her. I understood all to well emotions need time to process properly. I then piped up.

“Rarity... I need to tell you something. Something I... Neglected to tell you at the sleepover.” She widened her eyes ever so slightly, waiting for my response. Finally, it came.

“Rarity, I think you're an amazing mare. A lot of times, out of all the girls, I feel closer to you. You can be stuck up and prissy sometimes, but you're sophisticated, smart and generous. I love that about you. I just wish I was anywhere near the same level as you. I'm just a hothead, who's a little of everything.” I said to her. She smiled.

“Jordan, dearie, you're putting yourself down. Don't do that darling. You're an amazing stallion, and I feel close to you as well. Even if you are a hothead, you're not nearly as bad off as Applejack, or Rainbow Dash.” She said with a tiny giggle. I laughed too.

“Thanks Rare. I just wanted to tell you that. Also, did you try on a different perfume this morning? It smells good.” I said as I sniffed the air. She giggled again.

“Yes actually, Spike brought it back to Ponyville for me from Canterlot on his last royal excursion. It was a very thoughtful gift indeed. I love it!” She said happily, pointing to a bottle that read “Divine Equine”. I laughed a bit at the obscene name of the perfume.

“Divine Equine?! Who the hay comes up with these names for things. I swear.” I said as I rolled my eyes in a comical way. Rarity laughed and stood up.

“Well darling, if that's all you wanted to speak about, we should get back downstairs to the kitchen.” I nodded at her and she and I walked to the kitchen. I sat down, and she started getting busy on brunch, though now it was lunch time. I sat next to Sweetie Belle and she smiled.

“Jordan, I forgot to tell you, we're having a Cutie Mark Crusaders meeting at Applebloom's treehouse next week. Don't forget ok?” I smiled at her. “Don't worry Sweetie, I won't.” Rarity walked over a few minutes later with the plates.

“Lunch is served!” She said as she laid a few plates out. It was a magnificent spread, with some quiche, some panini's, and other elegant looking foods. But, the portions were all ridiculously small! I chuckled sheepishly a bit as I looked at it all.

“Well, this food sure is a lot more elegant than what I usually have to eat. It looks delicious, thank you Rarity.” I said as I grabbed a panini and took a bite. It was small, but boy did it ever pack flavor. It was filled with all kinds of different vegetables. It tasted divine, and I downed it quickly.

There was also an elegant kind of cider, and all sorts of things I couldn't even describe, like little desserts. I sat back in the chair happily.

“Rarity, I can't thank you enough, that's the best food I've had since I was at Fluttershy's a few weeks ago. And before you ask, I can't even choose between the meals you two made.” I said with a laugh. Rarity smiled at me and when we were all done, she grabbed everypony's dishes to put in the washer.

“It was no problem darling, I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Now, while I'm doing the dishes, I insist you wait for me upstairs. I still insist upon making you a new vest dearest!” She said as she started scrubbing the dishes. I found that funny, how a pony who lived for cleanliness would dive into such a dirty chore like that. I nodded though, and walked upstairs to her room.

When I opened the door, I looked around this time. When she and I came up her before lunch, I didn't really get a chance to. But this time, I decided to walk around the room and see things, such as her paintings on the wall. They were all elegant, and I also saw some of her new fashion projects, such as a beautiful dress laden with gems to fit a color scheme, which seemed to be brighter colors. Rubies, emeralds, sapphires, etc. Then I saw a dress that was strictly sapphires and I smiled widely. I love sapphires, they're the birthstone for September, my birth month. I almost wish I were a mare again so I could wear this dress.

Suddenly, Rarity walked in. “Darling? What are you doing? Perusing some of my creations?” She asked curiously as she stepped next to me. I nodded.

“Sorry Rare, I just saw this sapphire dress and it caught my attention. I love sapphires, they're the birthstone for September afterall. That's my birth month.” I said with a happy smile. “I almost wish I were a mare again, so I could wear that dress. Almost.” Rarity giggled a bit before she gasped.

“Darling, you've given me an ingenious idea!” She said as she sprinted quickly to her drawing board. I was confused, so I walked over to her to see what she was working on.

“Ah-ah-ah darling, no peeking. Go stand over there!” She said in a commanding tone. I did as she said, and waited for her to be done sketching. Soon, she was, and she showed it to me.

It was a vest, like my own I had on, but it was drawn in nice, deep black with Sapphires to accentuate it. I gasped as I looked at her sketch.

“Rarity, this is your design for the new vest you want to make me? I... I love it! The sapphires look great, and the black would sure pop off my coat really nicely.” I said with a smile. Rarity smiled too before she flipped her sketch book to another page.

“And look, this is an idea I had for a suit for you darling! You could wear it to the Grand Galloping Gala, and you would look most magnificent.” I looked at her sketch. It was kinda like a tuxedo, black and white, but it had sapphires on the seams. It looked fantastic and I smiled.

“That suit blows my mind Rarity, but are you sure you can make all that?” I asked with a hint of worry in my voice. “I'd really hate to impose upon you, when I already did earlier with lunch.” Rarity shook her head.

“Nonsense, darling. I'd love to make these clothing items for you. I know you'll look just smashing with them on. The sapphires not only look good, but they're also increase the durability of your work vest. It won't rip or tear as easy as this old thing.” She said as she poked it with her hoof, and shuddered a bit.

“So hey, if you're working on all this, I'm more than sure you're working on something else for the Gala, right?” With that, she squealed a bit and flipped to another page in her book. I saw a beautiful dress, with some pink on it, some golden lace, frills, etc. It just SCREAMED Rarity. It had her name all over it.

“Wow Rarity, that dress is so you it's unbelievable. You were BORN to wear that dress.” I said with a big smile. Rarity giggled.

“Thank you darling!” She said as she sat down at the desk. Right then, Opal, her pet cat, jumped onto the desk and seemed to be staring at Rarity's drawings.

“Oh, Opalescence. Can't you just picture it? Moi, stepping out in a stunning new gown at the Grand Galloping Gala in Canterlot!” Rarity asked Opal. Opal just made a meow, but Rarity acted as if she was talking to her.

“Why, yes! I did make it myself. Thank you so much for asking.” Rarity continued. I tilted my head to the side. I could understand what Opal was saying through her meows, and it was nothing of the sort.

“Oh, Opal, of course you can help me. Thank you. What's that? You want to help me more? Oh, aren't you the sweetest thing? Careful now. Don't move. This shouldn't take long at all.” Rarity said as she gave Opal jobs to do, and I tapped Rarity's shoulder.

“Uh... Rare? I learned how to talk with animals from Fluttershy, and I can assure you that Opal was saying nothing of the sort. She said she's wanting to go outside and get some exercise.” I said as I rubbed the back of my neck with my hoof. Rarity laughed a bit and undressed Opal.

“My, my, silly me. I'm sorry Opal wopal, of course you can go outside. Just, don't get dirty.” Rarity said as she opened the window, allowing Opal to get down to the yard from it.

Rarity then sighed. “I need to get working on my dress, darling. Would you mind if I did?” I shook my head and smiled, sitting on her bed. “Course not Rare, just pretend I'm not even here.” I said as I watched her start to get to work.

Suddenly, Applejack and Twilight walked into the room from the hallway. “Howdy, Rarity! Howdy, Jordan!” Applejack said, before Twilight shushed her. I waved to them with my hoof.

“Shh... Can't you see Rarity is trying to concentrate?” Twilight said to Applejack, who nodded.

“What do you think she's makin'?” Applejack asked curiously.

“Looks like a dress.” Twilight said. I facehoofed at their obviousness.

Applejack nodded. “Well, that makes sense. Since this is a dressmaker's shop and all.” Rarity then took in a deep breath, before turning her chair to look at them with a smile.

“Is there something I can help you with?” She asked them happily, and Twilight stepped forward.

“Oh, so very sorry to trouble you, Rarity, but I need a quick favor. Could you please fix the button for me? It's my dress for the Grand Galloping Gala.” Twilight handed Rarity her dress, and I have to admit It... looked... tattered. Old. Worn. I could tell Rarity was having the same thoughts as me.

Rarity shook her head frantically. “Oh, no, no, no! You can't wear this... old thing. You need a glamorous new outfit for the Gala and I'll make it for you. No problem at all. It will be my pleasure!” Rarity said happily.

Twilight smiled back. “Oh, that's really sweet of you to offer, Rarity, but I can't let you do that. It would be so much work. This dress is fine.” She said modestly.

Rarity shook her head stubbornly. “Twilight Sparkle. I insist on making you a new dress.”

Twilight tried to reject. “But...”

Rarity interrupted her. “Not another word! I won't take no for an answer.” She said sternly, but also good-heartedly.

Twilight smiled widely. “Well, in that case... Thank you for your generosity, Rarity. Knowing your handiwork, I'm sure it will be absolutely beautiful.”

Rarity then turned to Applejack and sighed a bit. “Let me guess, Applejack. You don't want a new gown either.”

Applejack laughed a bit. “Gown? Shoot. I was just gonna wear my old work duds.” She said nonchalantly, as if she didn't think it really mattered or not.

Rarity was about to say something, but I spoke up. “Applejack! Are you crazy? Come on girl, this isn't a hoe down or anything. This is the single biggest event of the entire year in Canterlot, which might I remind you in the capital of Equestria! You have to wear something nice!” I said, trying to reason with her, but she wouldn't have it. She pretended to be thinking about it, but quickly answered with a simple “Hm... Nah.”

Rarity stepped in with an idea. “What if I just spruce up your... duds for you a little bit?” She said, trying to hold in her disgust at the idea of Applejack not wearing proper attire.

Applejack nodded. “Okay, sure. Why not? Since you're up for it and all. Just don't make them too... frou-frou-y.”

Rarity nodded excitedly. “Deal!” She said happily. Suddenly, we heard a familiar voice. “Look out below!” That voice, which could only belong to Rainbow Dash, exclaimed. Suddenly, Rainbow crashed into the boutique from the window, causing a mess of Rarity's stuff.

Rainbow was sheepishly smiling. “Sorry. New trick. Didn't quite work.”

Rarity looked at her for a second. “Hmm... -GASP- Idea! I'll make you an outfit for the Gala too, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow was confused. “Outfit for the what now?” She asked dumbly.

I waved my hoof in front of her face. “Uh, earth to Pegasus pony! The grand galloping gala, for pony's sakes! The most upper class, regal event of the YEAR in Canterlot! Why is it nopony but me and Rarity are taking this seriously?” I asked in frustration.

Rarity then spoke. “I'll make one for you and you and all of you. Oh! And of course Pinkie and Fluttershy too. Oh, and when I'm done, we can hold our very own fashion show!” She said with a squeal of excitement.

Twilight nodded and smiled. “What a great idea! If you're sure you can handle it.” She said, worried Rarity would overwork herself.

Rarity smiled. “Oh, it'll be a little bit of work, but it will be a wonderful boost for my business. Plus, fun!” She said happily,

Rainbow Dash gasped. “Oh, I love fun things!” She said excitedly.

Rarity nodded. “Then it's settled. We'll have a fashion show starring us.”

Applejack put her hoof to her chin in thought. “So... all you have to do is make a different, stunning, original, amazing outfit for one, two, three, four, five... plus yourself, six ponies? Plus a suit for Jordan? And lickety split?” She asked with some worry in her voice.

Rarity chuckled awkwardly. “Oh, Applejack. You make it sound as if it's going to be hard.” She finished.

“Well, I guess we'll leave you to your work Rarity. Come on everypony, let's give Rarity some privacy.” Twilight suggested to everypony. I shook my head. “I'm gonna stay here, Twi. See you girls later.” I waved goodbye to them as they left.

Rarity looked at me. “Darling? Why didn't you go with them?” She asked curiously. I smiled and gave her a hug.

“Come on, you didn't really think I would leave you alone with so much work to do, did you?” I said with a smile.

Rarity shook her head. “Darling, you don't have to do that. I'm more than capable of doing this all on my own.” She said as she looked at me. I shook my head.

“No way Rare. I'm helping you with the outfits and that's final. Just give me a job to do and I'll try my best to get it down right.” I said with a smile.

Rarity nodded in defeat and thought for a minute. “Hmm. Let's see. Oh! You can cut the fabric for me. I need six foot by four foot sheets of the fabrics. Here, use this book right here, it has a spell you can learn so you can cut the fabric with your magic, darling.” She handed me the book and I read it. I sat down at a worktable nearby and tried it out. To my surprise, it worked! The fabric was cut in the perfect rectangle!

I kept working for a few minutes, cutting sheet after sheet of different colored fabrics this way. I then looked up from my workstation as a question popped into my mind. “Hey, Rarity?” She looked over at me. “Why is this place called Carousel Boutique anyway?” I asked curiously. She smiled at the question.

“Well, you see darling, there is a decorative carousel of pony mannequins on top of the roof. It's hard to see from ground level, but it is most certainly there. My original plan was to have those pony mannequins swing around this room like a carousel so it would be easier, and more fun to work on my projects, but that was just an architectural NIGHTMARE.” She emphasized her final word. I laughed a bit.

“I can see why. Things like that are way outside my construction level.” Rarity and I laughed a bit and got back to work.

Rarity began to sing.

“Thread by thread, stitching it together
Twilight's dress, cutting out the pattern snip by snip
Making sure the fabric folds nicely
It's the perfect color and so hip
Always gotta keep in mind my pacing
Making sure the clothes' correctly facing
I'm stitching Twilight's dress
Yard by yard, fussing on the details
Jewel neckline, don't you know a stitch in time saves nine?
Make her something perfect to inspire
Even though she hates formal attire
Gotta mind those intimate details
Even though she's more concerned with sales
It's Applejack's new dress”

I then decided to join her in singing. We sang the next bit in a duet.

“Dressmaking's easy, for Pinkie Pie something pink
Fluttershy something breezy
Blend color and form,
[To Opalescence] Do you think it looks cheesy?
Something brash, perhaps quite fetching
Hook and eye, couldn't you just simply die?
Making sure it fits forelock and crest
Don't forget some magic in the dress
Even though it rides high on the flank
Rainbow won't look like a tank
I'm stitching Rainbow's dress
Piece by piece, snip by snip
Croup, dock, haunch, shoulders, hip
Thread by thread, primmed and pressed
Yard by yard, never stressed
And that's the art of the dress!” She and I finished together as we looked at the fruits of our labor. We have made five amazing dresses than fit each pony's personalities perfectly.

Rarity gave me a tight hug. “Oh darling! Thank you, so very much! Your helping me made this all so much faster and fun. Thank you!” She said as she hugged me even tighter, and I chuckled and smiled.

“It was no problem Rarity, I was glad to help you. Come on, let's get the girls and show them their new dresses.”

In the next while, I went around town gathering everypony. After I found them all, I lead them to the boutique, where Rarity met us in the living room. She made the girls keep their eyes shut as they walked into the work room.

“That's it. Keep them closed. Don't look. Okay, you can look now!” She said as the girls all got into the room. The girls all gasped at the dresses.

Rarity smiled happily. “These are your new outfits, which Jordan helped me a great deal with. What do you think of your old duds now, Applejack? Pretty swanky, are they not? And Twilight! I made this dress for you and I designed each outfit theme to perfectly reflect each pony's unique personality. Oh, it took me forever to get the colors right on this one, Rainbow Dash, but I did it. Oh, and it turned out beautiful, don't you think? And I know you are going to love yours, Fluttershy. It just sings spring! And Pinkie Pie, look! Pink! Your favorite! Aren't they all amazing?” She asked, hoping for an answer. But none of the girls did answer, and there was an awkward silence.

Twilight broke the silence. “Wow... They're...” She stopped, trying to find the right word to say.

Rainbow piped up. “Yeah, they're...” She too tried to find the right word.

Applejack spoke next. “They sure are... somethin'.” She said flatly.

Twilight nodded. “Yes! Something.” She said, it felt like she was trying... to conceal something.

Pinkie Pie smiled. “I love something! Something is my favorite!”

Fluttershy looked down. “It's... nice.”

Rarity looked distressed. “But what's the matter? Don't you like them?” She asked sadly.

Twilight nodded. “They're very nice...”

Applejack agreed. “And we're plumb grateful 'cause you worked so hard on them.”

Rainbow Dash piped up. “Mine's just not as cool as I was imagining.” She rudely and bluntly stated. When the girls and I gave her angry looks, she shrugged. “She asked!”

Twilight sighed sadly. “I guess what we're all saying is that they're just not what we had in mind.” To which the girls have out a collective yeah.

I was in complete, utter shock at this turn of events. I mean, these dresses are gorgeous, and they fit the girls personalities to a tee! I don't understand how they couldn't love them to death! It's a dress, what more could you want, after all?

Rarity seemed sad, but she suddenly perked right back up. “That's okay. Not a problem. There's plenty more where that came from. They were only a first pass. You're my friends and I want you to be 110% satisfied. Not to worry, I'll redo them.” She said valiantly.

Fluttershy spoke. “Oh, Rarity. You don't have to do that. They're fine.” She said softly.

Rarity shook her head. “I want them to be better than just fine. I want you to think they're absolutely perfect.” She said as she went to the mannequins and used her magic to take the dresses off of them.

Applejack seemed concerned. “Are you sure? I mean, we wouldn't wanna impose.”

Rarity shook her head. “Oh, it's no imposition. Really, I insist.” She then turned to the girls and gave them a... a look. It was supposed to be a smile, I'm sure. But to me it looked scornful, upset, maybe a little angry.

Twilight smiled. “Well, in that case... Thank you again, Rarity.” The girls then walked out of the room, but after the door closed Rarity planted her face into her work desk and sighed, her hooves on her head.

“What have I gotten myself into?” She asked sadly. I walked over to her and I wiped the single tear in her eye away.

“Rarity, it'll all be ok. I promise. I'm going to help you again. We'll get these dresses done in no time again.” I said with a big smile. Rarity looked like she was going to cry out of appreciation and she buried her face into my chest, giving me a tight hug.

“Thank you Jordan, thank you so so much! You're the greatest friend a mare could ever ask for, you know that?” She said as a few tears fell. I wiped them away and smiled.

“You're the best friend a stallion could ask for. Now come on Mrs. Fashionista, we got work to do. Want me to cut the fabric again?” I asked as I went to my workstation. She nodded.

“Yes, please. And darling... thank you. This means the world to me.” She said as she got working on sketching some new designs.

“It's absolutely no problem, Rarity. I'm always glad to help a friend in need.” I said as she and I both got to work again. I used my magic to cut the fabric for Fluttershy's dress, since Rarity told me this time she wanted to do the dresses one at a time, and get the girl's inputs on them. In no time, we finished up Fluttershy's new prototype dress and we called her to the boutique.

Fluttershy walked in through the door. “Hello? You and Jordan wanted to see me, Rarity?” She asked.

Rarity smiled. “Fluttershy! Your new-new gown's ready. I completely revised it and I know you're going to love it. What do you think?” She asked Fluttershy, who wore a fake smile.

“I... love it.” She said with a pause, indicating she was being insincere.

“Oh, you're just saying that.” Rarity said.

Fluttershy shook her head. “No, no. I do. It's... nice.” Fluttershy said kinda flatly.

Rarity raised a brow. "Nice?” She inquired.

Fluttershy nodded. “Nice.”

“If you don't like it, you should just tell me.” Rarity preached to Fluttershy, who was being firm on her stance.

“Oh, but I do like it.”

“Like it or love it?”

“Um... both?” Fluttershy said shyly, trying to keep her true feelings bottled up.

“Which is it?” Rarity asked.

Fluttershy was getting defensive. “Please stop asking me this, I...”

Rarity kept pushing Fluttershy, literally as they were backing up towards a wall. “Well, just tell me what you really think.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “No, that's okay...”

Rarity kept pushing. “Tell me.”

Fluttershy remained firm. “No... it's fine...”

Rarity was getting loud now. “Tell me!”

“I... like it...”

“Tell me, tell me, tell-me-tell-me-tell-me!” Rarity pushed harder, and this sent Fluttershy over the brink.

“All right! Since you really wanna know...” She then took a big inhale. “The armscye's tight, the middy collar doesn't go with the shawl lapel, the hems are clearly machine-stitched, the pleats are uneven, the fabric looks like toile, you used a backstitch here when it clearly called for a topstitch or maybe a traditional blanket stitch, and the overdesign is reminiscent of prêt-à-porter and not true French haute couture. But, uh... you know... um, whatever you want to do is fine.” Fluttershy spoke so fast, and was so blunt... me and Rarity's jaws were both dropped, stunned, just flabbergasted.

“I... I don't even...” I said in disbelief before I recollected myself and cleared my throat. “Well... we'll try our hardest to make it right, Fluttershy. We'll call you back here when it's done...” I said as I turned away from her. She took that as her cue to leave, and closed the door. I looked at Rarity with a shocked face.

“SINCE WHEN WAS FLUTTERSHY A FASHION EXPERT!? That was ridiculous!” I said in frustration. Rarity waved a hoof at me.

“Now darling, don't fret. The client is ALWAYS right, no matter how frustrating they may be.” I sighed and nodded, and got back to work cutting fabric and such.

Next on our list was Twilight. We finished her dress, and called her into the boutique. Twilight behaved in much the same way as Fluttershy and was even making me and Rarity change it on the spot!

“Now, the stars on my belt need to be technically accurate. Orion has three stars on his belt, not four.” She instructed us as we worked on the constellation. I growled softly. “Yeah, well Orion can take his stars and shove them where the sun don't shine.” I said as I stitched away.

“Stitch by stitch, stitching it together
Deadline looms, don't you know the client's always right?
Even if my fabric choice was perfect
Gotta get them all done by tonight
Pinkie Pie, that color's too obtrusive
Wait until you see it in the light
I'm sewing them together!
'Don't you think my gown would be more "me" with some lollipops?'
'Well, I think...'
'Balloons?'
'Well...'
'Do it!'
Hour by hour, one more change
I'm sewing them together, take great pains
Fluttershy, you're putting me in a bind
Rainbow Dash, what is on your mind?
Oh my gosh, there's simply not much time
Don't forget, Applejack's duds must shine
Dressmaking's easy, every customer's call
Brings a whole new revision
Have to pick up the pace, still hold to my vision
'That constellation is Canis Major, not Minor.'
'French haute couture, please.'
'Ugh...'
'What if it rains? Galoshes!'
'More balloons! Oh no, that's too many balloons. More candy! Oh, less candy. Oh wait, I know. Streamers!'
'Streamers?'
'Whose dress is this?'
'Streamers it is.'
'What?'
'Aren't you going to tell me to change something too?'
'No, I just want my dress to be cool.'
'Do you not like the color?'
'The color's fine, just make it look cooler.'
'Do you not like the shape?'
'The shape's fine, just make the whole thing... you know, cooler. It needs to be about 20% cooler.'
'All we ever want is indecision'
'All we really like is what we know'
'Gotta balance style with adherence'
'Making sure we make a good appearance'
'Even if you simply have to fudge it'
'Make sure that it stays within our budget'
Got to overcome intimidation
Remember, it's all in the presentation!
Piece by piece, snip by snip
Croup, dock, haunch, shoulders, hip
Bolt by bolt, primmed and pressed
Yard by yard, always stressed
And that's the art of the dress!”

A few days. That's how long it all took. Days of eating, sleeping, sewing, stitching, cutting, and knitting at Rarity's house. Days of that. But finally, they were done.

I looked at the mannequins in the corner of the room in disgust, and so did Rarity. She held onto me, sniffling. “Oh, Jordan. These are the ugliest dresses I've ever made!” She said in despair. I held onto her and sighed.

“I know, Rarity. These aren't dresses... They're costumes. That's what the girls wanted. And they look AWFUL. May Celestia banish these dresses to the moon!”

Suddenly, we heard a knock on the door. It was the girls. Rarity gasped and opened it, ushering them all inside.

“Okay. We did exactly what each of you asked for. Now don't hold back. Let us know what you really think.” Rarity told them. The girls made various sounds of happiness and approval, but I just stood back and scoffed. They were hideous outfits.

Twilight smiled at Rarity. “Thank you, Rarity.”

Pinkie Pie was bouncing around everywhere. “Are you as happy with them as we are? Huh? Huh? Huh?”

Rarity gulped. “Well, I'm... happy that all of you are happy. I'm just relieved to finally be done.”

Pinkie then bounced to me. “What about you Jordan? You worked hard on them too!” I opened my eyes wide and gulped like Rarity, trying to find a way to censor just how I really felt about these stupid costumes.

“Uh... well, they're... cool. And they definitely fit you five's personalities...” I said, trying to sound like I loved them. Suddenly, Spike ran into the room.

“You are never gonna believe this! You've heard of Hoity Toity?” He asked excitedly.

“The bigwig fashion hotshot in Canterlot?” Twilight asked him. He nodded.

“Uh-huh. He heard about your fashion show. Well, maybe I happened to mention it to him... He's coming here all the way from Canterlot to see your work, Rarity!” I opened my eyes wide. Oh no.. Oh no, no, no! He can't see these stupid costumes, they're not even true dresses! He'll think they're an abomination!

“Whoa, Nelly! You could sell a ton o' dresses to this guy. Your business will be boomin'!” Applejack stated happily.

Rarity looked mortified. “Hoity Toity? He's coming here? To see THESE dresses?”

“Yep! Get ready for all of your dreams to come true.” Spike said as he and the girls walked out of the room. As soon as they did, I groaned and slammed my hoof onto the desk, faceplanting onto it.

“FOR THE LOVE OF EQUESTRIA, this just keeps getting better and better.” I then saw that Rarity was in complete distress and I walked to her.

“Rarity, shh. It's ok. Listen, maybe Hoity Toity will like the dresses. I mean, they don't look good, but they are VERY creative, innovative, attention grabbing.” I said, trying to lift her spirits. She just sighed and left the room, depressedly. I sighed too, unsure of what to do.

-TWO HOURS LATER, CAROUSEL BOUTIQUE SHOWROOM-

Well, this was it. Hoity Toity was here, for the fashion show. There were some other ponies from town in attendance. The girls and I were all backstage, waiting for the show to begin. Rarity was peeking out the curtain, waiting for Hoity to show. When he did, she gasped.

“There he is! Okay. Relax, Rarity. Your friends like their outfits and so will he. What's wrong with the lights?! Oh, yes. That means the show's starting. Good.” Rarity said worriedly. She knew this wouldn't turn out well.

Spike started the show with some narrating. “Since the beginning of time, the elite of Equestria have longed for pony fashions that truly expressed the essence of their very souls. Patiently waiting decades no, centuries for the perfect pony gown. Today, at long last, Equestria, your wait is over! Let's hear it for the breathtaking designs of Ponyville's own Rarity!” The girls then stepped out from the curtain and stood on the circular stage at the end of the catwalk. Some ponies murmured and looked disgusted at what they saw.

“Why's everypony lookin' at us like that?” Applejack asked confusedly.

Twilight gulped. “Oh dear.”

“You think we overdid it?” Dash said as she looked at the crowd.

Applejack shook her head. Nah. “Okay, maybe a little.”

Hoity Toity was disgusted. “Oh, those amateurish designs look like a piled-on mishmash of everything but a kitchen sink! It's a travesty is what it is. Those outfits are the ugliest things I've ever seen, oh for shame. Who is responsible for subjecting our eyes to these horrors? Not to mention wasting my valuable time.” He said, almost stuck up like. I growled at his stupidity, he didn't even admire the creativity of them!

“Come on out and take a bow, Rarity. You too, Jordan! You two worked really hard for this.” Me and Rarity walked out from behind the curtain together, both looking mortified as she and I were displayed before the crowd. “Yes! All right, woo-hoo! Go, Rarity!” Spike continued, but it was all over. Rarity teared up, jumped down from the stage, and ran upstairs to her room, her forearm hiding her face. I sighed and followed her, knowing she needed somepony to be there for her.

When I walked into her bedroom, she was kneeling at the side of her bed, weeping into a pillow. I kneeled next to her and rubbed her back with my hoof.

“There there, Rarity. It's ok. Shh, it's all ok.” I said as I tried to cheer her up. She then stopped crying into the pillow and buried her face into my chest, weeping into it instead.

“Why, why did Hoity Toity have to arrive in Ponyville today!? That was my one and only shot at the big time, and now it's been eviscerated!” She wailed as she cried. I rubbed her back, holding her tightly.

“Shhh. We'll find a way to fix all of this, Rarity. I promise.” Suddenly, I heard a knocking on the door. I walked over to the door and listened. It was Pinkie.

“Rarity? You okay in there? We wanna talk to you.” Pinkie said. I sighed and opened the door, stepping out into the hall and not letting the girls inside.

“What do you girls want? Can't you hear Rarity weeping? You five have done enough damage to her.” I said sternly, my voice was lacking the usual perkiness it had. I was all business right now.

“Jordan, we... We weren't trying to overdo it. We just wanted our dresses to be perfect.” Twilight said to me. I shook my head.

“No, you know what happened, Twilight? You five got greedy. You just kept ordering Rarity around, taking advantage of her, because you knew she wouldn't say no. That was low of all five of you, and I'm ashamed of you girls right now.” I said as I hung my head. Twilight sounded like she was choking back tears.

“We... We really didn't mean to.” She said sadly. I then growled a bit.

“How the hay did you girls not mean to?! Ursa minor, Ursa Major, candy, streamers, balloons, french haute couture, 20% cooler! What in the hay does 20% cooler even mean!? And just so you know, I know astronomy too, Twilight. The constellation we made first WAS Ursa Major, the one you wanted. You were wrong on that one anyway.” I sighed and took a deep breath. “You girls messed up big this time. Do you even know how much Rarity was stressing about making your dresses, which honestly you turned into silly costumes, perfect? One night, she literally refused to go to sleep. And, that was Rarity's one shot at achieving her dream. Hoity Toity is the biggest fashion designer in all of Equestria, and he thinks Rarity is nothing but an amateur now. Her career might be over, and there's no excuse for how you girls acted.” My words stunned the girls silent, and Twilight spoke softly, still choking back tears.

“Jordan, we... We're sorry.” Twilight said as she looked at the floor. I opened the door to Rarity's room and glared at them all.

“I'm not the one you need to be apologizing to.” I stated simply as I closed the door on them, going back to Rarity and trying to comfort her.

-THE NEXT MORNING-

I woke up to an all to familiar setting. I was on the couch in Rarity's living room again, where I had slept these past few nights.

I was, however, not used to the sensation of a hoof rubbing against my shoulder. I slowly turned to my left and saw who it was. It was Applejack.

She smiled and waved her hoof in a motion that told me to walk with her. I did so, getting up onto all fours and trotting next to her. We ended up trotting all the way to Fluttershy's cottage. I was still so tired, I didn't think to question why we were walking here.

We walked inside, and I saw that all the girls were there. I gave out a deep, heavy yawn, smacked my lips tiredly and finally spoke. “What's going on here?” To which Twilight smiled and replied to me.

“We're going to make this right Jordan. We're going to make it up to Rarity, and we'd love your help if you'd give it to us.” I looked at her with a blank expression.

“I'm listening.” I stated blankly. Twilight used her magic to make all sorts of objects levitate. Upon closer inspection, I saw they were cloth, needles, thread, etc. She smiled.

“We're going to make Rarity the dress she designed. We saw that she left her sketchbook in her living room, so we're borrowing it for a bit. You and Fluttershy know the most about sewing and such, so we need your help.”

I thought about it for a minute and nodded. “I'll help you on a few conditions.” The girls nodded, allowing me to continue.

“One, you all still owe Rarity an apology. Two, if we're going to do this, you have to listen to me, because I know her dress design better than anybody. Three, we have to try and make this right for her. And four.” I paused, making them wait in anticipation.

“...I want a giant group hug.” I said as I extended my hooves out. They smiled and accepted my group hug.

“I'm sorry if I hurt your girls' feelings last night. I was just upset on Rarity's behalf. I had no right to get mad at any of you. Can you forgive me?” I said as we hugged. They went “Mhm” In agreement and I smiled.

“Well then, let's get to work.” I took the items in my magical aura and went over to a desk Fluttershy had set up.

“Ok girls, jobs.” I said as I started to give them their respective chores. In the next few hours, we worked our rear ends off. We stitched, sewed, cut, measured, etc. But we got it done, and the dress looked magnificent.

“Ok, that's a job well done, everypony. Now, the only problem is convincing Rarity to come out of her room. Hmm... She trusts me enough to go in and out of her room, so I'll try to lure her out. You girls have got to have the mannequin ready so she can see the dress, ok?” They nodded at my plan, and we all galloped to the boutique.

I walked in and entered Rarity's room. I pet her shoulder softly. “Rarity? Time for breakfast. Come downstairs, please?” She nodded at me sadly and followed me downstairs. Once we got to the living room, I sprang our plan into action. The girls had the mannequin ready, and quickly uncovered it, letting Rarity see the dress.

“Surprise!” We called out at once.

Rarity gasped, in complete shock. “You...you...”

Pinkie smiled. “We all finished your dress for you!”

Applejack nodded. “Thanks to Fluttershy's freaky knowledge of sewing, and Jordan's great ability to lead.”

Fluttershy smiled at Rarity. “Do you like it?”

Rarity looked unhappy. “Like it? Like it?!” She said as she circled the mannequin.

Fluttershy gulped. “Uh-uh. She doesn't like it.”

Rarity closed her eyes. “No, I don't like it.”

We all went “Awwww...” Sadly.

Rarity surprised us by turning to us and exclaiming. “I love it! You ponies did an amazing job. It's exactly the way I imagined it.” She happily declared.

Fluttershy smiled. “We just followed your brilliant design.”

Twilight sighed sadly. Like we should have let you do for our outfits. Those first dresses you designed were perfect. Jordan showed us how wrong we were to uproot your designs.”

“We're so super sorry.” Pinkie said sadly.

Rainbow nodded. You worked really hard to make our dresses exactly the way we wanted them. We all saw how well that turned out.”

Rarity smiled. “Oh, I forgive you.”

Applejack grinned at her. “Well, that's mighty big of you.”

Rarity held her hoof over her face sadly. “But my whole career is still ruined!”

Applejack looked at the ground. “Oh, right. That.”

Twilight smiled as we saw Hoity walk by. “Maybe not.”

I immediately ran up to Hoity. “Excuse me! Hoity Toity, sir? Please, I know you're a very busy stallion, but would you please give us half an hour of your time to try our fashion show again? I promise it will be worth your time!”

He thought about it for a minute before he nodded. “Oh very well, I have nothing better to do until my train to Canterlot arrives.” I thanked him, and we all walked inside. We set up the stage again and the girls got dressed in their original, perfect dresses.

“Take two.” Hoity said as he waited for the show to start.

To start the show, we had Twilight model first. Rarity used her magic to make a specific scene appear in the room. It was spacey, and it fit her dress perfectly. We did the same for Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash, Rarity made a scene that matched their personalities.

After Fluttershy's dress, Hoity was ecstatic.

“Now this is a fashion show! All of these dresses are absolutely amazing. Who is responsible? Step forward, show yourself!” And after that, Rarity made her grand appearance, stepping out from behind the curtain and unveiling the masterpiece that was her dress. Hoity was on his back hooves, cheering and clapping.

“Brava! Brava! Magnifico! Encore!” He cried out.

Rarity has the happiest look on her face. “Oh, thank you. Thank you! Oh, thank you so much!” She said as she battled tears.

Later, we were all in Rarity's work room, celebrating the success that was the fashion show. In the corner, I saw Spike writing on a scroll for Twilight. I walked over to listen.

“Dear Princess Celestia,
This week, my very talented friend Rarity learned that if you try to please everypony, you often times end up pleasing nopony, especially yourself. And I learned this: when somepony offers to do you a favor, like making you a beautiful dress, you shouldn't be overly critical of something generously given to you. In other words, you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.” Twilight finished with a giggle. I smiled and rubbed her shoulder.

“Amazing letter, Twilight.” We then heard Hoity walk in.

“Rarity, my congratulations to you on a most impressive fashion debut. Would you do me the great honor of allowing me to feature your couture in my Best of the Best Boutique in Canterlot?” Rarity gasped in shock at his offer, then he smiled.

“Now, I'll need you to make a dozen of each dress for me by next Tuesday.” To which Rarity looked like she would pass out. I walked over to them and smiled.

“No problems, Mr. Toity, we'll have those dresses done for you lickety split.” I assured him with a nod. He nodded back and left the room.

“Oh Celestia, how will I ever get that many dresses done?!” Rarity cried out in despair.

I rubbed her back slowly. “Don't worry Rare, we'll help you. Right girls?” I asked as I turned to the five of them, who all nodded yes. So, in the next few hours, we all worked as hard as we could and got the 72 dresses done. It was late at night when we finished, but it was worth it.

The girls all left to head home, and I was about to do the same before Rarity stopped me.

“Jordan, darling, wait.” Rarity said to me as I started to leave the room. I turned around and walked back to her.

“Yes Rare, what is it?” I said curiously. She smiled at me.

“Well darling, all this nonsense with those dresses got me thinking. We put so much work into the girls dresses, and the six of your worked so hard to make mine. I realized that I spent so much time making outfits to fit their personalities, I completely forgot about you, darling. I'd like to design you an all new suit, one that fits your personality.” She said with a smile. I shook my head.

“Rarity, I appreciate it so much. But you don't have to do that. I love the tuxedo you designed the other day. I think I'd look good in it.” I said with a smile, but she shook her head.

“Jordan, please just trust me darling. I want to do this for you, so please let me.” I sighed in defeat and nodded at her. She took out a sketchbook.

“I hate to say this darling, but... Your personality isn't as obvious as, say, Pinkie Pie. I really have no clue to begin with your suit, so I need to ask. What are some things you enjoy? Hobbies, perhaps?” I put a hoof to my chin in thought and hummed.

“Well, let's see. I love all you girls first and foremost. I also enjoy learning, I enjoy traveling, I enjoy music, I enjoy food. That's about it.” Rarity seemed to be deep in thought, and finally she sketched in the book.

When she was done, she showed it to me. “This will be your tux, if you like it darling. The pocket will be a heart instead of a traditional pocket shape. I figure a blue color for the fabric would better suit you, since you enjoy traveling. It's reminiscent of the blue sky. And finally, the back is custom embroidered with a large music note. I think it will look smashing, without overdoing it like those ghastly dresses.” I smiled at her widely.

“Wow Rarity, I love it. It's absolutely PERFECT, and it's not too flashy. Once again, the fashionista mistress has done it again!” I said as I gave her a hug, which she gladly returned.

“Darling, I have to tell you. Thank you so much for all this. Sure, you helped Applejack when she needed it during Applebuck season. Sure, you came to our rescue when that dreadful Ursa attacked. Sure, you were there when we had to go and convince that ghastly dragon to move away. You've always been there for us, but this is above and beyond the call of duty. You didn't even have to help me, yet you stuck with me for five whole days while this mess got sorted out. So, thank you darling, so much.” She said as she had tears in her eyes. I wiped them away and smiled.

“Rarity, it really was no problem. I wasn't just going to leave you up to your eyeballs in work like that. I'm always here for you girls when you need me. It was nothing.”

Rarity shook her head. “It was not even close to nothing Jordan. It was everything to me. Thank you.” She then kissed my cheek, and that made me blush badly.

“I'd better get home, Rarity. I've been having Fluttershy take care of Elise the past few days, but Elise probably misses me. I gotta go home and get the house in order.” I was about to walk out, but Rarity stopped me.

She grabbed my hoof gently, and placed a sack onto it. She smiled. “Here Jordan, some bits for your hard work.” I gasped and tried to hand her the bits back.

“No way Rarity. There's no way I can take your money. I told you, it's just what friends do. Friends don't get paid for being friends.” I said to her, but she shook her head.

“That might be true, but every once in a while, a friend deserves something for their trouble. Take the bits darling, I want you to. I won't accept no for an answer.” She said with a smile.

I sighed in defeat. Man, she always wins every argument, she's good at that.

“Ok Rarity. But only because you insist. Thank you, and I'll see you soon, ok?” She nodded at me, and I left the boutique. As I started walking away from the building, I turned and look up to the roof. I smiled once I saw the mannequins. “Well, I guess she wasn't lying, there they are.” I said with a laugh. I walked the distance to my house, where Elise greeted me at the door by jumping into my arms.

“You've been gone a long time! What's been going on?” Elise said. I thought about how to explain what happened to her without being too detailed. “Oh, I was helping Rarity with a BIG order. It took a long time.” I then yawned deeply, and felt my eyes get tired. “Ok, forget dinner tonight, bedtime for me, Elise.” I then went to the kitchen and refilled Elise's bowls before trotting up to my bedroom. I got in bed and snuggled into the blankets and pillows.

As I laid in my bed, I was deep in thought. I don't think I ever want to pick up another sewing needle again in my life. That was like pure torture. But I'm very glad everything worked out in the end. We made six great dresses and saved Rarity's reputation as a dressmaker. Heck, we even made her more reputable. HOITY TOITY KNOWS HER NOW! This is so good for Rare, her business is going to boom, I just know it.

I can't wait until the gala comes, and I can wear that amazing Tux. It's going to be an amazing night.

I turned onto my side and stared out the window, as I oftentimes time when I was in bed, and looked at Luna's brilliant, shining moon. I then fell asleep, drifting to her dreamworld.

Author's Note

And that was what might be my favorite chapter i've ever written! Coming up next, Feeling Pinkie Keen, with some extra Pinkie Pie cooky-ness!